#i gotta make a separate post about this

[justafriendofxanders]

i go back and forth a lot on my interpretations of ats s5, ie. what parts of spike are 'in character' or not, but the one thing that stays constant is my belief that spike and angel fucking would have fixed most of this.

[miscellaneouzz]

Still one of the funniest parts of the romance sequence in s3 ep3 is watching Vax and Scanlan fumbling back to back but in completely opposite ways

In one corner we have Vax “Our future is clouded with misery that’s why we can’t be together yes I will plead with you and give you sad puppy eyes and wait outside your room all night” Vessar

And in the other corner we have Scanlan “I will drunkenly try to kiss you, try to escape before I have a mental breakdown in front of you, and then act like nothing happened the next day” Shorthalt

Also the fact that it ends in opposite ways and Percy’s death affects them in opposite ways. Vax is the one that turns Keyleth down, then learns from Percy’s death to face that fear, take his walls down and let Keyleth in again. Meanwhile, Scanlan was initially turned down, then after Percy’s death he’s like “NOPE these walls are REINFORCED CONCRETE now” and kept Pike more at a distance until eventually deciding to leave.

Now we’re going into season 4 like

[ouaw-facts-i-just-made-up]

When Gideon is telling his story of escaping enslavement in episode 45, he fabricated the story a little bit. At the parts when he made a joke about telling some guy he fucked his Mom or made himself sound cool, he was lying because the real story is more terrifying and upsetting than he wants to share so he made it more funny and entertaining for everyone's sake. There was probably lots of moments when hobgoblins tried to pull him back or nearly shot at him and probably called him slurs. He gave them the more PG version of the story.

This is a true fact.

I think so too. The joke was funny, and maybe he even thought about saying it when he was planning his escape, but it would have been a fucking terrifying situation.

Gideon doesn't *like* being terrified. He's supposed to be the bodyguard, the strong guy, the brick wall that stops people from hurting his friends. If he's scared...what then? He hesitates, he stumbles. If that happened even *once*, all his friends could die, he could lose his new life.

Or what if after sharing the *real* story, people thought he was weak? That he wasn't worth having around because he couldn't handle some hobgoblins, so how could he handle any business in the real world? Gideon knows that the situation was difficult, in fact many would have died in his place, but it doesn't stop him from thinking he could have been better.

And, maybe not worse than that but definitely not helpful, the *pity* is almost painful. I think perhaps he's only really told Kremy everything. Kremy doesn't do pity. Kremy treats him like a grown ass man who isn't looking for some faux sympathy but, like, a friend. Maybe some reassurance, comfort even. Anything but pity.

So yeah, it's all one big joke. In the past, forgot it all already. Just a little 10 year notch in the fantastic life of Gideon Coal. It's so funny guys. It's absurd to think how I could have been scared. Don't give me that look. We are laughing. It's so hilarious that I can't stop thinking about it over and over and over and over again. I replay it in my head all the time, for fun. The shaking, the tears, the hyperventilating. It's just cause it's so fucking funny.

[youling-the-ghost]

GUYS WE FINALLY HAVE SFTH LONGFORM CHARACTER TAGS ON AO3!! :D

(we still don't have any canon relationship tags as far as I know but this is still pretty cool!)

[bananacat76]

doodle time. my frognie

[breadandblankets]

"So are you too locked in or can I make a request?"

It would never, ever, get old: watching a man the size of a mini van jump a foot in the air and straight out of his skin. The flash of steel catches the blinding supermarket lights in his ghost vision.

Wisely, Duke steps out of the way of the knife going for his stomach.

"Duke what the fuck!" Jason whisper yells when he realizes. (Duke barely suppresses an eye roll, who else has the invisibility powers required to make a holographic jacket stealthy.)

(Cass probably, Duke's mind provides.)

"I could have hurt you!"

"It's nice for you to think that," he consoles with as much condescension as Duke could muster. (A lot, for your information, he learned from the best, and also Batman.) "Anyway answer the question."

"No," Jason grumbles, trying to straighten his list where it got crunched in his deathgrip. "Planning d-"

"Day was yesterday, yeah, I had a math test yesterday."

