#dreamworks can't hurt me if i hurt me first!!!

[shannonallaround]

After pondering on it for several days, I have officially decided I did not like the direction of KFP4 and have banished it from my brain. It is no longer canon. KFP4? What's that? Don't know what you're talking about.

[dulltoned]

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three

Branch storms into Poppy's pod and immediately slams their drinks down onto the nearest table. During the walk over from the market the anxiety and dread had ample time to morph into a familiar anger. Poppy hurries in after him, her face twisted with concern that only succeeds in fueling his growing rage. "How could I have been so stupid?" He seethes, turning away from Poppy and raking his hands through his hair. He felt like an idiot being so upset over something he'd already figured was inevitable. What right did he have to feel betrayed? They'd made their plans clear and what? Did he really expect that a stupid little song and dance would be enough to change that? He scoffs and digs the heels of his palms into his eyes in a poor attempt to stave off the tears beginning to pool.

"Hey, hey," Poppy soothes, scampering over and wrapping her hands gently around his wrists. "You're not stupid, Branch," She insists firmly as she carefully pries his hands from his face. She ducks down to catch his eye, refusing to let him look away, and it draws a pitiful little laugh from him. She smiles but it falls just as quickly, "What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's fine. I'm just overreacting." Branch dismisses easily, tugging his arms away and turning away from her again. The anger is already sizzling out in his chest, a firework that's already fading away leaving nothing but a smoky imprint in its wake. He wishes he could hold onto it. He knows this anger like a childhood friend and it doesn't hollow him out and leave him hurting the same way the anxiety and grief do.

Poppy circles around him back into his line of sight with a crease between her eyebrows that speaks to her worry and mounting frustration. "You can talk to me, remember?" She holds out her hand this time, palm up. It's an invitation she's urging him to take and he can't find it in himself to deny her. He slots his hand easily into hers and it's like they're made to hold each other. She's right here in front of him trying to get him to open up and yet somehow he can't shake the feeling that he's all on his own. Her face softens and the crease between her brows evens out, it's one less weight on his shoulders. "Come on, Branch. I'm here for you."

Branch sighs, clutching her hand tightly as a small bit of the fight physically bleeds out of him. "I know," he murmurs, "I do. It's just still new." He wants to try. The few times he's been able to let himself be vulnerable with Poppy have made him more at ease than he ever thought possible but when the opportunity arises he always feels more like a cornered animal. There's something raw and terrifying about talking to people about himself and even though Poppy's proven herself time and time again it's still one of the most difficult things to do.

"That's okay," Poppy assures easily, her mood lifting as it becomes clear to her that Branch isn't pushing her away again. A supportive smile spreads across her face as she tugs him toward the pink couch in the center of the room. "It's okay to struggle, as long as you know that you can talk to me about things if you need to." She sits down on the couch and nods for him to settle down beside her. Branch doesn't even give it a second thought before he lowers himself down onto the fluffy cushions, sitting so close that their knees touch. It makes his skin itch at first but it calms into a soothing warmth that he very nearly presses into. Poppy visibly hesitates and he squeezes her hand in silent reassurance. "It feels like you really need to talk about this." She says with a sad smile.

Branch hums, his free hand fidgeting with the hem of his vest. He does, admittedly, need to talk about it but the idea makes his stomach churn. Some things are easier to talk about than others but the permanent chill of loneliness burrowed into his bones isn't really a topic he likes to bring up. Thinking about it only makes it more pronounced and he's so used to having no one to talk to that it's easiest to just let it go unacknowledged. It seems like his brothers storming back into his life only to flee just as quickly has reopened old scars. It doesn't feel as simple as pushing it down and letting it fester when Poppy is right there looking at him imploringly with her kind eyes.

"I guess," Branch starts and pauses, closing his eyes with a frustrated sigh. He needs to brace himself. It feels like he's stripping himself of his defenses and it makes him want to snap and run off before he can reveal his wounds. He carefully extracts himself from Poppy, pulling his hand back and scooting a few inches away in one easy motion. She makes a soft noise of protest but doesn't say a word and he's grateful for that. His skin is buzzing with something too akin to fear and her touch had started to burn. Branch sucks in a long, steady breath and exhales slowly, "I guess I was just really hoping they'd stay." He finally admits with a self-deprecating chuckle, opening his eyes to stare at Poppy's little yellow coffee table. Everything in her pod is so bright and cheerful just like her and it makes him feel so pitifully out of place. He doesn't look up at her, a part of him that's small and young and lost is so terrified of what story her expression will tell, "I know that's kind of stupid. I mean, they literally told me to my face that once Floyd was alright they'd all go back to their lives. And they should! Right? They have their own lives that they've built and it'd be completely ridiculous to think that they'd throw that away." Especially not for me. 

Branch can easily imagine the pitying expression that must be on Poppy's face. It wouldn't be the first time she's worn it when looking at him. She used to look at him like that when he was gray and she couldn't comprehend that he didn't enjoy parties. He always despised when she looked at him like that and he doesn't know what it'd do to him if he saw it now. He hunches over, resting his paws in his lap and tugging anxiously at his fingers. "I don't know what I expected, I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop all week. I guess I just-- I wasn't ready for them to make plans to keep talking after everything. I figured that none of us would ever talk again not that… not that they just wouldn't talk to me." Branch doesn't know why he expected them to care. They never have before. Maybe Poppy's optimism has rubbed off on him and now it's coming back to haunt him.

Branch resists the urge to curl up on the couch. He doesn't need to paint an even more pathetic picture for Poppy but the desire to make himself small and hide away is unfurling in his chest begging him to flee. A pink paw creeps into his line of sight, very intentionally making itself noticeable while raising to softly cup his chin and tilt his face up. Poppy's face isn't painted with pity or disgust but instead with compassion and sorrow. It steals Branch's breath away.

"Now you listen to me," Poppy shifts to face him, reaching out her other hand to rest warmly on top of his fidgeting fingers. "You are a brilliant, kind, and incredibly talented troll. I don't know what's going on with your brothers," She admits apologetically, offering a bittersweet smile while she moves her hand up to his cheek and brushes her thumb lovingly along his cheekbone. "But no matter what they'd be the ones missing out if they didn't come back to visit you. They'd lose one of the most loyal, dedicated, and intelligent trolls I have ever met and if they can't see that then, well, then you're better off without them, okay?"

Branch can't help but look at her like she's just made the stars just for him. He presses his face into her paw and sighs, allowing the anxiety to fade as he exhales. "Thank you," He murmurs, untangling his hands from under hers so he can circle his fingers around her wrist. His fingers tighten as he tries to blink away the next flood of tears. His breath hitches and he fights fruitlessly against the wave of emotions demanding to be acknowledged. "I wish I was worth sticking around for." He confesses softly, it's broken and vulnerable and makes his heart pound frantically against his ribs.

"You are," Poppy insists urgently, bringing up her other paw to cup his face in her hands. She tilts his head up until he makes eye contact and he's startled by the fierceness that's bloomed on her face. "You are. I will always be here for you, Branchifer, do you understand me? I'll follow you anywhere." She leans forward and presses a loving kiss to the tip of his nose, pressing their foreheads together firmly. He's very aware of every place her skin touches his. There's a thrum of fire beneath every point of contact but for once his skin doesn't itch in protest. Her warmth chases away the icy fear and loneliness curled around his veins and instead fills him to the brim with a love and contentment he doesn't think he's ever felt before.

Branch half-laughs, half-sobs and nuzzles Poppy's cheek, "You already have," he reminds her around the growing lump in his throat.

Poppy giggles and presses another kiss to his eye, silently thanking him for this moment of vulnerability. It's a small, easily overlooked gesture but to Branch it speaks volumes. It says It's okay and I'm here and I love you and it only stokes the fire she's planted in him. "I learned from the best." She grins, using her thumbs to wipe away the tears smeared beneath his eyes.

Branch shuffles closer and leans hesitantly into Poppy's side, letting out an amused hum when her arms immediately shift to wrap him up in her embrace. He leans his head against her shoulder, still feeling exposed and raw but loved regardless, and murmurs "I love you."

Poppy tenses minutely beneath him but immediately melts, arms squeezing him a bit tighter and she curls as tightly around him as she can, "I love you too." She promises into his hair. They don't say it too often but the sentiment always rings true. His turmoil has done a great job of draining all of his energy and he grumbles bitterly about the familiar exhaustion while Poppy giggles fondly. He feels happy despite everything, cradled against Poppy's chest like he's something precious, and despite the remnants of dread and sorrow sitting heavy in his gut he knows that she'll be there to help him back up again. She always is.

[marysunshine23]

The "Tumblr Sexyman" Formula - It's Not What You Think

I know it sounds click-baity but hear me out.

Noun Tumblr sexyman (plural Tumblr sexymen) (fandom slang) A male fictional character (often conventionally unattractive or non-human) with a particularly devoted fanbase on Tumblr.

So, what makes a Tumblr sexyman? Is it the suit? Is it the height? Is it the face?

Nope.

TL;DR - It's confidence and sass.

Some people might be confused. Think of any tumblr sexyman and why you might like him. And you don't have to think about it very hard. So I'm gonna break down the ones I know/know enough about.

The Onceler

Ah, yes, the one who started it all; The Onceler. With his boyish face, his hipster fashion, his guitar, and his thirst for fame, he was an unintentionally sexy guy. Dreamworks did not plan this. At all. So what about this gangly, clumsy, people-pleasing, one-hit-wonder of a man child is attractive? Well, first and foremost, he makes it clear that he is confident that he has a good idea and that it can be accomplished. He has a plan, he knows how to execute it, he just needs some attention. And when people give him flack for this "stupid idea", he rolls his eyes and makes a snide remark. He's not afraid to tell people where to shove it (except his family, but that's an abusive relationship for you.)

It just so happens that he's got a boyish face and a nice sense of style. But what makes him attractive is his confidence and sass. Next!

Bill Cipher

Now how can a literal animate symbol of the illuminaty be sexy? Well, he's basically a God, so of course he's confident that if the stars align in his favor, he can do whatever the fuck he wants. And when he's underestimated, he's got loads of backhanded compliments and off-handed remarks to make people feel dumb. Confidence and sass.

Sans

Now we have the man, or rather skeleton, that broke the suit rule; Sans. Talk to this guy for more than five minutes and you see he basically lives and breathes sass. And whenever you start getting violent, he makes sure you know that he is a threat. He doesn't even have to do much to show that despite only having 1 HP, you do not want to cross this little skelly-man. Between the jokes and passive-aggressive warnings to deter you from hurting Papyrus, there's no doubt that Sans is full of sass and confidence.

Komaeda Nagito

Komaeda Nagito; love him or hate him, he's almost the poster child of tumblr sexymen. His sass and confidence are so apparent that it becomes annoying despite the confidence not necessarily being within himself. His confidence in his luck and hope drive him to be the most loved, hated, and feared character in the Danganronpa series. His sass often comes in the form of backhanded comments that he "doesn't realize" aren't compliments. Not to mention the fact that despite his attitude and self-deprecating talk, everyone knows he's a threat. Sass and confidence in it's most unusual form.

Alastor

Alastor, one of the revivals of the suit and tie schtick. There's no question of his confidence; when one is an overlord, you can't help but exude it. Not to mention the fact that he doesn't even attempt to be subtle about his sass like some of the other men in this post. If he thinks something is stupid, he'll tell you in the most eloquent and flavorful way he can; all while avoiding profanities. There's no doubt that he is basically a copy-paste example of the traditional sassy and confident sexyman.

