#i feel like we expand on the dan lore so much

[vladdyissues]

so i've mentioned before how i think reign storm made vlad want danny's babies and i feel like you might like what i'm getting at when i expand on it because i am drawin' on ALL the lore for that headcanon

so in season 1, we absolutely got the arc that Vlad had a bit more in common with Jack than he wanted to admit (interests, skill, the ability to hyperfocus until the ectofilter makes their house explode), and that he was desperate for people to love him but unwilling to see them clearly enough to actually love them--he would happily sand off any traits incompatible with his vision, before accepting them as-is. he especially wants to sand off all the traits in danny he associates with Jack

if their relationship had changed in s1, it would be badger cereal all the way down for me. you could not get me to romantically ship it again, even with the chemistry, for love nor money. but it didn't

and then we got Reign Storm in S2

where we got to see vlad and danny being their most sincere and straightforward around each other. vlad was sincerely a magnificent bastard and danny was sincerely not putting up with his shit, but they're so much of their authentic selves only around each other. vlad still wants danny to be his son, to be influenced by him... up until the Pariah Dark fight

i am 100% certain he never meant for Danny to win there. he was waiting for Danny to wear Pariah down and pass out where Vlad could take his place in the suit and win, getting the credit AND the kudos for saving Danny. but that's not what happened

Danny, a younger, weaker, still half-mortal being in a suit actively draining him managed to win against Pariah Dark, who was so powerful it took multiple implied gods to seal him away the first time. all without Vlad having a single moment of true, lasting influence on him. and my theory...

is Vlad's ghost instincts saw this, finally saw Phantom as his own unrelated entity, and went "THIS ONE. MAKE BABIES WITH THIS ONE. LOCK HIM DOWN NOW, HE IS GOING TO BE A LEGEND"

(and so we get Dan and Dani in the same season)

and in every episode after, it is clear Maddie takes a backseat to Danny for him. he doesn't even plot the murder of Jack in any real way until the series finale. his focus is 100% on Danny and making his own Danny using the original Danny and/or putting Danny in a submissive/pliant position

i don't think he's consciously aware of any of this. or, if he is, he hates that he's thinking that way about someone nearly thirty years his junior. but i do think there's a hell of a story in half-ghost instincts being misinterpeted between the two halves of themselves and having to adapt to being their own, separate entity from humans OR ghosts

and that is my comprehensive explanation as to why I headcanon Reign Storm made Vlad's metaphorical ovaries start screaming for his attention

OH.

Shit. That's perfect.

Of course Vlad would wait until absolutely necessary to jump in and deliver the coup de grâce to Pariah. (Let the pawn sacrifice himself, do all the work, King takes credit, etc.) But the pawn... held his own?? The pawn fucking put that thing back where it came from or so help me?? By this time Vlad would surely know how to spot a good investment, and I just know the inside of his head sounded like hitting the jackpot at a Vegas casino when he saw Danny put the smack down.

Is there such a thing as Investments to Lovers? Arranged (Baby) Carriage?

Another thing you're absolutely right about is how Vlad's obsession with Maddie dropped off immediately after Reign Storm. Excepting Phantom Planet, naturally.

I love this meta. It's pure rocket fuel.

[elderwisp]

Class of 2019! + bonus under cut !

Class of 2020!

[artheresy]

I can’t stay quiet about this, I need to scream it to SOMEBODY ANYBODYYY

Dan Heng and Blade were Dan Feng and Yingxing. “Dh and Bld are Df and Yx!” Nope, their current selves aren’t them, that lacks nuance. “Dh and Bld aren’t Df and Yx!” THAT ALSO LACKS NUANCEE they are still connected and fundamentally shaped by their past identities, they aren’t entirely separate from them while also still being separate in a way. The best way I can describe it is like a venn diagram, there is overlap, but there also are still areas where they don’t.

To expand more, I wanna talk about the way they foil each other a bit in this sense. For Dan Heng, even if he is a botched rebirth, simply a “de-aged Dan Feng” not fully reborn, he is still not Dan Feng. While Dan Feng has made up the basis of his personality and he accepts him as his past, I think we forget that Dan Heng had his own entire childhood after the molting rebirth was completed. One he spent imprisoned by the Ten Lords Commission, and then he was exiled when he was old enough leading to his whole journey until he became apart of the Astral Express crew etc etc. Dan Heng is made up of a basis of Dan Feng + All of his own memories and experiences. While he shares traits with Dan Feng such as personality aspects like his stubbornness, his technique with a spear, and being able to connect with his old items, he also is very much himself with his own outlook and traits shaped by what he’s learned rather than what he has been born with. To treat him as if he is Dan Feng exactly is a disservice to both of their characters and the greater narrative that they apart of. He may still carry the burdens and karma of Dan Feng, but Dan Heng is still making his own future.

Now, Blade. Blade similarly is not Yingxing, not completely. Though he accepts Yingxing’s sin as his own and is intent of repaying the sin of Dan Feng and Yingxing (and getting Dan Heng to repay it too), there still are distinctions between him and Yingxing. In fact, I’d argue there are more things separating them. I could talk for so long again about the layered use of craftsmanship to connect, or rather disconnect, the two identities of Blade and Yingxing, but there’s more than that. “Now, ██ had died. His first — and only — death.” “From this moment on, that body will be the one and only "Blade."” Although Blade was Yingxing, a disconnect exists between them through the death of Yingxing. He awoke with no memories of his past, no even his name, until Jingliu came along, instilled in him her ideologies, made him remember, not only his past sins but the feeling of death so that he might inflict it onto others. As she said, he was reborn and had even given himself a name…

I want to add that the specific ways in which their current identities exist in proximity to their past ones foil each other. As I said, Dan Heng, in part as his sabotaged rebirth, is built upon the foundation of Dan Feng and all of his own experiences and memories. He has the capacity to gain back more memories of Dan Feng as his DH IL character stories outline, and though he is still himself and still moves forward, we see him accept his relation to Dan Feng eventually. Though that past life of his is clouded by fog and mist, he may eventually be able to push away the clouds that block him and understand more, about Dan Feng and in turn about himself. With Blade, it is so heavily emphasized in game from his relic lore to the very sword he uses that his mind is essentially broken, due both in part to the trauma of Jingliu’s “teachings” and the mara that was brought on by those lessons. He can’t fully remember everything about Yingxing, in fact actively remembering such or seeing familiar things is harmful to him. Like his shard sword, he is made of broken pieces, put together in a way that can never erase the cracks, and continuously shattering before being glued together again. His life is shaped by Yingxing’s past, the trauma he has endured is directly caused by his past actions. Unlike Dan Heng, he hasn’t had this whole life to build up and live. Though he’s experienced new things, they don’t shape him and change him in the way that Dan Heng’s built his identity up.