Jason's eyes narrow.

"Does B have more trackers that I don't know about?"

"Hm? No," assures Duke. "I took Tim's notes."

"Tim's notes that have like a billion layers of security?"

Duke snorts.

"His notes that have two passwords, a thumb scanner, and a retinal scanner." He rolls his eyes for real this time to display his clear disdain.

"That Babs can't hack through?"

"You and I both know that Babs' concept of 'can't' is much more flexible than her concept of 'won't'"

"Fair that's on me for this very stressful afternoon you are putting me through," Jason snipes.

"Think of it as exposure therapy," Duke says, patting Jason's shoulder, which, to Duke's extreme delight he doesn't flinch from. "And I'll show you how I hack Tim's shit when we're not in public."

Jason grumbles, which is good as gold in Jason speak.

"Make your request," Jason begrudges, in that tone he has that indicates he will be judging your choice.

"Jalapeno cornbread, and you show me how you make it my dad wants the recipe."

Jason's head snaps up and he smiles.

"Oh man if it's for Doug you can request anything you want!"

"Eighteen million dollars," Duke jokes.

Jason pretends to think on it for a beat.

"Make it 14 and you have a deal."

Duke sighs dramatically.

"You drive a hard bargain but I'll accept... I guess."

"Shut up flashlight," Jason laughs. "Come on, I need cornmeal now."

[sysig]

2024 Purge (Part 3)

A whole Three-Parter for 2024! Damned very completely took over my brain and I made so many many doodles about it haha <3 Also ft. Helix and SCII generally, and a few other cursory Damned-style things :)

Little mini ZEX walk cycle from his Kissing Strangers meme ♥ He’s so cute, wobbling around on these weird new legs, not used to using these stiff arms to assist him back up!

Floorplans!! Of the Vyer Estate, I unfortunately don't know the layout/room configuration of estates or mansions very well haha, so I kinda just guessed at what kind of structure the house would have - I could've looked up blueprints, but the foyer is such a strong image in my head that every other room kind of fell off around it lol - though I still oscillate between seeing the stairs in the frontmost room or to the sides, hmm

Many many speculations, including the outer spaces, yard out front and in back, what all is within their fencing, if its built on a slab or foundation, if there's a crawlspace or cellar or full basement, ahh, so many possibilities! You can see in the left full-view I mistakenly put Dex's room on the first floor lol, both his and Max's room are explicitly described as being upstairs, on a separate floor from the kitchen. Very important! But where is the master bedroom...? The two on the right are kind-of both of the same thing; the platform at the top of the foyer double stairs, and the room beneath it that leads outside to the back garden - I moved the dining room around here and there, it would be nice to open up the back doors and have a dinner party able to go in and out I think :)

Going a bit more granular, made some temps for Max's room specifically - he hangs out there a lot, it's important! Even pulled out my grid paper for this one haha, fun to have an actual floorplan kind of look with tile-spaced everything! Very Sims, quite fun. I do like the idea of him having a window seat, but he's also described as standing in front of his windows so that probably wouldn't be the Only type he'd have hmm

On the topic of the Sims, I ended up making the three mockups in the Sims 2 as well! I do like this one - I was especially surprised that Max was even able to get to the bed! I thought the dresser would be in the way but no, it’s all walkable :D Very pleased. Not fully satisfied with the placement of his en suite tho, would it encroach into his room itself, or be tucked into a wall...? I kind of like that idea of that :0

The double bay windows is maybe a bit much, but I mean. Idle rich lol. At one point he’s looking out the window and then backs Dex up against a wall, but Which wall hmmm, must align room layout with seduction attempts, very important

Switching entirely over, you might remember the card I posted of Stanley, and the small mention of having made a matching card for the Narrator... I may have made significantly more than just that lol, I can't help it!! The Damned structure is wonderfully made, it invites creative speculation and idea generation at a nearly alarming rate! I commend the game builders for their craft. So I made a bunch of the faces I'd want to see at the institute lol, I love duos the most-most, so picking a pair from several of my favourite pieces of media was just ahh! Yes!