Angel Dust

I know my previous example was from Hazbin but there's a reason that Angel Dust is here. Angel is an example of a sexyman who leans into a femboy. Angel is known for wearing the stereotypical suit top in a way that makes him appear to have breasts. He forgoes the suit pants for a mini-skirt and sexyboots, and often wears drag. He's sexy and he knows it. He's the gay friend girls wish they could date, he's the gay friend that will tell that creep at the bar to fuck off and leave you alone, and he's 100% the gay friend you make out with when you're drunk. Angel Dust isn't just a tumblr sexyman, he's what women love about gay men. And that comes with a boat load of sass and confidence.

Jax

The latest entry into the tumblr sexyman gallery, Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus. Next to Nagito and Bill, Jax might be one of the meaner sexymen. He not only cares what others think, he doesn't care much about other people's emotional or physical well-being; and he's vocal about it through snide remarks and backhanded compliments. He is who he is and that isn't about to change. And he brings in that tall and skinny stereotype. Though it might become a stereotype that Michael Kovach needs to voice them as well; because like Angel Dust, Michael sells that confidence and sass.

Conclusion

Tumblr Sexymen aren't necessarily sexy for their appearance, the definition even states that very often they're not conventionally attractive. What we're attracted to is someone who is confident enough to tell people off and sassy enough to do it in a way that is funny. Humans find confidence attractive, and we often will overlook appearance if someone is funny enough. Sass is playful, and it makes us feel at ease. These sexymen are confident enough to develop power, but playful enough to not feel like an immediate threat. None of the tumblr sexymen are the type of guy you'd run into on the street; some of them are charismatic, some of them are kinda dorky, but all of them are people you'd want on your side during a fight. If they care about you, they'll stand up for you and be able to knock down the opponent a couple pegs.

[kismetconstellations]

Shiro & Quinn Fabray

You've got it!

Shiro

-Everyone but me is wrong about them. To an extent. Every person I've directly interacted with on Tumblr has an excellent read on his character. But, Lord Almighty, are there too many people who see "tall, ripped cartoon man with sizable bulge in the crotch of his pants", and throw everything else about him out the window to turn him into a sex-crazed, high-libido "seme" stereotype. Not to mention the disgusting ableism surrounding his Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and how it manifests, the fetishization of his second prosthetic arm, and the popular fanon characterizations that seem to have come out of absolutely nowhere. Where did the idea that he has a hang up on profanity come from? He doesn't strike me as someone who regularly curses up a storm, but he's not the Paladins' dad. Why would he care if they're throwing profane language around as long as they aren't offending potential allies or purposely antagonizing each other? And, don't get me started on the "Shiro and Adam adopted Keith" nonsense. I swear, people either overestimate how old Shiro was when he and Keith first met, or way underestimate how young Keith was, while forgetting about Keith's own father, and everything else going on in Shiro's life that guaranteed he had no time to parent a teenager. -I'm obsessed with their character arc. Everything that is and could have been. -They got done dirty by the fans. And, still is, every single day. -They got done dirty by the creators. Astronomically. Infamously.

Just give my VLD Meta tag a scroll, some time. If you want to see proof, and also have your blood-pressure reach record highs. -Wasted Potential. So much, it's physically painful. And, that's Bingo! -ADOPTION PAPERS, ADOPTION PAPERS! FILING THE ADOPTION PAPERS! Shiro is too old for me to legally adopt, being an adult in his mid twenties, but I will gladly take custody of him from DreamWorks and World Events Productions, so they can't hurt him any more than they already have. -I am constantly going insane, rotating them in my brain like a fork in a microwave. This blog, my sketchbook, and the two fanfictions I'm working on, which altogether have a cumulative word count nearing 60k, are testament to that. The Takashi Shirogane brain worms are real. -The popular ships for this character suck. When shipping him isn't the express purpose of a fanwork, people default to his canon romances. And, his ex is a jerk, and the man he's last-minute married off to after barely acknowledging for thirteen-plus episodes is a human-shaped piece of set dressing with less personality than a sheet of cardboard. So, yeah, two of the more "popular" fanon ships for Shiro are terrible. But, even when shipping him is the express purpose of a fanwork, there's a lot left to be desired. Mostly due to him being written wildly out of character for the aforementioned superficial reasons. -Not enough screentime. Nowhere near enough. We can thank the writers who hated him, wanted him dead, then, when they were forced to resurrect him, deliberately nerfed and sidelined him in order to keep the spotlight on their favorites, for that. -They've never done anything wrong in their life. ❤ I actually think Shiro should have gotten to kill more people, specifically Sendak, and Zarkon and Haggar- with Allura and Lotor's assistance- as a treat. -This is the best character in the work. By far. He epitomizes everything a true hero should be, while also being a disabled trauma survivor and proud gay man. I find myself questioning frequently how the brain trusts behind this show essentially created Shiro, themselves, then came to despise him, purely because they were informed by the Powers That Be that they were not allowed to permanently kill him. You would think any reasonable person would be thrilled to hear that their creation resonated so strongly with audiences that killing him would go over poorly. But, not "MonSantos" and crew. They had a ~vision~ for their 3Edgy5Me animated Sci-Fi/Action space opera aimed at seven year-olds.

Quinn Fabray

-They got done dirty by the creators. Jesus Christ, did she ever. I struggle to think of a character in this notorious mess of a series who was handled worse in every single regard than Lucy Quinn Fabray. And, it's all because Ryan Murphy hated Dianna Agron. -Wasted potential. Once again, so much of it, thinking about it causes me physical pain. -ADOPTION PAPERS, ADOPTION PAPERS! FILING THE ADOPTION PAPERS! Judy Fabray does get better after leaving Quinn's dad, but Quinn desperately needed an understanding adult figure in her life that she could feel safe confiding in, who would encourage her to gradually come to accept and love herself as she is, and seek out treatment for her objectively terrible mental health. I would be more than happy to be that adult figure. -What's wrong with them (affectionate)? Severe body dysmorphia, leading to her getting a nose job and forcing herself to lose a ton of weight going into her freshman year of high school. Deeply-rooted shame and self-loathing from being brought up in a suffocatingly repressive religious household headed by her abusive father. Lack of any real friendships. Being date-raped by a boy who plied her with drinks every time she had second thoughts about sleeping with him, resulting in her getting pregnant. Being kicked out of her home because of her pregnancy and shuffled about between her ex, her rapist, and a friend's homes like a cumbersome object. Giving up her newborn daughter after holding her only once. Spiraling further and further with every season... Like I said, Quinn's mental health is objectively terrible. But, rather than offering her any compassion, she's ostracized, vilified, and ultimately cast aside entirely. Because Ryan Murphy hated Dianna Agron for humanizing a character he intended to be a one-dimensional villain. -Not enough screentime. Remember when Dianna Agron said that she wasn't invited back for the tribute episode dedicated to Cory Monteith? Remember how Quinn bought Metro North Passes because she wanted to stay in touch with Rachel after high school, only for her to never get to use them? ...Yeah.

----

Thank you so much for the prompts! ( ´͈ ◡ `͈ ) ❤

[ilovescaredysquirrel2]

My thoughts on the new Chicken Run 2 + other upcoming animated movies

I saw the new trailer for Chicken Run 2 and I'm having a roller coaster of thoughts rn.... I don't know how to feel. I think Netflix is ruining Chicken Run! I won't come after Aardman on this, even though I think there's more they could have done, I don't really know how they could make this work since Chicken Run isn't really their thing. Like, Chicken Run is MORE DreamWorks than it is, Aardman. Aardman had a lot of work and effort put into the movie, but it still counts as being more of a DreamWorks film. I think Netflix is mostly to blame, I also wish that DreamWorks would have more say-so in this. Like, DreamWorks needs to step up and take back what's theirs! Like I said, not entirely blaming Aardman on this, they're neutral and have to be, it's Netflix I'm angry at.

Okay, so this new trailer didn't really feel like Chicken Run. My bestie Georgia and I are huge fans of it, so we felt a little hurt seeing this new trailer. Of course we're gonna watch it, obviously because it's Chicken Run, but we're still not excited for it and have a lot of mixed feelings. We both agree that this didn't have the same vibes as the first movie, where they mostly focused on telling a story of an American rooster with a broken wing who helps a hen and her flock escape from a chicken farm in the UK, because the owners plan on killing them off for food. The story has a lot of heavy topics and fits perfectly for a DreamWorks movie, relating to real life situations. Chicken Run is the best example but also Kung Fu Panda and Trolls were good examples too. I think Chicken Run is mostly known for the serious topics, and I relate to Rocky so much, that's why it's my favorite.

Everyone in the trailer seemed so out of character, especially Rocky and Ginger. Rocky was the main character in the first movie,m and it's okay if they wanted it to focus more on Ginger for the sequel, I totally get that! They barely showed him in this new trailer, however. I'm actually really mad. And when I saw how they changed Ginger's personality, I felt like crying! For so long, I saw her as one of my comfort characters, she seemed tough and strong but also very understanding and sweet in the first movie. It seems like they're just making her the just tough baddie in this and I'm really upset. Like, I didn't see her understanding and sweet side like in the movie. It's so hard to se my favorite characters like this. Plus, them firing almost all the voice actors. Like, Julia Sawalha stills sounds the same and this new lady who's voicing her sounds nothing like Ginger! I bet they only hired her because she's more popular than Julia. I also know there was some drama with Mel Gibson in the past, he might be a little bit of a jerk sometimes but he's still the OG voice of Rocky and there's no replacing him. Disney didn't replace Ellen in Finding Dory and Ellen's not a nice person either. Plus, what did Timothy Spall and Phil Daniels do to get replaced? NOTHING! I heard the voices and those are NOT Nick and Fetcher's voices... maybe favorite DreamWorks sidekick duo and I absolutely can't handle this. At least Jane Horrocks, Imelda Staunton, and Lynn Ferguson are in it still (I feel bad Imelda always gets stuck playing/voicing the worst characters, but she voiced an absolute icon in Big & Small).

To be 100% completely honest, I actually think Babs is the only good thing about this. Like I said, I'm also happy that Jane Horrocks is still voicing her, because I think she's perfect for this role. I love how Babs is the only one who's kind of in character, and also has more screen time. I don't want Babs to just be a comic relief, but I love that she has more funny lines. She's one of my favorites in the first movie, but I think it's safe to say that she'll be my favorite in the sequel. This still doesn't feel like Chicken Run to me, and it definitely doesn't feel like a DreamWorks movie. This feels like Netflix was trying to get ownership from DreamWorks and force Aardman to team up with them... however, I'm still going to watch this. Another good thing is Frizzle, she seems like a sweet character (I feel like they're going to make Babs and Frizzle be a couple, watch them be lesbian. Just watch, I can predict the future). If it were up to me, Babs is better on her own she don't need no love interest.

So after the long rant about Chicken Run 2 Dawn of the Nugget (ew I hate that "Dawn of the Nugget" title), I have other movies I'm way more excited to see. It used to be a Chicken Run sequel I was waiting for almost 3 years, but now there's other movies that look way better. It hurts, because I'm a huge fan of Chicken Run but at least Trolls 3 looks amazing! I don't know how I feel that they gave Queen Poppy a sister but she seems cool. I just hope we get that wholesome Broppy romance we're all hoping to see! I'm also really excited for Illumination's "Migration" which is about ducks, but what really won me over was this movie called "Butterfly Tale" which looks absolutely adorable. I love how it focuses on a boy butterfly and a boy caterpillar, because butterflies were always seen as a "girly" thing so HAH! Boys can like butterflies too! ^u^

Anyway, tell me your thoughts on this! Any other Chicken Run fans here? any DreamWorks or Aardman fans want to add to this too? What about Trolls 3? I'd love to read your comments!

