#def my favorite out of all new characters that were adapted for anime

[lalalalamisfit]

I love everything about anime sagwan! they animated and designed him so well. the way he moves feels so fitting for an animal that spent most of his life in the sea, when he walks he looks like he's floating. his japanese voice actor, tessho genda has done a phenomenal job and along with sagwan's soundtrack, it all ties together perfectly, bringing this character to life in a way that makes me so happy <33

[radexchangeprogram]

This is a random one but can I request head cannons of the Brothers and Dateables reacting to an MC that’s actually a half demon but was really great at hiding her demon side since she grew up in the human world? They see a demon man just bounding towards MC before the boys could do anything MC’s like “DAD! 😃” before jumping in his arms like a child. Around her Dad she gains fangs and horns like him but she reverts back to normal when she wants to. The boys are like “Why didn’t you say anything?” And she’s like “I’m just used to my human side” or “You never asked 🤷🏾‍♀️”

Of course! I love this idea. I didn’t get a chance to proof read this so I apologize for any grammatical mistakes.

Author’s notes at the end (marked by *s)

Spoiler warning for up to chapter 17 to be safe. Especially with Belphie.

Half Demon GN!MC Headcanons

General

Everyone noticed that you never seemed too bothered by the fact that you were surrounded by demons, but figured you were just rather good at adapting.

This theory was proven wrong at a party Lord Diavolo hosted.

As you chatted with the brothers, a large demon with griffon wings, a lion’s mane, and horns similar to a gazelle began to head in the direction of your group.

The demon, who the others instantly recognized as Duke Vapula, walked up to them with a cheeky grin.

The brothers were instantly on guard, Mammon even growling slightly, as it was extremely uncommon for anyone to approach them so casually.

Diavolo, Barbatos, Simeon, Luke, and Solomon all took notice and were prepared to intervine should something happen.

You turned around to see what the issue was and let out a loud gasp.

“DAD!”

Lucifer

Absolutely dumbfounded. How did he not know about this? He read your files to the point of practically memorizing them before you came here and he swears there was nothing about you being a half demon.

He was honestly a bit embarrassed that he didn’t know about something this major.

When confronting you, all you did was say that it wasn’t that big of a deal and that you figured they already knew.

You really give him a migraine sometimes.

He feels a bit relieved that he doesn’t have to worry as much about you dying, though.

If you wish, he may start teaching you demonic etiquette, such as having you shift form at formal events.

If you prefer your human heritage, he won’t pressure you to conform to your demonic ancestory.

Mammon

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HIS HUMAN ISN’T ENTIRELY HUMAN?!?

The loudest about his displeasure about not knowing.

“I’m your first man! I’m supposed to know everything about you!”

When you explain to him that you’re more comfortable with your human half, he calms down a little.

Tries to call you ‘stupid half-demon’ but it doesn’t feel the same as ‘stupid human’ :(

You tell him he can just keep calling you ‘stupid human’ :D

Wonders if he can get your dad to pay him for ‘providing his child with such incredible protection’.

You immediately tell him no.

Leviathan

Holy shit this sounds like something straight out of an anime!!!

Very upset that you didn’t tell him, you’re his Henry! You’re supposed to tell him these kind of things!

When you shrug and simply say that no one asked, he gets even more pouty.

You make up with him quickly by offering to play games with him all night.

Extremely curious about your demonic form for the primary purpose of cosplay. Do you know how many more characters you can be if you have a tail or wings?!?

You might inspire some fanfiction. (half demon Henry x Lord of Shadows au slow burn 100k words, def not Leviathan projecting no not at all-)

Satan

He is extremely shocked. Not only did he have no idea, but half demons are extremely rare.

From what he’s read, most half-human half-demon offspring don’t survive past birth and all documented cases that have survived reside in the Devildom so that their powers can be better managed.

He asks you about this and you reply that you’re actually quite good at controlling your powers, but that you prefer living as a normal human.

He’s not upset that you didn’t tell him, but he has a billion questions.

How long is your lifespan? Do you take more after your demonic father or your human mother in terms of power?What are your weaknesses?

He really wants to learn more about human-demon hybrids and will ask you to help in his studies.

Also a bit excited as your father is well known for some for his knowledge and writing about the sciences. He wants to discuss some of it with you, assuming you’ve read what your father has written.*

Asmodeus

Oh he is so excited.

A bit relieved that his charm isn’t wearing off, it just doesn’t work because you’re the child of a demonic duke!

You know those boiling hot springs he talks about visiting? Well he’s happy to learn that you actually can join him without fear of your skin melting off!

He’s not upset that you didn’t tell him, getting mad over stuff like that can cause wrinkles.

He will absolutely want to help you groom your horns/wings/scales/tail.

He already has shown you a lot about demonic fashion trends, such as extra clothing that can be fitted around demonic extremities, but now he actually can actually have you try on some! Do you prefer gold tail bangles or jeweled horn cuffs?

Beelzebub

Relieved that Duke Vapula wasn’t looking for a fight.

He can’t help but smile a little when you hug your dad. It makes him happy that you love your family.

When you blush and tell him that it just slipped your mind to tell everyone about your heritage, he isn’t upset.

Happy that he doesn’t have to be so scared of accidentally hurting you with how strong he is.

If you’re able to safely eat some more demonic food, he will absolutely get you to try some of his favorite foods that normal humans would die upon eating.

Overall, you’re still the MC he has grown to love and doesn’t treat you too differently.

Belphegor

Is now more awake than he has been the entire evening.

Half demon? Nah this is just some dream.

Is understanding when you explain to him that you prefer being human and living as a human.

He’s happy he found out after making amends with you. He used to despise half-demons just as much as normal humans, seeing them as repulsive.

He still very much treats you the same, but is a bit annoyed with his brothers.

With knowledge of your demonic blood coming to light, they drag you out even more often and naps with you are becoming rarer.

If you get too overwhelmed with his brothers constantly wanting to try things they thought would previously kill you, he will be more than happy to lend you some of his hiding spots. He does charge the small fee of getting to take a nap with you though.

Diavolo

Similar to Lucifer, is shocked that he didn’t know before you came to the Devildom.

You aren’t the first half-demon he’s met, but he is surprised that a demon of Duke Vapula’s rank had a child with a human.

He’s actually very excited to learn that you’re a half-demon who is in more in touch with your human side. He feels a lot more relieved that you aren’t as defenseless as previously thought.

He does, however, make absolute sure that you have full control over your demonic powers. Every other half-demon lives in the Devildom for a reason and he can’t have someone who is technically one of his subjects accidentally cause mass destruction.

He invites you for tea more frequently, asking so many questions about how being raised in the human world as a half-demon was.

He likes to exchange stories with you about your younger years and the power fluxes you both struggled with as you grew.

Tells you that should you ever wish to live in the Devildom that he would be more than happy to make the needed arrangements.

Barbatos

He knew the whole time. When Diavolo asked him to look into the success of the program, he made note of your heritage right away.

However, he decided that keeping this information hidden when he saw that you were raised human and preferred to be seen as human.

When he explains this to everyone, you can’t help but feel thankful.

While some of the others make no effort to hide how annoyed this makes them, he doesn’t mind. He knows he made the right choice keeping this from everyone and doesn’t regret it at all.

Barbatos is actually a pretty good friend of your father’s and grew up with him. He actually met you when you were a baby because of this.*

Solomon

He has seen a lot in his years in the world of magic, but nothing like this.

Usually, half-demons were very easy to spot as they struggled to control their powers, but you practically had it down to an art!

You explain to him that you’re actually pretty good at keeping your powers under control. He’s rather impressed by this and will ask to see your spell work.

Thinks it’s a little funny that he has a pact with your dad.*

Like Satan, he wants to know all about you. Unlike Satan, he is going to actually conduct experiments instead of stick to interviews.

He has a new potion that he wants you to try almost every day now.

Can half-demons make pacts? If so, you have now been added to the list of demonic beings he wants to make a pact with.

Simeon

Very surprised considering he’s blessed you before.

Blessings aren’t supposed to work on anything of demonic nature so he’s baffled.

When you explain to him that you were raised human and prefer to live as human, he smiles.

He comes to the conclusion that you being a good person must be greater than the demonic blood in your veins.

He treats you the same overall, knowing that you’re still you no matter your heritage.

Luke

Absolute denial.

There is no way someone as nice as you is part demon! He refuses to believe it!

Gets upset and accuses you of trying to manipulate him, which you quickly deny.

When you explain to him that you prefer being human, he huffs.

Simeon gives him a bit of a talking to, about how you’re still the same MC who he sees as a big sibling.

He bakes you some apology cupcakes for being rude to you.

You sometimes shift form to mess around with him, it never fails to make him let out a shocked yelp before he snaps at you for picking on him.

Everyone (except Luke) thinks it’s funny tbh.

Author’s Notes:

*Duke Vapula is described as being able to bestow knowledge about all science contained in books.

*Barbatos is also a duke in The Goetia. I thought a fun nod to this would be to have them as friends.

*The Goetia talks about the 72 demons that King Solomon evoked. Vapula is one of the demons that he evoked. The game actually references this by talking about his 72 pacts. Asmodeus and Barbatos are both included in the 72 demons which is why he has pacts with both of them in the game :)

[snarktheater]

Hey, d'you have any French book recs? I'm trying to work on my French, and rn I have downloaded one of my favourite book series' French translations, but I figured maybe books already written in French might work better? Also have you read the Ranger's Apprentice series? 1/2

RA's def flawed - the books' narration does like to point bright arrows at the protagonists' intelligence, and the last few books def have the tone of 'old white man trying to write feminism', although at least he's trying? - and it's aimed more to the younger side of YA, but it is still a very fun series, and I can ignore the flaws fairly easily, at least partly due to nostalgia? This rather long lol but I'm wordy.

I'll start with the second question: no, although every time the series is brought up I have to check the French title and go "oh, right, I've seen these books in stores". But I've never purchased or read them. It sounds like something I probably would have enjoyed as a teen but I just missed the mark, and these days I'm trying to drown myself in queer books, so that probably isn't happening.

As for your first question, geez, I haven’t read a French book in years, so this is gonna skew middle grade/YA, though that may not be so bad if the point is to learn the language. I will also say that as a result, these may read a little outdated.

I'll put it under a cut, even if Tumblr has become really bad with correctly displaying read mores. Sorry, mobile crowd.

It's also likely that old readers of the blog will have seen me talk about most of these. I don't feel like going through old posts.

One last thing: while I was curating this list I took the time to make a Goodreads shelf to keep track of those.

The Ewilan books by Pierre Bottero

(It's a testament to how long ago I read these books that these are not the covers of the edition I own, and I can't even find those on Google. I'm settling for a more recent cover anyway since it'll make it easier to find them, presumably)

There are at least three trilogies (that I know of) set in the same world.

The first trilogy is essentially an isekai (so, French girl lands in parallel fantasy world by accident) with elements of chosen one trope, though I find the execution makes it worth the while anyway.

