#i lacked creativity with this one ngl

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

Okay, so, I’ve been seeing this idea that Jay was completely out of character in Skybound and ngl been driving me a little insane so I figured I’d finally share my thoughts on the topic. See the thing is, Skybound is a very flawed season for reasons regarding misogyny and racism (<-- Nadakhan). It’s got redeeming features like any other seasons (I really like some of the concepts, nadakhan was a very genuinely intimidating villain, I like the pacing and action, the gis are literally so good) but of all its flaws, Jay’s BASELINE CHARACTER is not one of them.

Two of Skybound’s objectives are to A) pick at Ninjago’s earlier misogyny and B) pick at Jay’s flaws. Which I believe are insecurity, lack of impulse control, and not respecting boundaries like he should. Especially regarding Nya. The season goes out of its way to parallel Jay to Nadakhan (main season villain, man who feels very entitled to Nya’s body and person, amongst other things) and to Cliff Gordon (man who’s dating advice book said to literally lie to women). One of Jay’s earliest scenes is him asking if a kidnapped girl was hot, this decision and characterization didn’t come from nowhere! He’s obviously not evil or irredeemable because of those flaws either. There’s an entire scene where he defends Nya against outward, blatant misogyny and affirms she’s one of them. It’s one of the numerous scenes where Jay is shown behavior worse than his and I believe the motivation behind that is to teach him not to be like that, because he is a better person than that.

I understand the impulse to defend your favorite character but to entirely dismiss one of Jay’s defining seasons is just such a frustrating way to do it. Some people go out of their way to demonize or over-exaggerate his flaws, yeah, 100% but it’s not productive to overcorrect so harshly. Additionally, not everything about Jay’s characterization in Skybound is negative.

Skybound really hammers in some of Jay’s most heroic or positive traits. It’s especially clear during his “stay” on the Misfortune’s Keep. It proves that above all else Jay is extremely adaptable. It shows him withstanding Nadakhan’s mental games/torture because he grows to understand it, and in creative, smart ways figures out how to contact people, how to sew discourse into the crew, and nearly escape all on his own! Even off the ship, Skybound affirms that when put into the position with necessity, Jay can and will step up to leadership and do it well. All of this characterization is seen later in Prime empire if I’m remembering right, though I haven’t watched Prime Empire in a while.

But, back on track, to conclude while I get feeling frustrated I think dismissing a large portion of Jay’s early characterization and flaws in an effort to defend him doesn’t help, because it really takes away from other aspects of his character (that being everything I listed, and also his ability to change for the better) and all around makes him a less interesting character. I don’t hate Jay but I also don’t hate that he was or is flawed, it’s not an inherently horrible thing, narratively or otherwise.

[mellarked-katnisseverdeen]

I think people miss out on so much of Everlark with the modern way we see romance, ngl.

The softness, the gentleness, the peace they have around one another IS the passion. That is the excitement! And it remains even with the feelings change and morph as all feelings and emotions do. There should be something so thoroughly thrilling finding someone who even when they don't make you happy (because no human being on earth is gonna make you happy all the time), their happyness makes brings you joy. And what that builds is the bond between you is such an adventure.

That is why Katniss is never board or lacking in excitement with Peeta around. He brings out her creative side, her fun and soft side- ya know. The side of her that exsists when she isn't having to fight for her life or work to bring in the next meal day to day. The side of her she WANTS the freedom to explore.

It beats out this hyper emotional, volatile all consuming passion based on nothing other than feelings and emotions ANYDAY. At least in my eyes.

[ghoulinfuschia]

I feel like there's something wrong with me. Before anyone gets all worried like "OH NO SHE FEELS BAD ABOUT HERSELF!" it's not that. Like, at all. What I mean is I feel like some wires got crossed in my brain but everything upstairs is so tangled that I can't even figure out which ones I need to uncross.

I've been on this weird mission to find something new to make but I feel like I keep hitting walls. I try picking up new skills only to get immediately overwhelmed. I have cool ideas that I'm genuinely excited about, but then the moment I try executing them I freeze. I'm not forcing myself to keep busy either. I genuinely want another creative goal to work towards, but it's like my brain and body won't let me. I know some of y'all are going to read this and immediately go "Girl that's burnout"- which, yeah. Even so I don't like not having something to work towards. I guess for lack of better word it feels to me like asking a shark to stop moving. I just feel so restless whenever I'm idling. Probably the ADHD ngl.

I'm not so much looking for solutions as much as I just wanted to verbalize what's been bugging me these past few days. Maybe someone can relate? I don't know. I'm not great at taking breaks from art since I love making things so much. I need to figure something out.

[cinnamary]

NGL, it feels a little uncomfortable seeing the fandom's lack of love for Amarys compared to the other DLC characters.

I know that a part of it is that Game Freak had some extremely clear favouritism for certain characters (Drayton, Kieran, lol)... but it's not like fandom has never jumped in for characters who lacked screentime and characterization. That's what happened for a lot of Pokemon characters before Game Freak started going in more character/story heavy with the games... so why isn't fandom doing that for a character that does have notable characterization but a lack of screentime? As I pointed out in her conversation with Carmine, Amarys paints. In my experience fandoms love characters with creative hobbies like painting and drawing, so why is it that I've seen almost no one in the English PKMN fandom point this out?

Why does it seem like no one else knew that?

What makes Amarys different?

[aeternallis]

High-Context Culture at Play and Kim's Mode of Communicating // a rant

So, something I notice once in awhile when I go through the tags on Ao3 for KPTS fics are commentary on the lack of communication in the show—specifically, how Kim doesn't communicate. Tags such as, "Kim communicates, it's a miracle", "OOC because they actually communicate", "Kim uses his words", "Healthy Communication, so it's OOC", etc etc.