[92-guy]

Your rate of the ships and why.

Thank you very much for asking, sorry for taking so long, but I wanted to answer your question as best as possible, so here are my top 5 favorites ships (Not in a specific order)

Jackunzel

Probably the most famous ship on this list, if this is your favourite, you're picking the safest option, maybe a bit overrated, but still a very good one.

Now, I believe that this couple is what we all wanted to be when we were children, to be outgoing and find someone just as fun, kind and trustworthy, who would not leave us alone in our nonsense and on the contrary would make us see the beauty of our differences. their parallelism and differences in personality and physique seem to me to be one of the best things between Disney and Dreamworks, and I consider that Jack was the direct response towards Rapunzel, taking inspiration from her to make the "Perfect boy" for a generation of people, while Although Rapunzel is not talked about much now, she is the kindest princess Disney has ever created (and still is).

Depending on what AU you have of them, I think they would make a very good and fun Sitcom in any AU.

I once read that someone compared them to Nightwing and Starfire and I couldn't agree more with that.

Hiccunzel

They are cute

I like how they look together and they give me Spider-Man and Mary Jane vibes if only Spider-Man had good character development and could mature.

I like the fact that she is an outgoing and creative girl, with an introverted and witty boy, Hiccup would be the first to fall in love with her, trying to do whatever it takes to make her notice him, supporting her with painting, teaching her everything he could. she knows about dragons, drawing, even asking them to make a small smithy so she could use it as a kitchen and both of them will cook together while in Berk.

And I can't stop seeing them in this situation

Jarida

At first I didn't think I could like them that much, but I saw in them a kind of connection that I don't know how it worked, both wanting to enjoy the moment and without thinking about those responsible, just young being young.

I like how their relationship could not be supported while they are at peace, but at the moment of the action they know that they make the best team, synchronizing their movements and knowing what the other wants, and from that connection a tender love would arise where both did not want feel the love for the other, but it was inevitable, the jokes of both would begin to be excuses to get closer to the other, which Jack would love the smell of Merida and she would love the frozen sensation of Jack and fly with him.

The only thing that I think is bad about this relationship is that they would probably need to go to therapy, because they would not be very easy to open up their feelings, especially when something hurts them, so as not to appear weak to their partner and when they have an argument. or problem, they would rather solve it with… “action” than talk about it, they would be much like Ron and Hermione.

(But these are things that can be fixed with therapy, go to therapy, it's better than you think)

For the rest, I think they are a very nice couple and their relationship with the team would be one of those who always look for fights.

Janna

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A extremely underrated ship, but I find it a very interesting couple, an outgoing and impulsive boy who lost his younger sister, while she is an outgoing and impulsive girl who lost her older sister for a long time.

Clearly they would create a bond, Jack taking the role of older brother that Anna always wanted to have with Elsa, but she couldn't, while Anna would take the role of younger sister and mother at the same time, being protective of Jack when she wants to. doing things without thinking, a bit hypocritical, because if she's involved with him, she's willing to follow him, which almost always ends with something broken.

Besides that Anna would help him with Jack's mommy issues.

Their relationship seems to me that it would be friendship first, going on to treat each other as brothers and family, Anna over protecting Jack and Jack feeling the crush first, followed by Anna, both are afraid of their feelings, after all, they were like brothers, but Anna, as the dominant in the relationship, decides to face the situation and here there can be two ways out, or they end up like Steve and Peggy from the MCU

Hiccelsa

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I have to admit, this is my personal favorite.

I have to admit that I was one of the people who supported that Elsa was lesbian, or should be asexual, and that she shouldn't have any ship, but then I met Hiccelsa, and it totally changed my mind, this became my ship favorite, since they are not only 2 of my favorite characters, but also because they perfectly represent opposites, Elsa representing ice, immovable, cold, serene; while Hiccup represents fire, unstoppable, warm, passionate.

Their ship reminds me a lot of Superman and Wonder Woman, a fair and upright woman, with a kind and understandable man.

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In addition, it seems to me that they would be a very mature relationship, where if they were fighting they would not speak to each other, but they still want to help the other, because they love each other and an argument will not separate them.

I don't think they fall in love instantly, but they would start as friends, they respect each other until they form a good friendship, Hiccup being Elsa's first "best friend" and what begins to attract them is their attitude, Elsa without fear to the unknown and willing to give everything to protect others, while Hiccup being a selfless hero, and willing to go against his superiors to do the right thing, even being just a man without a leg, attitudes that each would attract.

In addition, they are dramatic that if you stop watching them for 2 seconds they are already posing.

And their relationship with "The big 6" would be the father and mother of the team, obviously.

Believe me when I tell you that it took me longer to figure out what to remove so that this space wouldn't be so long, than to describe why I like this ship so much.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Trailermania and Other Things

Wow, look at that! A new trailer Pixar's ELEMENTAL, and a first trailer for DreamWorks' upcoming sequel TROLLS BAND TOGETHER! Plus other cool things!

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER looks cute and fun, much like its predecessors. What stuck out to me, and many others, was that groovy surreal 2D animated sequence that I hope we see more of in the movie proper. More weird shifts in art styles like that, please, because the first TROLLS had some moments like that, and TROLLS WORLD TOUR had some little details here and there along with its distinct colorful worlds. The story seems markedly smaller-scale than WORLD TOUR, sort-of circling back after going big. I think releasing it five days before Disney Animation's WISH, however, isn't all that smart... And weird, considering that in many European territories, the movie is aiming for a September/October bow, but what do I know?

ELEMENTAL's new proper trailer gives us a much better idea of what director Peter Sohn's new Pixar movie is really made of. They got the basic premise out of the way with the teaser, which is - quite frankly - a teaser's job. They're made for Average Joe and Jane Soccermom, not nerds like you and I. The new trailer showcases all the fun worldbuilding and just how many gags they can stretch out of this idea: Elements being living beings. Very cartoony, very much made for animation, plus it even pokes fun at its own world. That whole quip about the purpose of chain-link fences is a line that would be even funnier in one of the CARS movies. Peter Sohn had said that the story was very personal to him as a child of Korean immigrants living in New York in the '70s and '80s, and I think we're seeing shades of that in this new trailer. But yes, visually a treat. Colorful AF, with some of that midcentury modern graphic design thing going on with the movie's logo and title cards, much like INSIDE OUT. What's exciting me about this movie is that it's animated characters where everything about them - flowing water, waving fire, etc. - is moving. It's like, super-animated.

And as a treat? Pixar's attaching CARL'S DATE, a much-delayed episode of the UP spin-off Disney+ series DUG DAYS, to the movie. This will be the first Pixar short to run in movie theaters since BAO back in 2018, which of course screened before INCREDIBLES 2. TOY STORY 4 in 2019 ran with *no* short whatsoever, and ONWARD had a Simpsons short - of all things - attached to it. SOUL went straight to Disney+ alongside the short that *would've* accompanied it in theaters, BURROW. LIGHTYEAR was the first Pixar film in theaters, domestically, since ONWARD, and that ran with no short.

More animated shorts in the cinema, pretty please.

I'm also more confident in its box office prospects. It's suggested that former Disney CEO Bob Chapek's heavy pivot to streaming has really hurt Disney's animated output in the pandemic era, from both Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. A sort of "we can just wait for that to come out on Disney+, when it's free" mentality from potential moviegoers... Meanwhile, Illumination's SING and MINION sequels did pretty great regardless of Peacock's existence, ditto DreamWorks' PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH. These three movies are some of the only animated theatrical-release movies to cross $100m at the domestic box office, and Pixar's LIGHTYEAR did manage to get past that as well, off of its fine opening weekend gross. ELEMENTAL is the first original Pixar movie to hit theaters since ONWARD, which we can't use to gauge its prospects because that opened right before everything shot down in March 2020.

That all being said, this trailer I feel will work on moviegoers. It's a fun premise, and the trailer doesn't hesitate to show lots of the gags and jokes that they pull from it, and it looks colorful. The general public likely associates Pixar with this kind of story (despite online pop culture "experts" insisting that the movie looks like a "parody" of Pixar's past successes), so it could open okay and have solid-to-great legs! Pixars usually cost over $150m to make, so they better hope this one's a blockbuster. As in, opens with at least $45-50m and then legs it past $150m domestically and more than double that worldwide. I want it so succeed, Pixar hasn't had a genuine box office success since TOY STORY 4 back in 2019, and I'd hate to see an original movie struggle.

Summer 2023 is quite crowded in terms of family movies and four-quadrant spectacles, I must say. DreamWorks' RUBY GILLMAN, TEENAGE KRAKEN opens two weeks after ELEMENTAL, and ELEMENTAL opens two weeks after SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, which itself opens a week after Disney's LITTLE MERMAID remake... And mixed in with these are THE FLASH and the fifth INDIANA JONES movie. Pretty crowded couple of weeks I must say. A statistic back in 2014, which I bring up *a lot*, showed that the average American family hits the cinemas four times a calendar year. I'd imagine that number is even lower in the pandemic era, and I believe the stat because I've been working at a movie theater since August of 2015... And lemme tell ya, sometimes I do a double take on what I've charged my customers for tickets and concessions.

So, yes, lots of families and other moviegoers have become choosier. I feel like we're seeing that with superhero movies this year, honestly, what with ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA having abysmal legs after its giant opening, and SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS straight-up imploding. In such a competitive marketplace, you really need to stand out... not to pretend I know a thing or two about boring economics and capitalism. I think ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is locked to do well, and on the "live-action" end, THE LITTLE MERMAID and DIAL OF DESTINY will do very well. As for RUBY GILLMAN... If we are to assume it cost $80m max to make, then it could perform like THE BAD GUYS - which narrowly missed $100m domestically and made $250m worldwide - and be considered a success. Okay $20m-ish opening, 3 1/2x multiplier to get it past $70m domestically, add about $150m overseas, all set! THE BAD GUYS had a similarly cutting-it-close marketing campaign, with the teaser bowing in December and the movie proper hitting in April. RUBY GILLMAN's trailer is now out, and the movie is literally three months away. I think they seem confident in this one. From what I understand, PUSS IN BOOTS Dos' Oscar campaign kind of got in the way of them getting the word out on RUBY GILLMAN earlier this year, and of course... A tiny movie Universal is releasing in a week... I'm sure you've never heard of it... It's called THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE.

Anyways, we now await trailers for... Netflix/Annapurna's NIMONA (summer), Netflix/Pearl's THE MONKEY KING (sometime this year), Disney Animation's WISH (November 22nd), Netflix/W/M's LEO (also Nov 22nd), Illumination's MIGRATION (December 22nd), and Aardman/Netflix's CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET (to be determined, later this year). And for whoever is interested, the 2nd PAW PATROL movie as well. Eatin' good, as they say.

[h-worksrambles]

Murdoch for your Character Opinion Bingo 🥺🦊

Murdoch...my beloved...my poor precious boi...