The second trilogy is a direct sequel, so same protagonist but new threat, and the world gets expanded.

The third one is centered around a supporting characters from the previous books, and the first couple of books in it are more her backstory than a continuation, though the third one concludes both that trilogy and advances the story of the other books as well.

Notably these books have a really fun magic system where the characters "draw" things into existence. It's just stuck with me for some reason.

A bunch of stuff by Erik L'Homme

I have read a lot of this man's books, starting with Le Livre des Etoiles.

They also skew towards the young end of YA, arguably middle grade, I never bothered to figure out where to draw the line. They're coincidentally also using the premise of a parallel world to our own (and yes, connected to France again, the French are just as susceptible of writing about their homeland), but interestingly are set from the point of view of characters native to the parallel world.

It also has a very unique magic system, this one based on a mix of a runic alphabet and sort-of poetry. I'll also say specifically for these books that the characters stuck with me way more than others on this list, which is worth mentioning.

This trilogy is my favorite by Erik L'Homme, but I'll also mention Les Maîtres des brisants, which is a fantasy space opera with a pirate steampunk(?) vibe. I think it's steampunk. I could be mistaken. But it's in that vein. It's also middle grade, in my opinion not as good, but it could just be that it came out when I was older.

Another one is Phaenomen, which was a deliberate attempt at skewing older (though still YA). This one is set in our (then-)modern world and centers a group of teens who happen to have supernatural powers. I guess the best way to describe it is a superhero thriller? If you take "superhero" in the sense of "people with individualized powers", since they don't really do a lot of heroing.

...I really need to brush up on genre terminology, don't I.

The Ji series by Pierre Grimbert

This one is actually adult fantasy, though it definitely falls under "probably outdated". It is very straight, for starters, and I'd have to give it another read to give a more critical reading of how it handles race (it attempts to do it, and is well meaning, but I'm not sure it survives the test of time & scrutiny, basically).

If I haven't lost you already, the premise is this: a few generations ago, a weird man named Nol gathered emissaries from each nation of the world and took them to a trip to the titular Ji island. Nobody knows what went down here, but now in the present day, someone is trying to kill off all descendants from those emissaries, who are as a result forced to team up and figure out what's going on.

I'm not going to spoil past that, though I will say it has (surprise) a really unique magic system! I guess you can start to piece together what my younger self was interested in. Which, admittedly, I still am.

Once again, this one also has a strong cast of characters, helped by rich world building and the premise forcing the characters to come from many different cultures (though, again, I can't vouch for the handling of race because it's been too long).

The first series is complete by itself, though it has two sequel series as well, each focusing on the next generation in these families. Because yes, of course they all pair up and have kids. Like I said: very straight.

A whole lot of books by Jean-Louis Fetjaine

OFetjaine is a historian, and I guess he's really interested in Arthurian mythos especially, because he loves it so much he's written two separate high fantasy retellings of them! I'm not criticizing, mind you, we all need a hobby.

The former, the Elves trilogy (pictures above) is very traditional high fantasy. Elves, dwarves, orcs, a world which is definitely fictionalized with a pan-Celtic vibe to it. The holy grail and excalibur are around, but they're relics possessed by the elves and dwarves with very different powers than usual. Et cetera.

Fetjaine also really loves his elves (as the titles might imply), and while they're not exactly Tolkien elves, there's a similar vibe to them. If you like Tolkien and his elf boner, you'll probably like this too. And conversely, if that turns you off, these books probably also won't work for you.

This series also has a prequel trilogy, centered around the backstory of one of the main characters. I...honestly don't remember too much about it, but I liked it, so, there you go, I guess.

I said Fetjaine did it twice. The other series is the Merlin duology, which, as the title implies, is a retelling of Merlin's story. Note that Merlin is also in the other trilogy, but it's a different Merlin; like I said, completely different continuities and stories.

This one is historical fantasy, so it's set in actual Great Britain, and Fetjaine attempts to connect Arthur to a "real" historical figure...but, you know, Merlin is also half-elf and elves totally exist in Brocéliande, so, you know. History.

Okay, that's probably enough fantasy, let me give some classics too.

L'Arbre des possibles et autres histoires - Bernard Werber

Bernard Werber is a pretty seminal author of French sci-fi and I should probably be embarrassed that the only book of his that I read was for school, but, it is a really good one, so I'll include it anyway.

It's a novella collection, and when I say "sci-fi" I want to make it clear that it's very old school science fiction. It's more Frankenstein or Black Mirror than Star Trek, what we in French call the anticipation genre of science fiction: you take one piece of technology or cultural norm and project it into the future.

It has a pretty wide range of topics and tones, so it's bound to have some better than others. My personal faves were Du pain et des jeux, where football (non-American) has evolved into basically a wargame, and Tel maître, tel lion, where any animal is considered acceptable as a pet, no matter how absurd it is to keep as a pet. They're both on a comedic end, but there's more heartfelt stuff too.

L'Ecume des Jours - Boris Vian

(no cover because I can't find the one I have, and the ones I find are ugly)

This book is surrealist. Like, literally a part of the surrealist movement. It features things such as a lilypad growing inside a woman's lungs (and, as you well know, lilypads double in size every day, wink wink), the protagonist's apartment becoming larger and smaller to go with his mood and current financial situation, and more that I can't even recall at the moment because remembering this book is like trying to remember having an aneurysm.

It is also really, really fun and touching. Oh, and it has a pretty solid movie adaptation, starring Audrey Tautou, who I think an international audience would probably recognize from Amelie or the Da Vinci Code movie.

I don't really know what else to say. It's a really cool read!

Le Roi se meurt - Eugène Ionesco

Ionesco is somewhat famous worldwide so I wasn't even sure to include him here. He's a playwright who wrote in the "Theater of the Absurd" movement, and this play is part of that.

The premise of this play is that the King (of an unnamed land) is dying, and the land is dying with him. I don't really know what else to say. It's theater of the absurd. It kind of has to be experienced (the published version works fine, btw, no need to track down an actual performance, in my humble opinion).

The Plague - Albert Camus

You've probably heard of this one, and if you haven't, let me tell you about a guy called Carlos Maza

I'm honestly more including this book out of a sense of duty. The other three are books I genuinely liked and happen to be classics. This book was an awful read. But, um. It's kind of relevant now in a way it wasn't (or didn't feel, anyway) back in 2008 or 2009, when I read it. And I don't just mean because of our own plague, since Camus's plague is pretty famously an allegory for fascism, which my teenage self sneered at, and my adult self really regrets every feeling that way.

Okay, finally, some more lighthearted stuff, we gotta talk about the Belgian and French art of bande dessinée. How is it different from comic books or manga? Functionally, it isn't. It really comes down more to what gets published in the Belgian-French industry compared to the American comics industry, which is dominated by superheroes, or the Japanese manga industry, which, while I'm less familiar with it, I know has some big genre trends as well that are completely separate.

The Lanfeust series - Arleston and Tarquin

This is a YA mega-series, and I can't recommend all of it because I've lost track of the franchise's growth. Also note that I say "YA", but in this case it means something very different from an American understanding of YA. These books are pretty full of sex.

No, when I say YA I mean it has that level of maturity, for better or worse. The original series (Lanfeust de Troy) is high fantasy in a world where everyone has an individual magical ability but two characters find out they're gifted with an absolute power to make anything happen, and while it gets dark at times, it's still very lighthearted throughout, and the humor is...well, I think it's best described as teen boy humor. And it has a tendency to objectify its female characters, as you'll quickly parse out from the one cover I used here or if you browse more covers.

But still, it holds a special place in my heart, I guess. And on my shelves.

The sequel series, Lanfeust des Etoiles, turns it into a space opera, and goes a little overboard with the pop culture reference at times, though overall still maintains that balance of serious/at times dark story and lighthearted comedy.

After that the franchise is utter chaos to me, and I've lost track. I know there was another sequel series, which I dropped partway through, and a spinoff that retold part of the original series from the PoV of the main love interest (in the period of time she spent away from the main group). There was a comedy spin-off about the troll species unique to this world, a prequel series, probably more I don't even know exist.

Les Démons d'Alexia

Something I can probably be a little less ashamed of including here.

Some backstory here. The Editions Dupuis are a giant of the Belgian bande dessinée industry, and for many, many years I was subscribed to their weekly magazine. That magazine was (mostly) made up of excerpts from the various books that the éditions were publishing at the time; those that were made of comic strips would usually get a couple pages of individual scripts, while the ongoing narratives got cut into episodes that were a few pages long (out of a typical 48 page count for a single BD album). Among those were this series.

For the first few volumes, I wasn't super into this series, probably because I was a little too young and smack dab in the middle of my "trying to be one of the boys" phase. But around book 3 I got really invested, to the point where I own the second half of the series because I had canceled by subscription by then but still wanted to know more.

Alexia is an exorcist with unusual talents, but little control, who's introduced to a group that specializes in researching paranormal phenomena, solving cases that involve the paranormal, that kinda stuff.

As a result of the premise, the series has a pretty slow start since it has to build up mystery around the source of Alexia's powers, but once it gets going and we get to what is essentially the series' main conflict, it gets really interesting.

Plus, witches. I'm a simple gay who likes strong protagonists and witches.

Murena

There was a point where my mtyhology nerdery led me to look for more stuff about the historical cultures that created them, and so I'd be super into stuff set in ancient Rome (I'd say "or Greece or Egypt" but let's face it, it was almost always Rome).

Murena is a series set just before the start of Emperor Nero's rule. You know, the one who was emperor when Rome burned, and according to urban legend either caused the fire or played the fiddle while it did (note: "fiddle" is a very English saying, it's usually the lyre in other languages). He probably didn't, it probably was propaganda, but he was a) a Roman Emperor, none of whom were particularly stellar guys and b) mean to Christians, who eventually got to rewrite history. So he's got a bad rep.

The series goes for a very historical take on events, albeit fictionalized (the protagonist and main PoV, the titular Lucius Murena, is himself fictional) and attempts to humanize the people involved in those events. Each book also includes some of the sources used to justify how events and characters are depicted, which is a nice touch.

It's also divided in subseries called "cycles" (books 1-4, 5-8 and the ongoing one starts at 9). I stopped after 9, though I think it's mostly a case of not going to bookstores often anymore. Plus it took four years between 9 and 10, and again between 10 and 11. But the first eight books made for a pretty solid story that honestly felt somewhat concluded as is, so it's a good place to start.

[yarrowleef]

Daffodil, Laurel, Lily, Sunflower, Violet, and Wisteria? Also Begonia but I'd like to know your favorites of the old covers and the newer/reprint covers. And the Russian Warrior Cat covers too! Some of their art is quite pretty.

laurel, violet and sunflower answered previously

Daffodil: When did you first start reading the series?

