#i just love his character art when he's evil. he's just so smug

[batcastlesociety]

GRAAAAH I HATE RICHTER BELMONT SO MUCH HE'S SUCH A STUPID FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT

anyway here's a richter belmont art and soma "somy" cruz i guess but mostly the blue belmont

i made him smell bad because it's canon. i said so.

[snarky-wallflower]

Laws of Motion AU

I write as a way for my brain to break the Laws of Motion! And here we are...

Otherwise known as I had this AU idea nearly a month ago and it's been haunting me ever since.

So, Pulp Roleswap AU! It all started when I started actually thinking about the parallels between Samuel and Kal, how it can be argued that Kal knows where to hit Samuel hard because he's been there in the past - "still all talk", etc, etc...

And then I had thoughts of evil Samuel.

I promptly lost my mind.

(No one can say I'm not predictable.)

Now there's art, at least one published fic, songs, character arc ideas, and hopefully more to come! I have a lot of ideas for this AU. They come to me like visions from an angry god. ...I don't know how I got here either. But I am, and I've dragged a lot of friends along with me.

I hope if you read it, you enjoy it! I'll put most of it behind a read-more, because it got long. I doubt I'll even be able to sum it all up here.

All current art is done by the ever-talented @midnightnautilus!

Kallum and Alessia Peregrine

The Peregrines (last name courtesy of @starlightsparrowfox!) take the place of the Stratford twins in New York City!

Kal, a cunning chemist-turned-writer, fired from his last job pre-Sun for...reasons he would definitely prefer not to discuss. He's determined to get his name out there, feeling suffocated by what he describes as a fog that surrounds in this universe, blinding him with bitterness, willing to lash out if that's what it takes to make him be known. He feels unfulfilled, trapped in this fog. He's smug and can be callous, refusing to acknowledge those he's hurt in his determination to be known. He cares for his loved ones in this AU, but they are few and far between, with Sia being one of the only ones who has truly stuck by him.

(His solo song in this universe is called Kal and the Nebula - thank you, @tapestryoftrauma! Because there is beauty in those galactic clouds of smoke above, somehow grounding Kal. That unknowable, intangible beauty making him believe that there is more than this job, more than this lie, more than the anger burning inside his chest that won't stop.)

Sia, a woman who knows a lot of things, who has a plan for her life she’ll see through. A vision she's had since she was a child, something she feels she cannot achieve trapped at this paper stand. A former gifted child, one could say. She reads as much as she can, often mysterious about just where she's taken her information from. Clutching tight to this assumed future she planned, willing to make so many sacrifices, perhaps too many, to have it come true.

(Her solo song in this universe is called Sia and the Vision. She walks along the beach of Lincoln Island, the vastness of the universe surrounding her. She accepts that she will never be able to fully carry out her great vision, letting go of it. She cannot control the future, and it is futile to try. It isn't the be-all-end-all for her anymore, no longer constraining her--she's opening her mind and heart to new kinds of passion, joy, and love, to spontaneousness and freedom.)

Together, they've written the Hoax, though it's much more...nautical in this universe. The moon is covered by a vast, gorgeous ocean, expanding all across its surface. Sharks, squids, and whales swim through its glimmering depths, merfolk swimming through it, Atlantis-esque.

And this change is because of...

Dakkar Cavendish

Dakkar Cavendish, a brilliant inventor, feels drawn in by the words of the Peregrine twins, of the way they write both the moon and the ocean combined. He has never quite fit in with high New York City Society, finding it stifling and almost…familiar in the worst sort of ways. Being mocked, being seen as not-good-enough, valued only for what creations he can make…it stings at an old scar that he doesn’t know where it came from. Valued for his skills--but what else? He opens his home to the Peregrine twins, and clicks with Kal especially. Staring out the ocean, wondering why it calls to him so deeply.

(His solo song in this universe is called Dakkar and the Depths. The depths of the ocean hold mystery and silence, unable to be truly understood by any one person. The moon reflects off the waves, illuminating just how deep those depths run--they complete each other, make each other known. There is so much about himself that he does not know, awakening from dreams he cannot fully place. A sensation that he has made promises he cannot keep, because he doesn't know who he made them to. The ocean is constantly moving, constantly transforming, and he feels a kinship to that.)

Dame Anna Hanover

(Of course, I have to credit the amazing @faery-people-of-the-future-day when it comes to Anna in this AU! She's had so many wonderful ideas for her.)

Dame Anna Hanover, the first woman to ever be knighted by the Royal Astronomical Society, a brilliant and bright mind whose words are used to prop up the Hoax. She believes that nobody should ever lose their place in the world - that everyone has a specific role, a set of rules they must follow. And when you don't know where you are, you begin to give into the panic. She arrives at the Sun with a bright smile and strain barely hidden in her voice, while Sia is mysterious and trying to pick her words carefully. She can't help but be fascinated by this strange woman, her heart fluttering at the sight. But she has a legacy, her father's own legacy of being an immigrant and a proud man hovering over her, trying to make him see her as a scientist in her own right.

(Her solo song in this universe is Anna and the Satellite - her marvelling over her great project, her first great project away from her father, that will help guide the way. All her work, all her sacrifices, all the fear she would not be able to see this through--it vanishes. It's Anna and the stars, Anna and the sky, Anna and the Earth, all possible because of the Satellite. She has created her own place in the world, one where she will never be lost, both outside and in.)

Samuellux

Samuellux, a seemingly young man with a pencil grins far too brightly, as his pencil gleams with ink, ready to take down your words, your signature, in his journal. Only your words, of course.

In this world, Samuel is a famed propagandist for Itzal, having drawn in thousands upon thousands of people to Itzal's schemes...until it was too late, blinding them all with The Light. I'd say he has Radiance and Illusion--his skill with Illusion magic and with words is what made Itzal take notice of him, to me! He's a vessel for empty words--he filters Itzal's words, but when was the last time he truly said something of his own? He may seem nice, may seem kind at first glance--but the more you speak to him, you start to realise that you have no idea whether they’re being genuine or being sarcastic and it’s a Russian roulette of trying to understand this same-y, blasé cheeriness that seems to stare unblinkingly back at you.

His new name comes from both Pollux in Greek mythology, a twin who tried to offer immortality to his brother so that they could be together, and lux, which means light!

His pen sparks with promise, a device designed by one...brilliant inventor, long ago, boosting his Ways and transforming them into something terrible and radiant beyond compare.

(Because, after all, light doesn't equal good!)

Rostelle

In the distance, a Traveller, Rostelle, with far too much behind her keeps on moving. She won't fail anyone else. Rose refuses to look back to the past, always trying to keep on moving forward. She carries the weight of everything that's happened in the past with her, but no matter what, she won't stop.

In this AU, I would say she has Radiance, Movement, Transformation, Perception and Protection. Some are more honed than others, of course, but Rose has always dived deep into learning new skills. Her Vision was something she had long ago, and she will be as reckless and brave as she needs to be to see it through. She won't let it vanish into thin air, won't lose anyone else she cares about to delusion.

Her new name comes from Stelle meaning stars, those that she adores so dearly!

Margaret

In her library on Lincoln Island, Margaret waits, staring up at the Moon, loneliness abated but never quite gone. A view of both the moon and the ocean clear and apparent.

The legacy of all she did as the Great Enchantress looms over her, and so does the brother she had to send away to keep him safe. To keep him safe from Itzal's designs on more of his devices used for conquest and war. She will see her father's reign destroyed, that Light that blinds her people erased. There is something to believe in, and she will clutch it tight to her chest as she trains, reaching out to a brother who cannot respond back yet.

Samuel's memory haunts her, a love who refuses to admit their connection will never be what it used to be again. He may believe there is geniune care there, but Margaret won't be lied to any more. She won't hear him refuse to admit that he made the wrong choice, that he is continuing to lie and commit horrors.

Margaret believes in truth, always. She won't lie to herself about what her home became, about what she did in the past, and where she is now.

(Other swaps include Benjamin with Charles, and Taavi and Ahlaam with Addison. John is, of course, playing Anna's role in this universe as well. I do have notes on them, but they're slightly less important to the series as a whole as of now!)

You can find the current fic series posted on AO3 here (I currently have a fic of Samuel and Kal's swapped version of Gunpowder and Rum up!) and I'll be trying to use the tag #laws of motion AU to organize any other posted work!

And, my asks are open if anyone reading this wants to know more about this AU!

What are you waiting for? Don’t be scared of the dark. That’s where the dreaming starts.

[stepswordsen]

【Magi】 Judar 🖤❤️🐈‍⬛

【マギ】 漢服（ハンフ）を着るジュダル

【Magi】 Judar wearing hanfu 🖤❤️🐈‍⬛

マギ15周年おめでとう～！！💗🫶

Happy 15th anniversary to Magi~!! 💗🫶

I did a quick doodle of my favourite Magi character, Judar~~

You can read the rest of my rambles under the cut as usual!

2024

The sketch is originally from 2022, but I quickly resketched the hair and expression recently!

2022

Art Rambles

I just wanted to get the quick concept down so excuse how scribbly it is, I'll refine and redraw the rest eventually

Me scribbling his braids without refs. Well, I'll definitely resketch the hair and clothes eventually

I love how big and comfy hanfu sleeves are, omg...