Apaultheosis and Emma seemed like a particularly fun match :D Would that make Paul his "real" counterpart...? I mean, it says Matthew right there lol, but would he just act like Paul? Would be doubly weird if Paul-proper showed up while the Apotheosis was out swanning around haha, Apaultheosis really seems like the right level of "belongs in an institute" to have a lot of fun with :) And if it's my immune-Emma AU in particular, Emma's already used to having to be around a bunch of weirdos haha

The LAC boys!!! ♥ Making everyone's little background was a lot of fun too - yellow for the TSPs, blue splotches for the Hatchetfield duo, little devil trappings for these two :D Such fun! It was also very fun to write up everyone's little personalities in simple phrasing, really break them all down to their core characterizations haha. Helps with not pushing them too far one way or another too! Would they do any given thing because [trait]? S'fun!

Weird Duo, the Watchers pulled from And the Universe Shifts - the explorations of villains having to put up being on the same side as/having to get along with heroes really makes for an interesting examination of how they'd go about doing that! These two are still absolutely insufferable, but they're also trying to escape! It's interesting :0 Also casual headcanon of how the institute would deal with enby/trans characters, possibly something I've had a lot of thoughts about lol

Last fanduo from the first batch - all of these were made over the course of like, two days, if that lol, I was very excited about this idea - I genuinely love how anime/JRPG characters are usually given fake names also in Japanese, it's very fun :D I only did so halfway for Nova's since she's only ever had the one kind of anglicized personal name, no family name - could she also be a kid from Jersey? Such mysteries haha. She also probably wouldn't have her hair clips during the day unfortunately :P But I couldn't resist drawing them, she's not her without them! The Watchers get their masks, give my girl her barrettes!

Back to Helix, more short-haired Max! I do like this one but I also thought the pose was silly so I held off on it haha, he looks cute with short hair! <biased towards Max generally

Another one that was too silly to put anywhere haha, ZEX being attacked by an invisible Kayako - Teisel is very confused at your inexplicable reactions, Admiral!

Normally I wouldn't post my studies, partially because they're mostly for my own benefit, to better understand how to draw a character, and also because I am usually very ❤️💕💖💞💗 in my commentary lol, as evidenced. I was excited to see him!! Especially in the institute uniform!!! <3 I'd doodled him a couple times as such but Seeing it, ahh <3 <3 So cute, wonderful ♪♫

Max! Another half-study, frog mouthed boy <3 Goofy floofy lad, love him <3

And another! This time of him being teary-mad, gosh he's adorable no matter what he's up to

Hehe <3 A particularly silly one in reaction to Dexter having arm-pinned him on the floor - how different certain things look in hindsight, through the lense of a crush, hm?

Talanaaaa ♪ In actuality she removed her shirt, but how cute would it have been to tie it up at her side instead ahhh

Lovestruck Zelnick, totally listening, mmhm <3

The silliness continues! Was thinking about the little pink bits at the end of VUX tendrils and how I've sometimes seen them speculated as also being little tongues? I'm still not sure what I think about it! It is good and potentially creepy I think, but would they taste? Would they be as dexterous? Hmmm, thoughts thoughts

A dandelion for the sunshine Captain <3

There he is! The sunniest boy of them all! Sweetest sweet lad ♥ Love him :)

Speculating ZEX plushie stuff still - going over the construction of his uniform, possibly as part of his body, possibly as something to dress him in so he can be fitted into other clothes as well :0 I'm still considering the tail slot, but probably only for uniform-as-body - otherwise, laying his tunic overtop his tail would probably be the easiest all the way around. I do like VUX with short tails too tho, hmm, how to make it visible... On the right are a few more detail ideas :D Different eye styles, what would be embroidered vs. sewn together etc. - I considered felt medals and badges, but I really think embroidery would have the prettiest result! Even my notes say so haha, that and where to put weighted pellets in place of fluffy stuffing :)

Speaking of plush 👀 Ahem

An alternate Strawberry Blond panel, ZEX pulling him up fully to look at him hhh I love him <3

And also touching him a bit, what is this feeling DAX is feeling! ZEX has some ideas :3c Though when doesn't he lol

More DAX expressions! Angy and owie, they do tend to go hand-in-hand, poor lad got well-knocked around and he still ended up the least injured of the three!

