#i would have 2 nickels etc

[itseghost]

FIRST DA2 PLAYTHORUGH EVER DONE. if eel sick

[idolbound]

Shipping with Meredith doesn't really happen unless you're a Chantry sister that she's hooking up with and then leaving on read during the next service, or if you happen to be an outsider of the Gallows who has power/influence of their own accord and can match her freak exclusively, then she might just fall in love with you.

[apotelesmaa]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again the cutscene after lady lucktopus where Hollis actually gets down on raz’s level to speak with him when before that she’s always been talking down to him literally and figuratively is so good. Genuinely one of the top moments in the entire game.

[mortalityplays]

You need more free art.

I quit my job yesterday. Well, actually I quit my job eight weeks ago, but they finally released me yesterday for good behaviour. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do - but I do it for the wrong reasons. Working for major charities, you learn very fast that 'I want to make the world a better place' is a phrase you use to ask people for money, not to give them things. I was an ass-backwards fit for that world.

You need more free art. I need more free art. Everyone has felt the shift in our media landscape over the last ten years, away from access and towards nickel-and-diming the human experience. That lack of access is making life and culture worse for all of us, across the board. Paywalled news sites leave us less informed, attacks on the Internet Archive leave us less capable of research. Algorithmic social feeds and streaming walled gardens trap us inside smaller and smaller demographic bubbles, where we are increasingly only likely to encounter ideas that have been curated for us by marketing departments. Hasty efforts to resist AI commodification have only led to more artists locking their work away and calling for even more onerous systems of copyright law. This is not good for us.

We all need more free art.

So what am I going to do about it?

This is a question I have been asking myself for years. It's easy to sit here feeilng frustrated and thinking 'boy I hope SOMEONE does SOMETHING'. It's harder to take action in a world where I still have rent to pay. But hard doesn't mean impossible. Sometimes hard just means time-consuming, frustrating and slow. And sometimes it's worth doing something time-consuming, frustrating and slow because...I want to make the world a better place.

I'm going to do this:

1. From April 1st, I am relaunching as a freelance writer and editor.

This is the one that will (hopefully) help to pay the bills. I am a very good and experienced editor. I've worked on hollywood movies, I'm a member of the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders, I have clients who have been coming to me exclusively for more than 10 years.

Alongside bigger contract jobs, I am going to refocus on offering my services to small-press creators at a reduced rate. That means you, graphic novelists. That means you, itch and amazon writers. I want to help you develop your work, the same way I help large organisations. You can learn more about what an editor even does and what kind of pricing you can expect here.

2. I'm also going to start giving shit away. Like, constantly.

Next week I'm going to launch a new free shop. If you're unfamiliar, a free shop, giveaway shop, swap shop, etc. is an anarchist tradition of setting up a storefront where anyone can take what they like for no cost. Offline, this often means second-hand clothes, tools, furniture, food etc. Online, I am going to be giving away digital art. Copyright-free, no strings attached. It will (eventually) feature everything from print-res posters to zines, poems, tattoo flash, t-shirt designs and anything else we come up with.

Yes, I said 'we' - while this is a curated collection, it will feature work from a variety of credited and anonymous artists and activists, all of whom have agreed to give their work away to the public domain. Some of it will be practical, some of it will be political, but a lot of it will be decorative or personal. This is, in part, a response to recent difficulty I had finding somewhere that would print a one-off joke poster for a friend that featured the word 'faggot'. Enough. No middlemen - no explaining ourselves. Just print our shit and enjoy it.

I'm very, very excited about this project. I'll have more to say about it closer to the launch, but you can expect it to go live on March 27th.

2.2 I forgot to mention the ACTUAL LAUNCH GIVEAWAY

To celebrate my launch, I am going to be giving away a ton of physical prints. When I went looking for my old stock to see if it was worth setting a new (paid) storefront up, I realised I had way more old work in storage than I thought. This will be announced in its own right on Monday, but this is why I've been hinting you should go follow my Patreon.

On April 1st, I will pick 8 random patrons (from across all tiers including non-paying followers!) and mail them a bundle of assorted prints and postcards. The prize pool includes A3 and A4 posters, packs of A6 postcards, and printed minicomics that I've previously sold for up to £12 each.

You don't have to be a paying subscriber to enter - this is strictly no-purchase necessary. It is purely and entirely a celebration of the concept of GIVING ART AWAY FOR FREE.

3. PORN, YOU PERVERTS

Because I still have to pay to stay alive, I am going to be subsidising all this free art with the introduction of Fuck You Fridays. Starting from March 29th, I will drop a new 18+ short story on the last Friday of every month, over on itch.io (yes I know my page is desolate right now, don't worry I'll get there).

The first edition, Go Fuck Yourself, is about, well - telling your boss where to stick it. Julia has had it with her millionaire man-child manager, and is just about ready to let him know what she really thinks. It's a short and steamy 5k words, with a gorgeous cover illustration by @taylor-titmouse, and you can pick it up for $3 starting from March 29th.

4. ANOTHER BIG SURPRISE

I'm keeping this one under wraps for now, but April 1st will also play host to one more (FREE) launch. If you've been following me for a long time, you might remember the other significance of this date (no not April Fool's day, though that is certainly thematically relevant to this entire effort). That's all I'll say right now. Watch this space.

tl;dr: I'm sick of paywalls and career ladders. I'm literally putting my money where my mouth is. More free art for everyone and I'm not kidding around!!!

[thealtoduck]

Being the Son of Calliope, headcanons…

PJO x Male Reader (No romantic pairing)

Warnings: None…

Summary: You’re the son of the goddesss of epic poetry and eloquence and One of the Nine Muses…

(A/n: I know I was meant to work on other stuff but I got distracted.)

(Song is unrelated to the story but it felt Muses coded so…)

——

You were the only half-blood at camp related to one of the Muses, specifically Calliope, the Goddesss of Epic Poetry and Eloquence.

When you had gotten to camp you used to stay in Cabin 11, even though you’d been claimed, there was no cabin for you. So you ended up bunking with Travis Stoll.

But after the war with the titans and Percy’s demands to Zeus to the gods, a cabin dedicated to the Nine Muses had been built.

You being made the counsler… not that there were any other options…

The cabin was great tho, it was decorated with statues and carvings of the muses and their symbols. There were paintings hung of their famous demigods too such as Orpheus, Hyacinthus and Linus

The cabin had a big book case with novels, plays, comedies, tradgedies, poetry. A soundproof dance studio, a soundproof music room with a bunch of instruments, a sky window to study the stars.

Basically everything associated with the Muses.

——

If you had a nickel for everytime someone had tried to pick you by saying ”you were their muse” or that ”you had inspired” the poem, song or novel they wrote… you’d be richer than Hades.

You were particullarly popular amongst the Apollo cabin who seemed to think you were some kind of key to overcome creative blocks. Will Solace, their counselor, needed to keep them in check since they all seemed interested in you in one way or the other.

Athena’s and Hephaestus’s cabins were also drawn to you for your creativety.

——

You would however end up being paired with the Apollo cabin to lead the campfire sing-alongs, you usually end up with a solo song telling the dramatic story of some greek hero.

Imagine something like ”The Gosphel Truth” from ”Hercules”, with the Apollo cabin acting as you back up singers.

——

As for your powers, you were far from the strongest of demigods, but you were by no means weak.

You had a natrual talent for the arts, singing, dancing, poetry, instruments, etc…

As the son of the goddess of Eloquence you could cast minor short lasting curses on people that would effect their speaking, that could for example cause them to only speak in rhymes and limericks or make them unable to finish long sentences before drifting off.

Your swordfighting style would be noted by the other campers to be quite different, while they fought normally with their swords, Percy described your style more as a ”VERY deadly and sharp dance”.

Being related to the muses you also had an aura that could induce inspiration and creativity in someone (so maybe the Apollo cabin was on to something with their interest in you).

Though that power worked both ways as you could also curse someone with creative block.

——

Unlike most demigods, you’re mother showed up quite often to advice you whenever you had a problem… and she didn’t come alone.

Let’s say you’re in your cabin and you’re sad after having an argument with a friend.

Well… then all the 9 statues of the Muses in the cabin come to life and start singing a pop-soul number about why friendship is important and you should make up with your friend.

It’s was quite terrifying the first few times it happened but you get used to it after a while.

Being one of the Muse’s son is pretty much like being all of their son.

(A/n 2: Sorry, this is shorter than i usually write and is more so a collection of small headcanons for a Son of Calliope!Reader than a full on fic.)

[autumn0689]

Characters who SPECIFICALLY should be the ones to kill AFO

TW: Language

Listen there are so many characters (basically almost all of the characters) deserve to kill him but these are the ones who definitely deserve to do it.

1- Yoichi Shigaraki

Poor dude ended up with an obsessive brother who gave him his name because he was his first property!!!! Genuinely I feel so bad for him it’s not his fault AFO became obsessed with him to the point of wanting to wanting One For All just so he could have Yoichi back like seriously Yoichi should absolutely demolish AFO

2- Tenko Shimura (aka Tomura Shigaraki)

I’m using Tenko’s photo because truly he should be the one to kill him. Sure Tomura should also destroy him but Tenko deserves it more (I know they are the same person but they are at different points in their life) like Tenko deserves so much better

3- Yuga Aoyama

Honestly the Quirk that AFO gave him is enough reason for him to demolish him. He has been manipulated for his entire life and was forced to be a traitor by him. I can’t wait for the anime when he attacks AFO

4- Toshinori Yagi

Honestly AFO should’ve stayed out of the story after the Kamino Arc. He killed All Might’s mentor and caused his injury which led him to using the rest of One For All to take down AFO. So having that fucker return and be essentially the final boss is so upsetting like if I was All Might I would be so angry

5- Oboro Shirakumo and Shota Aizawa

A two for one. Oboro lost his life because AFO (okay it was Garaki technically but he was doing it because of AFO) wanted to have Aizawa’s Quirk and he ended up dying so he absolutely deserves to kill him and Aizawa also deserves to destroy him because he was the target (I swear if I had a nickel for every time an evil organization wanted Aizawa’s Quirk I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but weird that it happened twice, right?)