Start of third grade when I was 8 years old, which I believe was 2007!!  .......so like literally most of my life I have given to these cursed cat books. I remember The Sight was the most recent release. It was the first real book series I ever read, and I think I went through the first 2 series within a couple months.

Prior to that I just read stand-alone books and I only read because I wanted to win “accelerated reader” points....i couldn’t do sports, so reading was the only thing I could win at AND I DID WIN. but warriors was the first thing I read that I was actually like...into. and realized I could read for reasons OTHER then winning the most points.

Lily: If your five favorite characters were foods, what would they be?

asdfghgfdxs I honestly have no idea how to answer this question, in part because I don’t think I even have 5 favorite characters. I suppose Firestar is doritos out of obligation. What else can he be?? I mean ok flaming hot cheetos maybe seems more fitting on the surface because ~flame-y~ but lets be honest, Firestar is a bit too bland a character to be spicy. He is one of my favorites for nostalgia sake, I mean it’s Firestar, how can I not be fond of him?

I also have a soft spot for Scourge just because of the sheer ridiculous audacity of him. I wish he’d come back as an evil ghost. Anyway, when I was about 9 and going through my brief (incredibly unfortunate) twilight phase (I was just jumping on the popularity bandwagon tbh) I went to Hot Topic right before one of the movie premieres and they had this...edible bag of blood? it wasn’t actual blood obviously, but I remember it was advertised as being really high in iron to mimic blood, but it was really this sickly sweet mystery juice packaged inside of a fake hospital blood bag. I of course bought it because I went through my edgy phase early, and for some reason thought it would look cool to pretend I was drinking blood. It was the most disgusting liquid i have ever consumed but hey it did also have the unpleasant metallic tang of blood because I guess they were going for authenticity over edibility, so it’s not like I didn’t get what I paid for (or rather what my mom paid for, because i was 9)

Anyway, Scourge is that. He’s awful fake blood juice from the Hot Topic in the mall.

 That's all I got.

Wisteria: Are you looking forward to the Warriors movie?

YES ABSOLUTLEY!!

don't get me wrong, I fully expect it to be terrible. Embarrassing even. I expect they will try to change it for a wider audience appeal, and of course it will end up bad, BUT IT WILL BE SO FUNNY!! I have this inescapable morbid curiosity about it, like I really want to see what they try to do. Like watching a train crash. I can't help it.

Warriors is a silly series. I have a feeling this is why a movie hasn't been made yet, even I would have no idea who to market it for. Yes it's violent and touches on very dark topics, but the fact that its about cute little cats with very dumb names coupled with those dark topics in a way makes it look even MORE silly. I don’t think Warriors will ever have wide appeal outside of its fanbase, the concept looks too ridiculous if you’re not someone already into animal xenofiction like this, but a movie is inevitably going to try to have wider appeal anyway because that's what movie studios feel they need to do. They will either water it down, or worse, try to go a more family friendly comedy route since that’s how general audiences are used to seeing animated talking animals and they think that's the only “”safe”” way to market an animal movie, which will 100% ruin it either way. The second one is more likely, I mean why else do you think they hired the guys who wrote kung fu panda, and the recent alvin and the chipmunks and Spongebob movies to make the script?? [no shade to kung-fu panda, it’s good in it’s own way, but it is not the same vibe as warrior cats at all]. For me, this is simultaneously the absolute best and the absolute worse scenario, because like, it’s horrible, its an insult to everything I love about the warriors world, i have surreal nightmares about it, but it’s so horrible it f*cking hilarious ya know? how can you not be a little curious to watch that train crash (and the outraged reaction posts that will inevitably follow)????

A warriors movie will be bad, I can't see any way that it won't be bad, and honestly? I think that's ok. I don't need a good movie, I simply need a good laugh, and then I'll go back to watching fan animations which will always be more interesting anyway because they don't feel the need to have ~mass appeal~

Listen, we don't actually need a good official adaptation. In some ways, a good adaptation might be bad for the fandom. The fandom is cool because of how wildly different and creative it is, the series is so bare bones with no consistent official art that people can go nuts with it. I worry on the off chance we get a really good adaptation, it might take over the books. People might be less likely to draw/create with their own wild bonkers interpretations of canon in favor of sticking closer to what the official adaptation presented us with, and idk if I want that. I also def don't want to deal with searching "warrior cats" for the rest of my life to only bring up gifs/discussions of the movie/tv show, rendering material and fan creations for the books almost impossible to find. This is something i've suffered with when other books i like get popular adaptations, where as series with bad adaptations (like percy jackson) I have less trouble finding content about the books. 

Begonia: Which book cover is your favorite?

So of the old covers I admit i have a soft spot for the darkest hour, it was my favorite as a kid and I know I tried to redraw it several times. Warrior covers have a tendency to blend together, there’s only so many ways to draw mysterious cats fighting, but I think this cover is one of the most memorable for me, if only for the center art (shout out to the old Fire and Ice cover though, I also really like the center art on that. I wish the box had kept being used for more than just a single cat face in the later series)

but now that i’ve gone and looked, I really really like the full cover art for Tallstar’s Revenge, the colors just look super nice and match his eyes and everything. Tallstar having a fun and more unique looking design gives it extra points. Maybe I just like warm tones idk. And shout out to Wayne for also imagining the moor as a golden-brown field even though it’s probably supposed to be green.

out of the new covers, I like the vibe of Dark River, it just looks spooky and mysterious......and I think this artists cats look better from the side, they are always a little crooked from the front (honorable mention to Place of No Stars cover, I really like the colors and the ominous vibe, it definitely had an impact when I first saw that cover, I just don’t love the look of the cats faces blown up close from the front. The more I look at it the more off it becomes, but the colors are cool)

and I definitely agree the Russian warrior cats art has a very charming look to it, I like seeing it whenever it comes across my dash, but unfortunately I’m having trouble finding a catalogue of it to look at so I can’t pick a favorite

[taki118]

List of Reincarnated into the Villainess of an Otome/Romance Novel Series I Like

Soooooo I’ve gotten sucked into the very specific isekai subgenre?trope? Of girl gets reincarnated into an otome game or romance novel she loves but is the villainess. It’s kind funny how similar these all are but at the same time so different. Now these arent all the titles just the ones I’ve read for at least a volume and like. (if asked i might make a list of the ones that failed for me). I’m gonna separate by types. and if you know of any other titles please do tell me.

Received Past Memories during Childhood

(The story starts with the MC remembering her past life as a child and growing up with the knowledge)

I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess With Only Destruction Flags...

So this one has a good deal of traction since it has an anime adaption currently running, but I’ll be honest it’s not one of favs. This series is primarily a harem comedy and most of the jokes deal with the MC’s expectations from the game not matching her new reality and not realizing why, which can be very fun, if one note. The characters are likeable which is why I keep reading but I think some other titles on this list use the concept far better.  There is also a spin off version where the MC doesnt get her old memories until later in life and has to deal with the actions of the game character, but it’s fairly the same you arent missing much if you dont read it. 

The Villainess Want to Marry a Commoner

So in this one the MC isn’t trying to avoid a bad end rather she’s very excited to be able to romance her favorite NPC whom she wished was romance-able. (which honestly mood) I’m not very far in but it really takes the whole this is a game the furthest as there are stat checks and the MC basically carried over all the items and skills acquired in her past playthroughs.

Survive as the Hero’s Wife

A web series, this one takes place in a book and the main pair are married as children and the MC plays double agent for the series antagonist to keep her and the LI safe. It’s fairly involved with a larger cast of characters but I’ll be honest this is one of the titles I feel would be stronger if it was just a straight fantasy series, the whole Isekai aspect feels like it’s there just to make the plot move quicker. But all around a good read. 

Fiancée’s Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Now this one has a fun twist on the formula in that it’s told from the perspective of the love interest. Some of the faults other titles are plague with are avoided here as the main character himself has no knowledge of the world being a game, his fiance does but while she’s happy to tell him she’ll be a great villainess and get him a happy ending with the heroine she never tells him why thats so important so he’s left in the dark and thereby so are we. I will give a warning there is  bit of fat shaming in this as the original games villainous was chubby  but this version is skinny, like its not awful but its not the best implication that bad is chubby and good is skinny.

The Evil Lady's Hero

Another webseries set in a novel while we dont see the MC in childhood (save for some flashbacks) it’s stated she’s had her old memories since then. What I really like about this series is the MC’s personality and set up. So she died well into her 20s  and as such she is a bit more mature and levelheaded than most MC’s, her plan was to avoid the main cast of the books as much as possible but ends up drunkenly sleeping with the male lead leading to them dating. Her thought being I’ll just enjoy this for now and let him break up with me when he meets the heroine, all good. The pair play well off each other and I’m curious to see where the story goes.

The Result of Being Reincarnated is Having a Master-Servant Relationship with the Yandere Love Interest

Now this one has a lot of fun with this concept as there are two other characters who were reincarnated like the MC. Because this game had only yandere love interests even the “good” endings arent that good, the MC also has limited knowledge as she didnt get to play all the way through so she feels less omnipotent than other protagonists, and along with not being the only person displaced it gives the series a nice refreshing feel.  

Received Past Memories as Young Adult (The story starts with the MC remembering her past life after/during the events of the game/book)

I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

So I actually really love this series and wanna read the light novel version. The MC regains her memories during the beginning of the bad end for the villainess and thinking quickly saves face to run off and find the main antagonist of the  game the demon king who happens to be a secret route on the second play through. Its a very fun read but gets a little dark in later chapters I wont spoil cause its good but there is an attempted rape scene. 

Simply Good Sense for a Duke’s Daughter

This one kills me cause the world building and characters are so strong and dense it’s actually weakened by the fact that the MC was reincarnated is really just kinda brushed off most the time. As you get more and more invested the only real purpose her being reincarnated into an otome has is like some ideas for products to sell and how to make things that dont exist in this world yet. Like I wont say I don’t enjoy it but I think I’d enjoy it more if it was just a fantasy story. 

Beware the Villainess

God I love this webseries. The MC is just a delight as she decides she wont be evil but she wont be good either. What I like about this series is it kinda plays with the fact that the setting is a trashy romance novel cause as the MC learns more about the main characters of the novel she finds that the descriptions in the book dont match up because it’s very surface level. Example a merchant whos said to be very smart and savvy in the books is actually rather easy to outsmart, MC realizes it’s cause the writer only ever wrote he was smart never HOW he was smart. I would def give this one a read its a lot of fun. 

For Certain Reasons, The Villainess Noble Lady Will Live Her Post-Engagement Annulment Life Freely

This is again another series I think would be stronger if it was straight fantasy. The MC of this story actually has no idea the world is an otome game, she was  nurse in her past life and uses that knowledge for the betterment of the land, (though actually its hard to tell if she was really reincarnated or just has the memories of this person) The story could have moved just as well if the MC was given like a medical textbook from a mysterious other world. But the characters are fun so its not awful just not one of my favorites. 