Judar with red eyeliner and black nails is so slay~ I want to draw him with gold and red hanfu earrings eventually hehe

This bangs ngl~~

Also I'm glad I improved a LOT from 2022 omg

I'll refine later and make this less scribbly eventually

I looove the expressions and eyes in this one hehe

Judar Rambles

Judar is extremely important and personal to me, I feel this as someone who comes from a similar cultural background to him as well, Judar is EA/CN inspired and so his background and backstory context really makes me feel for him... Speaking personally, as someone who is Viet/SEA diaspora.

Like, ahhh, this character makes me so emotional... He makes me want to cry (in a good way)

Emotional tears, cuz this chara is so healing and cathartic for me.

It's not necessary for me to be able to relate to my faves imo. I pick my fave charas based on who makes the writing more entertaining with their existence and on my fave character tropes in terms of design and writing (they're usually antagonists, morally gray/evil charas, and/or opposing forces).

But with some charas I definitely gravitate towards characters who are easier for me to understand and mildly relate to though (ie. Judar (Magi), Hakuryuu (Magi), Suwon (AkaYona), Keishuk (AkaYona))

Sen's unhinged meow meow mf pipeline

I first became obsessed with Kuroha at 12, and Judar at 20.

Truly, my character tastes are as ancient as time LMFAO

My cute murderous black cat sons! 🐈‍⬛

I actually started the sketch as Kuroha (KagePro) actually. It doesn't help that they have similar~ish hairstyles and expression vibes LMAO, but then the eyes looked more like Judar cuz of the rings, so I changed the sketch to Judar. I think it fits more this way.

Smug edgy asshole character, cunty Sen-core bastard cat, OK with murder...

Black cat theme, black/white (monochrome) colour scheme/design, black/white/red/yellow colours, both smug evil assholes with black hair, they're both antagonists, morally questionable and/or morally bankrupt, have smug expression vibes, are unhinged, violent and bloodthirsty...

And ofc, I was a goner!

Kuroha has red eyes when using his Eye Ability too...

KHR and Magi's Anniversary

In terms of characters, story, writing, themes, and art, Magi is my favourite manga ever. For me, Katekyo Hitman Reborn (KHR) and Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic (Magi) forever hold a special place in my heart as my forever no. 1 favourite series.

Happy 20th anniversary to KHR~~!! 💗🫶

Lots of series are celebrating its anniversary this year. DGM's 20th Anniversary is also this year!

I might as well ramble about KHR and Magi then~~

I'd say both KHR and Magi are very important to me because KHR was the reason why I started drawing (almost) every day in the first place and Amano's style was the foundation/main inspiration for my art style... And it still shows in my art style. While Magi is the manga I fell in love with for its story, art, writing, and characters.

Amano and Ohtaka both have insanely good inking styles that I admire... I love how intricate and detailed Amano's inking is, and Ohtaka's inking is super gorgeous and sharp, and really stands out from other art styles too.

I expect DunMeshi to join that list and become very important to me!

[chaifootsteps]

"stella is evil because straight people cant accept when a gay person isnt attracted to them" is arguably the one worst take ive seen a diehard fan spew about this show.

a complete disregard for the way stella feels and acts on screen:

- hates stolas for sleeping with an imp. not for sleeping with another man. doesnt mention once that stolas slept with another man.

- was never attracted to stolas at all. hates him. has always hated him. loves to "torment" him. forced to be apart of an art marriage just as much as he was and obviously didnt want this.

when you cant look at the subtext and dialogue to come up with a motivation for a villian that makes sense, then youre not watching the show at all. youre just projecting homophobia onto a villian so you can justify completely hating them, because fans understand that this show desperately wants us to hate stella; regardless of small possibilities of sympathetic aspects to her.

like i could see them emphasizing her being a bigot to imps, just, not to gay people. her being a homophobe NOW wouldnt be believable since they not only missed that chance, and were at mid to late season 2 in a 4 season long show.

but overall, her motivations for evil are really flimsy and dont make a lot of sense either. (she wants stolases things? why? just to have things? because she loves being rich and being smug towards him? and why does she want stolas dead if she never actually cared about him cheating? just to have his things? why did she say "i want this cheating prick dead" if she didnt actually care about him cheating like stolas said?)

jack horner was fueled by spite that came from a simple but sympathetic place, and it didnt justify his evil. stella being envious of stolas could be a great reason for her to be evil, because he does have more then her. he has powers, an all powerful family artifact that can take him to the human world; he has purpose. stellas purpose is for an egg to be shot outta her hole! that hypothetical motivation wouldn't justify her trying to kill stolas, but itd make a lot more sense.

morally bad character can have sympathetic reasons for being bad, without it taking away from them being a bad person, or the bad things they did, or make them deserving of a redemption arc. i think thats something that viv, adam, and her diehard fans dont understand at all.

and if youre not gonna make her sympathetic, then goddamn, at least make her fun to watch. she consistently hasnt been and its like the show is actively trying to make her less likable and more stupid whenever she shows up, and i dont get why.

Frankly, that person's twitter feed is one of the most delusional things I've ever seen; at one point they say they hate "swearing without nuance."

This is all good stuff, however, especially "at least make her fun to watch," because that's key right there. Villains don't always have to be nuanced, but they at least have to be entertaining.

[dustofthedailylife]

brainrot time. kaveh and alhaitham with a roommate that’s just a mix of them both

alhaitham’s logic, kaveh’s compassion, alhaitham’s academic inclinations, kaveh’s ‘artistic soul’ (as he would say), alhaitham’s observance and perception, kaveh’s charm, alhaitham’s intelligence, kaveh’s drive, etc. etc. idk

alhaitham’s laziness, kaveh’s impulse control, alhaitham’s sharp tongue, kaveh’s lack of self preservation, alhaitham’s apathy, kaveh’s meddling tendencies, both of their stubborness

they both have a love hate relationship with these traits of yours;

for one, you compliment and contrast them in the important ways, and it’s always a treat for you to show such similarities to them. it makes them feel less alone, more seen.

but then, it’s the same for their roommate, and you end up reminding them of the other.

and that in itself is also good and bad, because despite the fact that they hate each other, that’s still their ex(?) best friend, and those are still the traits that made them fall in love with each other all those years ago (platonically, if you’re not a poly enthusiast.)

anyways, time for fun stuff:

maybe roommate is a researcher that specializes in documentation— specifically, sketching down any relics, sites, fauna and flora etc. etc. that can’t be brought home.

so kaveh is always dragging you into art activities, like those wine painting classes, or simply finding a scenic spot and having a picnic while you do your individual art things together, and alhaitham taking you out to book stores and libraries and cafes.

alhaitham subtly brags about getting to reach his arm around you under the excuse of grabbing a book and sitting close (maybe even low key cuddling depending on how bold you are) to share a book, and hearing your soothing reading voice. and kaveh brags back about one of you holding the other’s hand to demonstrate a specific technique, or him cuddling up to your back to look over your shoulder so he can ‘properly critique’ your work, or the both of you sketching each other.

them trying to subtly influence you to encourage similarities and discourage whatever reminds them of the other.

you just letting them try with a knowing smile :)

you being the referee of their arguments. also saying that you’re staying out of it but instigating anyways

they’ll ask you to judge their debates, and get so smug when you approve or disprove one of their points

them letting the annoying things you do slide but immediately getting on the other’s ass for doing the same thing

teasing kaveh just to see him pout. being only (other) person that could get a rise out of alhaitham

you knowing the best ways to comfort them, show affection, stroke their egos, check their egos, fluster them, and most importantly, piss them off P;

even funnier if roommate is a chaos monger that uses their skills for evil. they will, very occasionally, form a truce just to get you back. y’all have fun.

anywho!! did you ever get a similar brainrot ask with a martial artist!reader? I was just curious, also bc tumblr will occasionally eat my asks

[Roommate AU brainrots]

Hiiii! Yes I got your other ask don't worry. I just haven't had time to reply to it yet since I am a bit on a tight schedule at the moment and wanted to take my time with your brainrots and read them properly 😭

I love this so much! You'd be the perfect counterbalance to either of them.

I'd love to just sit down to draw together with Kaveh. That seems so incredibly comforting and relaxing for some reason. (I also imagine he'd be a red wine guy and I'm a white wine girl so that would be also the perfect contrast for the wine taste haha!). He is my comfort character, don't perceive me, I'm daydreaming 🤭 Also makes me realize I need more artist friends... I have none ;_;

Also going to book stores with Alhaitham? YES. He'd have to drag me out of there at some point because I'm not leaving on my own.

And YES, they'd so brag about what they did together with you to the other guy. They love you but they also have to one up each other constantly lmao.

And about getting in their arguments and them letting it slide when it was you... yep, 100%. Reminds me of that one thing I wrote already called "Cookies". Completely how they'd act.

"Kaveh/Alhaitham did you do XY again" "It was me." "Oh, Y/N? Well, don't worry. I'll take care of it then."

They're down bad BAD.

Thank you for your ask! I loved reading it 🤭

[nobodysdaydreams]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 21, and 25 for Curtain/Nathanial Benedict, SQ and Jeffers on the Character Ask Game! You can pick whichever character applies the most to a question. :)

Hope you’re having a lovely day! 💕

Hey Nova! Sorry this took so long! I’m having a lovely day and I hope you are too!

