#i think they merged and separated throughout the show

[burningcomputerpersona]

what an incredible fucking show

[boozenboze]

Merged Teams

Tf 141+Los Vaqueros+König x Male reader

Side note-Some oc’s that I’ve made are being included and they are known as Oi Sotíres(The Saviors). I will be giving further info on them in the future and I'll aldo be using them often throughout some other posts. Anyways hope you enjoy!

Females She/Her and She/They DNI

"How 'ya feeling right now L.T?" Archontas asked the h/c haired male, seeing how his feet thumped the ground. The male mentioned side eyed him and grunted. Ah yes, the typical behavior of a rabbit...or the behavior of a human that was given the DnA of a rabbit. For context the government ran a underground experiment which involved the use of a cute white bunny and 6 test subjects. The plan was simple, they would take the DnA of a rabbit and merge it in with the subjects. As expected, everyone had a different reaction to the sudden change in their bodies. Two of them died, another two experienced contractions from the transformation which later led to their demise. The two that remained took in the pain like champs but sadly one couldn't prevail, which leads us to where M/n is currently.

Falken, one of the sergeant's inside the vehicle was seated in the seat behind him. His large hands had been gently tucking the males ears under his beanie. It was a bit chilly inside the vehicle and knowing the sensitivity of M/n's ears he decided to be a good friend.

“How far are we from this place I gotta shit!” Rage complained as they tapped their foot impatiently. The others in the vehicle looked at the second lieutenant in disgust.

“You could’ve kept that to yourself you know?” Opal questioned as the person with the pixie responded with.

“Yeah I know, but I prefer to see your reactions.” The ravenette responded with a smirk on their face.

“Haha...funny..” Opal said as she glanced at the h/c haired males facial expression.

“How are you not nervous right now?” Opal asked the males ears twitched under the beanie.

“I don’t have a reason to be, it gonna be like any other mission. All we have to do is get the job done then we’ll go our separate ways.” M/n replied as Opal sighed at his answer. No wonder he was Oi Sotíres' Lieutenant. Hopps was a serious man when his code name was in use, but the other 4 members in the vehicle knew who he truly was under that facade.

Timeskip

The truck was being drove into the fences of a base. The sergeants within the vehicle were excited but also nervous. What would this team think of them, how would they treat M/n. Considering M/n’s....situation, they were unsure of how they’d treat their lieutenant. Falken was doing a little dance as he walked beside Rage who had been glaring at him. The blue eyed man stopped in response to his second lieutenants gaze. Opal giggled slightly at her teams antics as she sped up to catch up with Hopps and Archontas.

They were led inside the base by a random soldier, who led them to the room that the Task Force and Las Vaqueros were waiting in. The soldier bid their goodbye and left the premises as the group entered the room. Their arrival caught the attention of the men inside the room, to which they all stood up. The group of 6 walked through the door and stood in different places of the room. M/n was next to Opal, who was rocking back and forth on the heel of her foot and Pain stood next to her, playing with their gloves.

"Khalil, nice to finally meet you all." Price said as he and the dark skinned male shook hands.

"Just call me Archontas sir." The man responded as he turned to M/n who was now standing next him, his gaze being towards one of the walls of the room they were in.

"I'm guessing your the Lieutenant, M/n L/-"

"Hopps would be just fine." M/n cut the Captain off causing everyone to look at him strangely. How could you just cut off your superior like that?

"Aye mate, show some respect." Soap scolded the other male only to receive a heavy glare and a low growl. Archontas chuckled nervously before giving M/n, 'The Look'. The h/c haired male mumbled something as he shifted his gaze to the ground which showed signs of M/n being ashamed.

A few moments went by as everyone introduced themselves. M/n stood near a corner next to one of the taller guys in the room. He introduced himself as König. The man was suprised that M/n hadn't been startled at his presence, considering that he had the tendency to scare others because of his height. Although, his thoughts about that passed once he recalled how tall Falken, Archontas, and Rage were. Opal was talking to Alejandro, who was impressed at how well she spoke Spanish, as well as Rudy whose gaze kept shifting to the male whose gaze was on the wall.

"Whats up with him, he's acting strange." Rudy pointed out as Alejandro turned to him.

"I don't know amigo, el es bastante extraño." Alejandro replied as Opal looked at them in question.

"Didn't Laswell tell you all." Opal asked as the two men looked down at her.

"Tell us what hermana?" Alejandro questioned as Opal looked over to Archontas.

"Hey Capt! I thought you said that Laswell told them?" Opal asked as Gaz furrowed his brows. He had already been skeptical during and before the teams arrival, so that sudden outburst unnerved him.

"Tell us what?" Gaz asks in suspicion, what could they have possibly not known?

"I thought she had...-you know what its fine." Archontas murmered the last thing to himself. The group began to become more cautious than they already were, considering what they've been through with the betrayal of General Shepherd and Commander Graves.

"I can assure you that it's nothing bad, but it should be something that you should be aware of." Archontas started off as the other men in the room stared at him warily.

"M/n is a government experiment." The dark skinned male didn't sugar coat the words that had left his mouth, which caused the others to have looks of confusion and question.

"He's a-huh? A what?" Soap sputters in confusion as Rage rolled their eyes. Of course.....the typical reaction for the words that occasionally had to be said first hand. M/n looked over to the others, having heard what they had spoke about. He made his way towards the others and stood next to his Captain. He pulled the beanie he had been wearing off his head, allowing his ears to stretch from the pressure that had been put on his ears. The others stared at the h/c haired males fluffy hair and tall ears. All the attention that had been bestowed on him caused his ears to lower.

"Can ya'll quit the staring it's weird." M/n spoke while gluing his gaze to the floor. They all took one last moment to admire the mans full beauty before being serious again.

"I'm glad that you informed us...this is just, wow." Price spoke, having to eye the h/c haired male one last time as the others agreed. Rage and Opal both stood next to M/n as the same question ran through their heads.

"How are these next few days gonna go?"

It had been 2 days since Oi Sotíres arrived to the base, and things were going better than expected. Due to M/n's situation, he had a room to himself so that he could do whatever he needed to do. Someone who was constantly checking on him besides Archontas was Rudy. Believe it or not, but Rudy had taken quite a liking to the h/c haired male. The Lieutenant was quiet to say the least, he never made an effort to talk to anyone else besides his group. Every time someone tried to greet him he wouldn't acknowledge them at all, so how did Rudy manage to win the male over. Two words- Fruit Bowl.

After gaining some information from Archontas he learned about M/n's sweet tooth. He didn't eat candy often so as substitution to that he ate a lot of sweet fruits. A personal favorite of Rudy is the cantaloupe, its not to sweet, as well as bitter which automatically made it his favorite treat. Him and M/n would be in the kitchen together, a large bowl of fresh fruits that had been chopped up and placed inside there for them to share. The h/c haired male would constantly walk in and out the room, occasionally being still and standing next to Rudy who had been watching him closely. His expession would soften every time the males ears twitched when the sound of a door being shut was heard. It was something so simple, but also something that he began to love about him.

"M/n, quieres un poco de sandía?" Rudy asked as M/n turned to him with a puzzled expression. His head was tilted and his eyebrows were furrowed which caused the other mans heart to beat faster.

"Ah...sorry, I asked if you wanted some watermelon." Rudy said again in English to which he was able to understand. M/n nodded his head and smiled slightly at the offer. Rudy took one of the freshly chopped fruits and put his hand out for M/n to take it. So, imagine the look on his face when the male ate it out his hand. The e/c eyed male didn't think much about what he did, that's usually how he'd eat stuff that was offered to him. Rudy was flustered. Why exactly? Well the feeling of M/n's lips against his bare hand made him feel some things he hasn't felt in a while. It was almost time for them to head off to the training area, where they would be testing out the Oi Sotires' strength.

"I'm gonna go change, thanks for the fruits Rudy." M/n said with a smirk on his face as he hopped out of the room. Rudy only stood there with a stunned expression, being left with his own thoughts and feelings.

Part 2- in progress....

[rwbyrg]

If it's alright, I'm just curious, do you have any thoughts of your own or theories about Oscar or Ruby or both of them in terms of v10? To add, do you have any theories for the merge and how it will end up for both Oscar and Ozpin? Like will it be a good or bad thing? Sorry if these questions seem vague lol

Of course it's alright to ask! I do have many thoughts and a handful of theories. I'll admit most of them are wishful thinking since there's truly no way to tell where the story will go until it actually happens. But if I were to distill it to the ones I'm most expecting and why, then I'd probably say:

Expansion on Ruby's solo arc that kicked off in V9

Acknowledging the setups (plural) between Ruby and Oscar's arcs

The merge-curse is eventually broken (blame the allusions)

I'll elaborate a bit below.

1. Expanding on Ruby's Arc

What we saw Ruby go through in V9 is very much not the end of that particular plot line, imo. We saw a bit of this in Justice League: Part 2 and the final ep of RWBY Beyond where she talks to Clark and Yang about her struggles a bit. Ruby needs to learn how to both ask for and accept help from those around her so the weight of everything she's carrying doesn't crush her. Especially now when they're down to the wire and she's come back as a resurrected martyr who's face has been used at the centre of the resistance movement she's now helping to lead. How will she live up to the expectations and pressures of that impossible pedestal when she's only a human girl with very normal knees who's barely keeping it together? Also, while I don't know exactly how they're going to address everything she experienced, and I struggle to imagine her speaking about Neo's Horror House to anyone directly... that sort of trauma doesn't just go away once it's over. So I would be very surprised if the effects of it didn't ripple throughout the remaining chapters of the show. Especially when every other member of RWBY has seemingly had the bulk of their main character arcs already. It's long overdue for Ruby to get that time in the spotlight. Which does sort of lead into my next point...