Rando icons, I can't help myself ♪ This uniform has its hooks in me, is it the ominous smiley face's bright yellow on boring grey, the contrast, the sameness?? I just like it! Was a fun small and simple thing to pull together :)

I actually started this set somewhat early on, speculating what DAX's MU scene might be, but never ended up with anything solid - since he wasn't there initially, it's hard to think of what would be a fitting torture for him, apart from what Was there i.e. having to watch what ZEX went through :( That does seem like it'd leave some pretty massive mental scars on him - always always always unable to save him in the moments where it really counts! :'0 But it doesn't do anything to his Body, and that's supposed to be the point of MU! I do still like many things here, DAX's offer of self-sacrifice being rejected and him being powerless to do anything else

And the way I used hashmarks to imply his eyes going fuzzy with them both open and the stress - looks like a pause symbol haha

Also a big fan of the little corner doodle being so cute and wholesome, the two of them excitedly circling each other, excited to see each other! I love-loved that so much in their meeting <3 <3

Then there was that one time DAX and DAX met, that was fun :) If only ZEX had shown up, then what would DAX do! Self-defense in a way hehe, that's one way of getting on the same side haha

The raw doodle that eventually became Get Out of the Way! For as sad a way as it was to go out - failing to be protected, the last of his allies, not even able to wield his own weapon effectively - it does still remind me of a silly quote. Those dogs were indeed very nasty!

A temp doodle of Dexter holding both Max's clothes and ZEX's uniform after his "discharge" (;;) from the institute, the only things he has left to hold onto 💔 So very little left of him :(

I at one point asked smol who she’d put in the institute for funsies and she picked Maison Talo, and so I tossed Apaultheosis at him - they do both consider humans as prey! Just, a bit differently lol. Would the Apotheosis even be able to convert a Realtor by their lure? Where does the goo need to be to start to take effect, many questions

Stanley Icons <3 It's only fitting that my first choice for a card gets his own set of reactions! Icons like these are actually really fun to make - pulling around from my doodles, slapping a bit of colour overtop, edits to screenshots (Stanley's "Dead" reaction is probably my favourite of those, I'm sure y'all can guess which ending I pulled from lol) - and it all has me tempted to make a few more...

Back to Just-SCII! More Baby VUX!! 💖 They're so cute!!! Just little guys, adorable <3 Casual clothing and PJs and having to tie one's sash back on haha, all those complicated loops and knots :)

Also some muscle/arm shape speculations of how VUX armtips might change based on what they're doing, the roundedness of recoiling is very funny to me haha

Obviously had to make these two's versions in TS2 as well, the most fun <3 “What brings you in today, Mr. Vargas?” “That’s doctor.” “Oh, sure, right.”

More of the Doctor meme! Poor DAX haha, certainly sick with Something ♪

I think the lyric is “three times a day”? But what three times a day, that's the real question lol. ZEX has his own suggestions hmm :) I do like their hug in the first one hehe, so cute <3

Totally all better! Definitely nothing would make his symptoms flare up again!

Poor DAX <3

Digitized Dr. Doran! He really is so tiny haha, it was fun using Wander's colour scheme, mostly filled out already! The institute's dress code for staff is a mystery; presumably some of the therapists wear medical/professional clothes, but then there's Stein who still has the screw in his head - surely they'd allow jeans, right? Or is that where they draw the line lol. Look it's fine, he's meant to be the Approachable Therapist, he gets special allowances, totallyyy

All two Locked In doodles that didn't make the cut but also have nowhere else to go lol - there’s a few dozen concept sketches that haven’t been written into complete scenes yet that I'd love to post as their own sets! At some point!! Poor Oz is so put out, and Leah's big goofy grin, very silly hehe - that one's just meant to show off her outfit! It's winter, no bare legs here!

As a bonus to make up for those being the only two doodles, here’s Ozzy and Thrax in TS2 failing to get along lol. Oz! You're not good enough friends for that yet! Will they get there someday? :3c

VUX snuggles <3 Love the them so very much ♥

This is one I really want to digitize to get them a little more cosplay-accurate, but I'd been going back through some nostalgic AMVs and had the sudden realization that KuroFai, being one of my fairly early/influential ships on my heart, and now they...

