#i think my main problem with them is perfectly encapsulated

[cy-cyborg]

The Untrustworthy Fake: Disability Tropes

[ID: A screenshot of Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as he limps towards a crowd using a cane. In the picture, he has a brown top hat in his hand, and he's wearing a suit with a purple jacket, multicoloured bow tie and cream coloured pants. Beside him is text that reads: "Disability Tropes, The untrustworthy Fake" /End ID]

Tell me if this sounds familiar: A new character is introduced into a story with some kind of disability - usually visible but not always. Maybe they're a seemingly harmless person in a wheelchair, maybe they're a one-legged beggar on the street, or maybe they're an elderly person with a cane and a slow, heavy limp. But at some point, it's revealed it's all a ruse! The old man with a cane "falls" forward and does a flawless summersault before energetically springing back up to his feet, the wheelchair user gets to their feet as soon as they think the other character's backs are turned, the one legged beggar's crutch is knocked out of his hand, only to have his other leg pop out of his loose-fitting tunic to catch him.

All of these are real examples. Maya and The Three introduces one of it's main protagonists, Ricco, by having him pretend to be missing a leg in order to con people (something that works on the protagonist, at least at first), Buffy The Vampire Slayer had the character Spike, pretend to be in a wheelchair, until the other characters leave and he gets up, revealing it's all a ruse and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory introduces Wonka by having him slowly limp out into the courtyard of the factory, only for his cane to get stuck, causing him to "fall" and jump back up, revealing that he's actually perfectly fine. Virtually every single major crime show in the past few decades has used this trope too, from CSI to The Mentalist, Castle, Law and Order and Monk all having at least one episode featuring it in some way. Even the kids media I grew up with isn't free from it; The Suite Life of Zack & Cody sees Zach faking being dyslexic after meeting someone who actually has the condition in the episode Smarter and Smarter and the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Krabs vs Plankton has Plankton fake needing a wheelchair (among other injuries) after falling in the Krusty Krab as a ploy to sue Mr Krabs and trick the court into giving him the Kraby Patty Formula.

No matter the genre or target audience though, one thing is consistent: this trope is used as a way to show someone is dishonest and not to be trusted. When the trope is used later in the story, it's often meant to be a big reveal, to shock the audience and make them mad that they've been duped, to show the characters and us what this person (usually a villain) is willing to stoop to. Revealing the ruse early on though is very often used to establish how sleazy or even how dangerous a character is and to tell the audience that they shouldn't trust them from the get go. Gene Wilde (The actor who first played Willy Wonka) even said in several interviews that this was his intent for Wonka's character. He even went so far as to tell the director of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory that he wouldn't do the film without that scene because of how strongly he felt this trope was needed to lay the foundations for Wonka's questionable intentions and motivations. His exact words are: "...but I wouldn't have done the film if they didn't let me come out walking as a cripple and then getting my cane stuck into a cobble stone, doing a forward somersault and then bouncing up... the director said, well what do you want to do that for? and I said because from that point on, no one will know whether I'm telling the truth or lying."

There's... a lot of problems with this trope, but that quote encapsulates one of the biggest ones. whether intentionally or not, this trope ends up framing a lot of actual disabled people as deceitful, dishonest liars. Now I can already hear you all typing, What?! Cy that's ridiculous! No one is saying real disabled people are untrustworthy or lying about their disabilities, just people who are faking!

but the thing is, the things often used in this trope as "evidence" of someone faking a disability are things real disabled people do. A person standing up from their wheelchair or having scuff-marks on their shoes, like in the episode Miss Red  from The Mentalist isn't a sign they're faking, a lot of wheelchair users can stand and even walk! They're called ambulatory wheelchair users, and they might use a wheelchair because they can't walk far, they might not feel safe walking on all terrains, they might have unstable joints that makes standing for too long risky, they might have a heart condition like POTS that has a bigger impact when they stand up or any number of other reasons. Also even non-ambulatory wheelchair users will still have scuff marks from things like transferring and bumping into things (rather hilariously, even TV Tropes calls this episode out as being "BS" in it's listing for this trope, which it refers to as Obfuscating Disability). A blind beggar flinching or getting scared when you pull a gun on them isn't a sign they're faking their blindness like it is in Red Dead Redemption 2. Plenty of blind people can still see a little bit, it might only be a general sense of light and darkness, it might be exceptionally blurry or just the fuzzy outlines of shapes, or they might only be able to see something directly in front of them, all of which might still be enough to cue the person into what's happening in a situation like that. Even if it's not, the sound of you pulling your gun out or other people nearby freaking out and making noise probably would tip them off. A person needing a cane or similar mobility aid sometimes, but being able to go without briefly or do even "big movements" like Wonka's rolling somersault, doesn't mean they don't need it at all. Just like with wheelchairs, there's a lot of disabilities that require canes and similar aids some days, and not others. Some disabilities even allow people those big, often straining movements on occasion, or allow them to move without the aid for short periods of time, but not for long. Some people's disability's might even require a mobility aid like a cane as a backup, just in case something goes wrong, but that still means you need to carry it around with you, and unless it can fold down, it's easier to just use it.

Disability is a spectrum, and a lot of disabilities vary in severity and what is required of the people who have them day to day. This trope, however, helps to perpetuate the idea that someone who does any of these things (and many others) is faking, which can actively make the lives of disabled people harder and can even put them in very real danger, physically, mentally and even financially.

Just ask any ambulatory wheelchair user about how many times they've been yelled at for using accommodations they need, like disabled toilets or parking spaces. How many times they've been accused of faking and even filmed without their consent because they stood up in public, even if it was to do something like get their wheelchair unstuck or as simple as them standing to briefly reach something on a high shelf. I've caught multiple people filming me before, so have my friends and family, and it's honestly scary not knowing where those images have ended up. This doesn't just impact the person either, a friend of mine was filmed while standing up to get his daughter (who was about 4 at the time) out of the car. He was lucky to have stumbled across the video a few days later on facebook and contacted the group admins where it was posted to get it taken down, but had he not stumbled across it by chance, pictures with his home address and his car's number plate, his child's face and his face all visible would have just been floating around, all because a woman saw him stand briefly to pick up his daughter.

Many people don't stop at just saying a nasty comment or taking a photo though, a lot of people, when they suspect people are faking, will get violent. I have many friends who have been pushed, slapped in the face, spat on or had their mobility devices kicked out from under them. I've even been in a few situations myself where, had I not had people with me, I think the situation would have turned violent.

There's even been cases where those photos and videos I've mentioned before have been used against real disabled people and they've been reported to their country's welfare system as committing disability fraud. While cases like this are usually resolved *relatively* quickly, in many parts of the world, their payment will be halted while the investigation is in process, meaning they may be without any income at all because of someone else's ignorance. If you're already struggling to make ends meet (which, if you're only living off one of those payments, you probably will be), a few weeks without pay can mean the difference between having a home and being on the streets.

Not to mention that when there's so many stories about people faking a disability in the media, especially when the character is doing it to get some kind of "advantage", such as getting accommodations or some kind of disability benefit, it perpetuates the idea that people are rorting the systems put in place to help disabled people. If this idea becomes prevalent enough, the people in charge start making it harder for the people who need them to access those systems, which more often than not results in disabled people not even being able to access the very systems that are supposed to be helping them. A very, very common example of this is in education where accommodations for things like learning disabilities require you to jump through a ridiculous number of hoops, especially at higher levels, only to have some teachers and professors refuse to adhere to the adaptations anyway because they're convinced the student (and usually disabled students as a whole) is faking.

Yes, the "untrustworthy faker" is a fictional trope, and yes, it does occasionally happen in real life, but not as often as media (including things like news outlets) would have you believe. However, when the media we consume is priming people to look for signs that a disabled person is faking, it has a real impact on real disabled people's lives. "Fake-claiming" is a massive problem for people in pretty much all parts of the disabled community, and it ranges from being just annoying (e.g. such as people spamming and fake-claiming blind people online with "if you were really blind, how do you see the screen" comments) to the more serious cases I mentioned above. It's for this reason a lot of folks in the disabled community ask that people leave this trope out of their works.

[jaydenix]

A rant about Winx Club S1E13

So, my first proper post here, let's go out with a bang and talk about what's probably my favourite season 1 episode as I recently finished rewatching it. Except I'm ranting, because Winx Club is full of problems and this episode just perfectly encapsulates one of them.

So S1E13: "A Great Secret Revealed" (or "Meant to Be" in 4Kids), the midpoint of the season and like I said is probably my favourite in the first season. So what makes me like this episode?

Well first of all: it's a fairly unique episode and a nice break from Magix to go back home and catch up with Bloom's life in Gardenia. I'm not sure what general opinions are on this but I also really like Mike and Vanessa at this point, their support for Bloom is very sweet in general, they just seem like great parents all around and want what's best for her - I think they're pretty neat. And this episode is a prime example of this.

Also we get see Bloom using her magic on Earth, obviously there aren't big fights to be had so it's used for very trivial purposes but I think it's cool, like when she cleans up the shop or puts out the kitchen fire. She also has her ability to see people's true emotions which is interesting and allows for the overarching plot of the episode with the businessmen seeing Vanessa is being conned.

But the best part of this episode has to be when Bloom puts out the fire in the flower shop and rescues the man from the building. It's a strong moment for her using her powers like that and combined with the vision she sees of her father rescuing her it's just excellent. This of course leads us into the scene at the end and revealing the big secret her parents have held about Bloom her entire life that she is adopted. This is a very important piece in the puzzle towards figuring herself out and seeing her family be so loving and comforting to her in what is undoubtedly a big and overwhelming discovery is really nice.

The episode ends back in Magix with the Winxes comforting her as well, which is a great moment for them too, it's a nice touch.

All around a really strong episode that is very important for Bloom discovering her true identity as the princess of Domino, but also for how that affects her parents back at home and how their side of things interweave with Bloom's past, this episode is great... but now let's talk about bad things!!!! Unfortunately there is only room for negativity in this world. :(

So, let's take a step back to look at the show as a whole and talk about Bloom. Do I like Bloom? Yeah, I'd say so, definitely one of my favourites, but arguably that speaks to the issue that oh my fucking god Bloom can you stop taking up everyone's screentime! I'm speaking to the choir, but I really didn't realise until my recent season 1 rewatch just how bad this issue is, I like Bloom, but not every scene has to be about her dammit, and part of the reason I like her more than others is because I don't get to see as much of what the others get to do because NO BLOOM HAS TO BE TALKED ABOUT AT ALL TIMES ACTUALLY! I want to have time away from her to focus on other characters, many of them feel underdeveloped in this season and beyond. If you pay attention in this show, you begin to realise just how much almost every scene the focus is on her. If it's a scene with the Winxes, it's a problem she has. If it's with the Trix or any villains, they're probably talking about something they want to do to her. And to be honest there are so few scenes that have neither Bloom or whoever the main villain is. One example in S1 that stuck out to me was Faragonda, she could've been way more interesting if they gave her more time where she was just on her own with Griselda or whoever as she tries to hide what she can from Bloom. Later on it could've been that Bloom gets frustrated at her for not telling her more and now they're in this mess... or something look this show just could've been better. And also, her rivalry with Griffin could've actually been something really cool and meaningful but it's instead its just "goth aesthetic = evil" type shit and the witches are lame... but I digress.