Curtain/Nathaniel Benedict

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I dislike him for all the obvious reasons. Horrible brother, father, uncle, friend, boss and person, trapped in his own mind, refuses therapy, makes his issues everyone else’s problem, is a perpetual martyr and victim, constantly hypocritical, and insufferably smug about it all. What do I like about him? Specifically for the show version, I loved the glimpses of his humanity. Nathaniel doing art projects with SQ, connecting with Sticky in the Whisperer when he says he fears not being wanting, and joking with Nicholas in the compound. Even just his little quirks, his silly dancing and theater kid vibes, his love of oddly specific foods, the flashbacks of little Nathaniel making that hair gel to impress new parents. You hate him so much but you really feel Nicholas and SQ’s frustrations and understand how they can hold out so much hope for him because you see the potential.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That they gave him a history with Nicholas, made him SQ’s dad, and gave him a uh, a “friend” in Garrison. Intriguing storylines and they should have done more with them.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

I’d say the way he treats others but he’s the villain. He’s written that way, it’s expected that he wouldn’t be nice, but when he apologizes to Nicholas and turns good we don’t get ONE MENTION OF SQ??? If you’re gonna be a good guy now, you might want to start by caring about your missing child.

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

Wolf359. I cannot tell you how many times I write “Curtain” and “Cutter” at the wrong times on accident. Nathaniel would absolutely have an evil space company. @sophieswundergarten and I had an AU for this if anyone is interested I can post about it sometime.

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

Antihero by Taylor Swift for sure. The song summarizes Nathaniel perfectly, and if you don’t believe me, I hope this edit changes your mind. I think it might be one of my favorite edits I've ever made, though my star wars one is close, it's a tough call.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

We’re both theater kids who also do STEM stuff. Idk what that says about me.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

My favorite thing to do for any character is explore themes of guilt, redemption, forgiveness, and healing. I love it, and Nathaniel is the perfect character for it. I don’t like stories that say either A) he can’t be redeemed no matter how sorry he is or B) no boundaries, consequences, or struggle necessary. He apologized; he gets a free pass! (Disclaimer: write what you want, don’t let me stop you, but I like to show the journey. Especially in a way that’s realistic and shows the complications that do come with these kinds of big life/perspective changes).

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

At first, I wasn’t sure about him in the show. He was clearly aged down, and his character was different. Then they dropped the whole thing about the twins knowing each other growing up in the orphanage and Nathaniel being SQ’s adoptive father and I was like “oohhh… I see what they’re doing. I’m 100% on board. This is interesting.” If only they'd seen it through.

Shepard Quaid (SQ)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

What’s not to like? Books or show, he’s sweet, precious, good, the best boy, and believes in everyone. For the show specifically I love that they made him more assertive to show the parent and child relationship he has with Curtain. He questions his dad, lies to his face, and I love that he does that! I wanted more of that! (And his art and love of animals). Incredible character. The only dislikes are that he didn’t get more screen time and the way other characters treat him. He deserves better. He deserves his father on his knees groveling with an apology (and explanation about what happened to his birth parents to because I’m sorry his dad just “worked with Curtain and got sick???” And what happened to the mom? I’d assume he had one???)

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

Rat by Penelope Scott. The people have spoken.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

We're both neurodivergent (that's more of a headcanon, but I don't think anyone is gonna fight me on this).

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I love writing about him discovering who his family really is and finding his place in the world on his own terms because that’s his whole arc. However, I don’t like the fact I have to write him in pain so often. The poor boy deserves a break but sadly I must hurt him for the plot.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

10/10 books AND show first impression for obvious reasons. As for now, the show version is sadly a ?/10 because WHERE IS HE? But in all seriousness, I love the character, and SQ has consistently been my #1.

Jeffers

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

His silly speech about the perimeter. It's so unserious and unnecessary but 100% iconic.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

I don't know if there's anything I really hate about him. I know some people were upset he wasn't as threatening as the ten men, but that's just not his character, you know? He's comedic relief, and I think he did a nice job with that, especially in season 2.

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

Father Brown. He looks exactly like Inspector Mallory with the mustache, and he'd be just as incompetent, if not more.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

We both like to dramatically monologue. I don't know what that says about me.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I like writing his silly little comedic relief disasters. Something I don't like is that there actually aren't a lot of fics with his character tag on AO3. So I'm glad I could give the fandom some Jeepers shenanigans nobody asked for.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

In season 1, I thought his character was kind of unnecessary and honestly, couldn't even remember his name. In season 2 when he got more screentime he was really funny and had great comedic timing.

[switch]

I know you’ve probably already talked about this, but what exactly do you love about Vlad and Moriarty? Feel free to write as much or as little as you please, I’ll read it all anyway.

ehehe i kinda have before but i can try to elaborate a bit better this time…

it really is everything, lol. as much as fictional characters reasonably can be, they've been a relatively important part of my life for ~5 years now, and i'd never maintained interest in any characters this consistently or this much before. i think the both of them hit pretty much a perfect balance for me in terms of content and characterization, and not to mention they inspired my art to improve a lot (thank you raita) (thank you maeda hirotaka)

vlad was basically my exact specific type (tall, older guy, long hair, goth-adjacent, facial hair <- important, etc) when i was 17, so when i saw some fanart of him back when apoc was still just a LN he instantly became my new favorite fate character. and then i actually ended up finding his writing and lore super compelling (even if underutilized sigh) on top of that. i love what a unique adaptation of vlad/dracula he is, his whole character concept is something that could really only come from and represents fate to me in a lot of ways, while still being recognizable.

if it was just apoc i might have moved on after a while but fgo was what made my brain really latch onto him. his my room dialogue, his sewing hobby, his valentine return gift, his voicelines, holy shit. he was the perfect combination of smug and scary and mean and cool and cute and tsundere and a little sad and weird and hey this guy is wearing a skirt. i loved him so much i just ended up loving everything about his design and character because it’s vlad and that’s why my list of his charm points are a mile long

same with moriarty kinda just being my type at first and seeing fanart of him, although i wasn't initially all that interested in moriarty? for some reason? like i appreciated that he was the only other dilf in the game besides shakespeare but i wasn't following JP then and it didn't really click for several months until uh

my prophetic curse kicked in once again.

but anyway, similarly to vlad, i really think moriarty is one of the best adaptations of his character out there and another one of the best adaptations in fate in terms of mixing originality and faithfulness. i love just how much is going on with his character writing a lot of the time without feeling contrived. he's funny, he's evil (i like villain...), he's cool, he's weird, he's hot, it's insane how much takaya hashi's voice acting adds to him. i associate moriarty with a high point in FGO in general, with how impressive his NP animation was at the time and overall great shinjuku was (once i actually read the translation), and the anticipation of just dying for him to come to NA and then dying for his gray collar event to come to NA after that.

i'm so eternally grateful they gave him to RAITA, man. he's such a well-thought out design, and i still can't believe we didn't end up with "generically sexless older anime man" or "aged down twink" (wait wait wait WAIT WAIT) or "a girl," and that they were actually willing to take what they felt was a risk with his design. RAITA knew exactly what he was doing lol.

i gotta be honest it was extremely nice being a fan of an actually decently popular (and well-loved by his artist) character for once. i felt like i was having goddamn heart attack when they announced moriarty's CBC event, i was so excited and surprised. his stuff kept me entertained when vlad content would go MIA for like a year at a time.

oh and yeah, wanting to pull off as many difficult fights with vlad and moriarty as i could and make them stronger units (especially since they were both almost infamously bad units back then, and i wanted to show what they could do in spite of that) was what triggered me getting into esports, and oh boy do i love esports.

[panda-malfoy-93]

I posted 232 times in 2022

That's 213 more posts than 2021!

24 posts created (10%)

208 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@l0vegl0wsinthedark

@lilbeanz

@ris-multi-fandom

@gustingirl

@bluebutter-art

I tagged 53 of my posts in 2022

#drarry - 12 posts

#hilson - 11 posts

#draco malfoy - 7 posts

#harry potter - 5 posts

#johnlock - 4 posts

#heartstopper - 3 posts

#hilson is canon - 3 posts

#love - 3 posts

#domestic drarry - 3 posts

#domestic draco - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 92 characters

#listening to random songs and making all of them about my blorbos is better than therapy btw

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Drarry Headcanons: Draco celebrating Diwali with Harry (pt. 2)

They have been together for two years now and it's Diwali, one of their favourite festivals but sadly Harry was busy with an ongoing auror mission so they decided to just light some Diyas and get Indian takeaway.

Draco of course had other plans. While Harry was working late nights and hurrying out of their home early morning gave Draco plenty of opportunities to well... scheme (cue the evil laughter)

AND EVERYTHING WAS PERFECTLY PLANNED!

So when Harry came home on Diwali evening, it was to a quiet home decorated with lights which made him stare in awe for a while before the cold wind made him shiver and he hurried to open the door.

The inside of the home, unlike the outside was dark with a path lit by Diyas. Harry checked the room for any hostile aura and then with a hand on his holster followed the path.

It led them to their bedroom where a Sherwani set was kept. A small smile took over as he understood what was going on. He quickly changed into them and cast a refreshing charm when suddenly another path was lit by Diyas.

He followed them out to their balcony, beautiful decorated by Diyas, fairy lights and marigold garlands. And in the middle sat their table, from where the most mouthwatering smell was coming and his most favourite person in the world.

His grin growing bigger, Harry swiftly crossed the room as Draco got up with a smug smile and a sparkle in his eyes, brighter than the fireworks.

He captured those soft pink lips in a heated kiss and before things got more heated Draco pushed his hand against Harry's chest. And that's when Harry noticed it.