This isn't meant to call anyone out and mind you, this isn't something I've only seen in the KPTS fandom; tags like these are also used in a lot of danmei fics I see, as well as the sheer variety of anime/manga fics I've read in my time.

And ngl, when I see those tags...my gut reaction is often to feel that they sound very much tongue-in-cheek and somewhat mocking. Not just to the character himself, but to the narrative itself. It's a bit uncomfortable at times, reading those kinds of tags, even if I know to myself that there's likely no malicious intent behind it.

For what it's worth, I won't apply bad faith arguments on works of art and creativity, and I'm certainly not looking to police fic on Ao3, yknow?

Having said that though and just because I have yet to see a post talking about this topic explicitly, I also feel that it's important to some degree to understand how people communicate in Thailand, and Asia in general.

Mind you, I’m no expert in Thai culture, lemme repeat that yet again. They have unspoken social rules that I myself wouldn't understand because I'm not Thai, nor do I speak Thai. Asia at large, though sharing a unique set of many similar values, is not a homologous region; each country has a rich tapestry of history and culture and very much different from one another.

Yet, as someone who grew up in an Asian household who shares many of said values, I often feel like—when it comes to East Asian/Southeast Asian fictional characters at large—there has always been an unconscious, almost knee-jerk habit I often see in fanfiction to reshape their style of communication to a more western context, if that makes sense. As someone who used to translate doujinshi and Pixiv 小説 for fun, it was always noticeable and a bit jarring, once I moved over to read my fanfic of choice, yknow.

This isn't inherently or purposefully malicious in any way, but it can feel very dismissive, even if it's unconsciously done.

Thailand and most if not all of SE Asia operate in a high-context culture. High-context culture means that when we communicate, it’s not always so much the words themselves that matter, but the context surrounding those words: body language, tone, eye contact, a person’s social status, etc etc. The words sometimes only convey part of the intent, but it doesn’t convey everything. In some situations, the words themselves can even mean the exact opposite of what they’re trying to convey.

It's why so many misunderstandings happen between international fans on platforms like X, because the nuance is often lost in Google Translate.

On the other end of that, we can use Tumblr as the example: since this is mostly an English-speaking website, for the most part, this hellsite operates on a low-context culture, but is easily ignited with outrage based on seemingly high-context traits. LOLOL

This type of communication is not always easily translated into the subtitles, nor is it remotely perfect in any way. It can be quite complex, and hell, even in the context of its own culture, misunderstandings can and do happen all the time. And, as we've seen from the recent popularity boom of East Asian media from the past two or three decades to the American and western audience at large, some of the most compelling drama can come from these sorts of human error.

Besides that, if I’m being perfectly honest, almost always (one of) the source(s) of fandom drama when it comes to character interpretation is due to the nuances of the high-context culture the story takes place in that can have the loudest enthusiasts arguing back and forth.

This is particularly true for characters like Kim Theerapanyakul, who are meant to be portrayed as mysterious and unreadable.

(Lan Wangji and Hyakuya Mika are also a few that comes to mind in my personal experience, uh huh)

To be quite frank, it's why I personally avoid getting into any nitty gritty discussion when it comes to characters like Kim and LWJ, because they mean so much to many different people, as well as simply for the fact that I do not know everyone's emotional tolerance when it comes to disagreements. Lol What I'm saying right now can be taken to be hard-hitting fandom policing, when I'm really trying hard not for it to sound like that, nor is it even my intent. I'm not telling anyone that they're wrong or that they've misinterpreted the characters, but what I am saying, is that people in fandoms, especially for the English-Only Speakers at large, need to be more consciously aware of their cultural biases.

And before I go on, mind you, it’s perfectly okay to have cultural biases—we all have them, myself included, that's just a fact of life. No one is exempt from this, if anyone is itching to point fingers.

I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to say that if one is engaging in media that's not from their cultural context, it's good to be more aware of the surrounding cultural norms and values of that said piece of media when you apply your own interpretation to it, and especially when you may not be the intended audience.

It’s why “your headcanons are not my headcanons” is, I will always believe, a very good rule to adhere to, especially when peeps disagree with popular headcanons, so fandoms can be more respectful and tolerant of each otherrrrrrr when disagreements inevitably crop upppppp, but anywayyyyyy~

I’ve met enough expats who’ve lived abroad in my current line of work to say that trying to understand the unspoken social rules, norms, values, etc. of the foreign country they choose to live in is most often one of their biggest sources of frustration. Alas.

And, as a side-note: high-context cultures are in no way superior to low-context cultures. Both modes of communication have their pros and cons, and molds society in various different ways.

But I digress! An example of the high-context culture at play is the break-up scene in front of Kim's apartment, which I've seen a number of fic authors portray as a genuine apology from Kim:

Which—in terms of what was spoken, Kim did say he was sorry.

But let’s think about the context of the apology: he said the words as he was walking away, before pulling his arm from Chay’s grasp. He looks back at Chay coldly, and overall, his behavior is dismissive; from his body language alone, he portrays a picture of aloofness and treats Chay as an annoyance.

What he says is an apology, yes—but it's an apology with no sincerity whatsoever. It's why Chay broke down as hard as he did, because it's not just Kim's lies that had him reeling, it was the fact that in the context of how Kim dismissed Chay during that scene, it also heavily implies that nothing between them had ever been sincere. Kim completely reverses the understanding that Chay had of their friend/relation-ship and cuts it off completely.

And although what I'm saying may come across as "Duh, that's freakin' obvious," I also want to add another point: Kim would know the implications of what this non-apology is. He would understand the context in which he'd said those words. Whether he chose to regret them or not later on is up for debate, but it's interesting to see whenever fic authors use this scene as an excuse that Kim genuinely thought he apologized, just because he said the words out loud.