So, Bloom is the only one who does anything, and that's part of why S1E13 is one of the best in my opinion. It seems contradictory that I've expressed so much distaste towards Bloom's screentime. But there's not an equivalent episode really with any other character being the dominant focus, Bloom is the only one who could get something like this. Most episodes feel like they have Bloom too much, but an episode like this is one for her. As a result it doesn't feel like Bloom's screentime is constantly contrived, it's something that *should* be focussed on her, so it's just an issue that normally would arise due to putting Bloom where she doesn't belong, but in this episode she belongs everywhere so that ends up not being a problem. Even if Winx was like... a good show... imagine... crazy... it would probably still be a favourite of mine in S1, but it only really proves the issue of Bloom being the focus too much. This is just an episode where Bloom's dominance in the writing feels natural and this isn't subject to the problem. It's a Bloom episode fundamentally, it's just for her and that's completely fine, I have no issue with it on that front, I just wish the others had the right focus...

I guess that's the end of this post I uhh hope you enjoyed and found it insightful or maybe you think im wrong or something feel free to say so but dont be too harsh please im still new around here and scared i dont know why im signing this off like its a youtube video but its fine FOLLOW ME PLEASE i'd appreciate it okay BYE!!!

[eds6ngel]

Hello angel! I was thinking maybe introvert Eddie with an extrovert reader! Like they date and then they’re out at a restaurant and his food is wrong and he doesn’t want to say anything so she does? Just something cute like that with maybe a few other instances as well! Your writing is perfect by the way 💙💙💙

hi sweetheart!! firstly, thank you ever so much for the compliment! this is such an array of emotions, but i think it encapsulates what introverted!eddie would feel like in a relationship <3

warnings: fem!reader. pet names. swearing. food mentions. satanic panic rhetoric. mentions of su*c*de. mentions of eddie being poor. mentions of ab*se (eddie's past). eddie and reader cry together :'). a lil bit of hurt. comfort. tooth-rotting fluff!! [2.3k].

If there’s one thing that Eddie fails to share with everyone, it’s that he is actually extremely introverted. You already assumed this when you first met him, the boy screaming on top of cafeteria tables about how “conformity is bullshit” and how its “killing the kids” and whatnot.

But, when you started dating, he sure showed that his apparent extrovertedness was seemingly a completely lie.

For your first date, Eddie took you out to Benny’s Burgers. Your friends kept telling you how it was a mistake and how that was no way to show a girl you fancied her, but the location didn’t matter to you. Everyone in Hawkins knew that Eddie lived down at Forest Hills Trailer Park with his uncle, so you assumed money issues played a huge deal in his upbringing. So, as someone a bit more well-off, it wasn’t for you to judge how he spent the little money he had. Although, it didn’t matter to you in the slightest.

As you guys look back now, it’s insane how much you brought him out of his shell over the months. But, reflecting back on your first date will always be one of the funniest moments.

“So… what you thinking of getting?” Eddie asks shyly, looking up at you from behind the menu, immediately avoiding eye contact the second you look back at him.

Your mom had always taught you that if someone else was offering to pay, you should never go for something expensive, and you took that on, always ordering or purchasing something low in value.

So, you chose the cheapest meal on the menu, “I’ll just take the hamburger and fries, and just a water to go with it. I’m trying to calm down on the caffeine intake,” you softly laugh.

The problem is, Wayne always taught Eddie never to order higher than the girl, saying that it’s a way to make them feel special and as if they’re the main attraction there.

So, Eddie replied, “Yeah… I’ll take the same…” he mumbles, shutting the menu and laying it on top of yours to the side.

But, what Eddie failed to let you know is that he wasn’t the biggest lover of salad in his burgers. The patty, cheese and a bit of ketchup will do him perfectly, perhaps a little bacon if he’s feeling fancy.

So, when the waitress brought you your meals, you began munching into the burger, talking away about how good it was and complimenting Eddie’s choice of diner, trying to lift his moods since he seemed extra nervous. But, after a few minutes of talking, you see Eddie’s plate still completely full, minus a few fries which he had picked up with his fingers and nibbled on. He hadn’t even added any sauces or seasonings to his meal.

“Eddie, is there something wrong with your food?”

He looks up, scratching the back of his head, but quickly retracting it as he realises that is his grease-covered hand, “Um… No, nothing’s wrong at all…”

You lay your knife and fork down, looking into his brown orbs, “You know you can be honest with me, right? I know I may come across as a bit much, but there’s nothing to be scared about.”

Eddie connects his eyes with yours, sighing out, “It’s just… I don’t really salad in my burgers…”

“Oh, that’s fine!” you say, “I’ll just get them to replace it for you!”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll just take it out myse—”

But, before Eddie can argue against you, you’re calling over the waiter, explaining to them, “I’m so sorry, my date here forgot to order his burger without the salad. Is there any chance you could replace it for him?”

“Of course!” they smile, taking Eddie’s plate and replying, “I’ll be back in five.”

Eddie sighs, seeping into his chair in embarrassment, “You didn’t have to do that, I could’ve just taken it out myself…”

“Nonsense!” you wave off, “It would’ve been cold by then! Besides, it was no big deal at all. Now you’ll have just as nice of a meal as me.”

And that was just instance number one. Eddie was shocked that you ended that first date with a kiss to the cheek and the planning of date two. He was surprised you liked him that much after the fuss he made with some goddamn salad.

The second time you widely recall is when you introduced him to your friends.

You weren’t exactly popular at Hawkins High, but people knew of you and treated you with respect, the same as with the rest of your peer group. Sadly, your friends weren’t as open-minded as you were. They were quick to believe rumours and judge people instantly, but after meeting their parents, it was obvious as to why. Indoctrination was a real asshole.

So, when Eddie ditched his Hellfire group and joined you on the other side of the cafeteria for the day, he was anything but happy. Sure, he was excited to meet your friends, the ones who you spoke mostly highly of, but it was the interacting that he was unimpressed with.

“So, Eddie…” Sandy starts, chewing loudly, “What do you like to do? Like, your hobbies and stuff? Apart from playing that weird cult game or whatever.”

You smack her shoulder lightly, “I’ve told you a million times San, those rumours are bullshit. It’s just a bunch of nerdy guys throwing some dice around a table, nothing Satanic about it.”

“I don’t know,” Ellie sings from opposite you, “My mom said that two boys killed themselves because of it.”

“Don’t you think that’s just an unfortunate accident? Like, I’m sure two people who listen to pop music have killed themselves before too. But, you don’t see Cyndi fucking Lauper being banned from every radio station in America,” you roll your eyes, Eddie slowly sinking in his seat at the end of the table next to you, awkwardly nibbling on a pretzel.

You softly touch his arm, “I’m sorry about them baby. Go ahead, answer their question,” you smile.

Eddie coughs, sitting back up straight in his chair, “Um… I like Bon Jovi…” he shyly says, an obvious answer to try and fit in with your peer group.

“They’re okay…” Betty replies, “But, Madonna is way better in my personal opinion.”

“Betts!” you yell at her, “I thought you were here to get to know him, not judge him more!”

“I’m not judging!” she shouts back, “I’m just saying that Madonna is better than Bon Jovi. Besides, he’s obviously lying. He listens to that other Satanic shit, the metal stuff.”

You scrape your chair along the floor, standing up and grabbing Eddie’s hand, dragging him up with you, Sandy yelling out, “Where are you going?”

“Back to his friends that’s where,” you retort back, “I’m not gonna sit here and let you berate my boyfriend like that! Besides,” you smirk, “Metallica is fucking amazing.”

And with that, you spent the remaining twenty minutes of your lunch break with your true friends, your former ones merely a memory of the past.

The final, most prominent moment was towards the end of your first year of dating. By this time, Eddie had definitely come a lot more out of his shell, not just with you, but in public too. No longer scared to correct people at restaurants, being able to talk to strangers a little more easily, even freely making the phone calls he needed to.

But, there was one thing he hadn’t needed to battle yet. A situation he avoided at all costs.

“Ah, shit,” Wayne swears from behind you in the kitchen, you and Eddie snuggled up on the couch, watching a random sitcom that was airing on the channel you had flipped over to.

“You alright Wayne?” Eddie asks, keeping his gaze upon the small TV in front of him.

“Son, I know you’re hanging out with your girl right now, but my shift starts in less than an hour and the fridge is bare. You wouldn’t mind if I made a quick list to nip over to the store and grab some things would ya?”

Eddie looks down at you, asking with his eyes for a confirmation to which you happily agree, “Sure Wayne, I don’t mind helping out for you guys, if Eddie wants to go now, of course. Yeah, baby?”

Eddie nods, “Sure, best time too. Late at night, the store is practically empty. Much easier to get around.”

But, what both you and Eddie failed to recognise was what time of the year it was. The date was December 22nd, three days before Christmas. So, as Eddie pulls into the grocery store parking lot, there’s a lot more vehicles present than usual.

“Shit,” Eddie mumbles, “It’s fuckin’ Christmas ain’t it?”

You sigh, “Yeah… But, you got this,” you say, rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand where it was perched on the joystick, “You’ve accomplished so much this year in terms of your shyness. We can knock another one out the park tonight, can’t we?”

He parks up in an empty space, turning off the ignition and lets out a sigh, “Yeah… I got this.”

“That’s the spirit!” you exclaim, pressing a kiss to his cheek and jumping out of the passenger side of his van.

However, as you enter the store, both of you grabbing onto the shopping cart, Eddie tenses up at the amount of people wandering around. The aisles are crowded, the sounds of beeping from the scanners flood his ears and the clicking of heels against the tiled floor make him want to crawl out of his own skin.

You put your hand on top of his on the handle, “Baby, deep breaths, okay? You got this.”

He really does try his best, trying to focus on finding the groceries Wayne had written down, but like every other store, they changed their layout, making it impossible to find the required items in a timely manner, further adding to Eddie’s stress.

Once you get to the pet aisle, the atmosphere is a lot quieter, not many people seemingly having pets in Hawkins. You stop moving the cart and turn to Eddie, looking up into his eyes, “You wanna head back to the van, don’t you?”

He sighs, rubbing his hands over your arms, “I really tried, sweetheart, it’s just… It’s so overwhelming in here. There’s so many people, like, why did everyone leave everything so last minute?”

You chuckle lightly at this, “I mean… It’s a bit ironic coming from us, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but…” Eddie looks down disappointedly, “We’re not getting Christmas food, you know?”

You frown slightly at Eddie’s words. You found out very early on that the Munsons didn’t do a traditional celebration of the popular holiday. Frankly, they were too poor to go all out, the only reminder that Christmas was coming up being the twenty year old faux tree sitting weakly in the corner of the trailer.

You cup his cheeks, his hands immediately moving down to your waist, “Go and wait in the van, my love. I’ll take care of this.”

Eddie sighs, opening up his wallet and passing you the $20 note that Wayne had given to him, “Just… don’t spend more than that, okay? Wayne’ll kill me.”

“Got it. Take a breather, calm down, I’ll be as quick as I can,” you say, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before Eddie walks back out to the entrance of the store.