2. Acknowledging the Setups in Ruby and Oscar's Dynamic

For starters, we've got the merge and ascension parallels to address. Ruby and Oscar have always mirrored each other's issues around identity, choice, fear, responsibility, leadership, etc., and this buildup seems to be coming to a head following V9. From Oscar's "I'm just going to be another one of his lives, aren't I?" to Ruby's "What if you could be anyone?", and how the two of them will relate to each other in light of those contrasting - but similar - experiences. Especially with Ruby having just come back from the tree to find Oscar fighting against the merge harder than ever before. But we also have their attachments to each other to sort out as well. Ruby and Oscar have been watching each other's backs in different ways since V5, their reunion hug in V8 was interrupted where no other "pairing's" was, and they were the only "pairing" still to be split up between the Ever After and Remnant. Not to mention that, while they were separated, Ruby was pushed to a breaking point after being shown an illusion of losing Oscar, while Oscar was back in the real world eulogizing about how he lost Ruby. CRWBY doesn't setup relationship parallels and focuses as intensely and intentionally as this without pay off at some point.

Again, while the specifics are nearly impossible to predict, I'm expecting a bit of a Dojo Scene Reprise, heart-to-heart of sorts, and/or, something that puts those attachments to the test. My immediate thought is that this test will finally push Oscar to unlocking his semblance since getting shot, falling from Atlas, being kidnapped, and tortured were all not enough to make it happen. (Although my wishful thinking is that it unlocks in a happier moment, I think that's much less likely.)

If I were to engage in pure speculation on this, my easiest bet is that it will come at the hands of Tyrian. When our Little Prince was first introduced, it was almost as if he was waking from a nightmare of that villain laughing with glee at the opportunity to hunt down a certain rose. And with this being the Vacuo arc with Ruby and Oscar getting a lot of focus, and Tyrian already on the prowl within the kingdom, it would make a lot of sense. The little prince fated to have a confrontation with a venomous antagonist in the desert over his attachment to a rose is about as textbook as it gets. (I could also see it go to Cinder or being delayed until they follow through on the threat of Ruby being kidnapped by Salem, if that's the route they decide to take. But again we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.)

3. Oscar and the Merge

I'm not entirely sure where they're headed with this one between now and the resolution... but I do think the resolution itself will otherwise be a happy one, if not bittersweet. RWBY is a story about breaking cycles, and Oz has been part of one of the longest on Remnant since the very beginning. Pairing that with this show being, ultimately, a happy story, as well as a looking at two of Oscar and Oz's shared allusions, I can only imagine they will be separated by the end.

The first allusions to mention are from The Marvelous Land of Oz. Princess Ozma (aka Oscar) is the rightful heir to the kingdom and next in line to take over when it's time for the wizard to retire. It's very clear that - however this plays out - Oscar is the final incarnation. Typically, when one ruler leaves the throne that's it. They're gone. Oz has fiddled with Remnant's history for countless millennia now in his endless fight against Salem. When the dust settles and it's time for Remnant to rebuild, it should be up to the new generation to take charge without his influence from "the old world" in the mix.

From a Little Prince lens - for those unfamiliar with the book - the aviator (aka Oz) spends much of the story waffling about the little prince he is stranded with in the desert... only to be very sad when his new friend leaves him behind to go home to the stars. RWBY is already subverting this story a bit with Oscar being the one wanting to be rid of his pilot instead of the other way around. If I were to guess how the show will carry this further, it would be that Oz moves on, but perhaps with some lingering attachment on either (or both) sides. Maybe a bit of a "all this time I wanted it to end, but now that it's finally happening, I wish I (you) didn't have to go".

At least that's what seems to make sense to me, thematically speaking. Oscar will be irreversibly changed by these events even if he is freed from the curse, however. There is no question about it. Because that is what the Hero's Journey is all about.

The hero leaves their farm and they fall through a new world. It is both horrifying and exciting in equal measure. And throughout it all they are changed by the experiences they have and the people they meet - both good and bad, within their control and outside of it. And when the quest is finally over, there is grief. Because you are not the same person you were when you left home, and you can never truly return to what you had and who you were before it all happened.

This is also, coincidentally, just what it means to grow up. Which - while not the only one, and certainly not unique to Oscar's arc alone - has always been one of the loudest allegories hiding within the merge to me. We meet and know people, we don't always have a say in how long they can stay and how they change us... and then one day they are gone, but their influence and our memories of them stay with us. And then, as RWBY has taught us since the very beginning, we keep moving forward despite it all.

( @creatoriamari tagging you here just in case to make sure you get the notif because I don't know if it still works if I saved the ask as a draft. 🙇‍♀️)

[bellamby]

I saw Transformers One. I am so normal about it (SPOILERS AHEAD)

(Some OC doodles to hide the spoilers! If you have a cool name for her, lemme know ^^)

Honest Review: 9/10

I went in with high expectations and I was not disappointed. The best summary I can think of is that this movie is truly a love letter to the fans.

I could rant for days, but I'm gonna break it down into sections so I don't talk myself in circles ^^

Story:

The story focusing on how the war began was such a good move on the writers' part! It showed a version of Cybertron that I haven't really seen in other Transformers films, and the setting was incredibly explored.

When it comes to the origins of Cybertron and the whole "Primus/Unicron" battle, I think it was well explained considering the limited time they have in the movie.

Overall, a well-paced and actually interesting NON-HUMAN-FOCUSED story, but I will agree with others that I just wish the movie had more time to explain some things. That's basically my only complaint: the movie wasn't long enough 😭

Art:

The animation style is gorgeous, and really takes inspiration from that Retro/VHS style and colours and merges them with a shiny modern look. It took a good chunk of inspiration from the 80s vibes and I think that really showed how much care was put into it.

When it comes to the designs, I freaking LOVE the way we see them level up throughout the movie!

Characters:

Orion Pax/OP = I loved him. I will love him in every continuity, but this one especially, showing him with all his flaws and then how he rises above them for what he believes. His relationship with D-16 was so well built up, and to see it torn down so harshly as the movie went on was the level of brutal I was expecting.

The scene where he finally gets the Matrix of Leadership was SO well done. My hype for Solus Prime will never die.

D-16 = He needs a hug so badly. He's the classic tale of "Never meet your heroes". To see him shift from "I made peace with my misery, why did you have to ruin it?" To "I'm going to destroy the people who made me this way" was such a painful thing to watch. But I can't even be mad because this is literally what Megatron's whole story is about.

His origin will almost always come from a point of seeing injustice and wanting to rise against it, and they showed the lengths he'd go to really well here.

Elita One = MY QUEEN. I will follow this woman into battle any day of the week (and so would Shockwave). I feel like there was a point where she was mainly just regarded as "Orion/Optimus' GF", but they really separated her from that stereotype in this. She's not just "pink Orion Pax", she's a character in her own right.

Seeing Orion have to earn her respect helped show just why the two hold each other in high regard. I hope we get to see more of her as a Commander in the sequel!

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE = MY PRECIOUS BOY. Okay, there was a point in the trailer where I was really worried he was going to just be the comic relief character who makes a joke every time something serious is happening, but instead he's an awkward bot who means well. He doesn't always get it right, but he also doesn't actively mess things up for the group.

Bumblebee's wholesomeness was so well captured especially the part where he's like "Orion Orion! Watch me cut these guys in half!" While the guys in question are literally running away in fear. He's so cute, I can't. I am going to fight D-16 if he's actually the one who tears out his voicebox, I swear to Primus.

Can you tell who my favourite is? ^^

Favourite details:

- Starscream's high-pitched voice origin. The second he started sounding like that I was like "OHHHHH, MEGS DID THAT?!?!"

- "I'm...speechless" BEEEEE STAAAAWWP

- Alpha Trion's "ROAR" era.

- Sentinel's Death. I love that we can get away with gore in PG films when it comes to robots. Man literally got snapped in half like a KitKat, and the age rating people were like "...yeah, 5-year-olds can watch this"

- Origins of the Decepticon symbol being from Megatronus. Before, I just headcanonned Megs sitting over a desk with several balled up bits of paper trying to come up with a super cool symbol to show his Ex that he'd moved on (he hasn't)

- Chromia's little moment of rage when she won the Iacon 5000. Not enough people talk about Chromia, but I love how Ironhide matches her wild, slightly-unhinged energy.

Conclusion: Hasbro, more movie, please

I NEED to know where this goes. This movie is such a fresh change of pace from all the hesitation and back and forth in recent years. There have been so many different series and continuities starting up that it seems Hasbro is unsure of which one will stick, but this is my plea to them:

YOU HAVE STRUCK ENERGON, HERE, DO NOT WASTE IT

We're getting a sequel either way, but it's up to Hasbro whether that's written by them or by a hero on AO3 or Fanfiction.net

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. I have several nights of crying to do now.

[ratmanzhq]

Hey! I found ur Stem Siblings AU- idk if ur still doing it- but if you are I have some questions if you don’t mind me asking. (Amazing AU and great art!) first, can the twins feel when the other is using a certain power? Like overtime they can sense when one is using their power- like they can use it to know which power the can use or to react the other twin down if they got separated? Second, Twin Telepathy- can they use it or like a form of it? Or do they pretend they can just to mess with people- that’d be funny. Third, since Kai has a dragon ‘form’ does Nia too? Or like in Season 4, are their dragons affected? Like it’s a two headed dragon, or a dragon that can split into two and merge into one, or like two separate dragons that just never leave each others side? 4th, what do the other ninjas think of the twins- not just the main 4 at the beginning but like all their friends throughout the story, like Ronin, Derek, Skylar, etc. 5th, this goes back to 1st and 2nd- as their powers grow- do they form a sort of mental link- like they can sense each others emotions or just like sense where the other is or when they are in danger?

Sorry with all the questions, amazing art! Hope ur still doing the Steam Siblings AU

Thanks for the questions!!!! I love getting them.