Draco's hand, honestly the most lovely hands he has ever seen, was adorned by the most intricate henna art and they just looked beautiful. He slowly lifted those hands and placed a kiss on them and they both shared a familiar heated look between them. (Draco knew Harry loved his hands. And last year when Teddy had adorned Draco's hand with silly flower henna design, Draco often caught Harry staring at them and... well he knew Harry would love them and definitely was a hundred percent sure later as well ;) )

They both enjoyed the meal prepared by Draco, who was now a master of Indian cooking after training months with Harry.

After finishing dinner, when some Kaju Katli and Ladoos appeared Harry heard a familiar sound and looked up. IT WAS A FIREWORKS SHOW! One of the other, different colours, different patterns, and he stared in silent awe.

After that a lot of things happened and the end results were pretty nice. Maybe it wasn't traditional to the T but they had years to come where they can make rangolis together or cook up some nimki - but this is what Harry needed this time, a hope of light during the grim times and, since this is what Diwali all about Draco was more that happy to do it for his love.

12 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

#4

People misunderstand 'enemies to lovers'. It is not a sudden switch from hatred to love Or crossing that thin line but it is the 'loving someone even after seeing the worst side' cause it brings hope that there is a chance that you'll find someone who'll love you, flaws and all<3

12 notes - Posted July 6, 2022

#3

Just finished House and omg the feels I have right now is surreal! I can only delusion myself into believe that House somehow found a way to keep Wilson alive and they both are happy. And 8 goddamn seasons and the fact it's over is just hitting while I write this so I'll probably drown myself in fanfics. And the last 3 episodes where they were basically confessing to each other! Like the if only the writers didn't end it exactly like that I would worship them. Honestly the fact is every writer is killing off people right and left and that is a whole other branch of therapy cause can you not! I am happy they mean so much to each other but I'll probably cry myself to sleep today so cheers to all the Hilson fans and House fans out there! 🥂

20 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#2

THINGS TO DO ON YOUR BIRTHDAY- HARRY POTTER EDITION

Get up late in the morning with your husband's arms wrapped around you, who is already awake and looking at you in a way that can't be described.

Let him be the first one to wish you in the morning, followed by a small peck that leads to.. well bigger things.

After an hour or two of lazy-ing around take out the softest bathrobe that could possibly exist, freshen up and go downstairs to find your singing husband preparing your favourite breakfast- Indian.

(And while he had gone down to work in the kitchen you looked at the frame which you can draw with your eyes closed and whisper a soft thank you)

Various kind of Indian delicacies laid out on the table you look for the one which you know will fill your heart- a dish your husband learnt and spent weeks perfecting just for your birthday- an Indian delicacy you have on your birthday, Payasam.

Sitting facing each other, you both enjoy your food- you exclaiming how delicious it is at every point you can and him giving you a smile that can make you fly.

You both eat with your hands so there is not much hand lingering but every now and then, his legs slightly blush yours and that shouldn't make you blush even after 19 years but it does.

Stomach filled to the brim you both shift to the garden - which has a charmed couch that can withstand any weather. You places your head on your dear husband's lap and close your eyes to feel the warm sun on your face.

Slender fingers adorned with a gleaming ring softly caress your tangled hair, the nails sometimes dragging which makes you groan.

He softly reads your favourite book while your mind drifts to similar memories from previous years. When you lose yourself in the nostalgia he gives you a soft peck to remind you where you are now, who you are now.

You'll spend a late lunch with your adoptive family, god son and kids later but for now it's only the two of you. And that's enough.

You softly drag his fingers away from your hair and place a soft kiss and hold them over your heart- where it belongs.

21 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Please I can't stop laughing...I've never seen a bigger cancel!

Proud to be a part of this fandom😌💅

32 notes - Posted July 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

Given that it's my first year i think it went well enough tbh this is literally like the storage room for the stuff my brain can't handle💀🪦 also I was able to witness the war over twitter so cheers🥂

[rokhal]

idk how i'm supposed to function when u keep being so nice to me :(

Yes! That's exactly it! My thought was, Dude you are no longer in a supernatural psychological horror soap opera. Welcome to your new genre. Submit to its conventions. I love the pink sparkles in his eyes! He's just subtly different and he doesn't even know it yet. His pose is so dynamic!

I loved writing those lines. Robbie can use his abilities and stay in denial about how weird they are indefinitely...unless someone calls him on it! Amadeus' side-eye is so perfect. I love how Robbie's just an exhausted puddle of discomfort.

YEAH! BABY! GET HIM SCRUFFY SOLDIER OF HEAVEN! I loved this movie I know it was bad it was just completely my kind of thing. Eli can't comprehend what's coming for him. A lone warrior who hunts evil for free? Who regularly takes down enemies stronger and fiercer than himself? Main character energy denser than a black hole? Gabe looks so smug here. I love him and his chin scraggle.

Holy shit. I'm floored. I'm inspired by your energy and just endlessly in awe of the witchcraft that is visual art. It's amazing to see.

@rokhal happy comment day!! I’m not so good with writing so I thought I would contribute to the celebration of fic writers by drawing some stuff!

Can not BELIEVE it took me so long to notice the ‘anime girl running late to class with a piece of toast in her mouth’ refrence in ‘Wrong Universe’ its so fucking goooddddddddd.

‘Totally Awesome Automotive Diagnostic Tool’ might be my favorite fic from you of all time. Idk why but this particular moment just stood out to me it’s so silly but also has like. A weight to it? Congrats Robbie you’ve made a friend so incredibly blunt with his words you can’t hide from your magical-ness anymore lol.

Couldn’t let the ‘Van Helsing shows up and fixes the problem’ idea for ‘Curse of the Heretic’ go away lmao. Also thank you so much to @spikershoyo for helping me with the translations! Gabe saying ‘Get ready to be kicked back into hell you son of a bitch’ was an absolute necessity to get just right XD

I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your fanfic. It’s become so integral to my understanding of Robbie’s character that it’s just canon for me at this point. I haven’t met a single person in this fandom that hasn’t not only read but LOVED your writing. What you make genuinely helps keep the love for Robbie going. I hope you know how much we all love and appreciate it <33

[nevergeneralize]

Albert knitting is such a good detail!!

A) It’s a little bizarre and quirky, which makes it great already, but also

B) I like it when the men of Team Moriarty are given domestic/traditionally-feminine traits/hobbies (even the profiles telling us about Patterson caring about skincare and thus being assigned an overwhelming beauty routine delights me so much)

C) James Moriarty is “like a spider,” per The Final Problem:

“He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans.”

Knitting isn’t exactly weaving but it’s similar enough if you squint, so Albert has a spider-ish hobby appropriate to being 1/3 of James Moriarty, that’s fun!

D) He uses his talents for textile creation to needle (get it????) Moran, and this is the noblest art

E) He’s bad at it and he knows that but he’s doing it anyway and that’s basically therapy for Albert!!! Overcoming perfectionism and learning to be proud of the things he does/makes is so healthy we love to see it!!! (I know this omake is perhaps more of a throwaway joke than serious character exploration but I’m choosing to read into the fact that) He apologizes or feels guilty or unworthy constantly, but he’s absolutely not apologizing for these strange, ugly sweaters

Look how pleased he is, hush Moran!! We’re so proud of him for being proud of himself! You really did outdo yourself this time, Albert!!!

Interesting that we get some of the same energy here, in the actual manga, with regard to his (also evidently pretty bad?) cooking:

Fifty chapters later and he’s back at it, practicing being bad at hobbies, eagerly sharing the imperfect fruits of his labor with his loved ones! That is genuinely hard emotional work and he really should be smug about it! Go Albert go!!!

I say “eagerly” but both scenes could also be read as sort of sarcastic; maybe he’s more proud of inflicting his hilarious knitting/cooking failure on his family than proud of each outcome as a creative achievement, but I think that’s still pretty cool? I’m no psychologist but I think if Albert ends up doing what is essentially CBT for OCPD just for the lulz/because he’s trolling Moran, that is A) hilarious, and B) still making him Do The Thing and probably is accidentally great for him. “Acting as if” is a real strategy of modern behavioral psychology used for managing anxiety, low self-worth, etc: the idea is to act as if you are proud of your creative output and eventually you can learn to actually feel that pride. And anyway, sharing amateurish creative work is pretty vulnerable, especially when you can see its amateurishness for yourself; Albert being willing to make a joke out of failing to do something to an ideal standard still seems like a very significant step beyond his usual abjection in the face of imperfection. Basically this is great for him any way you look at it. Keep knitting badly, Albert!!!

(Oddly when I looked up “acting as if” to make sure I had the name of the CBT skill right, I learned that CBT owes much to William James, one of the founders of modern psychology. Also lots of results citing Alfred Adler. This was a slightly confusing search-result-skimming process.)

[forthegothicheroine]

How other great detectives would solve the Chesapeake Ripper murders

A series I do sometimes.  For the purpose of this post, I will be assuming Hannibal does not have protagonist protection.  I will also do my best not to assume that any of these detectives have protagonist armor, either.

Columbo: Columbo is immediately suspicious when Hannibal says that he “transferred his passion for anatomy into the culinary arts.”  When Hannibal talks about his hobby of collecting news clippings about church collapses, Columbo knows for sure that only a serial killer would do that.  He keeps needling at Hannibal, being incessantly polite, asking a series of innocuous questions, mentioning that his wife has been urging him to go to therapy and can Hannibal tell him anything about that process?  Hannibal can tell he’s smarter than he seems, but doesn’t realize just how smart.  He’s also smart enough to finally come to arrest Hannibal with a full squad of burly guys with guns.  Columbo is also very sweet to Abigail and they write letters to each other after the case is over.