But, Wayne couldn’t kill Eddie if his budget wasn’t broken, nothing could be done if the limit was exceeded by the money out of your pocket.

So, when Eddie saw you walking towards the van with four bags instead of the usual two, he sits there shocked, you opening up the back of his van and placing them neatly against the side.

“I said don’t go over the limit,” Eddie says, a scared look across his face as he takes in the sheer capacity of food you had purchased for the two men, you jumping in the front with one of the bags in your lap.

“You and Wayne deserve a treat for how hard you two work, so I dipped into my own,” you smile softly, rendering Eddie speechless. “Plus, I thought you could make that classic Christmas meal a reality.”

Eddie looks at you with wide eyes as you place the bag in his lap, him shuffling through to find everything from a turkey, to potatoes, to vegetables, to gravy, everything to make a perfect Christmas dinner.

Eddie mouth opens wide as he stares at you, cupping your cheeks and bringing you in for a loving kiss, a smile being felt as the tears falling from his eyes land on your cheek. He places a few more on your right cheek as he gives you a bone-crushing embrace, the tears spilling onto your shoulder.

“Jesus Christ, I love you. I love you so goddamn much. Thank you sweetheart. My sweet girl, thank you.”

And his words can’t help but let a few tears slip from your eye also, the moment feeling so surreal and intense, so full of love and admiration. You knew of Eddie’s past, of how much he had been through. His memories of Christmas reminded him of getting beaten by his dad or feeling poor as the other kids rambled about their time of giving at school the next semester. So, you wanted to change that for him. You wanted to be the one to finally show him what it was like to feel loved at Christmas.

And when Eddie brought you around the day after Christmas, Wayne wrapped you in his arms, muttering into your shoulder: “Thank you darlin’. We’ll be forever grateful for what you did for us.”

i literally got emotional writing this towards the end :') i hope you enjoyed <33

[thethiefandtheairbender]

just a disclaimer: i’m queer and nonbinary (afab) as can be, so all of this is from a personally queer perspective? i also know that i don’t tend to really jive with ND stevenson’s work (she-ra didn’t quite work for me) either and if you loved the movie, great. i just gotta drop thoughts somewhere because well

they’re less than positive

like “nimona” wants to be a Queer movie so badly, but the entire humourous basis of the character herself is that she is 1) young looking (despite being immortal) and 2) appears to be AFAB and isn’t it funnily jarring when little girls want to be violent instead of cute and sweet? 

She doesn’t want to be a monster, but clearly genuinely enjoys destroying things (again: basis of the bulk of her character humour, and one of most defining character traits) with no regards to anyone who gets hurt or could get hurt in the process. 

also this is Entirely Personal preference but while the animation was stunning, the contrast in the medieval aesthetic and modern day technology just continually brought me out of the movie. which is too bad, because treasure planet and it’s 70/30 rule and aesthetic blend of old timey and big technology is one of my favourite things ever, but i think Nimona being 50/50 just... didn’t work for me. was also slightly disappointed that i figured out who the actual bad guy was before the queen’s death (and yet another movie with a black queen who Dies Instantly / a movie with literally queer men of colour being technical side characters to a white, allegorically queer main ‘female’ character). 

Ballister is a great protagonist, but due to his opposition of everything Nimona is personality and scheme wise, it feels like they’re almost running around in two separate stories. As well as like - he wanted to enjoy the Elite, Privileged, fighting force? An elite, privileged, entirely based on birthright system ruled by a Black queen before it was called into question, when it’s also a pretty clear allegory for the Police? The fact that this isn’t resolved - what’s going to happen to the Institute, is it going to be reformed or even better yet, disbanded (‘defunded’), is entirely left hanging as a plot thread, which doesn’t happen matters.

Halfway through the movie (specifically Nimona’s “or that sometimes I want to let them [kill me]”) is when I finally started to feel emotionally invested, but like two scenes later when Ambrosius’ stabbing was over dramatic rather than just letting the tone hold, I looked into the camera just... so incredibly unimpressed. The monopoly and shark dancing didn’t help.  

“She’s my friend.” “Aren’t I more than that?” so there were no aspec people in making this film. Got it. And Ballister’s heel face turn into calling Nimona a monster is also very quick, especially when his whole arc this movie is being unfairly demonized himself by the very same thing/people that are demonizing Nimona as well. The sheer harshness and length of the scene is also much longer and given time than him saving her, leaving that feeling kinda lopsided as well.

And Nimona’s issues I think are very evident in the fact the movie lets us see all the damage she’s causing at the end when she loses control, which is sad and tragic for her... but does not excuse or remove the real harm she’s bringing hundreds of other people. This is mitigated when she sacrifices herself to save the city, but given that her problem wasn’t necessarily selfishness so much as recklessness, and given that Ballister had literally just talked her down from suicide, it’s... Muddled to say the least.

And all of this ties back into the murky gender allegory of the movie. At its best, it’s very effective and very emotionally resonant (Nimona’s actual flashbacks and a couple of her conversations with Ballister. I can definitely see why people like it - hell, even I like it. “This monster is a threat to our entire way of life!” “What if we’re wrong?” kinda perfectly encapsulates were it falls flat to me, because queerness Is a threat to our current systems - capitalism, racism, cisheteropatriarchy founded on white gender essentialism. Queerness, particularly of gender, disrupts and should disrupt all those things; it’s a political identity just as much as personal one, both by choice and by societal circumstance.

TLDR; found the second half of the movie, overall, much stronger than the first, but with some bigger structural pitfalls. Animation was gorgeous, sense of humour didn’t overall work for me but that’s a personal thing, queer allegory was good but I would’ve liked some of the implications to be taken farther. I appreciate the movie for what it says about freedom of expression vs demonization by the upper class(es), and I think it’ll really resonant and be important to queer youth in their teens (a stage I am long past) figuring themselves and their place in an increasingly anti-trans political climate out, so I’m very glad it exists. It just wasn’t particularly groundbreaking, and wasn’t particularly up my alley. Which is kind of what I expected, but I am disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more as a nonbinary person who loves story deconstructions, fantasy, and animation

[nomsfaultau]

Daily ask №15

Symbolism edition!

What type of metaphor/symbolism do you use the most often? (Ex. Comparing people to animals/inanimate objects, prophetic dreams, foreshadowing, flower language)

What is your favourite symbolism you've put into Fault?

What cool symbolism idea didn't make it into the final cut? (Ex. A character was supposed to be another cryptid originally and it mirrored their personality perfectly but then you changed it)

If you tried to talk about how symbolic their life and trauma was, which characters do you think would tell you to muffin off? Would somebody actually eagerly discuss it and maybe try to use it to predict their future? Who knows. You do probably that's why I'm asking-

Unrelated, but what the heck is "Evil "? You've mentioned that Wilbur speaks.. Evil mole? And the only thing that came to my mind was Evil frogs. And then the "They turn the fricking frogs gay" song. And- okay, I'll stop.

1.Comparing people to animals when under extreme pressure is a favorite -growling, snarling, whimpering, cornered animals, allusions to prey- it’s all really fun and to me exemplifies how panic robs people of more cerebral responses to problems. Tommy as an altar lamb is delicious. 

Dreams I usually use as short hand for a characters unconscious fears or desires. Say, Wilbur’s graphic nightmares of eating his friends and family, Tommy’s dreams of Phil burning him as a symptom of abandonment. 

There’s a flower/tree metaphor for the Hive which WHiT Croplabds really digs into plus all the hive members having flower names whereas Willow is an independent tree. 

The sea of voices is. Potentially NOT a metaphor? It started as vague description but visual hallucinations can be a component of DID and The Blood God and voices are already a magical thing so potentially The Blade very literally built a fortress around his mind to hold back the bloody sea with the god of Slaughter and Supremacy lurking in the depths. And the further I went I realized water has very much become a symbol of memory between The Blade, Ranboo, Niki. Which is extra funny for how it screwed over Phil. 

Plus the little detail of all the chapters being named colors that tie to the main pov/arc that’s in the chapter, some color theory thrown in. Some colors have a lot of thought in them when picking, such as darker shades for heavier chapters. Things like Scheeles digs into the toxic history of that green color and reflects the poison in that chapter, or fog tying into disassociation of the grey period, Rose as a double entendre for “A flower with thorns; or, ascension” and a joke about Rosalind, shamrock for something lucky happening.  2.Tommy’s door. On a literal sense it’s him being a teenage boy slapping the door frame every time he leaves. Which technically has some implications for freedom and rebellion etc but that’s not the real kicker. Because of the Hallway Massacre, it becomes an allusion to biblical Passover, with the threshold smeared in blood being the only one safe from The Angel of Death. It is only when Philza reaches Tommy that there is clemency. It’s a really fun nod to Philza’s nickname and a harrowing allegory at the same time. 

3. Niki was initially going to be fire aligned. A body that could move in between flesh and fire, growing and shrinking depending on how much fuel she had. Which would do well with things like her burning L’Manburg tree, personality, anarchy wahoo, etc. But also that’s because Niki was originally going to be Sapnap (or Pændamonium and I’m still mad about how clever that name was). There was this whole minor plot line about accidentally merging with Phil’s godflame and a mind suffering trying to encapsulate billions of years of life, epic team up, etc, but then like I didn’t want to include the dream team for reasons. Which sucks too because Dream had a really cool theme with puppet strings and soul bonds. He got recycled into honestly a way cooler and better written villain, but with Niki I really wrestled with it. I liked fire with her but I wanted it more tailored. She’s still developing, but the miasma mermaid direction has a lot more to play with.

4. Wilbur would tell me to muffin off because it’s already sharply aware that the dark/light dynamic thing it has going on with Phil is very on the nose. Tommy would just feel very ill. I think he’s start crying if I lay out all the Rose animatic symbolism to him, but also he’s not a very introspective guy. I think The Blade and Phil would be most likely to use the knowledge but symbolism is also debatably literal with them. Tubbo gets told about the freezing metaphor and just dryly replies: yeah, we’re pretty aware of the disassociation, thanks. Dr. Blake finds the scimitar smile thing amusing and accurate. Webb flatly: a spider motif? Ohhh my goooood. Who would have guesssssssed. 

5.Evil [language] is a joke that Wilbur’s language abilities come from knowing forbidden eldritch tongues. Ergo he can’t speak Mole, only evil Mole. If it were to speak whatever is the equivalent of Evil Mole, it would probably have a cooler name, such as Wilbur being partially able to communicate with Tubbo via Evil Bug (Venderblight). It’s not actually the same language but it has enough similarities for minimal coded communication.

[kipperlillycopperkettle]

i spend nights stitching up the loose threads of my soul. (d20, spyreverse thg au) :3

HIIIIIII DEA TY FOR ASKING THIS i have been thinking so much about cathilda in the hunger games au recently and she's my dearest darling.

as i put it to someone the other day “i finished pirates of leviathan and i am going to make it everyone's problem” and this fic really encapsulates that. mostly because the main character is cathilda and she's one of the oldest district four victors, so she spends a lot of time with the other d4 victors, a lot of whom are from pirates of leviathan (tulwar, myrtle, marcid). also cathilda's backstory lends itself SO well to thg it's insane. dead kids and a dead husband? works perfectly when she's a hunger games victor.

i made up all of cathilda's kids for this au and they're my best friends. they also all get reaped and die, but y'know. you win some, you lose some.