Where Dan Heng basically has supplements to Dan Feng’s identity that make him who he is, Blade is the broken shards and pieces of Yingxing that weren’t lost to the waves, making him who he is. Dan Heng is a next chance, finally free from the Preceptors’ control and of the role that stripped his past selves of their individuality, meanwhile Blade is the husk left behind of Yingxing’s regrets, broken by trauma caused due to Yingxing’s past actions, forever tormented by his past until he inevitably is able to die. If Dan Heng is more than just Dan Feng which is why he is separate but intertwined with him, than Blade is less than Yingxing, in a way that has caused such a severe disconnect that has caused Blade to have his own identity still shaped. And looking at this, not to again bring up my craftsmanship post about Blade, Dan Heng can connect to Dan Feng. He can clear the fog, remembering his memories through dreams even if he can’t fully connect emotionally to him, and he finds sentiment in many of items that once were his, smth not many Vidyadhara actually are capable of doing. To contrast, Blade is forever separated from connecting completely to Yingxing’s identity. His memories will always be fragmented, his own path entirely changed. He can’t connect to Yingxing’s past goals and passions, seen through the distinct decision made in his character stories to talk about how he can no longer use his hands to forge weapons (something that completely defined Yingxing’s life and legacy, tied to his childhood trauma and hatred of the Abundance, something that became his genuine passion), and how none of that mattered to Blade.

All of this, the ways they foil each other and the separation between their past selves and current, just makes me love their dynamic and their lore a lot. Makes me want to cry most days of my life if I’m honest. And it’s part of why I do take issue with the way nuance has completely left this argument, only having two extremes of “Dan Heng is Dan Feng!” Or “Dan Heng isn’t Dan Heng!” Again… Dan Heng WAS Dan Feng, he wouldn’t be Dan Heng without Dan Feng, but he is still himself. That’s part of the tragedy between them. They are still fundamentally defined and shaped by their past selves, similarities able to be spotted if they can be remembered, but they’ve also experienced so much that has changed them, and they can never truly go back to being Dan Feng and Yingxing. It would never be fully the same again.

[narwhalandchill]

been sitting on the subject of like. general vague dissatisfaction i have with the handling of recent hsr writing and after reading a comment on reddit along similar lines im realizing how hoyo kinda just? overplayed their hand with the HCQ lore?

like they leaned way too hard into the "hehehe tune in maybe youll learn the truth THIS time~ SIKE its still vague and inconclusive as shit!!!!" and trying to tease and wink and nod to extend the shelf life of the initial hype far too much to the point where the 'promise' of new HCQ content doesnt even like... really excite me as much as it just makes me pre-emptively irritated bc i genuinely dont know if theyre just gonna keep on dodging the big questions bc uhhhhhhhhh reasons!!!

its not like we havent gotten SOME answers, true, like bailu = baiheng but post dan fengs terrible horrible no good DNA soup more or less confirmed Was pretty huge but its still like. that mission still left more questions unanswered than it did answer them and it just feels frustrating when it feels the ratio of questions answered and questions unanswered hasnt changed much at all since 1.0 at least when it comes to the big lore stuff

like unironically imo if they didnt want to reveal dan hengs past or answer HCQ questions upfront and do the characters involved justice this early on they shouldve left luofu as like. the 3rd or 4th world we encounter and just foreshadowed shit much more gradually. which probably wouldve resulted in the entire luofu arc being way better too lmao. but they just had to sell DHIL asap so now dan hengs pivotal character moment is pretty much forever sullied by the writing and pacing failing both him and the larger HCQ & luofu plotline and thats just. Unfortunate

again its not like shits unwatchable or completely terrible it just. fell short. and when your gameplay loop is by default more simplistic and barebones than something like genshin factors like the story content each patch should really be as polished as possible and not... this. its ok to build up with less stakes arcs in between! spend time expanding the express gang dynamics with wacky space shenanigans! explore the setting! and then once the stakes have had the time to be established and everythings lining up thats the time for a major arc bc imho its better they leave the subject completely unexplored than rush things and feature it in a subpar manner like this

like. man. its really just that im more disappointed and sad than angry tbh.

[justthegreat1]

Enjoy Your Last Shift: “MALUM” Review

Pictured above is the Malum (2023) Poster

Image Credit: Welcome Villain

“From the kingdom of our father, the truth will be free. Through the mountain I’ll be guided until I do see. I am safe in the arms of my master, my king. On the last day I will follow my soul will bring.”

These are the words that set the tone for the movie we will be discussing today which is “Malum”, “Malum” is a remake, rather a reimagining of Anthony DiBlasi’s 2015 cult classic “Last Shift”. When I first heard this movie was going to be made I had low expectations considering it is a remake, but after hearing it would be directed by Anthony DiBlasi, I was excited as I believe “Last Shift” is criminally underrated. So, Lets get straight to the spoiler-free review.

“Malum” is a 2023 supernatural horror film directed by Anthony DiBlasi who co-wrote the movie with Scott Poiley, produced by Dan Clifton, and the soundtrack is made by “Outlast” composer Samuel Laflamme. The cast includes Jessica Sula, Candice Coke, and Chaney Morrow.

The Plot:

A rookie officer willingly takes the last shift at a newly decommissioned police station in an attempt to uncover the mysterious connection between her father’s death and a vicious cult.

Pictured above is Jessica Sula as “Jessica Loren”.

Image Credit: Welcome Villain

Positives

One positive I have about “Malum” is how it combines a sense of familiarity while doing something different with the lore that was already established in “Last Shift.” This movie is not afraid to get gruesome and dark. I appreciated how we got some back story on the John Michael Malum and Jessica Loren’s father.

The second positive I have about “Malum” is the special effects, much like “Terrifer 2” they used practical effects, during some scenes I was in awe with how amazing they looked. Even the actors who play the cult members are unrecognizable and unsettling in their makeup.

Pictured above is one of the cult members that turned into what I call “Demon-like” creatures.

Image Credit: Welcome Villain

The final positive I have was the atmosphere as there was a sense of dread throughout, like you can see certain things in the background (PAY ATTENTION) and that creeped me the hell out. From the catchy cult song, the calls the cult members were making, and the sound design, you can feel the fear Jessica Sula’s character felt. I like to describe the movie as a descent into hell.

Pictured above is the “Target Scene.”

Image Credit: Welcome Villain

Negatives

One negative I have about this movie is that we don’t exactly have a backstory on the demon the flock worships. I absolutely loved the design of the creature, but I just wish we learned where it came from and what is its intention. Another negative I have about this movie is we don’t exactly know what made Jessica Loren’s father snap.

My Overall Thoughts

I believe this movie has the potential to be another cult classic from director Anthony DiBlasi with its amazing acting, creepy atmosphere, and haunting soundtrack. I hope we get a prequel or sequel expanding on the lore of the demon and the cult. Also, I’m glad that this movie was released to critical acclaim with an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes. This movie is not for the faint of heart due to some extremely graphic scenes but if you can get past that…this movie is an intense thrill ride.

Where to watch Malum?

“Malum” (2023) can be currently watched on digital retailers with a streaming and Blu-Ray release date to be announced.

[thatinsufferablenerd]

Sassy For Some Reason

It’s gotten cold at night. Like, hovering just above freezing while it’s dark out cold. It’s still sunny and fairly nice during the day, I like that. Our dogs have taken to sunning themselves on the back porch, laying on the vents or climbing into our laps to share body heat in our poorly insulated house. Our smallest dog is 40 pounds, but I don’t mind. The street dog we took in a couple months ago is thriving on spoiled couch time and the twins have always been like this. All that’s left of the bug I caught is the cough I can’t kick. My energy is back, my motivation, the aches gone, getting better sleep. Today I opened the box for the STEM advent calendar my mom sent to my kids, they’re over the moon at the idea. 