Phryne Fisher:  Phryne has an absolutely marvelous time investigating this case.  Hannibal takes her on dates to the opera and fine wine tastings and they have amazing sex.  She also almost has sex with Will Graham, but when he collapses on a chair and beings talking about all the troubles he’s been going through, including encephalitis symptoms, she ends up driving him to the hospital instead.  Between Will’s testimony about how Hannibal has been misleading him about his symptoms and her own secret swiping of keys, she becomes suspicious and investigates the murder house.  When Hannibal catches her, he promises that her death display will be the most beautiful one yet.  She shoots him non-fatally and he gets arrested.  (She may also be arrested for breaking and entering, but Hannibal can’t exactly claim stand-your-ground when he has a basement freezer full of body parts.)  Phryne also possibly sleeps with Alanna.

Sam Spade: I’ll be real here, Sam Spade is probably going to die.  His primary method is deliberately antagonizing people into giving him money, and Hannibal would absolutely put him in his ‘rude people’ recipe cards.  If Spade was clever, he left a dead man’s switch with Effie, and she goes to the police with the evidence folder when Spade’s body is found posed like a statue of a bird.

Sam Vimes: The moment Sam meets Hannibal he mentally classifies him as a vampire, even though he is not technically a vampire.  Hannibal keeps ‘forgetting’ and offering Sam food and drink with alcohol, talking about how harm reduction is much more viable than complete abstinence and generally trying to manipulate him into falling back down the addiction hole.  Sam gets brittle and suspicious in response.  Hannibal drugs him and tries to hypnotize him into believing he saw another character do the murders, but the Inner Watchman in Sam’s head comes to the rescue again and he slams Hannibal over the head with the nearest heavy art object.  Sybil still afterwards insists that Sam go to therapy to deal with his rage.

L: L wastes time going on dates with Hannibal and trying to trick him into implicating himself despite already having plenty of evidence, and Hannibal kills him and puts his head in a candy store.

Poirot: When Poirot attends dinner at one of Hannibal’s parties, he knows as soon as the meat touches his palette that it isn’t really rabbit.  He does his best to hide the fact that he isn’t eating, and whispers to Hastings to do the same.  When he finally has caught Hannibal in enough lies, he accuses him of murder while in a room with him, Will, Alanna, Abigail, Chilton, Able and Jack.  With so many witnesses, Hannibal maintains his cool and says that he’ll call his lawyer and see everyone in court.  When they actually investigate his house and find the human body freezer, Poirot faints.

Philip Marlowe: Every time Marlowe tries to bother Hannibal, the local cops drag him into the station and berate him for hassling a rich person.  He has long conversations with Hannibal when he does get him alone about great literature and the morality of Shakespeare characters.  Hannibal drugs him and tries to convince him he witnessed somebody else commit the murders, but Marlowe is so used to being drugged and seeing ridiculous things that he doesn’t trust any drug trip memories.  He is eventually able to catch Hannibal in the process of cleaning up after a murder, and both shoot each other.  Both survive and Hannibal gets arrested, but Hannibal taunts Marlowe that he will go the rest of his life never meeting anyone who understands him as well as he did.  Marlowe sadly agrees.

Dale Cooper: If Cooper does solve this case, it will take at least a season and a half.  It will be based less on evidence and more on Hannibal having dark energy and his name coming up when Cooper picks it out of a bag of ice cubes with initials carved onto them.  Abigail finally breaks down and confesses everything that’s happened to Cooper, and he tells her she’s not an evil person.  He and Hannibal shoot each other; both survive.  Hannibal goes to jail but continues to influence other people to commit murders from within jail.  Cooper ends up in a coma, and when he wakes up, he reports visions of a feathered stag telling him that he should look for new hair gel.

Kinsey Milhone: Kinsey inherently distrusts smug rich people, and no rich person is smugger than Hannibal.  She spends a lot of time talking to Abigail about their mutual family issues and becomes suspicious of how much her answers seem to have been worded ahead of time by Hannibal.  She tracks him and manages to find him while he’s in the process of cutting someone up.  They attack each other, and it’s pretty much a coin flip as to who survives.  If it’s Kinsey, the resulting story is called C is for Cannibal.

Miss Marple: Miss Marple thinks Hannibal dresses in such a lovely fashion, and he’s so sweet to invite her over for a glass of sherry.  She doesn’t attempt to look around his house or catch him in the act of murder or do anything dangerous, she just compares notes about what’s being said by him, Will and Abigail, and unravels a web of lies to find some definite conclusions.  Jack Crawford and the entire FBI are humiliated that a nosy old lady sitting in her living room figured everything out before they did.

[psychewritesbs]

Chapter 198: Sakurajima Colony—JJK is about enlightened Buddhist Monks?; no JJK is about sexy shirtless men; Unpopular opinion: two wrongs don’t make a right; So is she going to kick Naoya’s ass after all?

Happy JJK-Sunday!

Am I the only one who had lost track of the chapter number?

Anyways... the art in this chapter was beautiful! My favorite panels below the cut.

JJK is about enlightened Buddhist Monks?

I’m really curious about the hand mudra Naoya is doing. I’m curious about its meaning... especially given the text in the panel:

Naoya’s persistence finally blooms

The actual name of his domain expansion sounds so symbolic too.

Also love the pupil behind Naoya. I’m not sure it means anything in the grander scheme of things, but, not only does it look artistically appealing, I also love the idea that there’s an all-seeing-eye in Naoya’s domain. There’s something so creepy and sinister about it.

Gege knows his cosmic horror!

Which kind of reminds me that when I first read this chapter the first thing that came to mind is that jjk feels like a story/metaphor about Buddhist Monks using their psychic powers to exorcise curses, and some of them achieve “enlightenment”--they transcend their ego minds.

Considering Heian saw the rise of two esoteric branches of Buddhism--Shingon and Tendai, I have to wonder which clans belonged to which school. I can’t help but wonder about the implications of men in positions of power utilizing their psychic abilities to control the masses.

No, JJK is about sexy shirtless men

Bahaha. 

Anyways. 

Beautiful panel! It was one of my favorites in the chapter. I love that Gege wants to drive home that Naoya is/was good-looking despite his rotten core. I also love that he morphed from that ugly cursed spirit shape into his human self at will. 

It goes back to the idea that he bloomed like a pretty little flower.

Which reminds me... is it possible to consider a problematic character to be interesting AND to know that he is, indeed, problematic?

Is it?

Ah, I hate the word problematic. It’s so short-sighted and it throws the baby out with the bathwater.

I’ll figure a better word to use next time.

Unpopular opinion: two wrongs don’t make a right

I get it.

I really do.

Mai and Maki had a fucked up upbringing. They were seen as nothing more than slaves.

Not to mention that the Zenin clan was the epitome of fucked-up-family-and-interpersonal-dynamics.com because of #the patriarchy.

But... unpopular opinion af: Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Maki destroying and murdering everyone in the Zenin clan was not a victory, it was a tragedy. 

I get the whole idea behind bringing down the patriarchy and it certainly makes a lot of sense but...

To me, the whole thing looks like it is a power up girl-boss moment, but in reality I have to wonder if it was more about Mai dragging Maki and the whole Zenin clan down with her.

Can I just say that the way I personally interpret the panel above is that Mai looked “evil” (for lack of a better word)?

That smug look on her face is so... self-affirming? Like she got exactly what she wanted from Maki.

And in order to understand why this panel felt “wrong” to me, I took a little trip down memory lane. More specifically chapters 42 and 149.

As per usual, Gege is able to deliver just the right amount of details to bring a character to life.

In Mai’s case, we learn that she’s weak-minded and has always resented Maki’s strength (more specifically her mental strength).

But I think the most important detail about Mai is that she is the kind of person who drags others down with her.

Since she is weak-minded, instead of seeking to grow to better herself (growth mindset), she seeks to bring others down to her level to feel better about herself.

Mai is truly the definition of a mean girl.

And I have to admit that I love Maki’s answer to Mai: 

In chapter 149 Mai tells Best Dad of the Year contender, Ougi (I think that’s her dad’s name), about her virtuous nature just as he is about to throw his daughters into a pit full of cursed spirits.

So yeah, this girl clearly isn’t interested in anyone’s well-being but her own.

Considering Maki’s personality is such a stark contrast to Mai’s, I wonder if this is part of the curse of being born a twin in the jjk-scheme of things. 

And that’s how we end up in that pit full of cursed spirits...

And how Mai, fully aware of the curse that it is to be born a twin, sacrifices herself “for Maki’s sake”. 

But is it really for Maki’s sake?

Or because she knows that the only way to drag everyone down with her is by having Maki avenge her since she’s weak and Maki is strong?

The problem is that in asking Maki to destroy everything, she’s also inadvertently dragging Maki down with her. 

Maki who only wanted to create a safe space for Mai in the Zenin clan went and destroyed everything because Mai left her with these last words--a curse?

And Maki obliges...

I know I am in the minority interpreting the events in this way, but this doesn’t make me happy for Maki and I have to wonder whether she feels the weight of the burden of what she did--she basically killed innocent women and children for Mai’s sake. 

EDIT: OK, after re-reading the appropriate panel, I am not sure that I can say with confidence that she killed “innocent” women and children. What I can say is that she killed upwards of 36 people that day. Gender and age are unconfirmed.