Reincarnated but not as Villainess 

I Am Troubled That My Fiance Is a Villain

The MC is reincarnated into an otome game with her memories as a child but as a side character, she ends up endearing herself and becoming engaged to the games villain character. Its very cute because she doesnt have to worry about a bad end she doesnt try to interfere much just keep those around her safe. 

Seduce The Villain's Father

Web series MC gets reincarnated into a novel as a minor character, as the story takes place prior to the events of the book she changes things to keep her new sister safe and uses the opportunity to try and avoid more tragic events. Its not bad I’d say the idea itself is interesting though its a little uncomfortable she calls the male lead “father” 

A Villain Is A Good Match For A Tyrant

Ok so this web series is kinda hilarious and I do have to spoil a little cause the person reincarnated is NOT our lead, its our villain. So this person was actually the author of the story, she had written a novel about a girl being reincarnated into the bastard daughter of a lord who gets engaged to a tyrant and has to pretend to be evil to stay safe from his enemies, and the author is so PISSED she reincarnated into a random priestess. Its so weirdly meta. The MC is the lord’s bastards and the events play out just like story only she doesnt get her body taken over. This series is very fun, cant wait to see how it goes. 

Anyway this is my list if you have suggestions for me I’ll check them out. Will probably make another list later. 

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

clark kent for the character thing?

First Impression: As per usual, via the DCAU with Justice League. He was cool enough though not my personal favorite back then. I looked at him as the leader of the League and the official boss. 

 Impression Now: My all time favorite classic superhero. An instantly inspirational character that sadly needs more credibility than just a super strong flying muscle man with weird powers mainstream media often joke regarding him. Having read some Superman comics since high school and rewatching his solo animated series, I find Clark as a truly relatable guy who was raised on being a decent person with the incredible gifts of powers he has, a living embodiment of the responsibility, compassion, empathy and yet also being relatable in that his life outside of Superman is one many modern Americans share, especially being a father as of now. 

 Favorite moment: PLENTY. "You're much stronger than you think you are, trust me" from All Star Superman, Teaching Jon how to use heat vision properly in his first Rebirth arc, his confrontation against Manchester Black and the Elite, His 'World of Cardboard' Speech, just so many I can't count them all in one hand. 

 Idea for a Story: On a day Clark finally retires from being Superman, there is one last grand scheme courtesy of his old arch rival Lex Luthor. The battle is intense and Clark once more triumphs, but at the cost of his powers. Thankfully there were his three sons, Conner, Chris (long story, he's an adopted son, look it up) and Jon to help all throughout this final adventure. He offers the mantle to his successors. Conner and Jon split the mantle evenly, becoming a new (and hopefully better version of) Superman Red and Superman Blue respectively. Chris politiely turns down inheriting the mantle, preferring on being his own version of Nightwing instead (again, long story). With his wife Lois by his side, Clark moves to Smallville, Kansas, inhering the old Kent farm, and begins writing an epic novel series based on his adventures, "Champion of the Oppressed". If he does get his powers back somehow in the future and there's a battle even his successors can't handle, he'll be there, because Superman can.

 Unpopular Story: Easy, Superman at Earth's End. If there's a book that can consolidate everything wrong with the 90s impact on comics, check out Linkara's review of that piece of trash book. Also, Dawn of Justice, because if there's anything, the DCEU thought I wanted it was a sloppy adaptation of the Death of Superman combined with the Dark Knight Returns. Well, they'd be very wrong about that. 

 Favorite relationship: Lois & Clark. Nuff said

 Favorite headcanon: In spite of being raised in the Midwest, Clark likes rock n roll music of any to all genres. In canon, he's stated to listen to Metallica. SO that gets me wondering if he has knowledge of the entire genre andm even a small yet growing record collection; everything from the Beatles to Black Sabbath, from Fleetwood Mac to Def Leppard, from Guns n Roses to Pearl Jam. No doubt also playing the records whenever he's on monitor duty at the JLA Watcher

[kyn19]

1 THROUGH 98! I WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWERS AND I CAN'T STAND GETTING THEM PIDDLING BIT BY PIDDLY BIT!!!!!

Lmaooooo what a fuckin Mood. Thank you!!!!! Also, you’re getting Drunk Kylie answers which are arguably the Best answers. For the courtesy of everyone’s dash, answers are below the cut!! <3 <3 <3

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Coffee mugs! I have a sizable collection lmao #WriterLife

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

omg such a tough one, both are aces. seriously I can think of so many combatting pros & cons!! the only fair way i can currently conceive is which i would want weed in. Which is lollipops bc (#UnpopularOpinion) pot makes chocolate taste bad.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

both are great, but def bubblegum.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

“Pleasure to have in class” in true Gifted Child fashion

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

i’ll rate them in order: 1) can (absolutely preferred), 2) bottle if alone but plastic (lez be honest, Red Solo Cup) if with company, 3) glass (do not like)

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

#1 goth all the way. Pastel and Formal guest appearances

7. earbuds or headphones?

headphone, bc earbuds usually hurt my ears.

8. movies or tv shows?

first of all, how dare you. second of all, tv shows ONLY BECAUSE if all my fave movies were given tv shows so that they could last longer i would choose so

9. favorite smell in the summer?

idk i guess pool chlorine? dislike summer

10. game you were best at in p.e.?

bruh fuckin none. elementary school: too long ago to recall. middle school: escaped having to take gym at all. high school: had a medical excuse to take online PE. least athletic girl u know

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?

i don’t have bfast bc eating close to when i awaken makes my tummy upset

12. name of your favorite playlist?

hmm 4-way tie between “#motivate #bitch” (gets me pumped to work) and “Friends Of The Illness” (my playlist of songs about and/or artist who are mentally ill) and “Ominous/haunting” (speaks to my creepy side) and “Bad Bitches” (self-explanatory amirite)

13. lanyard or key ring?

Key ring. Straight up I use an extra shoelace as my key ring string, despite owning multiple lanyards.

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

god another fkn hard one. Listen y’all, you dont understand how much of a sugar fiend i am. candy is my JAM. Starbursts, Sour Straws, Skittles, Jolly Ranchers...who can choose?!

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

“Ceremony” by Leslie Marmon Silko. Highly recommend!!!!!!!!!!!

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

laying down lol sitting is for suckers

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

combat boots like the gay i am

18. ideal weather?

low 70′s degrees (F*), intermittent showers during the day but clear starry skies overnight

19. sleeping position?

mostly fetal, mostly on my side but chest is towards the bed, one arm under the pillow under my head

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Laptop. I used to love writing in notebooks, but ya girl got weak fingy joints nowadays

21. obsession from childhood?

pfft as if they aren’t the same obsessions i have now

22. role model?

so many!!!!! Jameela Jamil is the first that comes to mind

23. strange habits?

lmao i am ass-deep in idiosyncrasies, if you ain’t read the blog title already

24. favorite crystal?

i don’t know anything about crystals. does blue topaz count? cuz that’s my birthstone and i like that one a lot. i even had the foresight to pick that as my engagement ring’s stone in my utterly preposterous & failed relationship

25. first song you remember hearing?

oh wow, no idea. music has always been huge for me. probably either a Britney Spears or Mary J. Blige song???

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

stay inside lmao

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

WEAR SWEATERS & DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE, BITCH!!!!!!!!!

28. five songs to describe you?

oof ok, hard, but here goes:

“Here” by Alessia Cara

“Wannabe” by the Spice Girls

“I’m Just a Kid and Life Is A Nightmare” by Simple Plan

“No Daddy” by Teairra Mari

“Brick By Boring Brick” by Paramore

29. best way to bond with you?

i am straight up not easy to make friends with (bc my own bullshit, not trying to be pretentious), so bonding is hard. the best way is probably a combo of queer + memes + loves food + correct morals + being the dominant talker

30. places that you find sacred?

Libraries, locally owned coffee shops, Walmarts at 3am, playgrounds in the middle of the night, side of a rural road at 12am, my bed

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

Blazer + shirt with a titty window + high waisted plaid pants + platform booties

32. top five favorite vines?

OMG I LOVE VINES OK OK OK OMG I LOVE SO MANY SO HERE ARE JUST THE ONES I QUOTE THE MOST OK:

Josh Kennedy: “What’s up my name’s Jared I’m 19 and I never fucking learned how to read”

Sarah Schauer: [dont remember the beginning] “didn’t you..?” “sleep in this? yes. mama needs A DRINK”

Evan Breer: “What’s up my & my boys are going to see Uncle Kracker - give me my hat back Jordan, do you see Uncle Kracker or no - *gasp!*”

Drew Gooden: “Road work ahead? Um yeah, I sure hope it does...”

Nathan Enick: “Yo how much money do you have?” “69 cents” “Oh you know what that means!” “...i don’t have enough money for chicken nuggets :( ...”

33. most used phrase in your phone?

bruh like how even am i supposed to answer this?? like texts or Siri requests or????? bc if it’s Siri requests then it’s 100% for arithmetic

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

Stanley Steamer. you kno the one

35. average time you fall asleep?

3:30am

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

bitch i’m a 90′s child of the internet, i was around the web before YouTube launched, i was there when the first modern memes were fucking conceived. i will say the biggest repository of meme culture that i was a part of was YouTube and icanhazcheezburger.com & its side-sites.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

duffel - Tie-Dye Girl from the Lindsey Lohan “Parent Trap” made quite the impression on me

38. lemonade or tea?

Lemonade! hate the leaf water

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

Lemon cake! Not a meringue pie girl saly

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

I’ve been to a lot of schools yo lol. My undergrad college was def the “weirdest” ofc, bc it was an art school lol. An instance that stands out was a string of “Solid Gold Clit” graffiti after a Sophia Wallace visit to campus right before i started there.

41. last person you texted?

My bff triad pals @backwardswriter and @bristarshine

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

damn tough call. Probably jacket pockets bc i’m more likely to have those as a lady who wears lady-targeted pants

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie

44. favorite scent for soap?

Plum!

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy, though sci-fi is a solid 2nd. Not much of a superhero gal

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

.....underwear only. Sometimes an oversized t-shirt too.

47. favorite type of cheese?

Mozzarella!!!

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

I would want to be like a pomegranate, but i’m probably a nectarine

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

“If you hope for the best but expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed.”

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

bitch i’m a giggle monster, i taught myself to be easily amused as a survival mechanism.

51. current stresses?

My own lack of discipline.

52. favorite font?

oooooof i have so many ok. too name a few: Centaur, Garamont, Book Antigua, Times New Roman, Montserrat.....mostly Serif fonts bc I’m an old books bitch

53. what is the current state of your hands?

I don’t love my hands (how homophobic of me, I know). Currently they’re kinda dry and full of sandwich

54. what did you learn from your first job?

what kind of boss I like. also that my customer service voice is frighteningly pleasant

55. favorite fairy tale?

Original tale: Thumbelina. Adaptations: Snow White.