Do you see what I mean? In that scene, the canon's context is what matters, but I've seen enough fic where that scene is turned on its head and fic!Kim thinks and excuses himself, portraying the scene to somehow mean that it's the words that matter. The nuance is thus lost, so in turn, the emotional weight of that scene is also disregarded.

This is what I mean when I say that there is an unconscious habit some fic authors have in changing the communication style that the show is set in.

Because the reality is, Kim didn't apologize. He knew he didn't, and Chay most certainly knew he didn't. What he was communicating in that scene was entirely different from what an actual apology entails.

Be that as it may, the audience knows that the non-apology doesn't negate what he and Chay went through together in the show. He may have been lying to Chay for the majority of the story in regards to his involvement in the mafia, but it doesn't mean that the love and adoration he feels for Chay through his actions didn't come through. Kim may not have said much to Chay besides singing for him a (stolen) refurbished version of his own song, but it doesn’t mean that his intent wasn’t conveyed. It's why Chay cried the way he did, in that in some way or another, the song Kim sang is a reminder of everything that happened between them did have truth to it.

Just because they communicate in the way one may not be used to or unfamiliar with (especially in the low-context culture that countries like the US, Canada, Australia, etc. operate in), doesn't mean that they're not communicating to one another.

Healthy communication doesn’t always have to just mean “straightforward meaning in the words.”

When tags like the ones I mentioned earlier in this rant inevitably crop up, especially when it comes to characters who are non-American/British, one can't help but feel that their canon mode of communication is being mocked and made to be seen as inferior.

In which case, TL;DR, when one writes tags like these about certain characters, I sincerely hope that their cultural biases are in the forefront of their mind, and they're aware and humble enough to admit that there are some things that they may not understand in terms of the cultural context. And due to the fact that they do not understand it, hopefully not mock it in response.

[nanamin-nah-nanamine]

This is for the matchmaking, I'm a non-binary person in my early 20 who is extremely introverted, i struggle with social situations when I'm alone, i also struggle with depression and anxiety which makes life rather hard, i have been diagnosed with autism so when i get interested in something that tends to be my main interest for months if not a year or more. I am a very emotional person i cry at everything and anything honestly, due to being diagnosed with Autism very late in my life i have spent a lot of time masking, to make myself appear as normal as possible, so much so that i don't even know what I'm actually like normally. Even though i am a very anxious person i have a major case of Resting Bitch face, so much so that some of my friends told me they were scared of talking to me at first because they thought i look mean.

I'm a very creative person, i love expressing myself in ways that don't have anything to do with talking, i also love fashion and i usually dress in a mix of goth and comfy clothes, though comfy clothes usually overtake my need to look fancy due to major dysphoria so i usually opt for large hoodies. My hair is currently in a chin long undercut which is a kind of very light pink/purple due to the colour fading over time, i have green eyes, wear glasses and have a septum as well as tattoos. I'm also currently a major in art and Theatre, mostly focused on painting. I am a theater kid at heart, i love musicals and have acted in a few myself. I'm also Pansexual so i will literally just go for anyone I'm interested in no matter the gender.

Hi pookie! I apologize for the wait cause finals were a bitch but they’re finally DONE

Aight now lets get into this

Due to the information provided you will be matched up with…🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

My lovely chosito osito!!(ignore everything that’s happened in 259😀)

Okay now walk with me🚶🏾‍♀️

I feel like you and Choso would really vibe together for numerous reasons. Choso is an eldest sibling so he’s incredibly patient and he’s proven to be very nurturing so I feel as though it would be second nature for him to always be thinking about you and how things might affect you. I think lil homie also has anxiety so he would be able to relate to you on that level, and since so much of this world is completely new to him you guys would be able to bond over the lovely overstimulation of day to day life.

From one autistic person to another I really feel like Choso would understand a lot more than some of the other characters? Idk I just get that vibe from him. He’s very blunt and straightforward, doesn’t cut corners in his explanations and he’s also got one hell of a resting face so I feel like he wouldn’t take lack of expression personally if you’re ever feeling burnt out.

Like I mentioned prior this boy is 🗣️NURTURING

He basically had to sub in as mom,dad,brother for all of those siblings so he’s got you bby don’t worry. I feel like he can be really protective and overbearing at times though but if that crosses a like for you then you just need to let him know. He’s no stranger to tears and he has no problem scooping you up in his arms and letting you cry it out.

If you wanna yap about a new hyper fixation you better believe Choso will listen!! The world is new and exciting and even though the bright lights and media tend to give him headaches, he can’t get enough of you relaying him the information because he’s kinda obsessed with you ngl.

Y’all with be THAT alt introverted couple who everybody is kind of scared of but are actually sweethearts. Once Choso figured out about department stores and piercing parlors it’s over for you bitches.

He thinks your tattoos are so cool and he’s kinda just like fascinated by the entire process. If you ever choose to get more he would wanna go with you but he’d be holding your hand and staring at the tattoo artist like this 😠

I also feel like he would definitely respect your pronouns once he wrapped his head around them because he is just not from this era so it’ll take him a bit😭 it’s genuinely just pure ignorance and not disrespect but he WILL get the hang of it.

Activities you do together include….

•going to see musicals and live theatre(he will be enchanted or overstimulated, it’s a 50/50 on this one)

•staying inside✨(a fan favorite)

•p i e r c i n g d a t e s

•painting!! More or less so him watching you paint but it’s the thought that counts🥰

[the-type-a]

omg imagine an au with duncney as actors playing love interests in a movie… (i apologize in advance bc this is pretty long)

and the movie doesn’t necessarily have to be a romantic movie it could be any genre and they don’t both have to be the main actors they could just be side characters with important roles, with other td characters acting in the movie, BUT i was thinking that it could be a romance movie with them as the main characters and it would be like;

- courtney is a well known actress who is very passionate about acting. she auditions for this romance movie and gets casted, obviously

- duncan is a less well known actor compared to courtney. his agents convince him to audition for this movie because it could gain him more popularity

- duncan gets the role of the main lead. however, he is NOT enthusiastic about it at all because he hates chick flicks.