6- Izuku Midoriya

I mean he already did it but still it was deserved. Honestly Midoriya should’ve also demolished him with words as well as killing him. So glad he took him down.

There are honestly so many characters I could’ve included (Grand Torino, Nana Shimura, Basically all One For All users, Present Mic, all of UA, etc) but these six (technically seven) are definitely the ones who should have been (and were) the ones to destroy that fucker.

[cosmerelists]

The Rules of the Cosmere

And by “rules,” I mean tropes that crop up repeatedly in Sanderson’s books, that one could consider “rules” in a nonserious, please-don’t-take-this-too-seriously type way. 

Spoilers for pretty much all of the Cosmere!

1. Don’t feed the children

As seen in: Elantris, Oathbringer, Warbreaker

If you see a hungry, homeless child in a Sanderson book and you’re tempted to, say, give them food--don’t! Raoden tried that. And the poor child was horribly mangled by the men who wanted that food. Shallan tried it. And it turned out the child was being coerced into accepting the food by gang leaders--who ended up killing the child. Vivenna didn’t exactly feed them willingly, but the urchins did, like, beat her and steal her food while she was living on the street. So that wasn’t great.

Exception that proves the rule: Stump. She fed lots of orphaned children, and she was only almost killed. So the message is: if you want to feed the children, have a Lift around to protect you.

2. Once Marriage is On The Table, Breakups Don’t Really Happen

As seen in: Mistborn Era 1, Mistborn Era 2, Stormlight Achives, Elantris, Warbreaker

Once characters get to the point of marriage, be they engaged or in an arranged marriage or just solidly A Thing, it is rare for them to break up. Sometimes a breakup is floated--like when Adolin told Shallan she could go ahead and leave him for Kaladin or when there was Wax/Steris tension or when Zane tried to break up Vin and Elend--but in the end, the original relationship tends to hold strong. Siri and Susebron were married before they had even met, but they ended up happy together. Even “death” couldn’t stop Sarene and Raoden’s engagement--Sarene did try to marry someone else, to be fair, but that second marriage did not actually happen and the original marriage reigned supreme.

Exception that proves the rule: Elend’s first engagement did not work out. Vin killed the fiancée. So it is slightly riskier to be engaged if you’re not a viewpoint character, if you’re secretly evil...or if you’re in Vin’s way.

Although...did Elend and Shan actually break up, or was their engagement only canceled by Shan’s death? I guess either way, it didn’t work out!

3. Your enemy will save you...if the sexual tension is high enough

As seen in: Elantris, Rhythm of War

Perhaps appearing in two books isn’t quite enough to call this a rule...but if I had a nickel, etc. Hrathen was Sarene’s enemy...but in the end, he kinda fell for her and ended up killing himself to save her. And in a strangely similar manner, Raboniel used her dying moments to save Navani...after Navani was the one to kill her. Then there’s Lewshi and Kaladin--neither sacrificed themselves to save the other, thank goodness, but Lewshi does help save Kaladin and/or his men on several occasions and their romantic tension is off the charts.

Exception that proves the rule: Even sexual tension doesn’t seem to be enough for Moash to not try to drive Kaladin to suicide. 

4. Your fave is (accidentally) queer

As seen in: Stormlight Archive, Mistborn

Sanderson has a tendency to write characters that he innocently believes to be straight...until readers point out how incredibly not-straight they are. Take Shallan, who is as bi as the day is long--which Sanderson admitted, I believe, once it was pointed out to him. Veil is canonically into women, at any rate. And Sanderson has said that both Shallan & Adolin would be open to adding Kaladin as a third, so Adolin is presumably bi as well, to no one’s surprise. Many readers--me included--read Kaladin as some flavor of ace, although again, that seems to be unintentional, canonically speaking. There’s also Lewshi, a woman inhabiting a male body, whose transness is not really talked about as such but is very present. And in Mistborn, there’s Wayne and his gender-fluid SO MeLaan, a queer relationship that I don’t think is ever really identified as such. 

And yes, there are also canonical queer characters in actual queer relationships, but so many more seem to be accidentally queer.

Exception that proves the rule: Sanderson insists that Moash is canonically straight...somehow.

5. Don’t trust the underling priest!

As seen in: Way of Kings, Warbreaker, Elantris

If there are suspicious things going on, look no further than your nearest, seemingly loyal underling priest. In Way of Kings it was Kabsal, who turned out to be an assassin. In Warbreaker, the seemingly helpful and awkward Bluefingers tried to sacrifice Siri on an altar. And in Elantris, while Hrathen never exactly trusted Dilaf, he did believe that he had him handled...which turned out to be a mistake, and Dilaf ended up being one of the big bads. The big bad? It’s been a while since I read Elantris.

Exception that prove the rule: Kadash seems like a good dude. I will be genuinely shocked if he tries to, like, murder Dalinar or something.

6. Hoid is there

As seen in: All of them.

Hoid has a supernatural ability to be present at all important moments in the Cosmere, so he can expect to find him in whatever book you’re reading. If there actually are Cosmere Rules, this would have to be one of them.

Exception that proves the rule: I don’t think he’s in all of the Arcanum Unbounded stories--like Shadow for Silence or Sixth of Dusk. So maybe if your story is short enough, you can escape Hoid?

It could be the only way.

[mr-payjay]

flutters eyelashes :) do you have any personality disorder headcanons for clover? or maybe nickel? hope you're doing well!!

Mostly Nickel's Disorders

twitches. twitches. twitches. ok i skipped gleefully in the kitchen getting this ask because i am SO hyperfixated on nickel. here’s a nickel analysis if you wanna read that first but it doesnt go into his pds it just generally analyzes him:

for clover i dont have any disorders in mind BUT i have noticed she has a tendency to fawn or flee (ive always been pulled in by her fawning over nickel considering how much he’s hurt her). today i was watching some iii and i noted that shes a really strange but interesting character—ive paid attention to her before and ive done a bit of analysis (mostly talking about her odd reactions to nickel) but nothing recent. im planning to do some clover analysis after my nickel and balloon rewatch (im rewatching all of ii and taking notes on nickel and balloon respectively as i go along, ive done this with several characters before and i find it super fun). i would maybeee look her over for dependent personality disorder and borderline personality disorder, but Not to diagnose her with the full disorders themselves, more to analyze the dependent and borderline traits she seems to experience (tendencies). also would probably look into adhd or autism or both.

nickel stuff under the cut. it's long. tl;dr you can argue that nickel has hpd, aspd, and npd, but the most important to consider is hpd.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

nickel has hpd, credit to the lovely @t4twerewolves for bringing this up to me in the first place and introducing some of the symptoms he displays! i'll put down his hpd symptoms here and talk about each one.

1. is uncomfortable in situations where they are not the center of attention: yes, nickel is very attention-seeking! you gotta look at him like a school bully. he wants attention, he wants to be seen, he wants people to know who he is. the main point of hpd is that the hpder NEEDS attention. not just wants, but NEEDS. so even if they WANT positive attention, if they believe they can only get negative attention, they will stick with that (i talk about this more in my nickel analysis in the link above). nickel is seen constantly going for this negative attention, TRYING to provoke people, wanting them to get annoyed and Remember he exists and Give him the attention he’s starved for. which brings me to symptom 2.

2. interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior: yes. first of all, provocative in the context of the hpd dsm5 criteria means to provoke someone (as in: annoy people, start little arguments and fights, make jabs, etc.), not to be sexually provocative. in this case, nickel is EXTREMELY provocative. im sure you can think of times in the show where nickel purposely annoys people, but an example i particularly enjoy is in snapshot showdown, where nickel asks balloon why balloon doesnt believe in him. when balloon freaks out and tells nickel hes never believed in HIM (balloon) in the first place, nickel laughs and says he just wanted to see his reaction if he said that. the entire point of making that comment was to provoke balloon and get a big reaction out of him. again, look at nickel like a typical bully: he wants attention and reactions. i also recommend watching waffling about for more explicit examples of this behavior.

3. displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions: yes, nickel is shallow but plays up his reactions to ridiculous extents. a great example of his emotional display also rapidly shifting is in out of body experience, when he yells at clover and blames him for them all having died. he goes from angrily shouting at her with elaborate and theatrical wording about how “twisted fortune granted her wish” to immediately going deadpan and asking others their thoughts on the matter. actually, i’ll provide the clip to make it more obvious just how quick the change is:

he goes from dramatically calling her a privileged murderer to neutrally asking for opinions in an instant. i will say that nickel definitely has some intense feelings about clover (she really pushes him to think about his body and his feelings of inherent worthlessness as a nickel object, for one) but he still displays shallow and puffed up reactions around her and in other situations.

4. consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self: i would argue yes for this too, in fact, but it's often difficult to really go into this symptom since the characters are all objects (though its easier to prove with some characters, such as silver spoon). one thing ive noticed is that most ii hpders, such as lightbulb, paper, nickel, silver spoon, tend to wear things or care about their appearance more than other objects. lightbulb and her silly costumes, paper and his bowtie and santa hat, silver spoon and his skincare routine (and more explicit worries with his appearance)... and at the end of mazed and confused, nickel is wearing a somewhat extravagant outfit (for objects anyway) that he apparently bought with the money he got from scalping tickets. it’s eye-catching and unusual for any character to wear. i could go into his complicated feelings about his body as a nickel object (since it has to do with appearance) but it is technically irrelevant to the actual hpd symptom here and id like to research his self-image as a nickel more before talking about it in depth. either way, nickel cares about his appearance.