“you don't have to mentor her,” tulwar says softly, looking at cathilda for a long moment. “jack could do it. i could do it. we're both perfectly happy to - ”

cathilda can feel tears swell in her eyes and she scrubs them away with the back of her hand. “what kind of mother would i be if i didn't mentor her?”

he looks at cathilda for a long moment, the expression in his gaze inscrutable. “you'll always be her mother,” he murmurs quietly. “you don't have to be her mentor, too.”

“but i do” cathilda hisses, and she can hear the tears underlying in her tone, threatening to emerge. she thinks if she starts crying, she'll never stop. “what if i'm not there for her, and she dies? what if she wins?”

tulwar stands, walks over to cathilda, envelops her in a hug. she doesn't shy away from his touch. “we'll handle it,” he murmurs. “no matter what happens, we'll handle it. i promise.”

she buries her face in him, inhales the sharp, musky scent of [his cologne]. 

she lets herself cry for the first time since melkora was reaped, lets herself sob and wail and fall apart in a way she knows she couldn't have before. tulwar rubs her back gently. he doesn't say anything — what could he even say? they both know it's not okay. her daughter is going to die, and there's nothing either of them can do about it.

[idrawcats]

Just read Sky, and here are some quick thoughts

I actually liked this book more than I was expecting

I really liked how political it was — every POV character was grappling with politics in some capacity

I loved seeing the rise of factionalism in ShadowClan

It was interesting to me that the main traditionalists were two family groups that were both hit hard by the events of the previous two arcs (Berryheart, Yarrowleaf, and Snowbird, especially, are a family who lost several members as a direct result of the Kin in AVOS, and more still due to interfering with the Ashfur situation in TBC)

They have a good reason to oppose outsiders entering ShadowClan, but that doesn’t make them right

Berryheart is a special kind of crazy, straight up yelling at her leader

I loved all the drama in RiverClan and Mothwing trying desperately to hold the Clan together

There’s definitely some shady shit going on with Splashtail, and probably others too

I hate Tigerheartstar, but I really like that he’s being pushed toward tyranny by a dangerous combination of grief, ego, and his power as a Clan leader

I can’t wait to see where this all goes

Oh and somethings up with Bramblestar

Again

I also really liked that Frostpaw doesn’t really have a connection to StarClan

Also lmao poor Owlnose

Nightheart and Sunbeam are both very annoying to me, but I feel like their POV chapters perfectly encapsulates what it’s like to be a teenager, which is the target audience

Both of them are petty and insecure, and they actively encourage the worst in each other, but they’re terrible in a way that’s realistic to teenagers

Nightheart specifically reminds me of myself in high school (please bear in mind, I’ve now graduated from college)

His eagerness to prove himself and frustration with not being taken seriously is unfortunately relatable

Actually what I like about Nightheart’s POV is that he’s a great example of an unreliable narrator

Like you can see how he comes to the conclusion that he’s being given apprentice tasks because everyone doubts him and he failed his assessment twice, and his insecurity makes him angry and bitter, which makes him snotty and withdrawn from everyone, which makes people dislike him (for valid reasons)

And all of that feeds his victim complex, so he digs himself deeper and deeper into his hole of self-pity

Honestly, it seemed to me that everyone’s reaction to Nightheart’s dramatics was totally reasonable

Thriftear and Flipclaw teased him all in good fun, but he saw it as making fun of him and doubting him

Squirrelflight reprimanded him for disobeying her and going to ShadowClan because it was a dangerous move, both politically and literally, but Nightheart took her reprimand personally because of his insecurity

Not to mention, he’s given apprentice tasks because he’s the youngest warrior and there aren’t any apprentices, but again, his anger and insecurity makes him take it as an insult

And honestly, it seems more like he’s the one constantly comparing himself to Firestar than his Clanmates do

Also, it seems like Nightheart expects special treatment from Squirrelflight and Bramblestar and is offended when they don’t give it to him

Reading from an outside perspective, it’s painfully obvious that Nightheart himself is the root of all his problems, but I can empathize with him because I too have been an angsty teenager who felt like it was me against the world (especially within my family)

I think the most interesting part of Nightheart’s POV by far was getting caught in the crossfire of his grandparents’ fucked up relationship

Also dear god Bramblestar and Squirrelflight are back at it again PLEASE JUST BREAK UP WITH HIM SQUILF YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

Sunbeam also gives massive teen vibes, due to her petty drama with Lightleap

Literally only a high schooler would think “wow my ex-bestie is grieving for her little brother… too bad we’re not friends anymore and it’s not my problem!“ but then get jealous that she’s not the one comforting her friend

I really think Sunbeam and Nightheart won’t work out, just like a typical teen romance

Nightheart is using Sunbeam as an escape from his problems in ThunderClan, but he’ll realize that HE is the problem when the same things happen to him in ShadowClan

Not to mention that Nightheart doesn’t seem to REALLY want Sunbeam as a mate — he’s latching onto her as an opportunity to leave ThunderClan because she’s the only cat who puts up with him

Sunbeam is using him as a rebound — she doesn’t really like him, she just likes that he likes her

I think that this relationship has the potential to be great for both characters’ development, but only if it doesn’t work out

Please Erin’s I’m begging you don’t fuck this up I like where you’re going with this arc PLEASE don’t write another BristleRoot or turn this into the second half of AVOS

[glenrocklibraryteens]

BOOK REVIEW: GIRL INTERRUPTED

Girl Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen Genre: Nonfiction Number of Pages: 192 Rating: 4.5/10 Reviewed By: JF In the nonfiction memoir, Girl, Interrupted, Susanna Kaysen revisits her experiences as a teenage girl struggling with mental illness in the 1960s. As the novel progresses and readers are taken down a winding and unpredictable road of the author’s memory, as well as her psyche, Kaysen destigmatizes mental illness and explains how society’s need to separate the “sane” from the “insane” is harmful to those struggling with their mental health. As I was reading Girl, Interrupted, I found myself completely intrigued and on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Mental health is such an interesting and controversial topic because of the insensitive misconception that all mentally ill people are dangerous, and by constructing a deeper dive into the mind of a patient at a psychiatric facility, Kaysen was successful in normalizing the struggles that once isolated her from the rest of society. By describing the typical day at a mental hospital instead of just filling the novel with crazy stories, I really feel like Sussana Kaysen did a great job at making the “characters” in her memoir feel like real people with relatable struggles, which is exactly what they are. Because I felt this attachment to the people in this novel and could almost see myself in some of their shoes, I really began to wonder why some of them deserved to be locked away from the rest of society while others, such as myself, are not; thus, my true love for this book is rooted in the fact that it almost made me question my own sanity, and ultimately, is a book really all that good if it does not make you stare blankly at a wall as you think about all the questions that have just been proposed to you after you’ve finished the last sentence? In addition to its beautiful storytelling abilities and the philosophical questions it raises, I found the characters in the novel to be extremely relatable, entertaining, and enjoyable to learn more about. My favorite character was Lisa, as I often sway my liking toward the misunderstood genre of characters in any book, and this was no exception. I also found the cover and usage of pictures in the book to be very fascinating and engaging. Girl Interrupted is for anyone who has ever felt isolated because of their differences. Although the obvious target audience for this novel is adolescents battling mental health problems, I think the deeper struggle of feeling misunderstood by society is an experience that the broken, lonely, and anyone trying to better understand themselves and their psyche can appreciate and relate to. Because of this, I would recommend this novel to anyone interested in mental health, or battling mental health issues of their own. Curated Playlist: 1. This Is Me Trying by Taylor Swift I chose this song because I think it perfectly encapsulates the mindset of the main character, Susannah. Specifically, the lyric “They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential” shows how the limitations she faced as a patient in a psychiatric facility were obstacles in the way of her own personal growth. 2. Be My Baby by The Ronnetts This song is the classic 50s/60s anthem, and because the novel takes place in the same time period, I thought it would fit the playlist for this book extremely well and give insight into what the culture and feel of that period in time was, 3. Laughing on the Outside by Bernadette Carroll I picked this song because the lyrics are so chilling and encapsulate the emotions the characters of the novel felt. I’m sure they were all “laughing on the outside” and “crying on the inside” as they were forced to say goodbye to their partners, family, and normal life forever 4. Exit Music (For a Film) by Radiohead I chose this song because it is about how society’s expectations and restrictions can be the cause of so much harm; something that is also a major theme in the novel Girl Interrupted 5. Dealer by Lana Del Rey This song discusses the struggles and realities of addiction. Because many of the patients in the novel have faced addiction themselves, I thought this song would be perfect to give an inside look into what that aspect of their character is like. 6. The End of the World by Skeeter Davis This song shows what it's like to be in a psychiatric ward while the rest of the world keeps on living. The repeated phrase “don't they know it's the end of the world” demonstrates how although it's the quote on quote “end of the world” for those who have been admitted to the psychiatric facility, others remain unaffected and oblivious to the struggles they are about to face. 7. How to Fight Loneliness by Wilco The truthful and harsh depiction of loneliness in this song is what inspired me to choose it for the playlist of the novel Girl Interrupted. While in the psychiatric facility, the patients in the novel faced loneliness that they had never experienced before. I believe this song perfectly demonstrates the painful reality many of the characters in the novel faced every day while being alone. 8. Dedicated to The One I Love by The Mamas & The Papas I chose this song because of its eerie and unsettling tone. Its 50/60s ambiance as well as its theme of being away from the one you love makes this song the perfect fit for a playlist about Girl Interrupted 9. Cruel World by Lana Del Rey I chose this song because it shows what it's like to be a woman. All of the patients described in the book are women who have had complicated or abusive relationships with men. This song depicts a similar relationship, and I believe that its various lyrics, specifically “ Put my little red party dress on, everybody knows that I'm a mess, I'm crazy” show what life right before getting admitted was like for many women being abused in their relationships. 10. Washing Machine Heart by Mitski Similar to Cruel World by Lana Del Rey, this song also depicts what it's like to be in an abusive relationship. Because many of the women in the psychiatric ward were taken advantage of, which is what sometimes led to their insanity, I think this song fits perfectly into the playlist.

[donttouchtheneednoggle]

Merthur, perelyaine and Morgana/Elena?