I am still trying to make more art for the AU. I'm currently trying to write a fic or the bare bones of it.

But to answer the questions:

Depending on if only one of the twins can use the power. They might feel with training if the other is using the element, but I don't know right now. It is a cool concept, so I have to think about it.

No, I don't think they can do a twin telepathy, but they totally would fake it. The only way I feel they might is if they connect to their powers fully or something. It also depends on only one can use the power (I am currently flip-flopping with it)

Yeah, Nya also has dragon form and their elemental dragon would be affected like their spinjitsu. One more fun idea, they can only summon elemental dragons together. The dragon would be two-colored for sure. Two heads would be cool, especially if the elements are at odds with one another. Twins can summon their dragon, but they keep fighting each other.

A curiosity for elemental people, but other than that I think similar to the show. They will be more close relationship than in the show and that could play out in several ways. You see Nay, so Kai has to be close and vice-versa. And I can see them being menaces to the bad guys, so they might be more “feard” by them.

I think they can sense each other, they just don't know it and only one of them dying do they feel that they have a connection to the other.

thanks again!!!

[soraviie]

Hmmm I have an idea for MTL: MTL feel left out/upset if you do something without him / without telling him - nothing bad, just like, eg. at 2pm in the afternoon while he's at work you randomly decide to shave your head or get a puppy and don't tell him til he gets home (who would think of it as a fun surprise, who'd be 'you could have warned me, you know I don't like surprises', and who would be like 'why didn't you tell me you wanted to do this, we could have done it together').

JIMIN — perhaps a predictable one but you can't tell me who wouldn't. Probably wold be standing in a doorway, tapping his foot and sulking.

"What part about we're a couple, do you not understand?"

"It's not even that seriou—"

"I am you. You are me. Understood?"

His eyebrows come to knit together in order to portray a nearly unified line of discontent as his cheeks expand in an insulted pout.

"Yes, sir," with a sigh, you relent.

NAMJOON? — I don't know why but I'd feel like if it's a decision that would impact his life, no matter how inadvertently he'd like to know. If it's would be like what kind of dress you should buy or whether to get a new DLC for your favourite game, he wouldn't care but he would care— ok, lemme just explain. I feel like if you lived separate he wouldn't be as upset. Show him your new dog?

"Oh, you've got a pet...You sure you have the time to take care of them?"

Shave your head? Sure, he'd do a spit take and stammer throughout it but he'd be chill.

"O-oh, you're- you're...without hair! That's...I mean you look great!"

"Joon, you don't have to fake it."

But if you'd live together, I feel like he'd get more upset? In a way, merging your lives together means you debate things more. I don't think Namjoon really likes surprises at home, 'cause it's supposed to be his steady rock and you along with it, so he wouldn't appreciate not having a conversation even if it's a passing one.

TAEHYUNG — I feel like he'd be on the fence about this. Depends largely on what the surprise is and truthfully what his mood is that day. If it'd be a new haircut, he'd hype you up but if it'd be like "let's fly out to meet my parents" he'd sit there like:

"Yeeeeyy, how great." For large things, like changing apartment interior, going away for a couple days, travelling or changing jobs he'd be a bit sulky but largely he'd just hype you up.

JIN — would tease you about doing something, especially, if you'd buzzy your hair (he'd be such a meanie about it T-T calling you egghead for days) but he wouldn't prohibit you from doing so. As long as you don't leave home, come or go somewhere in the middle of the night (I feel like that'd be a rule for both of you. Sort of like "you can go wherever you want just tell me where and when are you coming back") he's okay with it. He might pretend to be disapproving of a pet at first but he'd totally be like that one "dad and the dog" meme.

HOSEOK — our king of green flags. Would actually love if you'd be that kind of person who could go along your wishes and not need to consult anyone about it. I feel like he'd like a certain degree of mutual independence. Yes, you're together and you love each other very much but you've got your own lives and sometimes one just has to do what they feel like it that day. Regardless, he would wholly support you and be a phenomenal hype man, well, until it's a thing that ends up with you getting hurt, he's not fond of that.

JUNGKOOK — You'd place him higher wouldn't you? But...Jungkook is spontaneous himself. If he wants to shave off his eyebrows at 2:30 in the morning, he will so in that way he sort of can't really get mad at you for doing the same thing. Without a single thought in his head, he would say yes if you asked to join. Help you dye your hair in the sink? Sure. Go out and eat some ice cream and children's playground? Sounds good but if you want to do it alone, he doesn't put much fuss. Though obviously he doesn't like you going around at night.

"I got hungry and you were still at work," you weakly defend, twirling your thumbs. Seeing the number of phone calls, reaching double digits, you felt a sickly feeling fester in the pit of your stomach. And yes, it also just could be that 24/7 shop hot dog but coming home to a genuinely distraught Jungkook pacing around the room, certainly did not help.

He heaves a pinched sigh, the space between his eyebrows etched with deep wrinkles.

"I'm not mad at you," he says, both hands on his hips. "But...world is dangerous. You know that, right?"

"Of course, I do."

"Just...just take Bam with you if you go out."

YOONGI — It's not that he doesn't care, he does! but it's still your life. So as long as you don't force him into plans, you answer all of his calls and don't literally leave the country, he's okay with supporting you from the side. He trusts your judgement, in that way. Even if you would change your job , he wouldn't make a scene. At most his eyes would widen, for example, if you visit his studio with an impromptu tattoo all over the arm.

If he thinks something is not a good look but you're beaming with all the world's joy, at most he'd just drawl cautiously:

"Are you...ssuuuureeeee about that?"

"Yeah," you grin broadly at him and a part of him melts as you do. "Isn't it great?"

"Sure, of course," he's quick to agree, nodding along with the lies. "It's your life. Do what makes you happy."

© soraviie, 2023

[razberrypuck]

obligatory qsmp zombie au thoughts that have been swimming in my brain (except its a little bit charlie/slimeriana centered bc im a sucker for them)

zombies are (more or less) the same functionally as normal zombies, but significantly more... sludge-y. as the infection spreads throughout the body, anything that can rot is overtaken by a disgusting, slime-like substance (jrwi fans think victims of the black sea). this substance, in its "purest" form is bright green; however that color may change when mixed with rotting flesh. this substance is extremely maliable, sticky, and can stretch quite far- but should not be handled without proper protection, as infection can and will occur.

direct contact with this substance is the only way to be infected by it. however, when an individual is infected, after a certain point slime will begin leaking from the eyes, nose, and mouth, as well as any wounds the individual may have.

behaviorally, changes don't typically occur until the previously described stage. then, infected individuals will become noticeably more hostile. an individual won't lose their sentience in full until the infection reaches the brain.

charlie slimecicle is patient zero. my man cannot catch a break. because of the manner in which he was infected, he seems to be partially exempt from the behavioral changes the other infected show (hostility comes and goes, essentially. he's usually able to control himself.) charlie is missing his left eye and entire right arm and shoulder; the latter has been replaced entirely by slime (though he usually wraps bandages around it to cover it up). he also as a large gash on his forehead, above said missing eye.

the first group survivors were originally two groups that merged into one (the two train groups minus charlie). the "eggs" are children they found about a month after joining forces. they split up the work of raising the kids between them, but it is very much a "it takes a village" situation. the brazilians and french are small groups of survivors that found and joined the larger group at later dates.

anyway uh at some point, somehow, juanaflippa is separated from the group. for almost a full month, no one has any fucking idea where this kid vanished to, and many are convinced that she died- but surprise, she didn't! eventually she finds her way back to the group, with a new friend in tow. another survivor, they think-- until they get a better look at him.

enter patient zero. as it turns out, flippa got very lucky, being found by charlie. injured and being hunted down by a hoard, he saved her life. it didn't take long for flippa to figure out just how infected he was, and how much danger she was in just being AROUND him- but he was kind, and took care of her as best he could in the month spent searching for her makeshift family. she was the one who insisted he join her when they found them.

it took a little bit of convincing, but they didn't immediately kill charlie. but, for fear of possible infection (though she had no way of spreading it if she WERE infected) the adults very strictly instructed the rest of the children to stay far away from flippa, and charlie as well. mariana, though relieved to have flippa back, was in the same boat regarding charlie's presence. they tended to argue a lot- but flippa still insisted upon being around him, so he and mariana spent more than enough time around each other.

I don't have many specific thoughts after this point yet but like. I have so much brainrot over this ik I don't normally post abt au's but I NEED to share this

if you have any ideas for ANYTHING w/this (absolutely doesn't have to be centered on the characters I talked abt specifically) even if it's just possible worldbuilding PLEASE add on I would love to hear more ideas!!!!!!!

[pigspeetsandhooflikefeets]

ur tags on the one post PLS share some of ur wayne analysis if you’d like

I covered the fact Wayne represents the Frogs' logos (with Emma being the pathos but I'm still trying to decide who's ethos. Bowie? Julia? Julia misquotes the Dalai Lama and talks about goddesses and crystals, so probably her?) but it's really noticeable how malleable a person Wayne is. In Ep04, while he sets himself up for being on the offense with Raj, Bowie, and why-ever they brought MK along, when it was obvious they were better off defending, he was like. defense it is. As he is a sports boy, it'd be assumed he's only good at one position (as most goalies couldn't just become a center fielder as a sub, since they don't train for the same things), especially a less "glamourous" position such as defense (in reality it does not matter, but people pretend offense players are better) He's an exceptionally good sport, which is not something we can say about all the other sports-based/jock TD characters.