5. has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail: okay so this symptom means vague speech, speech that’s more about emotions and grandness rather than details or logic. hpders often base their opinions off of others (expanded upon in 7.) and an example of that for nickel is with his opinion of balloon. nickel vaguely expresses that balloon is awful, untrustworthy, just terrible in any way. he sticks to this extreme yet unfounded opinion and shuns balloon for ages even though he practically never dealt with balloon at all in s1 (since balloon's behavior there is the main grief the contestants have with him). nickel doesn’t have details to refer to; he’s just going along with what the majority says here. in s3, his opinion changes as he actually spends time with balloon. his speech is also generally confusing to understand. as ive been taking notes on nickel, ive had to stop for several minutes to deconstruct his lines and try to decipher what he’s saying. his manner of speech certainly isn’t precise or to the point. and another example of this symptom is him calling the new thinkers his “enemies at BEST” in best served cold, which is a very extreme (impressionistic) thing to say and clearly not what he actually thinks of them (which is just general dislike at first).

6. shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion: yes, nickel is QUITE theatrical! i still need to rewatch s2 but ive found many examples in s3. one of my favourites is in tragedy at 60 feet, when tea kettle tries to lure him and balloon into allying with her with hors d’oeuvres, and nickel starts loudly gagging and coughing then yells that he's REPULSED!!! then balloon tells him to calm down. its so unnecessarily dramatic and intense. i love it. there’s another scene in the episode where nickel slips on a banana peel and starts screaming for the doctor to come see him until balloon tells him he's fine, where he calms down immediately. that one's a combination of multiple symptoms (as most are) in fact, with 1. (seeking attention), 3. (rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions), and 6. (dramatic and theatrical behavior).

7. is suggestible (easily influenced by others or circumstances): i talk about this a bit in symptom 5, but nickel goes along with everyone when shunning balloon (and enforces it), despite not really having been affected by him in s1. he’s more contrarian than he is agreeable, but he still feels awkward actually standing out on his own (such as in try not to laugh challenge, where he gets uncomfortable and agitated once everyone disapproves of him for insulting yinyang so harshly) and tends to go for little jabs or arguments that he’s sure he can win (such as yelling at clover, who never fights back) rather than actually standing up for something he believes in. again, remember that he’s like a school bully! he goes for the easy targets and avoids real conflict.

8. considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are: so this is box. there’s some hints of this with balloon and suitcase but it’s more complicated when i could just talk about box. who is the perfect candidate to show this symptom of nickel’s. nickel is convinced box is a real living person. he talks to her about his decisions in the game, he asks for her opinion on things, he talks FOR her and assumes what she’s saying (nothing, in reality), and he even calls her his number one ally. all along, box is. a dead body. there is nothing there. even if box WAS alive but inanimate, this would still be an example of this symptom, because box tries to vote out nickel in s3 and lifering even mentions that box probably doesn’t want to be talked for. nickel thinks there is a close relationship of sorts here, when there is not.

here are some hpd subtypes (Theodore Millon, Personality Disorders in Modern Life, 2004):

hpd subtypes aren't super relevant anymore by the way, i just like categories. anyway, nickel has disingenuous hpd. which implies antisocial traits! interesting! so let’s take a look at aspd.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest: technically yes. he gets suitcase to steal from meeple in theft and battery, but it IS part of the challenge in the show, so… that one's only a so-so for me. nickel also scalps people online, which isn’t illegal, but it is pretty lame. he tends to repeat these sorts of almost-illegal actions without going too far into breaking the rules (like using the pic-nix tables even though he’s banned), so we can infer that he doesn’t particularly respect authority but he IS still afraid of consequences and doesn’t have much desire to do more illegal things. he also tries to kill clover which is pretty illegal but it’s played comedically so im not sure how to interpret that? i still consider it an indication of this symptom, of course. overall, id say 1. ends up being a yes, mostly because i keep thinking of examples that fit just enough. he's clearly got the mindset.

2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit and pleasure: yes, nickel lies several times in ii, sometimes very blatantly (eg in best served cold, mephone asks nickel if the pie is two half-mile high pies stacked on top of each other, and nickel deadpans “No.”). he lies in theft and battery about suitcase’s willingness to steal for them. he cons others online through scalping for personal profit, buying an expensive outfit with the money he gets from it. he tricks suitcase into thinking he’s giving balloon a chance in kick the bucket, when he’s truly just setting them both up to fail. he’s fine with deceiving others.

3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead: yes, nickel is pretty impulsive with his reactions, making them more exaggerated than they need to be (eg trying to kill clover in snapshot showdown) and not always planning ahead, just in his general behavior… an amusing example is the challenge in snapshot showdown beginning and nickel immediately running at top speed face first into the camera cabinet.

4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults: yes and no. nickel is very irritable and verbally aggressive, but he doesn’t often physically hurt people (since the symptom says “repeated” im keeping this in mind), since he does try to kill and injure clover but as far as i remember that's his only direct physical assault on someone. he also automatically dislikes most people (eg in best served cold where he calls the new thinkers his “enemies at best”) and is easily annoyed by others.

5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others: yes. using theft and battery again as an example, he puts suitcase in danger when forcing her to steal from meeple. he also tries to kill clover (and ends up injuring himself when he tests the trap with his foot, which one could say is reckless). im probably forgetting other examples.

6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations: not as far as i can see it. he does disregard safety, but he doesn't fall behind on obligations or anything. does fine in challenges.

7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another: id argue no. nickel feels guilty for making clover cry in title tbd (though it’s subtle: just a quick look after she runs away crying and a worried expression during the elimination when clover is being voted out) but he never actually apologizes to her. however, we know that apologizing is very hard for nickel, as we see in the scene in tragedy at 60 feet where he apologizes to tea kettle and balloon for his behavior in the episode (this doesn’t excuse him from not apologizing to clover for what he’s done to her, it just explains how nickel may feel remorse without ever doing anything about it). nickel shows remorse in the scene i just mentioned with tea kettle and balloon. he also shows remorse later on, apologizing to balloon in the great bluish bake off (even if i don’t care for the therapyspeak writing of this scene, nickel’s feelings here are still genuine). i can’t say if he feels remorse for what he did to suitcase or not, but with the evidence of other scenes here, i would say he probably secretly does.

so yes, nickel does technically qualify for aspd (at least 3 symptoms). but let’s just check a bit more. for funsies. the basis of aspd is mainly (as far as i know it) a need for autonomy and a lack of respect towards authority. he pretty much never respects authority (stealing from meeple, calling mephone insulting names, being very rude to tea kettle who we can infer is older than him, etc.). for need for autonomy, he does tend to avoid most people and is easily irritated by others, but he isn’t averse to having friends or depending on others like balloon or baseball. it’s pretty hard to gain his trust though, and he tends to stay loyal to the one person he chooses to respect. which can actually be a behavior some aspders have (respecting one or two people who feel Special and Deserving of it). in the end? i think it’s more fun to interpret nickel with aspd than not. if anyone wants to support or dispute this claim, feel free to talk about it in the comments or my askbox :) aspd is a personality disorder i know less about!

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

now, ive mentioned nickel having narcissistic tendencies before, but ive only ever looked him over for npd briefly and concluded he doesn’t have it. but its fun to recheck things. and since im already here, i’ll do an npd assessment of nickel too.

1. has a grandiose sense of self-importance (eg exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements): somewhat. nickel generally sees himself as inferior (which is normal for many npders), which i talk about more in my initial analysis at the top of this post in the context of his canon feelings of worthlessness. he tries to compensate for this in s2 in particular, turning himself into the leader of the armless alliance and forcing them to recognize him as superior. as far as i remember, he does not significantly exaggerate his achievements or talents.

2. is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love: yes. he becomes quite the tyrant in s2 to the armless alliance, relishing the little power he has and becoming quite agitated whenever he loses it (eg straight up threatening suitcase during the elimination in kick the bucket because he’s trying so hard to hold onto his power). he also enjoys being the director of the new thinkers in title tbd, and is charmed by them actually listening to him (until he remembers clover’s luck that was given to him). there’s also the “Oh, the things I’ll do for money…” line in stranded in paradise and the fact that he decks himself out in expensive clothes in mazed and confused, implying fantasies about riches as well.

3. believes that they are “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions): somewhat. i would argue that though nickel only respects very certain people (and still only to a limited extent), it’s more in an aspd way than an npd way. baseball and balloon aren’t high-status in any way, but they’ve EARNED his respect (although limited), which is another thing entirely than the npd symptom of wanting to associate with “worthy” people.

4. requires excessive admiration: no. nickel dislikes most people and accepts being disliked; he just needs attention, negative or positive. he does ENJOY admiration (title tbd is a great example of this, as he talks about wanting to be genuinely valued by others) but he does not require it in the same way someone like, say, silver spoon does. i believe he’s like most people are about admiration.

5. has a sense of entitlement (unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with their expectations): yes. in s2, he’s used to being listened to by the armless alliance, and becomes angry when he’s defied (eg being annoyed by suitcase befriending balloon in kick the bucket and tricking her into having balloon fail the challenge). in s3, though he’s not as entitled as he was before, he still insists on doing things his way (such as when he goes off to take photos of clover in snapshot showdown) or is ready to argue about it (such as when he openly asks to hear objections to him becoming the director in title tbd and is surprised when everyone agrees to it).

