#i might do another as more characters are introduced but this is the main cast!

[theladyheroine]

Characters for the New TMNT 🐢

❥ Hello everyone! So this will be similar to my previous Kingdom Hearts posts where I’ll try to predict a few things for the future! It’s just for fun but I hope you guys enjoy! 💚

⚠️ Also quick warning, there are spoilers for the Mutant Mayhem movie & the Tales of the TMNT on Paramount! ⚠️

Casey Jones - Okay, so I understand there was a scrapped concept art for Casey Jones from the Mutant Mayhem movie. But whether Casey ends up being a boy or a girl, I really wanna see their friendship again! They always have good chemistry together, & I can imagine them meeting if Raph tries out for the hockey team at school! Jones is like the best player on the team so Raph has some beef. 😅 Not intentionally but I can see a rivalry happening (lol).

Karai - This was more of a what if moment but since the Shredder will likely appear in the sequel movie, Karai would be like one of those characters that turns good in the end. Likely because she never wanted to serve in the Foot Clan in the first place. It would also be cool if she went to the same high school as the main cast, either before or at the end of the film.

Slash - This character was also what if moment, since Slash is usually a small villain. But I really like what the 2012 TMNT did, making him a hero during his arc! I feel if he did show up in MM universe, I can see him being a bit of an antihero at first? Or some kind of mutated crook before agreeing to help the turtles out.

Mona Lisa - Raph’s love interest I feel was pretty underrated until the 2012 version but their own spin on things! She’s one of my favorite characters & I’d love see her again! For this version, I would like to see a human design since we haven’t seen that before! But then she gets mutated later on, & perhaps that can but a new story in the future? With humans getting mutated too at some point.

The Rat King - So, I’m actually not so sure for this one? I know Splinter was the Rat King temporarily during the Tales of the TMNT show. But I did see a post, unfortunately I can’t remember where 😅🙏, but someone said that Bad Bernie might end up being mutated? I can see that, especially since he already looks like a rat or mouse. And he did come back after the East River 3 Arc.

Miyamoto Usagi - Okay this was a lot tougher than I thought. 😅 I understand Usagi is like from an alternate dimension usually? And for a funny spinoff series, that could still work? But maybe more on the science-style of things rather than the magic side? Like maybe TCRI makes a giant portal & the turtles get sucked into it. Landing in Usagi’s dimension by accident!

Venus de Milo - I have yet to see the 90s movies but I’m still a big fan of Venus de Milo! She is so cool & I feel she’s a good contrast to the boys. I’m not sure if she’d be related to them or not, but we can stick with the cousin thing for now. Anywho, for her backstory, I feel maybe she was another experiment from Baxter Stockman? Or maybe TCRI who wanted to recreate his project but she escapes! And meets the turtles!

Irma Langinstein - So I only know Irma from the 2012 version of TMNT, but if she were introduced into MM I feel there’s a lot of cool stuff she could do! Maybe she’s a human friend April makes or she’s some kind of ninja turtle fan girl (lol)! But so far I’ve seen people portray her as a super smart kid & becoming best friends with Donnie, which I like!

[mosquito-cove]

ok ask me abt my marigold ocs!!

your options include: mary's parents, campbell, mary and lucy-anne !

Odd OC ASKS

🍇: What sort of friend are they? Where are they in the group dynamic?

🍉: Does your OC have a particular piece of jewellery that they always wear or refuse to part with?

🍋: What is your OC's most painful memory?

🍍: Where does your OC feel most comfortable?

🍎: Do they share any features or traits with any family members?

🍑: What sort of traits does your OC look for in a Significant Other?

🍒: Has Your OC had their first kiss yet? If so, with who?

🍓: Does your OC have any particular scents they like? Or hate?

🍆: Does your OC have any favourite form of affection, physical or otherwise?

🌽: How does this OC feel about acts of affection? What's their favourite act of affection, physical or emotional?

🍰: What's something your OC counts as unforgivable?

🎂: Has your OC have any contradictory interests or traits to the first preception people have of the? How do they surprise people?

🍪: What is something that's sentimental to you OC?

🍩: What's a crime your OC is most likely to commit? What's a crime they're most likely to get arrested for?

🍫: Where does your OC go to think?

🍾: Does your OC believe in luck? If so, do they have any charm or ritual they do before a stressful event?

🍷: What's one of your OC's pet peeves concerning food?

🍹: Does your OC have any funny anecdotes told about them?

🍻: What's your OC's favourite comfort ritual? How do they calm themselves down after a rough day?

🥃: If your OC was in this universe, what would be their favourite show/book/band/social media platform?

🍕: How does an OC spend a lazy day?

🍔: Are there any recent trends you think your OC would hate? Or love?

🍟: What does your OC admit to be their guilty pleasure? What actually is their guilty pleasure?

[pianokantzart]

What are your hopes for the mario movie 2?

More of these two being on screen together for starters:

Their relationship was probably the best part of the first movie. Mario and Luigi really do work off each other so well, both as an effective team and an entertaining dynamic. If they carry that same energy throughout the sequel that would be fantastic.

On that note, Luigi needs to interact with the rest of the main cast. He got a quick one-sentence exchange with Peach and not a word in with anyone else, and I really want to see those friendships explored.

I'm also excited to see the world expanded upon. One area where The Super Mario Bros. Movie really excelled was the locations. They felt authentic to the games while at the same time allowing animators and designers wiggle room to exercise creativity, leading to really fresh and vibrant takes on nostalgic worlds.

And on top of new locations, there are so many characters I'd like to see introduced, but I'm also a little tentative about wanting too much too fast.

We know that we're going to get Yoshi in the sequel, and part of me wants to see The Koopalings too, though I have to admit that seven characters with their own individual personalities would be a lot juggle at once.

Another enemy that I want to see show up are the boos, partly because the sooner we get boos the sooner we might get a Luigi's Mansion Movie.

But at the same time I don't want the film to have a glut of new faces that barely get touched upon. What I really want is a slow drip-feed of characters that gradually expands upon the enormous world. But I won't deny there are so many good options with a whole lot of potential (so long as they're handled by passionate people who get the source material.)

I'm also hoping the sequel's a little longer than the first movie. Not by much, just by like... ten minutes or so, only to give things a bit more time to breathe.

[nerdy-prude]

‼️SPOILERS FOR HATCHETFIELD LORE AHEAD ‼️

Let me introduce you to what I like to call The Lords in Black theory

Notice how in NPMD during The Summoning each of our remaining main characters are told something by a lord in black.

Blinky says: 'We've been watching you, Gracie. Someones been a naughty girl'

Tinky says: 'Oh boy! A Spankoffski! I'm gonna have the whole set in my toy box!'

Nibbly says: 'Stephanie, yum yum!'

Now, as we already know, Hannah is kinda like 'The chosen one' of the Hatchetfield universe. She plays a major part in BF, from the very begining she hates Wiggly. Wiggly on the other hand, is kinda like the leader of his brothers.

In Yellowjacket Hannah is fighting Pokey but she can't defeat her until Lex, a powerfull, MAJOR CHARACTER and her own sister shows up.

It seems as if all of the brothers are somehow connected to one of these major characters. All of these characters are important parts of the story and have shown to be powerful in some way. With Lex and Hannah their power is more clear since they have the gift, but think about it, we don't really know that many people who have had the Black book, even less good people who have had it.

But there is one very much good character who has had and used the Black book. Miss Holloway, everyones favorite witch lady who in every universe fights Wilbur Cross, the guy who has been described as the ultimate bad.

Now some of you might be thinking: "Okay, well that doesn't yet prove anything. There should be bigger evidence if they were actually connected. Their stories should be tied together" Well, funny you should say that! Lets take a deeper dive, shall we?

Wiggly-Hannah

Both are the 'leaders'with the most power. Hannah and Wiggly says to her: "We just keep running into each other, don't we Hannah"

Pokey-Lex

In Yellowjackect it was made very clear that Otho was incredibly powerfull and no one could defeat him. Lex did just that. Also, I am not trying to say any of the brothers are more powerfull than others (well, maybe expect Wiggly) but the thing is, we know that there is a world where Pokey wins. We know his powers. We also know Lex' powers. It would make sense that out off all of them Lex would be connected to her.

Tinky-Peter

Tinky hates Ted with a burning passion, that is why he trapped him. It makes sense that he would be after his brother too. Also kinda unrelated and doesn't prove much but it would be funny that when Peter says: "I have been waiting for what feels like five ducking years and I still haven't gotten my hot chocolate" would have more meaning than just a funny bit. Almost as if he could feel that in another universe five years agohe ordered a hot chocolate and never got it. Like he could sense TIME and SPACE differently?

Nibbly-Stephanie

Whose dad has had the Black book? Oh right, Stephs! And what did mayor Solomon Lauter say abou the black book again? Wasn't it something like: " ...It comes with a price, a terrible price" and "No! I am not touching that book ever again"?

And who has a major part in organaizing the Honey Queen festival? That's right, the mayor! Who has shown multiple rimes they will do anything to keep getting elected? Who has shown to be interested in power? Who has shown to be 'Hungry'?

What if he cast a spell and Nibbly wanted her daughter as a sacrafice? What if he then gave something else. Something that made him bury the book. It might have worked for a while. But Stephanies fate was already sealed. Nibbly still wanted to have Steph tho, he tought she'd be yummy.

Blinky-Grace

Ahh, Grace, Grace, Grace...

I have to admit, she was more of a mystery to me but lets SEE what we can FIND. (Laughs in Jigglypuff)

Grace is the perfect Christian girl. She never does anything wrong! But then she just snaps? She very quickly comes up with a plan on how to hide a body. Then at the end she goes after 'the souls of the pervs'. But to everyone around her she still looks like an innocent young girl. Makes you wonder what else she has hidden. Makes you wonder about the other alternative universes. Maybe Blinky was referring to many different Grace Chasities. He ment the many different things Grace has done bc of her faith and hidden from anyone elses eyes. Only problem for her is that you can't hide anthing from Blinky.