56. favorite tradition?

uhhh Thanksgiving feast I guess? i am not a traditions gal

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

I am very very fortunate to not have a lot or a severity of these. The ones that I’ve had the worst of are: gender discrimination/harassment as a woman, hardcore emotional abuse in a relationship, and heavy heavy mental illness

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Tangible talents: writing, lying. Intangible: A+ imagination, useless trivia.

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“I support you!”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

like if Tokyo Mew Mew and Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni had a baby

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

Again, how dare you. Like literally, asking me to pick a favorite line from something is like asking what my favorite breed of dog is. Legit impossible

62. seven characters you relate to?

Ananka Fishbein (Kiki Strike series), Mermista (She Ra & the Princesses of Power), Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter), Gwen (Total Drama), Rori Gilmore (Gilmore Girls), Villanelle (Killing Eve), Andrea (St. Trinian’s)

so like all very- to semi-weird white girls lmao

63. five songs that would play in your club?

[by the term “club” i assume that i’m limited to pop and electronic music. even with the limitation, though, a super hard question]

“Talking Body” by Tove Lo

“Hot in Herre” by Nelly

“Because the Night” by Cascada

“Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels” by Todrick Hall

“Break Free” by Ariana Grande ft. Zedd

64. favorite website from your childhood?

pretty much any doll franchise’s site (Barbie, Bratz, My Scene, Polly Pocket, Diva Girlz, everGirl, etc you name it)

65. any permanent scars?

Yep. One by a dog scratch (it was honestly a weak/shallow/innocent scratch, i still have no idea why it scarred at all), and a few from a car crash last year

66. favorite flower(s)?

i don’t really like flowers? i usually just say Forget-Me-Not’s for ease

67. good luck charms?

bitch idk but i’m knocking on wood just from thinking bout it

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

you ever taste that chocolate Laffy Taffy? vile bruh

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

I am annoying enough to know how i learnt all my facts, but the funnest fact I like to annoy people with is that ducks have corkscrew penises evolved from their main form of mating being rape

70. left or right handed?

Right (like any ol’ simp)

71. least favorite pattern?

polka dots

72. worst subject?

MATH and also PHYS ED

73. favorite weird flavor combo?

One time whilst high, I put nacho cheese Doritos on a tuna sandwich. Winning combo, I’m telling you

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

My pain tolerance is straight up unpredictable, so like anywhere from a 3 to a 9

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

5 years old

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Mashed potatoes

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

I am not a plant person. Moss.

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

fucking neither but i at least like coffee so i guess the former....

(i know, it’s tragic and barbaric that i dislike sushi, i wish i had another answer for you)

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

Neither lmao - I got them within a month of each other (six years ago) so they’re essentially the same photo.

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Jewel!

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

I mean those are the same bug so I assume this is asking about which terminology I typically use/prefer. Which i would say both bc I’m a cultured ho

82. pc or console?

I don’t game so I guess PC lmao

83. writing or drawing?

Writing but I like both

84. podcasts or talk radio?

damn neither lmao I can’t focus on non-music audio only. I guess talk radio, just bc I can do like ten minute radio segments at least lol

84. barbie or polly pocket?

both were lit but I had more Barbies

85. fairy tales or mythology?

not to sound like a broken record but FIRST OF ALL HOW DARE YOU? second of all, I essentially consider them in the same category at this point in modernity, so my answer is Yes.

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Cupcakes, but both are exquisite

87. your greatest fear?

spiders, heights, clowns, seeing bad things happening to animals, that my consciousness will exist even after death, y’know normal stuff

88. your greatest wish?

to transfer myself into one of my fave fictional worlds

89. who would you put before everyone else?

dogs, next question

90. luckiest mistake?

i make a lot of those honestly, so who knows

91. boxes or bags?

LISTEN I LOVE CONTAINERS OF ALL SORTS, YOU CAN’T MAKE ME CHOOSE, IM PANSEXUAL FOR A REASON

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

FLASHLIGHTS, BITCH

93. nicknames?

Ky, KyKy, Moonshine, SugarTits, Goog Bones

94. favorite season?

Autumn (yes i call it that instead of Fall bc i’m a pretentious ass bitch lol)

95. favorite app on your phone?

Tumblr, c’mon

96. desktop background?

Currently a digital art painting of a flowing stag in a swamp that I downloaded from DeviantArt. I change it every few months though (to other downloaded digital art from DA that I collect periodically lmao)

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

Seven - mine, my mom’s 2 numbers, my grandma’s, my pop’s cell and office (also my old office) numbers, and my childhood house phone number lol

98. favorite historical era?

Golden Age of Piracy, specifically bc the piracy lol

Thank you so much for the asks, this was so much fun!!!

[comicteaparty]

December 25th-December 31st, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from December 25th, 2019 to December 31st, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

While being respectful, what’s a comic you think is objectively great but is just not to your subjective tastes?

carcarchu

the first one that comes to mind is purple hyacinth https://www.webtoons.com/en/drama/purple-hyacinth/list?title_no=1621&page=1 by all means i should love this series. i think the art and premise are great but for some intangible reason it just doesn't jive with me for some reason. i still recommend it to others and it's not like i don't read it but personally it just didn't make it feel anything

snuffysam

Honestly? Most of the comics I've read as part of #week_long_bookclub and #comment_storm fall under that umbrella. The vast majority of comics I've been introduced to through the CTP activities are really quite good (there's been exactly one in the book club that I couldn't stomach, and it was because of content/writing i personally found overly edgy & distasteful) - but for one reason or another, they're just not the type of comic I want to keep up with regularly. Too slice-of-life-y, too sad, i couldn't visually distinguish the characters that well, a super-sporadic update schedule/is on hiatus/is getting rebooted, the parts of the story I liked are clearly not things the author wants to focus on moving forward, a non-functional/poorly organized website, etc. All very good in their own right, but for one reason or another is not something I'd want to read one page at a time.

Eightfish

@snuffysam I feel similarly that most of the comics in the book club are not my cup of tea (haha). I wonder if it would be different if some of the comics there were reader suggested instead of author suggested?

keii4ii

I think CTP should remain author-submitted. Readers could suggest to the authors to submit their comic, though.

the majority of comics I encounter everywhere aren't my bag of tea, TBH. And that's probably a big part of the reason why I'm making my own. Gotta feed my inner reader's needs, one way or another

A lot of Western-written comedy, specifically, are lost on me for cultural reasons. Often they seem to be referencing something that I'm not aware of. Or they have to be read in a specific tone that's lost on me, and probably would make a bit more sense to me if voice-acted. Things like that.

Cronaj

For me it's usually art style. I'm pretty picky about art style, and I know for a fact that I'm missing out on a lot of good comics simply because the art styles are not to my tastes. Any style that's too cutesy, simplistic, or "generic" anime just doesn't call to me. There have been outliers that have managed to draw me in anyway, despite the art style, but not a lot. I also just tend to not like gag-a-day comics or slice-of-life. If there isn't a larger story, I get kind of bored. That being said, I also don't tend to enjoy most superhero/ strictly action comics, simply because I can recognize the tropes from a mile away. Not that they're bad, just... outdated? In fact, I LOVE superhero movies, but most superhero movies have adapted the tropes into a new form for the big screen. Here's an example of a comic that I've seen around, laughed at a few of the jokes, and then never felt the desire to consistently read it, just because it's not my style. Brutally Honest: (https://tapas.io/series/Brutally-Honest)

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I find myself having the same problem with webcomics that I do with other media - I like to feel like I’m escaping reality. Stories set in our world are hard for me to sit through comfortably. That automatically makes general slice-of-life and romance stories hard for me to get into, unless there’s a strong fantasy/supernatural/sci-fi element to them. That already puts a lot of webcomics out of my range. Because there are SO MANY high school slice of life romance drama webcomics out there. Some of which I know are very highly rated and probably great. They’re just not what my brain craves

Tuyetnhi

strangely enough anything with western high fantasy elements I usually don't read as much compared to romance or slice of life comics lmao

kinda in the same spot to what keii said: a lot of western themes get lost for me and I feel like I need to put my own spin on things if that make sense

Nutty (Court of Roses)

To be fair and honest... I don't really have comics I don't enjoy, or I guess fall too far outside my tastes? Out of the ones I've read, anyways! My reasoning is that I just don't have TIME to read too many comics out there, so when I decide for myself that yes, I'm going to sit down and commit myself to this comic, I look for and find things to enjoy about it, even if it's not normally my cup of tea. The story, the art, the style, the jokes... I try to keep an open mind and enjoy whatever I have the chance to get into, because as an artist I think about the person behind the comic and what kind of story they're trying to tell. I just... really like comics ahahah I wish I had more time to read more!!!!(edited)

FeatherNotes

I agree with @LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) on the 'set in our world ' bit! I find it difficult as well to immerse myself im stories that are in our world with exceptions of an alternate reality or large enough twist that would really differ from what the setting is. Slice of life doesn't really appeal to me, mainly because many comics don't have very stand out designs/personalities for characters that i would gravitate to. To be more specific to the question however, there are certainly quite a few amazing looking comics that don't really float my boat simply bc of style or execution of story or whatnot! Ive been reading one recently that hasn't really stuck to me or left any impact character/story wise, but.....im still reading it! so there def must be something!

Octoflamingo

There are a lot of comics I like but I find myself not reading them after I get to where they last update. I just rarely check in afterwards and usually by the time I do I’ve forgot the plot. I feel that every time I go back to a comic I have to read it all over again to get back to where I was. That can be really time consuming the longer the series is. I also try not to pick up long story oriented series if they aren’t finished because I know I’ll never get to the end of them.

Bear

I say this as a person in the LGBT+ community: I’ve become very tired of comics that centre around a person coming out. Which sucks because they’re super important! But I’ve lived the struggle, everyone close to me has lived the struggle. It’s tiring. What I want is genre stories where the characters are LGBT+, but that’s not necessarily the focus. Luckily in webcomics that’s easier to find. I still have to dig through coming out stories to find them though.

Deo101

Gotta say, super agree with that one Bear.

Eightfish

Same. I like stories where characters are just casually LGBT. Even to the point where they won't even mention that they're gay or lesbian and instead just show up in a gay relationship or naturally bring up their attraction to the same sex. Steven Universe does this really well, I think.

Oh and speaking of suggesting authors to sign up their comics, I think I could have a lot to say about @LadyLazuli (Phantomarine) 's Phantomarine (: Maybe in a few months when the comic gets a little more ahead in the plot?

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

@Eightfish I may submit it after this chapter is done around the beginning of February! I do wish I were further ahead, but there will still be plenty to say after this one wraps up. Thank you for the encouragement!