It's also to note that Wayne is the first person on the team to call out MK on being a bad team player. Wayne doesn't usually look mad, but he did NOT look happy at MK refusing to huddle up and suggest there's no reason to think strategy. He's completely ok with Emma taking over and picking roles tho, so he's pretty damn comfortable with not always being the leader (as noted with Ep02, where he adapts to Emma's plan. have I mentioned those two are such team leaders for the Frogs? A million times? Oh sorry)

There's a notable subversion with their paired identities for Wayne and Raj. Wayne is the captain, while Raj is [one of the] alternate captain[s]. Essentially, Raj is Wayne's vice president. However, Wayne is a lot more reliant on Raj, than their team identities are. Throughout the season, Wayne asks Raj's opinion on everything (notably in Ep01, as one of his first defining characterizations), but Raj doesn't as often do the same. In Ep06, Raj is the one to immediately leave the catapult, while Wayne made no motion to be the one to separate themselves. He also didn't comment on Bowie calling the two of them in their "cozy", (which Raj defends, saying they're teammates, so) because that sort of attachment is so normal to Wayne he doesn't feel a need to react to people commenting on it, while Raj does. In Ep03, Wayne receives a [long] pep talk from Raj, but Raj never needed one himself going first of Emma's suggestion (or it happened off screen, but like, if it did there'd be the time for a joke where someone says "WE ALREADY DID THIS"). And also the bit in Ep06 where Raj explains Wayne has a way too stressed face when pooping (note: Raj?)

There's also the long-running plot point where Wayne is pretty concerned with what Raj thinks of him, afraid that Raj is afraid he's homo/biphobic, and that's the driving reason that Raj didn't come out to him like. Immediately. The fear of "well he tells me everything, if he won't tell me this, it's clearly something I did", but due to the 13 episode time limit of the show, Wayne didn't have time to make this insecurity about him and was just increasingly unsubtle, never really trying to force him out.

I know it's super easy and super fun to reduce the two to "omg sports himbos <3" but Wayne's got some emotional intelligence on him, and he is not a carbon copy of Raj, and it's much more than just the lack of a gay love interest. He'll always take the role of leader, but if someone else has a successful idea, he'll hop down and let them take the wheel. Paired with his leadership, friendly attitude, and general respect for everyone around him (not to Keith tho) I can see him making finale a lot more than I can see Raj making finale.

I think having the boys on separate teams and having Raj leave pre-merge could be really impactful. Wayne waits at the cabin for Raj to come back and tell him who left, but he just... never returns. Wayne wasn't at the ceremony, so he didn't even get to say goodbye. Wayne wants to throw the challenge but someone (Emma, Bowie, Julia, etc) tells him to snap out of it because Raj would be furious Wayne gave up on himself. And Wayne has to pick himself up off the ground and win for Raj. Like the Katie and Sadie micro-arc, except give Wayne more time to suffer within himself before being told to stop, as well as not axe him with no actual development. I think that kind of emotional rupture could change my brain chemistry.

[wasted-women]

ROUND 1A, MATCH 7 OUT OF 8!

Note that all the names listed in the poll are their original Japanese names. In the Pokemon Dub, Ai's name is Amber. In the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters dub Cyndia Crawford's name is Cecelia Pegasus. In Yu-Gi-Oh!! Arc V, Serena's name is Celina and Ruri Kurosaki's name is Lulu Obsidian (Rin's is the same).

Cause of Death & Propaganda Under the Cut:

Ai Fuji

Cause of Death: Car Accident

Propaganda:

[No Propaganda Submitted]

Cyndia Crawford

Cause of Death: Unspecified Illness

Propaganda:

[No Propaganda Submitted]

Serena, Rin, and Ruri Kurosaki

Cause of Death: Merged into the Same Person

Propaganda:

I don't know if this counts because technically they didn't die but honestly they basically died. Basically to explain the plot of the series, there was a girl named Ray and she got split into four different girls throughout four different dimensions. Those girls are Yuzu, Serena, Rin, and Ruri. By the end of the show, all of them merge into Yuzu. Mind you, these were all individual girls who all had individual lives and families (Ruri has a brother Shun who is another main character) but it is never addressed how horrific that is that they just aren't people anymore. Throughout the show a lot of the characters were set up to have significant roles but by the end they are just kidnapped to give the guy in their life motivation to find them and then they die anyway. I also think they would work better grouped together than separately because they were treated the same way.

[nightglider124]

Titans: Season 4 - Ep 12: Finale, Dickkory + Whole Show - Thoughts

Oof, this is gonna be a long ass post. I'm gonna put into words my thoughts on the finale, my thoughts on dickkory in the finale as well as dickkory in general in the show and lastly a few thoughts on Titans as a whole since it began 4 years ago.

No word of a lie, I just sat and rewatched the finale with a notebook, noting every. single. thought. So... buckle up and good luck if you're gonna try reading to the end. XD

Episode 12: Titans Forever (Series Finale)

So, first, I'm just gonna talk about the finale without gushing over Dickkory. I will, obviously but I'm gonna separate them out.

I love that it got straight back into the action with little to no filler. Filler stuff fucks me off when you're so close to the end like in a finale, there should be no filler and for that, Titans got points from me.

I really liked that Rachel did her lil soul self projection - that was cool and not something we've seen her do before in the show (I don't think) so I found that a cool thing to throw in rather than having Kory just blow the door up which let's face it, still would have been boss af.

Lmao, Sebastian continues to be just such a little whiny bitch. XD I've said it every week but he's just so annoying. Don't get me wrong, I think Joseph Morgan did it well and he is a good actor but God, Sebastian is just so unlikeable for me. He fucking sucks and if I was in STAR labs, I would have thrown a punch like FUCK. The only time I was nervous of him was when he had my girl Kory for a hot minute. I did not enjoy that.

LOL. Trigon got like 2 mins of screen time and was then just gone. It was hilarious to me, I gotta be honest. Like Trigon was built up and then just got hacked by his son lmaooo. It had me laughing, ngl. Drinking the blood from his heart was weird af but was in keeping with the rest of the Blood cult and what the show has shown them to be like including Sebastian but still. Grim.

I really loved the title intro; how the images on the TITANS was the core four and then flashed as usual to the four of them from season 1. Idk if that was intentional but it felt like it and I appreciated it a lot.

GAR'S CRYING FACE THROUGHOUT THIS FUCKING EPISODE. MY POOR BABY, GOD DAMN IT. Conner's 'death', Kory's 'death'... like fuck give him a break.

GLAD TO FINALLY SEE GOOD BOI KRYPTO. I was wondering where the heck he had been, honestly. Good to see him there at the end. XD

Lmao, so I get it was to show like Dick was hopeful Conner would be okay but him whipping out his phone to make a dinner reservation had me cackling like bro, pick a better moment pls. Out of context, that would be so fucking funny. XD

I adored Tim's little rejoin with the team. He is such a Robin nerd, I love him. Everyone smirking like the cutie he is was sweet af.

Also really loved Kory and Rachel's power merge. It did fuck all cos he wasn't actually there but it made me happy. My girls. <3

Sebastian riding up to STAR Labs on his little blue bike - bitch, someone should have sniped your fucking ass off of it then & there.

I felt bad for Dr Espenson; I liked her. What a grim way to go too. Screaming, bleeding - ick.

Bernard literally getting up to see everyone getting murdered and was like well shit, fuck, I gotta move. XD

Lmao, Dick literally keeping a secret about a womhole; I was just... this is so on brand for him ffs. XD

Sebastian just being like, 'Fuck your password' and Calliope accepting it made me giggle. Idk why.

I really liked the explanation from Calliope about how powerful Kory really can be - Her strength is always downplayed in every media format, I swear. It fucks me off so badly. The woman can literally go toe to toe with Superman ffs like acknowledge her power, DC, you little bitch. God.

Kory getting controlled was a no no for me. When her eyes went red and she went a' wandering, I was like NOOO KORY! STOPPP! SNAP OUTTA IT!

I really liked the scene with Kory and Sebastian like my heart was racing and in my mouth cos it was like don't fucking touch her, you psycho but the tension was really good in that scene, I thought.

I won't lie, some scenes were weirdly paced however, I think it would work fine if you were binge watching the whole season. I like that it's straight in but it felt a tad all over the place in some parts but again, I don't think it would be an issue if you're just watching all the episodes together.

"You're no God." - Fucking GET HIM, Kory. Get wrecked, Sebastian, you glorified mama's boy.

The team takedown of the metahuman assault squad was rad; I loved the teamwork and the moves and it felt good to watch. I very much enjoyed it.

"I won't help you destroy my home - Either one of them" - Oh, Kory <3 You literally are such a sweetheart and I loved that it wasn't left to be ambiguous like gasp, which did she mean?

I DID NOT AND DO NOT APPRECIATE KORY IN PAIN. FUCK OFF.

Gar & Tim's friendship gives me life. They're just such bros; the shoulder taps and smirks like they are SUCH boys. I love them.

I SNORTED at the way Dick just pops outta nowhere and sucker punches Sebastian. It was so funny. XD

"For the record, that game you made fucking sucks." LOL TIM, my fucking soul mate. I was DYING. XD

Gar almost getting dragged into the wormhole had me on EDGE. Like, not my sweet, cinnamon boy, no thank you.

Rachel waking Kory; I was SOBBING. The flashes of Kory memories. My actual heart hurt.

Nightwing literally fighting until he is deadass on the floor was giving me life. We love to see a determined fool.

Superboy showing up last minute was pretty dope like a secret weapon, I liked it and was wondering like is Conner gonna appear orrr...? XD

LOL Conner with Tim & Gar was cute and great. "Wait, was I dead?" and Tim brushing it off like, "I'll explain later" had me creasing.

My God, Kory's sudden power up and her just soaring straight through the fucking roof had be cheering loudly like it was the best and is a favourite scene by loads. It was so frickin' cool and something I like to see Kory do in shows and movies and shit cos she is just so slept on by DC. She is fucking amazing and yet... we never get to see her like that or very rarely. I loved it.