Fai even loses an eye, I jfdlskafdlhfdf

Finishing out with my last set of cards, I had to make the two leads from SAOA, truly a masterwork in abridging <3 They're just such fun characters! And it's not like they're not already used to being trapped somewhere that constantly risks their lives :'0 I love them, I swear! Good things for them!

[picklesthenonbeanary]

New headcannon just got airdropped into my thoughts. The song Hurts like hell but with click clack and it takes place during a depression episode at some point after thespius ascended but he hasn’t yet and is still dealing with the mental burden that is his friend/partner ascending and how his time is finite and all that sort of mental stuff that comes with your best friend/partner (and crush) now being immortal and them not knowing the certainties of it and if they’re relationship will ever be that same again for better or for worse.

This would honestly be such a cool animation but like I can’t animate for the life of me or have the time too with my break ending soon sadly

[apple-spider-vinegar]

Not a Norman Osborn Apologist or a Norman Osborn Hater but a secret third thing

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 16: Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins (When Do I Get To Sing "My Way")

So, well, what an era this was, right. Comeback of the century! Gratsax just has that certain *something*. It's brilliant! One of the best albums ever made if you ask me. The fully electronic style is so perfect for Sparks and they just do it here like it's nothing and like they've been at it for many years. Of course there's the hiatus that took place in the years before it to keep in mind but even then, this album is a HUGE accomplishment and an incredible standout in a catalog of releases that's already full of standouts of all sorts. And it's definitely a personal standout for me too, thinking about how it's been almost a year since I first heard it really freaks me out! It was such a different time for me I feel like, but many things are also exactly the same as back then. It's weird to feel nostalgic about it now but there's really no better word to describe what this feeling is like exactly.

I think this album is meant for vinyl listening in a way. It just fits it so well!! And it's not just the quality to the sound that it has this way (and I don't mean that it sounds necessarily "better", more like just, different and that somehow complements the music even more), but also the ability to have an actual good view of this wonderful album cover that's among my top favourite Sparks things ever. So cool looking! So funny and memorable! One of the finest instances of the music sounding exactly like what the cover looks like. (and learning that the cover is a homage to a SPECIFIC magazine rather than just tabloids in general, that only made it more amazing because it really does look so alike, stuff like this is really cool to me for whatever reason lol)

Also I like the fact that I bought this silly little "disco" lamp around this time last year, so plugging it in for extra vibes during listening makes it all just kind of perfect. And another thing on the visual aspect of it all: this is such a good era for music videos, they're all SO GOOD! Some of my very big favourites for sure and the My Way video might really be one of the best music videos EVER MADE.

But ok, let's get to the point now. Something that stood out to me right away is that every song here is so unique but they fit together so well anyway (not first instance of such thing happening either). There's really lots of variety! I also remember this album fondly because of how it was the first one I listened to with my parents and when my Sparks obsession truly started to become one of the most noticeable things about me to other people, lol. But finally feeling more free and confident with sharing my favourite things that mean so much to me with others is such a wonderful thing anyway, I'd even argue that it helped me live my life more fully than before! And yeah, it's mostly a remark they (my parents) made, that this album nails the balance between keeping to a certain style and offering something new with each song. It's such a wonderful journey!

Alright, once again getting carried away a bit here even though I had no ideas earlier for what to say today. Highlights time then, which is also a bit of a problem because besides one special favourite this album has no spectacularly outstanding highs or any lows, it's all just equally amazing. But I'll try anyway, as I always do.

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

When Do I Get To Sing "My Way": my parents absolutely love this song and well, I do too. No suprise that it's among their most beloved and well-known songs, it really has it all, and it's one of Ron's very best when it comes to lyrics, without a doubt

Frankly, Scarlett, I Don't Give A Damn: so so atmospheric and special, I really like the vocal filter of sorts that's used here, it's just, so cool sounding all around!!