RebelVampire

If I'm just speaking in general, usually comedy and slice-of-life comics will fall into this category for me even if they're fantastic. I am very, very particular about comedy and slice-of-life. Especially comedy, as I'm usually very specific about the sort of stuff that actually makes me laugh and entertains me. So honestly, a lot of comedy in comics is just not my jam. In a more specific comic sense, Kamikaze to name just one of many: https://kamikazeanimated.com/comic/ The art in the comic is fantastic, the characters really fleshed out and interesting, and even some of the comedy I like. Objectively, I think this is a fantastic comic with a ton of effort put behind it and one everyone should give a chance. That being said, for me personally, I just can't get into the pacing. It's a bit too slow for me even if I think objectively it works fine. So while it's a comic I might enjoy in bulk reads, as a page-by-page thing I just can't do it.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

To be honest, I can’t really name any comics? I tend to like just about any comic that’s really well done. Obviously I have my preferred genres, but I simply don’t seek out comics that aren’t my thing. If I do read past the first few pages of an objectively well-made comic, chances are I’m going to stick around snd keep reading.

Eightfish

Maybe my own comic? Not that I think it's objectively great, but it is of course more completely to my own taste than any other comic out there. Yet if I try to read my own comic I can't glean any enjoyment out of it over the overwhelming feeling of hearing my own recorded voice played back to me. Anyone else?

keii4ii

That's an interesting answer! I can't say I feel 100% the same, but I can relate to perhaps a facet or two of it.

I don't really read my comic either, after all, even though it's an honest reflection of what I want to read.

Eightfish

Thing is I have another short comic from about 6 years ago that I am now far removed from enough to read objectively. And I notice things I think are well done that I didn't notice before and big flaws that I haven't considered 6 years ago. So I'm worried since I can't read my current comic objectively I don't know what I need to improve on

keii4ii

That's definitely a struggle for me as well. It's what constructive critiques are for, BUT it's not easy finding someone willing, able and well suited to critique your work.

I used to actively solicit concrit on my comic. While I appreciate that every critic spent their time and effort genuinely trying to be helpful, the actual critiques weren't always helpful. You have to be a good critic (it takes skills), and you have to be the right critic for that specific story.

🌈ERROR404 🌈

I totally agree on that keii, a lot of people see concrit as the solution for every issue, but that's just bound for trouble. There are a lot more bad and mediocre critiques than well stated and usable ones

keii4ii

Yeah. There's a reason why the services of a good editor are so highly valued!

Cronaj

I think the problem is that most people who offer critiques are trying to shape the story in a way that they themselves would enjoy more, and not necessarily an objective improvement to the existing story. Offering a critique that also preserves the essence and heart of a story is extremely difficult.(edited)

Eightfish

Also when critique is contradictory- " I love how your comic gets right into the interesting part" vs. " I was really confused by the intro " But I don't know what side I would be on if I was a reader because as the author I would never be confused by my own story.(edited)

keii4ii

Yeah, and even when you get two crits on the same "side" it's possible that it's just skewed data due to small sample size. Like, maybe both of the critics are simply not your target audience. I've found that it helps a LOT if you ask specific questions, instead of just asking for a concrit. Coming up with good questions can be very difficult, though! One I've asked in the past is "did you lose interest while reading the comic? If so, at what point(s)?" and I got helpful answers from that, even from people who weren't the target audience.

Kelsey (Kurio)

I admit, I’m not the best at critiquing, like trying to bring to mind things other than “art looks nice” or “I like that joke” or whatnot

Though I guess it gets easier the more I read and mull over something

🌈ERROR404 🌈

it's sometimes hard to find something good and worthwhile to critique LOL

Kelsey (Kurio)

And of course, how does one define “objective improvement” with works of art/media? Outside of things like improving grammar, but what about in cases where it’s like that on purpose? It’s real hard to be totally objective with criticism when you think about it, even when you try to be objective

keii4ii

This might be getting off topic for the channel, but I think it's better to think of it as "effective for the goals of this work" rather than "objective." If you do X in your work on purpose, but X is not appealing to your target demographic, that's not effective. You need to either not do X, or re-define your target demographic. (Not necessarily the only options in that situation, but you get the point.)

Cronaj

I definitely think that "effective" is a better word for what I meant. It's all about intent. For example, most people generally agree that art style should be consistent in a comic, BUT in some cases (especially in comedy) switching up the art style for a scene or a panel to emphasize a point or subvert expectations (thus making the scene potentially funnier) is a very "effective" inconsistency. Basically, if something is effective for telling the story or instilling a mood, the objective view basically becomes null.

DanitheCarutor

I can get into almost anything, there are very few stories I have trouble with, even if it's a genre I wouldn't normally like. Although there are a couple that I'm really picky with, and that's gag-a-day comics or general comedy. The only ones I can think I've actively read off the top of my head are Oglaf, Perry Bible Fellowship and more recently, Woman World. Other than those few the genres never catch my interest, I'm more for story/character driven comics, with plot and stuff like that. Sometimes a comic doesn't click regardless of genre, for example: Homestuck I tried sooo hard to read this one to see what the hype was about, but the farthest I've ever gotten was maybe 50 pages after several attempts, and that's not because it's bad! The comic just didn't click, and regardless of my taste I probably would recommend it to someone who likes those types of comics.

[gatetoglimmer]

So here’s my KH3 progress report, note that I’m a massive binge player so I go for 5 hours and then don’t touch the game for several days. I’m def probably over a week or two from beating the game.

A little annoyed with how backloaded it feels like a lot of the plot action is bound to be at the rate it’s going. I would assume that Arendelle would be the halfway point thereabout of the game but I feel like nothing truly significant has really happened that the audience wouldn’t already know. As far as I know....this isn’t like KH2 where you do each world over again so I’m a little at a loss here with that.

As far as the two princess worlds have gone I had very drastically different experiences with them. LOVED CORONA, beautiful world, felt sorta linear at times but I did like that the level didn’t feel like it was just Tangled But Sora is There Too which I was worried about when we basically got two scenes in the beginning that were just Tangled But Sora is There Too. Especially when in comparison, Arendelle was just Frozen with Sora making weird cameos. Nothing quite like stopping a level cold for Let it Go to happen but Sora and co are just...there...and then the awful audio mixing when Anna was filling Sora in with the backstory just...who thought it was a good idea to redo Do You Wanna Build a Snowman with vocals under Anna trying to speak????

The irony here is that I actually don’t particularly care for Tangled in comparison to Frozen so I was really set up here for my feelings to be the exact opposite. Also they made me hit Marshmallow and I am not pleased with this.

In terms of the other worlds, they’re fantastic, so far Toy Story has been def my favorite. It felt like it actually had a plot that felt convincing and not forced or awkward at all. I don’t know quite how they did it, maybe it was the whole introduction with Rex and the anime guys that did me in. I was stunned at that trailer???? Whatever it was fab. I hate Sora’s monster form it makes me anxious to look at and the Monsters Inc level felt really linear but it was all worth it to see Sulley yeet Vanitas through a door and that door through another door and that door through another door and then shred that door. It was...beautiful and it is what I deserve.

What I am not a fan of is, I just started the Pirates level and HOLY HELL SORA UR SO BEAUTIFUL??? But....it takes place during PoC 3 and we’re on like...5 in our world so it just feels really late?? But also it felt like almost a half hour of really dragging cutscenes between some okay gameplay. Good to see a level that remembers that Sora can swim, that’s kinda nice I guess. I hear BH6 is way better but this level has felt like a slog just to get there.

So far the minigames are always a joy. I actually am finally understanding (probably because I’m an adult now) how the Gummi Ships work and I really love the open exploration of the space between the worlds. I’m a sucker for the Winnie the Pooh level every time tho the second version of the minigame gave me s t r e s s like holy hay did Lumpy come in clutch. And of course, I. Would. DIE. For. Little. Chef. I WOULD DIE FOR HIM. I WILL COLLECT EVERY INGREDIENT, GET EVERY RECIPE UNLOCKED JUST FOR HIM BECAUSE HE DESERVES IT. Though you couldn’t pay me to play the stupid gummi phone games, couldn’t make me in Union X and you can’t make me now.

As a child that was unhealthily obsessed with Disney Parks and Hidden Mickeys and such, both the attraction attacks and the lucky emblem challenge has been a joy. I’m having so much fun and just seeing my dad’s reaction when I told him I took out a Titan from Hercules with a train from Big Thunder Mountain was...priceless.

This game is so damn smooth to play and I’m having a fantastic time just running around. Like it just feels intuitive and fun and simple to really make work for you. At first it was quite overwhelming but I adapted right back to it very naturally. I like the new Not Drive forms but I wish they were a little more colorful? Is that a dumb thing to ask for? They’re really pretty and I dig the colors for the Winnie the Pooh keyblade the most so far but I just wish each one stood out more from each other.

As for the plot...I can follow it just fine I will never understand why people get so weird about the plot but I can see how someone who hasn’t kept up on the games would be a little confused. But information is being sort of drip fed in a way that’s not too overwhelming, which I guess is annoying for me because it feels like a lot of retreading but it’s important to remember that I’m not the only kind of person playing this game and being mindful of that has been helpful. My friend who I’ve been playing the game with a lot only played the first game and she’s kinda kept me in check about that feeling. So it’s good for now. I just hope that we get more plot picking up soon. For all the gummi phones connected all of the characters, they feel like they almost slow the action down in a way because most of the cutscenes are just people face timing each other? Which I think is part of the issue.

Also why is Merlin at the bistro isn’t he supposed to be training Axel and Kairi (who I ship now because tbh they’ve actually...had sweet conversations and they’ve probably gotten the most opportunities to grow and show their personalities with each other, especially Kairi.) Childhood best friends is cool and all but Kairi as a character has always felt secondary to Sora and Riku and having someone who is there to actually be a character with her is nice to watch.

That got real long whoops. I’m also playing on beginner because I like to get to experience the plot first and then go for the cool shit second. Though I’m going for the secret ending which means after BH6 I basically have to halt progression cold to go get ALL of the Lucky Emblems....wish me luck??

[hakureiillusion]

Magician Girls and You: A Yu-Gi-Oh! Archetype Primer and the History of the Dark Magician Girl

This ended up being far longer than I expected! I’ll put a break here, but feel free to keep reading where I discuss the origin and troubles of Yu-Gi-Oh!’s Dark Magician Girl (one of my personal favorite cards) and her recent rise, culminating in ideas for a pair of decks that will bring out her recent potential.

History of the Dark Magician Girl

Flash back to the turn of the century. Yu-Gi-Oh! has taken Japan and the US by storm, a multi-media project by Konami encompassing a TV anime, movies, CDs, manga, and of course, the card game itself.

Our main characters at the time were a boy named Yugi Muto and his ancient Egyptian alter-ego Yami. Their ace card: the iconic Dark Magician. Those who played the card game would likely recognize Dark Magician as being... well, largely underwhelming. Even before the game’s massive power creep. Dark Magician was a two-tribute 2500 ATK monster, outclassed by both Seto Kaiba’s Blue-Eyes White Dragon (a 3000 ATK monster for the same cost, also the “rival” character and monster) and Yugi’s own Summoned Skull (matching Dark Magician’s 2500 ATK but only requiring one tribute).