OOF WE'RE GOING THERE

Ok ok. So hate is a strong word. I should probably have put conflicted. Bc I get it. I know every so often I go on a they are so unhealthy and toxic rant, and well they are. Merlin sees Arthur as a person he always knows better than (which he does but not the point) and can make humungous life changing decisions for often through manipulation and gaslighting without giving a second thought for his free will, while also putting him on such an absurd pedestal he is blind to all his faults at the cost of the entire kingdom. Arthur sees Merlin as someone without his own thought and feelings and goals in life, he never questions his obsessively faithful service and he repays him with physical, verbal and emotional abuse. BUT that's not why I don't like it. In fact it used to fascinate me how messed up they are and how doomed and tragic they make their story, and it truly baffles me how much the fandom focuses on how 'cute' they are instead of going is that fucked up or what!! But anyway. I don't like it because it's. Fucking. EVERYWHERE. You can't get away from it! Even if you blacklist it on here and escape the brunt of the posts, you still go on any ship tag on Ao3 and it is 90% Merthur. The sheer oversaturation of it is what made me hate it, and I'm not saying it's a problem that needs to be fixed bc ppl will ship what they want, that's the point, but it is so seen as the default and it's also more than a little galling to ship any other ship in this fandom especially rarepairs and have even your own spaces and posts taken up by and tagged as Merthur. Also how Gwen’s been treated because of it is just- I would be far more neutral/open to it if there was less and if there was more new content I actually wanted to read really that's the crux of it just more rarepair content I'm begging y'all but as it is I get petty and deliberate exclude it as much as possible from everything I create :'))

Perelyaine is here :)

I've honestly never thought much about Morgana/Vivian but I wouldn't say no! I don't tend to be a big fan of Morgana, but I do have a soft spot for Elena i think she's amazing. They can be messy hair gfs together <3 BOG WITCH AND GIRL WHO EATS FROGS 💚💚💚

Thanks for the ask! 💙

Send me ships!

[mach-speed-spin]

My opinions of every Beyblade season so far

Season 1: Beyblade has always had both sports and fantasy elements. The first season is the in-between of both. It’s not as fantasy-heavy as MFB and not as sporty as Burst. It has five arcs, with each one focusing on one character (Qualifiers-Tyson, Asia-Ray, America-Max, Europe-Tyson, Russia-Kai). If you showed someone whose never watched Beyblade the Asia arc, they’d think Ray is the main character. The villains were good, with the Dark Bladers improving the Europe arc a lot and the Demolition Boys being amazing final opponents. Overall, a solid foundation for the original series that establishes all the Bladebreakers really well (which makes G-Rev much better). That said, the art wasn’t perfect. The beys lacked the detail that made the real toys so appealing

V-Force: I have problems with this series. Besides the artstyle change (which I did eventually get used to) the cg beys didn’t age well (I still prefer them over the 2d beys in season 1). Hilary was a bad addition, at least in execution (she has 0 knowledge or experience in blading and still lectures the world champions). The story itself also has problems. While the main plotlines are great (cyber bit-beasts, Zeo), there are too many underdeveloped one-off villains (same problem I have with part 3 of jjba, where the main/ recurring villains are great but the rest aren’t). I admit some of the one-off villains were cool (Dark Emperor Bat) but they were too few and far between. Also V-Force has the worst episode in all of Beyblade in The Power Half-Hour (episode 20). However, I’d say V-Force is worth it for the Battle Tower (mainly Tyson vs Kane) and the team tournament. Plus the Saint Shields prevent the blander arcs from being too stale

Fierce Battle: Decent introdction to Daichi, but pales in comparison to the manga. The plot was fine but when compared to the somehwat similar plots of parts of the metal saga, it’s not as good. The villains were forgettable but had cool designs. The only really good thing Fierce Battle had was Daichi’s flashback, but even then it was better in the manga

G-Revolution: Building on season 1, each of the Bladebreakers get to shine individually, but this time as each other’s opponents. The first half is great with both returning and new characters making it enjoyable. The BEGA arc is one of the best arcs in all of Beyblade, and the return of Boris was both unexpected and welcome. My only complaint would be how underutilized Mystel was, but that is a small complaint that doesn’t change how good G-Rev is

Metal Fusion: Beyblade Moses. That’s it. Beyblade Moses perfectly encapsulates not only Metal Fusion, but the whole metal saga. It’s big. It’s fantastical, and there is a bey that steals sould that was sealed in a volcano before the villains stole it and killed the guardian (who was the main character’s dad). There is a serial killer that talks to crabs. There’s a vigilante who uses his bey like a sniper. There’s a fortune teller who gaslights you into thinking you’re being set on fire. It’s amazing purely because it pulls no punches

Metal Masters: Metal fusion but now there’s a world championship. We have martial artists, astronauts, a bodybuilder, and a mad artist. Amazing. There’s also a guy that’s possesed, a guy that turns “go to hell” into a literal command, and a nuclear reactor that stops time (Za Warudo moment). This guy plans on selling nukes to the highest bidder and broadcasts his auction by hijacking the broadcast of the world championship

Scorching Hot Invader: Climate change causes Atlantis to sink and generations later a descendant of Atlanteans wants to use the power of the sun to melt the ice caps and flood the rest of the world. He of course will survive because he’s recreating the story of Noah’s arc (complete with the animals). Also they go to space

Metal Fury: Remember how the world was supposed to end in 2012? Metal Fury did, because the Mayans predicted the revival of a Greek god that would consume the planet. Also Anubis is there for some reason. There’s a giant hamster ball rampaging through New York City. The effects of a Chinese civil war 2,000 years ago come back and mess with the Greek god. The Russians claim to honor privacy agreements with the Americans. The Moai on Easter Island wear beyblades as hats. The Tower of Babel is destroyed

Shogun Steel: Not as ridiculous as the rest of the metal saga, but still fun. It’s shorter than most seasons so characters can be underdeveloped (especially with how many new characters we get). The villains are fun. Captain Arrow and Kikura Gen are incredible. Doji becomes Arnim Zola in the shape of a giant beyblade (he is also driven mad by sensory deprivation because his robot body lacks touch and taste)

Beywheelz: Like Shogun Steel, it suffers from underdeveloped characters, but also like Shogun Steel, the villains are entertaining. The heroes are ok, but the villains really carry it, especially Jake and Odin, with David and Gigante also being pretty good. Also the villain’s plan is amazing (use the power of beys and astrology to open interdimensional portals and also he’s an imperialist)

Beywarriors Beyraiderz: Beyblade but it’s an isekai. The setting is by far the strongest part, taking place in a desolate world that is scarcely populated. Kaiser Gray was a decent villain, but I wish he had more develpment. Also Jin now has superpowers with no explanation. Armes carries the season until Kaiser starts battling himself. Sadly, the small cast of characters doesn’t allow for many interactions and despite the high stakes the story feels small

Beywarriors Cyborg: I’ve seen 2 episodes because it’s all I could find (seriously if you find the whole season message me). On a desolate planet, a handful of people decide to make it their new home. They form 5 city-states, being Lightning (democratic state and home of the main character), Sunburst (aristocratic monarchy), Flame (military dictatorship), Stone (not much is shown in the first 2 episodes, but it’s a mining town), and Hydro (isolationist and has a monopoly on water). There are themes of nationalism and classism as each city-state fights for control of Sanctuaries, which house massive energy supplies that make terraforming easy (allowing for more farmland and thus, more food). From the little I’ve seen, I love it

Burst season 1: Burst takes the fantasy aspect of Beyblade to a minimum and the sport aspect to a maximum. Really, it’s a slice-of-life sports anime with slight fantasy elements. It still has the things that make Beyblade as whole great (large cast of interesting characters, cool battles). While it’s far from my favorite season, it’s still enjoyable

Evolution: Takes the sport aspect to an even higher degree, with beyblade leagues and teams scouting bladers from across the world. Really, there are 2 main plotlines, the first dealing with how BC Sol has become too reliant on a single blader and the second dealing with the Snake Pit and Shu’s dissapearence. It’s a good season with some great moments (the Requiem Project and Free in the International Bladers Cup). Overall, while not in my top 3, it’s probably in my top 5

Turbo: Turbo ups the fantasy elements higher than previous Burst seasons (and adds a tiny bit of psychological horror). There’s still the sport aspect (like title matches), but it delves deeper into the connection between blader and bey, represented by the bey talking to the blader and vice-versa. There’s a possession plotline, possible aliens, and a ghost that one time. The new characters are pretty good, and the returning cast is used pretty well (except for Lui). It’s my favorite Burst season due mainly to how good the possession plotline is

Rise: Far more lighthearted than Evolution and Turbo. Rise feels like a smaller, self-contained story, because it is. It’s not about being world champion or stopping the apocalypse (except for the bey, Prime Apocalypse). The new characters range from ok to pretty good, and the battles are great (Blindt’s battles after the Battle Island arc are hilarious, and Joe is really fun to watch). And while I loved Arthur as a villain, I do get why most people didn’t. Overall, it’s not stellar, but it’s pretty enjoyable in it’s own right

Surge: Terrible plot and the new characters are very bland, but the battles are the best they’ve ever been and returning characters make up most of the cast. The heavy use of 2v2 battles (previous seasons used them, but never this much) allows for some really cool combo attacks. Surge has very little character development of its own, but the returning characters build off previous seasons and their interactions are top tier (especially Lui and Dante)

Dynamite Battle is still ongoing so I won’t give my opinions on it yet, but it’s pretty good (not as much as Turbo, but above Rise)

[luckyladylily]

For my money there is nothing that encapsulates the idea “I didn’t say it was good, I said I like it” more than this series:

I’m using cover number 2 of the manga because there is no other cover in the entire series, light novel or manga, that isn’t too horny for this blog. It is intensely problematic, deeply stupid, and incredibly self indulgent. And I love it.

I have never seen a published series that feels more like a fanfic than this. And I don’t mean in the “fanfic is better than published work!” some people get into. That aint my thing. No, this series is the most self indulgent crack fic trash I have ever seen outside of AO3. The entire series is built on completely played straight instances of “They were room mates!” and “There’s only one bed!”

Our main cast:

Diablo, powerful sorcerer with a crippling anxiety disorder that is actually written like an anxiety disorder (the series also isn’t insulting to him about it, though it is often used for laughs.) He copes with this by being permanently stuck in roleplay mode.

Shera, an elf that ran away from home and learned to be a summoner so she could summon lots of cute pets. She is stupid as a box of rocks but the only character in the party that doesn’t have wisdom as a dump stat.

Rem, a mildly tsundere cat girl with abandonment issues. The english dub of the anime gave her a valley girl accent and it fits her perfectly. Kinda like what you would get if Rin from Fate had a bit more emotional intelligence, was a catgirl, and grew up in LA.

There are other reoccurring characters that regularly get swapped in and out, but too many to list here.

Like I said, this is honestly, objectively, not good art. This is low brow, horny, self indulgent trash, but it knows what it is and doesn’t pretend otherwise. It is also practically laser targeted at me.

There are two things that really set it apart:

First, the series never does that thing where the author just can’t quite resist throwing in a a half apology nudge to the audience that they know this is cringe. No, we are diving head first into the dumpster here, which ironically means it is all treated with an amount of respect that most series like this don’t really give itself or its audience.

Second, Diablo’s crippling anxiety disorder is actually handled very well. As a disability narrative it is surprisingly solid. It’s played for laughs frequently but it is never cruel about it or laughing at him or his disability. It feels like someone who gets the stress of dealing with a disorder writing about it, laughing at the difficulty it causes them by applying it to absurd situations. This is not a cure narrative, this is not inspiration porn, it isn’t even disabled people are just as capable. He never gets “better”, even as he learns to handle it somewhat. He has backslides into self destructive habits. There are things he wants to do that he simply cannot. It is this a big problem he has to deal with constantly, but the series doesn’t treat him as pathetic for it even when he is beating himself up over it. It’s ok to have problems, its ok to have limitations. It doesn’t make him less of a person.

It is intensely problematic though, so reader beware if you do decide to check it out. There are significant portions I choose to just skip and are honestly pretty gross. IMO manga > LN > anime season 1. Season 2 is very poorly made and is not worth a watch, I didn’t even think there were any good moments in it.