6. is interpersonally exploitative (takes advantage of others to achieve their own ends): yes. you can most clearly see this with nickel and suitcase in s2. a concrete example could be forcing suitcase to steal in theft and battery (I KNOW, im using this example AGAIN, it’s just a really messed up thing to do okay. it's a good example for many symptoms).

7. lacks empathy, is unable to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others (yes i changed the writing of this one slightly): yes. nickel clearly does not empathize with suitcase, balloon, clover, or others. he forces suitcase to comply with his demands while looking down on her for her kindness to balloon and her meekness. he shuns and puts down balloon without considering his attempts to redeem himself for a long time. he tries to hurt clover and yells at her multiple times, only realizing some of her pain when she runs away crying after he Literally screams that she’s a murderer. nickel still feels guilt and remorse, but he struggles to understand others’ feelings nevertheless.

8. is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of them: yes. nickel envies clover in a weird way (i still need to analyze it more), calling her privileged and lucky despite not actually wanting the luck for himself in the end. he’s unsatisfied with himself as a nickel object, being quite literally a low-worth object and becoming visibly upset at seeing dime in fff nickel for your thoughts. he’s afraid of being below others and envies those who might feel better than him on a level he can’t work around, like clover being born endlessly lucky and dime having more worth than him as an object.

9. shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes: yes. nickel looks down on people and generally dislikes them. he insults and makes jabs at people and struggles to see them as separate entities with feelings (lack of empathy), placing himself in a superior mental ranking. it’s kind of odd with nickel because his sense of worthlessness REEKS throughout the series (like you can easily spot it), but really, that IS how npd often works, isn’t it? he feels inferior and therefore decides that At Least everyone is actually way dumber and worse than him. making him superior in the end.

that’s 7 out of 9 (im counting “somewhat” as 0.5 each), which is enough to qualify for npd (minimum 5). congratulations nickel!

well this took me a few very very fun hours. quite the mental workout though. thank you very much for asking! my conclusion is that nickel has hpd (8/8), aspd (4.5/7), and npd (7/9), hpd being the most important. and though i don’t exactly think clover has any personality disorders, i recommend looking into causes and behaviors associated with dpd and bpd, since some of her actions line up with some of those traits.

[moestavern]

The HOMOE Masterpost

Shoutout to @butchbarneygumble for oking me to steal this idea from their Moeney Masterpost! Go peep that btw.

I see almost no one acknowledge all the gay shit these two have going on so i have to ship them all by myself and honestly that's unacceptable given how much this show implies between them. And with a ship name like Homoe? You have got to be kidding me they were handed to me on a golden fucking plater.

Blah blah i know these are jokes or w/e but its a show, no one here is real, you are not affected by me wanting these middle aged men to kiss each other (more than they already do) so lets get on with it!

This is currently only clips from the show, i will go through the comics/books/etc. if anything's hidden in there and ill add it to this post in the future.

This is gonna be a long post so everything is gonna be under the cut.

Episode: (S2E11) One Fish, Two Fish, Blow Fish, Blue Fish

Homer Kisses Moe. Moe responds with "not in public". So in private then?

H: Oh words wont do it- I love you Moe M: Not in public

---

Episode: (S8E3) The Homer they Fall

Just this whole episode.

H: Are you an angel? M: Yes Homer, Im an angel. All us angles wear Farah slacks. H: But you stopped the fight. Wont everyone be mad at you? M: Eh, lettem be mad. The only thing that matters to me is your'e safe. - D: Homer, your manager obviously loves you very much.

---

Episode: (S9E16) Dumbbell Indemnity

Dancing together + hints throughout. "if you squint" kinda stuff but ill take my breadcrumbs.

---

Episode: (S11E6) Hello Gutter Hello Fadder

Homer and Moe consider one another life partners.

Ma: Well, the one sure cure for the blues is to talk it over with your life partner. H: You're right! - H: I cant believe it Moe. The greatest feet of my life is already forgotten. M: Geez, Homer. I never seen ya this depressed. As your life partner, Im very worried.

---

Episode: (S11E10) Little Big Mom

When Lisa calls the tavern, Moe asks if Homer is going to another bar like its a cheating situation. Look at me however you want that's how im taking this. Moe's clingy.

M: Hey uh- is Homer there? L: No, he isn't. I dont know where he is. M: Im a little worried. He usually stops in for an eye opener on the way to work. L: He told us he'd been going to the gym. M: Uhahaha- Wow. Anyway, you dont think he could be at another bar do ya? Because i couldnt take that- i- i just couldnt. *crying*

---

Episode: (S11E16) Pygmoelian

Homer tells Moe his acting is a turn on.

M: The one hole ive never been able to fix is the one in my soul. H: That was amazing Moe. Im actually a little turned on. M: Yeah, hey i gotta gift.

---

Episode: (S16E7) Mommie Beerest

The thing i dont say is that i primarily ship all three of them together especially during late seasons. Reading "Moe takes the place of marge" jokes as shippy is- a bit of a stretch? whatever, it includes Moe telling Homer "i love you" and Homer calling Moe "Honey".

H: What would Marge say? M: Do whatever you have to do to save Moe's. I love my Homie. H: Ok honey, ill do it! Ma: What's going on here? M: Nothin- Nothing.

Also Homer and Moe sharing a bed 1/2.

---

Episode: (S17E5) Marge's Son Poisoning

If i had a nickel for every time Moe and Homer were called life partners id have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but its weird that it happened twice. (This has to be a lie, im certain there is a third time this has happened, i have yet to find it again) "They're lying, they're trying to hustle" um stfu- idc that's his life partner. he said so.

RT: God dern it son- what tha hell kinna sissy are you? M: Hey are you calling my life partner a sissy? Cause a hundred bucks says he could whoop you in arm wrestling.

---

Episode: (S18E6: Moe n' a Lisa)

Moe tells Homer he loves him.

H: Seriously Moe, I think you have a gift. M: Thanks Homer, I love you man. H: OoooOH you love a man.

---

Episode: (S20E8) The Burns and The Bees

Moe explains bees having sex to Homer and Homer thinks Moe is talking about the two of them.

H: But how are we supposed to combine the DNA of two strains of the same species? M: Actually Homer *whispering* H: *gasp* You and me? M: No. The bees. H: Oh! Yeah yeah. That's what i meant too. I... have no... inclination...

---

Episode: (S21E30 The Great Wife Hope)

Moe takes Homer dressed as Marge to his class reunion. He says he took Barney the year before.

M: Lets go Marge. My class reunion starts in an hour. H: Uh, Moe, i have a confession to make. Im just Homer dressed as Marge. M: Yeah, but last year i took Barney dressed as Marge. Think how much better they'll think you look. Hmm? H: Well you better not leave me and talk to your old friends all night. M: Keep talkin like that and ill leave ya here right now.

---

Episode: (S21E21) Moe Letter Blues

Homer kisses Moe.

H: Moe, i dont know rather to punch you or kiss you. So im gonna do both.

---

Episode: (S24E2) Treehouse of Horror XXIV

Look, i know its a demon that looks like Moe and NOT Moe. But cmon what was this???

H: Listen, pal, you seem like an honest guy. Is there any other deal you can accept? D: Three way. H: Hm- You, me, Marge? D: Demon, demon, you. H: Sigh- I guess its one of those things a dad has to do. - H: Now before we start, what's the safe word? D: Cinnamon H: Oh! I like that. Now, id like to try something new, if you dont mind. D: Cinnamon. Cinnamon! Cinnamon! Cinnamon!

---

Episode: (S25E12) Diggs

Ok- so the way Bart describes his feeling for Diggs is really queer and Homer immediately compares that to his feelings towards Moe.

B: I met this kid. Little older. Kinda strange. I dont think other people get him but i just wanna hang out with him all the time. H: *gasps* Its even better than i thought. You found your Moe Szyslak!

---

Episode: (S27E10) The Girl Code

Homer kisses Moe.

M: Hey what tha hell? Get your kisser off my head puss! H: What? Its how greek men say 'hello'. Non sexual guy kissing is the best.

---

Episode: (S28E4) Treehouse of Horror XXVII

Moe kisses a picture of Homer twice.

Thanks @leibi97 for remembering this one for me!

--- Episode: (S28E13) Fatzcarraldo

Homer calls Moe his "sweet wonderful bartender"

H: i had a great day and i really wanna celebrate with the boys so dont wait up for me my sweet wonderful bartender, Moe. M: Alright but whos the boys? H: Marge's boobs. See ya!

---

Episode: (S29E16) King Leer

Homer carrying Moe into the store. But also i like this episode over all from a Homoearge standpoint.

M: When i cross this threshold i begin a new life! *Picked up by Homer* This is the first time that ive ever been carried into a store. Look at me now lady foot locker! Look at me now.

---

Episode: (S32E15) Do Pizza Robots Dream of Electric Guitars

Ok guys THIS is what im talking about when i say in later seasons i kinda ship all three of them.

Ma: Did you see how he ate his breakfast? He doesn't shuffle his pancakes like a deck of cards. He doesn't air drum while driving, or race the dog in butt scooting across the carpet. And he always won. He's not my Homie anymore. B: We didnt notice any of that. Ma: A wife knows. M: And a bartender. Hes just- hes just not the same. He dont spin Barney around on the stool no more. He dont drink beer from a crazy straw just a sensible straw. What are we gonna do about our little man Midge? Ma: Were just gonna have to love him that much more. M: I didnt think that was possible. - B: Im used to seeing mom upset about dad, but Moe. That really shook me.