Despite this, most kids loved Dark Magician, even if largely for sentimental and iconic value. Dark Magician was always there whenever Yugi or Yami needed him, always coming out on top somehow despite the odds being stacked against him. Later seasons would expand on the duo’s relationship with their favorite card even more by revealing the card’s inspiration to be one of Yami’s retainers from when he ruled Egypt as its Pharaoh.

With Dark Magician’s popularity, Konami naturally began to capitalize by creating more cards built to support the iconic monster. Among the first was a female counterpart, aptly named Dark Magician Girl.

Dark Magician Girl made her debut in the year 2000, a particularly rare card that did not get released worldwide or with any saturation until years later. Her popularity spiked when she made her anime debut in episode 26, where Yami uses her to defeat another Dark Magician user named Arkana. And that was the day the world fell in love.

There were many reasons for Dark Magician Girl’s rather immediate popularity. For starters, having a card that supported the iconic Dark Magician gave her a leg up already. Second, her design is... well, it’s adorable, to be frank. Rather cutesy, but also quite cool in her own right, in sort of a girl-power way. Combine this with an audience of adolescents and prepubescents, and you have a recipe for many a future weeb’s first waifu.

Though despite the popularity and love she received, Dark Magician Girl would once again prove to be an underwhelming card. Along with her consistent popularity both in the anime and along other adaptations, she quickly went the way of Dark Magician; iconic and beloved, but borderline useless and only used in decks by people who really wanted to use her. And even when Dark Magician did get some eventual support to bring him up to a more viable status, Dark Magician Girl was left in the dust, now outclassed in every way.

Now fast-forward to the present, and Dark Magician Girl has finally gotten the support to match her popularity. More Dark Magician support cards have been made with her in mind, giving her some extra options, but her time to shine was finally reached with the release of the most recent movie, The Dark Side of Dimensions. This set introduced--among other things that help her--five new “Magician Girl” cards, not only to support Dark Magician Girl but also to establish her as the leader of a new archetype of cards. This has also made her quite unique in that she fits into both the “Dark Magician” and “Magician Girl” card archetypes, allowing her to benefit from cards that support both. Not only can she now stand alongside Dark Magician in a deck built around him, but she can even surpass him and run the show with her new Magician Girls behind her.

And now that I’ve thoroughly gone over Dark Magician Girl’s long-winded history, that’s what the rest of this little piece will be about: a pair of decks that capitalize on the new synergy between Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, or just Dark Magician Girl herself. And whichever way you prefer, with the new Magician Girls backing them up, they are more dangerous than ever before.

About the Magician Girls

Including Dark, there are six Magician Girl cards; each are Spellcaster-type effect monsters from levels 1 through 6, together spanning across all 6 main attributes. Though their ATK and DEF may rise as their levels do, each are unique and bring their own irreplaceable support to each other. Before we go into deck ideas, let’s look at each of them in general.

Berry Magician Girl Level 1 EARTH Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF - 400/400 Effect:  “If this card is Normal Summoned: You can add 1 "Magician Girl" monster from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn, during either player's turn, when your opponent activates a card or effect that targets this card, or targets this card for an attack: You can change this card's battle position, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Magician Girl" monster from your Deck, except "Berry Magician Girl".”

Berry, while the weakest of the six, brings a very unique and vital ability with her. While four of the six Magician Girls have the ability to search out and/or summon more monsters to help them, Berry is the only one who requires no sort of cost or action for one of her abilities that do so. Her first allows you to add a Magician Girl to your hand just by normal summoning her, while her second--in addition to protecting her by changing her to defense position when attacked--will allow you to Special Summon another Magician Girl from your deck.

If Berry can be protected by other cards until the next turn, every turn is an opportunity to Special Summon another Magician Girl. However, this is rarely worth it; her job is to stack your hand with fuel for Lemon and Apple’s abilities, and replace herself with something better before her inevitable (and likely quick) destruction. If she survives a turn, she can be useful tribute fodder for Kiwi or Dark, but aside from that you shouldn’t fret over losing her.

Lemon Magician Girl Level 2 LIGHT Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF: 800/600 Effect: “Once per turn: You can Tribute 1 "Magician Girl" monster, except "Lemon Magician Girl"; add 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your Deck to your hand. Once per turn, if this card is targeted for an attack: You can Special Summon 1 Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand, but its effects (if any) are negated, then change the attack target to it, and if you do, the attacking monster's ATK becomes half its current ATK.”

Lemon’s main ability will become quite familiar to you very quickly; half of the Magician Girls have variants of it. While Berry protects herself by switching herself to defense position, Lemon does so by both weakening its aggressor (cutting their ATK in half, permanently until they leave the field) and plopping a meat shield in front of herself, which the attacker is then forced to target. She can Special Summon any Spellcaster that doesn’t have unique summoning conditions in this way, giving you great freedom in exchange for the summoned monster losing their effects until they leave the field. While powerful, this needs to be used with caution, as a lost effect can make the summoned monster lose much of its value.

Her second effect likely won’t be used much, as it’s not particularly prudent to lose any of your other Magician Girls on the field just to stack your hand, but it plays well into her own ability. Berry can be tributed once her purpose is served, for instance, to grab a stronger or more vital Spellcaster into your hand and ready for Lemon’s next effect. Just be careful not to use Lemon to summon them if you need their ability.

Lemon synergizes well with the main “muscle” of the Magician Girl deck, namely Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician of Chaos. Neither of their abilities are particularly vital, and after the ATK-reducing effects they can take down monsters with base ATKs of 4000 and 5600 respectively. For decks that also run Dark Magician himself, he has no ability to lose from being summoned by Lemon, making him a prime choice as well.

There is some debate as to whether or not Lemon’s effect-negating extends to the effect of Dark Magician of Chaos that states to banish him when he leaves the field. While people are assuming that it does not, other rulings for similar situations (such as Archlord Kristya and Skill Drain) do suggest so, as well as the exact wording of his effect... Konami will likely need to issue an official ruling on this soon, but until then, figure it out with your friends.

Apple Magician Girl Level 3 FIRE Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF: 1200/800 Effect: “Once per turn, if this card is targeted for an attack: You can Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower Spellcaster-Type monster from your hand, then change the attack target to it, and if you do, the attacking monster's ATK becomes half its current ATK. If this card is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target up to 3 other "Magician Girl" monsters with different names in your Graveyard; add them to your hand.”

Just like Lemon, Apple’s main claim to fame is her ability to simultaneously weaken anything that attacks her while pulling monsters from your hand to protect her. Compared to Lemon, this ability is slightly more limited, requiring the monster to be level 5 or lower, but doesn’t carry Lemon’s effect-negating drawback. On the plus side, all of the new Magician Girls ARE level 5 or lower Spellcasters.

With the effects of monsters summoned by Apple perfectly usable, this means that you can effectively “chain” Apples. Have one summon another, who in turn summons the next (or Lemon, or Chocolate), cutting your enemy’s ATK further each time. Nearly anything that can be bested in battle WILL fall to this.

Apple’s second effect will be your saving grace. When her effect falls short and she ultimately kicks the bucket, she allows you to take three different Magician Girls back from your graveyard. This allows you to recycle the ones that tend to end up there most (Berry, Kiwi, and Dark, in my experience), and makes her a fantastic mid-to-late game trump card.

Chocolate Magician Girl Level 4 WATER Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF: 1600/1000 Effect: “Once per turn: You can discard 1 Spellcaster-Type monster; draw 1 card. Once per turn, if this card is targeted for an attack: You can target 1 Spellcaster-Type monster in your Graveyard, except "Chocolate Magician Girl"; Special Summon it, then change the attack target to it, and if you do, the attacking monster's ATK becomes half its current ATK.”

While Dark may be the face of the Magician Girls, and Kiwi the biggest of the new five, Chocolate is the star player by far. Her respectable 1600 ATK makes her decent muscle, especially if she comes in on a half-ATK enemy.

Obviously though, her worth lies in her abilities. Just one look at them should tell you what you need to know; summon her, dump a Spellcaster to draw a card, summon that Spellcaster next turn to protect her. Easy, and frighteningly effective. Dump your strongest Spellcasters and bring them back, or use her to give Apple another go after Apple fetches Magician Girls from your Graveyard.

She’s as simple as she is powerful, and you’ll find yourself giddy with excitement every time you draw her or add her to your hand, as she is usually the initiator of the most devastating combos a Magician Girl deck can pull off.

Kiwi Magician Girl Level 5 WIND Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF: 1800/1200 Effect: “During either player's turn: You can discard this card; "Magician Girl" monsters you currently control gain 300 ATK and DEF for each "Magician Girl" monster with different names on the field and in the Graveyards, until the end of this turn. Spellcaster-Type monsters you control cannot be destroyed by card effects, and your opponent cannot target them with card effects.”

And finally, here’s Kiwi. She’s the most different one out of the new five, being the only one who doesn’t Special Summon another monster, as well as the only one higher than level 4 (and therefore the only one requiring a tribute to Normal Summon). In return, she gets two very unique and VERY helpful effects. I referred to Apple as a trump card earlier; and while that may be true in many situations, Kiwi is your REAL trump card.

Kiwi’s most basic effect is that she completely stops card effects from destroying your Spellcasters (including herself), and stops your opponent (but not you) from targeting them. This shuts down most ways for your opponent to deal with your monsters short of attacking them; which, if you’ve been paying attention, is exactly what you WANT your opponent to do so that you can activate the effects of the other four.

Mirror Force? Laugh in its face. Raigeki? Useless. Your own Dark Hole? Wipe your opponent’s side of the field, but not yours. The applications of Kiwi’s protective effect are endless, and crafty players know just how to summon her at the perfect time to avoid a board wipe. To properly counter this your opponent needs to use effect-negating or hand-returning effects that don’t target, and then has to deal with your setup afterwards to ensure you don’t just get Kiwi right back up and running.

Kiwi’s other effect, while not as all-encompassing, is equally fantastic. By discarding her from your hand, she gives every Magician Girl you control an extra 300 ATK and DEF for each uniquely-named Magician Girl on the field and in both graveyards. At best, that’s a solid 1800 ATK and DEF (if you have all six Magician Girls available). Combine this with the other Magician Girls’ effects that halve enemy attack and redirect attacks, and you have ways to beat high-ATK enemies in battle while also dealing some rather substantial reflect damage. This ability can be activated during damage calculation as well, allowing you to time it perfectly.

For all her utility, Kiwi is still somewhat on the weak side; 1800 ATK isn’t great, especially for a monster that needs a tribute, plus she’s the only one of the new five that can’t Special Summon others to help her, so she could use some protection from enemy monsters. Do that, though, and you’ll find her to be an invaluable support.