Murdoch is, at least in my opinion, the best character in The Smoke Room. And it's funny because I don't think I expected to like him as much as I did. I did Cliff's route first and he's really charming and likable there, sure. But then I did his route and oh my god. On a surace level his design is on point. Look at this man. LOOK AT HIM. He is absolutely adorable yet also endearingly suave. This man makes the Dreamworks smirk look actually charming. How is this concieavable? Also love his little mop of hair. He's also easily the funniest character. Most of his snarky little quips are hysterical. It's also very hard to write flirtatious characters who are actualy charming rather than creepy. But Murdoch nails it. What I think sticks with me the most though is how genuinely kind and compassionate Murdoch is. For as much as plays up being a witty and sarcastic flirt, he's incredibly empathetic. The genuine care he extends to Cliff, his desire to better understand Sam, the trust he has for Ralph. I've mentioned it before, but the fact that Murdoch knows the truth that there is something supernatural and evil in the heart of Echo but instead of wanting to run, he chooses to do everything he can to uncover the truth so he can make things better for the people still living there really moved me. Yes he's funny, yes he's witty and aloof, but there's such a gentle soul underneath that. I always think back to his theme, this quiet melacholy piano piece, that tells you, right from the start, that there's a sadness beneath that smile. And yet he still has so much baggage. Murdoch is kind, but that kindness is born from years of self loathing from his family who constantly treat him like trash. He's greiving for his brother Seamus, but also lives in fear that his family would rather Seamus lived to grow up instead of him. He's desperate for any scrap of affection, anyone who can make him feel loved, because he doesn't love himself. When I played through his route, saw how his mother and father treat him, it honestly really hurt, but it also made his actions in other routes make a worrying amount of sense. He's self sacrificial to the point of martyrdom. I'll never forget the moment he tells Sam the truth about what's going on between him and Jim, how much he's willing to put himself through for the sake of a family who don't love or appreciate him, how much he wants to believe that their treatment of him is purely down to the town's influence because he can't bring himself to admit that he's being abused, that they don't love him as much as he loves them. Ow, my heart.

"I want to be told I'm doing a good job." Yes, honey, you are.

Plus, while I think he's more than compelling enough to stand on his own, he has great relationships with other characters. Murdoch and Cliff are my favourite ship in the game. Two very likable yet also lonely characters struggling with the weight of familial expectations. One is outgoing and earnest, keen to finally show the real him by reinventing himself far from home. The other is affable and welcoming but also guarded, hiding behind masks and scared to show his real emotions. They have so much to teach each other, so much room to grow together. And it makes their connection across multiple routes even better. His dynamic with Sam is also great. Of all the love interests, his route is so far the least overtly romantic but no less sincere for it. Because it's watching two very guarded, very wounded people slowly learning to be honest with each other and it's fascinating. The implication that William (himself a very reserved, guarded character) might factor into this dynamic too has me very curious.

He's also wonderful in the modern AU. This to me is Murdoch living as his best self. Free from his family, free to be true to himself, surrounded by people who love him. Also, again, he and Cliff continue to be utterly adorable, but his interactions with the entire polycule bring me such joy.

I kind of knew I was going to like Cliff, Will and Nik, but Murdoch was an unexpected delight who rocketed up to being my absolute favourite. I can't wait for more of his route.

Thank you so much for the ask. I really want to talk more about Smoke Room here in the future because I am utterly hooked.

[trans-rites]

Tagged by @larky-lark

coke or pepsi? Honestly neither, but I guess I'll take pepsi.

disney or dreamworks? If I must, Disney. A higher percentage of Dreamworks animation gives me the heebie-jeebies.

coffee or tea? Tea. An excessive amount. Every day.

books or movies? Books. Films are for watching with friends.

windows or mac? Windows. Mac is an illusion of the demiurge.

dc or marvel? DC. Marvel has Spiderman (and Gwen, and Gwenpool,) but DC has everything else.

x-box or playstation? Neither.

dragon age or mass effect? Dragon Age. It's not even close.

night owl or early riser? A secret third thing.

cards or chess? (Trading) cards.

chocolate or vanilla? ...like, ice cream? Vanilla.

vans or converse? Is it bad that I don't know the difference?

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? Lavellan. Shamelessly.

fluff or angst? The ideal story has both. Like that deadly pink candyfloss they put in walls.

beach or forest? Forest. Sand is hell. Dirt is truth.

dogs or cats? Cats. I respect a little guy who has their needs.

clear skies or rain? Clear skies, baby. I appreciate the whimsy of rain, but I want wind, and I don't want it to soak me.

cooking or eating out? Cooking. Eating out is always uncomfy.

spicy food or mild food? Mild. I have a weak, weak, palette.

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? Halloween and Samhain! They aren't the same, but I love them both. The happiest time of year.

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? Cold. If I want to be warm, I can put stuff on. If I want to be cold, there's only so much I can take off.

if you could have a superpower, what would it be? Shapeshifting. That's always been my go-to answer to this question, and I can't imagine it changing.

animation or live action? Animation! It's such an underappreciated medium and it deserves more big-budget respect.

paragon or renegade? I like being nice.

baths or showers? Showers, but I'm pretty sure I'd love a bath in a big enough tub.

team cap or team ironman? If we're talking MCU, then Cap. The Sokovia accords are a deranged invasion of freedoms.

fantasy or sci-fi? In my soul, it's fantasy.

do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? - Tiffany's 'All witches are selfish...' speech from Pratchett's The Wee Free Men - 'There is another shore, you know, upon the other side', from Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - 'Someone will remember us, I say, even in another time,' Sappho - 'This is the new touch,' We Know the Devil

youtube or netflix? Youtube. Anything else is for pirating.

[REDACTED] [expunged]

when do you feel accomplished? Too much of my self-worth is based on feedback for my creative projects, but, uh, then.

star wars or star trek? Trek. Easy.

paperback books or hardcover books? Either, or digital.

to live in a world without literature or without music? I wouldn't, not if I couldn't somehow bring one back.

who was the last person to make you laugh? @larky-lark <3

city or countryside? Anywhere with good internet.

favorite chips? Not a crisps sort-of gal.

pants or dresses? Dresses, baby. Skirt really do go spinny.

libraries or museums? Libraries. God, libraries.

character driven stories or plot driven stories? Character driven!

bookmarks or folding pages? What in the goddamn is a folding page?

Dream job? I do not dream of labour.

What gives you comfort? Gentle companions.

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches Seek out the hidden places where the fire burns hot and bright Find where the heat's unbearable and stay there if you have to Don't hurt anybody on your way up to the light And stay alive Just stay alive

favorite ice cream flavor ever? Vanilla. No, I'm not ashamed.

first fandom? Err... Doctor Who?

Your desert island band? The Mountain Goats. Easy.

tagging @melleonis @kishona

[lilmissbacon]

Rise of the Guardians is officially 10 years old

I like to think of myself as the first and longest time fan of this film specifically, because I saw it the very first day it was out in theaters and it's been my #1 favorite story ever since. It has never once wavered from that spot.

I just remember reminiscing about it in class for days afterwards, which is something I've never done with a film before or ever since. It truly captivated me in a way that no other story has and it's part of the reason why I'm aspiring to go into animation now.

It just fascinates me how much work, writing and art went into this movie that was in production for 7 years. But it also makes me sad because I know there is so much stuff they made behind the scenes that we'll never get to see because it didn't do well at the box office. So DreamWorks can't make one of those eye opening documentaries on it's production like Disney does with everything they make nowadays. I want to see ALL the deleted scenes and unfinished/unused designs, story bits, set pieces, merch, even unused promotional material like cardboard cutouts and products because I know they have that. There was so much planned and scraped simply because the film didn't make enough money.

And it doesn't really have a large fandom even today. There are many underrated gems like Megamind, Road to ElDorado and Atlantis and they have so many people talking about and making memes from it, as well as getting YouTube reactors to watch them but rotg just... doesn't. Rotg has reaction videos, yes, but not nearly has many as any other movie in existence. Which really sucks because I've been here since day 1 and it hurts to watch this film being stuck in this stalemate in terms of popularity.

So if there is anyone reading this that hasn't seen rotg, of course I strongly recommend you do so. It's a beautiful movie that genuinely leaves you feeling like a kid again, just on first viewing. I also encourage more people to make more content for the fandom. DreamWorks truly left us out in the desert to starve 😭

I originally downloaded Tumblr in the first place just so I could get my thoughts out to the world, otherwise I would combust. And that's because almost all of those thoughts were on the characters and story of rotg. Sure other characters have been mentioned like my posts on rotbtd or when I need to vent about bad designs because I'm a passionate artist but it can almost always be traced back to rotg.

Is it silly that a 19 year old woman is a fan of a movie about childhood? Maybe.

Does me wanting to see the smallest sliver of content for rotg make me look like psychopath? Probably.

But you know what? I don't care. Much like how Schaffrillas Productions feels Tamatoa is special to him because he likes the character while many don't, I feel rotg is special to me because I've always loved it while many people haven't even seen it.

This has been my appreciation post for the 10 year anniversary of rotg and with all that said and done my final statement shall be; rotg has officially consumed over half of my life and that's probably not healthy but

[hotandcoldaf]

Hope Doesn’t Grow Overnight

It belatedly occurred to me that maybe I should crosspost this here. You can also find it on AO3.

Shiro's year with the Galra, as told from Ulaz's perspective.

Not really shippy, but I wrote it as a person who does ship it so. Read it as you will.

(Content warning for medical torture and some general bloody unpleasantness to go with it.)

---

The first time Ulaz met Shiro, it had been a surprise. Or, to be more exact, the meeting itself was no surprise, but that it had cause to happen in the first place had been. To attend to gladiators after their matches, to close cuts and set broken bones before they were placed in a healing chamber to take care of the rest, that was simply standard procedure. Ulaz just... hadn't been expecting it to be necessary on that particular quintant. That quintant, the Champion was set to fight some fodder--random prisoners with no greater use than to die for the entertainment of their captors. With as brutal and experienced as Myzax was, it was rare that he sustained any injuries in such matches, and rarer still that his opponent earned the right to live.

So when Ulaz was ordered to administer treatment for the new Champion, his first thought was that perhaps he'd misheard. And when he entered the examination room and saw Shiro for the first time, he was sure there must have been some sort of mistake. This small creature, with no natural armor or weapons to speak of, truly bested Myzax? It was unthinkable.

He crossed over to the room's terminal and pulled up the prisoner's file. Maybe there was something he was missing here. Shiro watched him from his seat on the edge of the examination table with wary curiosity, and once it was apparent that Ulaz would not be starting a conversation, he spoke first.

"Who are you? What do you want now?"

Ulaz ignored him. A primitive explorer from a still-developing planet, picked up by coincidence from the edges of his solar system. No weapons, no armor, no magical abilities, nothing noteworthy about his species in any way. This was some sort of joke, surely?

"Hey." Shiro hopped down from the table and approached him. "Are you listening to me? I asked you a question."

"Sit down," Ulaz ordered impassively, not bothering to look up from the file he was still skimming.

"No. Not until you give me some answers. I'm tired of you people dragging me around from place to place without ever explaining anything."

"I told you to sit down, Prisoner 117-9875. You are not in a position to be making demands."

"My name is Shiro," the supposed new Champion said, undeterred.

"I do not care," Ulaz replied, and at the time, it had been true. "Do not make me repeat myself again."

Shiro continued to stare up at him defiantly. "What are you going to do about it?"

With the way Shiro's chin was tilted up to make eye contact made it all too easy for Ulaz to wrap his hand around his throat and lift him from the ground before he had a chance to react. He carried him back to the examination table like that, paying no mind to his struggling, and dropped him down on it roughly. Shiro doubled over and coughed harshly when released, but Ulaz ignored it in favor of moving on with the examination.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?"

"What?" came the response. Ulaz almost suspected him of trying his patience on purpose, but repeated his question nonetheless.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?"

Shiro stared at him in confusion for a few ticks before responding again. "Why do you care? Are you a doctor?"

Ulaz didn't answer. Rather than ask a third time, he decided to assume the answer was no. Myzax specialized in beating his opponents to death, after all; he wasn't likely to inflict any cuts deep enough to require pretreatment. The next question was the more important one in this case. "Are any of your bones broken?"