We’re still fucking broke, though. My husband is just as stressed as I am, even if he’s not having literal nightmares about bussing tables for brunch on Mother’s Day. We’ve agreed that I’m going to try to look for remote work first, something part time just for supplementary income. If that fails, then I’ll look for something in person. I haven’t worked since 2015, so learning the modern job market and updating a resume is going to be…a trip. I hate all of this so much. I wish I didn’t feel my heartbeat pick up in pace every time I think about working or get an email from Linkedin. I wish I didn’t have stress-induced nightmares about a job I haven’t worked since before I moved out of my mother’s house. 

Sometimes it feels like escape is all I have. Other than hitting ‘play’, anyway. Diving into a story puts some distance between me and the bullshit, so I do it. Whether I’m reading it, writing it, or watching it, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s some form of distraction, something to take my mind off THIS. I know it’s not healthy. I know I spend way too much time on YouTube and I know this is not a great coping mechanism. What options do I have?

I’ve had Bleach on the back burner while I got through Aaron’s two published books. Now that I’ve finished both Ruins of Ivy and Forgotten Steel, I can pick that back up in the coming week. Forgotten Steel has some slightly different themes from the first and expands its world a lot. He set out to write an entertaining book, and I had a good time. By coincidence, his book touched on an idea that my series does, albeit in a very different way. Three of his main characters are called monsters and have to wrestle with whether or not that label is deserved, if they can go back from it. He’s not doing anything new with it, but in tandem with some other concepts he has juxtaposing that one, it’s keeping my attention.

I had to renew that Tchaikovsky book at my library this week, so I did that and picked up two more volumes (4 and 5) of Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe while I was there and finished them both in an afternoon. I’m aware of the criticisms of age-gap relationships and the slippery slope of depicting toxic relationships, as well as the ‘it’s not accurate’ detractors. I really could care less. I like it. I like the art, I like how every character feels like an individual that keeps moving and doing things when they aren’t on page, I like the leads and how they’re drawn to each other. I like that Persephone is allowed to be angry sometimes, and Hades isn’t exactly a model for morality either. Sue me, I’m going to read the whole series. I think I have pretty solid media literacy skills. Plenty good enough to tell that it’s a little weird for the eldest of the Olympians to have fallen head over heels for a twenty year old. Don’t care. I’m a sucker for sun and moon dynamics.

I’m hoping to get through Bleach by the end of the month. I might not make it, I’ve got about 240 chapters left (the Fullbringer Arc and the TYBW for anyone keeping score), but I am going to do my best. I’m really excited about reading the Dan Da Dan manga. I can’t do that if I’m still hung up on Bleach. I’ve been pretty busy with other stuff, so I might need to go back and read the last ten, twenty chapters just to refresh myself. We’ll see. My notes might be enough. I might post my ramblings here when I do finish. I’m looking forward to getting into the TYBW. The anime is so good and there’s a lot of hype to keep me trucking along. 

I know I keep promising myself I’m going to spend time in front of my whiteboard and not doing that, but I did something better this week! I’ve been working out exactly what’s left to cover in this volume of the story. The exact chain of events that leads to the plot point I want to be at when I move on to volume three. Hitting the books is not going to be the most fun time, and some of this is just going to be me and a map making shit up. That’s just how this goes. But I am going to get to it. Now that I’ve finished those two books I have a little more breathing room to get some of my own work done. 

I also slotted a pretty important piece into the overall puzzle that is my current project. Since I’ve been doing so much reading it back over while Aaron makes his way through what I have, I noticed a pretty consistent tic that my POV character remarks on her memories A LOT. So much that it feels more important than context or characterization, it’s getting into theme territory by accident. We’re going to run with that in conjunction with a decision I hoped I wouldn’t have to make. Aaron asked me if ghosts exist in this world based on a couple offhand comments POV characters makes. I wanted to keep it vague since I didn’t want to say anything about the afterlife or mortality, but it’s fine. It all fits together just fine with the connections I’ve been making with the other plot points and themes I’ve been doing. 

Writing is both a romantic solo venture and a highly stressful collaborative effort. I can sit in front of my whiteboard for ages and not know if what I’m coming up with is any good. Then again, entire writer’s rooms have ended up with crap too. Sometimes we need someone else to bounce ideas off of, and sometimes it’s just too many cooks in the kitchen. Even though I am still very much going through my existential crisis, I’m glad he said that. It forced me to think it through, to make a decision, and that decision will ultimately benefit the story. He also told me that my rough draft is one of the top ten books he’s ever read. 

I thought I was having a heart attack. I hyperventilated, felt like I was having palpitations, and it’s still such a surreal thing. In moments I’m flattered, in others I’m numb, and yet others I’m wondering what books he’s read that MINE could be considered that good. I’ve had so much trouble getting anyone else to give me a chance. I’ve handed out the link like it’s candy but no one who’s gotten the link has managed to get past the prologue. I don’t blame them, obviously. Everyone is busy and it’s a huge investment of time. I understand that. My biggest worries revolve around if I’m doing too much, if what I have makes sense, if it’s any good. That kind of thing can only be determined by readers. So without them, I just…panic. Forge on bravely, but still panic internally. My mom told me when I told her “I wish you believed in yourself as much as the rest of us do.” Bitch, WHAT? You don’t even like fantasy, you read five pages a year ago, so much has changed in that time. You’re my MOM, you can say whatever you want. 

You see what my brain does when I get praise? Try living with this shit. 

Here’s a list of some of the good shit I watched on YouTube this week: 

-Why Accuracy is Overrated: Spinster’s Library

-Fashion Doesn’t Matter (like it used to): Nicole Rudolph

-Do Modern Writers Remember How to Write Fantasy?: dan doug

-Why is NCIS Obsessed With Israel?: Skip Intro

-The Twisted World of Dark Romance: Mina Le 

-M.A.P Walsh is Hiding Something: Foreign Man in a Foreign Land

-How Potatoes Changed the World: Religion, Rebellion and the Industrial Revolution: OTR Food & History 

-Edgar Allen Poe’s Obsession with Death: Lady of the Library

-Gendered Reading in Fantasy, the Decline of YA and More: Johanna Reads

-Can TV Change the Way We Speak?: Otherwords on Monstrum

-In Defense of Cozy Fiction: Tale Foundry

-Brat and the Culture of Addiction: Alexander Avila 

-Girl Eats Boy: Cannibal Women in Horror (Raw, Yellowjackets, Bones and All): elle literacy

-How YouTube Dethroned MTV: Polyphonic

-Did the Coroner Make This Disaster Worse?: Caitlin Doughty 

-Everything You Think You Know About Thanksgiving is Wrong: Abby Cox

-Sympathy for the Villains: Princess Weekes

I hope I have more good news next week and that my emotional crisis passes, because I’m tired. I hate being like this. Sitting around worrying and being flattered and trying to think but also stressed out of my mind at the same time. It’s exhausting. I only have so much RAM and I have other things to worry about. The world is about to get much worse. I have things to protect here. I just hope I’m the one worrying too much and it’s not warranted. 