Incidentally, Kiwi is the only Magician Girl not to get censored in any way. Apple, Lemon, Chocolate, and Dark each have had their art edited to cover and/or remove parts of their cleavage and/or thighs, Berry and Dark have had the stars on their brooches replaced with simple red gems to avoid any relation to a pentagram, and Apple and Chocolate have had the garter straps on their legs removed. Kiwi got away scot-free, somehow.

Dark Magician Girl Level 6 DARK Monster - Spellcaster/Effect ATK/DEF: 2000/1700 Effect: “This card gains 300 ATK for every "Dark Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" in either player's Graveyard.”

The original Magician Girl herself. Once a lone counterpart to Dark Magician, she now stands at the crossroads between the Magician Girl and Dark Magician archetypes, a huge threat in conjunction with either.

Dark hasn’t changed at all since her inception; if anything, her effect is even less useful than it used to be. She gets an extra 300 ATK for each Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in each graveyard, and while before this meant it took two dead Dark Magicians for her to pull more weight, over time Dark Magician support made him more useful than even the most powerful Dark Magician Girl.

But that time is over. Dark doesn’t even NEED her effect anymore, not with the other Magician Girls backing her up. Her small 300 ATK boosts are just icing on the cake, giving you a small leg up for each Dark Magician you lose.

Dark’s new claim to fame is having the highest ATK of all the Magician Girls. 2000 isn’t fantastic, but considering that half of the time she’ll be coming in on a monster whose ATK just got halved, it’s plenty. And Lemon’s drawback of negating the effects of monsters she summons is hardly a worry when it comes to Dark, who often isn’t relying on (or even using) her effect to begin with.

A slew of new cards (and a few older ones) have also given Dark plenty of support, to make her even more deadly on the field. She’s the biggest of the Magician Girls, and while not strictly the baddest, she packs the heaviest punch. And that’s really all she needs to do; leave the trickery and strategy to the other five, and plop Dark down on the field when something needs to die.

Now that we’ve introduced the six Magician Girls, let’s go over two vague deck outlines to put them to work. When I mention quantities, those are cards that you’ll definitely need; when I don’t, you can probably live without them, but they may be quite helpful.

Deck #1: Magician Girl

This deck will eschew the standard Dark Magician entirely, focusing around the six Magician Girls. The main point of this deck is to cut down on fluff, keeping it at a trim 40 cards that all synergize well. Primarily a gimmick deck; we all know you just want to use a deck full of cute girls. But it still works well if you play it right!

Main Monsters Surprisingly, you’ll find ONE male here! There are only seven different main monsters in this recipe, so if you have three of each you’ll have 21 total. A pretty good number for a 40-card deck.

Berry Magician Girl You’ll want three of her, for sure. She can search out just about everything in this deck, keeping your hand and field ready for whatever may come.

Lemon Magician Girl Three isn’t a bad idea, but you can live with two. Lemon synergizes well with both Dark and Dark Magician of Chaos, as they are the strongest monsters in this deck and their effects aren’t vital.

Apple Magician Girl Like Lemon, three is preferable but not required. Three gives you the ability to chain their effects nicely, but two is all you need to properly have them recycle each other as they die.

Chocolate Magician Girl You want three copies of Chocolate, hands-down. Like Lemon she synergizes well with Dark and Dark Magician of Chaos, discarding them to draw a card and then summoning them back when she gets attacked, effects intact.

Kiwi Magician Girl Again, three is the best, and HIGHLY recommended as she is the only one whose different effects require her to be in different places. If you want to run two you can, but you tend to always want to have an extra in your hand.

Dark Magician Girl You need three Darks. You will be searching them out frequently with Berry and Lemon, and those three will be out of your deck very quickly. If you could have four in a deck, I’d tell you to put four.

Dark Magician of Chaos In a pure Magician Girl deck, this is the only monster who will fall outside that archetype. Dark Magician of Chaos can be summoned by Lemon and Chocolate, and his 2800 ATK will make mincemeat of anything that had its ATK halved by their effects. Even things that didn’t will have trouble matching him. While Dark is more versatile for fetching and summoning, Dark Magician of Chaos is the real muscle in the deck and a fantastic choice when you can get him out. Three of him. Period.

Extra Monsters For the Extra Deck. You can’t possibly fill this up with viable monsters that can be summoned, so if you want to toss in a few extra level 1-5 Xyz monsters, go nuts. Just make sure they’re Spellcasters.

Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight The only non-Spellcaster this deck will run. She doesn’t get protection from Kiwi, but since she technically IS a Magician Girl, she does benefit from Kiwi’s boosting effect. Plus her own effect is nothing to scoff at, nor is her 2600 ATK.

Magi Magi Magician Gal As of yet unreleased in English, and it’s difficult to get her out since she needs two of a type of card you only have three of, but her utility is great and you have plenty of room in your Extra Deck to fit her.

Ebon Illusion Magician Like the Magician Gal, Ebon Illusion Magician is going to be hard to get out. You technically don’t have any level 7 Spellcasters to summon him with, but he can also be summoned by a rank 6 Xyz Spellcaster... namely, Magi Magi Magician Gal. Again, he probably won’t come up, but your Extra Deck is just that; extra. Having him in it can only help.

Spells Ironically for a Spellcaster-focused deck, you won’t find many necessary spells here. But there are obviously some you need.

The Eye of Timaeus This is how you get Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight out on the field. It’s cheap and effective, plain and simple. Not worth having more than one or two copies of.

Magical Dimension While there are plenty of great ways to use this card, you should keep one as a bit of insurance; if your opponent tries to wipe your board with a card effect, use it to summon Kiwi from your hand and protect them. Or summon Dark Magician of Chaos with it and use his effect to recycle it! I tend to run two of these in my deck, though three can be useful too.

Secret Village of the Spellcasters Situational use for when your opponent doesn’t have any Spellcaster-type monsters, maybe better as a side-deck card but can find use for discard effects in the main deck as well. This card synergizes FANTASTICALLY with Kiwi, making her (and therefore your other Spellcasters) even harder to remove than before.

Mystical Space Typhoon A classic. Raigeki Another classic.

Dark Hole Yet another classic, but now with Kiwi you don’t have to worry about wiping your side of the board as well.

Dark Burning Attack Budget Raigeki. Not as good, but totally unlimited.

Swords of Revealing Light Honestly sometimes goes against the theme of the deck (you WANT your Magician Girls to get attacked), but buying a few turns when things aren’t going your way is always a plus. Also useful for flipping your opponent’s monsters to nail with Dark Burning Attack.

Bound Wand This is how you keep Kiwi alive; the extra 500 ATK and ability to summon her back after her death will make her an absolute terror.

Traps According to my recent Google Image searches, Dark Magician Girl can be a trap too...

Magicians’ Defense Damage reduction and Special Summoning; everything you could ever want.

Dark Renewal Trade in one of your Spellcasters (and your opponent’s freshly-summoned monster) to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl or Dark Magician of Chaos from your deck or graveyard.

Torrential Tribute Again, Kiwi will save your own Spellcasters from this.

Magician’s Circle All six Magician Girls can be searched and summoned with this.

Magic Cylinder Another classic, for when you want to give Berry a chance to take a second hit or to protect Kiwi.

Call of the Haunted Kiwi’s effect stops the monster tied to this card from being destroyed by its effect. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Kiwi is amazing.

Shift Opponent isn’t attacking the Magician Girl you want them to? Make them!

Battle Mania The best way to deal with a Magician Girl deck is to not attack. Unless Battle Mania happens.

Deck #2: Dark Magician Duo

This deck will use the Magician Girl deck as a base, trimming some of the fat to add Dark Magician and his support cards. This deck has stronger monsters and tends to not worry too much about waiting for your opponent to attack, though to keep enough copies of proper cards your deck might start to slip further and further away from that 40 count.

Main Monsters Now featuring even more Y chromosomes than before!

Dark Magician Obviously. As a normal monster he’s a prime candidate for Lemon’s effect, and even Chocolate can make great use of him. You’ll want three of him, two minimum.

Palladium Oracle Mahad Arguably just as useful as the Dark Magician himself, better on his own but without the support Dark Magician gets. But when he dies, you get a Dark Magician anyway. Fit as many of him as you reasonably can in the deck.

Magician’s Robe Basically a free Dark Magician if you can pull off its effect.

Extra Monsters A few more possibilities open up once Dark Magician and Mahad are in the deck. You still have plenty of space, fitting at least two of each.

Dark Paladin The classic dragon-slayer, and with The Eye of Timaeus you don’t need Buster Blader to bring him out.

Amulet Dragon Can be useful if your opponent runs a spell-heavy deck. Keep in mind that Kiwi does not protect him.

Ebon High Magician An Xyz monster that can be summoned with the help of Dark Magician or Mahad. When he dies you can then pull Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl to replace him.

Spells Wait for the best card ever...

Dark Burning Magic The best card ever. Between all the Magician Girls and Magician’s Robe, it’s painfully easy to plop down a Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl during your opponent’s turn and the wipe their field during the battle phase.

Sage’s Stone Here’s a Dark Magician Girl, and here’s a Dark Magician. A tried and true card, though not as useful as it used to be now that there are more ways to get Dark Magician out. But with the ease with which this deck can get out Dark Magician Girl, you can’t ignore it.

Dark Magic Attack If you can’t pull off Dark Burning Magic, this is good too.

Dedication Through Light and Darkness Generally there are better ways to find a Dark Magician of Chaos, but if you need one NOW...

Dark Magical Circle This card is expensive for a reason. It makes your Dark Magician into an annihilator while also helping you make the most out of your deck.

Traps Dark Magician traps, not nearly as cute.

Magician Navigation Like Dark Magical Circle, this card is expensive because of how good it is. Pull a Dark Magician, and then either another one or a Dark Magician Girl. Then later use it to kill trap cards. It does everything.

Other Options

Monsters Magician’s Valkyria Normally shunned due to how difficult it is to pull off her combo, the Magician Girls have given her one last shot at relevance by making them easier to get out. In particular, combining two of them with Kiwi can effectively lock out your opponent; Secret Village of the Spellcasters makes them even harder to break through.

Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning Magician Girl decks aren’t as flush with Dark and Light monsters as standard Dark Magician or Spellcaster decks would be, but he’ll still have plenty of fuel for summoning and is always useful. Again, keep in mind that he is NOT a Spellcaster.

Magician of Black Chaos Usually not worth running, but he can be useful, even if just to feed Dark Magician Girl.

Spells Dark Magic Veil Only three monsters in this deck can be summoned by it, but they’re all things you want out.

Magic Formula Bolsters Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl’s ATK and gives you a bit of LP back, but generally not worth the space in the deck.

Traps Eternal Soul Good support for Dark Magician, but you need Kiwi to avoid getting wiped if it gets destroyed. Probably not worth it unless you build around it.

Dark Horizon Situational but can save you when nothing else may.

And there you have it. She’s had a long and bumpy ride, but Dark Magician Girl is finally where she deserves to be: not just in the hearts of people everywhere, but their decks as well.