The kids' sad faces when Kory is like 'No' to throwing Sebastian through the wormhole. I die. Rachel especially - Her face was so sad and if you look closely, you can see Rachel is like sobbing but trying to restrain her emotions after Kory lets go of her hand. She knew. She knew what mama Kory was gonna do.

Honestly, this scene with Kory still making the sacrifice was hard on my emotions and was the one that had me closest to tears - I was full on at the edge of crying ugly ass tears.

Kory's supernova was perfect to me. Like, yes, look at that damn powerhouse goddess.

Ryan's crying face had me wanting to cry this whole episode, omg.

Firstly... the Christmas scene is so weirdly placed, I thought and I have to say it. I don't get, and I've seen others question this too, if it's meant to be a flashback or a future vision. I assume it's the end of S3 cos Kory's hair, Tim isn't yet there, Rachel's hair is purple still... but Dickkory?? EXCUSE ME that is a bit cozy for just friends? Dick's hand on her waist and they are literally standing so close together wtf?? It was so freakin' cute regardless but yeah, it felt randomly placed. I agree, it should have been maybe used as a flash forward instead? Idk.

I keep mentioning it but GAR CRYING HAD MY HEART BREAKING EVERY TIME.

The float back down from space and the focus on her - Just really made me smile cos like it reminds me why Kory is and will forever be my favourite DC character and just fictional character in general. Thanks to Anna like Titans Kory has joined the roster for my top versions of Kory, idgaf what anyone thinks. I love her.

THE GROUP HUG. I AM A MESS.

The dinner scene was so bittersweet like it makes sense for the young ones to go - it was foreshadowed multiple times for each of them really but I was so sad. I not like team splits. I recently watched a new hero movie... hint hint where this is the same ending and I sobbed in the cinema. I hate these endings but I also get it. Like I said, bittersweet.

Gar embracing The Red & doing something for him felt right and a 'Good for him' moment.

Rachel going to college!! I like the Bludhaven Easter egg - it made me smile.

Tim is such a cutie and I really love Jay's portrayal of him.

---

Conner, we all knew that was coming too. All the babies flying the nest, I am SOBBING.

Love Krypto sat at the fucking table of this fancy ass restaurant lmaooo.

I really loved the finale, I will be honest. I really didn't have issues with it other than the small few I've listed. Like, I wish we had more time with the characters but the episode ending left me on a high but that could be cos it ended on my babies... It felt like an upbeat way to end the series and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

____________________________________________

Episode 12: Titans Forever (Series Finale) - Dickkory & DK Thoughts

So, I'm gonna basically do the same as above. Ima go through the episode and just gush about the DK scenes lmao.

I really did feel like there was Dickkory moments in every scene. There were individual scenes but I felt it was always there in the background. All of Dick's choices and his motivations etc, I felt like he always had Kory in his mind, personally.

The freakin' RV scene with them had me feeling all kinds of ways. It had me giggling and tearing up. The banter about them first meeting and her stealing his car!! I am so happy that that got brought up since we never really had them talk about those things after S1. For a while, it felt like it just got retconned. Glad to see it was not and they reflected on it.

Dick's fucking sad eyes and his broken way of being like, "Please, don't." I die. Brenton expressions especially when Dick is with Kory have always been so top tier, I stg.

LOL, when they learn about Project Icarus, Dick's eyes keep shifting back and forth to Kory as if being like "Fuck, wifey so gon' be big mad."

UGH. The "Kory, wait!" when she leaves the RV and is getting into the porche. The way he calls and runs out after her felt very reminiscent of S1 in Angela's house after she attacks Rachel. Like, mmm, yes. It felt similar and I adored it.

Dick & Kory's continued banter in the porche. Their serious af conversation about what they're going to intermingled with the reference yet again to his car and how they're even for his car and Dick's smirk... I loved it sm.

I loved that Kory checked his ass about Project Icarus when he got into the porche before she could drive off. He's so quick to be like, "Babe, I didn't even know nothing." XDDD Honestly, it's giving husband and wife. It had me dying.

"We're stronger together; you know we are." - STOP IM SOBBING. I really loved that line.

Dick's eyes are literally trained on Kory so. much. in this episode. He is concerned af and I am so here for it.

Dick's concern in the lab when she is awol is so cute like he is STRESSIN' but we love to see it.

LOL, Dick at the doors like, "BERNARD!" Like fuck man, give him a second! XD He called out like 3 times and was so impatient, it was hilarious. He was really giving, "My wife is in there with a psycho pls open the fucking doors." XD

Dick's fighting was so love fuelled, i don't care what anyone says. He literally fights like not my alien Princess, you don't, you dick! xD I'm probs delusional but all I could think was Dick's more pissed cos Kory is in danger.

Dick was so hopeful after Sebastian went down. He was like woo, yeah, we did it, it's over. Let's throw him into space, no dead Kory today. And she is just like... I'm sorry and dfhjhsdlkh. I was in pain. You can see him crumbling and is still trying to find ways for her not to do this. I had full on tears in my eyes.

The face caress like... it's so painful. He looks so crestfallen. I cannot.

"I don't know how to do that... I can't" - He sounded so broken, my poor dumbass!! I was in pain with this whole sequence.

Dick's tearfilled eyes - I was honestly so emosh; Anna and Brenton did that scene so well.

I really love the pause on Dick whilst they think Kory is dead like it's as if he knows or legit just cannot fathom Kory being gone.

HIS LIL WALK BACK OVER TO HER ONCE SHE COMES DOWN FROM SPACE. IT WAS A WALK WITH PURPOSE. You CANNOT tell me he wasn't instantly like, "Ima kiss her" when she came back to Earth. He had that determination in his eyes. She was getting thoroughly kissed.

THE KISS!!!!! SQUEEEEEE. Guys, I fucking died. I know it was a very long time coming and overdue but it was a good kiss. Dick diving in for a second kiss made me melt. I loved it.

The boys all grinning in the back had me smilinggg. Whether it was cos mom and dad were kissing or cos Kory wasn't dead, Idc it was cute.

Kory's lil 'Whoa' after the kiss was so adorable.

THE HAND ON HER BACK. Dick's hand was glued to her as they went over for the group hug. He was not letting go and it was... so cute.

Honestly, Dick's heart eyes again at Dinner where she's like "Guess you never know what the future holds" and his smile like fuck man, she's yours. Quit it alreadyyy!

Sighhh, the whole conversation when they were alone was great and I espesh loved, "They're not even leaving us Krypto" XD

The 'It's weird' 'What? You and I alone together?' was cute and ughhhhh I was dying.

The damn stroller with the red balloon. We see you, Titans. GOD! I liked that we got the subtle hint without a flashforward to having had Mar'i. I put this in the tags of a reblog and like I would have still sobbed at that but I like the subtle route a lot.

LOL DICK's "Maybe we should get on that" HAD ME CHOKING HAHAHA like BRO, you are leaping ahead. Even Kory took a minute looking at him like is this guy for real rn?? Man went from 'I don't do feelings' to 'I've picked the paint for our baby's nursery' lightning fast XDDD. But, they defo went home after and slept together after those drinks. You can't convince me otherwise.

They were so giddy and cutesy. Like, ugh I'm not over it. I'm on such a dickkory high.

I LOVE the ending on the bridge. Sunshine Kory skipping ahead and holding hands with and dragging her smiley yet grumpy Dick along. It just felt so them and the little bubbly action from Kory felt VERY her. Like it really sang, Kory to me.

I'm so happy they ended with Dickkory in a place so happy and in love - it rarely happens in DC so I am thrilled.

Guys, I know at times, it felt neverending and I'm with other DK fans. I really wish they had done this with Dickkory earlier in the show, I really do. I feel like we could have skipped some exes and other shit and got to this point with them a lot sooner but it is what it is.

I'm actually just so happy that they ended it on such a fluffy, lighthearted note for them. Like, they are so loved up at the end of the show and it just makes me happy that we got that. Could they have done more with them through the whole show? Absolutely. Could they have gotten to this point with them earlier? Also, absolutely.

But, I am grateful for the moments through each season that we got with them. Like, I think if I was to rewatch from S1, bearing in mind that Dick's basically been a goner since the night at the motel in S1, I feel like the seasons and episodes would feel different.

I'm just really grateful that I have another show that gave me dickkory content. I've followed them through multiple versions. TT Cartoon, DCAU, comics, TT Cartoon comics, TTG (in parts), Live action... like I just love them in every universe, including this one even if it's been trying at times.

But, there was nothing ambiguous about this ending for me. The point is to end them on a high all giggly and happy and thoroughly in love. I look forward to the fic writers for live action dickkory to cook up some beautiful fics after this just to keep the joy going.

I WISH there could have been an S5 to see Dick and Kory in an actually established place but that's what imaginations are for and luckily for me, I can imagine dickkory scenarios til the cows come home XD.

I've really enjoyed this version of them. It's been different but I still love them. I love Brenton as Dick and Anna as Kory respectively and I think their chemistry has worked so well in this show and it doesn't hurt that they are so close in real life. It's really sweet.

Idk, I have no issues with how they were ended. I was scared we wouldn't get a kiss but that kiss was adorable and ugh the last scene on the bridge just makes me so smiley, even now after hours of rewatching it XD

____________________________________________

Titans - Whole Show - Thoughts

I have always been very back and forth with Titans, I won't lie and tbh, anyone that follows me or knows me, knows that I've dipped in and out of Titans constantly.

However, going into Titans, I have ALWAYS said from day dot one that I was watching it for three specific things. Kory, Gar & Dickkory. That was it, hence I've never really cared for much beyond those things so my opinion will be wildly different from others, I am sure.

Season 1 got me invested. I loved the core four; hated the fucking pigeons and will die on my hill that they were a waste of screen time. But, our core four were the best thing about the first season, it was amazing.

