#funny thing? that game never made it to that arc. I was told in about five months the western ver would've gotten that

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

If there is at least one thing I can credit FE for doing better than Tales in localization, it's not trying to actively go out of their way for an entire game to avoid subtext or direct text between two men that is romantic or implied romantic. Funny when it's so present that the attempt doesn't even work; infuriating that it was attempted to begin with.

So as much as I often have issues with some of FE's localizations, at least they have a leg up on loc Tales for that.

[extensionallydefined]

Okay, so, I need to talk about the relationship between Persona 5's ending and Persona 5 royal's ending, because I think it isn't discussed enough how one puts into question the themes of the other and in doing so it elevates everything that came before.

Spoilers are coming, you've been warned.

The main thing that's given me an outlet to think about this is a few quotes from the Phantom Thieves when they're in the Velvet Room after being Thanos-snapped by Yaldabaoth. Specifically these quotes:

Ann: "I... I never want anyone to have to go through what I did!"

Yusuke: "Just as art is meant to break boundaries, people should be saved even if they frown upon it. I won't allow the justice I believe in to be shaken any further!"

Ryuji: "We're doin' this to make sure people don't go through the same crap we did. It doesn't matter if they think we're just or not. We gotta do what we believe in!"

Futaba: "I can't let people suffer like this, even if I don't know them personally"

They mention some core ideas: 1. They want to prevent people's suffering because of the suffering they've felt. 2. They must do this regardless of if people want it, because they think it's the right thing to do. 3. Their justice is worth fighting for by virtue of being what they believe in.

Does this seem familiar? Maybe makes you think of a certain therapist who shows up in Royal?

I think Takuto Maruki serves a decent amount of purposes narratively and thematically, but one of the most genius things about him is that he serves as a foil to both the Phantom Thieves and Akechi, and in being that foil, he is, deep down, following the principles that the Phantom Thieves fought for - In the end, it was largely Joker who inspired him to fight for his reality.

Maruki fights for a reality where suffering straight up doesn't exist, because he doesn't want anyone to feel the suffering he's had to endure. Maruki wants the Phantom Thieves and Akechi to never feel suffering anymore, regardless of their stance on the matter. He is "saving" them regardless of their wishes, and will fight them to keep the reality he wants. He thinks the world is unfair, so his "justice" is to make a perfect world for everyone - and that's what makes it worth fighting for, because that's what he believes.

Maruki's rationale to fight against the Phantom Thieves and Akechi is (partly) the same reasoning that the Phantom Thieves use to regain their motivation to fight the Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth.

So, narratively, Maruki serves as a mirror that's telling things not to be told for the Phantom Thieves to look into and to see the ugly parts of their own way of acting. Can they really fight Maruki, knowing that he is just acting how they did?

I see people sometimes refusing Maruki's reality because it "wouldn't actually work" or "it's imperfect". But as far as I'm aware, it's imperfect because it hasn't been completed yet - I think the game is a lot more interesting under the pretense that Maruki truly has the power to erase all suffering, once his reality is complete, past the deadline. I also see the argument, and even the game uses it, that Maruki's world "isn't reality". But did we listen well to Morgana's speech before he disappeared in the Yaldabaoth arc? The world itself is made up of cognition, reality is born from the points of view of everyone. Maruki *can* change reality, and the real question of the game is not about the logistics or "ontological dignity" of his reality, but rather - Do you want a world where all your wishes are granted and no suffering exists?

In the end, the game shows the Phantom Thieves that "sticking to their justice" will make them fight against people with similar ideals as theirs. It's funny, in a way, how Akechi was the one fully willing to fight Maruki from the start. His rebellion has always been more individualistic in nature than the Phantom Thieves' - he wanted revenge for himself, then redemption for himself and now he wants a reality where he isn't under anyone's control anymore. To him, Shido's country, Yaldabaoth's ruin and Maruki's world are all the same - Maruki just has a nicer, more therapy-speaky way of presenting his proposal, and sees people as his equals rather than as insolent masses, but his goal is the same. They're all worlds that shackle you for the "greater good". And in the end, Maruki, and Royal, force the P5 gang to become more like Akechi - to value their individuality in the face of the public's "justice".

To fight for what you believe in you will face people with the same determination as you. They will be your equals in many, many ways. In the end, you can only stick to your guns and hope that what you believe in is worth more than what they believe in.

I have a lot more to write about these topics but I'll leave it there. Maybe about the relationship between Maruki's reality and individuality next? That could be fun ^^

Btw - Special thanks to @thedaythatwas for inspiring me to write up stuff about Persona 5 Royal!

[yan-lorkai]

Hii, Lorks ~

Had see that your writing for my favorie earl now, have any hcs for older sibling reader and young brother Ciel? Sorry about bad english, is not my first language

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: Been busy with uni stuff but nothing couldn't stop me from writing this now that inspiration strikes me and since we're having a new season I began to reread the manga these past few days and wow, I still love this lil dude. Look at his smiled he knows he's adorable. The Green Witch arc remains my favorite <3

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warning: Yandere content, platonic yandere, protectiveness.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ You were a few years older than the twins, but you were very close to them as well as being a constant figure for them as they grew up. You were what they would describe as the best sibling in the world, even though you liked to make fun of them and make jokes that embarrassed them in front of people, like any good old sibling would do.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ When you had free time, you enjoyed teaching them chess and other logic games, loving the way the expressions on their faces were confusing whenever you used a different strategy. These were simple times when the whole family would get together to watch you play while everyone chatted. Times that were lost after the attack, all the joy, all the warmth, that mixed with the sad blue of the wallpaper until it turned the entire mansion into something cold.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Ciel came back, lost, deeply hurt, and you were the only person he told what happened. The whole kidnapping and the cult, and it broke your heart, your brilliant little brother was an unresponsive blank as he recounted the facts, as if he didn't want to realize the impact that that event had on him. As if he was still on autopilot and couldn't let his guard down. And things were worse now that he had lost his twin brother, who he was as attached to as you were.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ But you were there to support him every step of the way, holding his hand after a nightmare, wiping the rare tears from his eyes, listening to everything he had to say. Ciel's stubborn and prideful, he never asks for help but he has this serene smile on his face when you go out of your way to help him anyway. You knew he was strong for withstanding all the pressure, for enduring everything he went through and for having the strength necessary to overcome everything, and you reminded him of that in each of his "weak moments". It reminded him that he was loved and that you would always be by his side.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ He's still twelve, he's still a child, and you're always telling him stories to sleep and taking him out to take his mind off his trauma. Sometimes you just sit next to him and listen to him express his thoughts.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Ciel can be a little overprotective sometimes, which is funny considering you should be the overprotective one due to the age difference. He always sends Sebastian with you on your errands, to protect you from some attack or someone. And you don't complain, his intentions are good and you can understand the anxiety he feels upon knowing that those responsible for the attack are free and alive.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Being a few years older, you know a lot about balls, about every important person and how to negotiate with them. And you teach each of these things to Ciel when he decides to claim the title of Queen's Watchdog, giving advice and sharing your opinion whenever he asks you, being by his side as his left hand.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ And being his left hand means that you and Sebastian interact on a daily basis, protecting Ciel, going on missions together, collecting information and the such.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ In private, when your masks can finally fall, you call him by his real name, hug him lightly and let him know that no matter what, you'll be there for him. Always.

⠀

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Ciel actually told you everything, everything except that he made a contract with a demon. He hopes you can forgive him when the contract is completed, when he and his soul disappear from this world, without any chance of seeing you one last time in the so-called paradise.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Even after your death, Ciel might remember the loving way you sat in the chair next to his bed when he was sick and took care of him. He will remember the silly promises you made, the bad jokes you told him to make him laugh until his stomach hurt, the little adventures to steal cookies on Christmas morning. Things too precious for him.