- because of this, courtney is under the impression that he doesn’t take acting seriously, that he’s an industry plant or whatever, and that she had to work her ass off to get to where she is today meanwhile this completely unserious guy just gets roles handed to him on a silver platter

- she calls him out on his lack of enthusiasm which causes them to start having beef, non stop bickering on set blah blah blah you can imagine the rest

- he would tease her after kiss scenes, he would say stuff like “you were totally into that kiss” and she would tell him to shut up

- i dont have the creativity to imagine what would cause for this to happen but courtney opens up about her parents super high expectations of her ever since she was a kid (maybe she could have been a child actress, or a theatre kid) and hes like yeah my dads an asshole too. after this they put the beef aside and become amicable

- courtney catches feelings for duncan because she feels like hes the only person that appreciates her for her and not because of her fame and achievements. and duncan falls for courtney because well, shes courtney duh

- one day duncan keeps making mistakes which pisses the director off but courtney defends him and its at that moment that duncan realizes that he loves her

- after they both realize their feelings, they have to film a scene where they make out and they’re both super into it and completely forgetting that it’s just for a movie. and then the camera guy says cut and praises the both of them and says something like “that was some great acting it really felt like you two were in love” and after that it’s SUPER awkward between the both of them

So now i dont really have any other ideas left but I would LOVE to hear your take on this!

Oh, I absolutely LOVE this 🤭

Ngl I got a little Notebook vibes from it because Ryan and Rachel hated each other while filming but then ended up dating sooo yes I can definitely see this happening with Duncney.

I love the idea of them coming to terms with their feelings and just being able to express it without actually having to confront the other about it (in this setting). It just makes it so funny and so entertaining because just imagine their inner dialogues having to do that make out scene 😮‍💨

Don’t even get me started on their thoughts when they aren’t really on good terms. They would absolutely hate admitting the other is a good kisser lmao

If you have more ideas for this please lmk because I’m hooked and there only HCS, I would 100% read this if you decided to make it a fic!

[taintedlxve]

Long post. tl;dr for like multiple personal mental health reasons I'm not gonna be here for a while. My Discord: minniusmaximus. My sfw blog: @braverybystarlight. Love y'all forreal and see you around (or not)

Anyways, I'm going to take a hiatus. I keep stressing out and feeling left behind when everyone's doin' a new thing and its probably a sign I need to get out more or at the very least do other things that aren't just chasing everyone else creatively.

I feel like I rely waaaay too much on public feedback just to do things I like and when I don't get any it puts me in a bad mood and makes me feel like nothing I do matters which sucks even if it's no one's fault and its my rejection sensitive dysphoria making any lack of reaction feel like a massive negative reaction.

There's also the matter of my job instability that's been making my life incredibly stressful and making it difficult to put too much thought and effort behind rp at the moment.

My current job sucks, I'm only like a week into the training stages and its putting massive drains on my mentals and my ability to be around in any capacity beyond just posting ooc posts. Like I've been upset at not getting much engagement but I don't think I've sent a single ask that wasn't a kind of jokey or short low investment thing in months.

I'm finally getting good news in that department though if you hadn't heard already so maybe this won't be a super long hiatus but I try not to make promises on that front lol.

Lastly (and you prolly knew this was coming) there's just the matter of Awoo. I can't stand her y'all, she pretended to be my friend for years, probably my longest one in fact and didn't even have the decency give me a reason before she blocked me and it's caused me to reflect on just how awful she's been to me in the last few years especially.

She's just like a bad person and ngl it bothers me that it feels like I'm mostly the only one that cares about how I was treated. And like I understand people might know her longer or not particularly know me well but that's just how I feel.

And maybe it makes me sound obsessed to be this mad over internet friendship but it's very hard to get over when she's so entrenched in my friend group. She can't even civilly exist in the same space as me she hates me so much and that's mad upsetting to think about. So idk, maybe I just need space from here in general and to focus on non lewd projects for a while until I can fully process that to move on from it.

In any case If I come back in like 2 weeks I'll see you soon lol, if I don't come back for a few months to a year I'll see you later, and if I never come back again and y'all don't follow me to Discord or my other projects then I'll miss each and every one of you.

[the-blossica-fan]

Crazy thought Evil! Or Opposite Lilya.

Or better yet. Completely Sober Lilya.

Overall her being evil would be a nightmare, one of the best Zeno pilots and we dont know if drinking slightly or at all impairs her abilities (tbh her passive should be alcohol tolerance)

Either take the evil scenario and shes the red baron or a flying devil raining hell everywhere.

Or a fun scenario in the suitcase where Lilya for some reason is completely sober and shes got a 180 personality shift everyone is confused about

SOBER LILYA?!

Guys we got an epic addition to our Evil Phenomenon gang but instead of being actually the Evil Phenomenon it's just sobering up a drunkard

Lilya is good at planning, especially when it comes to thinking ahead of someone. Despite being under countless bottles of vodka, she's still pretty smart and down-to-earth. Almost doesn't act like she's drunk at all!

Sober Lilya (or, as Laplace had added her during investigation: "Evil Phenomenon Lilya") is messy. She's not saying much, apparently sobering her makes her quiet.

She does know how to fly, she probably learned that when sober due to restrictions, so she doesn't change much in that aspect. Instead, she gets... Creative, to say the least.

Lilya epic pilot just terrorizing people by flying a little too low while saying nothing. Her lovely broom (I like calling it that) being used for evil purposes, pretty much the opposite of what she would do.

Non-talkative, not a single thought behind her eyes. She acts more drunk when sober, people have decided that alcoholic drinks are a must after this.