Anyway here is my AU fanfic. Come join me in the dumpster.

[bedrock-to-buildheight]

Villager asks

Aka wow y'all are not helping with the urge to worldbuild /pos

im almost afraid to ask this but... how do zombie villagers work in ur world..?

Zombification is the biggest concern for a village (Illagers can occasionally be reasoned with - there's no talking your way out of minedcraft rabies). A village with a steady supply of emeralds for transmuting or blaze powder and golden apples fairs better, but it's Death By Fire most of the time. Priests have Seen Some Shit and in an interesting inversion of real life, are usually the ones that questions the universe's love the most.

The lower prices thing is pretty realistic imo, I mean, You Literally Saved Their Live of course you're getting a discount at the bookshop they run

Walker you so perfectly encapsulated my Quarantine Yearning in that little cat villager curled up on the ram's lap I almost cried /gen how you draw the Tender Hugs so good

Step 1. Yearn

Step 2. Learn

Step 3. Earn

Really it just comes with being stuck indoors with a very affectionate lapcat

@oakstar519 asked: fully down the resource pack rabbithole now. question: do you have a tag with all your villager-related lore and drawings? I'm going roughly off your designs for mobs you've done but tumblr search is atrocious and won't show me anything.

I'm gonna make a post after this to link in the masterpost (oh god I'm so behind on updating the masterpost)

also. Could a villager mimic something that villagers are scared of, like an illager or a zombie? and if so, would other villagers recognize that they are just mimicking them, or would they be scared? (or do illagers work in a similar way with shapeshifting, since they're so similar to villagers?) sorry for the spam i am having Thoughts

They don't do that bc best case scenario they made a mortal enemy out of their local priest, worst case scenario they get murked by their local golem/anyone with a weapon

It's not a problem illagers have since they're immune to zombies, but they don't do that either bc undead creatures in general are against their thing, which is life magic and returning life to the universe (I'm making up culture things as an excuse here, I just think We Have Enough Zombies Already). Some of them do mimic zombies bc counterculture is forever a thing

Your Minecraft world building has inspired me to create a whole culture for the villagers :D for example, a lot of villages have this weird thing that is two grass blocks, surrounded by upright trapdoors, with around three different flowers on top. It’s usually a bit further away from the main areas, and sometimes in a flower patch. I’ve interpreted it as a grave/casket for someone of importance (possibly a dead golem?) The three flowers signify the passing of life into the other two worlds.

Oh this is the most amazing thing, I hope you'll do sth cool with it!

And post-villagers and pillagers update architecture is just straight worldbuilding fuel, like how in the snowy tundra village everything are just 50 shades of spruce but then there's white red and blue beds. And I know it's done for aesthetic purposes but where the hell do they get blue dye from?? In my universe they could just transmute them in but that's still emeralds that could be food or fuel they're using for dyes of That Color Specifically. It's so human in an unintended way

[mountainscouts]

I know nothing about Chainsaw Man but the AU sounds so cool yes Stan being accidentally bamf and Causing Consequences 🙏 Whats the Stary situation also I'll eat up any and all tidbits about M4 shenanigans goin on

HAI sorry for responding to this so late but my au... it's okay you dont have to know anything about chainsaw man since i just ripped off the plot and world building from it! also the phrase "stan actually being a bamf and causing consequences" is the BEST thing i ever heard and perfectly encapsulates this au. man is literally channeling satan

ok the stary situation, oh man okay. so gary is leslie's right hand man since she is the leader of the demon exterminating agency (they deal with pesky ones or ones that arent cognitive of any emotions and are just dangers to society) that recruited stan and the m4. basically for reasons unknown she has gary under tight surveillance so hes always sort of viewed as "the weird happy guy." eventually, by chance him and stan end up getting close and basically both find out they both share the same sentiment of running away with eachother and away from all of their problems!

LOL OK THE MAIN FOUR... so I'm still thinking of a timeline between stan's death and his comeback. definitely the four are still very inseparable and hang out with eachother most but there is definitely some drama between them especially with kyle who is, like in canon, pussy whipped by the intimidating and shady leslie... 🤫🤫 but other than that the 4 of them could probably be seen going out to casinos at 4 am doing some weird shit on the strip

[dangermousie]

Ji Man opened her eyes, turned around, and severely looked at him. “My lord, Sangyu thinks that hurting any child would be completely crazy and cruel. If you harm your own child, then you would be worse than a beast. If you didn’t want a child, why did you impregnate her? Mu Shuqing is almost four months pregnant. Don't you understand that it would be very dangerous for her to suffer a miscarriage?”

The smile on Ning Yuxuan’s face froze. Looking into the eyes of the person in his arms, he saw a trace of genuine disgust.

He stretched his hand out and started to reflect on his behavior. Was he really a cruel lunatic that was worse than a beast? But, if he didn’t do this, he would be stepping further and further into the crown prince’s faction. What should he do? If the crown prince led him by his nose, he definitely wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of his entire household.

He couldn’t allow Mu Shuqing’s baby to be born. If this happened, then the problem of the crown prince’s spy would become a deep-rooted problem. If the baby was a son, he would definitely become a bargaining chip. From the beginning, he hadn’t planned on letting Mu Shuqing peacefully give birth. He had just been waiting for an opportunity to borrow someone as his knife.

Originally, it would have been easy for him to remove the child by using Nie Sangyu’s position as the main wife and her jealous mentality. However, the woman in front of him was unexpectedly difficult to manipulate. She wouldn’t step into his trap. He felt a slight headache.

“My lord, if you don’t want a child, that’s your issue. There’s no need to drag Sangyu into this,” Ji Man seriously said, “Although this servant also understands that I’m the best candidate to harm the baby and I’ll also have Old Madame to protect me, I don’t want to be involved.”

Ning Yuxuan touched her eyes, sighed, and said, “Why have you become so clever?”

Ji Man lowered her gaze and stayed silent.

“I won’t like you if you’re too clever.” He stretched his arm out to pull her over, closed his eyes, and said, “Pretend that I didn’t say anything and just came here to get a good night’s sleep.”

Ji Man quietly agreed and went to sleep with her back facing him.

The night passed without dreams. When she woke up the next day, Marquis Moyu had already left.

Guuuuuuh, I love this novel so much and the above passage encapsulates perfectly why. Both FL and ML are smart and I love how Ji Man keeps her morality and her calm but also this is why I love Trash Man - he thinks things ten steps ahead and he’s ruthless as fuck because he has to be - it’s a matter of survival of his whole household.

This author is a miracle worker, I swear because I have progressed from not seeing how they could interact in a manner I could root for for even a minute to now not shipping them but thinking that they could actually make a very compatible couple not in a romantic sense but in working for benefit of stability/money/status/safety of family and have an odd sort of friendship going on where she doesn’t care for him but finds it helpful to have a competent husband and it’s sort of a working marriage in a sense of a job with a competent colleague.

And I love that the novel doesn’t shie away from how ruthless Trash Man is because he’s a period nobleman concerned for survival of clan in a succession struggle - he orchestrates a set up where his concubine miscarries his own unborn child (and she’s four months along!) and uses his supposed true love to carry it out and it’s just so terrifyingly ruthless and awful but also understandable as part of his plan to keep his family safe but he’s a horrible person who should have kept it in his pants and just I LOVE THIS NOVEL!!! Of course he’s a ruthless monster but it’s totally something someone in his position and in period society would do and guuuh I love this novel and Trash Man as a character even while I think he should be set on fire as a person.

[creepercraftguy]

My thoughts and feelings on the Danganronpa S Swimsuit Designs.

Recently the designs for everyone’s swimsuit sprites in Danganronpa S were leaked on a preorder website here: https://ebten.jp/spchun/p/7015021110403

There’s a lot I have to say about each of these designs, so I figured I’d make a decently long post ranking each of them.

These are all my opinions and my thoughts and feelings may be a little biased, but please hear me out and respect my opinions. Also, sorry for low quality images, since that was the most clear cut I could make them by zooming in on the sheets.

7/10:

It’s a fairly plain design, but honestly, I think that’s quite befitting of the first games plucky protagonist. One of Makoto’s main traits is that he’s nothing remotely that special, so his swimsuit shouldn’t really be anything major. I do like however, that it’s colours replicate the brighter aspects of his original design.

6/10:

Of all the characters in the game who could have been stuck with the speedo look, I’m glad it was Taka. Unfortunately, this also means that his design, other than the very befitting whistle around his neck, isn’t anything major.

8/10:

This is a really good look for Byakuya. It’s really fitting with his personality and status and he wears it well.

5/10:

Unfortunately, Mondo’s outfit is exactly what I expected it to be. It’s unfortunate because I was hoping the game would do more, given how extra his 10th anniversary do was, but I was left a little disappointed with this one. It’s not bad though and it does work with him.

6/10:

It’s a pretty plain and simple design with no real outstanding aspects, but it really fits Leon’s character and he does well with it.

7/10:

This is honestly hilarious, because this wasn’t what I expected from Hifumi. I was expecting him to have a shirt or something, but I’m glad he doesn’t because that can be considered fat-shaming in my eyes. The Pretty Pudgy Princess image on his shorts was, for whatever reason, NOT what I was expecting though, and I think it looks great.

8/10:

I’ve had my differences with Hiro, but I have to admit that this design really does suit him and his character. I really love the little alien pattern on his shorts.

10/10:

This has got to be my favourite design in the entire selection of these characters! The main reason is because it really suits Chihiro’s character. He’s sporting both some very boy-like shorts but also a very girl-like crop top. The design doesn’t prioritize masculinity or femininity, but instead creates a well done balance of the two. This was probably the best that they could have done for Chihiro and I’m so glad he got his justice in this game.

10/10:

I feel like Sayaka is so underappreciated and so berated that we fail to recognize just how beautiful she is. I mean LOOK at this! She’s so fucking gorgeous!

10/10:

Kyoko is among, if not the top of, the characters in this that can sport a really plain and slightly bare bones design, but look absolutely beautiful while doing it. The dark swimsuit clashing with her bright hair, and also not sporting anything too outstanding, just like her original design, makes her look absolutely ravishing.

10/10:

I know it seems like I’m just dishing out 10’s at this point, but the DR1 girls are just THAT amazing looking with their designs, and Hina in particular is really good. One of the things that I love about some of these swimsuit designs is the subversion of the colors that I’m used to the characters sporting. Hina for instance is usually associated with red or blue, but here she is wearing a deep yellow bikini and my god does she look amazing in it. Also, it’s hard to see, but she does have some slight abs, which is something I wish to see on most of these girls.

9/10:

We have to talk about these two at once because they kind of have the same swimsuit with just one difference, in that Toko wears the skirt, while Genocide Jill does not. This makes sense and it’s pretty clever in design, since Toko has usually always worn long dresses/skirts in her previous designs, to cover up the tally marks Jill engraved in her legs from her kills. Jill obviously wouldn’t care about that, so she feels no need to wear the skirt, and given that Jill is slightly more outgoing and sociable than Toko, she wouldn’t have as much of a problem showing off more skin. It really does make a lot of sense and the design itself is overall very solid.