[tobiasdrake]

About the Dragon Balls: is there anything lost in translation when it's said that they can't do anything beyond the power of the creator? Because taken as written, that...has some implications about Kami's abilities. I'm guessing if that is what it says in the original Japanese, it's meant in more of a general sense of power - the same way you could say a bunch of food has equivalent chemical energy to a bomb exploding. That's kind of the only way that statement makes sense in anything past Kami's introduction I think, but do you think it was originally intended as that, or was Toriyama's original concept that Kami could do anything the Dragon Balls do, e.g. resurrect people (or did Toriyama just not think that hard about it - also very possible!)

As a bonus mostly irrelevant side note, in trying to make that statement work, me and my friend came up with the idea that the Dragon Balls are ki-to-magic converters - so they are connected to Kami's level of power (in ki), but they convert it into the equivalent level of magical power.

So far as I know, there are a few interesting limitations on what the Dragon Balls are capable of so far as the wishes they can grant.

The "can't grant wishes beyond God's power" rule was established here, when Oolong wanted to use Shenron to kill Vegeta and Nappa.

This is an accurate translation of the original. While it's very hard to find the manga in original Japanese, the anime is another story - and I can confirm that this is what he's saying in Japanese in the anime. "That would be impossible. I was born from God; Therefore, I cannot do something that would exceed the power of God."

When Shenron says this, he's talking about Vegeta and Nappa's ki. Shenron's power is pegged to God's power, but Vegeta and Nappa have a stronger ki than he does. In fact, their ki is so great that even Kaio is dwarfed by them.

Elite Saiyans are so strong that even gods are humbled by their might. This grants them an ability that, up to this point, had never been discussed: They can resist wishes targeted at them.

This has never really come up before. First because God was only recently introduced to the cast and, prior to Piccolo, there were no characters on his level. And second, because targeting a hostile wish at someone has never happened before.

Not for lack of trying. The Muten-Roshi's plan in the Piccolo-Daimao arc was to get Shenron to kill Piccolo.

But that went about as badly as conceivably possible.

Yeah, this literally cannot have gone any worse. That is a hard fail in every possible way.

Could Shenron have ganked Piccolo before the wish to restore his youth was made? We'll never really know. It's entirely possible that the Muten-Roshi would have gotten the "beyond my power" speech then if he'd managed to succeed.

But he didn't, and so "What if Shenron just fucking killed this guy?" wouldn't get brought up until the arrival of the Saiyans.

Essentially, the main function that rule serves within the story is just that: To explain why Shenron cannot be used to just erase the new bad guy from the plot and be done with them. As the powers grow, they leave God and by extension Shenron far behind them, and so it becomes possible for characters to resist wishes targeted at them - as seen here.

Though a wish is made to return Goku to Earth, it cannot be granted because Goku resisted it. Goku's ki so far surpasses that of Muri it's not even funny, and so Porunga may only grant a wish targeting Goku if he has Goku's consent.

So far as the range of wishes that can be cast... it's not entirely clear what controls that. Dende upgraded the Dragon Balls when he arrived on Earth, increasing the number of permitted wishes to three.

Note: He means here "Two wishes if you use one of them for a multi-rez", not "We'll only get two wishes out of any usage if we want Shenron to be capable of multi-rez." Common misconception.

In upgrading the dragon, we see that some of Shenron's limitations are configured at the factory, so to speak. We have to decide what we want the new Shenron's abilities to be while we're forging him.

Though it does seem that these things can be reconfigured after the design is in place. At some point after leaving Earth, Muri reconfigured Porunga to allow multi-rez.

So Shenron is limited by God's power in terms of targeting wishes, and also by how his settings are configured.

There is a subtle implication that Dende's dragon can do three wishes because Dende has a stronger ki than the previous God's. There is, to my knowledge, no official statement one way or the other. But it is possible.

Saichoro described the Nameless Namekian as a prodigy of the Ryuzoku Namekians.

Saichoro legit doesn't believe anything short of a Super Saiyan could have bested the Nameless Namekian. Though he may be overselling NN's capabilities out of racial pride.

But in the same breath, he also notes that God is a greatly diminished shadow of what the Nameless Namekian would be capable of.

So the original Shenron was created by a Ryuzoku prodigy cut down to size.

By contrast, Dende is never described as a prodigy. Krillin confirms that his ki is itty-bitty as would be expected of a child his age.

Dende's not throwing hands with Super Saiyans any time soon.

...however.

Meager though Dende may be, he did have his dormant ki drawn out of him by Saichoro.

To give a sense of scope for what that means, keep in mind that Namekian warriors have a Battle Power reading of 3,000... but Nail is 42,000. This same process took Krillin from around 1,500 to 75,000. Having all of your dormant ki awakened is a skyrocketing effect.

So between the prodigy child of Katatz greatly diminished and the mundane Dende with a colossal buff, it is entirely possible that Dende's dragon can grant more wishes because his ki kicks his predecessor's ass.

But it could just as easily have been a personal choice by the former God.

He may have deliberately set Shenron's settings to 1 wish because he didn't want the Dragon Ball quest to be too rewarding. He didn't want earthlings to lean too heavily on miracles to solve their problems. He was pretty hands-off as a deity.

Lastly, with regard to what God himself is capable of and whether he can do the same things Shenron can.... God confirms that Shenron is capable of greater feats of reality warping than he himself is.

Wish Dragons are unique for their ability to unkill people. That is not a power that even gods possess. In fact, even climbing into the upper echelons of the divine hierarchy, the only comparable ability we've ever seen comes from the Kaioshin, highest of gods (pre-Super).

...and it can only be performed by trading a Kaioshin's life for one mortal's.

Gods cannot revive the dead. Only Shenron can.

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 괴물/Beyond Evil.

Beyond Evil is a 2021 Korean drama about two cops that solve a small-town murder that one of them might have committed. Also there's more than one murder to be solved. Also more than one of those murders happened twenty years ago. Also, the cop might have gotten away with at least one of those too.

It got sold to me on the strength of the main pairing, which is absolutely captivating and worth the price of admission. But the entire cast is amazing, the story is great, and it's all just so satisfying. I love everyone in this weird small Korean town. I love having emotions and various Korean foods with them.

I got five reasons why you should watch it! Read 'em!

1. Do You Want To See An Old Man Cry?

In fact, do you want to see every man cry? Do you want to see every man in the cast either cry or pretend to cry or be on the verge of tears at least once? Do you want to see the main characters, who are both men, cry multiple times, often while otherwise wet as well?

Well, buddy, Beyond Evil has got you covered.

2. Absolute Nightmare/Absolute Nightmare

I do not consider it a spoiler to tell you that Han Juwon (the younger one, on the right) is a very mentally unstable superboy. You already know everyone thinks Lee Dongsik (the older one, on the left) is psycho -- it's nearly the first thing you learn about him. But when you're introduced to Han Juwon, you're given the impression that maybe he's just cold, self-possessed, and competent.

No. He is an absolute freak. This is a freak4freak relationship. They are both completely unhinged. They have both been traumatized to nigh-unimaginable degrees, and they have each decided to make it the other's problem. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for both of them, they both get off on that real hard, and they get real mad sometimes about how hard they're getting off on it. It's delicious.

And yet what makes it great is how they're different flavors of freak. They've got the age difference (40 and 27). They've got the height difference (even though the actors are only like 1cm apart, the whole thing is somehow shot like there's a bigger gap). They've got the class difference (small town weirdo and cop royalty). One's a messy bitch, and one's a prissy prince. One has a whole network of people who affectionately endure him, and one has exactly 0.73 friends. One wants to take care of everyone else but not himself, and one has never looked out for anyone else a day in his life. One's a smug little shit, and one's ... also a smug little shit, but differently.

You have perhaps been given the impression that Beyond Evil is like Hannibal, and that Juwon/Dongsik is like Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter. It's not, and yet it scratches a similar itch, if that makes sense.

Don't let me give you the impression that this is textually gay. They do not smooch or anything, so don't be waiting for that. But holy cow, is it homoromantic -- and the leads know it is, and they roll around in it, and everyone else in the production supports their doing it. They have the kind of chemistry stars are jealous of. (It helps that the younger actor is a muffin who has a such crush on the older one.)

And that's even before the part where they get married live on national television. Is that a joke? You'll have to watch to find out.

3. Lee Changjin (and the other antagonists)

I'll talk in a second about excellent and despicable all the bad guys are. But I need a special moment for this motherfucker right here.

Lee Changjin is a wretched, scummy piece of shit who damn near walks away with every scene he's in. He's not the worst like a little meow meow -- he is the actual worst, and it's so good. He's sleazy. He's pathetic. He's hot as fuck. You meet his ex-wife, and you're like, no, honey, sure it was a bad decision, but I totally get it.

Clearly he has a special place in my heart, but all the bad guys in this series are done so damn well. Their realism makes them even scarier. They're not incomprehensible ghouls out there being bad just to be bad. They're (mostly) making calculated decisions based on keeping their own heads above water, and to hell with everyone else.

I'm not going to spoil the identity of the murderer for you -- but it kind of doesn't matter, because you find out who it is less than halfway through the show (and because there are multiple people in this show who've killed someone). There's something bigger and more awful at work here, perpetrated by people that you knew were bad news from the moment you met them.

Beyond Evil is a cop show that is not copaganda, because one of the biggest villains in the series is misuse of police power. The show stresses accountability for police misconduct -- to the point where that accountability hurts characters we want to see get away with stuff because, come on, their bad behavior was totally justified! But it wasn't! The ends do not justify the means here. The world is not better when powerful people use their power to get out of the consequences of their shitty, selfish actions, even when those shitty, selfish actions were objectively kind of cool.

Fair warning, a lot of this show is about complicated relationships with abusive, absent, deceased, and otherwise difficult parents. Those parents are not always (or even mostly) the bad guys -- but the bad guys are all shitty parents. And yet, their adult children are tied to them in complicated ways that do said children no favors. Some of the most heartbreaking pieces of the show are about how these kids break free from those parents -- or, more tragically, don't.

4. Just plain good television

This is a series that can be handled by Your Average American Television Enjoyer Who Can Handle Subtitles. Its quality is on par with a lot of well-thought-of English-language shows I've seen. It's a tight, well-plotted story that's clear enough to be easy to follow, which is sometimes a high bar for a multi-tendriled murder mystery. The small-town setting even gives it a good source of levity to break up the otherwise tight tension.