I know she wanted to create a safe space for Mai, but was this really the best way to go about it?

And all because Mai was a mean girl who couldn’t stand the thought of being left behind. Mai wanted nothing but to drag everyone down with her into the hell of her own creation.

Which is interesting given the innuendo about Naoya and Mai doing adult things together... like... you know... their taxes. 

I think it’s safe to assume that she was abused and that she was at a disadvantage in the dynamic with Naoya for multiple reasons, one of them being her gender and another her age. But Mai is such a toxic character that I would not be surprised to learn that she found some sort of twisted satisfaction in a toxic dynamic with a man like Naoya.

The parallels to Toji are also very interesting because even though Toji too was heartbroken and was abused by the Zenin, Toji chose not to destroy the clan even though he could have done it.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Two wrongs don’t make a right is an interesting trope that is actually present as a theme in a lot of anime and manga. From Gundam to Attack on Titan, the trope usually finds a resolution somewhere in the middle, so I am curious to see how Gege will unravel this storyline.

So is she going to kick Naoya’s ass after all?

Another panel I loved!

Also, I know her hair is short because it was burned but... right now she has the same hairstyle as Mai. Symbolic much?

Ah! Anyways...

Credit where it’s due: @justafrenchlondoner​ is the one who’s been feeding me ideas about Maki’s tragedy. She’s also my voice of reason when I want to get annoyed because it feels predictable that Maki is going to defeat Naoya again. 

If anyone read this, thank you for reading and happy JJK-Sunday!

[thealmightyemprex]

Halloweenathon: The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

It aint the spooky season without talkin about everyones favorite mystery solving dog ,and why not talk about the series where he first encountered real ghost and teamed up with Vincent Price

This 1985 series follows Scooby Doo (Don Messick) Shaggy (Case Kassem ),Daphne (Heather North ),and Scoobys nephew Scrappy (Also Don Messick ) as due to the manipulations of two ineffectual ghosts who wish to gain respect , Weerd (Arte Johnson ) and Bogel (Howard Morris) , Scooby and Shaggy have let loose 13 evil ghosts who seek to use the Chest of demons to rule the world ,and with the help of a con artist named Flim Flam (Susan Blu ) and a powerful mystic named Vincent Van Ghoul (Vincent Price),the gang must capture the malevolent ghosts

So my relationship with the Scooby Doo franchise is....Odd .For years I have said I am not a fan ,but realized I kind of am one .Specifically I am I find the Scooby Doo formula kind of a slog ,of the villain just being some greedy captalist dressed up as a monster(Cept for Pup Named Scooby Doo that show rocks ) .....What I love is when the monsters are real ,hell when I was a kid it was a huge deal to see Scooby Doo on Zombie Island where the villains are legit life force eating cat monsters...But older Scooby fan s will know that this was not first time he faced real monsters :There were the movies Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School and Scooby Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf(Which I like but I know people dont ) .....And of course The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo

Now while I grew up on reruns of various Scooby shows like the original Scooby Doo Where Are You,The New Scooby Doo Movies ,A Pup Named Scooby Doo and so on......This is one I never saw in reruns,and honestly I only heard about it cause one of my favorite horror actors Vincent Price was a main character ,so for Spooky month I decided to watch all 13 episodes

Now .....THis show might be the weirdest Scooby show I have ever seen .The show was developed by Tom Ruegger ,who would go on to do Animaniacs,Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid and you can kind of see some of his sensibilities in this show,in that it runs on rule of funny ,and there are a lot absurd and fourth wall jokes(The weirdest one involving a woman complaining about fire being used in a kids cartoon in a scene involving a dragon,which then becomes Scrappy calling her racist against Dragons ....This is an actual scene ) ..You also get aesthetic things like to modern fans this show to watch.....Cause Fred and Velma arent in it ,of the main group its just Daphne , Shaggy and Scooby.Also since its the 80's they have their 80's redesigns (I refer to this era as the Red shirt Shaggy era )

As for character depictions Shaggy is pretty much himself,scared of monsters and loving food ,and Casey Kasem is great as always .I think this might be my favorite use of Daphne who is kind of the voice of reason and sort of leader . SCrappy makes his fnal appearence in a Scooby show and I am just gonna say it....I .DONT.HATE .SCRAPPY.I think he has his fun moments and I think this might be the best use of him ,as he really works as a double act with the equally overconfident Flim Flam

Scooby Doo is himself....But this might just be the most interesting depiction of Scooby ,because his fear of ghosts is depicted in a few episodes like crippling PTSD ,like facing real ghosts is taking a toll on poor Scooby .Also....WE MEET SCOOBYS PARENTS !!! I dunno that just blew my mind

Now lets talk about the new characters we meet a kid con artist named Flim Flam ....I think I hate Flim Flam .Not entirely hat,mind you ,he has some funny moments ,Susan Blus vocal performance is good and again I love his double act with Scrappy ....But he is so smug and cocky you just want him to shut up sometimes.Add to that he was a network addition and the writers hated him,and I dont blame them

We also have recurring villains in Weerd and Bogel who basically latch on to which of the 13 Ghosts is the big bad of the episode,and are the comical villains in juxtaposition to the often more serious 13 Ghosts. Not much to say ,they are fine though comedians Arte Johnson and Howard Morris deliver great vocal performances

The best part of the series however is Vincent Van Ghoul,a powerful sorcerer who guides the team .Part of why he works is he is played by the legendary Vincent Price.Much like Flim Flam the inclusion of a big name celeb was a network but which one was up to the creative team,The choice of Vincent Price I think was a brillaint one .Personally I like to describe Vincent Price as a master of Cozy horror,he's spooky but there is sense of fun and comfort to him and the honestly the same goes for Scooby Doo even at its creepiest .He is also just a genuinely good voice actor with a wonderful sense of humor so he is a perfect fit for the show .Now the show could have coasted on being a saturday morning cartoon starring Vincent Price (The character is even designed to look like Price ) but truthly Van Ghoul is a fun character on his own.Van Ghoul is both the wise expostion guy ,but he is also the team dad who will just hang out with the gang .He also has his faults that make him more endearing ,he gets grumpy and one of my favorite moments he's revealed to be an obnoxious house guest .He's truly a funny character and he adds a bit of spice to the show

The shows humor is mixed ,sometimes it is really funny,mostly when they just go off the rails or show off the comedic timing of both Casey Kasem and Vincent Price ......Other times,especially when its Flim Flam it can be annoying .Animation is ....Well its both a Hannah Barbera cartoon AND it was made in the 80's so its not great though there are some good designs

Now my top 5 episodes are

5.Its a Wonderful Scoob-Scooby quits the gang and is shown what the world will be like if villain of the week Time Slime won .Its one where Scooby truly is a hero have to have it

4.The Ghouliest Show on Earth -A circus themed adventure with my favorite the 13 Ghosts ,Professor Phantazmo played by the amazing Alan Oppenheimer

3.Scooby in Kwakyland -The gang are trapped in a newspaper comic ,theres is some great art direction and I adore the side plot about Vincent being a house guest

2.A Spooky Little Ghoul Like You -Vincent is placed under a love spell by the seductress Nekara who plans on draining his power .Good plot and just fun

1.Thats Monstertainment -The gang is sucked into a old Frankenstein movie and must play the parts till they can find a way out.What can I say I love old monster movies and this to me was the funniest episode

Overall its not a perfect show ,but if you like Vincent Price,Scooby Doo and bonkers cartoons I reccomend it

@ariel-seagull-wings @amalthea9 @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @princesssarisa @filmcityworld1

[stepswordsen]

【Magi】 Judar Wearing Hanfu 🖤❤️🐈‍⬛

【Magi】 Judar wearing hanfu 🖤❤️🐈‍⬛

【マギ】 漢服（ハンフ）を着るジュダル

Intro

Judar is my fave Magi chara, and JuAli is my fave Magi ship, so I REALLY wanna create plushie designs of them one day, as well as a Tegaki fan-animatic MV... It's my dream 🙏

My unhinged gremlin black cat son who's Black Sun, Moon, and Eclipse themed! 🐈‍⬛☀️🖤🌙

1st Judar doodle is a planned concept art reference sheet I wanna do for my headcanon design of him wearing black and red hanfu 💞

2nd Judar doodle is based on a Vocaloid song parody with JuAli (Judar/Alibaba) x Unfriendly Hater by Meddmia (drawn by WOOMA) 🖤❤️💛

In my HCs, Judar wears a type of hanfu called Ruqun (襦裙). Ru (襦) is the cross-collared top of a hanfu, and the wrap-around skirt is called Qun (裙). The coat jacket is called Da Xiu Shan (大袖衫)

He'd look great wearing black and red hanfu with white and gold accents~ The black outer coat jacket is slightly translucent, so it'll show the cross collared top's red sleeves through it.

I drew some tentative rain drop earrings for now, but I imagine he would wear gold and red hanfu earrings, and/or snowflake/icicle ones (since Judar is an ice magic user) ❄️

I've been forgetting to post my doodles from my side account onto main, so here you go. I missed talking about my son and drawing him.

I think my art style is getting more refined 🥰💖 The way I draw faces/eyes has been improving steadily! The first Judar doodle was the first time I experimented with an eye style with thicker eyelashes and underlashes! I love the new eye style a lot, so I've comfortably settled into it for the rest of my arts.