Stay safe out there <3

[brainrotcharacters]

Netflix Lucifer’s last season and finale...

quick someone rewrite every season if Rory time travelled then I’m still swinging with the idea because IMAGINE

Deckerstar’s “I’ll sleep with you when hell freezes over” where Rory a) gets a cringe attack b) keeps her amusement to herself

any interactions with Trixie in any season homegirl didn’t exist in this last season so because this is a sisterhood between a human and a nephilim damnit this is a drawing board for good writing I’m going to cry

s1 Amenadiel in full power who will smell the time traveler in his niece and expand on the lore because of it

Rory sees how her parents fall in love with each other because reading it from Linda’s book (much as I love that) is not as cute or immersive. the pining, the looks, the sacrifices would frustrate Rory how we have been frustrated... but also “show don’t tell”

interactions with Grandma and Grandpa Big G?? idk yet aside from Rory observing how Dad was less hostile to Grandma so similaritiessssss and since they are all-knowing, they’ll keep Rory’s identity secret because drama and angst I WANT TO HURT MYSELF OKAY

NOT tell Chloe and Lucifer who she is until like halfway or the latter end of the season because we need to see how well Miss Aurora can keep a secret

Maze from any season would adopt Rory so quick you don’t even know

Rory would observe Dan. learn what Mom was like with her ex husband, how they raised T, try to make connections to the versions of her mom and big sister that she knows in her timeline

the thing that almost sends Rory over the edge (revealing her identity, self-actualizing a devil face, etc.) is all the times Lucifer abandoned Chloe

Uriel. explore that plotline.

when her aunts and uncles, especially Remiel, sensed Charlie, Rory entertains herself like how Hannibal makes jokes at the table for his own amusement

one time, Lucifer asks her about her father casually, and she hesitates, tells some story, before ending up on “he loves me.”

Eve with Lucifer and Mom with Cain would make Rory’s head spin

hell, get Charlie to time travel sometime (ah ha get it?). nephilim cousins interaction, cmon

get TRIXIE to timetravel! get the kids here!

Rory meets the parents of her future love interests

Dad hates his angel wings. explore that plotline bc Rory grows up angry about him, I imagine she went through a time where she hated her wings because it reminded her of him. only when she chose to grow blades did it remind her of mom.

interactions with Grandma and Grandpa(i guess not) Decker where we see how Rory does not vibe with Penelope but that makes her Chloe’s daughter all the more

why is aurora the name Chloe chose if she had another girl??? gimme the story

Rory comes with Lucifer to Hell to get the formula for the poison that hospitalized Chloe that one time

in getting his wings back, taking away his devil face, getting devil wings, etc. Lucifer unknowingly shows his daughter his healing process

feel free to add more...? I don’t remember entirely rn. but let’s be salty about the last season together.

[lil-demi-boy]

[BOOP] You've been BOOP'd! Gush about your 5 newest f/o's and your 5 oldest f/o's and pass the BOOP to 5 other self shippers!

Oh wow 10 whole gushes, I’ll go ahead n put this under a read more

I don’t fully remember who I’ve added in what order, but I know Jaime, Haemon, Ross, and Tybalt are new, and though I’ve had Hizashi for a while, I wanna talk about him too 

So CL and I have made some more recent stuff about Jaime and Dan, like their first kiss being accidental- Like they trip into each other and make contact, but once they realize what just happened, they’re both v flustered and blooshy and require a good 5 minutes to calm down Though when they do finally kiss for realsies, it’s rly soft and sweet ;v; The slow burn is to die for n I love it

Haemon’s backstory has been expanded too!  We figured he’d be from a rich family, though he’d have the type of parents who would get him what he wanted so he’d stay out of their hair.  Unfortunately this gave him a complex, so now he tends to throw a fit when he doesn’t get what he wants, especially if he wants someone to date him- so that was fun to work out

As for Ross, he was originally called Chris P. by me n CL but then I was in the Eddsworld Patreon AMA (I got to talk to the real Bing and Matt and I’m still giddy abt it-) they said that Chris is actually named and modeled after a friend of theirs named Ross, so that character is just called Ross.  I like his skeleton arm and taste in chicken.

Tybalt was one of my first islanders in Animal Crossing New Horizons!  He and Tabby were so sweet to me when I first arrived, and though I don’t usually go for the jock types, Tybalt was always just so sweet and encouraging to me, I couldn’t help but fall in love with him ;v;

And Hizashi (aka Present Mic) has been on my list for a while, but I saw a comic of him recently that just made me fall deeper for him and really think about a relationship with him.  He’s a DJ and clearly likes music, and music is one of my hyperfixations, so we would just be able to geek out about our favorite songs and make each other mixtapes and playlists and such,,  he goode

As for oldest, if I can remember correctly, I believe they’re TP Link, Danny Fenton, Manny Rivera, Randy Cunningham, and N

Twilight Princess Link occupied my head rent free for years when I was younger- I’d take the TP guide book to school and read it over and over again, getting every bit of lore that I could from it, I’d draw Link all over the place, my proudest drawing at the time being when I tried to draw him in a certain pose from the book (and it impressed everyone around me, which was a Great Feeling).  Nowadays I just admire him and am thankful for his existence 

Danny Fenton was one that my mom would tease me about bc it was very obvious I had it bad for him when I was a kid.  To the point I watched it any time it was on and wound up watching every episode without having to look them up- I just watched them when they came on and happened to catch them all (I also don’t get the hate for Phantom Planet like,,, they turned Earth invisible, that’s badass) Now I ship with him in an AU where he aged with me, so he’s 31 at this point.  I’m still working on the AU though so I don’t have a lot of details in it aside from the fact that it’s a crossover AU with the rest of the Secret Trio + Manny from El Tigre

Speaking of which, Manny was another favorite of mine as a kid- I loved watching the show and drawing him and looking up cool AMVs n such once I got access to the internet.  I always thought he and Frieda would be fun to be friends and hang out with Now in the Secret Trio AU, he’s 27, and although he does have a super hero alter ego, he’s not part of the team.  Mostly because his identity isn’t a secret; everyone knows he’s El Tigre

Randy Cunningham was a later edition due to his show not coming out until 2012.  Even then, I was so excited for it- I was fresh in an Invader Zim phase and I heard that Jhonen Vasquez did the character designs n such for the show, so ofc I had to watch it.  And I loved it; Ben Schwartz’s voice and the stupid stuff Randy does and says just made me fall for him p much instantly.  He’s probably one of the characters I drew the most ship art of at the time, now that I think about it In the current AU, he’s my age, 22 (I legit was stoked to be in the 9th grade at the same time as him, granted my school didn’t have a Tim Curry demon underneath it or a ninja to protect it but y’know) so he’s the youngest of the trio

And N I admittedly didn’t do a lot with when I was younger, I just kinda held on to him over the years.  He’s really genuine and sweet though, and going on those ferris wheel rides with him in Black was something I dreamt of often =u=

Well this was super long- if you made it this far, thank you for reading all of that cause lord knows you didn’t have to

[astromechs]

I would like to start reading the guardians comics, where should I start? Do you maybe have some sort of reading guide?

hey, anon, i’m glad you asked! what i’m going to provide here is a little bit of my own personal reading guide, and what that means is that this is going to reflect some of my personal taste. the good news is that the cosmic side of marvel is actually pretty easy to follow, especially as compared to other areas of marvel, so i think you should be able to jump right in!

i’m going to put this under a cut for length. so, without further ado:

start here:

annihilation (2006) – event

this event really birthed marvel cosmic as we know it, and i think is the best place to start with anything related to this lore. peter, gamora, and drax play a role in this saga, plus there are other characters like phyla-vell and richard rider (nova) who are intertwined with the guardians quite a bit.