[alyheartsjess]

what i would do if i was a gilmore girls writer:

april storyline:

i feel like instead of the april storyline liz could have given birth a bit earlier and and luke and lorelai would have to step in to help raise doula a lot. first of all we’d get to see them with a baby, which is cute. but there’s also a lot of room for conflict in deciding how to handle the situation. aka conflict that makes for good TV (”should we even have kids together if we can’t even do this?”, ”we have to make these decisions together, we’re getting married!” etc.) but isn’t life altering enough to ruin the couple. it also draws parallells to the jess storyline (which was a huge part of the earlier seasons), luke’s established family issues and his earlier disagreements with lorelai which makes luke’s character arc and the show as a whole more cohesive and satisfying. i could see this drama lasting for all of season 6. in the end because these characters have grown, they would actually figure it out somehow. and then they’d have season 7 to settle down and be happy. i actually do love april but they could have made her a young sheldon type of guest character at yale and paris could have developed a soft spot for her or something.

literati in season 3:

so i feel like they wanted to show us that this is rory’s bad boy phase. they made their relationship about dean a lot and most of the episodes centered around them were like ooooh jess did this sucky thing and dean never would have. and i get that maybe they needed to try something new and didn’t want to just recreate the boyfriend storyline with a new guy (aka see how he fits into her grandparents world, saying i love you for the first time etc). they already did the good stuff with dean so they decided to make this rory’s bad decision and only came up conflict to show us. but they didn’t even fully commit bc rory didn’t change with jess the way she did with logan. that was her bad boy phase, literati was always supposed to be something more. so instead of showing how bad of a couple this was compared to dean/rory, they could have drawn different parallels. because dean/rory was not a perfect relationship and they could have shown how in some ways why this is better for rory. what does she want? not her grandparents and not her mom. after all the buildup literati was the audience’s favorite and most anticipated couple, so i really think painting it as an unexpected but positive change of direction in rory’s journey would have been worthwhile.

like show us how when they go on dates they want to do the same things (as opposed to donna reed or rory just watching dean’s games). show us how they both want their alone time and them not calling each other every day because rory wants to study and jess has to work can be an OK thing (as opposed to the infamous 14 calls a day). show us how jess maybe doesn’t fit into lorelai and rory’s flow as well as dean did BUT how that’s also ok because rory is getting older and going off to college so this makes sense. but then also show us some god damn character development and lorelai and jess actually learning to get along (pls make that an entire episode’s storyline actually. have them be funny together and make it emotional). and show us nice scenes with luke, lorelai, rory and jess. where was all of this when they were dating??? nowhere to be seen. although i would have liked for luke not to kick jess out (i will make another post of how i would handle jess and luke’s relationship in season 3) i know it had to happen because milo had to leave. and i wouldn’t change major plot points like that because i like jess’ arc too much. but if they had shown everything i wrote here, literati’s realtionship would have canonically been stronger and jess would have at least told rory about not graduating and his dad showing up and why he felt like he had to go before he went.

dean cheating on lindsay with rory:

actually i would have had lindsay push him in the lake luke pushed jess in but oops plot twist, dean can’t swim

[viennacherries]

Oh oh, I have- well, not really a request, more so a prompt if it strikes any inspiration! No pressure!

I'm a sucker for wizards, so it should come as no surprise that I adore Rolan and Gale. My first Tav was also a wizard, big surprise. I love the scene in the game where Gale teaches you magic and if you're a wizard you can basically be a show off. But- imagine Rolan being ever so kind and offering to give you a quick lesson. The catch is, he doesn't know you're a wizard for some reason... so he's really showing off and making a big deal about the movements and pronunciation for the spell, and at first you're playing dumb. "Oh, like this?" *does everything wrong*.

Rolan walks you through the steps again, and this time you are like "oh, I see! Like this?" and proceed to do the spell perfectly AND with a little bit of flare. Rolan wants to curse because how the hell did you catch on so quick!!! Whether or not you reveal you're a wizard, I'll leave up to your imagination. 😂

I just finished Kiss The Cook and oh my lord I was GIDDY upon realizing Rolan was gonna propose. I yelled so loudly. 10/10. I loved it.

sorry for taking a while with this one! wanted to wait until i was properly inspired so i could do it justice cos i think it's so funny and cute. so much room for shenanigans.

i might continue this one and turn it into something multi-chaptered if people like it? maybe some freaking wizard on wizard smut later on? 👀

for now tho it's just cute and wholesome, i had a lot of fun with this. enjoy!!