---

Episode: (S35E7) Its A Blunderful Life

They love each other :)

M: How dare you show your face in here. H: Moe, its me, and beneith all the drinking and the jokes we have a real relationship. And that means something. M: What are you gettin at? H: C'mon man. Deep down, we kinda love each other. H: *thrown through window* M: Love you too

---

Episode: (S35E15) Cremains of the Day

Moe and Homer share a bed 2/2.

M: Oh cmon Lenny, ghosts aint real. eh

Holding each other.

---

Episode: (S35E17) The Tipping Point

Dont- Even- Get- Me- Started

M: Exact change huh? Thats it? H: Aw, i really wanna tip ya Moe, but i promised my wife id quit. M: Heres a thought Homer. What if you took the moolah outta your pocket but you just stopped before anything happened? Ya know, everything but the tip. H: That dosent seem like it could lead to anything. M: Sure it couldnt. H: *slowly hands Moe ten dollars* H: We shouldnta done that. M: Does that mean- that you wanna stop? H: No *hands Moe more money* *moaning* It feels so good *hands Moe more money* M: Dont stop you generous man *handed more money* *moaning* Aw yeah give it to me big boy H: *handing Moe more money* You like that? M: Oh thats the spot H: I can do this all night M: Right there H: Tell me you want it M: Oh god- Oh god- Oh god- Oh god! H: Yes- Yes- Yes- Yes! *Wallet sprays money on Moe* C: I need a new bar. - M: *following Homer out of the bar* Where ya goin? H: I cant stop tippin Moe. Im hooked on tha rush! I gotta monkey on my back and hes got his hand out. M: But, what about us? H: No one service worker can satisfy my needs. God help me im a tip-phomaniac.

---

Jesus ok i dont know how to conclude this post. I will make updates to this. I know im missing stuff.

This is about a 3rd of my "moe is bi" list so maybe ill make that its own masterpost.

Someone asked me today what ship dynamic they are and i told them "the dumb one/the evil one/the woman". My spouse and i have been watching Futurama and they pointed out to me it was the same dynamic when i said i saw something between Fry/Bender/Leela as a trio.

[ai-the-broccoli]

if I had a nickel every time an episode in Ace Attorney involves a murder orchestrated by a pair of partners-in-crime where:

the one who wanted the victim dead and who's calling the shots is the yang-esque partner, an orange/red-coloured and explicitly cat-coded villain antagonist man with a misleadingly nice title/nickname/slogan ("tender"; "refreshing" etc) that doesn't suit his real nature + a bright conspicuous motorbike that is currently out of use, whose main thing is acting i.e. playing different characters & roles, and is able to fool many around him with his act, who is the primary antagonist or "real" bad guy in the episode narratively and,

the one who was enlisted by the cat-coded biker to help with the murder is the yin-esque partner, a black/white-coloured character with an ostentatious visible sign of past injury on their head and an eerie aura designated to invoke fear & creepiness from the moment they appear on screen, who consistently makes it sound as if they might kill you or someone else any second when they speak, but is ultimately treated as less antagonistic/more sympathetic than cat biker by the narrative.

and

cat biker stars as the leading role of their murderous two-man act, while the scary accomplice plays a supporting role in the background costumed in the uniform of the service job (e.g. maid, butler, waitress, bellboy) they're disguising themselves in.

despite serving the cat biker, scary accomplice is actually far more powerful in reality and both of them know it. scary accomplice's last name is infamously powerful in the criminal underworld and strikes terror into people's hearts; when brought up to the law enforcement for the first time, the player is told that other outlaws fear them and the police can't reach them.

cat biker acts tough and intimidating with the rogue face he puts on but he's actually a coward absolutely terrified of scary accomplice's actual power, because he knows the only reason they hasn't got him dead yet is that he is still on the accomplice's good side and they trust him.

and

the duo carries out the murder according to cat biker's wish but they're unsatisfied without making sure biker never gets convicted, so they decide to take a step further and mess with the lawyering as well. so they target phoenix wright personally, which eventually becomes their undoing because it just pushes him to find out the truth even more.

moreover, phoenix hates betrayal personally, and during his search he finds out that cat biker has been deceiving scary accomplice all along, despite scary accomplice's strong devotion to and forceful dedication to trusting cat biker. cat biker also even expresses his contempt toward them for this foolish trust behind them

phoenix breaks the truth about this betrayal to scary accomplice but couldn't get through until he provides evidence with the correct explanation, because accomplice has wanted to trust cat biker. after phoenix gets the truth through, scary accomplice completely turns against cat biker and wants him punished, which eventually helps phoenix gets him convicted and jailed with the help of unconventional methods

...I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but,

did you know that AA2: Justice for All was originally going to have 5 episodes, and Recipe for Turnabout was supposed to be 2-4 while Farewell, My Turnabout was originally meant to be 2-5, before they ran out of space and switched Recipe for Turnabout out for AA3 instead?

which means if it went as planned, Recipe for Turnabout would've been right before Farewell, My Turnabout. I wonder if that means this parallel could actually have been not completely unintentional?

anyway it's hilarious to me to think that Farewell, My Turnabout (the Engarde & De Killer case) would've been exactly one case after Recipe for Turnabout (the Tigre & Viola case) and exactly one case before the Dahlia & Phoenix case (Dahlia is a villain tied to the theme of deceit + comparable to Matt, while Phoenix is all about trust and trusting your clients + foils Shelly). fellas is it gay to strongly parallel not one, but multiple doomed godawful dysfunctional canonical m/f romances thematically

[batbabydamian]

q: how do you think damian would react to cyborg!jon? i’ve been wondering to myself how damian is going to take jon’s new installment in canon. do you think it’d be funny? sad? i think jon deserves a little comfort tbh.

pretty sure in canon, the main characters confronting cyborg!Jon in this event is Nia and Jay.

otherwise, if Damian did get the chance to react afterwards, it’d be mostly sincere but a lil mix of funny. Damian’s seen Jon break out of mind control before, so he’s aware of his resilience! but the extent of manipulation here is even worse, and the damage Jon perceives he’s done (so far) is scary. so i think Damian would be a grounding voice for him.

the funny comes in because the both of them just tend to make things light lol also Damian could empathize with the whole body tech manipulation (Spine Thing) and being used to go against a bunch of heroes (Nezha). like. join this very specific club buddy!! 😭

anyway if i had a nickel for Mark Waid spearheading a DC event involving a trinity member’s son be under control to fight against their father i’d have 2 nickels etc

[wanderersrest]

An Abbreviated History of Mecha Part 5: It's (Dahlia of) Wednesday, My Dudes (2000-2010)

I apologize for nothing.

Welcome back to An Abbreviated History of Mecha! Last time we left off, the 90's had come and gone, bringing with it a whole cavalcade of mecha shows as well as Pokemon in its wake. Now the Torchics have come home to roost, as Pokemon explodes in popularity in the 2000's. This means that mecha shows can no longer rely on child audiences in order to make their money. Add onto this the slow shift into the modern seasonal format throughout the decade, and we begin to see the start of the decline of mecha.

Though not all is bad news, as a fair bit of mecha stories would come out and become some of the most iconic stories of the decade. Heck, this era of mecha stories is rife with at least three examples of "Not Like the Other Girl" mecha shows, two of which are pretty bizarre as "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.

So with that out of the way...

Wake up, Dann!

FLCL (2000)

So, uh... what a way to start, huh?

FLCL (pronounced fooly-cooly) is a Studio Gainax/Production I.G. OVA series made in 2000 supposedly as a way to relieve the studio's stress from working on a little series called Neon Genesis Evangelion. FLCL is, to put it lightly, very bizarre while also being surprisingly heartfelt.

FLCL was another major [adult swim]/Toonami series in the US, and like The Big O before it, the folks at Toonami would eventually reach out to Production I.G. to produce sequels that, in my opinion, generally fail to capture the energy of the original.

Bionicle (2001)

LEGO would release its BIONICLE line of Technic toys in 2001 as a last-ditch effort to save the company from financial ruin, and boy would it succeed. Building off of the success of Throwbots, BIONICLE would have a serialized adventure centered around the six Toa as they fought against the forces of the evil Makuta.

Bionicle would last throughout the decade as well as a little bit into the next, until LEGO, who was at a much better place financially at this point, decided that it was time to pull the plug on the series. Bionicle would receive a reboot in 2017 only to be shut down a few years later.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (2002), Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny (2005), & Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom (2024)

Coming in with a bang, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED would air in 2002. The first series of the Cosmic Era timeline is, without a doubt, one of the most important entries in the entire Gundam franchise due to how it renewed interest in the franchise. Gundam SEED would also be the first series in the franchise to use digital animation over the more traditional cel animation.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED would be followed up with Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny in 2005. There were plans for a movie releasing shortly after Destiny wrapped up its run, bit it wouldn't be until 2024 that the film, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom, would finally release.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED is also a, shall we say, very contentious series to talk about. While it is almost always one of the most popular entries in Japan, the series is a lot more hotly debated about here in the west. A lot of people tend to downplay this series' importance (*cough*Professor Otaku*cough*). But that is not for me to say, as I have never really watched Gundam SEED or anything related to it.

Xenosaga (2002)

Returning to the director's chair in 2002, Tetsuya Takahashi and the newly formed Monolith Soft would release Xenosaga for the PlayStation 2. Acting as a spiritual successor to Xenogears, Xenosaga brings all of that complex Gnosticism goodness to a new console generation. Originally planned for six games in total, Xenosaga was ultimately cut down in size into three games.

Eventually, Monolith Soft would be bought out by Nintendo (if I had a nickel etc.), and Takahashi would be given another chance to explore the Xeno series once again. But that's a story for another time.