I want to draw him in different styles of huafu too, but I made the main hanfu he wears in my HC version, simple to draw (black coat jacket, red cross collared top, black wrap around skirt) with simple patterns, just for my own sake.

...

I'm obsessed with Meow meow mf charas. Black and white colour scheme and design aesthetics. Black and/or white hair. Black Sun & Moon themed. Sharp tsurime eyes. Eyeshadow. Causes problems on purpose. C*nty Sen-core bastard cat. Smug chaotic edgy evil asshole character. Violent, unhinged, bloodthirsty and murderous. Arrogant with a huge ego that distances them from humanity (or social interactions).

I love "Sen-core Meow meow mf" and "Cunty Sen-core" bastard cat Annoying Nyam Nyam types like him /pos <3 🐈‍⬛💗

Judar's long black hair with braids, and black + white + red + yellow design hits my fave aesthetics 💗I love his braids sm

Judar is my fave Magi chara. No one is surprised LOL. Judar is a perfect Sen-core character.

Especially since I KNEW I have a history of being obsessed with Kuroha (KagePro) since I was 12. I knew exactly what would happen

The fact that my evil unhinged meow meow pipeline has led me from Kuroha (2013) to Judar (2022) is really not surprising at all.

It's so funny rereading my messages from 2022 when I first read Magi and guessed that he'd be my fave after seeing his 1st CAMEO appearance 😭😂 It's like watching my downfall in real time /lh

My friends mainly associate me with my meow meow mf faves like Douman, Xanxus, Judar, Idate, Kuroha, and Hibari. To be known for them is an honour ✨ It makes me very happy (❁´◡`❁)

Judar's a fun chara and a perfect squishable gremlin it's natural I'm devoted to him. I love my son

I wanna draw even more of him cuz he's just so fun to draw. I need to practice more cuz I have trouble drawing his spiky hair at times

I put the rest of my doodle WIPs, and talks of my headcanon design for him, and my art process under the cut ✨ Cuz I don't think I ever talked about how I got obsessed with this chara in full? I'll put that too

WIP Shots

The last one is an older doodle. I still like aspects of it but I'd redraw it (also the above doodles are just better drawn versions of it)

Headcanon Design

Judar wears hanfu and hanfu earrings in my headcanon design.

I imagined that he would wear gold and red hanfu earrings, and also snowflake/icicle ones! Silver snowflake ones, and glass icicle earrings would be cool...

So I think I may wanna put snowflake/ice and dragon patterns on his hanfu. The silhouette of a Chinese dragon (ice dragon) would be rad 🐉

I want Alibaba to wear traditional Arabic clothes (white and yellow). I've been looking into it for now, but I wanna draw it soon... I also HC Alibaba to have tanner skin in my HC design

Ohtaka is really good at harmonizing colour palettes (seen with the volume covers). I loooove using teal/cool tinted black when colouring my meow meow mf faves, so this is a treat hehe

Since Judar is from the Kou Empire, which is based on China, I wanted to project Judar's ethnicity onto his design more (since many friends who I've spoken to from my other interests didn't know he was even CN inspired until I told them)

I always take aspects I like from canon and imbue it with my own tastes! I base my drawings on my own headcanons/interpretations of my faves.

I agree with the above post <3

Magi is in my top favourite series ever in terms of art and writing. It's generally peak imo

Magi's biggest flaws are the whitewashing, colourism and racial stereotyping (ex. racially stereotyped clothing in the character designs) and some parts of the setting being bastardized takes on SWANA and South Asian cultures, and I've always been critical of that.

Of course, it's totally normal for cultures to do cultural exchanges with each other, but that's not what's going on here.

A lot of EA media feeds into insensitive/distasteful racial stereotypes on non EA cultures, we don't need more of it being perpetuated in fandom spaces. I personally won't be drawing certain Magi charas in their canon clothing designs.

Ohtaka's drawn him (Judar) in hanfu before, it should've been his canon clothes instead.

I love his hair design with the braids sm. I draw him in huafu in my HC design instead as a fix-it for the obvious colourism going on in Magi's chara designs, and also, the charas' clothing designs and parts of the settings too, being bastardized and racially stereotyped takes on SWANA and South Asian cultures.

WIP Shots (Art Process)

I drew these, which I like, but I liked the original best (up top). A few of them have slightly more curled hair strands! I think 1st and 2nd are the best in capturing the vibes, but the others are also interesting to see. I might incorporate some aspects from them when I refine this doodle

I think there's a lot of improvement from my past doodles. I still like this but I'd redraw it (since I feel like my recent doodles are just better drawn versions of this)

Admittedly I'm MUCH better at drawing meow meow mfs, so I haven't gotten the chance to draw Alibaba yet.

I find Judar's spiky hair hard to draw so I'm still trying to decide how I want to draw it...

I love how Ohtaka draws the shape of his braids. I didn't get the time to refine the sketch yet so I just blocked in the shape of his braids roughly with a silhouette (so I'll go fix it later)

I wanna redraw and refine the hair and clothes later 👍

I think when I actually get to colouring, though, I'm gonna desaturate the teal tinted black colour slightly

On the 1st sketch pass, I just care about making the face and eyes look good (since it's usually the main focus of my pieces)

Then I just scribble whatever for the clothes.

And then when I go back to clean up the sketch, then I fix everything else, including the clothes

Inspiration

(Magi: Kou Empire Arc - Ch. 255 Spoilers)

I was rereading the Judar vs. Aladdin fight in the Kou Empire arc and I love how dynamic Ohtaka's art is. I'm in love with the compositions

Judar's ice dragons and the the last page with Judar being themed with the moon!!! That's so cool. My son is so cool and iconic

Judar’s leitmotif is the Black Sun and Moon ☀️🖤🌙

I reread the Kou Empire arc so many times cuz it's SO good art/writing wise and just in general like WHDSHDHSH

But this is why I want Judar's hanfu to have snow/ice and ice dragons on it. I'll make it an easy pattern/silhouette and use a stamp brush probably cuz uh I don't want to have to draw that by hand every time

...

Ohtaka is one of my main art inspirations of what I wanna draw like someday in terms of technical skill. Her inking is godly.

Ohtaka is BRILLIANT with inking, dynamic battle compositions, perspectives, and colours... Her art is soooo good, it's such visual eye candy.

Ohtaka is brilliant with complex dynamic perspectives and inking. She draws GREAT expressions. Her colours harmonize really well. She's a brilliant author/story writer.

Her inking style is so unique. And it fits thematically too with how Magi is mainly in black and white (black and white rukh)

Since Magi was loosely based on 1001 Nights for the charas' names and parts of the setting, the roc/rukh is a giant legendary bird.

It's apparently a reference to Rukh/Rok (A mythological bird) and Rūḥ ("Essence/Soul")

Source: (X)

The way her inking stands out on its own with minimal screentone usage (except for BG effects and lighting) is a testament to her skill

Misc Rambles

These are my top fave meow meow mf faves.

My top main faves are all very important and personal to me, just in different ways. So I tie them all as no. 1 ✨

Irt Judar and Kuroha/Saeru, they're completely different characters personality wise, since Judar is mischievous, bratty and playful, childlike and emotionally immature (due to his personality and context), but they have similar~ish designs and a couple similarities, in terms of their basics.

As in, they're both evil black haired meow meow mfs with similar expression ranges, who are bloodthirsty, sadistic, and love causing violence for fun. They have the same Sen-core character type.

They have similar~ish hairstyles (black hair with braids in the back, unique eyes (Kuroha's snake eye pupils and the rings in Judar's eyes), and are unhinged bloodthirsty meow meow mf core charas

...

My History

(Magi: Ch. 15 - Judar's 1st Cameo Appearance)

Ok I don't think I ever told in full my origin story with this chara, I guess. Basically I was going off the mutuals/blorbo osmosis and just my friends' rambles at this point before I read the series.

And I was reading back my messages of what I sent to my friends at the time

I first read Magi, I think around Sept 2022, two chapters, then started again in Oct 2022 read to Ch. 15 saw Judar and was like. (.) 🧍 This design is Sen core. Don't let me go down like this.

When I first saw Judar’s CAMEO in Ch. 15... I had a feeling.

Cuz I sensed Sen core meow meow mf.

I felt my doom. I knew it... I sensed it with my instincts 😭

WHEN I FIRST SAW THIS PANEL OF JUDAR, I WAS LIKE OH NO... I SENSED MY DOWNFALL.

And then I was like, "Well I made my bed, so time to go lie in it 👍"

Since I saw the charas from my friends' tweets before, can you believe that at this point I was like "Wow I wonder how my would be ship interact together. They're on the same page!!!" 🤸

THIS IS INSANE OF ME DSAKLSDKLKLSDKLS

My friends were like "I can't believe you're shipping them this early 😭 Even before they actually interact omggg"

And I started shipping JuAli by Ch. 15. So before they even interacted. So when I JUST saw Judar. And then I doodled them right after (it was my first doodle of them!) 😭😂 LMFAOOOO

Good god me getting obsessed with charas/ships is like my insanity speedrun

Me with JuAli and KuroEne... Insanity speedrun x1000000

Like I had a feeling that he'd become my fave by his first CAMEO appearance... He makes his first major appearance around like ~Ch. 44

Douman took 5 days for me to be obsessed with after I found out about his character/writing.

Judar just took me seeing his 1st cameo appearance in the manga.