This time, Shiro's confused stare segued into a slow nod. "...Yeah." And then another, firmer nod. "Yeah, a couple of ribs. Or fractured, at least." He raised one of his arms to indicate the side and give Ulaz the space to feel for himself. The way the bones shifted under his touch and the pained grunt that came from Shiro alongside it confirmed the diagnosis. Well, nothing he could do for that unless he wanted to cut him open first, and that wouldn't be necessary.

"The healing chamber will take care of that. Anything else?"

"Healing chamber?" Shiro echoed, and Ulaz briefly wondered if he should reconsider his decision not to perform an unnecessary surgery. Instead he decided that such a response would serve as a no, which meant his obligations here were fulfilled and he was free to go.

Which he promptly did without another word.

---

The second time Ulaz encountered Shiro, it was in the form of a dark blur slamming into him as soon as he opened the door to the examination room. The force of it was enough to knock him over, and he groaned as he watched Shiro run off down the hallway. He would have to chase after him, of course, and he would be expected to put forth his best effort in doing so. The problem being that the best effort expected from an aging doctor was far less than what Ulaz was actually capable of, and he was going to have to balance the two carefully to make this look right.

What an annoyance.

He rose to his feet and took off in pursuit. Thankfully, with their size difference, it didn't take much effort for him to actually catch up. As he reached out to grab his quarry, Shiro turned to look back at him, and Ulaz realized a moment too late that the expression on his face was not the look of fear he was expecting from a prisoner about to be apprehended, but the determined look of someone who knew exactly what he was doing. By then, Shiro already had one hand around Ulaz's wrist and the other braced against his chest, and he was using the Galra's own momentum to throw him forward to the ground.

Oh, Ulaz realized, staring up at the ceiling as Shiro continued running past him. That was how so slight a creature could hold the title of Champion.

He let a few moments pass before he got back up, just in time to see Shiro turn back into the hallway from around a corner, closely pursued by a pair of sentries. By the time Ulaz caught up to them, they'd captured the would-be escapee, though he hadn't given up the fight just yet. Instead he struggled fruitlessly against the sentry's grip, shouting out his frustration.

"No! Let me go! I'm not going back there! You can't keep making me do this! It isn't right!"

He kept ranting like that as Ulaz approached. "Foolishness," the Galra said. "Trying to break out without even knowing the escape pods are in the opposite direction."

That shut him up. Good. That meant he'd caught the hint. Unfortunately, it also made it a little too obvious that he'd caught it, so Ulaz didn't let more than a moment pass before delivering an order to the sentries.

"Knock him out."

---

The new Champion quickly gained himself a reputation among the medical staff of the ship. Myzax had never been much of a talker, but Shiro hardly ever shut up through his examinations, even though they all kept a strict policy of never responding to him any more than what was necessary to perform their duties.

Sometimes the things he spoke about were serious.

"Do you know what they make me do out there?" he asked once. "Doesn't it bother you? You're a doctor, right? Doesn't the sanctity of life mean something to you? You know what the first rule of doctors is where I'm from? It's 'do no harm.' But I guess you guys don't have that."

"Why do you even bother patching me up every time?" he asked on another occasion. "You know your bosses want me dead, right? I can tell. They want someone who'll make a show out of it all, like that other guy did. It must be driving them up the wall that I won't. That's why they're always keeping me at a disadvantage, I'm sure of it."

Sometimes, however, he chose more nonsense topics, clearly just trying to provoke a reaction.

"You look like a horse," he told Ulaz bluntly once, without ever bothering to explain what a horse was. "It's the mohawk, mostly, but the mask helps, too. It looks kind of like a feedbag. A lot of you guys look like cats or lizards, but you are definitely a horse. Do you have a matching tail under that skirt, too?"

"Why are you so pale? Don't you get enough sunlight? I know I'm stuck in here, but don't they let you go outside?"

Gradually, his comments became more and more inflammatory, picking up on any differences between his various captors as he could. He asked probing questions about Ulaz's coloration, his hair, his age, his height, the shape of his ears, the length of his fur, nothing seemed to escape his notice.

That eventually came to a rather memorable end with one of the other medics storming out of the examination room with a bloodied nose.

"One of you guys tried to punch me yesterday," Shiro told Ulaz proudly afterwards. "I asked him why he was so short and I guess he didn't appreciate that. But you know what that means? It means that no matter how much you guys pretend to ignore me, you're still listening. I can still get through to you, sooner or later."

---

Ulaz did not usually make a habit of going to watch the gladiatorial games, but he found that the longer Shiro managed to hold the title of Champion, the more curious he was to see him in action. Shiro was clever and resourceful, and there was no doubt in Ulaz's mind that those traits were serving him well as a fighter, but he was sensitive as well, and reluctant to kill. How did that affect his performance in the arena? Shiro had spoken of a refusal to make a show of things, of trying to make things as painless as possible for his opponents, but Ulaz wanted to see it for himself.

It would also be nice to know what injuries to expect before he actually walked into the examination room for once. Shiro would notice if he didn't ask the usual questions, he was sure, and perhaps he was curious to see what he'd say about that, as well.

But first, Shiro would have to survive.

His first opponent was determined not to make that an easy task. Tronagans did not have much of a reputation for cooperativeness to start with, after all, and this one--a female, if Ulaz had to hazard a guess from this distance--was fighting for her life. She was larger and stronger than Shiro just by virtue of her species, and her movements made it clear she was an experienced fighter, as well. A pirate whose luck had run short, most likely.

It didn't take long for her to earn the crowd's favor, no more than the few solid blows it took to prove she could actually stand up to him. Ulaz was a little surprised, actually. He'd known that Shiro's compassionate nature made him a less popular Champion than Myzax was, but he hadn't expected the crowd to turn on him quite so quickly.

It didn't make any difference in the end. The Tronagan fought well, well enough to leave Shiro with a broken arm and several other wounds beside, but not well enough to claim the victory. Even with his arm broken, Shiro was an incredible fighter. No, perhaps that broken arm was all the more proof of what an incredible fighter he really was. Not just anyone could possess the focus and determination necessary to keep fighting with such pain, much less the skill and clarity of mind needed to win despite it. He truly deserved the title of Champion; any lingering doubts Ulaz had about that were thoroughly dispelled by seeing him in action.

The rest of the crowd didn't seem to agree with him. Their jeers reached a crescendo as Shiro stood victorious over his opponent and looked towards Zarkon for his judgement. The Emperor did not respond immediately. The Tronagan had fought well, and it would not have surprised Ulaz if it was well enough to earn her continued survival. But apparently Zarkon felt it wasn't enough, and he made a gesture that indicated to Shiro to finish her off.

This was the part Ulaz was curious to see. Shiro's head dropped, the disappointment visible in his body language even at such a distance, but he readied his blade nonetheless and brought it down on the Tronagan's neck to end things in a single, swift motion. That was about what Ulaz had expected. He'd thought possibly that Shiro might refuse to finish a beaten foe, but if he was inclined to do that, he would have done it long ago and been punished accordingly. It would not surprise Ulaz in the slightest to learn that he had--he'd put GAC down on it, in fact, just as he had on Shiro's victory here--but if he did, it must have happened on some quintant where he was another medic's responsibility. With that option off the table, ending things quickly was the most mercy Shiro could provide.

That was still much more mercy than Myzax ever gave, and it was clear enough which the crowd preferred. They kept jeering and booing even as the next opponent was released into the arena. This one also tried to fight back, but unlike the Tronagan, they were no match for Shiro, even with his handicap. Again, Shiro looked up towards Zarkon before striking the finishing blow, and even though the verdict of death was a foregone conclusion this time, he looked every bit as disappointed and sorrowful to receive it as he was before. Ulaz didn't doubt that Shiro went through this ritual with every opponent he faced, no matter how obvious the answer was. That sort of stubborn hope was admirable, in a way. He could've made a good Blade if he were Galra, and as things were, he'd surely contribute greatly to some other rebel group if he could manage to escape.

The third opponent sent out into the arena was a Bailoxan, a species smaller than humans, and known for their peaceful natures. Unlike the first two fights, there was a long pause before anything happened, and it took Ulaz some time to realize what the difference was. The first two opponents had acted quickly enough that it wasn't clear, but with an opponent who didn't want to fight, it became obvious: Shiro refused to strike first. How sentimental, and also foolish. That had surely cost him the advantage many times before.

Unrest spread through the crowd the longer nothing happened, until eventually Shiro took a step forward. Apparently that was too much for the Bailoxan. They suddenly dropped their weapon and... tackled Shiro? No, a... hug. It was a hug. Shiro didn't seem to know what to make of it at first, either, staying motionless even as the jeers of the crowd grew worse.

And then, slowly, Shiro let go of his weapon, letting the blade drop to the arena floor. Ulaz felt his stomach drop with it. The roar of the crowd crescendoed unpleasantly as Shiro wrapped his arms around the Bailoxan in turn, and Ulaz almost felt tempted to add his own voice to it, albeit with a rather different sentiment. This was senseless, it would accomplish nothing, surely he realized he was only throwing his life away by doing this?

Already, sentries were rushing into the arena, guns drawn. Shiro and the Bailoxan separated, the smaller alien retreating to hide behind one of the arena's pillars while Shiro ducked to retrieve his weapon and go on the offensive. The sentries fell in short order, but Ulaz knew Shiro wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. The sentries had numbers and range on their side, and Shiro had a broken arm. Adrenaline couldn't overpower the pain forever.

This wasn't something he needed to see, Ulaz decided. The outcome was predetermined, and he would gain nothing from watching the actual process. It was time to leave.

---

Ulaz heard the exact results later, and they were basically what he expected. The Bailoxan had been killed, and the Druids had Shiro now. It was also no surprise when he was summoned to operate on the suspended Champion.

What was surprising was entering the operating room to find Haggar herself there. He recovered from his shock quickly enough to give a properly respectful salute. She didn't seem to think much of it--likely she was accustomed to such reactions.

"I want a closer look at Champion's heart and lungs," she ordered, and Ulaz nodded and approached the operating table.

Shiro looked--awful was too gentle a word for it. It was clear that his broken arm had been left unset, given how unpleasantly swollen it was. His hair had been left to grow out since the last time Ulaz saw him. It clung to his forehead, and the dark strands plastered against his skin emphasized how badly the color had drained from his face. And even though his eyes moved to follow Ulaz's approach, they lacked their usual focus and clarity. Instead, they were half-closed and bloodshot, with his fatigue written across the lower lids in deep purple.

Ulaz could tell with a single glance: Shiro would not survive being operated on in this state.

But there was nothing he could do about that. Protesting would spare Shiro nothing and would only serve to weaken his own position. All he could do was make his own part in this as quick and painless as possible. For both of them.

Shiro spoke as Ulaz readied his scalpel, but the utterance was too quiet and mumbled to make any sense of, and it soon gave way to pained screaming as Ulaz began his work. The screams were quiet, too, voiceless from long since screaming himself hoarse. At least that made it easier to ignore them.

Ulaz cut through flesh, and then through bone, and soon he had the way to Shiro's heart and lungs completely open. He'd seen images of them before, in scans of Shiro's systems, but seeing the organs themselves like this, seeing them actually moving, was... striking. They moved so much more than Ulaz had been expecting them to. Galra lungs were similarly large, but that size was for keeping air in reserve, for use in environments without any. That Shiro's lungs needed to keep cycling air, despite their size... the inefficiency of it was almost incredible.