SFW

read it on ao3 here

~~~

"Like this?"

Bless him. Rolan is trying to be patient but you can see the mounting frustration on his face every time you mess up a movement.

"Not quite. That one was close, though. It's more like this."

He turns to face you, brings his hands up and around in elegant, practiced arcs before clasping them together and forcing them outwards towards you. A brilliant burst of purple light flows forward, soft around the edges and pulsating with weave. You can feel it emanate from it, calling to you.

You're not quite sure how Rolan managed to never learn that you're a wizard, though you suppose the only times he really saw you fight were when you were defending him in the shadow-cursed lands and when you defeated Lorroakan. Admittedly, he had other things on his mind. He probably just wasn't paying attention.

Regardless, now you're standing in a large open room underneath the Sundries, where Rolan is insisting on teaching you magic. You're not blind; you know he's doing it because he has feelings for you. You would have put him out of his misery and told him you have feelings for him too, but it's rather cute when he tries to impress you.

Like now, for instance.

Every demonstration is slightly exaggerated. His posture is tighter and more disciplined than is strictly necessary, and with every somatic shape he creates he adds enticing flourishes, his fingers curling and pointing invitingly. He's putting on a lovely show for you.

Which is why you'd decided to just... Go along with it.

Is it very polite? Absolutely not. Is he going to be incredibly embarrassed when he realises the truth? Absolutely. But how are you supposed to resist when he looks so delicious like this? His tongue flicks out to brush over his lips to wet them every time he utters the incantation in demonstration, and a few stray strands of hair twist and curl in the air from the weight of the weave in the atmosphere. He looks regal, practicing his craft. Your shared craft.

You swore off dating other wizards when you were at university. Men were insufferable at the best of times, let alone wizard men who thought they were Mystra's gift to spellcraft. You'd made a promise to yourself, after one unsuccessful date of many, with a man who started trying to explain how cantrips worked to you, that you would only date non magic-users.

Gale had been quite disappointed to find that out, bless his heart.

But Rolan. There's just something about him, which is weird.

It's mostly weird because when you met him you absolutely despised him. He demonstrated all of the worst qualities you'd come to expect from your peers during your education; arrogance, self-importance, pride, vanity, etcetera, etcetera. You distinctly remember sharing a look with Karlach as you walked away from him and his siblings, both of you pulling a face of utter disdain.

He'd changed though, over the course of the journey. After his siblings being kidnapped, his apprenticeship souring, he'd become incredibly grounded. Besides, his arrogance actually wasn't completely misplaced. He's incredibly gifted with his manipulation of the weave. Not that you'd ever tell him that.

In the aftermath of the Absolute's invasion you've spent a lot of time with him, and you've decided he looks rather beautiful when he casts. His brow furrows in concentration and his eyes gleam with a determination that's easy to get caught up in.

And his hands. You stare at his hands a lot.

"Do you want to try again, or are you just planning on standing there all day?"

His words bring you back to the present. Ah, yes. Magic lesson.

It's probably time to end the charade, really. You definitely can't keep this up forever. It's actually rather difficult to keep doing spells wrong when you've been trained so thoroughly on how to do them right.

By the Gods, though, you're going to have some fun with it. You took a couple of acting classes in your second year, at a local bard college, so you're determined to sell it.

You make a big show of taking a deep breath in, shaking your hands out as if you're trying to dispel nervous energy. Rolling your neck around it makes a large crack, and you lace your fingers together and stretch your arms out in front of you to crunch your knuckles. He watches you eagerly, ready to appraise your efforts, and you can't help the upward tick at the corner of your mouth.

The movements are second nature, really. You twirl your hands into elegant shapes as you raise your arms, and twist them around you in a circular motion; a grand emulation of Rolan's earlier demonstration. As you surge your hands forwards, a bright burst of light surges forwards, bathing the pair of you in a velour glow.

Rolan's face is absolutely priceless. You have to physically swallow down the laugh that threatens to bubble up within you.

"... Like that?" The mirth in your voice, however, is more difficult to disguise.

Rolan just stands, staring at you. His mouth is agape, and he's gradually turning a rather beckoning shade of crimson. The laugh you've been holding back bubbles out of you, and you fold over yourself and brace your hands on your knees as you cackle.

"I... You..." His difficulty forming his words only makes it more entertaining, and you clutch at your stomach as the hilarity of the situation rolls over you. You manage to steel your breathing and calm your laughter, and glance back up at him, but he's still got that incredulous look on his face with his mouth hung open, and it sends you back into hysterics.

"You... You're a wizard?! Why did... Why didn't you..." He trips over every half-thought word, trying to come to terms with the fact that he's been completely blindsided and utterly bamboozled. You calm your laughter and straighten up, a light chuckle spilling from you.

"Yes, Rolan, I'm a wizard. I'm sorry for teasing, I just couldn't resist."

His face is so red he could be mistaken for a gith's dragon.

"I don't... How did I not..." He evidently is still struggling with stringing coherent thoughts together, but you know what he's trying to say. You shrug in response, a smile plastered on your face.

"I don't know, to be honest. I killed at least two of the shadow-creatures that were after you with Magic Missile, and I don't think I could survive without Mage Hands. I'm too short to reach any of the shelves in the library."

"Well." He huffs. "... I could get you a step-stool, if you like."

You can't help throwing your head back at that and laughing openly, "it's fine, really. I manage just fine."

"Why didn't you tell me? I've been stood here like an imbicile, making a big glim show trying to-" He cuts himself off, and the flush that had just began to subside comes back in full force. "I mean- I was-"

"Trying to impress me?" You can't be blamed for teasing him more, surely? When he looks so utterly delectable with that blush over his cheeks? "Don't worry, sweetheart," you drawl out the syllables of the pet name and throw him a wink, "consider me impressed."

As you turn to leave you hear the way his breath catches as he breaths in, and he chokes and splutters on the air. You barely contain your laugh as you begin ascending the stairs back to the main hallway.

Rolan stands behind you, staring at your back as you depart; face burning and tail flicking in wild arcs behind him.

[weaselytedious]

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

for Ryunosuke!

RYUNOSUKE NARUHODO MY BEST FRIEND RYUNOSUKE NARUHODO 🐭

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

He's my favourite Ace Attorney character tied with Maya! He's an underdog character who doesn't even start as a lawyer but then has an amazing character arc that really leads him to deserving that "Great Ace Attorney" title by the end. His animations are all really charming and I can't pick a favourite. He has a unique and interesting relationship with every other main character. He's very outwardly polite with a sarcastic and snarky inner monologue that occasionally leaks into his outer monologue. Can't remember three digits on his student badge (which he's lost three times) but CAN unravel complex government conspiracies. If you told him "gullible" was written on the ceiling he'd check and then politely ask if you could be mistaken. He won't bluff in the courtroom but can bluff for England when asked to tidy his desk by his teenage assistant. He drags out the equivalent of Mia Fey's "well if you're sure it isn't poisoned why don't YOU take it" several times in court and it just works. Nobody is doing it like him. Obsessed with this guy

2. Favourite canon thing about this character?

I love that all we know about his backstory is random lore drops, mostly from optional dialogue. He's not even cagey about it in the way Phoenix is, it's just that people never ask him anything. Turns out he steals soap from public baths, has had a cold only once in his life and still complains about it, takes all his medicine at once when he's prescribed some, doesn't like knives (except Karuma, that's Kazuma's soul, Susato), knows only three types of flowers that are actually just blossoms, and who knows what else??

(Also I relate to him being terrified at Madame Tussauds because I went to Madame Tussauds once as a child and remember having a similar reaction so I think he's very valid for that tbh)

3. Least favourite canon things about this character?

I know Phoenix is never actually confirmed to be Ryunosuke's DIRECT descendant but the fact that it implies Ryunosuke canonically has children at some point baffles me. I cannot imagine this man being a father. There are enough weird contrivances that lead to characters ending up with children in this series that I can believe he got saddled with a kid at some point, but would he actually be a good parent? Uh..... Maybe he'd have been better as a standalone character tbh

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