It's only sixteen episodes long, but there are enough reveals to make a rewatch more than worth your while. The first half in particular improves exponentially on the second viewing, because once you have all the information, events and decisions that you initially read one way, you can see meant something else entirely.

I was initially going to say that if this were in English, all those fans of things like the Wire and True Detective would be super-horny for it -- except that's not true, is it? No, shows like that (which I have seen, for the record) glorify cops who can't be held down by your damn system, so they have to say screw the rules to get things done, because they're too cool and manly for things like paperwork! While Beyond Evil acknowledges that there are some places where the Korean law system is janky and might let a guilty person go free, but that doesn't mean cops get to do whatever they want about it.

My declaration of the show's quality isn't just me judging by my own tastes. This show won the Korean equivalent of Emmys for Best Drama, Best Screenplay, and a well-deserved Best Actor for Shin Hakyun, who plays that incredibly handsome horrible old man. This is a show that actual people who hand out actual awards for good television thought deserved awards.

So I guess if you always wanted to get into those shows a certain kind of dude can't stop talking about, but you had reservations about how authoritarian/libertarian/misogynistic/homophobic/boring they are, Beyond Evil is here for you!

5. Written and directed by women

This one I think is important as hell, because this is a Dead Girl Show (i.e., a show where men kill multiple women as a major part of the plot), and I know a lot of people are justifiably wary about those. However, there are no hints of sexual assault. The violence is gendered, but it's not sexualized. The murders and postmortem mutiliations are handled with the appropriate horror, but it's not torture porn. And the dead girls are treated like -- and grieved like -- actual humans who matter.

I think a whole lot of this can be chalked up to the fact that both the writer and the director of Beyond Evil are women.

In fact, not only are they both women, they're women who don't do this kind of story all the time. Shim Nayeon has directed five things, four of which are comedy/slice-of-life series. Kim Sujin has written a few dramas about mystery-solving teams, but even more comedy and adaptations of webtoons. I have no idea how the two of them got put on this drama together, but it was a perfect match.

This is not to say that men would be incapable of pulling off a story like this. It is, however, a commentary on violence, and how different it looks if you've grown up seeing yourself everywhere as its object rather than its subject. Sure, you could just flip the script and make a story about a lady punchkicker! A lot of people have, and I've enjoyed many of them! But you could also choose to tell a story about gendered violence in a way that isn't just needlessly retraumatizing the people who have to live their entire lives under its shadow. Moreover, you could tell a story about how even good-guy cops can wind up unintentionally buying into paradigms where some women are valuable and some are disposible.

...And if it winds up being teensy bit of a fantasy story about a world in which so many cops give a shit about this violence, well, that's what fiction is for, right?

In short, you love a team of powerful ladies power-drunk on an Arnold Palmer of Respect Women Juice and Sad Man Tears.

Bonus: BANGER SOUNDTRACK

Oh, it's so, so good. (Spotify link)

Have I convinced you to watch it yet?

It's on Netflix, which may be easiest for most people! However, it's also on Viki, and I much prefer the subtitles over there, because a) they keep the flavor of the Korean terms of address, and b) they actually translate the damn episode titles (wtf Netflix?).

There's no bad way to watch it, though!

(ack, they're so cute~)

[arabella-s-arts]

I watched the newest 9-1-1 episode this morning. And I am really sad about it.

I honestly didn't see this coming. Tommy was just so different from a lot of Buck's previous love interests. And not just because he is a guy. But for lots of reasons. For one, he was a preexisting character that wasn't just introduced as Buck's love interest. When he was in a relationship with Buck, it was so healthy. He was always there when Buck needed him, and was so thoughtful. Tommy has seen Buck at his worst and didn't run away. He's so understanding, and he is also a firefighter, which means that he gets the job, which is helpful since that was a point of contention for Buck and a couple of his exes. And Buck was clearly so at ease with Tommy. Also, Tommy was already close, or became close with other members of the 118. He and Chim are already friends, and he became quick friends with Eddie, and got along with Christopher. He was just so intertwined with the main cast, it felt unnatural for that to be taken away.

It also just felt like they were setting a lot of things up to happen. I thought we were going to learn more about Tommy's dad. It also seemed like they were setting up for Tommy to become part of the main group: he expressed his jelousy about the 118 becoming a family and him not being in it, there was also that scene with the group chat and it felt like Tommy was later going to be added to it. So it sucks that that's never going to happen now. He wanted a family, and now we might never see him again. Also, what was the point of Tommy being the only one who calls Buck "Evan," it felt important, but now he's gone, so it doesn't feel like it mattered at all anymore. And Tommy mentioned how nice Buck's place is, so it felt like he was going to move in later (though, can't blame him for saying no, dude's got a car lift, and a muay thai practice area).

The whole episode, Tommy felt kind of off, compared to how he acted the episode before. Just slightly out of character at times. Like, I feel like the way he talked about Abby didn't seem entirely in character. And him getting Buck basketball tickets, even though Buck doesn't like basketball. Tommy was presented as a good listener, and Buck talks a lot, it would have come up at some point that Buck doesn't actually like basketball. And that breakup felt incredibly annoying to me. Because the reasoning was basically since Tommy is Buck's first boyfriend, he's unlikely to be his last. But it's not like Buck has never been in serious relationships before, and I understand being with a guy for the first time might be treated slightly different because it's new and exciting, but I don't think that makes the relationship any less valid. And comparing it with literally the episode before, it seemed to come so out of left field. I'd understand it if this was a plotline where Tommy was scared of getting his heart broken, but later realized that he cares too much about Buck to end things prematurely, and he shouldn't let his fear get in the way. But Lou was saying his goodbyes, so I doubt it's that.

Also, the whole breakup felt like it had this undercurrent of biphobia. But I need to rewatch the scene before I can break that down.

For what this scene means to Buck's bisexuality... not much actually. Besides the biphobic vibe I mentioned earlier, it doesn't change the fact that Buck is bi. I know a lot of people are upset about Oliver's comment. And I completely get why, since there's nothing wrong with sleeping around, but Buck's a character who's arc involved him no longer sleeping around, and now that he's bi, he might be doing that again. I totally understand why that is hurtful. For me, I don't really have a problem with his comment, just because I feel like Buck's not going to be looking for another serious relationship right now, since he just got out of one (and he wasn't the one who ended things). So I get him sleeping around. I don't think he needs to sleep around to "find himself" or whatever. I feel like I should mention that I'm not bisexual, I'm aroace, so my opinion on this isn't as important as actual bi people's. Also, I don't know what Oliver's exact comment was, I just heard second hand, so I might come back and edit this section after actually reading the exact phrasing.

Anyway, the whole thing just makes me really sad for Buck. But mainly sad for Tommy, who had grown to be such as interesting character, with a interesting backstory that we will never fully get to know. Sad for Tommy because he wanted a family, and it seemed like he was going to get one, just for it all to be taken away from him.

[lunaroserites]

Art and Ice - Doodle

Pairing: Eventual Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Characters: Natasha, Wanda, Pietro, Loki, Bucky, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, a lot of the avengers cast is mentioned.

Summery: MC asks Bucky to be her focus on her project.

This might a 2 or 3 parter (it's gonna be more because cannot help myself). College AU, our boy Bucky is on the hockey team, and reader is an art major (because I love that trope and couldn't help myself)

Warnings: Not beta'd! All mistakes are my own. Friends fluff, swearing, mentions of college students being college students. Bit of friendly harmless flirting between friends. Bucky is a playboy. Fighting.

Word Court: 2770

Likes, reblogs, comments are appreciated!

Please do not repost, translate or otherwise copy my work elsewhere, without my express permission, thank you! Lunaroserites on tumblr and ao3

Catch up here: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 ❤️

���You think I can just say fuck it and drop out?” The words tumbled out of your mouth quickly as you walked with Nat toward the arena. Practice was in the afternoon today because there was a game tonight. According to Nat our rival team would be here later to do some warm up before the game tonight. 

“Seriously?” She raised a manicured brow at you. 

“Maybe Pietro was right. I should be a drama major,” you whispered, mostly to yourself. You knew you were being over dramatic about the ordeal, but Barnes was an egotistical jerk and he was going to make this project hell. Was that a pessimistic take on it? Maybe. Were you wrong? Probably not. 

You pulled your school hoodie tighter, winter's grasp was holding on tight this year. The wind nipped at your nose and cheeks as you both made your way into the arena. Once inside the main doors heat blasted at you, you rubbed your arms with your hands and looked at Nat who was doing the same. 

“You are dramatic. But it’s gonna be fine,” her confidence almost made you believe her. Originally you were just going to wait and ask him outside the arena, in hopes maybe his cocky, surefire attitude would be on the back burner. But Nat said practice was amping up now as the season drew closer to playoffs and the team would be traveling a lot more. Nat led us to our seats next to the bench, another woman was sitting there already. 

“Peggy!” Nat said cheerfully, as she sat down next to her. 

“Natasha!” she said cheerfully back. “Who’s this?” She smiled at you. You waved and introduced yourself.

“Oh you’re the one doing the art project? Steve mentioned it,” she asked. 

You nodded, “news travels fast?” you laugh a little weirded out how she already knew. 

“Hockey players gossip worse than fishermen wives in the locker room...”

“And out of it,” Nat added with a laugh, Peggy chuckled as well.

 “And Barnes can’t shut up about the fact you drew him,” Peggy said with an eyeroll. Right, you thought. Peggy probably spent a decent time around him, since Steve and him were best friends, from your understanding it was rare to see one without the other. 

“I’m not surprised,” you chuckled, looking down at your sketchpad. The night before you stayed up and watched videos of Barnes’ best plays and a couple of his interviews. There were some very detailed pictures of his face there. You quickly turned to a black page so Nat wouldn’t see it and poke fun. When you found a muse, it was hard for you to focus on anything but it. You could feel the hole you were digging getting bigger and bigger. 

“Fuck,” you glared at Barnes as he slammed into the glass in front of you, startling you. He had his helmet lifted and he was giving you a bright and flirty smile. You raised an eyebrow at him and shook your head, uninterested in his antics. He slipped his helmet down and pushed back, skating backwards, he moved so fluidly, you couldn’t help but pay attention. 