For everyone's mental safety, this is the "Evil Phenomenon", but those who know are aware this is just sober Lilya.

Also, she doesn't play pranks in groups. She chooses to do things very low-key and in public she follows every restriction. A rule-follower who keeps terrorizing people when no one is looking.

She's low-key creepy ngl. Imagine getting followed by a Zeno pilot but she says nothing. It's a "prank" but she's not laughing she's just following you dangerously close.

If she were to be ACTUALLY infected by the Evil Phenomenon...

Jail.

She broke a thousand rules without a care, didn't follow the rules or exploit them like usual she just destroyed everything.

She's in Jain and Vertin is giving away every single sharpodontry in her pocket to bail her out.

People hated the lack of money for a couple days, they rate this evil Lilya a 2/10. Lilya disagrees and says it was actually the more fun she's had, right after kidnapping Vertin in chapter 4. A 10/10 would not do again coming from Lilya herself!

[itsclydebitches]

Hey, first ask but I’ve been following you for a while now, got here from seeing your post on a RWBY Reddit(notsurewhichone.) cus I’ve enjoyed all your recaps and reviews.

And I just want to ask your thoughts about Semblances in RWBY. Specifically how no one in the show…like really reacts or thinks of the implication of what someone’s Semblance says about their personality. You’d think Huntsman would be more wary of partnering up with people whose Semblances are linked to emotions when they fight Grimm. Like that’s easy bullying there

so while cool, you’d think some people would feel off about working with others depending on their Semblances.

Realistically we all know the answer why, RWBY’s never been the best(when they tried) at World Building and not every teenager likes to read into everything(most do, I won’t lie.)

Welcome to the inbox, anon! :D

Semblances—and their lack of development—have been a frustration of mine for years, ngl. Honestly, I've got no problem with stories keeping their World Building loose for the sake of things like combat creativity. Just want your characters to have cool powers without unpacking precisely how that's possible and the larger impact it has on the rest of the world? Go for it! That's a perfectly acceptable way to craft a story (depending on the genre + focus) and it gives fans plenty to play with without feeling like they're missing an integral part of the canon. RWBY's problem has always been in introducing these complex aspects and then not doing anything with them.

We could have easily gotten a version of the story where semblances are just generic powers that people unlock with no overtly textual connection to the characters' personalities... but we didn't. Once RWBY introduced the concept of semblances reflecting one's soul, yeah, the viewer expects something to come of that. It's the same with introducing the concept of grimm being attracted to emotion (they could have always just been free-roaming monsters), with one family's semblance being hereditary (just give Winter a similar-but-not-identical semblance that helps her train Weiss), and some semblances being passive (that never needed to be a thing, period). Those ideas raise a ton of questions that the show never capitalizes on and, worse, the show flat-out ignores the questions it does begin to unpack. Why doesn't Weiss have any thoughts about her semblances given her complicated relationship with her family? Why isn't anyone else hesitant to fight beside Qrow given his bad luck? As you say, why aren't those with semblances powered by extreme emotion, like Yang, considered potential liabilities in a fight? Is using her semblance worth it if it just attracts more monsters to deal with? Why not position her as the tank-like member of the team precisely because her powers tend to draw agro? There are so many missed opportunities but, as said, what's worse for me are the moments where the story overtly acknowledges these possibilities and then goes on to drop and/or contradict them. Nothing demonstrates this better than Ironwood's semblance supposedly being an integral part of his fall... and it doesn't exist outside of Word of God. RWBY's not iffy about its World Building, it's endlessly distracted. I'd take a story that flat out ignores questions the viewer might think up—we know what the story wants to focus on and recognizes that we should just leave the rest to fanfic—over stories like RWBY that continually introduces cool ideas and then drops them for the newest, shiniest one.

Another potential snag? Weapons. It's Crescent Rose that we're first introduced to, not Ruby's speed ability. It's Crescent Rose that she spent time building at Signal, inspired by her Uncle Qrow, who in turn was inspired by Maria. It's Crescent Rose Ruby hugs while gushing over others' weapons, saying that they're the glimpse into who they really are. At the start of the series semblances are secondary to weaponry and honestly? I think that worked a lot better. As awesome as some semblance moments have been, for me RWBY's combat shines within the weapon choreography and it's images like the tiny child standing with this giant scythe that are truly iconic. If I were re-writing the series I'd do away with semblances entirely, leaving just aura as a temporary shield and putting the emphasis back on weapons: the versatile, historical tools that the characters have control over. After all, it ultimately tells us much more about them if we get to see what they choose to fight with, rather than simply being told what fantasy genetics handed down to them. The fact that Volume 9 was supposedly this journey of self-discovery and semblances played no part in that for the team highlights how insignificant their connection to the World Building really is, but I find it equally frustrating that the characters' weapons have become insignificant props. Ruby lost Crescent Rose and isn't reacting to that? Who cares. Jaune broke the sword handed down to him through generations of huntsmen and apparently never tried to fix it? Who cares. Weiss' rapier is now literally one of the few remaining pieces of Atlas left in the world? Who cares! The story no longer treats these weapons with respect, so I can't treat them seriously as a means of characterization. That goes double when RWBY pops in once every two-ish volumes to insist that yeah, semblances are totally meaningful to these characters too.

[loveanaox]

TxT Personality Off Camera

(If anyone has any request lemme knowww, cause I'm out of ideas🥲)

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Soobin

Cards pulled out: queen of wands, the empress, seven of cups and the fool

So even off camera he is helpful, he helps others, he's confident organizing a lot, a little hot tempered at times, but still quiet, not shy quiet more like confident and still quiet, he watches what to say and not to say. Ja and he does a lot off camera, accomplishing his stuff ect ect.

Ja very nurturing, creative, harmonious.