I'd love to put Ryunosuke in Doctor Who. This man is definitely NOT equipped for aliens and time travel so I just think putting him in both situations would be really funny. I think he'd get along with the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) because he matches a lot of the Sholmes energy, but he'd probably be more likely to actually survive if paired with 12th (Peter Capaldi) lmao

If reality shows count then I'd put him on Strictly Come Dancing if only because he already made a direct reference to it in the game which is hilarious (Sholmes would also be extremely funny on Strictly, obviously)

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

I don't listen to a lot of music but Toh Kay's "The Hands that Thieve" has always made me think of Gina and Ryunosuke reflecting on both the McGilded trial and Ryunosuke's trial and losing faith in the legal system, while Ryunosuke prepares to defend Gina in that final trial of the first game. (I've been editing a video of it but I'm not sure I'll post it anywhere lest I get stricken down by copyright)

Thanks for the ask!! 🐭

[fountainpenguin]

i know youve mentioned that the dimmadomes have adhd but are there other characters in your fics that are neurodivergent? :0 if that makes sense

It's not usually mentioned in-story, but here are some that have shown up in my writing:

Humans

- You brought up the Dimmadomes having ADHD/OCD comorbidity. They're some of my favorites just in terms of me developing those headcanons somewhat separately for each one of them... starting with Dale, not Dev, actually. But Dev was a logical conclusion afterwards.

Detail I think is cute: Both Dale and Dev like Sims games because they like building nice, organized things that are under their control (Yes, Dev does have a computer in his bedroom and I imagine he uses it mostly for games). Dev likes cleaning and organizing simulators. Dale played a LOT of Sims during the 50 years of frozen time. I like to think Sims was an awakening for teen Dale in terms of same-sex relationships, but he will never, ever tell you that. Come to think of it, there's no way boy x boy manga-loving Dev is not also exploring same-sex relationships through his Sims world. Like father, like son?

Realizing how funny it would be if Doug had ADHD and OCD and that's why he jumps from one business to another and why his dream in "Mooooving Day" is a suburbia of people dressed in identical outfits living in identical houses in many identical rows still has me on the floor. I'm sorry, I just think my realization of that when I'd already headcanoned both Dale and Dev with ADHD/OCD was extremely funny. Big "Wait a minute" lightbulb moment.

Dale has several interesting things we could talk about, and they're discussed in detail in the character profile I'm posting for him next week. On his list are complex PTSD, hypervigilance, and dissociation. He also has misophonia as part of his OCD (and so does Dev).

- My OC Hadley Harrington also has ADHD/OCD comorbidity. Her big thing is hoarding OCD. I discussed it more in her character profile and we saw it in action in "50 Words of Dev and Hazel," where Dev dug through his mom's stuff to rescue an au pair that had been crushed under her hoard.

In that story, Dale told Dev he was allowed to go to a Christmas party with his peers as long as he brought back some of their wrapping paper so Dale could wrap Hadley's present. She actually likes her presents when they're made of scraps because the recycling helps her feel better than paper being wasted, plus she thinks it looks fun in videos, and Dale knows that. Just a little detail I thought was cute.

- Chloe has mild OCD. She sometimes has anxiety attacks and experiences dissociation.

- Timmy and Mikey Munroe are two other characters who have ADHD in my works and I LOVE playing them as foils for each other, with Timmy being less attentive and Mikey being more hyperactive.

- Mikey also has dyslexia (Heavily implied by canon where he struggles with the spelling bee), which is interesting. I am still obsessed that his crush (Sophie Sanders) seems to have dyscalculia. Boy who struggles with words, girl who struggles with numbers, what crimes will they commit?

- Peppy Happy Betty has severe anxiety. In the original version of "Solo" (which was posted and up for a while), she said Sanderson helped her through her self-harm struggles. I later tweaked it so she says she's been scratching herself as I didn't think the original phrasing fit with the rest of my T-rated content (and I didn't want to catch people off guard with it).

Pink and Gray is supposed to delve into her self-harm, which is part of why I plan to raise its rating when it comes off hiatus (and I'll update the tags accordingly). This is one of the stories that I expected to censor most from its original draft, but since I want to raise its rating for other reasons anyway, I'd like to explore her self-harm arc too. Carefully and with proper tags as mentioned. Betty gets into tattoos later as a way to redirect some of those feelings. I... think she has bat (Anti-Fairy) wings tattooed on her back, but I'll have to double check. Pretty sure it's bat wings.

- I'd also like to write Hazel as autistic- I've seen autistic writers talk about the many things they relate to with her and I like their portrayals.

- I've been waffling over making Kevin Crocker neurodivergent because it feels right to me, but I haven't nailed down exactly what I want to do with him. Open to suggestions, but still doing research and trying to find what feels right :)

Non-Humans

Disclaimer - My non-humans have non-human brains; I'm translating a few things from their in-universe diagnoses for clarity.

- Goldie has Harm OCD. Her species (will o' the wisps) are stereotyped as "damsels force drakes into harems" and she has a lot of paranoia regarding that.

Enter Goldie-Poof dubcon arc where Poof feels awful about expressing his relationship concerns to Goldie, knowing she'll panic about them, so he keeps hiding his feelings. "Watch and Learn" was a story where Poof broke up with Goldie, only to take her back almost immediately.

- Anti-Cosmo has bipolar disorder (hand in hand with mania, depression, dissociation, and hypersexuality). Specifically, he has a parallel of it that applies to his specific species- In-universe, he has multiple diagnoses for his condition.

Anti-Fairies refer to him as "having a lightning spirit in his head" (and those he grew up with used they/them pronouns for Anti-Cosmo in his youth because of this, in accordance with Anti-Fairy culture). Fairies diagnose him as "being a Fairy in an Anti-Fairy's body" since his mood changes are arguably similar to those of a drone without pheromone exposure.

In Fairy terms, Anti-Cosmo has divus displacement disorder, which is treated by rubbing pheromones on his face every day. This is referenced again in the sideblog post I'm putting up tomorrow (about pheromones), but Anti-Cosmo throws off a lot of people because he always smells different due to those pheromones. Fairies consider him to have a shifting identity and don't trust him.

- Anti-Cosmo's mother (Anti-Florensa) and brother (Anti-Robin Jr.) have a magical parallel of schizophrenia. His brother experiences hallucinations of the past while his mother has hallucinations about different future timelines.

Anti-Cosmo had a bad falling out with his brother around the time he figured out who he's a reincarnation of (Frayed Knots), as Anti-Robin's struggle to remember who Anti-Cosmo is in this lifetime (and react to him appropriately) strained their relationship.

In Anti-Fairy culture, they're also considered to have their souls entangled with nature spirits and are referred to as they/them by many people (though their enjoyment of being addressed that way fluctuates).

- Foop has dissociative identity disorder. I don't really have anything more to say about it. Lots of trauma going on there. Definitely some PTSD. And again, as an Anti-Fairy, his culture also diagnoses him as having a nature spirit tangled with his soul.

Unfortunately, Foop doesn't get a lot of the help he needs because Anti-Fairies tend to wave his situation off as a genetic condition rather than something trauma-related, seeing as several members of his family tree are also diagnosed with nature spirit conditions. This actually plays into why Foop connects with Fairy culture in a lot of ways (and why he has a pixie therapist, not an Anti-Fairy one).

- I think Poof has a little PTSD too and/or some anxiety, seeing as he had a panic attack at the end of "All I Ever Wanted" when talking about life with Goldie.

- Two characters of mine (a fairy named Rupert Roebeam and a pixie named Walter Keefe) have dysolfactya, which is a parallel of dyslexia I created for the inability to organize scents in your head (Not exactly the easiest thing to live with in a world that relies on pheromones to keep you from wandering into dangerous areas).

- I... usually refer to Longwood's and Poof's lack of interest in preening as a parallel of asexuality for a world where licking necks and faces is a big deal, but it's kind of interesting to think about. In-universe, they'd probably be diagnosed in some medical or psychological way.

Very pre-DSM update vibes, which absolutely fits the time period I have the cloudlands set in. Something akin to "diagnosed with critically low libido" for sure, but for licking.

- H.P. has OCD (Imo, this is implied by the song he sings in the Musical about how he doesn't hate the Fairies and doesn't want to take over, but can't stop himself from doing so because he "must cater" to his urge to be "the world's administrator," not to mention his insistence on 37-year plans).