basically what happens here is that there’s annihilus, a guy from the negative zone, who’s launching his forces on this universe. it’s in the guise of a territory war (our universe is expanding, causing the negative zone to contract), but really annihilus just wants to wipe people out. fun stuff!

recommended reading order: annihilation: prologue by keith giffen, annihilation: nova #1-4 by dan abnett and andy lanning, annihilation #1-6 by keith giffen. the ronan spinoff has gamora in it for a couple of issues, so you can check that out too. you don’t really need the silver surfer or super skrull spinoffs to understand the core story, imo, so you can skip those.

then:

annihilation: conquest (2007) – event

this event comes on the heels of annihilation, and is what brings a lot of the modern guardians together. i definitely think you need annihilation first, though, in order to understand this, which is why i recommended that. this event chronicles the invasion of the kree empire by the phalanx, a techno-organic race who assimilate people like the borg from star trek. it’s a fun event, and peter plays a really big role in it.

recommended reading order: annihilation: conquest prologue by dan abnett and andy lanning, annihilation: conquest – star-lord #1-4 by keith giffen, annihilation: conquest #1-6 by dan abnett and andy lanning. these are the main stories of interest to guardians fans (and i think what you need to get the gist of the story), but there are also quasar and wraith tie-ins.

dan abnett and andy lanning’s nova vol 4 overlaps with a lot of the events of annihilation: conquest, and the phalanx arc (issues #4-11… i…think… someone correct me if i’m wrong on the issue numbers, i need to reread this series) heavily features gamora. as a rich rider/nova fan, i recommend it in general anyway, because it’s just a great series overall, but if your primary interest is the guardians, i can understand you not wanting to read the whole thing.

next:

guardians of the galaxy, vol 2 (2008-2010), #1-25, by dan abnett and andy lanning

the run on guardians that’s considered seminal and iconic by most fans, and it’s for a reason. the writing is good, the character interactions are really fun, and i really enjoy the plot. i spent like $50 on the omnibus for this and i regret nothing; it’s just a great book. if you don’t read another guardians comic, read this one!!

the thanos imperative miniseries, also written by abnett and lanning, directly follows the events of their gotg run and is also just a really fucking great story. read thanos imperative: ignition, then thanos imperative #1-6. i cried at the end.

after this, i’d frankly skip most of bendis guardians and humphries star-lord. both have their moments, but a lot of the writing/characterization is pretty bad. you’re not missing anything by avoiding it. the only thing you need to know is that during the events of civil war ii, the guardians come to earth to help captain marvel, and in the process, carol tells peter that they’re keeping thanos on earth – which is something he keeps from gamora and drax, in order to prevent them from losing their collective shit. well, of course gamora finds out anyway, it causes a huge fight between the guardians, and now they’re not only stranded on the planet because their ship’s busted, they’re also not speaking.

which sets the stage for:

star-lord, vol 2 (2016-2017), #1-6 + annual, by chip zdarsky

i love this comic so much; it’s literally my favorite peter quill story. it’s short and it’s mostly a character study, but it revolves around with him dealing with being back on earth, as well as a lot of personal revelations about his life. can’t rec this one enough!

gamora (2016), #1-6, by nicole perlman

this one has no set reading order, since it’s intended to be a prequel comic for her, but i just love it a lot. another great character study, and highly recommended!

also, if you want another backstory comic about gamora, i’d recommend the currently ongoing thanos miniseries by tini howard. we’re only two issues into it so far, with the third one coming out this month, but it’s actually pleasantly surprised me quite a bit.

you can pick back up with the guardians with:

all-new guardians of the galaxy (2017-2018), #1-12, #146-150 (it goes back to legacy numbering here, #146 is essentially issue #13) by gerry duggan

people have mixed feelings about this series, and i kind of do too, but it’s fun enough for me to rec. it’s got some good character interactions, and sets the stage for things you’ll need to know if you want to read the current guardians ongoing.

this feeds into: infinity countdown, #1-5, and infinity wars, #1-6, also by gerry duggan. i am Not A Fan of infinity wars in particular, but you’ll need to be aware of those events for what’s going on currently. which is:

guardians of the galaxy, vol 5 (2019), #1-ongoing by donny cates

we’re only a few issues into this so far, but i like it overall! i like how peter’s written in it, in particular, and we’re back to some fun character interactions. the annual that just came out last week brings in some really potentially interesting story threads, too.

so – that should bring you up to speed with what’s going on with our favorite space team!

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with RogersBase

  I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

  Welcome to the inaugural article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

  My first guest in this series is RogersBase, a Nintendo Brand Ambassador. For my chat with him, he chose the Zou arc, in which Luffy and his crew head to an ancient civilization that sits upon the back of a giant elephant.

  A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Zou arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Zou arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

    Dan Dockery: In one sentence, could you sell me on Zou?

  RogersBase: Okay, here we go — Mystery, romance, and a little bit of the Mammoth Boyz. I think that’s the perfect way to describe the best story arc in the post time skip era of One Piece.

  The best? Really?

  Yeah, by far. For me, at least. 

  Yeah, I feel like post time skip has been a certainly interesting array of storylines. I think my personal favorite is Whole Cake. So much of the back half of it as soon as the wedding goes awry is great, and the entire Katakuri fight is a masterpiece. 

  I think Whole Cake is a totally reasonable answer, and I think you probably like it for the same reasons that I like Zou: the characterization and the drama that isn’t centered around the characters saving a kingdom. The kingdom of Zou has already been destroyed. There’s no saving it at this point. The only thing they want to save is Raizo. So you don’t have to deal with the villain hierarchies and families of say Dressrosa or Wano. And the nice thing about it is that since it’s a shorter, condensed story arc, it really hammers home the motivations of the characters and gives us this terrifying villain that’s not even present for most of the arc.

    I really like Jack. He only appears in a flashback for the most part and he’s a scourge of the kingdom. And then he comes back, only to be hit by that elephant. And that’s one of those things at the beginning of the arc, when I saw this massive thing, I thought “Aw, man. I wanna see what that elephant can do. I hope it hits something” and then IT DOES. I flipped out. It was so satisfying. Did you know that Zou would be your favorite when you finished it?

  Yeah, I think I did. All the arcs up to that point had really high highs, but some of it just didn’t land with me. So to have Oda move away from these long story arcs that end in big one on one fights and go to this shorter, mystery-focused arc: What’s going on with these minks? What’s atop this elephant? Is Raizo still alive? What is The Voice of All Things? What connection does Luffy have to these giant creatures? And with so many great designs and characters, too, with the Minks. It’s really fascinating, and you have bits and pieces that lead up to it, but there’s so much here. 

  I feel like the Minks might be Oda’s purest expression of side characters because he’s playing with all of these animal figures that are both interesting to look at and emotionally evocative. It’s him flexing his muscles as a character artist. And the landscape of Zou as well - It’s beautiful to behold. 

    Especially when you think about the amount of content that’s there in a short amount of chapters or episodes. There’s so much that’s told about the overall world, the Road Poneglyphs, the relationship between the Minks and the Kozuki Family, the Beast Pirates, so much gets touched upon that will expand in later story arcs. There’s beautiful, immediate payoff there and later. 