“Oi! Barnes. Pay attention,” someone snapped, you looked towards the voice and stared for a moment. 

“Coach Fury,” Nat said to you, “the only person that can get Barnes to pay attention besides Steve,” she finished. You nodded before looking back at the players. Your eyes were drawn to a smaller player, he wore a 12 on his back, Stark. He had been in one of your business classes you took in your second semester. He was an interesting guy, cocky and arrogant, he also came from money. His father was the owner of Stark Industries. He was speeding up and down the ice with ease. 

“12, he's fast,” you murmured to Nat, who nodded.

“He broke a record last year, his size makes it easier for him to zoom around,” Nat answered as she looked down at my paper, “Barnes really has your eye doesn’t he, this is like the Hela thing all over again,” she chuckled.  

“Yeah,” you blushed deeply and looked back down at your paper. You really wished one of the other teammates caught your attention, if Clint did this would be much simpler. But of of course the school hot shot had to be one to catch your eye.

“Hey,” Nat lifted your chin and made you look at her. “It’s fine, muses come and go. That’s how art is,” she smiled, that was one thing you loved about Nat, she never questioned or made fun of your muses or how ridiculous an idea you had was when it came to your art. She would poke fun, and make silly jokes, but nothing harmful. Just good natured fun. Her support was unwavering and true. 

Nat was a dancer, she was studying dance and dance theory. That’s how you two met, you accidently stumbled into one of the dance studios after hours instead of the art room. She was there practicing, and made small talk with you. You ended up just sitting on the dance room floor and working on your project talking with her as she practiced. 

“You know what’s funny, I didn’t think about dance for this project,” you chuckled after you relaxed a little. Nat’s face broke into a wide smile. 

“It would be the same as Pietro and the track team, but at least we look cute in our dance attire,” she mused lightly. You laughed loudly at her comment. 

“You really hate those track uniforms,” you shook your head as you chuckled some more. Clint zipped passed a moment later and Nat‘s eye followed him like a magnet. “Goodness, you’re so in love, it’s sickening,” you mused, she pushed your shoulder playfully. 

“How long have you two known one another?” Peggy asked. 

“Since first semester,” you answered her with a smile. 

“You guys are such good friends, I would have expected childhood bestfriends,” Peggy said, as she smiled at Steve who skated by. 

“We just clicked,” you shrugged, returning to your sketchpad. 

Practice drew to a close a little while later and you followed behind Nat and Peggy as they made their way back toward the locker room. There were a few girls, including Pepper Potts, Starks on again/off again girlfriend. Every other week Nat would be talking about it. The girl Bucky had on his arm last time was missing from the group of girls waiting for the players to leave the locker room. First out was Clint, and he made a beeline for Nat, instantly pulling her into a hug and pressing his nose into her neck, she squealed a little as his cold nose made contact with her skin.

Peggy excused herself to go wait by the door for Steve who emerged with Barnes a moment later. She whispered something in Steve’s ear and pointed over at you with a smile. Steve nodded and waved with a small smile of his own. Barnes followed his gaze and instantly he perked up when he noticed you. He swaggered toward you, past the gaggle of girls waiting to try and get his attention, you noticed a couple of them glare in your direction. You stood with your arms crossed over your chest, sketch book tucked against your side. You looked up at him as he came up to you making a complete stop a foot in front of you. He really didn’t care about personal space, you took one step back so you didn't have to crane your neck as much to look him in the face.

“And what do I owe the pleasure today Doodle,” you cocked an eyebrow at the nickname, and squinted slightly. The nickname didn’t make you scrunch your nose or want to gag so it wasn’t the worst. You sighed heavily and danced on the balls of your feet for a moment. He just stared, watching you intently, a dumb cocky smirk plastered on his face. 

“Would you let me draw you for my art project?” You asked, you wished the weight bearing down on your shoulders lifted but it didn’t. You dreaded the thought of spending more time with this menace of a man. His lip twitched further upward and showed some of his perfect white teeth. 

“Ah Doodle, I thought you'd never ask,” he ruffled your hair with one of his big hands. You groaned and moved your head from him and tried to fix your hair. 

“Don’t touch me, please,” you said sternly. “I just need permission to draw you and use your likeness.” 

“Ah don’t be like that,” he moved forward and you stepped backwards and to the right, dodging him. He huffed in annoyance and you stared at him with your arms crossed again and slight scowl. “Will you be at the game tonight?” He asked, finally standing upright, his own arms crossed across his broad chest. 

“Seats are sold out besides the reserved seats for team partners,” you stated, “so no not tonight.”  

“There's always a seat reserved for my girl, you can have that one,” he stated matter of factly. 

“I’m not your girl,” you said back firmly. “This whole thing is for my art project,” you moved your hand jestering to both of you, “it ends once my project is done.” 

You couldn’t quite place the look on his face after you said that, but you could pick up the small look of challenge in his eyes. It seemed he was making this game, like he was contemplating how long it would be before you would cave and give him what he wanted. Another notch in his bed post. From what you could tell based on his body language alone he was not used to being rejected. Women usually flaunted over him and fell in his lap, all he had to do was choose who he wanted at that moment. Your determination to not be one of those girls was considered a challenge to him, met head on with stubborn determination to break you down and get what he wanted in the end. That made your stomach twist at the thought, he only wanted to do this to sleep with you, have some fun and then dump you off on Loki’s lap heart broken. 

You shook your head, lost in your own thoughts. Barnes was still looking at you, a contemplative look on his face. He had his chin in his hand as he rubbed it, “this will be fun, see you tonight Doodle.” You glared at him as he walked away, twirling his keys around his finger. 

“Jerk,” you said softly to yourself before you made your way over to Nat and Clint. 

“Well that went better than I expected,” Nat said quietly as the three of you left the rink until you had to be back later. 

A sleek black car was parked at the curb, you waved goodbye to Nat and Clint as you ran over to the car and slid into the passenger seat, you rolled the window down and shouted “goodbye! See you later,” Nat waved and they continued walking. 

“Hey Loki!” You said cheerfully. 

“Hello darling, I take it asking Barnes went well?” He asked as he put the car in drive and pulled out from the curb. 

“It went alright. The cocky bastard,” you clipped your belt in place and turned your head to look at Loki fully. “He’s already flirting with me,” you shook your head in annoyance. 

“At least he has good taste darling,” Loki said sweetly as we sped down the freeway into town to have an early dinner.

“Have fun darling,” Loki shouted out the open window of the car as he dropped you off at the arena. You turned back and gave him an unamused smile and flipped him off. 

“Yeah, fuck you,” you said with a slight laugh and turned away, waving, “love you dork,” you said over your shoulder. Nat was waiting just inside the arena for you and led you to your seats. 

“So one of the perks of dating hockey players? Free seats?” You mused sitting down next to her, the arena was still pretty empty as the game didn’t start for 45 minutes. 

“One of them,” she chuckled. Warm ups started and Clint stopped for a moment in front of us and lifted his helmet.

“Hey girls,” he said with a smile before darting off to warm up. 

“Looks like Barnes just noticed us,” Nat said as he skated over. 

“He had me clocked from the parking lot,” you grumbled. Nat laughed loudly and placed her hand on your shoulder wiping a tear from her eye. 

“You’re not wrong,” she said between giggles. Barnes skated forward and came to stop sending glittering flecks of shaved ice toward the glass. 

“Nat, Doodle, how's my new favourite girl?” He asked with a cocky smile. You rolled your eyes, and placed your cheek on your hand as you looked at him with a deadpan expression, Nat smirked next to you. You watched as Barnes ran his tongue over his teeth, he then winked and skated off to join warm ups. 

“Do the woman he dates actually like that attitude?” You mused absently as you doodled on the open page of your sketchbook. Nat shrugged.

“Honestly, they’re probably more interested in his looks, and don’t care about anything else. That or the potential paycheck he’ll be earning if they can tie him down long enough,” She said softly. Your gut twisted uncomfortably at that, and you grimaced. Sure the guy was an arrogant prick, but he deserved better than that. Nat noticed your facial expression and nodded. “It’s not really fair, there's moments when he’s more than the arrogant show off, he’s pretty sweet. I think he’s just gotten used to hiding it; he doesn't bother being anything else.” 

“Be what they expect of you and no one will question it,” you hummed. You mindless doodles turned into a simple sketch of his face. You admired the sharpness of his jaw, his mouth set in a soft line that was slightly upturned.  

The game started, and you were too focused on watching Barnes skate to really watch the game. Not that you really understood the sport enough to really understand what was happening in front of you. First intermission passed and they were half through the second period when a black punk landed on your sketch pad. It startled you and your head shot up and you meant Barnes eyes. Nat was giggling next to you as you picked the offending puck up and handed it to the kid sitting behind you, who happened to be wearing a Barnes jersey. The kids day was made and Barnes’ narrowed his eyes at you. You smirked back in return and went back to drawing. 

The crowd erupted in loud chants as Barnes scored with less than a second left in the third period, winning the game for your college. You watched as Barnes skated around celebrating his goal only for the captain of the other team to get up in his face. You tensed up as you watched the guy push Barnes shoulders and then grab his protective gear getting in his face. 

So the rest of the team came to investigate and there was an all out brawl on the ice right in front of you. You stood up and looked down. Barnes was on top of the captain, his fist raised and he was breathing heavily. 

“Bucky,” his name left your lips before you could stop it and he had to have heard you because his face tilted in your direction for a fraction of a second and the captain took that as an opportunity to flip Barnes over and bring a hard fist down on the bridge of his nose. You shrieked as blood gushed out of Barnes’ nose. Nat was standing next to you as you both watched in horror. 

You turned your head and saw your college coach hopping the bench and helping refs break it up. Steve hauled the other team's captain off his best friend and shoved him into the arms of other teammates who pulled him further away. Steve helped Barnes up and took his face in his hands, Barnes just gave him a dopey smile. His gaze turned to you for a moment and he smiled a bigger smile.  You looked at him with wide eyes and your mouth agape, horrified. 

The captain of the other team didn’t look like he fared much better. He was bloody and his eye was swelling shut with each passing second. Coach Fury looked pissed, and was stalking over to the other teams coach for a few words, a ref following close behind.