He hates untidy notes- There are several scenes where he rewrites his entire note page because he doesn't like marks on his notes (including crossed-out words). He also has issues with lying and his athazagoraphobia (fear of being forgotten), leading to the winning combo of making it explicitly clear when he plans to enact a takeover plan. There's a whole thing about how he has to justify his takeovers in terms of "It's their fault for not stopping me; I warned them I'd do it."

H.P. also experienced zoochosis during his time at the Eros Nest (zoo run by Cupid's family), leading to repetitive behaviors with no clear end goal. That probably affects him even now in a PTSD-adjacent way.

There might be characters I didn't mention - I feel like I'm blanking on something Anti-Marigold experiences - but those are the ones that come to mind for FOP 'fics!

[colorfuldream]

Deep Cut's "arc" feels so unearned. We saw none of it. Shiver and Frye just liked Inkopolis out of nowhere. Sure, Frye wasn't consistent with her hate (not in a clever purposeful way) but Shiver was always very clear about her feelings. Was it really so hard to throw a few lines about not wanting Inkopolis to win? Or a little more to indicate that this was supposed to be their arc? As far as we know, this was resolved months ago. They're friends with Inkopolis artists, the last interview we got made it sound like they were fine with it.

The reruns also prevented them from having their own moment reminiscing their journey as newscasters and the Splatfests, which were already so bland, despite the latter being important to their characters (on paper, it was never explored). Team Past won and they talked about reminiscing, it was the perfect time for them to have a genuinely emotional moment or something other than Frye suddenly going "y'know Inkopolis is pretty neat actually".

I do find it funny that they still hold a grudge over Liquid Sunshine and the 2024 concert tho. But also sad that this bit won't be a running gag. I liked them having a little spice, some flaws and drama, because otherwise they had nothing. Even their hatred for Inkopolis was barely present. They don't have much going on so getting rid of the two most memorable things they had is such a bad move. And let's be real, they were kinda right not to like Inkopolis all that much, the lore states that the people are posh, elitist, and self-centered. Ofc Deep Cut wouldn't like that place, especially with their bias against big cities! Not everyone NEEDS to be friends, they can like some people from there but not like the general attitude and vibe. It adds some depth to the world and makes the group more interesting. Now, they kinda feel like badly written hypocrites who suddenly liked city people when they began giving them (and their state) money. It could be interesting but it's clearly not the intent.

It feels like the Splatoon 3 devs aren't interested in making a story or saying anything. Nothing was ever said, nothing is set up for the future. Grand Festival is a great example because it has NOTHING to do with the theme, it revolves around the idols. In a way, it's good that Team Past won because the event itself is all about it. It's not a bad thing but that means that the new group is left behind, the game doesn't get its own identity. Did you know the bands had taken sides? That's how little the devs cared about the event itself. Splatocalypse pretended to have stakes, even in-universe you knew it was a HUGE event. It had something to say, it told us more about every character. We could infer why everyone chose their side. The bands, as much as I love them, have little to go on from. It was nothing more than an easter egg. I wish they were given a little attention so that Grand Festival didn't just feel like a big party but a genuine question, something worth fighting for. They really just threw in a great theme, a great philosophical question, just for a barely disguised Idol Fest.

[theenbynightingale]

My thoughts on TDI '23 Season 2

I'm just gonna make one big post about it because I wanna get all of this out of my system so I can focus on other things.

Okay, let me get my verdict out of the way. This season was... fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It's probably the most middle of the road season, IMO. My now former friend told me that he thought this was shaping up to be one of the best seasons when half the episodes were out. I didn't wanna label it yet because I didn't agree but I wanted to see them stick the landing. They didn't. So while I don't agree that the season went downhill, I agree that its ending wasn't very strong.

Okay, good stuff! MK and Julia friendship (and MKulia nation thriving). Loved that. I kept worried that they'd drop the ball but they never really did. They were a lot of fun and it was great seeing these two characters who outright rejected the idea of making friends grow close.

Nichelle getting better at the physical activities while not actually understanding that she had to have a social life on the island and therefore, not actually knowing how to play the game was funny.

Wayne and Raj. They're always great.

Less fart jokes. Though, it seemed like they were just saving it for the memory episode.

Owen and MacArthur cameos!

Bowie's inner conflict. I think that was a nice arc for him, especially after constantly playing dirty last season. It made sense and wasn't out of nowhere.

Zee being Zee. We love Zee. I wish we saw more of his pet raccoon.

A lot of the challenges were creative (Starting off with a Squid Game parody is very Total Drama) and a lot of the jokes were funny.

Okay, so... I can't talk too much about stuff I like without immediately following it up with "and then it kept going and it got old" so... let's get into that.

Usually, in TD, there's the writing hurdle of what to do with characters after they hook up. Usually, one of the characters leave the episode they hook up or the episode after. I admire this season for trying to break away from this formula but I think they just proved why the formula exists. Because if you keep the story going after they get together, you run the risk of it getting old. And it got old. Twice.

Ripaxel was funny... and then it got old. And gross. And then it was funny again. And then it got much worse and then they left. And then you wonder what the point of that was.

But then there's Caleb and Priya. I actually liked the story between them. And then it kept going. The moment in the memory challenge where they made up? That should have been it. The story should have been over and, as much as I love Priya, that's where she should have left. We didn't need to follow it up with another misunderstanding between them. Their story was run into the ground and it just wasn't worth caring about anymore.

There's a problem throughout the season that was evident when the very first episode leaked. After a whole season, it's revealed that Millie still doesn't listen to Priya. This is an example of the season's biggest problem: rehashing the last season.

Millie has to face the consequences of betraying her friends, breaking their trust and not putting forth a lot of effort in a challenge... again.

Zee gets eliminated because the campers somehow believed letting him in on a secret was a good idea... again.

Damien accidentally screws himself over... again.

Emma seemingly has an interesting story set up, only for it to be dropped as soon as it gets somewhere... again.

Priya grows close to someone only to reveal that they had less-than-flattering thoughts about her, only for that someone to realize how much they care about her, only for Priya to find out about the earlier stuff and a rift is formed between them... again.

Once MK is gone, Julia is the main villain... again.

So yeah. Not a bad season because nothing really upset me. I'd take it over All-Stars or PI (maybe even Action but idk). It had a lot of good stuff. But some of the good stuff either deescalated into a rehash of last season or was dragged out to the point where you stopped getting invested.

I liked Julia's hair. Mullets are terrible but she pulled it off. I'm serious. She's rocking it.

tl;dr Owen didn't age because he was never really stressed. He was the happiest of all the campers so that's why he still looks 16.

[karma-simp]

I hate assassination classroom so I've been redesigning it

(That's my Ao3 which has all of my Karma x reader fics). Also TW! I have photos of my drawings in here and my phone quality is soooooo bad.

Don't get me wrong, I've been obsessing over assassination classroom since September 2020 (4 years). But like... the writing is so bad! Like Yusei Matsui, you had some very good ideas and concepts, but you were so bad at communicating them. It has taken over 3 years of analysis to understand even basic ideas

Like your main character, Shiota Nagisa is kinda badly written. His talent isn't bloodlust, it's deception. He appears weak and fragile but is actually a violent killer. He's observant but unnoticeable, so he fades into the background. His character arc is supposed to be finding himself, his way, and his self confidence.

Oh and there are so many 'jokes' made that aren't funny or things that are overlooked like I don't think there is a single good parent in that show except Karasuma. I mean Miss Bitch kissing the students isn't okay, the feminising Nagisa jokes aren't funny and honestly, I don't even like Korosensei anymore. Also Terasaka told Nagisa to kill himself and we never came back to it (or the actual suicide itself).

I mean sure, Korosensei does a lot for those kids, but he just comes off as more of a 'fun' teacher that plays games in class and is always there to talk to but he just seems unprofessional. I mean he's a goddamn mass murderer for god's sake. His backstory took ages for me to understand. Like wah wah, he has to die, cool story bro. I get a backstory every anime (or episode if your demon slayer) so I have no sympathy. But I guess I am a 'greater good' lover so whatever.