I Thought I Told You To Wait In The Car: this was my LEAST favourite at first but I grew to really like its unhingedness and the part with all "the CAR!!"s on top of each other is just peak of it all and funny as heck

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil: one of my favourite of Russell's vocal performances! This one and Scarlett are a bit of a duo to me, both simply beautiful songs

Tsui Hark: I LOVE the sound of this one, the piano plus the synth and the spoken word lyrics make this kind of combo that makes it feel like I've already known this one for years and it's just... always existed (which is a term that will apply to a lot of 21st Sparks material anyway, so, that's something to look forward to)

The Ghost Of Liberace: such a big comfort listen to me, I just love this one, makes me feel so at home!!

Gratuitous Sax & Senseless Violins: shoutout to these too because I feel like they might be easy to overlook as these very brief pieces, but they're that extra element that just, really cements this album as a wonderful whole with something to unify all of it into this package of wonder of all sorts

...And then there's the many bonus tracks also, which I'll just mention briefly since I almost forgot about them and because, yeah. I love them all, but the closest to my heart are Love Can Conquer All, She's An Anchorman, She's Beautiful (So What), Mid-Atlantic & This Angry Young Man (Ain't Angry No More) ((and the RON VOCAL VERSIONS OF THEM)) and Katherine Hepburn (love the whole Christi Haydon EP (and Christi is so cool and awesome I need to say that too today) and I should listen to it more, the Boris The Spider cover is fun as heck also)

And now bonus video for no reason from (almost) a year ago, because again, the nostalgiaaaa. (Back when I didn't have a shelf for my record player yet so it took up half of the space on my desk lol)

[always-andromeda]

This post is gonna be very unorganized and not super extensive and I may totally be reaching but I'm just thinking about The Substance again and how much I wish I could give Elisabeth the biggest, fattest hug.

Before watching the film I remember seeing some folks who were saying that they wished Elisabeth had just gotten over herself and gone on the date with Fred (I think that was his name lol). Overall I saw a lot of people sort of painting him to be so lovable. I understand where they're coming from but I don't buy into that characterization of him.

Harvey is very clearly meant to represent Hollywood/the patriarchy's perspective of women. It's pretty cut and dry that he sees Elisabeth/Sue as objects he can exploit. So when you juxtapose him with a character like Fred who has known Elisabeth since before she was famous and is clearly still holding a candle for her, of course he seems like an absolute sweetheart. But he still dehumanizes her in the same way. He puts her on a pedestal. He emphasizes that she's still the prettiest girl in the world. He clearly knows very little about who she is as a person. Even in the eyes of the most charitable man in this movie, Elisabeth's value is reduced to her appearance.

I would argue that Fred represents a different section of the patriarchy. He represents the average man. One who likely wouldn't overtly exploit and discard women the way that Harvey does. But one who likes to hold a woman in his palm like she's his own personal trinket. He gets a special, secret piece of her that nobody else has. He knew Elisabeth before she became Elisabeth Sparkle. And in that way I think he is exercising a voyeuristic type of possession over her.

[sieglinde-freud]

thinking about them and banging my head against the wall again whats new. they are making me so emo. god. what the fuck

[musubiki]

need to think about something taffy and coco can do during the timeskip because i am now thinking it would be awesome if all mochis guild members joined an (at least partially) antagonistic purpose after she left and the timeskip begins with a bunch of missions trying to get them back

[cyannanan]

may never ever finish these but im letting them go be free!

merlian(minding his own business) got abducted by a crew of spooky ghost pirates. the captain WANTS YOU

[risingblackmoon]

geeerr ggrrr

Pretend this is me mauling you I can't draw on my phone

PLSPLSPLSPLS I LOVE WOBBLE DOGS PLEASE YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT

IF YOU INSIST

BOOM DCA AND WOBBLE DOGS WOOOO (individual Sun and Moon drawings below the cut)

.

..

...

Psst. You. Yea, you!! If you want to, you can send me asks about this AU!!! And drawing requests!! Or random wobble dog name suggestions!!! I might not respond immediately because I DO have something I need to work on, BUT I'll do my best to get around to it.

[tackykachowch]

Arcane really works the best if you gut the number of romantic relationships to a minimum of two but I don't think the fandom is ready for this conversation. Might get a stroke or something