I think he has a lot of options and shit bit off camera even though he does a lot he procrastinates a lot and a little lazy, tbh I don't blame him, he takes on so many responsibilities he should give himself a break. He also is a little careless off camera, not in a bad way, but super sweet, calm and innocent energy, chill innocent energy

But overall he seems the same just a little more relaxed and chilling.

Love him.

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Yeonjun

Cards pulled out: ace of wands, seven of pentacles, eight of swords and the fool card

Okay so tbh I feel like off camera he still is spontaneous and has his creative spark and likes a challenge, but then he stops himself and really thinks about it and is like, "is this a good idea?" He doubts himself a lot, he feels trapped a lot too. I'm guessing mostly because he's an idol and if he's caught outside doing normal things he might get into trouble. But in general off camera his doubts and fears come to him, shame mann🥺. But off camera he still is careless like Soobin, cuteee.

Anyways yarrr

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Beomgyu

Cards pulled out: ace of swords reversed, four of pentacles, eight of cups reversed, seven of wands, two of swords reversed.

Okay damn beomgyu-

So uh, he gets into a lot of arguments off camera maybe with members, he gets frustrated a lot, he also gets his creative side blocked away, he has a lack of emotional maturity and he's very stingy, he holds onto people, things, money, ect ect.

He has a fear of commitment and a fear of moving on. I don't know why though, probably because of the past. Very ja hot headed but also detached at the same time and cold.

Very indecisive and lots of anxiety and fears that get to him. But he's holding onto it, he doesn't want to move away from it. But he still stands up for himself and his beliefs, very like controlling on a way.

Damn okay he has issues, but ay we have to have hope it will get better.

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Taehyun

Cards pulled out: nine of pentacles, knight of cups reversed, ace of cups and the devil.

Oh damn.

So Taehyun is still independent off camera and whatever whatever, but he's a heartbreaker-, I think he has a lot of one night stands off camera. I think he tricks people tbh, like "hey you're cute I wanna date", but onky gets in bed with them. That's sad lmao.

He has a lot of issues with addictions maybe obsession on something. Him and Beomgyu seem a little similar ngl. Anyways he gives me a little bit of sad, drunk, dad vibes. A little violent ngl. Abusive in idk what way but ja. Thats just sad. Really sad. Idk

Damn.

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Huening Kai

Cards pulled out:page of pentacles reversed, ten of cups reversed, knight of swords and four of cups.

Okay so his head isn't in the head place. He's a little foolish and rebellious in some type of way idk what way. He doesn't take advantage of good opportunities given to him. A little irresponsible. He's having a lot of family issues he's keeping a secret. He acts talkative and shit. Still rebellious and curious but not.

But he's not okay, he's depressed, but ja, that's sad. Idk probs cause of family issues and that he isn't looking at a situation in all types of ways and not his negative way. But ja shame man.

Aye his head really isn't in the right space and he's also trynna be a perfectionist

Damn these are depressing.

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Hope you all enjoyed reading those, I didn't 🥲😭. Anyways byeeeee

[skittikyu]

Welcome to "Mint never knows when or how to stfu about their creative process for lack of a better term so is putting it out into the void for posterity's sake + as an excuse to ramble more about ideas"

Below the cut is how I came up with the Pokémon I made the TADC cast into ! This also includes scrapped ideas I abandoned partway through fgewyuhs

Caine

I considered a lot of different things for Caine oh my godd I ex: Mawhile because that's the "mouth" Pokémon, Magnezone because it's an electric type with googly eyes that floats, etc.

Eventually I thought of a Rotom in the shape of an arcade cabinet resembling a mouth and went with that + Mismagius because it was the only Pokémon with a hat and something resembling a suit that was also floating - I just altered the shape to resemble a ringmaster instead of a witch.

Bubble

Bubble was both easy and hard because I knew he was gonna be a sphere-shaped Pokémon, I just had to narrow down which 1-2. Eventually I decided on Solosis for the similar translucent appearance and Drifloon because the little fluffy thing on its head + its arms I could make resemble his chef "outfit" with the hat and fork/knife. I went back and forth until the very last second on whether or not he should be an Electrode instead for the joke that he'd self destruct repeatedly, but I decided he deserved more complexity than the background NPCs so he kept his fusion rights.

Pomni

Honestly the only thing I got caught up on with Pomni was whether she was going to be a Mime Jr. or a Mr. Mime. Like her body looks more like a Mr Mime's and her hat looks more like a Mime Jr's? Eventually I settled on Mr Mime when I added Phantump into the equation (mainly for the expression ngl) because the downturned branches became her "hat" instead

Gangle

Gangle was the one I 100% knew what she was going to be since the beginning. Like Yamask is too perfect and paired with Sylveon as the ribbon Pokémon and she was good to go. She, Ragatha and Jax were definitely the most straightforward.

Zooble

Zooble started out as a Porygon-Z but then I thought "hey what if they had Porygon 1 and 2 parts as well" and so they became a Porygon amalgamation. Added Golett for the ghost type + something to resemble their chest piece.

Kinger (and Queenie)

Kinger was by far the one I spent the most time deciding on. I knew I wanted something in the Pawniard evolution family for the chess piece element but I couldn't make Kingambit work to save my life. My friend @blueberrysimsam finally convinced me to go with Bisharp because they had the most similar bodytypes so big thanks to him for preventing me from tearing my hair out.

For the "royal" part of the fusion, I thought of making him a Slowking for the goofiness + that shiny Slowbro is purple, but I also knew whatever I was gonna make him, I was going to make Queenie as well, and I liked the idea of them being a Pokémon that looks different depending on if it's M or F. After attempting and failing to make Nidoking/Nidoqueen work and deciding on them all being part ghost types I remembered Jellicent which I thought was perfect for the robes and still retained some of Kinger's silliness even if he didn't resemble his canon design as much as some of the others.