Season 2 I enjoyed greatly but I did pull back a little but there were moments that brought me back in. And, there were some characters like Donna that reeled me back in cos I love her and I enjoyed hers and Kory's friendship as well as her friendship with Dick. I liked the storyline since Slade has always been a Titans douchebag but we love him.

Season 3, lmao, I dropped, I won't lie. I watched pieces from mutuals and sought out scenes and episodes of interest but honestly, it died a little for me in S3. It was based in Gotham and it had a tiny rekindle of another ship which... I saw zero value in doing. I was so anti season 3 lmao.

Season 4 pulled me right back in as it reminded me of S1. We'd lost the annoying af birds and it was back to core four plus Tim and Conner but like I was fully on board for them cos they didn't deter from the team vibe. Whereas, other side characters absolutely did and it was frustrating. Season 4 has definitely been my favourite season in the show.

It probably goes Seasons 4, 1, 2 & 3 tbh.

I've always had issues with Titans in various forms but y'know what? Overall, I've loved watching it. I wish some things had done better but I still loved the show that was given to fans overall.

I'm so sad it's ended but I am glad to have had some fan interactions through the course of the show. Dickkory fans especially know the DK desert is dry af most of the time so this was really nice to have the tag vibing most of the time.

I'm sad to see the show go and I hope we don't have to wait long to get something else Titans related that isn't a fucking backwards af comic from the assholes at DC. The irony, huh? XD

Thanks, Titans. It's been fun.

Dickkory friends, I look forward to forthcoming art and fics to read cos I need them to keep me on the high for the next few weeks. XD

P.S, well done if you actually read this whole thing. You're either amazing or insane. <3

[holiday-7]

Songs that I feel give off the vibes of one of the Mewman queens. Part 2

(BTW: this series isn't based off of whether or not they would like the song. it's based off of what kind of vibes I feel like the queens give off from the song. Also, I will explain why that song gives off a certain queen of Mewni vibe. Well, most times. If I'm not really feeling it that day, then I'll just post the queen and song.)

My sources for this post are: The Show (you just need a Disney+ or Hulu subscription) and Genius (no money whatsoever, you just need some wifi). The spellbook will not be a source for this post because everything in the spellbook is also in the show when it comes to her or it just doesn't matter.

Queen: Star Butterfly

Song: Brain & Heart by Melanie Martinez

Let's try to do another analysis. And this may come out way quicker because this song is just easier to associate with Star. Especially because Star is in like, every episode of the show. Also, I'm very bad at explaining things. So pls don't be mad if this post is super disorganized.

Brain & Heart is about balancing your decision making and embracing both logic and emotion. And that sound's exactly like Star. Let's start with the first verse.

"Bring up all my memories folder please, in the temporal lobe" this could defiantly describe The Tavern at The End of the Multiverse. When she was in her wand confronting Glossaryck. And it could be her at the end of the show reflecting about her life on Earth. You know, before it got merged into Earthni.

"False loving when I was illogical" could talk about how she treated Tom during their relationship between seasons 3 and 4. It really felt like she never loved him to begin with and the relationship felt super duper forced just to get to Starco. And it could be her reflecting back on that relationship and realizing that she was the problem (second time around duh.)

"Didn't know they held each other's hands 'cause they made one whole" This is defiantly talking about Starco tbh. Around the end of the series they finally realized that they probably were for each other. And this could also be talking about how Star does become more and more responsible and logical throughout the show while still trying to lead with her heart.

"Cook, cook, cook now ability to sleep sound" could be whenever she fights evil and she brings peace to Mewni or to her friends.

"Throughout the star, time's an illusion if you just remove it" could be talking about around the end of the show. When Star started thinking that magic was terrible and that it needed to be destroyed.

"When did humans start to separate brain and heart as if they could stay alive alone" defiantly would be Star embracing both. Because she is very passionate and leads with her heart. But she still does use her brain in times that call for it.

"What fun is it to be so calculated or be taken advantage of 'cause your heart's too trusting" references the other queens. Like Moon being calculated and Festivia's heart being too trusting (I don't even know wtf I'm saying tbh.) Star is probably one of the only queens to be the balance between the brain and heart.

"Help me when I'm too detached and cold." Starco 100% because they defiantly helped each other through difficult times. It could also be referring to having Glossaryck help her with her magic skills.

"Fervency in my arteries, passion bloomin' through my bones." This could be talking about Star leading with her heart instead of her brain. But she still needs her brain to make logical decisions.

"Heartstings trigger emotions, dreams" defiantly relates to the episode "Butterfly Trap." Especially when Star finds out that the MHC lied to her family for generations. She was 100% angry in my opinion.

"Sometimes I think you're all I need" could be talking about Marco and how she loved him. She even admitted to loving him during the season 2 finale. And especially when she kissed him during the back half of season 4. Basically, she loves him.

"Wise beyond belief" is defiantly talking about her character development throughout the show. She went from a kid who couldn't handle positions of power to being that same kid, but more logical and thinks more about her responsibilities. She legit had an identity crisis in season 4 trying to figure out what she was going to do now that she wasn't responsible for Mewni anymore.

Again, ty for your time if you've read the entire thing. If you wanna read part 1, it's right here. Also super duper sorry if this took longer to finish. I though I was gonna have this up like, a day or two ago. But I got really lazy and couldn't really think of anything. But now it's up. And I'm happy about that. Now here's a pic of Star's wand and some fan art of her (go check Kiramice's insta for the art).

[curiositythecryptid]

Hello, back again another fic promo post!

It just took breaking a Dancy Pants machine, elemental merging and stopping the apocalypse for the nth time. Are all engagements this eventful? or, Diversity win! Nya gets a serving of the trauma salad. Cole is surprisingly experienced in the particular field.

This one is vaguely a sequel to four truths of the disembodied, if you've ever read that one! It took me a while to get around to posting this one on Tumblr bc I have some things I wanted to say about it.

Author's notes below the cut!

One very common Nya take I've seen in my year of fandom experience is that Nya still has the facial markings from her time as the Endless Sea, usually blue or glowing blue at some point, or that her hair is still water or turns into water when she uses her powers.

Those headcanons and fanart are really cool, I have to admit they lend themselves to excellent visuals, but the mechanics of them (as well as the mechanics of [shudders] Crystallized in general) always bugged me just enough to keep me thinking.

Let's start with Crystallized. To defeat Wojira, Nya merged with the ocean, opened herself up completely to her powers. In order to bring her back, they had to take her powers away, but they did so in a way that we already know (from Kai's experience) is not permanent. So, she does, and awfully quickly, get her powers back.

But wait. Isn't that separation from her powers is what brought her back to life to begin with? I like to give the show the benefit of the doubt, but still... Crystallized writing, amiright?

So anyway. I'm all for, after such a sudden burst of power being essentially fixed with some duct-tape and hardy faith, Nya having some kind of permanent mark and consequence from it all. It's just that, I think the situation was too dire and too powerfully magical for the consequence to only be a change in design. I need the functionality of her powers to be affected too, or, as I present in this fic, for her power to affect and represent her mental state in an actually risky way.

This isn't a jab at anyone who does otherwise, neither is this supposed to say no one has ever done this, I just really liked my concept and needed to ramble a little about it.

The other thing is: We have a lot of fics about Ninjago characters dealing with trauma from past seasons, and especially, a lot of fics about Jay dealing with Skybound trauma. Sometimes supported by Nya, or Cole, to deal with it. And I do love me some angst.

But while there seems to be a general, vague acknowledgement of how Nya died in a wedding gown, so I see Jaya art that banks on her not wearing a wedding gown if she gets married, but still... I feel like Nya's Skybound trauma is under-explored sometimes, especially compared to Jay's. And she went through a lot that season.

She was ignored, dehumanized, reduced to a face, forced into an outfit she didn't want, had to play into that role to appease to her kidnapper, forced to marry someone creepy, got possessed, used as a human shield and then died.

So yea. I don't think she's like. Fully Okay and Healthy about all that.

Sure, having a cool, strong woman character is fun, but a woman feeling hurt and needing a support network and showing any of the traits women have been associated with and shamed for throughout history shouldn't reduce how seriously she deserves to be taken.

I think we mostly get the idea! We're on a pretty smart website full of pretty smart writers and artists. But there might be someone in the fandom who hasn't yet, so I'm putting this out there anyway.

Thank you if you stuck around this far on this blatant ramble post, and I hope you liked the fic!

[blueeyeswhitegarden]

Day 19: My Heart Beats 'Till Overdrive @arcvmonth

I really like Yugo. He has such a likable and fun personality that it makes him really endearing and fun to watch. It's funny to think back to Yuto's flashback where he first encountered Yugo. A lot of fans thought that he'd be a more serious character, but then he gets mad at a pole for being in his way and yelled at people to stop being unconscious after he defeats them in a duel. It's just kind of funny how he turned into more of a lovable goofball kind of character instead. He has some good running gags with his name and mixing up Rin with Yuzu and Serena. Even the latter does a good job in showing how much he really misses Rin too. While he doesn't get to interact with a lot of the cast for most of the series, I really liked his relationship with Yuzu. They had solid chemistry and felt like fast friends. Yugo crying when he thought that Yuzu was dead was really touching and showed how much he cared about her too. Yugo had some pretty solid and memorable duels throughout the series too. His match against Sawatari was just fun and having Yuya and Yugo sync up together for the first time was really cool too. His duel against Serena was great and allowed her to understand Yuya's ideals more after enjoying a duel that she still ultimately lost. His duel against Rin was emotional and quite surprising too.