Shiro had lost consciousness by now, and that movement was the only indicator that he wasn't dead yet. The rhythm was slowing, however, and it wasn't going to take long for it to stop entirely.

Haggar studied the view silently for a while, and Ulaz wondered if she intended to simply watch as he bled out, but then she reached over into the chest cavity and spoke. "Having two lungs this large is redundant."

And with a single gesture, she severed the connection between one of his lungs and his windpipe.

Shiro's reaction was immediate, an involuntary gasp quickly giving way to a violent coughing fit that had him pulling against his bonds. The harsh percussive sounds seemed almost impossibly loud compared to the voiceless noises he'd been making earlier, and the way they echoed around the otherwise silent operating room made Ulaz feel like his own chest was being torn apart. Inside Shiro's chest, the previously slowing pace of his heart was now rapidly accelerating, trying to keep pace with his struggling remaining lung. It convulsed with every cough, and every tortured expulsion of air left a new splatter of dark red blood across Shiro's mouth.

But all too quickly the coughing gave way to strained wheezing, and then silence as Shiro's lung stopped moving, shortly followed by his heart. Ulaz was about to begin preparing the body for disposal when Haggar grabbed a fistful of Shiro's hair. Her hand glowed with magic, and so did his open chest as his severed lung reattached itself and his heart resumed beating.

Again, Shiro gasped and coughed blood, but this time clearing his airway was not a fruitless endeavor, and instead of wheezing, it gave way to pained sobbing. Haggar leaned in close to his face, her fingers still entangled in his hair. "Do you understand, Champion? Not even death will allow you to escape me."

She straightened up and faced Ulaz. "That's enough for today. Close him back up and see to it that he's returned to his cell."

Ulaz saluted in response as she walked away, thankful that his surgical mask spared him from having to hide the full extent of his horror. He hadn't known Haggar was capable of that. His next report to Kolivan was sure to be an interesting one.

But before that, Shiro. He turned his attention back to the weeping Champion and was surprised to notice that some of the hair where Haggar had grabbed him had turned stark white. He'd have to make note of that in his report as well; it could be a clue about how the witch's powers worked. Or perhaps being brought back from the brink of death was simply more stress than Shiro's body could take. Despite that, he seemed healthier now than he did when Ulaz first entered the room, and this time when he spoke, it was actually audible, if only barely.

"Please," he whispered hoarsely between choked sobs. "Stop this. Please."

It would be so easy to drive a scalpel into his heart.

It would be a mercy.

It would be suicide.

As sympathetic as Ulaz was to Shiro's plight, he was not about to sacrifice everything to help him escape it. So he did as he usually did and ignored him. Or, at least, pretended to.

---

"I grow tired of Champion," Ulaz complained to another medical officer after completing another torture session.

"Really?" the other doctor replied, glancing up briefly from the terminal he was working at. "Most of us find him much more tolerable now that he doesn't speak so much."

"That is not what I meant. I don't understand why the Druids continue to waste time with him. Champion or not, he's nothing more than a slave. They should kill him for his defiance and be finished with it."

The other doctor frowned, glanced at the door, and then spoke in an almost conspiratorial tone. "Well, you didn't hear this from me, but word from the lower levels is that ever since Champion pulled his little stunt, some of the other prisoners have been rioting, almost non-stop. They kill Champion, and they escalate him from an inspiration to a martyr. They'll never get things back under control then."

"But if they bend him to their will, he will serve as an excellent example of the futility of resistance," Ulaz finished. The other doctor nodded. "And what if he does not break?"

"If it comes to that, I don't want to be in the room when they figure it out. You don't really think that could happen, though, do you?"

"If anyone is stubborn enough for it, it would be Champion."

The other doctor grimaced. "I'd be careful who I say that kind of thing around, if I were you. You never know who might be listening."

Perhaps he was right; perhaps Ulaz had said too much. He grimaced back. "I never said it was admirable."

It was, though, that Shiro had endured such torture and still had yet to surrender. Ulaz made sure to include the details of that conversation in his next report to Kolivan, along with the suggestion to free Shiro.

Kolivan rejected the suggestion. It was not worth compromising Ulaz's cover to incite a rebellion that could only fail, he argued, and Ulaz couldn't come up with an adequate counter-argument. Not yet, at least.

---

"Medical Officer Ulaz."

Ulaz nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of a voice so close behind him. He hadn't heard anyone approach, so it wasn't really a surprise when he turned around and found himself face-to-mask with one of the Druids. They didn't require the same level of respect that Haggar herself did, and so he only gave a polite nod of acknowledgement instead of a proper salute. The Druid continued.

"You will be pleased to learn that Champion has given in. He will be returning to the arena soon."

Ulaz carefully kept his expression neutral, letting no signs of the great disappointment he felt show through. He was being tested, almost certainly. He had thought he had chosen his words well enough to disguise his sympathy, but perhaps just enough had slipped through to arouse suspicion. Or perhaps the rebellion Shiro had already inspired had the Druids tense enough to want to stamp out anything that resembled regard for him.

Either way, Ulaz had no intention of failing this test. "That is good," he answered, and waited patiently for the follow-up that was sure to come.

"There is, however, the matter of his broken arm. What is your diagnosis?"

There it was. A simple enough test to pass. "I would need to see a current scan to be certain, but from what I have seen of Champion's physiology, the bone has likely healed in its misaligned state by now. To repair it, it would need to be rebroken and then set properly." That wasn't the answer the Druid was looking for, Ulaz knew, so as much as he was loathe to, he continued. "However, the limb would be permanently weakened. If Champion is to retain his former presence in the arena, I would recommend his arm be amputated and replaced with a prosthetic."

The Druid was silent for a while before responding--an intimidation tactic that Ulaz refused to let bother him. "That was our thinking as well. You will perform the procedure."

It wasn't a request, or even an order. It was a simple statement of fact. Ulaz was going to perform the procedure. He nodded his acknowledgment.

It was a simple enough test to pass, but it wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

---

If nothing else, Shiro looked much healthier than he had the last few times Ulaz had seen him. His surrender had seen several lost privileges returned to him: proper meals, proper rest, proper grooming--his hair was shorn back to its initial length, though the shock of white at his forehead remained.

But that just meant he was healthy enough to struggle again. He pulled against the shackles holding him to the operating table and pleaded openly with the gathered Druids. "Why are you doing this?! I already said I'll fight again! I'll do it! I'll do anything you tell me to! Just, please, stop! I can't--I can't take any more!"

He immediately fell silent when Haggar entered the room, and his improved health seemed to vanish in an instant. The color drained from his face, his eyes went wide, and he began to visibly tremble.

"You should be happy, Champion. I've brought you a gift, to celebrate your return to the arena." She gestured to Ulaz to begin, and he stepped forward towards the table, saw in hand. Shiro watched him approach, and Ulaz could see the exact moment when he realized what was happening.

"No!" he shouted, pulling frantically against his bonds. "Don't do this! You can still fix it!" Ulaz held down Shiro's upper arm and readied his saw. "You don't have to do this! Please, don't--" The rest was lost in screams of pain as Ulaz began cutting through Shiro's arm. This much, at least, was not torture for torture's sake--attaching a prosthetic like this required the subject to be conscious and alert, to ensure the neural pathways connected correctly.

That it was necessary did not make Shiro's begging and screaming throughout the process any less unpleasant to listen to.

---

Shiro didn't talk any more. He simply sat in silence during the examinations that followed his fights, staring blankly down at the artificial arm cradled in his real one. Even when asked the usual questions, he responded only with a shake of his head or a gesture to indicate the damaged area. If Ulaz hadn't known better, he might've thought the Druids had damaged his vocal chords.

It was a pathetic sight, seeing this proud and stubborn man broken down like this, and a disappointing one. Ulaz truly believed that Shiro could've accomplished great things if he'd been freed, but now it was too late.

Or so he'd thought, before he entered the examination room to find Shiro standing at the room's terminal, hastily closing the window he'd had open--though not so quickly Ulaz couldn't tell that it was a map of the ship's interior. The contrast of the moment was striking. Ulaz had caught Shiro at that terminal before, early on in his imprisonment. He hadn't been able to operate it then--the terminal was programmed to only respond to Galra users, though the prosthetic was apparently Galra enough to count--but he had been expertly mimicking the actions required to activate it, and when Ulaz had entered the room, he'd looked up and asked how to turn it on, boldly, fearlessly.

Now when he was caught, Shiro looked up and froze in silent terror. Ulaz considered how to respond for a brief moment, then decided it was best to be consistent. As he had when he caught Shiro the first time, he picked him up by the neck and deposited him back on the examination table.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?" he asked, proceeding on with his examination.

For the first time since he replaced his arm, Ulaz heard Shiro's voice. "You're not going to punish me?" he asked quietly. His voice was hoarse and ragged--from misuse, Ulaz hoped, and not damage from screaming--but there was something almost hopeful in it, under the fear.

"Are you bleeding anywhere?" Ulaz repeated, in a tone that made it clear he had better not have to repeat himself again. Shiro nodded and silently offered his left arm. A deep laceration crossed over his forearm, and Ulaz set about closing it. He could tell Shiro was studying his face as he worked, but paid it no mind.

At least, not until Shiro's eyes widened and he suddenly ripped his arm from Ulaz's grip.

"You--You're the one who took my arm," he accused. He held onto his left arm, like he was afraid Ulaz would take that one, too, if he gave him the chance. "It was you. You cut me apart. You're a monster--"

He raised the arm in question, and a flash of circuitry traveled down it before the hand started glowing in violent purple. But he never got the chance to swing it. Dark magic surrounded the hand, and Shiro doubled over in pain.

Ulaz waited patiently for it to pass and the light to fade from Shiro's hand before he gently dislodged his left arm from his right and resumed treatment. His claws had left new wounds on the arm when Shiro had pulled it away from him, and though they were minor enough that it would surely be fine to leave them for the healing chamber to take care of, Ulaz went ahead and treated them as well.

Shiro muttered quietly while he worked. The agony from the safeguard had left him in tears and robbed his words of any aggression, but it did nothing to stop the sentiment that had led to the attempt in the first place. "I hate you. I hate you. I hope you die, I hope you all just die."

Ulaz didn't respond. Even if it was permissible, there was nothing to say. He simply finished his work in silence and then left to go write his report.

It was a struggle to keep his hands steady as he keyed the words into the terminal. It wasn't the near brush with death that had him so unnerved. He was a member of the Blade of Marmora, working deep undercover. Death was a possibility he had long since made his peace with.

What bothered him was that, in that split second between Shiro activating his hand's power and the safeguard kicking in, he'd accepted it. He'd had an instant in which to decide whether or not to defend himself, and in that instant, the conclusion he came to was that it would be better not to. That it would be unjust to deny Shiro his vengeance.

It was an unacceptable way of thinking. He had gone into this assignment knowing full well it would require him to hurt many innocent people. Shiro was not the first, and was not likely to be the last, either. They were all necessary sacrifices for the sake of the Blade's mission, and to throw all that away to satisfy one man's anger would be unthinkable.

And yet he had thought it. In that instant, he'd almost wanted it.

This couldn't be allowed to continue. No matter what Kolivan said, Shiro needed to be freed, or else he'd surely be the end of Ulaz, one way or another.

---

He almost didn't get the chance. It wasn't really a surprise to hear Shiro had made an escape attempt on his own, or even that he'd gotten as far as he did, but Ulaz pretended it was, and that he wasn't disappointed that the attempt was unsuccessful.