6/10:

I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is bad, but this style and colour is not what I expected or would have liked to see on Sakura. She’s still pretty, but I just think there’s more potential here.

8/10:

In a sense, this is a very clever design of swimsuit, since it’s almost as if Celeste’s original dress was turned into a bikini, and it’s incredibly fitting as a result. Still, it’s not out of any expectation.

10/10:

This is probably the most ingenious design out of every swimsuit in this game, so hear me out. One of the things Junko is the most well known for in Danganronpa’s world is she always defies expectations, most of the time in ways that leave people dissatisfied or unhappy. What could be more dissatisfying to a regular hormonal teenager (which most of the DR cast are) on a summer trip than a busty beauty arriving to the beach wearing a cheap, one-piece school swimsuit with nothing remarkable about it. It’s so clever and such a smart move on the designers part that perfectly encapsulates Junko’s character.

9/10:

I love this swimsuit design, and I think Mukuro looks wonderful in it, but I still stand by my complaint that she deserves to be her own person in this game and not disguised as Junko.

5/10:

Monokuma looks less like a lifeguard in this design and more like a McDonald’s drive thru employee. Still, I didn’t expect Monokuma to get a swimsuit at all, and this does fit his character, so whatever.

9/10:

Like Makoto, this outfit is fairly simple. Unlike Makoto however, it doesn’t really replicate the coloration of the original design and instead provides Hajime with something more vibrant and original, and I think it looks pretty good on him.

10/10:

I just in general think this is a really solid look for Nagito. It’s a nice diversion from his original style, while also keeping some of the things that made his original design unique, namely the pattern on his hoodie is transitioned over, but in a new, quite dashing colour. I also like how he and Hajime have a contrasting blue/red dynamic with their designs.

7/10:

I mean, it obviously has to be the same as Byakuya’s design, but the colours of the hoodie are inverted. It makes sense, but I do believe the original Togami does it better in this case.

4/10:

Is this REALLY the best you could give Gundham? This is such a simple design for someone with Gundham’s personality, he deserves something far more impressive. Yeah, I get that Makoto has the same thing, shorts of a single colour with his symbol on it, but that makes sense for Makoto given that he’s naturally quite bare bones, whereas Gundham is much the opposite. Honestly, this is kind of a letdown.

8/10:

Can Kazuichi just naturally pull off any vibrant colour? First, in DR2, his outfit was a vibrant yellow, and then in DR3, he had a deep blue outfit. Now he’s sporting this Neon Green and it looks so good on him. Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that this is a really good way of transitioning his original design while also adding some originality?

7/10:

I don’t think it’s anything great, but I like the rose patterns and the clash of the dark shirt with the bright shorts. Honestly, this is a pretty good outfit sporting Teruteru’s moniker.

6/10:

Again, I kind of expected Nekomaru to wear the speedo, and I like the fact that he kept the chain on, but overall, the outfit doesn’t have an awful lot of uniqueness.

8/10:

There’s really not an awful lot to this design, but I think white shorts and a gold chain are a real good look for Fuyuhiko. He doesn’t really need anything more than this to look super good on the beach.

7/10:

We did see this outfit in DR2, but it was a CG and not a sprite, and at least she’s not covered in blood this time. The colours and patterns are a little plain for Akane, but she still looks pretty good in this outfit.

10/10:

This swimsuit already has a CG and sprites in the original DR2, but now we get to see more of them. And just as well because this plain white swimming outfit looks wonderful on Chiaki. She’s just super adorable like this and I can’t ask for anything more.

10/10:

I have to give Sonia the score she deserves here. While I am surprised she isn’t showing off nearly as much leg skin as I thought she would, I have no complaints to this. The colour is a good colour alongside her hair and the swimsuit itself looks splendid on her.

9/10:

I never thought in a million years that Hiyoko would look good in green, but I’ve never been more happy to be wrong. I’m also glad, and I can’t speak for everyone here, that she’s wearing a two-piece and not a school swimsuit like Junko, because she deserves more than that.

10/10:

I’m so tempted to sing the Bryan Highland song but change the yellow in the lyrics to blue. Words cannot describe just how much I love this simple patterns design on my all time best girl. Mahiru looks absolutely angelic with this outfit, and I’ve basically fallen for her all over again.

8/10:

All things considered, I’m really satisfied with this outfit. We all know what Spike Chunsoft and DR’s writers like to do to Mikan, so I was very concerned that whatever swimsuit she got, it was going to turn out to be really skimpy and barely cover anything. I am glad that this is a lot more modest than I thought it would be, and I thank the creators for giving her something more normal. However, it is still a string piece that has a likely chance of coming undone, so I am expecting a few wardrobe malfunctions in the game. Other than that, my only other real complaint is that I kind of want more than just a plain white design. I think a deep purple or even a deep red would work very well on her as opposed to this.

10/10:

This is the design I expected for Ibuki, and it works really well for her, so while my expectations weren’t defied, this is still among the better designs out of the selection we have.

10/10:

We all need to take a minute to appreciate just how gorgeous Peko looks in a plain black two-piece, because this lady looks absolutely exquisite. Even the most simple designs can bring out the best in characters, and while we did see this in DR2, we never got the sprite we needed. She just looks great like this, that’s all I can say.

5/10:

Izuru has a different swimsuit to Hajime for some reason, but I guess it does make sense since a bright, vibrant swimsuit like the one Hajime has wouldn’t work with him. Hajime’s is still better in my book though.

5/10:

Usami and Monomi have always had the adult/child dynamic in their designs. For example, in the regular designs, Usami has a skirt while Monomi wears a diaper, and that dynamic carries over in these designs too, which I really appreciate. Still, the outfits themselves aren’t anything outstanding.

10/10:

Is it just me, or is Komaru ever so slightly chubby in this? It’s the first time Komaru’s midriff has ever been shown in a sprite, so it’s the first time we’ve ever seen her bare belly like this. It’s not a complaint, if anything, I’ve been wanting to see some chub on the girls. Regardless, this is another example of a plain design pulled off extraordinarily well, since the plain yellow outfit makes Komaru look delightful.

6/10:

About what I expected from Masaru. Like Nagito, I like how he carries patterns from his og design into this one, but he doesn’t really do it as well. His design is kind of basic.

8/10:

I like this transition. The outfit and hoodie has originality, but it still bases itself off Jataro’s original design and I like how they do it.

10/10:

She’s just way too cute! This design is just super adorable and Kotoko pulls it off wonderfully. She was honestly one who I expected to wear a one-piece, so showing off this much skin is surprising given her backstory. It really does fit her though, and I wouldn’t think of changing it.

5/10:

Honestly, there’s not much to this. The colour and pattern fits Nagisa, totally, but I do wish there was a little bit more than just whatever this is. Nagisa’s a much deeper character than this outfit gives him credit for.

8/10:

It’s a really simple design with nothing outstanding besides the skirt, but Monaca looks really cute wearing this, and I think that that alone is enough. Besides, Junko had a fairly basic design too, so Monaca having one isn’t out of the question.

3/10:

I’ve always believed, as much as I really don’t like him and wish he wasn’t in this game, that Kurokuma has always had one of the best designs out of all the Monokuma’s. But as much as I believe that, and as much as I love the addition of the water gun in this design, this is honestly kind of lazy. The gun and the glasses don’t count as part of the swimsuit, they’re just accessories. In summary, literally all they did was give him orange trunks.

1/10:

THIS however is somehow even worse, because this straight up is NOT a swimsuit! Shirokuma is literally just wearing a hat and a floatie. This is probably my least favourite of all the designs in this.

9/10:

I have to add here that I’m rather disappointed that based on the scans, it seems unlikely that Yuta and Taichi from UDG are getting in the game, since I believe they both deserve some spotlight that they’re now giving Hiroko. I also don’t consider myself to be attracting to older women, but I am forced to admit that like with Mikan, I did expect something worse with Hiroko’s swimsuit, and this was a pleasant subversion of my expectations because I think she looks great.

10/10:

Maybe I’m being a but biased with my scoring here, but had Shuichi not been wearing the hoodie, I would have been a bit disappointed. Also, am I the only one who thinks that this is a surprisingly good look for Shuichi given that the colours aren’t his typical dark, emo style? I never thought Shuichi could rock a white hoodie and dark blue shorts, but here I am being proved wrong.

6/10:

Honestly, I did expect this of Kaito’s outfit, and I am a little let down that this is it really. Sure, it does look good, as he has the space pattern that he usually has on the inside of his coat, but speaking of his coat, one thing that I was expecting was that he, like Shuichi or Nagito, would have a hoodie in his design that he hung loosely around his shoulders like he does in his original design. C’est la vie…

7/10:

He literally looks like a tiny sailor! Like they straight up ripped him out of a Popeye cartoon or something! It looks really funny for some reason.

9/10:

Call me crazy, but I actually seriously love the colour of Rantaro’s shorts. The pink/red rose colour is a wonderful clash with his avocado green hair, and while the design is kind of simple, Rantaro has never been known to have the most over the top appearance. He’s kind of just a casual guy, so he deserves a casual attire.

4/10:

Oh Gonta, there’s nothing wrong with your swimsuit, but is this really the most justice they could do you? It looks so…I dunno…plain?

5/10:

Where’s his white coat go? Like, I love the shorts pattern, but is this really it? This is all we get out our clown prince of lies? It’s not totally disappointing like Gundham’s was, and thank god he doesn’t have abs anymore, but even still, is this the best they could do for Kokichi?

10/10:

Fuck yes! Why put Kiyo in shorts like the rest of them when we could give him this extremely fitting wetsuit! Like, seriously, how come I didn’t think this was a good idea? This is quite literally the perfect direction you could have gone in for Kiyo especially.

9/10:

Fucking…Keebo oh my god…Why did I expect any differently?

9/10:

Kirumi, Kyoko and Peko have exactly the same reason for getting their scores, and Peko and Kyoko only slightly pull it off better. My only complaint I have with Kirumi sporting this is that she doesn’t appear to have the spider pattern that she had on her dress before, which was one of her most notable features in her original design. Maybe it is there and I just can’t see it due to low res, but I’m fairly sure that this is all you need to make Kirumi look damn sexy during summertime.

6/10:

I know for a fact that Himiko doesn’t like the ocean, so maybe there’s a reason her swimwear looks like this. I don’t hate it, but I think Himiko might look better in a one piece, and maybe I’d like a bit more context as to why it looks like this of all things.

10/10:

Maki is so attractive in this outfit. It’s the perfect shade of red, and it’s everything she deserves. Honestly, while a lot of these girls look stunning in colours that I’m not used to seeing them in, had Maki had anything else than this red, I think I would have been a little disappointed.

7/10:

Pink was not what I expected on Tenko. I was honestly expecting something similar to Ibuki, but with light blue and green instea of blue and pink, and I’m honestly a little upset we didn’t get that. On top of that, she’s showing an awful lot of skin, maybe even more than Mikan, since that swimsuit looks like it doesn’t fit her, which I didn’t expect from her.  Still, you won’t be hearing any major issues on my behalf, since I still like this design somewhat.

10/10:

Yes, yes, and more YES! I ADORE the yellow swimsuit with Tsumugi’s dark blue hair. I was expecting something plain and white like what Mikan got with Tsumugi, and I’m so glad we didn’t. Not even Team DR are willing to take their jokes that far. She looks so god damn sublime.