Of course, his rivalry and interactions with Yuri led to some really great and funny moments. Yugo can be hotheaded and has a bit of a one track mind, to the point where he doesn't really factor in anything or anyone else around him. Choosing to fight Yuri at Academia instead of going to look for Rin with Ed made sense with his personality in mind. This is the same person who was so caught up in fighting Yuto that he didn't really register that Yuya was there until well after the fact, completely abandoned the Friendship Cup once he saw Yuri and didn't really attempt to help Serena once he got a chance to face Yuri as well. After all of his attempts to get Yuri back for kidnapping Rin, Yugo wouldn't want to let him go again. He was too focused on defeating his opponent to where that became more of a priority, even over saving Rin himself, which does sound a lot like Zarc in a sense. It was still sad to see Yugo lose to Yuri, but there was really no other way their duel could have ended. They had already hyped up Yuri a lot and they definitely wanted Yuya vs. Yuri to happen.

While I think that Yuya and Yugo could have clicked well with each other, I think it was a smart move to keep them separated until the last stretch of the series. I don't think that their dragons fighting each other in the third opening theme necessarily meant that they originally planned for them to duel. We've had misleading openings/endings in the franchise before and the second Arc V opening had that LDS missile too. Given that the Dragon Boys duel each other most of the time they come across each other and the defeated one is absorbed, I don't think it would have worked out well for them. If they had dueled in the Friendship Cup, then regardless of who would have won, they would have become 75% Zarc. Yuya already had a difficult time being 50% Zarc for most of the series. I think Zarc being so close to reviving would have made things extremely worse for everyone. I think that their personalities could have bounced nicely off of each other and their shared friendship with Yuzu could have been a way for them to bond as well, but I don't think that would have mattered given that whoever lost their duel would have been absorbed by the other. Yuya and Yuto were eventually able to connect with each other, but losing to Yugo still led to Yuto merging with Yuya too. While I wouldn't consider Duel Links canon to the anime for a few reasons, it is nice to see being able to interact in that game.

[rwby-redux]

You talked anonymously Ozma and his relationship with Oscar but will Ozpin and Oscar’s relationship be different in your AU then it is in canon? Maybe they be more open and understanding of each other? Or is Ozpin and Ozma one in the same?

I think they would have a wonderful and wholesome relationship where they care for one another if Oz was a little more open in the beginning, will your story give them that?

I hemmed and hawed over whether to answer this question for a couple of reasons. The first is that I haven’t yet deconstructed the issues with the curse, as it’s depicted in the canon. The show frequently likes to bang on about how Oscar’s identity is being subsumed by Oz’s as their souls merge, but how it’s portrayed in the show makes it both dubious and wildly inconsistent. The writers repeatedly dodge any sort of questions about what the end result of this process will look like.

We still don’t even know if the Ozpin we met during V1 – V3 was Ozpin. You know, the man who was Ozma’s last host. The living, breathing person who at some point in his adolescence woke up one day and heard a voice in his head. Who was that person? For all we know, the character we spent three seasons interacting with was just Ozma using Ozpin’s body as his personal meatsuit. Is that the fate awaiting Oscar at the end of the series? His personality (as underdeveloped as it is) just ceases to exist, and gets replaced by the affable old wizard who drinks hot chocolate?

The other reason why I’m reluctant to answer is because it would potentially spoil important details of the Redux’s story.

Since I do want to address this issue, however, I’ve left the answer under a readmore. Hic sunt dracones. Proceed at your own peril.

In the Redux, the curse works a little differently. Ozma’s soul doesn’t merge with that of his host’s. They remain distinct, separate entities that happen to share a body (sort of like how Yugi Muto was the physical host for the pharaoh’s spirit). When the host dies, Ozma’s spirit gravitates to a new host shortly after.

That doesn’t mean that the souls of his hosts are unaffected, however. When the host’s physical body dies, their spirit basically becomes tethered to Ozma’s. They can’t “move on.” They’re bound to the cycle of reincarnation, forever trapped alongside Ozma. Although Ozma’s spirit is the one that Oscar primarily interacts with, Oscar also has access to the spirits of Ozma’s previous hosts, too. There are multiple points throughout the story where Oscar converses with them.

Oscar’s relationship with Ozma is off to a rough start when they first become acquainted. His relationship with Ozpin, however, is much more amicable, since the two of them can sympathize over their shared circumstances. After all, Ozpin was Ozma’s previous host. Oscar's predecessor. It’s much easier to relate to someone who went through the same shit as you, and didn’t have a choice in the matter. (Of course, as Oscar later learns, Ozma didn’t get a choice in this either. But that’s a revelation that comes much later.)

Oscar’s ability to access the spirits of previous hosts is dependent on his connection to Ozma. If for some reason that connection becomes damaged, or Ozma refuses to speak with him, then Oscar can’t communicate with any of them.

There may, however, be a way around that. If it ever became a problem, of course.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Strange Case of Dr. Johnson and Matchess

BY JORDAN MAINZER

I've been covering Matchess at SILY for the blog's entire existence, and almost every time I mentioned her for the first time in a piece, I referred to her by her real name as well, Whitney Johnson. In some ways, this is natural, basic journalism, but it was also influenced by my desire to clarify. That is, throughout the years, at times when Johnson has been part of a bill at a show or even one piece of an ensemble, I've seen her presence referred to with both her moniker and her name. She's finally here to say that, at least from an artistic standpoint, the two are no longer interchangeable. Today, Matchess releases her new cassette of found sounds Stena, using her usual combination of synthesizer and viola. Also today, Whitney Johnson releases her debut album Hav, a voiceless exploration of the human body laden with, yes, viola and electronic instruments, but also marimba. Saturday, at Constellation, the two releases, both out via Drag City, will be celebrated by a quintet of Johnson, Haley Fohr, Lula Asplund, Jenny Pulse, and Alan Sparhawk.

Hav and Stena are different sounding records, but they're also intimately related. The field recordings on the albums come from places where Johnson was doing research or participating in a residency, ranging from rural and Southern Sweden to Greece and Cyprus. She started to notice commonalities between the coastal areas, the landscapes, the rocks. Just as the inspirations between the two records merged, so does the result. The songs on Hav are arguably more "healing" sounding than anything on the solfeggio frequency-inspired Stena. "Agora" shimmers like a gong, while the chiming marimba on "Vari", increasing and decreasing in volume and intensity, lulls you into hypnosis. Stena, on the other hand, is much more tactile and reminiscent of tangible sounds that can be perceived by our minds and bodies, from the distorted church bells of "Klara Kyrka" and the crickets of “Biskopskulla Högstena” to the plucked strings of "DNA Repair" and pulsating voice of "Existe".

Hav and Stena diverge and intertwine all at once, just like Whitney Johnson and Matchess. And they'll only continue as separate, but similar artists, in part thanks to Johnson's position as Assistant Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, a tenure track job in the Art & Technology/Sound Practices Department. One class she's teaching in the fall semester is, appropriately, called Doubles, and comes from her own practice, studying "mirrors, alter egos, polarities, doppelgängers, gender binaries, impostors, twins, and shadows" and exploring how it can turn into psychoacoustic illusion like binaural beats. Perhaps a century from now, it's Johnson and Matchess that will be studied in a similar course.

Earlier this month, I spoke to Johnson about Hav and Stena, keeping a diary, field recording, being physically changed by music, and the importance of context in abstract art. Read our conversation below, edited for length and clarity.

Since I Left You: At what point did you know that Hav and Stena would become reflections of each other, released at the same time as a singular, but separate entity?

Whitney Johnson: I think that two different artists or different paths had been developing for quite some time, [but] not until I started making a record did it become clear [to me]. I started doing all my instillation work and more sound work under my own name, but [the listing] would say, "Whitney Johnson (aka Matchess)" for reference. Vice versa, that started happening, [listings] saying "Matchess is doing [such and such]," and then mentioning my name. A lot more live performances were still billed at Matchess, which makes sense for a lot of reasons, but when I started making these [records], I realized how different they had become. The idea of doing a no vocals, ambient record [like Hav] didn't seem to fit into the Matchess world. There are no lyrics; even though the lyrics are always buried, they're a big part of what inspires my work, symbols that keep coming up. Without having text or voice on Hav, I thought it was definitely something else. Also, bringing in marimba, because Matchess is mostly key-based instruments, synthesizers, organ, and then viola.

SILY: The albums are born from your stays in different areas. Stena, you were staying in rural Sweden, and for Hav, you had an artist in residency at Inkonst near the coast.

WJ: This is where they start to blend, because a lot of the field recordings that show up on Stena are from Cyprus and Greece, where I was doing research in 2021. Then, I was doing residencies in Sweden and research in Sweden for a few months, and a few different times I was there, the geographical influences started to blend, too. Places I didn't naturally think of having much in common, suddenly I started seeing all these commonalities between these places: Coastal island culture is a big thing, and the landscapes were surprisingly similar.

SILY: In rural Sweden, you kept an online diary. Had you ever done that before?

WJ: Not really. I feel like that's something social media facilitated. It was easy to drop something in there that was photos, impressions, less personal and more observation and documentation, like images of rocks and water. That's what "hav" and "stena" mean in Swedish, "sea" and "stone." So that became a theme of everything I was collecting. It also turned into this journal.

SILY: Before, had you treated field recordings as your journal, and now, do you feel like you have more ways of capturing where you were?

WJ: Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. I think in the past, field recording for me was a lot about the thing that was making the sound I was recording. "This is a river," or, "This is a gutter. This is a windmill. This is something that sound this exact way," recording spaces and not really having an object I'm recording, but more doing recording in a place. That made me lean into this more text, journal approach, too.

SILY: When did you decide the solfeggio frequencies were something you wanted to explore in your music?