  It has such a comparatively goofy start, too. They’re climbing this giant elephant on the back of a cartoon dragon that Robin thinks is adorable. And I’m glad she gets a little bit of focus here because, with the Poneglyphs, Zou is a really big set-up arc for Robin. So her role in One Piece’s endgame has exponentially increased. 

  Also, the focus on characterization. In earlier, post timeskip arcs, you have these epic clashes that take down kingdoms, but here you get a cute moment with Robin. It’s so refreshing to see her in a natural element where she’s comfortable.

    What did you think of the Mink tribe’s living situation? The giant white whale tree and the treehouses and all. Do you have any favorite parts of Oda’s worldbuilding here? Not just as a story designer, but as someone who crafts actual places where races and species can live.

  It’s cool to see the animals he chooses for the Minks, and how he constructs the power structure and who controls the land at what time, with the dog during the day and the cat at night. The big pineapple trees and the ruins that you see in the Jack flashback, he created a full-blown, believable civilization. It’s always a pleasure to see Oda working in jungle vegetation-type areas. He really excels in this in Skypiea and in his color spreads. So it seems like Zou is something that he’s wanted to do for a while. And how much effort he puts into it is why you feel so attached to the Minks at the end.

  That’s really cool. There are a ton of anime side character animals, like Kakashi’s pet dogs and the little animals that hang out with Goku and pals, but Oda really lets loose here with a whole species. And as you said, we should’ve kinda seen it coming with all the work he’s done with anthropomorphic animals. But then, you have the big Jack flashback. And the stereotype of the One Piece flashback is “Oh boy, it’s ‘bout to get sad.” But Zou’s feels like an epic piece of mythology, and Jack is just this being of pure cruelty without any kind of sad backstory. How did you feel about it? Did it surpass your expectations?

    Oh, absolutely! To see a character as violent and ruthless as Jack was something needed, I think. He’s an overall threat, not goofy. And his Devil Fruit is fascinating, as you finally see the return of the Prehistoric Zoan type fruit after you last saw it with Drake turning into an Allosaurus. So it’s cool to not only see that Jack can turn into a Woolly Mammoth, but it’s a Woolly Mammoth fighting on top of a giant elephant. And with the way he gets teased leading up to his appearance in the flashback, I remember thinking “How cool would it be if there was a Woolly Mammoth fruit!” and sure enough, there it is! Jack feels like a fulfillment of the promise of the New World — It’s not going to be a cakewalk. Your opponents will be devastating and Jack is so determined, coming because he knows Raizo’s there and then coming back because he STILL KNOWS Raizo is there. He’s like “You can tell me all you want that he’s not here, but I know, and I will crucify you and cut off your limbs. I don’t know why you’re trying to defend this one ninja, but I know he’s here.”

  Zou is kind of a double feature. We have Raizo and the Minks and the lore, but we also have the stuff that leads to Whole Cake with Sanj and Capone. Now, I see Sanji’s whole arc here sometimes referred to as Robin 2.0, because it’s a lot like Enies Lobby on the surface. Guy gets taken by the bad guys and is like “Don’t follow me because they’ll kill you, etc.” That’s always felt a little hollow to me because Sanji is not Robin and they don’t have the same motivation.

  No, absolutely. And I’m glad you mentioned it because it’s phenomenal how well Zou has aged. They manage to give these characterization moments to Robin and Sanji and the crew while introducing all this stuff and managing to make us care about all of it. There are people that are like “I can’t wait for Carrot to officially join the crew,” and it all stems from this story arc. 

    In terms of characters that get done so well that even though their time with you is brief, they still stick with you for a long time, I think a good example is Pedro. He joins everyone and he’s this stoic, mentor figure, a character type that usually doesn't fare so well when it comes to surviving anime series intact. And obviously, RIP Pedro. But it’s a testament to what you’re talking about because he just joins the crew and you’re like “Yeah, sure. Gimme fifty more chapters of him.”

  He’s got this cool eye patch, he has a beef with Big Mom, he knows about the world. And he’s the one who’s sort of the most hesitant to trust the Straw Hats at first after the disaster with Jack and all. But by the ending, he knows that the Straw Hats are the guys that he’s been waiting for. This is the crew that will bring upon that new dawn. And we haven’t even talked about Pekoms yet! He has those ties to Big Mom and to Bepo and to Zou and to Pedro and to Capone, who shoots him. 

  What do you think of the Poneglyph system? It’s both indicative of the Straw Hat endgame, but it isn’t like this magic map. What do you think of it as kind of a quest marker?

  It’s great because you learn that there are a definite few that mean something and that they’re all being held at various places that are run by Emperors. So trying to find them gives you an actual reason to fight these Emperors of the Sea and heading into their territories. They don’t really need to be fighting Kaido in the grand scheme of things, but the Poneglyphs add to the direction of the series. 

  ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

  Favorite character?

  Trafalgar D. Water Law.

  Favorite Straw Hat?

  I go back and forth between three, but Sanji.

  Favorite villain?

  Doflamingo.

  If you could live on any One Piece island, where would you call home?

  Dressrosa without Doflamingo would actually be pretty nice.

  Favorite One Piece fight?

  Luffy vs Lucci.

  One Piece moment that made you sob the most?

  “Raizo is safe!” I was so overwhelmed with emotion, seeing the resolve of the Minks.

  One Piece moment that made you cheer the loudest?

  Sabo getting the Flare-Flare Fruit in Dressrosa.

      Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Official One Piece Columnist for Shueisha and Toei Greg Warner about his favorite One Piece arc: Arlong Park!!

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

[trashandblog]

Do you Believe in fairy tales (pt2)

Needless to say when the rest of the grumps met Suzy they were very interested, Barry almost passed out when the mermaid smiled at him. As they introduced themselves Suzy motioned each human over and pressed a kiss to their cheek. Holly got two kisses for kissing both Suzy’s cheeks back. By the time the group was done discussing what they should do now that they had a mermaid in their tub it was dark and they had made a group decision to cancel their flight out of Hawaii.

“Arin we can’t just move here.” Brian said in the process of braiding Suzy’s hair. Arin deflated a bit and squeezed Suzy’s hand gently. “Boat? Swim.” Suzy said softly. Dan and Arin both smiled at Suzy, “I feel stupid for not understanding.” Brian says as he ties up Suzy’s now sloppily braided hair. “Suzy swim, Brian boat.” She elaborates caressing Brian’s cheek as a thank you. Brian grumbles. “I have a wife stop that.” Both Arin and Suzy giggle at that. “Yeah a cruise would be cool. And Suzy can follow the boat.” Dan says thoughtfully. “To big.” Suzy says frowning. “Little.” She adds patting Brian’s thigh as he stands up. “Can we like rent a yacht?” Arin asks wide eyed. Ross cackles loudly from the other room. “I mean it's a possibility.” Brian says shrugging. Arin's eyes light up and he stands. “Barry! Find a yacht to rent so we can go home!” Arin yells. To the others still in the room. “Arin we are not-” “Bro just do it, we can’t leave Arin’s fish wife here.” Dan sighs, his happy smile betrays the annoyed notion he puts up. “Lets actually sleep before we go rent a boat man.” Suzy looks over at Brian and rolls her eyes. Arin laughs but agrees with Brian and soon the group separates and each person, or couple go back to their respective rooms to get ready to leave in the morning.