Also don't even think to bring up Karma. I mean my username is Karmas-wife, so I am not just his defender, I'm his lawyer. The civil war arc is so out of character for him and so is him teasing Nagisa about being girly after finding about his mum. Sure he might seem like an asshole, but that's the mask, that's what he wants you to think. But he's kind and protective, he's not egotistical. He defends his classmates and friends time and time again. I want to see so much more of him. His anger, fighting prowess, leadership, vulnerability and healing.

Also, the deuteragonist should be Sugino, not Karma. Sugino is Nagisa's best friend, he's literally attached to Nagisa's side, and if I were to ask Nagisa who his best friend was, he would say Sugino. I kinda don't like him because he wouldn't like Karma but I understand that's a bias.

So all of this has made me want need to rewrite assassination classroom. I mean there's a whole lot of angst in the themes that just doesn't translate. Honestly, the show probably would be more memorable and of better quality if it was 3 seasons.

So here are some of my redesigns of characters

Protagonist: Shiota Nagisa

He starts off seemingly timid, quite and oblivious. To try and make up for his insecurity of being useless, Nagisa takes notes of Korosenei's weaknesses, attempts that work, strengths of his classmates and possible future attempts (in a bigger book). He's surprisingly calm under pressure, like when executing assassination attempts. Scarily so. This initially doesn't seem very scary until it combines with his hidden bloodlust. He enjoys the dominance that killing someone provides. Little bit by bit, the little moments of scariness begin to bleed through. Until Kayano shows Nagisa how to conceal himself better, making himself scarier. He wishes for the confidence that Sugino has. Used to be friends with Karma, but now Nagisa really only asks Karma for help because he's kind afraid of Karma. He originally thinks he should be an assassin because it's 'the only thing he's good at' until he starts teaching. The he realises he likes helping people grow more. Also, his talent is deception/ disguising himself, not bloodlust.

Deuteragonist/ Best Friend: Tomohito Sugino

The common sense/ brain cell holder (the only normal person in 3-E). Dad friend who feels very concerned for Nagisa and (rightfully) weary of Karma. Doesn't really see a lot that goes on but is very honest and down to earth (good contrast for airheaded Nagisa). Although he isn't very muscly, he is strong and courageous, like a classic hero. Can be quite simple. Has a crush on Kazaki, likes basketball/ sports and the ten million yen bounty.

Main love interest/ main girl: Kaede Kayano Akari Yukimura

After losing her sister, she infiltrates the E-Calss under a fake name. She eggerates her love of pudding and pretends to be a bubbly airhead. She befriends Nagisa to hide herself then helps him find himself to do this. Later, she reveals herself and after her unsuccessful assassination attempt, she reintroduces herself. The classmates get to know the real her: more mature, determined, fierce, serious but still social and more aware of people than they though. She gains a crush on Nagisa for his steadiness and his emotional intelligence (and kissing ability).

Classmate/ Ex-Friend: Karma Akabane

Used to be friends with Nagisa but got weary of his dark side. An aggressive/ intimidating fighter with a bad reputation of getting into fights (with people that deserved it) like his fight (with a bully) that put him in the E-Class. Doesn't often interact with his classmates as he scares them. He doesn't see any reason to care about grades, them, or himself). Has issues with authority (after betrayal from teacher and being abandoned by parents). Learns to care and put effort into things after being adopted cared for by Karasuma. This makes him go from a bossy shadow to a decisive leader and gives him awareness of others.

Secondary Love interest: Rio Nakamura

Popular jokester who knows (and tells) all the gossip. Similar to Miss Bitch: confident, snarky, headstrong and attention-seeking. Likes Nagisa because he doesn't stand up to her so is 'easy to control.' She loses interest when he does eventually stand up to her. Smarter than she lets on and doesn't want to tell the class to keep her popularity. When she shows how smart she actually is, she loses friends and forces them to come back.

Classmate /Class Clown: Maehara Hiroto

Childish class clown that lives off the words 'no homo' and laughs at fart jokes. Isogai's best friend. He always has a girlfriend and in the very short time in between them he's super depressed because he's scared of being alone. Laughs to hide the pain. Charismatic, attractive and surprisingly loyal. Notices the little things. Romantic and funny so the girls are all over him but he's just a teeny bit afraid of commitment.

Classmate: Manami Okuda

Chemistry girly. Likes easy observations, formulae, and studies of things/ chemicals/ matter. Words/ people are too complicated and she's very unaware of double/ hidden meanings of things due to being very solitary. After being taken advantage of by friends, she gives up on trying. Then she meets Kayano and Kanzaki who work around it. Then Karma and Korosensei teach her how to understand people and why it's important, making her better at communication. Very blunt and straightforward. Horrible liar/ actress.

Classmate/ Bully: Ryoma Terasaka

Bully that uses his strength as power over others/ gets others to do his dirty work. After it doesn't work and he drops to the E-Class, then is put down by his friends for it and sees the effect on Nagisa and the class, he grows up and starts to take responsibility for his actions. Then, he starts listening to others and following their lead. The class might joke about him being a dumbass (which he is) but he does a lot of growing and learns to genuinely care for others, rather than hurt them. Also has common sense but no other smarts.

So there's part 1 of redesigns. Thank you for reading.

[junespriince]

Rating the inside jokes and things we've said out of context I have with Nebby ( @nebulous-shatin )

"so, do you agree." -100/10 BECAUSE MY LOYALTY IS TAKEN FOR GRANTED AND I FALL FOR IT EVERY SINGLE TIME I HATE IT RHDHDHDB NEBBY OS WRONG!

Bargain bin boy💕 8/10, I love him and his atrocious fits

Praise oia, 100/10, oia is life, oia is love.

Praise the Eldridge god upon Nebby's wardrobe, 10/10 bless neb sib for that duck too since it neb sib's duck lol will ask neb sib once there is I can hold it once, just once

Oh it grandpa! 4/10 BECAUSE I DON'T SEE GRAMPA AS OFTEN IT'S A CRIME!!!!

Thoughts? And prayers. 1/10, Nebby made me better at giving feedback BUT AT WHAT COST (tho 'FEEDBACK!? 😭" meme 10/10)

You slug! ∞/10 I was already obsessed with slugs and neb unlocked my true potential, I wouldn't be Sluggy wouldn't Nebby, most importantly timeline stuff

Vc? 8/10, I mean I get she too lazy to type shit because same and I love Nebby voice, it's very soothing for me!

Knee caps, now. 10/10 Nebby lost that one knee cap privileges.

Huggles, 9/10, Nebby just A HATER EXCUSE THIS IS PEAK WORD SMASHING.

Ew, German. -5/10, that's me being a hater but learning German is hard okay, I barely speak English well tf

*us shit talking so badly people ask are we actually fighting* 10/10, we just get bored, and being little shits it funny, if we finally have that real fight please let it be over something stupid it be so funny.

I want to strangle you 3/10, I told you I suck at platforms and you choose a platform puzzle game, that's on you lol

Horny jail 2/10, LISTEN NOT MY FAULT OKAY I LOVE 2D PEOPLE IDK WHAT TO TELL YOU

Found through birdflash, was writing about drawing birdflash, knew I love birdflash, sends her oc Dilly "Hi. Im nervous as it is." 200/10, that never be so funny to me and it branded on my brain, I ain't even written out the entire message but it up here.

Dragging me everywhere like a doll, 6/10 but I don't mind I follow Nebby to the end of the earth because why not.

Where was we? 1/10, our brain mush, we so forgetful

Peepaw and knight doomed old man yoai divorce arc, 8/10, was a funny moment playing with Nebby

I liked bullying him 10/10 Nebby gets me and my love for Cove

"I'll miss you're cute voice" 1/10 SHUT THE FUCK UP OH MY GOD I HATE UUUUUU NOBODY LOOK AT ME

Starlight, 8/10 nickname, I gotta bring it back the og nickname

Nebby, 9,000/10, just,,, don't take a drink every time I say Nebby you will die for alcohol poisoning

German goddess, 7/10, just when she use our shared brain cells to help me it is praise thee, but never used outside of joking.

Flirt 10/10 def Wally's favorite.

Ally, 9/10, shorting of my name! I adore!!

Lovebug 10/10, I is her bug, I bug her, and she loves me

Want to read that I got so far? 10/10, any fans for Nebby's work starve but I'm fed every single time, bestie privileges, sucks to sucks

Dream Nebby, 1/10 how dare you eat onions on pizza, have a TV in ya bathroom, and saying you don't like your kitty children get out of here evil Nebby,,, YebbN lol

Last one,

The first abomination child, 6/10 he haunts me. Truly worthy of being called a mistake.

I have so much more I'm realizing but I mean that's what you get for talking to someone every single day for 5yrs lol, god five years and it feels like a lifetime I've known ya nebs jeez

[pain-in-the-butler]

you said you've been a kuro fan since 2009, I have to know what got you into the series and what has made you stay with it for so long?

what about the fandom did you enjoy back in the old days?

Ahahaha, oh wow, these questions feel loaded. Thank you for asking them, though, I haven't fully considered them before...