WJ: This is part of a much bigger line of questioning I've had. What is the connection between sound and the body or bodies in general? There's so much out there that's pretty far out. I don't want to say everything that's true has to have scientific evidence. There are things that may be undiscovered. When stuff has no evidence, I'm kind of a skeptic. The solfeggio frequencies are something someone discovered in the 1970s, and their relations to the body are pretty wild. One is called "DNA Repair"; what could that possibly be? There's the "Frequency of God", so already, it's outside the world of observational science. That's part of this much bigger project, brainwave treatments, where I'm like, "What is the connection here?" Passing that question onto the listeners instead of answering that, posing a question with my work to say, "What if this is how this works? What do you experience? How does this affect you?" The solfeggio frequencies were in this line of questioning where, "If I use this frequency as the fundamental for this just intonation piece, is it any different than if I go 1 Hz higher or lower? If it's 528 [Hz], what if it's 529? Is it really that different of an experience?" I don't know. It's a lot about priming. It's a lot about what people expect to experience.

SILY: Has your experience of how you think sound affects the body changed as a result of making these records?

WJ: Yeah, one thing that I can say for sure is tuning to something other than A440 feels significant to me. It could be because of my own history with tuning to that frequency for so long in classical music settings. It's regimented in a way that feels confining or stifling. Opening that up and not using that as my fundamental on the viola feels really good. Almost having perfect pitch--not exactly, but I can pick an A440 out of the air and tune the rest of my instrument to it, but that became such a restriction. I used 432Hz for most of these pieces to open up the possibilities. There's also some interesting dissonance that happens, when there is something that's in 440, these beating patterns and things out of tune in a way I thought sounded cool.

SILY: To my non-trained ears, it's cool when it creates somewhat of a syncopation, or in terms of the Gestalt principle of filling space that's not technically there.

WJ: I've been thinking and doing some reading about missing fundamentals, which is a thing where if you build the harmonic series above something, you don't even need to have that fundamental tone because your brain fills in the gap. It is kind of the Gestalt of sound.

SILY: It's something you notice that you're finding words or frameworks for that formalize it.

WJ: Absolutely. When I was working at Dream House many years ago now, I was having a very direct aesthetic connection to what I was hearing, and I didn't understand it at all. I didn't understand just intonation or other tuning systems. I was just wide open, wide-eyed, taking it all in, but I really liked what I heard. I knew it was lighting up some part of my brain that had never been scratched. I started to dig into what was going on and how it was composed, and it opened a whole new world.

SILY: Have you had the experience of feeling physically changed by live music, especially at an extreme volume?

WJ: Yes, absolutely. That happens to me just as frequently with noise as it does with some sort of sound healing, like gong bath. A really good harsh noise performance like Merzbow can feel just as cleansing.

SILY: Are the videos you've released so far made of footage you had collected while studying?

WJ: The video for "In Sleep" is completely from Greece and Cyprus, some significant rocks that are marked as ruins, part of some ancient structure, and a bunch of rocks that were mundane, or not a special rock. I liked putting those together in that video, where you can't tell whether something's a sacred stone or cultural heritage site or just a random rock. The other one for "Vari" was all footage from Sweden from the coast.

SILY: You really did switch around the sonic and visual references between the albums, even thought a lot of the track names are consistently referential to places. For instance, “Klara Kyrka” is a church in Stockholm. Are the church bells in the song from there?

WJ: Yeah, that's a field recording of those, distorted and buried beneath many layers of fuzz. That was kind of fun, too, all these doubles that came up in this doubles project that were sometimes in line with the thing, and sometimes reversed or flipped. Sea and stones, Sweden, Greece and Cyprus regions, keeping them in line, but one thing will be out of place that draws your attention to the double again.

SILY: Did the experience of incorporating these field recordings into an album make you want to do it more in the future, wherever you might be studying, to establish that relationship between place and music in the same way?

WJ: Yes, that felt really good. A lot of it is pretty subtle. I played some of these recordings wondering what I would do with them, whether they were [more appropriate] for an installation setting. They're almost silent, so it opens up an imaginative world. I did an artist talk where I played these recordings, and you couldn't really hear much, but all I said was, "These are the recordings of these sacred sites for the cult of worshippers for the Greek diety Hermaphroditus." Giving that much context, there was this whole imaginative thing that happened in people's minds where they were listening to kind of nothing, but the sense of place and time added to the interpretation. I love [recording] wherever I'm going, or even just the sounds of my life, myself living.

SILY: Are you the type of listener who wants to know the context of what you're listening to before you hear it?

WJ: I'm of two or three minds about it. Sometimes, I want to read something and know what it is first and have it guide me or give me something to hang on to or an anchor. [Other times,] I want to listen to something without knowing a thing. I feel the same way about film. Sometimes, I want to read about a film and understand what I'm getting into, but [other times,] I want to be totally surprised. It's also cool, for something that's time-based, to [read about it] while you're listening. It actually puts my attention on the thing. If I'm listening to a record, looking at the liner notes or an insert or booklet, I'm having this experience of sound that's integrated. It's visual, textual, and listening, and you can make it into an experience instead of what for me is so often background music, [where] I'll put something on and get up and do the dishes. [laughs]

SILY: I agree with you. I switch back and forth. I at least try once with everything, especially if I'm writing about it, to actively sit down and look at the context before or during the listening experience, even if the very first listening experience might be passive. For an ambient record, the possibilities are so vast, that it can be misleading if you go into it cold.

WJ: Definitely. There's also space to respect the artist there, too. If somebody gives you a big conceptual statement, it's important to incorporate that as much as you can. Some people really resist that, too, and say, "This is just sound or music. You can tell what an artist wants you to do with it."

SILY: What else are you working on at the moment?

WJ: A few different things. I've got some film stuff coming up. There's a new project I'm working on that involves field recording of my daily life. I feel like that's pretty exciting. I can imagine it turning into an A/V installation project, but right now, it's just collecting recordings. Field recording my life could be traveling but also at home, like cooking. There's also a piece called FIAT I did in Berlin in 2023, and I'm proposing that to lots of people to do in 2025, to bring that back. To say it's "fun" is weird, but it's very transformative for me. It's a 4-hour-long solo viola and electronics piece with no breaks. I'm seated, and my arm is moving repetitively between strings for four hours straight, and everything else I'm doing is with my left hand. I'm able to clamp my viola with my chin and be working with a synthesizer and any other electronics like a mixer to bring things in, but my right arm is just going for four hours straight. It's really challenging and feels like public meditation. I'm trying to see where that can happen next.

SILY: Is there anything you've been listening to, watching, or reading that you've found inspiring?

WJ: I'm in the last pages of the new Rachel Cusk book called Parade. It's incredible and life-changing. It's about an artist named G, and the artist takes lots of different forms, so you don't know if it's one person or many artists named G. It might be different iterations of what an artist can be. It's pretty abstract, but I've really related with several of the versions of G who I've encountered. The writing is so good, so incisive, a lot that's directly about gender but a lot that's not, just about art making generally. You see how through the storytelling, gender is a part of that, but there are very clear moments where you can see, "This is what it means to be a female-identifying artist."

SILY: You're teaching at SAIC now, including a class on Doubles. Has your teaching ever mirrored your music practice as much as it does now?

WJ: No, and I think it's an opportunity of being full-time. I can design my own classes. It feels like such a privilege to speak for my practice.

[blogforanimeclass]

End of Evangelion

Just stating up front that I had a lot of trouble understanding this film, but I’ll try my best.

End of Evangelion picks up where the 3rd to last episode of Evangelion the series left off and tells the events in a more standard structure. The organization SEELE is trying to merge all human egos into one - the Human Completion Project. The film explores the same themes covered in the series: the nature of the self, good versus evil and expressions of both masculinity and femininity.

In the beginning of the film, we see Shinji once again characterized as stereotypically unmasculine. He is curled up in a fetal position as the base is being raided by the government. Furthermore, he is being dragged around and yelled at by Misato, a woman. In contrast, Asuka is piloting her EVA with great skill. She is enacting violence with ease indicative of traditional masculinity. Unfortunately, she is defeated by an Angel just as the power of her EVA runs out. Shinji agrees to pilot the EVA, just in time for him to see Asuka and her EVA destroyed. This destroys Shinji and he cries out in pain.

Then Rei assimilates with Lilith, and essentially gains omnipotence – an “entity equivalent to God.” This new being asks Shinji “What do you wish for?” All of humanity is then combined into one being.

These themes of masculinity touched on in Evangelion are, once again, on full display in the film. Shinji acts unmasculine throughout the film. He needs to be dragged around and told what to do by a woman. During Shinji’s first romantic experience, when Misato kisses him, he is essentially told what to do. Asuka continues to do a “man’s job” better than Shinji and holds off the militia and Angels with great competency. Shinji’s moment of greatest comfort comes when Rei/Lilith asks what he wants. Shinji is only consolable by a maternal figure – a characteristic more typical of a baby than a young man.

When Shinji goes through the assimilation of himself with humanity, we see a scene where he and Asuka interact. Asuka belittles Shinji and emasculates him. Shinji reaches his breaking point. Unable to command respect by the very virtue of being a man, he physically overpowers her. He demands respect by strangling her – a desperate attempt at gaining some control. Arguably, this is the most masculine act Shinji takes. Unfortunately, it is a violent one.

As humanity becomes one, Shinji experiences a full ego death. He sees how little he matters in the grand scheme of humanity. Shinji realizes how foolish it was to think everyone hated him. He was just another person like everyone else. Through this realization, he decides he wants to be separate from the conglomerate of humanity and asks to be separate. The omnipotence grants this wish and releases him. Shinji is alone with Asuka at the end of the Earth. Shinji decides to strangle Asuka. In response, Asuka shows Shinji some maternal tenderness and caresses his cheek. Shinji recognizes what he has become and cries over Asuka. Asuka responds with one word, “Pathetic.”

The End of Evangelion dives even further into the nature of the self. Shinji tries to conform to traditional masculinity and enacts violence on others. End of Evangelion shows the fruitlessness of one trying to be who they aren’t. A society that pushes men to act a certain way hurts men just as much as it hurts itself. End of Evangelion and the series Neon Genesis Evangelion echoes the sentiment taught by children’s books for a more mature audience: “You’re perfect just the way you are.”