The next day Suzy wakes up suddenly, hearing someone trying to open the door to the hotel room. She silently slips out of the water and crawls just behind the bathroom wall. She can already see well in the dark so when the door clicks and the short figure steps into the room she recognizes the intruder as ross. Suzy has no problem waiting under the counter as he turns to the bathroom and opens the door quietly. “Suz- AHH!” Suzy lunges at ross from her hiding place as he steps fully into the bathroom. She clings to his back sending him into the ground. As the two fall she notices a sack in ross’s hand that makes a loud ‘CLINK’ noise when it hits the ground. Soon Arin is awake and turning on the bathroom light to find Suzy holding ross down as he squirms under her. “I just came to bring you some food!” Ross managed out with his face smushed against the cold and wet tiled floor. Arin takes a deep breath and calms down shaking his head. Suzy winces as she slides off of ross. “Sorry.” She mumbles looking down. Her eyes dart back to the sack and her mouth fills with saliva as the smell wafts over to her. She forgets her guilt in favor of picking through the sack to find a can of hot meat and rice only half spilled into the plastic holding it. “Um Suzy-” Arin's words are lost on his tongue when Suzy suddenly opens her mouth wider than should be possible and shovels half of the food into her mouth with her hands. Ross, who is now sitting upright watches in slight horror as she eats the food in two large, disturbing bites.

“What the fuck did I just watch?” Dan asks quietly from behind Arin. “uh… wow.” Ross says watching Suzy lick her hands clean after she wipes the remaining food from her face. Suzy smiles at ross and scoots over to him kissing his cheek before butting her head against his. Ross smiles nervously and slowly gets up helping Suzy back into the tub. “Okay, my girlfriend has an expandable jaw, that’s nice to know.” Arin says leaning back against Dan who was awake enough to hold Arin’s sleepy form up. Ross turns on the light to the bathroom and everyone’s eyes are drawn to the scales littering suzys tail, “Dude check it, her tail is turning pink.” Dan says nuding Arin. Ross raises his eyebrows and nods. “That actually looks really good.” He says. Suzy blushes and grins wiggling happily. “Arin’s color!” She says excitedly looking to her mate. Arin is staring at her in awe. “You can change colors?” He asked wide eyed as he made his way to her side. Suzy nodded vigorously and tugged on Arin’s arm pulling him down to her level. Arin blushed as she pressed kisses to his cheeks before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up. Arin made a noise and held her up by her hips as she hugged him tightly. “Home.” She says softly making Arin’s heart swell. “Awww.” Dan says from the doorway.

Eventually the three men leave Suzy again to discuss boat matters. “Listen, we found a local who's willing to let us borrow his plane, he has a large aquarium he uses to transport tropical fish I just don't know how we would sneak her on, it's not like we can just carry her in.” Ross says frowning. Dan raises an eyebrow. “No one paid much attention when I covered up her tail and just carried her in.” Dan said. “Yeah but we were running.” Arin added. Dan sighed before perking up. “Guys how do we know she doesn't have legs?” Arin rolls his eyes. “She's a mermaid, not a shape shifter.” Arin says shaking his head. Dan and Arin quickly encase themselves in a conversation on the topic of mermaids and lore as Ross stands up and heads to the bathroom hearing giggles. When he reaches the doorway he smiles seeing holly painting Suzy's long nails in a deep black color. “It looks pretty on your hands.” Holly says with a grin. Suzy's fins are moving as she looks down at the paint in awe. “pretty?” She asks looking over at Holly. Holy nods, “yes pretty, you are very pretty too Suzy.” She says with a smile as she leans forward kissing Suzy's cheek. Suzy blushed a light pinkish color “Holly pretty.” She says patting Holly's face flustered. Ross smiled watching his wife laugh happily, maybe this mermaid thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

(this is sort and stupid sorry

[withered-facade]

Rp rec?

Give me a second while I scream into the abyss because hell yeah for anons. Also excuse how big this gif is i’m too lazy to resize right now. 

I am a total rp whore, okay? I’m only technically in two but i’m constantly gushing over a million other rps i’ll probably never join. This got really long so my recs are under the cut!

First of all let’s get to the ones that ARE open!

@atouch-of-darkness

I have been in this roleplay for over a year now. Yes, it IS a supernatural town rp but I promise it’s completely different than any of the other appless ones that mostly have gif chats. For one thing, it is a bio rp so there’s not an influx of oc’s that are virtually all the same and since there are pre-established connections, plotting is easier! It is literate and i am constantly being floored by the paras there. I came to the roleplay with little to no talent and zero idea how Tumblr worked and they have taught me SO much. It will forever own my heart. It has great activity and I have yet to come across a roleplay with a more welcoming ooc blog. These people will freely torture your character and then pop in your inbox to talk about random shit like eggs. Oh wait, i’m the one that does that. Back to the point - people WILL plot with you there. They are SO excited for any plotting. And if you ever need an ear to vent to or just want to throw random headcanons about your character around, you will have a plethora of people to choose from because everyone there is so friendly. 

@vieuxnoyesrp

This one is a Vampire Diaries/The Originals, Teen Wolf, Salem, and Arcane Society bio rp but it has an extremely unique take on the characters and plots. I’ve never seen such perfect characterization of canon characters while also showing us completely new sides of them. The muns bring to light parts of the muses that are not always expanded on as they should be and if you like even one of the shows/book listed above, this a go to roleplay to check out. Like every rp in this list will be, it is literate. (Again, those paras K I L L me) I am not personally part of this one but i am an avid stalker; I do also know the admins and a good chunk of the muns and they’re a really great batch of people. Whether or not I ever apply for this is not the question - it’s when will I apply. 

@teethandambitionsrpg

SUCH BEAUTIFUL PROSE. Honestly Risa’s writing is possibly some of the most beautiful writing i’ve ever read. If you like Riddle’s Era in the Harry Potter series this IS the place for you. If you like flowery writing that makes you analyze basically everything word for word just so you understand what the hell is being said, this is definitely the place for you. Competition is fierce and be ready to try and write 7k at the least if you want to apply. And since it’s a bio rp, none of that 7k will be a bio. - Also make sure that you’re very very very talented. There’s a saying that goes “The flame that burns Twice as bright burns half as long.” and I hope it’s not the case with this place but we shall see how it goes! The best writers seem to get bored very easily in rps and this place is filled with what is some of the best on Tumblr. 

And now we get to the roleplays that are not yet open!

@horsemenrpg

Admittedly I don’t know too much about this place except that it’s “heavily inspired by now you see me” which immediately grabbed my attention, but the graphics are amazing and all I had to do was read one bio to know this is one i’m going to be keeping an eye on.

@cyclicalrp

“A Kingdom built on the ashes of our broken Humanity” I’ll be over here crying forever tbh. Huge fan of sci-fi, I am (sorry that’s my lame attempt to talk like yoda, excuse me), and this rp is perfect for any science fiction lovers. It has both humans and cylons; cybernetic lifeform nodes, and they’re named after greek gods and goddesses because the skeletons are written to be “loosely related to figures from Greek mythology” Honestly what more can you ask for? The admin should be coming back soon from their brief hiatus but this rp is WELL worth the wait. Check out the main and read some of the plot. I guarantee you’ll be hard-pressed to find a roleplay with a plot quite so entrancing.