Diebuster/Gunbuster 2 (2004)

Releasing in 2004 as a sequel to 1989's Gunbuster, Diebuster would be the third of Gainax's Big Four series. If you're wondering why Diebuster is the fourth, that's because this OVA series would be the starting point for a lot of the members of the team that would give us Gurren Lagann in about four years.

With the slow death of Studio Gainax, both Diebuster and its older sister series Gunbuster would transfer ownership to Gaina (formerly Fukushima Gainax) at some point in the 2010's. Gaina has plans to make a Gunbuster 3, though that will have to wait until they at least wrap up production of Grendizer U later this year.

Megas XLR (2004)

Meanwhile, Cartoon Network would also see the release of the mecha parody series Megas XLR. Originally an alien robot whose head has been replaced with a car, this series would lovingly riff on a lot of the tropes present in old mecha shows like Mazinger Z and Getter Robo. Unlike most other shows at the time though, Megas XLR has become hard to find since it wrapped up its run. A lot of that has to do with, if I remember correctly, legal issues.

Gun X Sword (2005)

2005 would see AIC Productions release Gun X Sword, a mecha sci-fi/western mash-up directed by Goro Taniguchi. Set on the wasteland planet Endless Illusion, Gun X Sword pulls a lot of its aesthetic sensibilities from shows like Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, though another show that may have helped influence Gun X Sword is...

Mobile Fighter G Gundam?! I really hope that's a stretch from me...

As a series, Gun X Sword is often left out of the conversation when it comes to 2000's mecha shows. A large part of that stems from people incorrectly assuming its just a ripoff of Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, which is only remotely true due to some more superficial elements like the planet of Endless Illusion being similar to Trigun's Gunsmoke, and Van's name being a riff on Vash the Stampede (a joke early on is that Van is constantly changing his title).

Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven (2005)

In 1999, a group of former animators for Sunrise would leave to form Studio Bones. While they had worked on a fair bit of shows prior to 2005, including one RahXephon, Bones would come to be known for, among other shows, Psalms of Planets Eureka Seven (or just Eureka Seven for short). With a unique style and a focus on romance (specifically the romantic relationships present amongst the main cast), Eureka Seven would leave an indelible mark on a whole generation of mecha fans.

I would also argue, due in part to personal experience, that Eurkea Seven is one of the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows, though I think I can see why some might disagree: You need to have watched Eureka Seven first in order to make a claim like that, and boy is the original TV series hard to find online.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (2007)

The year 2007 would see the publication of the first novel in the Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn series. Gundam Unicorn would be an important series in the history of Gundam due to both its popularity and the fact that it represents a changing of the guard, as Universal Century Gundam stories would now be handled primarily by Harutoshi Fukui instead of series creator Yoshiyuki Tomino.

I think I'd also be remiss to point out that Fukui is a rather divisive figure when it comes to Gundam, as the original Gundam Unicorn light novels lean much more into fascist apologia than any other UC series. This would, thankfully, be almost entirely cut out in the animated adaptation of Unicorn that would air in the 2010's.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (2008)

2008 would see a trio of mecha shows that would more or less serve as a capstone to the 2000's as a decade. The first I will cover is Goro Taniguchi's Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Mixing in smaller mechs similar to that of Armored Trooper VOTOMs along with actual magic, Code Geass would cement its legacy amongst mecha shows by being one of the "Not Like the Other Girl" shows.

Which is weird, because the plot of Code Geass is that the show's equivalent of the British Empire is able to conquer most of the world through its use of the show's mecha, known in-universe as Knightmare Frames.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 (2008)

Also releasing in 2008 is Sunrise's Mobile Suit Gundam 00. Leaning into real life elements like the rising awareness of terrorism while taking inspiration from Full Metal Panic, Gundam 00 would be the second of the three mecha stars of 2008. Whereas Gundam SEED would be Gundam's first foray into digital animation, Gundam 00 would up the ante in what is possible. If anything, part of Gundam SEED's legacy in the west is marred due to it's release being sandwiched between Turn A Gundam and Gundam 00, both of which are considered to be some of the best Gundam shows in terms of animation quality.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (2008)

Capping off this post is Studio Gainax's final series of their Big Four, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Created as a celebration of mecha stories, with Getter Robo in particular being a primary inspiration, Gurren Lagann is oftentimes considered to be the single most HOT-BLOODED entry in the mecha canon. What helps is this series would build off of the general tone of shows like its big sister show Diebuster as well as the aforementioned Getter Robo. I would even argue that other shows such as Mobile Fighter G Gundam and The King of Braves GaoGaiGar also had a hand in shaping this series.

Gurren Lagann is also, bizarrely enough, one of the "Not Like the Other Girls" shows. If you thought Code Geass was a weird example, then Gurren Lagann is far and away the most perplexing example of these types of shows. At least the other three have a "plausible" explanation as to why they're considered to be different. Gurren Lagann is pretty similar in terms of character dynamics and themes, not that similar to pretty much every mecha show I just compared it to.

Conclusion

That more or less wraps up the 2000's in terms of major works in the mecha canon. It's not until the next decade that we really see mecha works go into a true dark age, though the nature of the dark age is largely overstated. The 2010's is marked by a lot of duds, though I will not touch on the two biggest duds of the decade in the next post. It should be noted that the 2010's also has some major hits scattered throughout the decade, though a lot of them tend to be legacy titles from existing works. We'll also see two major entries in the canon appear from western creators that will also homage the works of old.

I...

.̴.̸.̵h̶o̵p̵e̶ ̸y̵o̷u̴'̴l̴l̴.̴.̷.̷

.̵̘̀.̶̡̦̄.̴̯̓͜t̷͖̆u̸̠̰͂n̴͇͗͘ḛ̶̥̇͑ ̷̘̃ḯ̶̻̋n̶̰͛.̴͈͈͋̀.̵̖̈́.̶̡̻̋

...