I'll start with the second question, because it's easier to answer. What did I enjoy about the fandom in the old days? I didn't enjoy the fandom in the old days! Not on the whole, at least. I was just on the outskirts of it, more observer than participant. I wrote fanfiction, but most people didn't read it because it wasn't romantic. The memes weren't funny, the shipping wars were insane, and SebaCiel was completely unavoidable. The current fandom is way better than the old one! (I'm sure there were cool people around back then too, but I didn't go looking for them because I didn't think they existed.)

I kind of started dipping my toes in the fandom water in 2012 in the midst of the Campania arc. But even then, by 2014 I felt a little meh from all the cricket and I varied in my interest during Green Witch, so I really didn't participate much until around 2017. The Blue Cult stuff had me bored, but then when things started ramping up towards the twin reveal, I was back in the game. Or rather, in the game for the first time. The explosion of actual good memes had me hook, line, and sinker.

Now for your first question. My initial exposure to Kuroshitsuji was season 1 of the anime. It had wrapped in Japan less than a year ago, and my sister told me that she sort of liked it after seeing the first few episodes at our high school's anime club. She gave me a brief rundown of the premise and I guess the seventeen-year-old me was interested because I went to anime club for the first and last time next week. It was the episode with the corset scene and I was appalled. I was also appalled by my peers, because the teacher hadn't shown up that day to moderate, so a lot of kids were making out and drawing on each others' bodies with sharpies, and the few people watching the episode were wolf-whistling and clapping. It was a lot for a dweeby little goodie-two-shoes to take in.

But for some reason I persevered and watched the rest of the series on my own time. The first episode also appalled me. I think the whole show did. I don't really know why I watched it, other than perhaps a fascination with historical anime, but I definitely found Sebastian and Ciel worthy of parody, because a few months later, I was writing fanfiction about them. In high school, I wrote solely humor fanfics, and they were always about Sebastian and Ciel trying to make each other's lives worse through japes and antics.

Then in early college, I started reading the manga when I caught wind of Sebastian being "dead" and thought that sounded like an interesting development. I gave the earlier chapters a try and shocker, it was so much better than the anime (though I skipped the curry arc for some reason, only read it for the first time like a year ago). Then I got to the Circus arc scene where Sebastian has to help Ciel with his eyepatch strings and I felt the epiphany grow. Dadbastian is love, Dadbastian is life, etc. It was hard not to feel like a one-man army at the time, but a handful of others enjoyed the concept too.

And then the Campania arc happened and I was absolutely gobsmacked by how good it was. I will never forget what it was like to be there for the badass Lizzie reveal. That day, anime and manga fansites and subgroups across the net were all united in Lizzie love. It was so real 🥹😭

Moments like that kept me going, as well as a hope for small Dadbastian-esque moments and the promise of more Victorian flair. Over time, I've only gained more appreciation for the side characters and the themes, and I love the current fandom to pieces, so even though the story is slow, I'm more invested than ever.

I'm sorry that was such a damn essay, thank you for your interest in my little Kuro journey! 😊 I hope you are enjoying fandom life too!

[crusherthedoctor]

📞 a character others dislike but you don’t?

♠️ favorite protagonist?

🕷️a character you feel is underrated?

📞 - a character others dislike but you don't?

Elise has gained more appreciation over time, but you still get people who think she's to blame for everything wrong with '06. She was a decent if underdeveloped character who simply wasn't used in the story that well, and anyone who thinks turning her into a Not-Sally is the only way to fix her isn't trying.

There's also Zor and Marine, both of whom I will always defend. Isn't it wild how I can barely remember anything from The End's three minute tough guy Reddit copypasta, yet everything Zor says is solid gold... shout out to IDW for missing the point and making him an unironic tryhard like every other villain in the comic. As for Marine, people act as though her character development never happened, which isn't helped by Flynn being one of those very people, and I don't understand why they give her flak for her stereotypical accent, yet make no such complaints about Bunnie.

For a couple of non-Sonic examples: King Sombra kind of went through the same arc as Elise in retrospect. As in, nowadays he has more open fans, but back when he made his debut, he received a disproportionate amount of flak for being a mostly silent villain, and the way he was used. I personally appreciated what they were going for with him, mainly cause of how they conveyed his Crazy Prepared defenses and the like, and honestly, by the time FiM concluded, I think he ended up better off than certain other villains lmao.

And of course, Moneybags. Not counting the first game (cause he didn't exist yet), I don't consider it a true Spyro experience if Winnie the Shit doesn't pop up in increasingly improbable locations to make deals in exchange for, *ahem*, a small fee. He also has some of the best lines. ("What are you going to do, sue me?")

♠️ - favourite protagonist?

Gex is unironically a better written character than everyone in Frontiers and IDW put together. This realisation makes me want to drink tap water at Jerry Garcia's.

Tails has always been my main bro out of the Sonic good guys, cause of how smart he is and how much he wants to help. :D It's also why I'm vocal about how much I despise it when fans double down on reducing the franchise to Just Furry DBZ due to super forms and whatnot, since it means Tails and other characters not named Sonic/Shadow/Silver are guaranteed to be treated even more like they're not good for anything meaningful. >:|

Then there's Spyro of course, which I know will be considered ironic to some given my complex feelings on Sonic, but truth be told, Spyro isn't really that similar to Sonic beyond some snark. He does admittedly act like a dude with tude in the first game, but it's clear that he's younger in that one. From the second game onward, where he's slightly older, he's considerably more chill... at least compared to Bubsy and many others from the 90's. And speaking of, despite his dialogue consisting entirely of WOAH, I respect Crash as well, since it was the bandicoot that got little me into the world of video games.

And many things change, but my fondness for Fluttershy will never die. Just as I have a preference for funny robot-loving villains who nonetheless remain a legit serious threat instead of being a joke, I have another preference for kindhearted quiet characters... which is why I also enjoy Trip... and Tikal... look, we all have our types, I'm sure you can sympathise. ;P

🕷️ - a character you feel is underrated?

The Hard-Boiled Heavies have mostly been pushed aside since Mania came out (aside from that one IDW story, but that's not a blessing), and it makes me madder than YouTubers who pretend they're mad because there are villains with dialogue who have less personality than these guys. They're so much fun, and despite all of them having the same Egg Robo template, their designs remain distinct from each other, even in silhouette form.

I also took to Ariem early on. Like the Heavies, "underrated" refers to general lack of fandom buzz compared to other characters, since although she appears to be quite liked, the acknowledgement given to her is somewhat limited due to her being stuck in an Android-only game for the time being. Some people also have an obsession with comparing her unfavourably to either Sage or Lanolin, for reasons I can probably guess in both cases. Me? I love her design, and her interactions with Cream and Knuckles are cute. :> I know it's not likely, but I hope she appears elsewhere so that she can be brought to more fans' attention... provided she doesn't get IDW'd.

Finally, a more complicated example: Metal Sonic. Now yes, he's very popular and beloved, and remains so to this day, but during the last couple of years, I feel I've been seeing two growing sides in the community when it pertains to him: the side who loves Neo Metal Sonic, and believe he's only a threat in that form like Flynn apparently believes (given how he often turns regular Metal into a jobber), and the side who consider him lame or essentially worthless because of his minimal characterization compared to others. He might not say much, and he might be a hedgehog-shaped tool of Eggman's ambition rather than a complete person of his own, but I believe there's a lot you can do with Metal that wouldn't require turning him into Usurper the Elf Shoes. OVA Metal ain't S-tier for nothing.

[flipperdipper10]

Magia Record is a funny game and Scene Zero is even funnier.

I've already talked about how Shigure's story is kinda ironic since she made her wish and then did the exact thing her wish was meant to prevent.

The funny part is that she isn't the only one who does this, Scene Zero does this too with Mabayu. Also, spoilers for Scene Zero film 12 below.

I love this girl so, so much. She's such a goober. Why is so silly. I hope she goes to therapy.

But essentially since I'm mostly watching Scene Zero via the translations 29udon is doing on youtube (seriously go subscribe to them they're doing gods work) right now we're at 12-20. And this is where the finale of Mabayu's backstory as a magical girl just finished playing out and we learn of how Mabayu reacted to this.

We learned that Mabayu worked with Mami to help girls contract by seeing the future and knowing what the girls would wish for and as a result would tell Mami just what to say in order to get the girls to contract. And eventually these girls would go on and become witches, and once Mabayu realized what she had been doing she erased her own memory of ever being a magical girl, thus why she had amnesia for the solid part of Scene Zero.