He didn't hear what Shiro's punishment for trying to escape was, but this time it wasn't long before Champion returned to the arena and thus to the examination room, and now Ulaz and the other medical officers had strict orders to keep the viewport on the door closed while he was inside. Ulaz had noticed Shiro would stare out the viewport and tap his fingers during examinations, but he had dismissed the behavior as actions born of impatience and frustration. Perhaps eventually he would learn not to underestimate him.

In the meantime, he continued to work on his own preparations. A ship for his own escape, a bomb set near the escape pods. The hardest part would be in creating the opportunity for an escape at all. Ever since Shiro's first escape attempt, guards were kept posted outside the room during his examinations, so that wouldn't be a feasible avenue. As a doctor, he would be too out of place going to Shiro's cell, and even if he stole a guard's uniform, Champion was never supposed to be escorted by any fewer than two guards at once. He was left with very little room to maneuver.

And then the perfect opportunity dropped itself into his lap.

The Blue Lion had been located on Champion's home planet, he was informed. The Champion would get it for them, but, of course, certain procedures would need to be performed first, to ensure his cooperation. Procedures to be performed by Ulaz.

He would not be performing these procedures.

It was fortunate that he'd already been making preparations for freeing Shiro; he had scarcely enough time to set the timer on his bomb and then send a message to Kolivan informing him of what he was about to do. There wasn't enough time to wait for a response, but that was probably for the best. Even if Kolivan disagreed that keeping the Blue Lion out of the Empire's hands was a good enough reason to act, there was no way he could dissuade Ulaz at this point. Better that he not get the chance. Ulaz would deal with the consequences later.

In the end, it would be fine. No matter how mad Kolivan got about this, he would have to admit Ulaz was right when Shiro brought them the Blue Lion. This would be a major turning point in the war, he'd see that.

---

Shiro never brought the Blue Lion to the Thaldycon base, and the more time passed, the more worried Ulaz grew. Had he been wrong? Freeing Shiro had been a gamble, but he'd been confident in Shiro's ability to beat the odds. He'd always done so well with that before. But this was on a wholly different scale. Maybe it was simply too much.

No. He couldn't give up so easily. As long as there wasn't any news of the Blue Lion's successful reclamation by the Empire, there was still hope.

News of the Blue Lion's reclamation by the Empire also never came to the Thaldycon base. The news that eventually reached Ulaz instead was much more surprising, but also much more welcome. After 10,000 years, Voltron had finally been reformed, and was working against the Galra Empire. Ulaz could almost laugh.

When was he ever going to learn to stop underestimating Shiro?

[gothicneo]

Master Viper Appreciation Post

I want to take a moment today to write about one of my favorite Dreamworks Animation characters: Master Viper!

Viper is a member of the Furious Five, the elite team of warriors in the Kung Fu Panda series, and chief friends/allies of protagonist Po. Dreamworks' official website described Viper as the "mother hen" of the Furious Five, which is demonstrated in the film by her being the first one to show patience and kindness with Po even as her peers are eager to get rid of the bumbling panda.

When I first saw the film, I thought Viper was the just sweetest thing. I wanted to be that sort of snake -er, person- in my friends' lives: present, compassionate, and, when the situation called for it, a fearsome protector ready to strike at anyone who dared to threaten them. The character established in the first film was kind and supportive of those around her, going against the trope of snakes being conniving villains in animation. She's goes against cold-blooded reptilian nature to befriend all these other species and does it with a smile. (Being voiced by Lucy Liu also helps raise her likability!) As a result, Viper became a favorite avatar for me on forums and messengers between 2009 and 2011.

Sadly, my enthusiasm began to peter out after Kung Fu Panda 2 made it clear Viper and every other member of the Furious Five not named Tigress wouldn't be seeing any further development. I was so disappointed by this realization that I didn't even watch Kung Fu Panda 3. Spoiler: Viper has even less to do in 3! She doesn't even get her own closeup in the final celebration sequence.

I know I'm putting way too much thought into one supporting character from from a cartoon about a, well, Kung Fu Panda. I wasn't even the target demographic for these films, seeing as I was starting high school when the first came out and graduating college by the time the third hit theaters.Viper's primary purpose as a character was to fill one of five arbitrary slots on a team roster, and the writers didn't have anything for her past that. Still,

Now, perhaps the reason for Viper's severely reduced screen time is purely technical, as I understand that she was the most difficult member of the Furious Five to animate, but I couldn't help but interpret her reduced presence in the films as the writers deciding that this nurturing member of the team was the least interesting. As someone who projected on this character, that hurts.

Despite sequels, spin-off specials and a TV series, Viper only gets pushed further to the side. It's a waste of a good character and Lucy Liu (who reprises the role in much of the spin-off media, even as most of the movies' celebrity cast passes on those smaller projects). Hell, Kung Fu Panda 3 doesn't even give Viper a single closeup in the end celebration.

Dreamworks created an incredibly charming character, paired her with the perfect actress, and did nothing interesting with her after the first film.Does a character need to be serious and brooding like Tigress to be considered plot essential? There should still be room for a mother hen type to play her part, even if she isn't the focus of the story. They're currently working on a new TV series, so maybe Viper can still slither her way into some worthwhile plots, but with Jack Black returning as Po, I doubt any members of the Furious Five will see any further development.

But a girl can dream of her favorite snake girl getting her due, can't she?

[blackknightgargiemoviephile]

How To Train Your Dragon Saga

In the beginning, I was never really interested in watching the movie and never even bothered to watch the trailer, since we thought it was one of those cliche failure movies (and Dreamworks hasn't really had a very good track record of good animated movies at the time), but after being bombarded with tons of Toothcup fanfics and fanarts and after very high recommendations by my friend Jello13 from dA, I finally got down to watching the movie. Boy, was I glad I took my friend's recommendation to watch this movie, and the subsequent sequels after that, because after 3, 4 friggin' times, I still fucking LOVE this movie!!!

Here's my findings of the saga:

Apparently this movie was based on a children's novel written by Cressida Cowell which focuses on the 2nd book in a 10-volume book franchise. There are certain deviations between the real Hiccup and Toothless and the storyline as a whole, but after reading the summary of the original story, I think I like the movie version better. In fact even the writer said so in her blog that she likes the deviation as the movie captured the core essence of her story and it was amazing to see her story to be interpreted this way.

The storyline and the pacing is very good, and the sarcastic humour and slight optimism of Hiccup despite people thinking he's anything BUT a Viking is very intriguing. I love his catchphrases like "I'm way too muscular for their tastes. They wouldn't know what to do with all...this" and "Thank you for summing that up" and his famous line "You just gestured to ALL of me!" is just some of the LOL-worthy lines the talented Jay Baruchel who voices Hiccup does.

I was totally shocked to find out that Gerard Butler plays the role of Stoick, Hiccup's old man! I have never expect him, who is known for his brawniness and action-packed persona, made famous in the movie 300, would actually play a voice-over for a cartoon character. After finding out, spotting his voice and hearing the familiarity was much, much easier.

And of course, the creme de la creme of the entire movie: TOOTHLESS!! He is just so, so, so, soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo uber cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute~~~~!!!!! When I read about him in fanfics and caught glimpses of him through fanarts, I was thinking, "Hey, this dragon is quite cute." Now amplify that feeling by a gajillion times more. That's how I feel about Toothless. He started off a little vicious with his snake-like slit for eyes, trying to act strong and tough like the dragon he was, but the moment he let his guard down a little, he got these pair of big doe eyes that is just so MOE and SQUEE-worthy. And of course I finally learn how he got his namesake: with retractable teeth that he can materialize at will

My most favourite scene of the entire movie would be this scene where Toothless finally was at peace with Hiccup and allowed him to touch him. The way Toothless tried to copy his drawing, and then growled whenever Hiccup stepped on his drawing, then Hiccup moved to avoid the lines in tune with the music until finally they were so close they were allowed to touch was just so AWW-worthy. And the music score was perfect too, especially the title of that score: Forbidden Friendship. Isn't that just sweet?

The part where Hiccup and Toothless slowly develop that bond while trying to get Toothless back on his flight feet again was also very interesting as they slowly worked together and forget each other's differences to reach a common goal, while at the same time trying to learn about each other, and Hiccup using that knowledge to good use (the eel and the scratching of the neck part was really epic), making him the life of the team, much to his crush, Astrid's chagrin.

I also love the part where Hiccup tries to convince everyone during the final exam of killing a dragon that dragons are not what they think they are, and tried to pacify the Monstrous Nightmare only to be interrupted by Stoick and having Toothless coming to the rescue (damsel in distress much, Hiccup? XD) and revealed their relationship. It felt really sad and my heart just broke when Hiccup shouted Toothless for him not to kill Stoick and Toothless looked at him with his doe eyes, then Hiccup tries in vain to stop everyone from hurting Toothless, and that argument which led to his disowning, and earning back his role as a son by proving his worth and Toothless' reputation, though a cost of his leg. I was wondering where would be the scene where he looses his leg, since I read that he had a prosthetic in fanfics, but turns out it happened in the near end of the movie, and literally mirrored Toothless' missing left tail fin.

Ending is a bit cliche where he gets the girl, he is lauded as a war hero and gained the respect of everyone including his father, the dragons made peace with humans and all that, but still it was a very heartwarming cliche scene. One that leaves a smile on your face and a sigh of contentment in your heart.

Speaking of Astrid, not really sure it's because of that yaoi in me, but I never really saw Astrid as a suitable pairing for Hiccup. I know, I'm not usually one for bestiality, but seriously, can't you just FEEL the love between Hiccup and Toothless to the point where you can consider them as lovers? Toothcup (Toothless/Hiccup) pairings are in the rage right now since the movie has been uber popularize, and you cannot deny that sort of relationship exist, right?

This one, personally I feel, is almost as par as the first one. Not better, not worse, but more or less par. Hiccup and Astrid are still together, but the Toothcup shipper in me just don't feel like they match somehow. Moreso, suddenly out of the blue, Snotlout and Fishlegs were heads over heels with Ruffnut, which I ABSOLUTELY have NO CHEMISTRY feel whatsoever! Even after I've watched their TV series that led to the second movie, I STILL don't get the vibe or the chemistry between those three people. It's like "Wait, what?" moment.

Although that moment when Ruffnut was just totally thirsty for Eret was absolutely hilarious though. I couldn't help laughing and cringing at the same time.

When the moment Hiccup's mom Valka showed up, I was not expecting her to be so... skinny. Stoick said that he made helmets out of Hiccup's mom's breast plate, and it seemed pretty big, but looking at her, she didn't look like someone who was close to being a big bosom woman, but what is continuity anyways? LOL Though Hiccup definitely has inherited her knack for dragons. Guess it's in the blood after all.

I teared up a little when Stoick died, and I felt so bad that their bromance was threatened by this, but thankfully Hiccup still loves Toothless and is willing to forgive him and try to bring him back to his side. Goes to show how deep their bond is, and Toothless ended up becoming the Alpha Dragon was one of the most epic moments in the whole movie.

It also kinda interesting that Hiccup has somehow became pretty hot in this movie. Was pretty surprised at how he transformed from the awkward tiny little runt of a boy to a strapping man LOL

Plot feels similar to the 2nd one, but the ending was so so SO bittersweet. A fitting ending, but sweet yet painful for me to watch.

My heart broke at the scene wen Hiccup was complaining about Toothless being in love n said "Am I not enough?" and I was like internally screaming "YES! U ARE ENOUGH!! U TWO ARE ENOUGH!! FUCK THAT LIGHT FURY!!"

Throughout the courtship scene btwn Toothless and the Light Fury i was like internally screaming "NO, SHE'S A TRAP! SHE'S A FUCKING TRAP! HICCUP, WHY ARE YOU OKAY WITH THIS?! I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THIS! I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!"