Ragatha

Okay so full disclosure, I was never going to make Ragatha a Banette. No shade at anyone who makes there own Pokémon AU with her as one, I get that it's the official "doll" Pokémon, but I just can't see it. Banette's whole thing is that it only exists as long as it's holding a grudge for being abandoned. Mimikyu just felt more fitting both in personality and aesthetically. Then Gothitelle is the Pokémon that looks like Ragatha the most, but I think it still works considering Psychic types are weak against Bug. It's also make's Ragatha's "but that's not something we need to worry about today!" line funny in the context that Gothitelles can see the heat death of the universe

Jax

Okay so Jax was gonna be part Gengar no matter what rabbit pokemon I fused him with. They make like the exact same face I had to fgeyuwsh. I went with Cinderace because Jax being a Fire type felt fitting and also because its outfit kinda resembles overalls already so I didn't have to change much about that or the body type. Really all I did was add gloves and get rid of the headpiece.

Kaufmo

I considered making him a Poplio but ended up making him a Mime Jr. so that he'd have somewhat of a connection with Pomni. Blacephalon was a bit of a cheat considering it's an Ultra Beast, but hey, I needed a ghost type and it was a taller clown themed Pokémon, so if the shoe fits. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ He's an abstracted MissingNo. now anyway. SPEAKING OF the second I remembered those it was over like it even kind of looks like him with the long neck and all

NPCs

Moon and Sun are a Lunatone and a Solrock for what I assume is an obvious reason. The gloinks are Unowns because both are simplistic shapes with minor variations. I'm thinking of making the Gloink Queen Giratina's origin form because giant worm. Might fuse it with a Mawhile for the double mouth since I didn't end up making Caine one anyway? Then the mannequins are probably just the Substitute Dolls.

[wabatle]

HOOOOOY! :D I'm so glad when I see people doing BLLK matchups lol. So I'd love to request one please. I will follow the steps in your post. ❀~ fandom: blue lock.

❀~ gender: he/him.

❀~ preference: male character.

❀~ personality: funny; laid back; curious; can appear mean but I just love to tease people and joking around; love to explore and eating; analytical; good general knowledge; independent; ambitious; need to understand things; don't like when things don't go the way I'd like; not very communicative outside and people may think I don't feel anything but that's not true; people told me I can have a lack of empathy; blunt and sometimes bossy; I don't like clingy people and those who speak endlessly; I love to dig an interesting subject in depht even if I miss some sleep hours; individualistic, creative.

❀~ hobbies: writing; traveling; going out with friends and eating out with them; cooking (meat-based courses and desserts like tiramisu or brownies); gardening for meditation; playing with my cat.

❀~ things that make you feel negative: the rain; public transport cancelled when I have something planned that depend on them; slow drivers; when I fail at something, being bored; people that don't consider my efforts or qualities; those who complain but don't help themselves or ignore the advices I give to them.

❀~ things that make you feel positive: the sun; spring and summer; laughing; long car journeys; the beach, the forest and the mountain; eating new things; meet new, funny or interesting people; doing thrilling projects and have an impact on things and people; when people need me or want me to be with them for an activity.

❀~ love languages: act of service (giving); physical contact (receiving). I usually am the one who people do things for but it's the reverse if I sincerely love the person. For physical contact it's pretty the same, I can touch others without a warning but hate being touched. However, I let people I feel comfortable with touch me.

❀~ anyone you don't want to be matched up with: characters who didn't reach the Neo Egoist League.

❀~ let me know if you would rather me post your ask with my answer or just tag you: you can post with my info. Thank you very much and congrats! I don't know you yet but I love to discover new blogs.

𓆩⚝𓆪 — @tigreblvnc's Blue Lock matchup~!

𓆩⚝𓆪 — A/N: Thank you so much!! Ngl I was a little stumped... But I think I got a good result! <3

𓆩⚝𓆪 — I think your Blue Lock soulmate is...

𓆩⚝𓆪 — Michael Kaiser!

Here me out, it's sort of just a gut feeling, it kinda just... came to me?

He would like to help you research things but if he notices it's getting really late he'll just be like "shut the fuck up and go to bed."

I feel like you're the "um akthually 🤓☝️" of couples 💀. Combined you two are so smart. You both have so much knowledge stored.

You have a shared need to understand things, so you'll look into things together.

Such a cheesy trope but he's the type of guy to offer you his umbrella because he knows you don't like the rain. Depending on the day he'll tease you about it.

I think you would go to the beach together, and for some reason it reminds me of Gojo and Riko at the beach. Idk why he just gives those vibes I guess.

You would have cats and dogs. I think he'd tell you he doesn't want a cat but then once you get one he gets attached.

He loves to eat your cooking. It's probably just the fact that you made it, bit either way, he'll eat it.

Kaiser would also like to travel with you. He likes to see you enjoying yourself.

He understands why you could feel unhappy when you fail at something. Though he might not be the best at comforting, he'll at least try to assure you that you're more than your failures.

I hope you liked it! I'm worried Kaiser is ooc (oops), and I won't lie, I was a little stumped at first. I'm sorry it took so long and I hope you enjoyed it!

[trickstarbrave]

fr w/ Emil but also he really is just copying Avellone and Kirkbride's homework (including their racist edgelord writing styles) but also simultaneously has *zero* idea what he's even doing for nearly everything which, combined with his utter dedication to having extreme binaries be the status quo, is why he keeps digging himself into so many holes (i.e: the whole "Nate was an active war criminal" thing, etc).

I don’t think Emil is trying to copy kirkbride’s work. It’s quite challenging to do so and there would be cracks in Emil’s writing to show it. The other person I’m not sure bc idk them

But I think Emil’s writing is in a way his own. It’s just very… Well. Emil falls into the trap of “write what you know” but doesn’t rly have a lot of understanding of the world and complex subjects, or he totally lacks an ability to communicate it. He has a surface level understanding of basically anything and everything it seems (at least based on his writing idk him personally).