“̵͇͗͂͠͝Ï̴͇̮̝̽̾ ̴̡̜̯̽̽͜f̵̠̘̈́̔̽ể̸͇̗͐͜l̸̻̟͓͉̀͆t̶̢̫̱̜̔́̾͠ ̸͈̙̜̟̊̅̈́t̵̗̟̤͓̿̂̂͑h̶̖͌͌e̶͕̣̅̒ ̵̡̞̀b̶̪̾̾̓̀ù̵̳͊͑͑ľ̸̢͕̺̭́ļ̸̛̰̈́̍̀é̵͈̯̳͐t̵̪̱̾͜ ̸͖͖̃t̵̥̓͆̄̕ȅ̷́̅͜͜a̵̬̘̙̻̋͆͠͠r̷͚̲̟̠̆̔̄̈ ̴̩̂̌̋t̵̨̳̆͜͠ḥ̸̥̿̈́̂̐r̵̩͇̀͛̿͗o̵̟̮̙͋ͅȕ̵̧̳̙̆g̷̜̜̏̐h̶̡̤͔̃̚͝ ̴̨͈́m̴̳̦̅̎̑̕e̷̼̼̣̭͑͝͠.̵͚̌ ̵̟̺͕̈̎̎́Į̵͕̿ͅ ̶̖͙̑͆̔͝f̶̠̉̂̃ḙ̸͝l̵̻̈́̌̈́̃t̷͇̣̱͐͋̀͆ ̸̙̲̎t̸͔̝̀͠h̶̛̜͔͋̿͌͜é̵̦̼̆̋̓ ̶̞̂̕b̴̰̲͈̽́̔u̶̯͛̇̓ḽ̸̭̮̘̔̇͋͘l̵̰̒̇̇ẹ̵͑͠t̵̡̼̫̙͌̈͆̃ ̸͉͙̀̓͒͝t̸͓̣̮͚̽̈́̽ē̷̬̲ą̷͇͙͐̈͑r̵͇̮̬̾ ̷͚̞͕̎͑ͅt̴̤̥̽̏͒ḩ̷̬̌͆́r̴̯̓̍̿̕õ̸̝͓ṳ̶͈̫͒̎͠g̴͍̯͒͌́h̸̰̯͖͕͊͗̕ ̶̳̫͛m̸͉̏̉̋͜e̸͖͉̭̱͗.̵͓̗̞͓́̏ ̷̺͕̖̀I̵̫̟͌̓̄̈́ ̶̢̞̯͗̾͂̽ͅf̸̲̝̖̈́͜ë̴̱͓́́l̸̫͓̪̆̾͝ţ̸̱̟̼͒ ̷̱̇̚t̵̲͔̻̋̏h̷̠͋ẽ̴̢̦̤̦̔ ̵̻̠̊p̴̞͗r̴̗͉͐̒͑e̷̘͙̼̩͊̾s̵͇̰͐s̶̪͔͚͛͌̍ű̴̱̪͖̌̊̎r̶̪̬̿̈́ḛ̷͐̐̑ ̸̝͙̉͗̎̑a̴͍̜̾̒͝n̸̡̹̓d̸̨̲͎͎̏̃̄ ̸̛̱̙̦̤͌͝͠ȉ̵̡̟̱͖͘t̷̢̛̥̉̀ ̷̛̺͖w̶̨͋ȃ̶̢͕̃s̷̢̤̦̀̊̈́͘ ̵̛̥̲̰̂͂͗͜m̵̦̋̔̀y̵̮͈̼͐̋ ̸̥̹͕̦̿̄͘b̴͉͔̑͂̓ṛ̵̇̿̇o̵͖͎̗̰̊̾ẗ̶͙́̈́͑̀͜ͅh̶̢̺͉̖͌̔̓͝e̶̬͍̝̞͛r̵̗̩͛̐̂,̶̤͎͎̉̊̎ ̸̨̖͉̬̇͑̈̅h̸͇̏į̴͉̄̚s̷̨̝͈̽̓̅ ̴̟̩̃f̵̦͖̩͂̏ȉ̸̡̯̳̈́̈̾ś̶͙̺ṭ̵̜̯̭̓,̸̮̭̇̓ ̸͚̜̃̑ḿ̷̻͈̓y̸̡͌̊̓ ̵̞̈́̇c̷͍̘͌̃͜͠h̵͖̉͘e̸̮͙̊̎ş̵͚̚t̸̡̗́̈́͋̑͜,̸̜͋͠͝ ̷̧̣͎̙̓͌͝͝a̴̖̥̅n̶̡̯͆d̶̢̠͛̿ ̵̭̈́I̴͎͚̺̥͆̋̕ ̸̧̥͙̦̔w̷̭̐̈́å̵̢̙͔s̷̖̋̿ ̶̫̘̾͊l̴̨̧̙̐́a̸͎̹͕͕̔̓̾y̷̧͈͖͚̌̀̂̊i̴̠̝͗͌̕͘n̵͙̻͌̄g̸̛̥̯̹̫͝ ̷̣̔̋̀͠ọ̸̀̾̃̃n̵̰͐ ̷̼̄͂͗m̴̟͘y̵̩̻̺̪̎̽̐ ̴͔̹̀b̸̛͆ͅa̵̡̧̬̓c̴͇͝k̸̢̐̍̏́ ̸̼̠̳͕̑̃̏͝ä̷̫̣̂̓͝n̴̫̬̐ḓ̵̎̈͝ ̶̦͈̈́̆̓͜t̵̨͗̎̈h̶̭̗͔̣̋̑̆̕ę̷͈̗̰͑ ̷̛̪͎̞͒͌͝s̵̼̝̽͝͠ͅk̶̰̠̥̔͘y̸̝͐̆̓̈́ ̷͉͖̳̀̈w̸̛͇̝̭̺ȁ̶̳̥̰̐̉̄s̴͙̊̈ͅ ̶̟̐̿b̴̭̞͗̔̓l̴͉̰̓ų̴̒̓͘e̴͍̟̐̋,̷̡̀̎ ̷͈̈́̈́̉a̴͈̠̓n̴̽̾̊͜ͅd̴͙͍͇̲̾ ̴͇̭̩́̂͐m̸̛̭͉̈̒͂ỳ̴͙͔͉̾͂̽ ̴̻̙̊͝m̴̨̽̚o̵͍̠͆̓t̸̡̻͖̫̉̈́h̴̛̗̺̖̾ë̶̖r̷̥͗ ̵̟̱̞͖̎̿̒͝ḥ̷̂o̷̧̓̓ļ̵̻̜̊̇l̵̖̬̹͑ḛ̴͚̈̕r̵̪͈͈̭̄̈́̃́ȩ̴͇̥̽d̴̨̼͓̿̽͂ ̴̻͎̬̩̔͐́a̴̫͔͐̃̽t̶̩̏̏ ̷̦̭͋ȟ̴̺͚̤͖ḭ̸̝̺̐̆͗m̶̞̄̋͘͠ ̶͌ͅá̶͉̜̜̪̈́̆͂ń̵̘̪̮̉̃d̸͔̥̟͌͂͗͝ ̶̛̺̪̲̩́̑t̸͓̱͐̀͗͊h̴̠̮̄̐̽͝ę̶͔̏̈́̄͝ ̷̗̖̌̉͝ͅb̷̭̄̚u̷̮̎̇̃̀l̸͉̣̓l̵̦̺̟̔͗̾͜͝è̴̡͔̝̲̑͌ț̵̮̽ ̵͎̗̏̀ȟ̷̹̝͕̀́ȃ̷̪͒̋͜d̸̞̤͕̦̈́̑͠͝ ̸̻̤͆̈́̊͝n̶̼̆͌̑̈́ē̷̳͔̝͙͌́́v̷͍͙̻̘̈́ẽ̷̗̞̳̓͝͝ͅr̴̾̽͜͠ ̵̣̜̂̌͠ͅh̷̦̜̦͚̓i̴͓̠͖͐ţ̸̂̋̿̾ ̶͕̑̕̚ͅm̴̛̥̈́ế̸̟̠͔̳,̵̱͖̳̲̊ ̷̨͍͛a̶̗̞͝n̵̯͇̿̏̚d̸̙͎̭͆͊͠ ̶̬͍͐̇t̴̢̛̲̖̟h̴̙̿͗̎͜è̷͖̱̞́̇̀ ̵͉̆͘l̷̡̬̀̌̌̒e̷̢͋̈̃̓͜g̷̢̢͉͜͝ï̵̟͈͉̞̇̆̐o̴̺̜̒́̔͜n̸͉̏͌ṇ̷̀͝a̶̡̖̓̽͛̍i̸̬̮͂͋̕r̵̲̗̈ë̶̮́ ̵̨̣̓ẅ̷̲̹͓̗͗h̵̻͉̠̱͑̓o̶̹̱̺͉̕ ̶͖̝͚̎͆̂̓s̸̛̛̰͓͜h̵̤̐o̵̭̝̹̅̇͑͜͝t̴̠͊̋̾͐ ̴̠̰̞̟̇͒̾͠ḿ̸̟̤̗͈̊͗ȩ̸̟̏ ̸̻̀h̴͕͈̹̾͛͌̓a̵̻̬̝̰̅͛d̵̨̘̀ ̷̢̹͉͑̿͜n̷̯͔̏͊̌o̷͙̟͔̍t̸̢̮͖̋ ̶͈̞̀̒ͅy̸̠͈͋̿e̷̮̬͍͂͛̑t̵̝̓͐͜ͅ ̶̨̛͓̌̐͐p̵̳̏̎̌̕͜u̴̗̎́̉l̵̢̩̩͇̆̍l̴͚͗̀̔̅e̵̞̼̐̎́d̶̜̲̃͊̈́̚ ̴̨̡͍̀̀̚̚t̶̘͙̤͙̍͋̚͝h̷̢̯͋è̵̹̳͑͒ ̴̳͋t̷̰́r̸̛̭̭̪ĩ̵̯̭̄̄g̶̻̹̥̅͛̀͠g̴͍͓̻̑̿̈́ͅẽ̴̦̞͚̾̀r̴̥̖͈̭̂͆,̷͖͕̊͜͜ ̵̧̤̪̻́̕â̵̯͂n̶͖̊͝d̶͉̠̭̠͆͂ ̵̗̫̪̬͘͠s̸̫̫̱̫̚o̴̡̤̘͊͒̈́ ̸̙̯͋̋ͅÍ̸͕̃ ̶̬͂́͆͝k̵̬̻̊̀̋͝ï̵̪̫̖̜ḻ̶̡͐̈́̂̄l̴͍͎̘̙̊̐̅͠e̵͛ͅd̸͎̰̋̊̾ ̴͇͖̗̃̽͠ḩ̴̟̓̀͆̕ĩ̸͚͐̆ṃ̵̧͍͙̊.̴̮̰͗̓ ̵͈̿̄͐Ḯ̴͖͎̊ ̸͓͍̮̲̀͝͠ḏ̶̘̲̐͋̕r̷͍̔͜a̴̧̛n̵̘̾͗͝k̷̰̋͑͝ ̵̪͙͎̆ḑ̴̱͙̔̈ë̸̙̝́̿͝ë̴̻̓͝p̷͖͔̔̎̎ ̵̢̪̣́͆͠ȁ̴̭n̵̡̧̗͒̌d̸͉̠̔͘ ̴̺͔̠̟́ḵ̵̫̈́̀͛̕ḯ̸̪l̵̠͋̂͋ͅl̸̼̯̬̲͛e̸̯̯̿͜ͅd̶͚͚͕̺́ ̵͎̩̃h̶̪͚̏̚î̵̩͍͍̲̒͗m̵͈͘ͅ.̷͚̼̪̺͐̈́”̶͙̌̊͝

[booksandchainmail]

If I had a nickel etc etc

“I cannot,” the shade bit out. “I have been caught in your nav for so long there is hardly a difference left between me and it. And even now that you know I exist, you still use me like a well to throw in all the thoughts you won’t dirty yourself with.” “You steal these,” Maryam snarled. “I give you nothing.” The shade sneered at her. “I do not particularly care for Abrascal,” it said, “but I’d fuck him. Where is that from, I wonder?” Maryam drew back like she’d been struck in the stomach. She might as well have been. That was, it wasn’t- “We aren’t like that,” she said. “You-” “You might be, if he were interested,” the shade said. “He isn’t, though, so you bury it so deep I get to think about what his forearms look like when he rolls up his sleeves and how his shirt sticks to him when he’s sweating. Ugh.”

Pale Lights Book 2 Chapter 49

“How in the world is it you’re so damned clueless and innocent about matters, and then, there, with her, you’re different?  She even noticed it, almost right off the bat.  That you were flirting, that you were interested in a way that you usually aren’t.” “Oh,” I said.  “That.” “You’ve missed and inadvertently stumbled on rude innuendo a hundred times in the last six months.  I just can’t reconcile that with this.” I put two fingers to my head, then turned them, as if I were turning a key in the lock. “What?” Jamie asked. “Wyvern,” I said.  “You gave me my appointment just yesterday.  I was anticipating this.  This time with Lillian.  So I took those feelings and ideas out of the box.” “The box,” Jamie said.  There was a kind of horror on his face. “Yeah.  Compartmentalized it, buried it, locked it away.” “Sy, you can’t- you can’t do that.” “Why not?” I asked, offended. “Because it’s one thing if they warp you, if this messed up existence of ours and life with the Academy twists us around and makes us strange, but it’s something else altogether if you do it to yourself!” I shook my head. “That’s not f-” Jamie started.  He shook his head.  “That’s not good, Sy.  Why would you even do that in the first place?” “Because of the nights I spent with Mary.  The nights I slept with Lillian?  At first, anyhow.  I guess I did it because I didn’t want to spoil that.  Didn’t want it to get weird, didn’t want to push them away.  Those moment, frozen in time, were good enough as they were.  I didn’t want to let those feelings push me to change that and risk breaking it.  So I made myself innocent.  More innocent.”