@foxteaser

Okay okay okay let me do all of the gushing here. The main isn’t even up yet but I die a little more with each teaser that is released. I can’t completely gauge just how ‘literate’ this one will be but I feel like it’ll be mostly paras with maybe some gif chats every now and then? It’s a town rp but the species are totally unique - one of them are called dreamwalkers and can visit/influence other’s dreams but also risk the chance of getting trapped should the person wake up while the dreamwalker is still in their head. Another species, one of my favorites actually, is a wyrth. I absolutely love these guys, they can heal virtually anything but the wyrth then takes on the ailment. I actually had an oc with this power back when superhero rps were all the rage and fanfiction rping was still a thing, so this rp gives me major nostalgia because of that.

@poisonivyrpg 

So this is the odd ball of the list, honestly. It’s one of the only two skeleton rps here and seems to be inspired a bit by Gossip girl? It’s entirely original though, so no worries about trying to keep up with Blair or Dan and what happened in the show. The muses attend Yale university and when I say it seems to be inspired by GG I just mean the whole “lifestyle of the rich and famous” bit. It’s really well written and i’ve already fell for a few skeletons but i’m not sure i’d apply as it’s not really my type of roleplay but I do know someone who is applying and if you happen to ever have the chance to roleplay with them you’re a lucky fella! If anything the rp is well worth a look. 

@fablehaftrp 

Selfishly I can’t forget to add my own roleplay. It’s a bio rp and will be mostly literate. (i won’t get too upset if some people get busy and include a gif chat or two every now and then but I expect mostly paras!) Because I tend to gravitate towards certain types of rps, it is a fantasy rp with supernatural creatures but i’d wager a month’s pay that you have not and will not ever come across another roleplay with our (my co-admin and I’s) take on the species. All have a unique history in our lore and we’ve truly made them our own. We don’t stop at Lycans and Vampires, we have Elves, Valkyries, Kistune, Banshees, Leviathans, Bastet (a species inspired by their namesake) and many others! 

I wanted to write this up nicer, using big words and just generally sounding more fancy but it’s getting late and i’m exhausted and got way too excited to deal with trying to make this sound like something other than word vomit. 

These are just roleplays that I personally have shown an interest in but if you’re looking for a certain type; appless, based on a show, containing certain faceclaims, town rps, marvel rps, etc let me know and i’ll create a list based on your interest!

[robedisimo]

Home-video review: Assassin’s Creed [MINOR SPOILERS]

[Disclaimer: this review is based on the Italian dub of the film. As such, all opinions on the quality of dialogues and acting are subjective and partial.]

I have a great deal of love in my heart for the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise. It’s fun, oddly instructive, its overarching plot is completely bonkers and, most importantly, it constantly takes the concept of exploration-heavy open-world action to new and visually impressive settings, painstakingly recreated by some of the most talented environment artists in the industry. “Travel to exotic lands, meet interesting people, and kill them”, as the adage goes.

Since its debut in 2007 the franchise has grown to truly baffling size, which isn’t that surprising given that its premise allows for a limitless number of protagonists disseminated throughout the entirety of human history. Comics, novels and any other sort of tie-in material has been a staple of the brand’s ever-expanding lore for a decade now, and so it was only a matter of time before someone in the executives’ room hatched the notion of trying to set up a film series. Needless to say, that sort of endeavour seldom yields edible fruits.

Not that the effort wasn’t made: the task was handed over to Justin Kurzel, already director of the acclaimed period-piece drama Macbeth, whose involvement brought with it the welcome addition of that same film’s two leads, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, as Assassin’s Creed top-billers. On top of that, game company Ubisoft acted as the primary production studio for the feature, an uncommon scenario in the arena of video game adaptations.

The results were... dissatisfying, for a number of reasons. Assassin’s Creed benefits from the faithfulness to the source material that the game developers’ involvement entails and from Kurzel’s solid directorial eye, but the final product is pretty much hollow, torn as it is between introducing the franchise’s premise and intricacies to neophite viewers while still trying to give die-hard fans something new to chew on.

Unfortunately, the movie doesn’t really do either in a successful manner, and that’s mostly because, like so many live-action game-inspired blockbusters before it, it can’t find a way to pack everything the game has to offer into just two hours of standard film runtime. More importantly, it focusses on entirely the wrong aspect fo the franchise, squandering what potential the adaptation held on paper.

The original Assassin’s Creed game and its first six sequels followed different ancestors of modern-day protagonist Desmond Miles, whose present plotline was obviously treated as a lesser counterpart to the vastly predominant historically-set portion of gameplay. This was made possible by the sprawling scale of the franchise, in which Desmond’s tale could afford to be told in small, drip-feed amounts as an overarching trait d’union between instalments.

Wanting to avoid retreading the same narrative in the film adaptation, Ubisoft decided to anchor the movie around a new present-day main character in the figure of Callum Lynch, a death row convict who is “enrolled” by the mysterious Abstergo company in order to relive the genetic memories of his ancestors – members of the equally-mysterious brotherhood of Assassins – to uncover the lost-to-centuries location of an ancient artefact which could change the fate of humanity.

The premise is just as enjoyably silly as the game’s always was, in equal parts Indiana Jones, Dan Brown novel, National Treasure, Scientology meeting and late-night pseudoscience TV programme – think Voyager, Italian readers. Unfortunately, the film just doesn’t take time revel in it. The franchise’s game instalment, as stated earlier, always privileged the exploration of a lushly-rendered historical setting and the Byzantine plots taking place in them, with the series’s fictional protagonists crossing paths with a cabal of real-life characters from Da Vinci to Dickens. The Assassin’s Creed film chooses instead to focus on Lynch’s present-day character journey, and in this it finds its foremost failure.

For the few glimpses we get into the ancestor side of things are were the movie truly shines: the visuals are gorgeous, the action is interesting – if marred by nauseous two-cuts-a-second editing – and, just once, an acrobatic chase sequence right at the film’s midpoint does manage to convey all the fun and atmospheric beauty of the game franchise’s best moments. That’s where the film should’ve stayed, rather than concerning itself so overwhelmingly with a modern plotline that’s too shallow for fans of the series and entirely too lacking in subtlety for those uninitiated but nonetheless possessing taste.

The film also fails to create a new iconic ancestor character for the franchise, as Spaniard Assassin Aguilar only acts as a mostly-passive proxy for Callum’s personal storyline. I can’t shake the feeling that it all would’ve worked better if our present-day protagonist had been played by an unknown newcomer, reserving Fassbender for the role of his charismatic “past self” in a much-expanded capacity rather than the dual role he serves in the film  – itself an odd choice, as the ancestors in the game series never shared Desmond’s face and personality.

In the end the movie is just too little to satisfy, with a weak plot and a general waste of the games’ principal selling point in favour of the puzzling decision to set so much of the film inside a sterile lab. Evidently, a good director and a cast – with the addition of a random Jeremy Irons, adding another notch to his already impressive “I can’t tell a good script from a bad one” belt – can’t fix a broken screenplay: after all, what separates Assassin’s Creed from Kurzel’s Macbeth are a different editor... and a writing team that’s not exactly Shakespeare.

What more can one say? Video game adaptations still suffer from a curse, it would seem, and not one that appears poised to be shaken off soon. 

[Verdict: MOSTLY NEGATIVE]