I cried like a fucking baby, especially at the end of the movie. It was like I knew it was happening, that they were gonna break up, but I was in denial, then when Toothless hugged Hiccup goodbye, I lost it, waterworks all over. In fact, waterworks all the way to the end at their final reunion ugly-cried like a fucking baby.

It did ended perfectly; perfectly bittersweet and perfectly heartbreaking and I was like "This is it. It's official. It's over. My Toothcup ship has fucking sank!!"

Fuck you, DreamWorks, you have killed my bromance!! Gahh!! I hate and love this movie at the same time!

Overall rating:

HTTYD: 9/10

HTTYD2: 7.5/10

HTTYD: 9/10

[chefboyard-bag]

@immortalsapphics got me

coke or pepsi? coke

disney or dreamworks? dreamworks ftw

coffee or tea? coffee

books or movies? Younger me would said books all the way, but I struggle to get myself to finish books now, so I guess movies

windows or mac? windows.. like duh

dc or marvel? I definitely read more DC as a kid, but I was briefly on a geek-ass podcast and my role was to be the "well actually" guy, so I know way more Marvel lore

x-box or playstation? PC, my most recent-gen console is a 360

dragon age or mass effect? Never played either

night owl or early riser? Can't wake up well to save my life, I don't hit my stride until like 6pm

cards or chess? I'm impressively good at losing every chess game I've ever played, but I'll take your car in hold 'em

chocolate or vanilla? I used to be the death-by-chocolate type, but honestly vanilla slaps

vans or converse? I rock both, but only the old-school, modern style shoes suck ass

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? Is Dragon Age like explicitly Irish, or is it just a coincidence?

fluff or angst? angst all day

beach or forest? Swamp baybeeee

dogs or cats? cats fur sure

clear skies or rain? I can fucks with the rain, but I needs me some clear days

cooking or eating out? The URL ain't a joke, I throw down in the kitchen

spicy food or mild food? I don't vibe with spice that is just pain for the sake of hurt, but gimme that tastee heat

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? My entire apartment is permanently halloween themed

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? I guess a little cold? Idk the older I get the more I realize anything outside of 69-73°F and I'm uncomfortable

if you could have a superpower, what would it be? Time manipulation

animation or live action? animation, but like it's gotta be well done

paragon or renegade? McScuse me?

baths or showers? showers, but baths can be a beautiful thing when the chronic pain is especially bad

team cap or team ironman? they were both wrong

fantasy or sci-fi? sci-fi, as long as it's scientifically accurate

do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? that's too many words, but "this world might be cruel, but I'm still kickin" has legit kept me around

youtube or netflix? youtube, love me them dumbass videos

[REDACTED] yeah fuck it why not

when do you feel accomplished? LMAO as if I've ever experienced that emotion

star wars or star trek? idk I've never been big into either

paperback books or hardcover books? Love me the sensory experience of a hardcover, but most of my books are paperback

to live in a world without literature or without music? You're really gonna ask a multi-instrumentalist to give up music?

who was the last person to make you laugh? Everyone thinks I'm funny, then they meet my partner..

city or countryside? country without a doubt, been living in a huge city for 6 years now and every single person here can fuck off and die. I miss the farm

favorite chips? Cape Cod

pants or dresses? I can rock the hell out of a dress, but designers hate women and the functionality of pants can't be beat

libraries or museums? *sweats profusely* I.. I . don't know

character driven stories or plot driven stories? Depends on how it's sold, I typically lean towards plot, but I'll read an entire book of pure characterization if it's actually interesting and relevant

bookmarks or folding pages? bookmarks but I can never find mine, so dog-ear it is

Dream job? One of those executive positions that pays $600k to sit on your ass and do nothing

What gives you comfort? SLEEP

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? "In this god-fearing land there ain't no lodging for the mad, and you can't get high enough to breathe before you drown"

favorite ice cream flavor ever? OTTER PAWS 🐾

first fandom? I can genuinely say I've never been a member of any fandom

top artist of this year? LMFAO I'm a top 2% listener of the Kermitment podcast

Got tagged by @dingbingbats

Rapid fire questions go

coke or pepsi? Bepsi :)

disney or dreamworks? Dreamworks have dragons so

coffee or tea? Coffee for utility tea for pleasure

books or movies? You can't make me choose

windows or mac? Windows, Mac scares me

dc or marvel? DC ig, I like Harlivy

x-box or playstation? PC and Nintendo consoles

dragon age or mass effect? Never played either of them

night owl or early riser? Born to night owl forced to early rise

cards or chess? Cards, I suck at chess :(

chocolate or vanilla? Depends, mostly chocolate though

vans or converse? Vans are more comfy but I love my Converse to death

Lavellan, Trevelyan, Cadash, or Adaar? Don't speak French

fluff or angst? BOTH

beach or forest? Forest

dogs or cats? Both are lovely beasts but I have a slight cat bias

clear skies or rain? Rain 100%, not to be too emo but I love the sensation of raindrops falling on my back

cooking or eating out? Cooking all the way if it wasn't for executive dysfunction

spicy food or mild food? I like it a bit spicy. Like "spicy at a Turkish restaurant" not "spicy at an Indian restaurant"-levels

halloween/samhain or solstice/yule/christmas? Halloween:)

would you rather forever be a little too cold or a little too hot? The latter is just menopause so that one ig???

if you could have a superpower, what would it be? Shapeshifting or invisibility, you're on the trans loser website

animation or live action? Animation

paragon or renegade? Don't speak Italian

baths or showers? Showers

team cap or team ironman? Unchecked nationalism or hypercapitalist libertarianism. Captain America I guess because I cannot imagine a single emotionally resonant story that could be told with the current iteration of Ironman

fantasy or sci-fi? fantasy but I've been getting more into sci-fi lately

do you have three or four favourite quotes, if so what are they? The Sappho quote, you know the one;"[…]Heaven and hell are the same but in heaven they feed each other";The good ol' Memento Mori

youtube or netflix? Youtube

[REDACTED] 👍

when do you feel accomplished? God has cursed me for my hubris, and my work is never finished.

star wars or star trek? Horny Space Fleet

paperback books or hardcover books? hardcover, I'm too clumsy for paperbacks

to live in a world without literature or without music? You cannot meaningfully separate one from the other

who was the last person to make you laugh? Probably the dingus who tagged me

city or countryside? city

favorite chips? Those corn based chrupki that come in bags the size of a small child

pants or dresses? Pants

libraries or museums? Libraries

character driven stories or plot driven stories? Character driven

bookmarks or folding pages? Bookmarks

Dream job? They should pay me for being a special little boy, so ig Court Jester

What gives you comfort? Art, friends, pillows to hug

what are some of your favorite song lyrics? My theology/ I like to know that he's watching me/ Fulfill me up like a prophecy/ put the fear of God in me ; Sodom & Gomorrah by Dorian Electra my beloved

favorite ice cream flavor ever? Can't go wrong with mango

first fandom?

tagging others, add your own new question at the end if you follow up:

@vikugnavikugna @vzajemnik @nectadraws @sephinot @immortalsapphics @randomarcher2013 @asphyxi-art

[anima-letters]

If you know about Dreamworks The Bad Guys and Sly Cooper, you don't mind do a story Mr Wolf and Sly Cooper met during the heist and a week or two later of seeing each other, they two would end up having a romantic moment alone together as they gain their feelings for each other. (can't help but think that Sly Cooper is a top and Mr Wolf is a bottom) ^^' XD. So please would you mind, when you got the time...

I know both! Albeit in a rather superficial way if I'm honest- but I've seen fanarts of them together (which doesn't seem strange to me considering their works?) But I might get to try it to get out of my safe zone a bit- experimenting never hurts! Especially since it's so sweet of you.

Maybe you have a fic you could recommend to guide me? It doesn't have to be them as a couple, it can be from their individual fandom.

I apologize in advance if things get zoned weird, I reiterate that I'm not someone who's very into those fandoms... so, you'd be the first person to see it in full! And if it pleases you, you could say it's a gift to you, haha.

[brieflyimpossiblecreation]

So, this has been bothering me all morning.

@xcrisscrossx's point is what I see as the epitome of being aromantic and seeing others understand what is a huge part of me and relate it in a way others can understand made me quite happy even though I am not in either of those fandoms.

But @sasu-loves-naru's and @kawosh1inning's responses are the epitome of why I'm terrified of expressing my love for any fandoms or interests.

Now before I go on a tangent I want to preface this with:

1. I don't know anything about Sherlock or Naruto and any controversy about how the show's respective characters interact and handle their relationships

And 2. I'm not directly attacking any user depicted here. This is just the first solid example I could easily find of what I'm talking about, there are hundreds of post and whatnot that get the same point across.

As stated before, I am aromatic. Aromanticism is the lack of romantic attraction/ feelings or the need for those feelings. When I consume any media I like I'm of course going to find ways to relate to it. But from this post and hundreds of others, any mention of characters being 'just friends' or really anything but romantically or sexually involved with eachother is usually met with backlash like this. Accusations and being made into a joke. It hurts a lot and makes me and others scared to share our thoughts.

And no I'm not dense. I know that throughout history recent and far that lovers have been described as "best friends." I know people try to play off romantic relationships as really close friends when they're uncomfortable with it. I get it! Haha make fun of the stupid homophobes who can't stand seeing anyone of the same gender smooch or love eachother. I'm not homophobic though and I couldn't care less about whether mlm or wlw is shown! What I'm worried about it when I say I like seeing that these characters didn't end up dating because I relate to having friends I love so very much and being attacked!

ROMANTIC LOVE IS NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY OTHER TYPE OF LOVE!!!

The most recent example of this for me was with DreamWorks SheRa. WAY BEFORE the end of the series, one of the blogs I followed made a sort of callout post over someone who had commented something along the lines of seeing Catra and Adora as sisters. And the poster along with everyone in the comments and tags expressed disgust and calling them all sorts of names. I knew Adora and Catra were written romantically but I couldn't help the denial and want to see characters like me. Seeing that made me feel like if I had said anything similar then I'd also be called out and made fun of as homophobic and blind. Then the ending happened and I was happy for the major win for the LGBTQ+ community representation. I wasn't upset that two women kissed and married, I was totally indifferent! Then Bow and Glimmer ended up together, Mermista and Seahawk were implied, Scorpia and Perfuma got together and I just felt bitter and conflicted. I'm so happy for the representation that was given from the show but hated the message that ended up coming from it.

"Everything ended up a-okay in the ended because everyone ended up dating and getting married! Those besties? They loved eachother as romantic lovers all along! Even if you felt they didn't have the chemistry and thought it was kinda added in as a second thought! Doesn't matter because love! Yay!"

The fact that this message is pretty prevalent in both heterosexual and queer stories makes me feel isolated and hated. Stuff like this made me think I was broken and if I just get a girlfriend and force myself to "be romantic" then maybe eventually I'd be fixed. But that didn't happen, it never would, and that relationship hurt both of us. I'd never feel what she wanted and I'd never love her the same way she loved me. And I thought something was wrong with me. In reality, it was the thought that my lack of romantic attraction was something that needed to be "fixed."

Asexuals and Aromatics already have a hard time from both queer and non-queer communities so to have any secret speck or crumb of comfort get intentionally (or not) smacked from our hands is awful. I DON'T CARE about queer romances YOU DO YOU I'M PROUD OF YOU just don't come on to ME when I sheepishly and quietly mumble under my breath how I like them better as friends because I can see myself in those characters.