6/10:

I’m fairly sure that all they did for Angie’s appearance was take off her coat. I mean, she does kind of wear swimwear all the time, so I think that even though there’s no real uniqueness or originality to this one, it was the obvious direction to go in, so I have no real comment on it.

9/10:

Ok, this was a good one. I was really hoping that Miu in particular would fit her character to a tee, and if it didn’t I think I would have been rather let down. This is definitely satisfactory though, since leopard print absolutely works for her. Overall I think she looks superb.

10/10:

KAEDE PLEASE MARRY ME! She looks so fucking pulchritudinous! That’s not a word anyone knows, but that’s the extent of how enticing, foxy and sublime she looks! The sky blue is SO good on her, words can barely describe it! Kaede was one in particular who I set high expectations for, and I can gladly say that they were exceeded above and beyond!

[ordinaryschmuck]

Starkid Musicals Ranked from Worst to Best

Salutations to you, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Welp. I finally did it. I've watched the entire Starkid musical library, and I must say, most of these plays fit my writing style perfectly:

Humor that is cynical yet random

Leaning in with comedy while sprinkling in some well-executed drama

An understanding that any type of story works as long as the cast of varying personalities of characters is dynamic enough to result in some phenomenal chemistry.

This is in almost all of their plays, excelled through fantastic writing and stellar performances driving the overall quality. And it inspired me not only to review each musical, but also ranking them all from worst to best. Or, more accurately, least good to most good. Because even at their "worst," Starkid still provides a funny, enjoyable experience that will keep you laughing with its comedy and your toes tapping with its catchy music. So strap in as I go in-depth into how Starkid proves how they are the masters of humor and melody.

(I'll also provide links to each musical, which is all for free on YouTube, so you can check them out yourselves. Just know that their early work is impossible to enjoy without subtitles, so you might want to have Closed Captions on when watching.)

#12-Holy Musical B@man-Everything about this play makes it seem like it's the weakest to me. The jokes, songs, and characters in Holy Musical B@tman just don't hit as hard as Starkid's other plays. It's still good, but compared to their best, the cracks show a lot more. That is, except for the ending. Not only is there a great speech that shows what makes superheroes so beloved, but "Super Friends" might just be my favorite finale song Starkid has ever put out. Holy Musical B@tman may not be the best, but it's at least worth the time.

#11-Firebringer-This was stupid. Really stupid. Funny as f**k, but still pretty stupid. Although I will give credit to one of the central pairings being LGBTQA+...Even though it makes little to no sense based on the characters' previous interactions. But in fairness, Starkid really sucks at writing good romantic relationships, so at least Firebringer has the benefit of being gay. And as we all know: The gayer, the better. The play is still stupid, though.

#10-Me and My Dick-The world in this musical makes little to no sense. Penises and vaginas are sentient and can communicate with their humans. And yet the penises and vaginas can also talk with each other, form relationships, leave their humans, and reinsert themselves into others--Yeah, it makes no sense...But, DAMN, is it funny! Every joke and innuendo Me and My Dick has about human anatomy works, and I could not stop laughing at each of them. Especially the names that were given to the vaginas, which are just...I mean, I'm laughing just by thinking about them. That should tell you how funny they are. This play might be illogical in every way, but if you turn your brain off and watch it for the humor, you'll definitely be in for something fun.

#9-ANI: A Parody-What's weird about ANI is that its best qualities are also weaknesses. A good chunk of the jokes are hilarious and expertly delivered. The issue is that most of them are about taking potshots at the Star Wars prequels, which might be the laziest jokes to make in a Star Wars parody. Then there's the soundtrack, having several songs that are a bop to listen to. The problem is that ANI suffers from the same issues as Tarzan and Brother Bear: Yes, technically, it is a musical, but it's one where none of the characters sing, and some people in the background do all the singing instead. It's all an odd balancing act of quality content made through questionable choices. ANI is still an entertaining play, but the force isn't as strong with this one.

#8-Black Friday-This might be the least funny play that Starkid has ever put out. Not just because it leans extra hard into drama, which was pretty effective during certain scenes. It's just when there are jokes in Black Friday, they tend to fall flatter more here than they did in other plays. Also, the plot of Black Friday might not be the best one to play straight. The serious moments work best when focusing on the characters and their personal struggles, but through the big bad that's supposed to be threatening? Not so much. Even if it was meant to be funny, well, I wasn't laughing. And believe it or not, I consider that to be the best judge of whether or not something is funny. That being said, while Black Friday isn't the most humorous Starkid musical, it's still pretty good. The characters are excellent, the songs are awesome, and the story is somewhat easy to follow. I would have appreciated a few more laughs, but I can respect these talented people wanting to challenge their strengths.

#7-Starship-This play feels very...Disney. It follows a familiar formula we've seen several times: The main character wants more than what he has in his crappy life, miraculously gets the exact thing he wants, falls in love with a girl in a short amount of time, faces off against a campy/over the top villain, realizes the hand he's been dealt isn't so bad, and in the end, gets what he wants anyway. Starship is still pretty entertaining through its jokes, characters, and songs, but it also feels weird that Starkid leans into these tropes when they would eventually make a much better play by making fun of them. The end result is not bad in the slightest, but it's also nowhere near their best.

#6-A Very Potter Musical-Starkid's first production, and boy, what a start to something wonderful. Every one of their gimmicks and motifs is present in A Very Potter Musical. The use of parody to playfully mock characters and stories they love, making songs that are as funny as they are emotional, and creating characters that work because of their lines and the actors' performances. Oh, and also, it's funny. And it’s not just through a parody angle, like making Cedric be a perfect boy who's always smiling. It's also funny through its jokes that work, even if you ignore the fact that it’s a parody altogether. Case in point, there are these two bits, one involving Voldemort and Beatrix with the other involving Ron and Hermoine, that are written and delivered so well that I was in tears much more than with any other Starkid play. When watching A Very Potter Musical, you'll not only understand how parody works, but you'll also gain an understanding of why Starkid turned out as successful as they did.

#5-The Trail to Oregon-What can I say? I'm a sucker for comedic dysfunctional families. And seeing a family of idiots make their way to Oregon via The Oregon Trail parody? Yeah, that's a win for me. The play may be another family road trip narrative, which some people might get sick of at this point. But because the dynamics and comedic chemistry everyone has with each other are on point, the end result proves that you don't need an original story to tell an entertaining one. Although I will say that out of all of Starkid's productions, The Trail to Oregon has by far the worst ending. Without giving anything away, the play spends way too much time on this one stupid joke that any of the characters could make. Comedy is defined by personalities, as are most things, so making the joke work for anyone is a bad move when this one, in particular, doesn't fit as well for some characters as it would for others. Plus, the finale song "Naked in a Lake" is a really poor choice to cap off this musical. It's catchy, but to me, a finale song should encapsulate everything about the story, characters, and themes. Not paying off a joke that I honestly wouldn't want the payoff for. So while the ending could have used a lot more polish, that doesn't change how The Trail to Oregon is a pretty funny play that I won't mind revisiting when I have the chance.

#4-A Very Potter Sequel-Hey, sometimes a sequel is better than the original. Sure some jokes don't land, and some story beats aren't as impactful as they thought they were (Serious Black's introduction, for example), but there are far more improvements to this play than the last one. The performances are stronger, the jokes are funnier, the music is catchier, and the characters are much more entertaining in this play than in A Very Potter Musical. Especially new additions like Lupin and Lucious Malfoy, who provide great comedy and sublime drama at times. And Umbridge. Sweet Mother of all that is holy, Umbridge. While A Very Potter Sequel never made me laugh to tears as the first play did, twice, Professor Umbridge carries the comedy so well that she surpasses all of that. Plus, on top of it all, this play nails its ending through a bittersweet note that really captures what makes Hogwarts so special to these characters. I always feel like Starkid's plays tend to lose steam during the last few minutes, but A Very Potter Sequel is one of the few instances that it just builds and builds to a perfect ending. A Very Potter Sequel might not always hit the right marks, but the results are just magical when it does get it right.

#3-The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals-This one is pretty clever. The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is one of those stories that manages to be explicitly hilarious yet implicitly disturbing. For instance, people suddenly bursting into perfectly choreographed musical numbers in a world where songs are exclusively diegetic is pretty funny (especially through the characters' reactions to it). However, knowing what happens to these people and why they sing and dance so expertly helps make the whole situation pretty dire. It's an excellent balancing act that not many stories can accomplish. And while The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals leans one way or the other at times, it's still all handled really well. Oh, and also, you know how most people say the villain song is the best one in any musical? Well, technically speaking, nearly every song in The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals is the villain song. Including the finale, which is just too brilliant for me not to give a round of applause. If you're a person who unfortunately doesn't like musicals either, I'd say be more than willing to give this one a chance. It's funny, catchy, and if you think of the implications, pretty damn disturbing.

#2-A Very Potter Senior Year-...You know how Avengers: Endgame is a bit of a mess, yet people still love it for how much of a perfect (sort of) finale it is? It's the same regard with A Very Potter Senior Year in my eyes. It's far from a masterpiece, but the many, many solid scenes that cap off this series help make me willing to overlook the mistakes. The characters, callbacks, and overall message about how things end was done so expertly well that I physically can’t hate this one. I can understand how it's more of an ok play when compared to the rest of Starkid's productions, but sometimes, ok is wonderful.

#1-Twisted: An Untold Story of a Royal Vizier-...It's Twisted. Everyone loves Twisted! And how could they not? Everything about this play just screams Starkid at their best. The comedy is uproarious, added with the fantastic delivery of the actors and the characters' personalities. Everyone feels as though they have one step in reality and the other in insanity. This, to me, seems like the best type of character work when going for the parody angle. Parody is about giving slight yet snide remarks toward the work you're mocking, which I feel works best when characters drop the suspension of disbelief audiences have when enjoying such a story. And Twisted definitely nails its satire in not only poking fun at Aladdin but also making jokes towards Disney as a brand. From their movies to their inside jokes to their formulas to even their corporate dealings with Pixar, nothing about Disney is sacred in Twisted. But on top of being funny, Twisted might just be the most successful Starkid has been with telling some really compelling drama. The jokes allow themselves to take a back seat to let serious moments play out, and even comedy is added, it provides more for the experience rather than taking anything away. You see this not only through the actors giving it their all but even through some really gorgeous and heart wrenching musical numbers. Oh, and also, Twisted has the best Starkid soundtrack, featuring songs that are epic, funny, and, as I said, heartbreaking. You cannot get better than this and, if you want to get a friend interested in Starkid as a whole, this might be the play for them. Scheherazade may have a thousand tales, but his one is a tale I wouldn't mind hearing for a thousand nights.

And that's about how I feel about Starkid and each and every one of their plays. Odds are your ranking would be much different from mine, and I'm all for that differing opinions. Feel free to make your own ranking if you want because I'm honestly curious where fans would place these plays above or below others. I'm relatively new to enjoying their work, so I have no idea what the consensus is. I do know one thing, though: If Starkid can still be incredibly entertaining through over ten years of content, then I am excited to see what they can accomplish next in another ten years.