Taglist: @vicmc624, @calwitch, @learisa, @aaqua-tofana

Feel free you send me a message if you have a request or would like more, or would like to be added to the tag list <3

[glitcheslikeslego]

Show Me Your Moves! (Chapter 15)

AO3 STORY

Chapter 15 : Agility

Agility increases the user's speed by two stages.

When Sandy offered you to take his old motorbike to drive around in the Great Wall Race, you were on the fence about it.

On one hand, he wants you to advertise the restaurant. On the other hand, he wants you to start being more social in public.

But ‘A’ you don’t know how to drive a motorbike.

And ‘B’ you don’t want to add yourself into canon any more than you already have.

You realised that, in your skirmish with the Spider Queen, you drew more attention to yourself than you had hoped for, and the universe was slowly adding you to the main cast instead of sticking you as a support/background character like you wanted.

So you told Sandy you'd think about it.

Screw you universe, why do you do this to me?

You cursed in your head as you watched the rest of the racers line up to race alongside you.

Mei was obviously there, looking incredibly peeved that MK was participating. Red Son popped up behind them, and Jin and Yin showed up before eventually taking over the commentators box and introducing PIF and DBK before announcing the track switch.

You’re really about to do this.

You took a deep breath, getting onto the bike just like Sandy taught you to.

So long as you don’t participate in the key fight, you’re fine…

Jin and Yin did the countdown with as much fanfare as they could before sounding the horn to begin the race. 

Red Son and Mei were the fastest to react, zooming off with incredible speed. 

However, DBK and PIF were fast to react and managed to get a starting boost to surpass the two, yelling something after Red Son as they passed him. 

MK did the same, yelling in a mocking tone as he raced just behind the villainous couple. 

You were, obviously, I’m dead last. 

While the motorbike was fast, you still weren’t a full fledged professional like Mei or even Red Son, so you went at your own pace. 

You couldn't see anyone ahead of you, meaning that they were already way more farther ahead than you. 

You didn’t mind, you were content at just going at your own pace. 

It was pretty nice, being dead last. Jin and Yin mainly focused on the racers ahead of you. 

At this point, DBK and PIF were driving through a mountain after she had teasingly provoked him a bit, and you had yet to hear of Mei’s bike being destroyed yet. 

Deciding to take a bit of a risk, you tried to speed up. Sandy had told you to not go too out of your comfort zone, out of fear you might get hurt, but the back of your mind screamed at you to catch up. 

They’re too far ahead. You’ll be too late. 

You shook the weird thoughts from your head and sped up. 

Speed up!

You felt a rush of adrenaline in your veins, and your breath hitched a bit as you unconsciously sped up the motorbike. 

Go, go, go!!!

You slammed your foot down and the bike took off with incredible speed. You could hear your heartbeat in your ears, and the only thing that you could focus on was the street ahead of you, with everything else blurring from the tunnel vision. 

You heard a distant crash, and maniacal laugh, then you passed a blur of green and gold. 

Mei and MK. 

You remembered what happened mid-way through. And you vaguely recall how they end up winning the race. 

Win. 

Narrowing your eyes, your vision blurred as you took deep breaths. 

You heard something explode and rebuild itself, then another something bursting out from something. 

Win. 

At that point, you had lost all comprehension of the things around you, everything was blurry, you couldn’t hear anything more than muffled cheering, and you were moving fast. 

W I N!

You were snapped out of it when the queen of the bike caught into something, launching you over the steering handles and onto the floor, making you face plant. 

You groaned, holding your head as you sat up. 

“And that’s the end! Random tea person wins!”

It too a second, but as soon as those words reached your brain, your heart stopped. 

You didn’t… did you really? 

In a blur, you were placed onto the 1st place pedestal and handed the trophy, still shell shocked and panting like you ran the race instead of driving. 

Like in canon, MK tries to eat the trophy, and Mei laughs at him and Red Son over believing that the trophy was actually a peach of immortality.

“You were awesome! When did you get so good at racing?” Mei asked, getting you into a side hug, which snapped you out of your stupor. 

“Uhh, beginner's luck?” You responded sheepishly, and Mei laughed. 

“We need to celebrate your first win, maybe Pigsy will make some noodles! Leggo!” MK, ever the ball of energy, takes you by the wrist and runs off to take you to Pigsy’s, with Mei following behind, laughing all the while. 

And as this was happening, there was only one thing in your head. 

A plea. 