Writing what you know isn’t terrible advice. He’s trying to use it the way it’s intended, which is that most of us haven’t gone on fantasy adventures or been assassins and thieves. But we look at our lives and find something we do understand intimately and adapt thar experience for the subject. Emil grew up Catholic and draws a lot from those experiences clearly… He just does nothing interesting with it because he can only communicate a surface level understanding of Catholicism. How Catholicism works as a tool of oppression, the complex power systems of it, it’s history, the complex symbolism, he doesn’t use any of it or really adapt it in a satisfying way. Either he doesn’t understand or again, can’t fucking write it.

The bigotry in his work is the same as Kirkbride’s but that is because they’re both middle class east coast cis white guys who haven’t rly unpacked the bigotry they grew up w and it shows. Kirkbride’s is honestly worse ngl if only bc he goes SO deep into racist, sexist, transphobic, and intersexist tropes. Emil just skirts along the top, invoking the tropes sometimes but again doing nothing with them.

Again I don’t know Emil personally. Perhaps he’s just a shit writer and actually has more depth and an ability to understand nuance in his personal life. But based on his public attitude, speeches, tweets, etc, I doubt it. As you said he comes across as someone who never knows what he’s doing and continues to reinforce the status quo. The fucking bland, boring religious story in starfield apparently made him have a crisis of faith and hearing that made me put my head in my hands bc howwwwww could such a dull and frankly nothingburger of a video game quest make you have a crisis of faith. How is this what does it for you. How has nothing else in the world shaken your belief?

Kirkbride is very bigoted but he has a lot of complex knowledge he draws on. He’s a religious studies major. He reads occult texts. He has knowledge of subjects and researches things. Emil feels like he’s lived in a bubble and has done absolutely nothing to understand experiences outside his own. Coupled with his inability to understand or internalize criticism we just get slop writing.

But I’ve said before and I feel the need to repeat: Emil is not the worst thing at Bethesda who is personally dragging it down. Other creative directors and higher ups have promoted him and let him continue to work there for a reason. He was just super loud and revealed and lot of this flawed logic and shit via interviews and presentations. Others at the company have actively throttled the writing and world building (one creative director wanted the companions in Skyrim to not even have a storyline and be all radiant quests. Yes for real. And also Skyrim worshipping the imperial pantheon was bc a higher up decided “actually the imperial pantheon is the objectively correct religion and all others on Tamriel are just flawed imitations of it”) so I think Emil is more a symptom of the problem

[ghostxaya]

Highly recommend Ballerina on Netflix which came out very recently. I mean, what can I say? I saw that there is a new korean film with a female lead and a revenge plot, so of course I had to watch it?!

Just one thing before I start to praise the film: In case you want to watch it, please be aware of trigger warnings, especially regarding violence and sexual violence. 

Okay, so:

I don’t know how this is even possible, but close to every single shot is absolutely beautiful and thought through and aesthetic. Sometimes, in combination with the music, it almost felt like a music video or the intro/outro of one (also sometimes it kinda felt like a car commercial ngl … but … but in a good way!). The use of the camera, how often they use angles to convey that something is not quite right or how often they use close ups of faces, expressions, hands etc., the lighting and coloring of literally everything, the sound design, be it the slashing of a knife or when someone crashes into a wall and you can almost feel it - it’s absolutely beautiful. It is visible that there was put a lot of creativity and love and fun into every scene and at times it manages to convey a lot without having the protagonist speak at all. 

Regarding the story I have to say that it is rather simple and personally, I would have loved for them to delve deeper into the relationship between Ok-ju and Min-hee, but at the same time I think that the performance of the lead actress made it possible to feel with Ok-ju very easily. Like her anger and sadness is shown very clearly and I kinda like how it doesn’t need much words for it. Especially her anger. It was peak female-led revenge plot movie, you know.

Oh and how could I forget the fighting scenes? Fast paced, dynamic, creative. Sometimes I just sat there with an open mouth, completely amazed and immersed in the scene, so yeah, they were pretty good too!

In total I would say while the story lacked a bit of depth, the film is still beautifully made and kinda feels like an exploration of female anger/rage? (I’m really trying not to give any spoilers here, because it’s good and you should watch it!). At the same time, the simplicity of the plot was actually good, because that way the film was able to kinda take its time? Anyway, very good film, go watch it!

[skyfallscotland]

Hello, welcome back to your running commentary of ToG, where I let you know my every thought as they occur.

Ok so I'm doing the tandem (mostly via audio) and I'm not sure if this is a great idea or a terrible one but I'm worried about getting through ToD if I don't, because of what everyone says...and NGL EoS is seeming more interesting so far, given, you know; Manon.

manooooon, ily 💗

dorian you fool

ugh i don't know who's more uninteresting—chaol or nesrin

the decidedly "vaguely asian" mishmash continent is slightly uncomfortable, like damn get original sis

MANON ILY 😍

still not sure why we care what lorcan did—the guy's so uninteresting right now i couldn't care less what he does

with a bit in his mouth- well OK, NOW we’re talking??? 😏🌶️…except we are not

i give less than zero fucks about nesryn riding a hippogriff tbh

“skull’s bay, it was perhaps the one place aelin would never go” ahahahahaha ok sure, how well do u know her again? 🌚

wi-…did they just say windhaven?? is this a Thing or a lack of creativity? because there’s also the ruhn mountains and what the???

Ok so I think I’m about halfway through ToD, because I kept cruising on, and I don’t know if I can do the tandem thing. It’s A Lot. I might just see if I can get through ToD which interests me the least (except for the final chapter which is apparently where the spoilers are?) and then I’ll switch back to EoS, where the actually interesting characters are Manon is 😇