Homura also knew about this because in one of the films after Mabayu died she went and asked Mami "hey whose this green bitch" and Mami told her but Homura never told Mabayu out of respect for Mabayu's decision.

So how does Mabayu react to learning The Truth? Uhhhhhhh not well but like who can blame her that's not something you'd want to remind yourself of. So she does the exact same thing her mom did. She saw her own future. And just like her mom fell into despair over that fact, so did Mabayu.

What Mabayu's future saw was that Mabayu turned into a witch with Mami (a fairly dangerous witch due to how high Mabayu's karmic destiny is at this point) and Homura has to kill her. As the time loop resets again, Mabayu witches the second she comes back to life in despair of Homura failing to kill Walpurgis, and the time loop doesn't reset after that (Implying Homura either died or, more likely, became a witch). And reasonably as you can react when you see futures that can't be changed, Mabayu is panicking and spiraling hard.

And then Kyubey got Madoka involved. The person Mabayu's been doing this to help with Homura. Kyubey told Madoka everything he's managed to reason out about what Homura and Mabayu are doing, and Madoka, in true Madoka fashion (we love her so much she's so nice), decides to use her wish to save Mabayu.

It comes full circle- Mabayu used her wish to save her mom from the despair of seeing her own future, and now Madoka used hers to save Mabayu from the despair of seeing her own future.

It's so interesting when Madoka or Magia Record does this, where they use the wish the character made as a backbone for the characters arc where the options are either: realize the irony and change your ways, double down and have the irony be something the readers can point at, or the third option, go full circle and have the girl end up back where they were when they made the wish.

I'm so, so excited for how Scene Zero eventually ends up, and Mabayu is up there as one of my favorite magical girls right now I love her so much. I really should make a tierlist of my favorite girls Mabayu is up there in top tier.

[dundykelevesconte]

hi teddy <3 arctic sundogs and franklin for the terror ask game :)

hiii ellie!! :D thank you for the ask!! <3 this got kind of long so answers under the cut

arctic - how would you cope on a victorian ship?

honestly a life at sea sounds equal parts ideal and terrifying to me, so any time not spent staring aimlessly into the ocean would DEF be filled with keeping a very detailed diary … i’d be writing down everything. mate i don’t like made a joke today i actually found funny. disgruntled about this. if i were some doomed explorer and they found my journal hundreds of years later with my remains they would be like my god this guy just never shut the hell up did they. reading and writing both i think is what would distract me the most

sundogs - talk about a moment in the show that interests you most

ohh gosh i could talk about SO many but the first one that comes to mind is hodgson’s papist church monologue in ep9. he’s been on my mind a lot lately and i paid quite close attention to him my recent watch through and he stands out to me more so than some of the other characters because he’s a character who doesn’t speak an incredible amount throughout the series (despite being terror’s certified yapper) but almost everything he says is actually really telling about his character. we learn he plays an instrument at home, in his final scene he speaks some french, and just about every instance in which he talks it’s almost like he’s doing so through a direct window to and from his humanity (asking hickey “who” the meat he offers him is, visibly upset to learn what became of neptune). then we get to this scene that comes after he’s partaken in cannibalism, a scene that (to me at least) seems kind of out of nowhere especially being not directly at the end of the episode, but somehow it still fits in perfectly. we come to the crux of hodgson’s characterization here because he finally gets the chance to speak with no holds barred and he’s very particular with every minute he has to do so. the way he delivers this speech, the slow cadence and tone of his voice and even the subject of it, is just as much for goodsir as it is for himself i think. even when goodsir is pretty much as good as unresponsive he carries on anyway which in and of itself is yet another tell for him. we get an idea of his own sense of self here too (“i was frightened for them. i was told they were doing some great, unforgivable thing” “i felt forgiven of every poor, weak, or selfish thing within my soul” “i pretended to be ill. they knew i was pretending. to this day i don’t know why i did it” “if i were a braver man… i would kill mr. hickey, though it would mean my death, too” and of COURSE “i am hungry and i want to live”) like this is just such a RICH source of characterization for a character we’ve really only seen glimpses of up until this point when it all comes to a head when he gets his own little arc re: his involvement with the mutineers (which is a whole other can of worms i could talk about forever LOL). ntm the monologue itself is just so beautifully written, the delivery is of course on point but the words themselves and the picture they paint are so visceral and moving. sorry for the essay HAHA i’m just very very interested in hodgson as a character and this fleeting moment we have alone with him is just so endlessly compelling to me. especially when you factor in that he’s been steadily consuming lead for years now and has ended up on the wrong side of what remains of their crew but still he takes this moment to be so unashamedly human regardless. anyway ……..

franklin - who’s an underrated character in your opinion?

SILNA. NO QUESTION i do feel obligated to give a cold boy answer as well though in which case i will say dundy. not only is he criminally underrated but also criminally underUSED being that he’s a very close friend to fitzjames from the beginning and is quickly the only remaining lieutenant on erebus i just feel like there’s so much there they could have explored in terms of his and even fitzjames’ characterization were it not for his curse as a minor side character … whatever. i’ll write The Dundy Show if nobody else will

[nugatorysheep]

B, L, X?

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

As far as things I actively ship and not stuff I think is just kinda cute: Stevencest or Bispearl (kinda).

I was not a Stevencest person for quite a while- or I guess not what I personally figured a Stevencest person was supposed to be. I had people in my old server shipping it and I had an AU that while not intended to be that, I was okay with people shipping together the two Stevens for (though way down the road it did eventually turn into that lol), so my opposition to it was mainly that it wasn't for me based on the type of content I usually saw of it. Like this isn't my thing and it's kinda weird but if it's tagged so I can block it, sure go nuts. (There was also a LOT of Connie and Connverse Hate + NTR in Stevencest spaces and as a big fan of Connie I didn't want to be in places where I would constantly hear people shitting on one of my favorite characters. Steven has two hands!!). Basically the barrier to entry was too costly for me so I just kept my distance.

Last year though I got to know more people in this fandom and had the chance to freely experiment with my characters in ways I couldn't before, so I've grown to enjoy it a lot more. Being told "Hey, you can like. Do what you Want," was very helpful in pushing me to branch out. I have a lot more fun now doing things I like and ignoring people who do things I hate lmao

I'm not sure if Bispearl counts but it was something that NEVER crossed my mind until Bismuth Casual first aired and a light bulb went off in my head. I was into that almost instantly the moment it was shown to me.

(And more recently with the Rose/Bismuth art the Becky Sucrose dropped, now I can do the Pearl/Rose/Greg/Bismuth polycule of my dreams <3 Though in the context of canon Bispearl is the most reasonable/logical ship to me.)

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

I do not like Jasper much and her fanbase tends to be obnoxious BUT she is a very well-made character. She is consistent and straightforward in her motivations and goals and weaknesses in a way that in theory is easy to grasp (which is why I'm so shocked so many people don't seem to really Get her at all). When people say the writers screwed her over I disagree, because she does exactly what she is meant to do in the story and then fucks off, something I cannot say for several other characters LOL

At the end of the day, Steven Universe is about... well, Steven Quartz Universe, and the way Jasper serves his arc is more than enough for me :3

She's also really funny when used right and more people should use her for comedic effect

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

Found family is something I'm a sucker for and I tend to like ensemble casts that have well-developed and interesting dynamics (platonic or romantic) between the characters, but I'm not sure if that counts as a fandom thing or a media in general thing. I'll be honest, I don't participate much in fandoms. SU is the first time I've engaged heavily in the fan areas VS just consuming Canon Material With a Chance of Fanart so the things I like trope-wise are less broad and more specific to just SU.

I also like fan kids or just seeing younger characters as adults in the future. It's fun to muse about, downside is if the ship you like is not mainstream enough you'll be sorely lacking in that category 😔