Please don’t let this break canon…

~~~

<PREV ~ NEXT>

[alost-traveler]

I was kinda thinking about the future of Tommy. We can be sure that the character will come back for S8. Tommy was supposed to be there for only 4 episodes and that he already has been there for more.

As for now, Tommy has been seen in 7x03, 7x04, 7x05, 7x6 and 7x9 and he also was in the Finale.

For one, Lou and Oliver did an interview together and we can assume it's not the only one. You don't ask your actor to do a 5 minute interview in which they barely talk about the show (also I think that the host made the interview awkward and both Lou and Oliver were picking a bad vibe.) Also, this interview was done late this season. Tommy came back in 7x03 and kissed Buck in 7x04. Yes, both Lou and Oliver did interviews but none of them were together and it wasn't on set. As for now, the Access Hollywood interview was the second interview that Oliver did on set, the first one being the Zach show. The rest were by zoom or other facecams ways. As for Lou, it's the only interview that was recorded. Everytime he did an interview, it was for an article and we never had the audio.

Also, Lou does cameo, and if you have a problem with the price I don't think it's his fault I think he put them at the lowest he can but the site up the prices because of the demands. Simple economy lesson, the more there will be demands the less the offer will meet the demands and so in order to change that the price changes. More on the cameo part, Lou has changed the way he does cameo. When he used to talk about Tommy, he would talk freely about him, his cameo would be pretty straightforward and he even made a backstory for Tommy, which I love because as someone who likes to do some deep dives on a character's psyche, the backstory explains a ton. But recently, his demeanor changed. He did a cameo in which he was more vague and kept looking to the sides as if there was something or someone reminding him to "behave".

Another thing, Lou was added in a video the cast did for Instagram. A video that had everyone, minus Peter and Angela, might be exempt from social media because Angela is less active than the rest and Peter is non-existent (Thank you Kenny for giving us proof that Peter is still alive with your Tiktok or Instagram posts). Also, Tim had posted a BTS that was just a frame of Tommy and that could mean something.

But I also want to talk about something, the contract. When Tommy came back, Lou said that he was only there for 4 episodes. And that might be right, at the time. Upon seeing the reaction about Tommy and maybe seeing how well the producers seem to like Lou, his contract for S7 has been extended for two more episodes, including the finale. It doesn't make sense for someone like Lou who keeps talking about how good he feels on the 9-1-1 set to not ask to extend his contract.

But then what would happen in S8? I don't think Lou would or should get promoted to the main cast, regular at least. It doesn't come from some kind of hate for Tommy or Lou, I really like them both, but more in a storytelling point.

The show is a workplace drama meaning that the job is not only important but also kind of its own character. 9-1-1 also focuses on three jobs instead of one as other shows, like The Rookie, Station 19, Grey's Anatomy for instance, tend to do. On 9-1-1 we mostly focus on the 118, LAFD but also on the 911 operator and the LAPD. The show is mostly focused on the 118. Having Tommy as main would shake things up, it would add another station to focus on or have drastically more calls that will need air support but we would also need to introduce other characters from Harbor and I think the show would be too stacked. The only way to properly focus on Harbor would be to maybe have a spin-off focus on them with either Tommy as main character or as regular. Having Tommy a main on his show would cut down on his timescreen on 9-1-1 and thus impact the Buck/Tommy relationship; we saw that happen with Carina/Maya on Station 19/Grey's for instance.

Also if you're one of these people that think that the cast hates Lou. Oliver has only said nice things about him in interviews, Tracie has told that Lou was lovely when she went on live on the 9-1-1 Instagram page and Kenneth has been good friends with Lou since he was in S2. And if you think that Oliver hates Lou because he doesn't follow him on Instagram that would mean that Oliver also hates Tracie and Anirudh because he doesn't follow either of them. On Instagram, Oliver follows only the main cast of 9-1-1 and he seems to use his Instagram as more of a professional account. His posts are mostly show related, contrary to his stories in which he shares mostly his dogs.

Now as the main cast the easier way for them to add a character in the main cast would have them to either work at the 118, the LAPD, or the Dispatch center. It would be less likely to have someone work for the LAPD, the focus is more on Athena and she said multiple times that she hates working with someone. The Dispatch center could work better and we could up certain characters, like Linda or Josh, as main. That would work better. They are already existing characters that the public loves. We need more of them. The last case would have someone from the 118. They could either introduce someone new or push Ravi to main. Which would seem less likely. Anirudh seems to be the busiest actor in the show. I think he also got cast in another show and is also doing other shows outside of 9-1-1. He also seems to keep time to travel outside of work. You go King. Ravi as main would be possible, but it would also shake a lot from Anirudh's busy schedule.

Now, another character that fans have been begging for as main character is Karen. That would be trickier. If we follow my logic, you are free to disagree but be nice! Karen is neither from LAPD, Dispatch or the 118. She's Hen's wife and a rocket scientist. But that doesn't mean we wouldn't see more of her. 9-1-1 always showed us the characters' life outside of work. But since Hen is the only one from the main cast who has no one from her family as main, we saw less from her which is criminal. Maddie is with Chimney and both are main. Same for Bobby and Athena. Eddie and Chris are also part of the main cast, and Gavin seemed to have been pushed a little bit more upfront since he was part of the group promo for the season. As for Buck, for a while he had Taylor who had kinda her own thing and Tommy who also has his own thing.

Buck and Hen are in the same case, they both have their love interests that are not part of the main cast. Buck only Abby back in S1 but it mostly feels like Buck was the love interest since he was nowhere as important as he is now, same for Chimney.

But one thing that we saw in S7 is that Karen can be more important. She was there for when Hen came home after being demoted. Also the Mara storyline felt like it was more of a Karen and Hen than a Hen and Karen storyline and I would love to see more of Karen in S8. Honestly, I feel like she was in more episodes this season than she was in any others.

So now that I shared my thoughts you can share yours. Be nice or you will be blocked. There is too much unnecessary hate in the fandom for any characters and actors. I'm not going to tolerate people's shits.

[the-eternal-child]

So I was just singing Spy x Family's praises to my friend (as you do), and it occurred to me that the characters' backstories may be revealed in the order they were introduced: Twilight>Anya>Yor.

We know that each member of the main cast has had painful childhood experiences (honestly, I wouldn't even know how to rank who had it worse because each is its own brand of hell), it could make perfect sense to introduce the backstories sequentially or it could be introduced as leading themes into current plotlines. Who knows?

Chapter 90.5 has us all waiting with baited breath to see if we're getting Anya's backstory or not and I think if we are getting another look into someone's past, Anya's makes the most sense. Though Endo could be a complete tease and not give us anything for another 10 chapters 😭.

Twilight's backstory provided some great context into his past and what led to his current emotional struggles, setting the context for why he holds fast to his goal of 'creating a peaceful world' while fighting his losing battle of loving his new little family (especially the mole arc hoooboy!).

We already have in story context for Project Apple, we know it's existence, that there was human and animal experimentation (Anya and Bond) and that the subjects were being used for political goals somehow. We had the lead up of little bread crumbs along the way like she might have 'escaped the lab', her random knowledge of classical language, etc. Now would be a good time to start working toward weaving that story more fully into the main plot line (Random aside but has anyone ever noticed Desmond has 2 scars on the side of his head like Frankenstein's screws?).

I think Yor's backstory is still quite a ways off. There's still too much we don't know about Garden, I think, for them to introduce her backstory and how she met them. They're shady af, we don't know what their motives are, who they work for, nothing!

I mean, was anyone else worried when Yor mentioned Loid took a liking to Desmond and Shopkeeper was like 'oh really?'. That was so sinister, and it was never mentioned again! Makes me feel like a setup to him digging into Loid Forger or something.

Bringing in Garden's orgins seems like material leading up to identity reveals between Yor and Twilight, and the story just isn't there yet. So Anya it is and I'm so ready but I'm so NOT!

Anyhow, thank you for listening to me ramble about this series that has taken over my life! Have a good day! BYYYYYEEEEEEE!

[rainesol]

TWST Main Cast Pride Headcanons!!!

Compiling all of my personal twst gender/sexuality headcanons into one post 💪

Disclaimer: I won’t bother with a DNI, however I won’t indulge any discourse or homo/trans/aphobia on this post. You will be blocked and promptly clowned on in the group chat. o7

Heartslabyul

Riddle Rosehearts:

Riddle is an interesting character to me. I don’t think he’s the type to put a label onto his sexuality, but I headcanon bi with a female preference. Gender identity wise, I think within the current storyline he is satisfied with he/him pronouns. Best way to put it into words is that I think he’s nonbinary and uses he/him, but doesn’t have a label for that either. After finding out the custom, he always introduces himself and gives his pronouns.

I choose to interpret his line about enjoying the way his heels click as gender euphoria that just went unrecognised. At the time that I’m writing this, the Lost In The Book event isn’t out on en, but through this translation, you can see that any problems he had with the outfit came from the amount of skin shown rather than the actual presentation. I wholeheartedly believe that if he had been magical-girled into a sundress he’d have been totally cool with it.

As an extra note, I’ve seen a couple of transfem Riddle headcanons that I love. I’d love to see more fics with that concept in the fandom. Or I could do it myself lol.

Ace Trappola:

We know that Ace has canonically had a girlfriend in the past, and found her boring. Not nice. He also says that he decided that dating was a pain and he prefers just hanging out with his friends. I get it. I’m aroace and I’ve confessed that I’m biased and projecting 😔 But like. Come on. I’m choosing to interpret him as aromantic/arospec. Let me cling on to the representation that I made up in my head. I don’t have any specific gender headcanons on this guy. I just view him as cis. He/him.

Deuce Spade:

Deuce is another guy I don’t have much for </3 I usually view him as a gay man in my head? He/him pronouns, cisgender. I think he’s surprisingly more open to gender non-conformity than people expect of him, though. (For instance, the ballet lessons.)

Cater Diamond:

It’s canon in the jp server that Cater has interest in dating both men and women. I’m with everyone else in viewing him as canon bisexual. I headcanon him as having a male preference, but sometimes that changes.

It’s obvious what I’ll say about his gender, but for sure under the nonbinary umbrella. We all saw the guitar strap. Maybe demiboy? He/they. Cater is very online, and considering that the nonbinary flag is ten years old, he or his elder sisters might remember its creation.

Anyways, here’s the nonbinary flag colour picked from his club groovy, and the bisexual flag picked from his Halloween groovy! :D

Trey Clover:

Trey is typically a cis dude in my head. (He/him) He's the supportive older brother type, so I imagine that he keeps the Heartslabyul public bathrooms stocked on pads. I don't know how helpful he would be with advice, but he'll hear you out or refer you to the guidance councillor if that's what you want o7 I don't think the NRC guidance councillors are much help though. Maybe just speak to your homeroom teacher.

I hc that Trey likes men and women with no preference, but just isn't very vocal about it. It'll come up in casual conversation, but I don't think he'd see the point in telling someone unless it was relevant. You'd be having a casual convo with him in the common room, and he might make a reference to a guy he had a crush on in secondary school. Cue SnapCube 'Woah, he's bisexual, I didn't know that!'

Savanaclaw

Leona Kingscholar:

I've seen so many 'token cishet' Leona headcanons that I cant help but to absorb it a little. I do have another headcanon that he experiences some same-sex attraction, but he's got such high standards that he rarely notices any attraction at all. He/him. Maybe poly cause lions?

Jack Howl:

MLM demisexual/romantic truther. (He/him or he/they) I don't have many headcanons for the Savanaclaw trio <//3 if you see/make any please feel free to tag me!! I love reading I love information I love headcanons‼️

Ruggie Bucchi:

Either transmasc or the personification of the 'I'm probably nonbinary but I have a job so idrc about that rn'. I usually picture him with He/him or he/they. Perhaps a rare they/them if you so desire.

Pansexual, his only preference is hard workers on their grind 💪 Between you both you could create an empire of part-time jobs. I've also seen one or two poly headcanons with him that I enjoy. Dividing the bills between the whole polycule lads come on. We're eating good this week.

Octavinelle

Azul Ashengrotto:

I cannot lie, I don't have anything on this guy. There's nothing to be said yk. Like, he's just there in my head and there's not much else I can add. I tend to agree with the MLM headcanons. I also picture him as demisexual/romantic sometimes. Not always. He's the best in the school at remembering pronouns. He updates his secret file on you right away.

Gender wise, I always just enjoy whatever the fanartist/fic writer shows me. I default to he/him. Ursula was based on a drag queen! I think that there should be post-canon/book 3 Azul drag personas. Now I'm picturing a drag design. She/her/he/him for that.

Floyd Leech:

Asexual and panromantic. I think Floyd uses any pronouns, depending on his mood. I headcanon genderfluid, but he typically keeps near the masc end of the spectrum. Not always. The basketball club made colour-coordinated bracelets so that they can easily tell whenever Floyd's preferences have changed. Blue for he/him, pink for she/her, yellow for they/them. Open for combinations of those three, and no bracelets for when he has no preference :D

Jade Leech:

Asexual and gay. I headcanon that he always introduces himself with he/him pronouns, but at the same time I picture him being cool with any pronouns. In classic Jade fashion, he will be generally unnerving about your choice. Like 'Oh? Is that your choice? ...Fascinating :)'

Scarabia

Kalim Al-Asim:

I don't have many headcanons on him specifically, but he'll totally pay for your HRT. Like Trey, he and Jamil keep Scarabia stocked with menstrual products. Kalim has a LOT of siblings, so he's seen a lot of different kinds of people :D He's got a ton of older brother advice. I see him with he/him pronouns, and MLM.

Kalim is a very supportive friend. Always excited to learn new things about his you. Also, those parades he throws? I bet he's (Jamil's) organised an NRC pride event. If I had the skills and patience, I'd draw that idea. If anybody does, tag me o7 I wanna see.

Jamil Viper:

Jamil is a very well prepared man. As I mentioned above, he's the one that puts Kalim's plans into action. He keeps Scarabia stocked on everything, he's technically still an older brother, but I don't see him as having that dynamic with anyone other than his sister. He's still a supportive friend, though :D

I headcanon Jamil as bi, usually with he/him pronouns.

I once had a transfem au Jamil idea way back when I was 17, but I haven't given it much thought since. Maybe I'll bring the au back someday?

Pomefiore

Vil Schoenheit:

Vil has A LOT of headcanons, theories and interpretations in the fandom. Vil is canonically a very gender nonconforming character, using typically gender neutral pronouns, being comfortable in his gender identity and presentation, and is very open to wider interpretations of gender outside of what is stereotypically considered 'masculine' or 'feminine'.

Surprisingly, I've got no proper headcanons on a set gender identity for him. There's already so much canon info within the series, that I just haven't given it much thought. I think he defaults to he/him pronouns, but is perfectly comfortable with anything. Keeps Pomefiore stocked and educated, and he's very well taught in makeup that can make you appear feminine OR masculine.

Similarly, I don't really have any label-specific headcanons for his sexuality. I normally interpret him as MLM. Vil is one of the characters that I'm always interested to see discussions about. His views on gender identity are pretty refreshing to see in modern media.

Epel Felmier:

Epel my friend! Another character that I like reading interpretations of. Again, I always give him he/him pronouns. He also had a lot of canon information on his views of gender norms. His character arc is honestly one of my favourites.

I typically picture that he’s attracted to multiple genders. I’ve seen a lot of interpretations where he mistakes his attraction for jealousy. A lot of “do I want to date him or be him?”

Another au/headcanon I’ve seen a lot of is transmasc Epel. I know a lot of transmasc people see themselves in him. That’s awesome.

Rook Hunt:

This guy! I see him as pansexual but also on the aromantic spectrum. Hear me out. In his suitor suit he has one (1) singular line about not being ready for marriage yet. Like obviously, he’s eighteen, but it just made the projecting side of my brain whir. I now see him as the type to like the idea of romance, just not for himself. Doesn’t mean that I don’t like seeing art/ships that go against this, but that is a hc I hold dear now.

He/him pronouns, but this guy loves to discuss peoples gender identity and interpretations of gender. Sit down with him and a cup of tea, and he’ll listen and talk for hours about how you both feel. Be warned that he may take notes. Mirror pronouns Rook? Oh wait. I like that. Mirror. Like Snow White.

Ignihyde

Idia Shroud:

I typically see Idia as aroace with either little or no attraction. I like the headcanon that he doesn’t date at all, but I’ve also seen enough Silver x Idia to have another set of headcanons. I like both :D I’ve never seen him as not aroace though.

I do kind of wish I had his Suitor Suit sometimes. Every other line is something I’ve definitely said before. Like, the only time he shows any interest in dating is through video games and manga with characters that aren’t him. That’s so me irl you guys don’t understand. I would die happy if twst had canon aro/ace rep.

I think Idia’s the type to only use different pronouns online. Maybe with Ortho, too. He/they online and with close family. Everyone else knows him as he/him. I said that Cater might remember the nonbinary flag’s creation. Idia does. He was on twst tumblr to witness the creation of many flags.

Here's the aroace flag picked from the Suitor Suit card! :D Very pretty.

Ortho Shroud:

Ortho is downright fascinating to pick apart. Pre book 6, I doubt Idia programmed a sexuality into him. Like it would even be possible. Then post book 6, after he gains a soul/sentience, I think he and Idia would have had a talk about him now having the choice to one day explore his gender identity and orientation (if he so desires). I think Ortho wouldn’t have any interest in dating, though.

Confessional time. Before wiring this I had the random thought of “In second year Ortho downloads she/they.zip and gets a new body made”. I never meant to pay much kind to it but now I can’t let it go. Like I’ve been accidentally referring to Ortho as she in front of friends. I have a future design in mind. I have additional headcanons about this design. It’s completely taken over. If I ever post that redesign is beyond me but it’s there in my head and it won’t leave. Fem!Ortho future au. Idk if anyone would hear me out there.

Diasomnia

Malleus Draconia:

Another character I enjoy multiple interpretations of. One interpretation I have of him is cupiosexual/romantic. The other is demisexual/panromantic. Either way, the concept of a qpr would make him so excited that it doesn’t rain for days on Sage’s Island. The grass withered.

Malleus is old. Not mentally, but chronologically. He’s seen language change a couple of times, and he grew up with people even older than him. He was born in the mid 1800s equivalent. Thon is one letter off of thorn. See where I’m headed? The use of thon/thons was first recorded in the 1850’s. Gender neutrality is not a new concept to him.

If you asked for his pronouns, I feel like he wouldn’t immediately understand. Like, he calls himself I. Me. Sometimes if he’s with someone we. Did you want all of those too? Oh, just the ones you call him./j

Anyways twisted wokeland au where Malleus allows Yuu to make up a name and set of pronouns for him because he refused to introduce himself/j

Silver:

Another guy I never considered. Mayybe also on the aroace spectrum? I think he’d be happy in a qpr. I think he’s not the type to question it. He just goes with whatever he feels. I’ve not got much lol.

Sebek Zigvolt:

Demisexual/romantic and he/him pronouns. Again, I’ve not thought much on him. I think it takes him a long, long journey of self-discovery though.

Lilia Vanrouge:

Again, Lilia was born a LONG time ago. He was born in the early to mid 1300s equivalent. He’s seen so much change since then, and he’s been through a lot of character arcs. I think I’m justified in headcanoning him as an unlabelled king. If he likes a girl, awesome. He likes a guy? Cool. I think it’s common to hear him refer to himself in a dead language. Baby girl, he has heard pronouns you could not comprehend.

If you ask his gender or sexuality, you’ll get some vague dad gestures, and a ‘you know what I mean’ nod. You don’t. You won’t.

Book 7 spoilers, but I hope that they keep the mlm implications in for the en translations. They’ll probably pull a Cater and write out the canon bi implications though. Heartbroken.

⋆｡𖦹°‧★

Thank you for reading to the end of my ramblings o7 If anyone else makes pride themed posts please feel free to tag me!! I would love to see them!

I really like the subtle ways these things are portrayed in the story. Especially within the world building. We know that is generally societally acceptable for men to wear makeup and dresses in TWST, and there’s canon development of language changing over time in a gender neutral way! (Witches and wizards -> mages. Suck on that, Rowling.)

⋆｡𖦹°‧★

————————————————————————

@tixdixl @cyanide-latte @the-trinket-witch @thehollowwriter @elenauaurs

@emiensr

[mbrainspaz]

Came across your Harry Potter alternative for adults. Do you you have any recommendations for kids?

The Bartimaeus sequence would be ok for older kids. There isn't much with the same potential for fandom. A lot of YA series are shorter and less well developed because publishers just wanted to blast them onto the market and get some of that sweet JKR money. That's why you get so many crappy cash grabs that devolve into brain melting nonsense after 2-3 books like the Michael Vey series, Gone, Maze Runner, and Lorien Legacies.

Here are some short series that aren't much like Harry Potter but that I liked as a kid around the same time I liked Harry Potter:

Percy Jackson (obviously. If any YA series could take on Harry Potter in terms of scope and fandom it's probably this one. Kid with ADHD discovers he's actually a demi-god and has to go on adventures and battle monsters. The series racks up a hugely diverse cast over time.)

Airborn (alternate history with airships and lots of steampunk adventuring, made me more interested in engineering and zoology, and the series has a satisfying ending.) Airman (just a single book sadly, which I liked even after I'd outgrown the Artemis Fowl books and gotten annoyed by them. Young kids might prefer Artemis Fowl.)

LionBoy (All I remember is t's about a kid who has asthma and can talk to lions, but I liked it a lot in middle school.)

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (similar vibes to Airborn but it's set in an alternate history of WW1, the books also have some truly awesome illustrations)

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima (high fantasy so it's no Harry Potter, but the main character is an urchin who becomes a wizard, so...) Her urban fantasy series The Warrior Heir is also good but pretty much revolves around human trafficking and an ancient blood feud.

Pendragon (eh... this one is borderline cash grab while still being fun. It's a good series overall but the conclusion is a little eh. Local high school boy discovers he can travel to alternate realities and is destined to fight a very evil villain who I always thought was cooler than Voldemort)

Inkheart (a personal fave I first read at 12 and still like to re-read at 30. Magic system is a little whack but the story does a great job of presenting truly evil villains through a lens of childhood.) Funke also has the new ongoing series, Mirrorworld, about a guy who travels through mirrors into a fairytale world, but that one's a little more mature.

The Knife of Never Letting Go (sci-fi, kind of like a cooler Avatar. Don't watch the movie. Very creatively written book with serious themes of imperialism, fascism, and misogyny—but in a way that kids can enjoy.)

Ranger's Apprentice (another kind of eh one in retrospect. Good for younger kids. Has some great characters but does devolve into a bit of a cash grab in later books. Harshest criticism is that the characters drink an unreasonable amount of coffee.)

I'll end on

City of Masks by Mary Hoffman (this one is a hidden gem. Urban fantasy but it's weirdly obsessed with Italian City-States. Long-ish series with a diverse cast and great recurring characters. It favors political intrigue over the magic system. Book 1 has themes of struggling with terminal illness and loss, but each book in the series introduces a new main character with a new personal struggle to overcome.)

[commsroom]

Hello. It occurred to me recently that Hera is the only character of the main cast who is not named for an engineer/physicist/mathematician. Do u think this has any significance regarding her role on the team and her character, or not really?

(Also, the wiki says she's probably named for the Greek goddess Hera which has interesting connotations if it's true. There was also a NASA probe called Hera at some point I'm pretty sure, but I don't know which is the more likely namesake. I just enjoy the names in W359 because I am a physics student and it's fun to hear character names in all my classes.)

hi! i think the answer is kind of... yes and no? like, gabriel urbina has said his process of naming characters is first to choose a category to pick surnames from, to narrow down the options (so, in this case, famous scientists), and then to find given names that he thinks sound good with those surnames. so i don't think symbolism is the purpose, and i don't think it needs to be. but hera, obviously... doesn't have a last name. and so the way she was named (both in and out of universe) is different, and i think that does represent something.

first: hera is the mother program of the hephaestus. the hera of greek mythology is the mother of hephaestus and cast him out of the sky. the allusions are obviously intentional. (as are other mythology names in the show, but that's another topic.) second: a lot of real world things relating to space are named for mythology, and clearly cutter agrees that's how it should be done. but also: goddard's AIs share the same naming scheme with their spacecrafts. hera, rhea, eris, enlil, perseus, hyperion vs. hephaestus, hermes, tiamat, urania, valkyrie, sol. in one sense, this marks them as company property, people who are treated as equivalent to technology.