Kuroha/Saeru took just seeing the Outer Science MV when I was 12 (Tbf, Outer Science is peak KagePro and is one of the best KagePro MVs in terms of visuals and storytelling)

...

Judar is extremely important and personal to me, I feel this as someone who comes from a similar cultural background to him as well, Judar is EA/CN inspired and so his background and backstory context really makes me feel for him… Speaking personally, as someone who is Viet/SEA diaspora.

Considering Judar's backstory context, and his character arc themes of resentment and grief… Wahhhh ;__; I can mildly relate to him.

Like, ahhh, this character makes me so emotional… He makes me want to cry (in a good way). Emotional tears, cuz this chara is so healing and cathartic for me. I'll punch him out of love! 🫶

[laser-teatime]

May I ask why abide in the wind is your favorite webtoon? I’ve tried to get into a few times but I always lost interest after the first few chapters. I really want to get into it because of the yandere content.

I acknowledge that Abide has flaws. The second half is 100% depressing. The art isn't stellar in the beginning. The "secondary male lead" is annoying with a capital A. The romance is incredibly slow. There isn't a single kiss until chapter 85. These things are downsides for most people.

I like all of these aspects.

All of that appeals to me, but it's not for everyone. It has everything I want in a story. Down to the last detail.

I love to hate the prince. The pastel color palette in the first arc is literally all of my favorite colors at once. I also really enjoyed the steampunk aesthetic, even though the art wasn't masterfully shaded. You see these colors? Yeah. They were specifically combined for me I think. Who cares if the lines are a little wonky? It looks so soft. When monsters appear in the pink forest and start eating people it still looks pretty.

When I started reading it I was super young and I loved slow romance. Kairak's childish design made him less intimidating to me. I found him cute and I couldn't wait to see what his grown up form was like. People have said his child form is boring, but his observant attitude made me curious. I couldn't guess what his personality would be in the future. When Kairak actually has an expression or a frown on his face I know something dramatic is about to happen. He grows and changes. Literally. His body matures when he gets more power, and I think that's neat. He becomes sassy and kind of smug after he learns how to act like a man.

I absolutely love it when a love interest isn't perfect. Reana was almost too perfect for my liking, but I didn't stop liking her at any point because she changes too. It just happens later. After she gets beat up one too many times she goes through an emo phase...and that makes sense. Emo phase Reana says some cringe things, but she rejects godhood to save the one she loves in the end.

She's cool!

It takes a while but dang she is cool!

I'm sure you've seen an anime character reject godhood before, but Reana gives up the chance to become a dragon because she's not interested. Her emo phase didn't make her a cruel person. It just made her less naive. Giving up the chance to be all powerful and immortal was easy for her. It's not her jam. She's not that kind of woman, and that's cool.

Here are her three character designs.

They're all good don't argue with me.

The romance is not a thing until you make it through all the world building, but that wasn't a problem for me. I love high fantasy, and I love detailed world building. If you're tired of reincarnation isekai or high school fantasy settings Abide is a real breath of fresh air. None of the characters are tropes. Nobody is a tsundere. Nobody is randomly a pervert for laughs. Kairak is a yandere of course, but he does alot of other things. The second half of the story also contains his emo phase and it is messy. Also very gory. I didn't think of him as a yandere for a while. I thought he was evil and I was kind of right. You really shouldn't read Abide for the yandere moments. There are lots of characters. Kairak leaves for like fifty chapters. The world almost ends. Reana almost becomes a god. This is not just a romance.

It's a long story. It's dialogue heavy. The author makes up their own magic and monster terminology...so you have to learn that. You can't open this up and expect to see a yandere moment. You have to earn it. The unhealthy dynamic between Kairak and Reana isn't interesting unless you read every chapter. He doesn't just walk on screen and laugh evilly.

He does stuff like this.

He changes his body shape to become more appealing to her. He learns how to do facial expressions, and he learns how to lie at the same time. Reana is the responsible one. He has to be the one that does the seducing. It kind of feels insidious because at this point we know that Kairak his heartless. He has no regard for human life. He isn't a nice boy. He's a giant scaly monster that can conveniently morph into an attractive young man.

Kairak never, ever feels like a human being in the series. Ever. I think that's brilliant. Way too many monster stories end with the monster crying because they want to be human. Lame. Kairak doesn't dream about having friends or anything. He is attracted to his bonded partner. His riyenas. His feelings are abnormal. Having feelings isn't normal for dragons. Emotions corrupt their purity. Kairak's human body doesn't make him human. I think that's more engaging than watching a supernatural being sob about friendship.

Idk.

Maybe I'm weird.

Shin wol created some pretty hateful villains. There are tons of backstabbers and murderers in the cast. I'm sure you'll find someone to hate if you make it to the apocalypse arc. I...hated only one particular man. The worst man in fiction. My nightmare. The guy that stole a bunch of Reana's screentime. Reinhardt. The prince is the secondary love interest and he ALSO falls madly in love with Reana. He puts a slave collar on her and makes her pretend to be his wife. He does that to keep her alive for plot reasons...but he also has feelings for her. He annoys me. I finished this series years ago and thinking about him still makes my skin crawl. He is a self righteous loser that pushes Reana to the brink of insanity. If I had a gun with three bullets in it I would disassemble it and shove every piece of the weapon into his brain. I swear I'm not blinded by shipping. He's unbearable. Reinhardt is a yandere though so if that's what you want surprise there are two yandere love interests.

I feel like Kairak and Reana earned their happy ending. Reana learned how to be selfish, and proactive. She fought her own battles without Kairak's help in the second half! Yay! Kairak didn't end the world in the end. He calms down when he realizes that he doesn't need to manipulate Reana. She genuinely loved him the whole time. How sweet! Their happy ending felt earned. They had to work really hard for it. Time travel was involved because the apocalypse had to be reversed, so if you don't like time travel maybe you'll feel cheated. I didn't feel cheated but I felt like the finale was too short.

Also the dragons are space dragons.

Who could possibly hate a webtoon about space dragons?

Impossible!

[silverjirachi]

I had an idea regarding character development of astor (if he actually had one haha), and the devs mentioning something like this came to mind...

"hyrule during the calamity would have a lot of malice, we need more malice in fights"

"simple malice enemies isn't enough, they're just new types of their respective species we need like a malice controlling boss spouting pillars from the ground"

"ganon is literally the calamity so we would need a side boss again, acting like the main villain"

"let's make a simple placeholder villain smug and dark, who we could fight in any land with no story whatsoever so we can put him in whatever origins afterwards"

"his theme music? since he would appear rather frequently than previous ganon-puppets, let's give him an easy tweak from zelda's theme; after all, zelda herself has more screentime than any other before. A royal honor for him, before we kill him off like all the other secondaries."

"and let's take these simple 6 upscending notes and nicely bloat it into an unsettling battle ambience, making the strings have a surrounding voice effect for universal doom"

... i have a feeling he really was expendable, simply made to be disposable after all - what do you think :p

Yeah this is a pretty thorough breakdown of how i imagine astor's character came into being. As much as we all *wish* there was more direct astor connection to botw, I promise botw was made without any conception of Astor as we know him now. There is absolutely no sign of him or his people in-game, save for a few tiny, tiny threads mentioning people who "worship ganon" who may or may not be yiga. The only shred of an inkling we have to go off is the mention of a "fortune teller" in botw, but that seems to be such a throwaway line and an easy mystery they left unsolved for exactly the purposes like you see now. A "fortune teller" could literally be anyone or anything, doesn't mean they were evil, doesn't mean it was Astor, even if the *vague* connections were made in retrospect (with his design and music for instance).

And even when Astor's VA so vaguely mentioned in an interview that "Astor wasn't in BOTW, or so we think," I'm pretty sure that was more him knowing as well as the rest of us that there is nowhere near enough evidence of Astor in-game to say that, but it was him having to have those sorts of thoughts as an actor. Especially when he follows it up with how Astor could have just been "lying in wait," or something to that effect. Unless Nintendo told him something we don't know, in which case @ Jon Lipow break your NDA.

But in fact, I'm inclined to say the entirety of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity wouldn't have been released at all if not for the overwhelming success of BOTW. It was a cash grab. They knew people were obsessed and in love with the story so they made an even bigger shinier story that lives in that world, and I don't blame them, I am lapping that shit right up. They spent a long time refining and developing that initial world, and they should milk it tbh. I would too. They said themselves BOTW2 was initially gonna be DLC because they just had so many ideas to expand BOTW, and maybe along the way, some of those cut ideas were put into AoC instead.

But that absolutely ties in to why I don't think we're getting any further information on Astor, ever. If not for, come dlc, we find out he was the leader of this cult or something. I think that will be the extent of it. He wasn't pulled out of botw's pre-established lore or anything, you're exactly right - he was made for botw's existing lore, and more specifically, for Age of Calamity's, which is on such a weird island in terms of timeline and such as it is.

Which is exactly why he's disposable.

Age of Calamity, cool and fun and story-driven as it is, is ultimately a spinoff game. They needed a spinoff villain who would fit the world and explain *some things* in the world but also not be important enough to make a huge impact on the world in such a profound way that he'd make a mainline appearance.

It's always interesting to me, then, just how disposable Astor is both in terms of the "meta," as well as how quite literally, in game, he lives to serve one explicit purpose until Ganon doesn't need him any more - after which point, he is disposed of at the earliest convenience. As above, so below. As in Koei Tecmo, so in the Great Calamity.

Art reflects life? Life reflects art? Something else entirely?

Anyways yeah