but, third: from a writing perspective, gabriel urbina has also said he only started getting a sense of who hera was when he started writing for michaela swee in the second episode; there's such a difference in how she's written just between those first two scripts. you can even see in the first recording script that her name was stylized HERA, as if it stood for something, like a much more standard AI character might have been named. which goes so far against what her name actually ended up representing that it retroactively becomes an in-universe microaggression.

and so, fourth: despite all of that, the real thing that makes hera's name stand apart is that it's a chosen name. it's offered to her, but not the way a name is given - it's a bribe, with the understanding it can be taken away from her. rachel says she can see what else is available if hera "has a problem with the etymology or any of the allusions," which is kind of interesting. but hera chooses to be hera. i don't think it's a stretch to say she has a deadname and a chosen name: that she has to introduce herself every time in a way that amounts to "i prefer to be called hera" and that her name is treated as optional and conditional, a reward for good behavior. if hera wanted to take a middle or last name, she would be choosing those, too.

i think ultimately names in wolf 359 are less about categorization and/or symbolism and more about identity. names are symbols that represent and contain the people who claim them. how people are referred to, when, and by whom - as well as how people refer to themselves by name as an act of self-determination, a reclamation of identity, or in defiance - is all central to the themes of the show. and, from that perspective, i think how hera is named (and what her name means to her, how she has had to construct and fight for parts of her identity that others are given as a default assumption) is significant, but i don't think it really sets her apart from the others when their names are treated in similar ways thematically.

[theamityelf]

I am once again thinking about Shuichi flirting with Makoto via talking about book characters

(YES.) (Follow-up to this post.)

"Yeah, he's my favorite character," Shuichi is saying.

They're sitting on nice, sunlit benches out on the school grounds. His hat is askew; he always turns it to the side, when he's reading, so the shadow cast by the bill of the cap doesn't block light from hitting the page.

It makes it easier to see his face, when he wears his hat like that. To see the shades of blue in his hair and the gold of his eyes. (Silver, in some light, but right now gold. When asked, Shuichi just says they're gray.) He's blushing a little; Makoto supposes that talking a lot makes him shy. He doesn't seem to be as shy with his classmates. In fact, Makoto has overheard him arguing with some of them, or correcting others, plenty of times. But talking to one's own class is different than talking to upperclassmen. Makoto himself isn't really all that intimidating at all, which is probably why Shuichi's been talking to him more. He's glad. Makoto always looks forward to hearing what Shuichi thinks about the book they've been reading.

The fact that one of the book's most boring characters is apparently his favorite is just another example of Shuichi having a fascinating take on things. "Really? What do you like about him?"

Shuichi glances up at Makoto, from the page, and his blush deepens. His gaze drops again. Shy. But he answers, with a smile, "I really love that he's always helping the other characters and listening to them talk about their problems, and...I know the author mostly uses his character to contrast with how interesting all the other characters are, but I think if the story focused on him more, we'd find out he's really interesting, too."

"Wow. That's a cool way to think about it. Even if he's not working for a top secret spy network like the others, he might be just as interesting if we could see the story from his perspective."

"Or even just spent enough time with him. As a character, I mean. If the main characters talked about him more, instead of just bouncing their problems off him or asking him for favors or hiding behind him when things go wrong..."

Makoto watches Shuichi get into the discussion, intrigued by the passion he's directing toward the open book in his lap. The last time he saw that trace of indignation interrupt Shuichi's shy disposition was when he heard about Kyoko inviting Makoto to a crime scene to introduce him to a few people he later found out were murder suspects. (Apparently, she wanted to see how they acted toward Makoto, since he was within the demographic of people the murderers most liked to kill.) Or the time he found out about Mondo inviting Makoto to a "bros night out" that turned out to just be a night out for Mondo and his gang while Makoto stayed behind at Mondo's house and answered the door when the cops came knocking and then Mondo snuck in through the back window and the cops asked if Mondo had been home all night and- Well, Shuichi just has a somewhat rigid moral compass. Makoto counts himself lucky he's never found fault with anything Makoto's done, so far.

"You really like that character," he observes, amazed.

Shuichi's intense look relaxes into a sheepish smile. "Yeah, I...I do."

"It would be a different kind of story, if it were about him," Makoto muses. "Do you wish we were reading a different book?"

"No, I like the story a lot. I just...The story is better because he's in it, and I feel like the characters and even the writer don't know that."

"I'm sure the writer does. How could they make a character that you like so much and not know it?"

"Sometimes...people don't notice that kind of thing."

Makoto turns that thought over for a second. "So, what would it look like if the writer did know how great the character was?"

Shuichi meets his eyes. "Someone might say something, maybe?"

"One of the characters? I guess that makes sense."

For a second, Shuichi presses his lips together, seeming to decide whether or not to say what he's thinking. Then he opines, "I think he and the investigator should spend more time together. I mean, the investigator is different around him than he is with any other character. He's softer, like maybe he feels differently about him than he feels about his partners or...his classmates...at the spy academy..."

Makoto has to smile at the timid but determined way Shuichi approaches his point. "So, you ship them? That's shipping, right? Hifumi taught me that word."

"Y-Yeah, I...I ship them."

"They could be good together. I mean, they've only talked to each other twice in the book, but they were good conversations. The investigator was willing to tell him about his dead wife; that's not something he told anyone else."

"Exactly! And...I think they could...take care of each other."

"Have you ever thought about writing fanfiction?"

"Huh?" Shuichi looks slightly startled by the question, like he's been woken from a dream.

"Fanfiction. Hifumi writes it, and I think you might enjoy it if you tried. You clearly have a lot of thoughts about the characters and...Hey, you don't have to be embarrassed! Did I say something wrong?"

Shuichi is hiding his blushing face behind the book, almost knocking his cap off his head. "No," he says into the spine. "I just, uh, didn't mean to get so into it."

"But it's cool to be so passionate about things. That's one of my favorite things about you."

Shuichi lowers the book just enough to peek at Makoto's face, then hastily hides behind it again and stands up. "Okay, I think I've got to go. I just remembered I owe Kokichi ten thousand yen." He runs off.

"Bye," Makoto calls after him, half-fond and half-confused. Why do so many of their book discussions end with Shuichi running off like that?

[a34trgv2]

Why It Worked: The Bad Guys

SPOILER WARNING: This post contains majors spoilers for The Bad Guys. If You haven't seen this film, you might want to before reading further. You've been warned.

Introduction: The Bad Guys is an animated action, comedy, heist film based on the children's book series by Adam Blabey. Directed by Pierre Perifel, the film stars Sam Rockwell, Marc Marron, Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson, Zazi Beets, Alex Borstein, Richard Ayode, and Lilly Singh as Mr. Wolf, Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Shark, Diane Foxington, Police Chief Misty Luggins, Prof. Marmalade, and Tiffany Fluffit. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was released on April 22, 2022. Critics were very receptive to it as 88% of 172 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes gave an average rating of 6.9/10. The film was also a massive success, even by pre-pandemic standards, as it made $250 million on a budget of $69-80 million. When I first saw the trailer, I thought it looked super dope and upon watching it on Blu-ray I was absolutely blown away. This film excelled at all the aspects of it's filmmaking and I'm more than happy to talk about it on Why It Worked.

The Plot: Set in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals coexist, a group of convicted felons plot to pose as good samaritans to pull off the biggest heist of all time. Things start to go awry when Wolf, the leader of the group, starts to find that being good actually feels really good. This puts his friendship with the guys, particularly Snake, to the test and uncovers a conspiracy that puts all of LA in great danger. Right out of the gate, this film hooks you with an amazing opening chase sequence that brilliantly introduces the characters, the world they inhabit, and the main conflict at hand. In addition to witty dialogue and hilarious jokes, the opening showcases what the tone of the film is and why we sympathize with these characters. The best part? The film keeps the momentum of the first 7 minutes going for the rest of the picture! This film has exquisite pacing with each scene showcasing wonderful use of show, dont tell, clever jokes, and excellent camaraderie between the characters. The greatest highlight of the film's story is its happy marriage of 2D and 3D animation, clearly taking a page from Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The film brings these characters to life with remarkable cel-shading, unique body types based on their personalities, and very expressive facial features. LA also looks gorgeous with vibrant warm colors in the daytime, contrasting with soothing cool colors at night. The city also feels lived in with an abundance of people populating the backgrounds and the city feeling like a huge playground for the Bad Guys. The biggest highlights of the animation are the action scenes, which best showcase the speed, veracity, and vibrant colors the film offers. This film's story was already funny and unique, but the filmmakers went above and beyond in making this a masterclass of visual storytelling.

Cast and Characters: This has got to be among DreamWorks' best casted films! Everybody brings their A game to their roles, and they all have such great chemistry with one another. Our leading pickpocket and chief, Wolf, is such a swave, charismatic and funny leader who at first enjoys the life of crime he's chosen, but grows so fond of doing good he starts to drift from his original beliefs and becomes a really complex character. Major props to Sam Rockwell for delivering such an authentic and funny performance. His best friend, Snake, is a crusty, deadpan python who relishes his crime life more than Wolf, and they become at odds as the film progresses, and Wolf gradually becomes a different person. Marc Marron gave a very nuanced performance, making him sound crusty but also funny and fleshed out. Shark is a big, lovable master of disguise who adds extra comedy to the film thanks in large part to Craig Robinson's performance. Tarantula is the sassy, tech-savvy arachnid that serves as the group's hacker and is played brilliantly by Awkwafina. Piranha is a psychotic fish that acts first and thinks never and has some really good singing chops thanks to Anthony Ramos. Governor Diane Foxington is a sly, sassy, and clever public official who makes for a great foil for Wolf and is played wonderfully by Zazie Beets. Family Guy alum, Alex Borstein, absolutely kills it as Police Chief Misty Luggins, making her sound boisterous and manic in her pursuit of the Bad Guys. Lilly Singh did a really good job as Tiffany Fluffit, making her sound like an eccentric and bubbly news reporter. Then there's the film's surprise villain, Professor Marmalade. I honestly never saw the twist coming because, at first, he seemed like a genuinely good person who believes the Bad Guys can change, and everyone deserves a second chance. Once his true colors are revealed, that's when it all clicked. All this time, Marmalade was using the Bad Guys as a ruse to keep everyone's eyes off him so he could take the meteorite and harness its power to pull the biggest heist the world has ever known: using mind controlled guinea pigs to steal $1 billion dollars that was going to charity! Wow, now THAT'S evil! Richard Ayode provided such a brilliant performance, perfectly playing the kind, optimistic, good-hearted Marmalade while also devouring the scenery when his true colors are revealed. This is such a wonderful cast of characters, and everyone deserves a round of applause for their voice work.

Where It Falters: 👏I👏want👏more! No seriously, this film is a 10/10 and the only gripe I have is I want more. The film is 100 minutes long and it very much feels like this is the beginning of DreamWorks' next big franchise. So I definitely expect a sequel to be made at some point. Yes, I know there's a holiday prequel on Netflix, but I saw the trailer for it and it looked like a very pale imitation of this film. Might as well just watch The Bad Guys again, which I did.

Conclusion: The Bad Guys is now among my all time favorite DreamWorks Animation movies, right next to Kung Fu Panda 2 and The Prince Of Egypt! With a fast paced and hilarious story, well developed characters, excellent vocal performances, amazing animation, and a killer sound track, this film didn't meet my expectations: it EXCEEDED them! I can't recommend this film enough, especially if you're a fan of heist movies. This film should also be studied for aspiring storytellers on how to brilliantly showcase visual storytelling and how to write clever and witty dialogue. Thank you all so much for reading and I'll see you soon 😉