Twig 13.11

[wiratomkinder]

got tagged by @sludgenaut for. music albums top 11, in no particular order.

murder of the universe - king gizzard and the lizard wizard. chunky shrapnel tears through everything around me

the girl who knew poetry - j a seazer. terayama's poems put to music -- "ash girl" is excruciatingly beautiful

atrocity exhibition - danny brown. i listened to this album on constant repeat my first year of grad school. also excruciatingly beautiful but in a very different direction than seazer

in a poem unlimited - u.s. girls. had this one on equally heavy rotation on an internship commute. i would just line this up with carpenter brut's trilogy and play both over and over, which made for an interesting driving experience

soul food taqueria - tommy guerrero. go-to focus music; "it gets heavy" is now overwhelmingly nostalgic because of it

there existed an addiction to blood + visions of bodies being burned - clipping. counting these as a single album-- conjoined twins-- "something is underneath" has such impeccably structured cadence

the worm - hmltd. wyrmlands was my #1 most played song last year by a large margin lol

maggots: the record - the plasmatics. if i had a nickel for every time i liked a concept album about allegorical worms and worm adjacent creatures infesting the world, two nickels, etc

manic candid episode - the murlocs. "withstand" got me through a lot of circa two years ago 🫡

black sails in the sunset - afi. afi was my obligatory highschool era emo-ish band. this album holds up imo

0 + 2 = 1 - nomeansno. album and band that i am normal about

if you read this uhh you have to tell me a top three albums of your own so i can add them to my to-listen playlists

[wannabe-cartoonist-blog]

Jabberwock Redesigns + Headcanons (pictures incld. read description)

Thought it'd be fun to redesign/edit pics of Jabberwock from knb, bc I've never really liked their designs (for various reasons).

This is a looooong post, so it's going below a cut, but I hope you enjoy!

Prefacing with these are just my opinions/headcanons.

One of my main issues with Last Game has always been the change in animation style. Characters' hair seems flatter, their eyes smaller, their frames lankier, they also seem much older than they actually are due to an abundance of fine linework. Another thing that always bugged me was Jabberwock. Besides from having only really 2 characters of note (Nash and Jason) their designs were just so....jarring. It didn't feel like these were characters who existed in the world of knb. So I've always wanted to try to redesign them. These are less redesigns, and more like headcanons + edits. I feel like I would draw them (namely Nick, Allen, and Zach) differently if I had the chance (to make them more distinct). But that is a job for another day. A post over on the other subreddit got me thinking harder about my Jabberwock headcanons, and I've always wanted to try to "fix" what I found wrong with their designs, so that's what this post is inspired by. I namely wanted to make it look like you could find these designs for Jabberwock in the anime TV series and not find them aesthetically out of place.

Before I get into my redesigns + explanations, I want to go over something very quickly.

Names in KnB

Canonically, every group/team/character in KnB is given a name with significance by the creator, Fujimaki-sensei. It's one of my most favorite things about knb; how much thought goes into a simple name. A character's first/given name in knb signifies their character traits (Ryouta means "cool boy", Shintaro means "serious son/boy", Atsushi means "serene", etc). A character's last/family name groups them together with their teammates with some sort of theme (the Miracles have colors in their family/lastnames, Kaijo's are names of Japanese rivers, Shutoku's are names of Japanese mountains, etc). Jabberwock's theme for last/family names is precious metals (as assigned by Fujimaki). Of the five significant/named characters in Jabberwock, only two of them have both a first/given and last/family name (Nash Gold Jr and Jason Silver). "Gold" and "silver" being the two precious metals represented by each character. The rest of Jabberwock doesn't have last/family names, and their first/given names are the reference to the precious metal (Allen; aluminum, Nick; nickel, Zach; zinc). So, you can see why this bothers me (bc I'm insane); only two characters match the rest of the knb's cast's pattern of naming. So, a major change I'd make would be to assign lastnames to/rename Allen, Nick, and Zach. But even then, Nash and Jason's last/given names are outliers too, as their names are simply the name of the previous metals by themselves. I've always seen Jabberwock as mirrors to the GoM, and the GoM's last/family names not only have the name of a color in them, but also another word, so their names aren't simply the name of a color on it's own (for example, Kuroko is "kuro" [black] + "ko" [child] and not just simply "Kuro" [Black]). So, if I had control, I would also modify Nash and Jason's last/family names so they weren't simply just the name of the previous metal on it's own. The GoM also have hair + eye colors that are reflective of the color in their names (besides Kuroko, who's color is "black", yet is assigned light blue). So, I would also recolor Jabberwock to have hair + eyecolors that match the colors of the precious metals in their names.

So, here are the main points to keep in mind as you read through this post and look at my redesigns:

- I want Jabberwock to look like they would fit into the anime TV series' style

- I would re-name them so they all fit a theme + pattern established by the main series/Fujimaki

- I would recolor their hair + eyes to reflect the colors of the precious metals alluded to in their names

Okay, now here we go.

Nash Goldbourne Jr.

I feel like Nash would have a name that sounds pretty distinguished, and is perhaps from a well-regarded family, but is sort of the wayward son. So, "goldbourne" seems sort of thematic to me (aka, it means to me "born-into-wealth"). I would also give him darker hair, that is more golden and less flaxen. His eyes are green canonically, but again, I want all of Jabberwock's hair and eye colors to match their precious metals, so I'd change those to gold too. I also feel like his Belial Eye would look extra cool all golden (and would serve as a good mirror to Akashi's golden Emperor Eye). He is also the only character in all of knb to have eyelashes the same color as his hair?? So I would take that away and make 'em black, like everyone else. Nash's OG design just looks too much like Alex (light blonde hair, green eyes) to me. (Alex also has black eyelashes despite being white, just as Nash, so it's not like it's a stylistic choice assigned to all caucasian characters). Jabberwock has a lot of piercings, so I thought it'd be fun if all their piercings were made of the precious metal in their names, so I changed Nash's silver piercings to gold. He still looks a little like Kise, but that was the case for his OG design anyway sooo. -shrug-

Jason Silverton

So. Elephant in the room; anime is notoriously bad at designing characters' of African descent. In specific, I've noticed over the years that a lot of anime artists love to give African characters beady eyes, despite the fact that every other characters' eyes are exaggerated/accentuated. They also love to add a lot of fine linework, which, imo, creates the illusion of wrinkles, which can cause characters to look significantly older than they actually are. Fujimaki/knb is no exception. Jabberwock's members are all in their late teens-early 20s (at most). So, basically, you'll notice a major thing I did for all of Jabberwock's members (that I personally think improved their designs significantly) was simply enlarge their eyes and irises + remove some of their wrinkles. Canon Jason's hair is also very white to me, and doesn't really convey "silver" imo. I don't think I executed it that well, but I think it would be fun if Jason had that same duo-toned hair that Kagami and Aomine had. I think it would be a fun way to allude to the reflective/shiny nature of actual silver. I don't really have a fun explanation behind "Silverton" like I do for Nash's lastname, other than I think it sounds nice and that something, somewhere in the far recesses of my mind is telling me that some sort of irl athlete has the last name Silverton...? Someone lmk is I'm crazy or not.

Nicholas "Nick" Nickells

His OG design wasn't so bad, but he suffered from small eyes + excessive wrinkles like everyone else, so I adjusted those to help make him look younger. If I had full control, I'd probably make his hair sliiightly longer, so that Nick's hair less resembles Jason's hair and also makes it so Nash doesn't stand out too much as the only character with longer hair (I think it'd help make him look more youthful too). Also, I had no issue with his OG hair color, but since I wanted to keep him on theme with everybody else, I changed his hair color to resemble the hue of actual nickel a little more (and his piercings!). Canonically, he is only known as "Nick", and since I decided to give all the lastname-less Jabberwock characters lastnames, I thought "Nick Nick____" would sound very cheesy. And since nicknames are a big thing in the US, I thought it'd be fun that what if his firstname was actually "Nicholas", and all his boys simply dubbed him "Nick" based on his lastname/nickname for his given name?

Zach Bronsley

First things first: I gave him less wrinkles, bigger eyes + irises. Now we are truly entering my "I'm doing whatever I want" portion of this post lol. Canonically, "Zach" is suppose to alluded to "zinc" but it doesn't convey that like at all to me. Zinc is also grey-ish and we've got too many elements that color already imo. Plus, we have gold and silver, why not have a bronze, to truly round out the Olympic medals? (lol). So, since I changed his precious metal to "bronze", I recolored his eyes, eyebrows, and 'stache (to a lesser extent) to be more bronze-y. Plus, piercings are now made of bronze!

Allen Copperty

Last but not least, we have our camera-shy Allen. Seriously, it was so hard to get a decent pic of him (and even then, Nick is still in this frame, I just cropped him out lol). Again; bigger eyes + irises, less wrinkles. His canon element is also aluminum, and just like with "Zack" + "zinc", I don't get "Allen" from "aluminum" at all (plus it's also another grey-ish metal grrrr!!). So, I decided to change his precious metal too. Copper is a very iconic precious metal to me so it came to mind/seemed fitting. Also, if we have nickel, it only seemed right to have copper. So I changed his hair and eye color to a more orangey/coppery brown. And his jewlery, but probably not made of actual copper, bc that shit would turn green so fast lol. I also think it'd be quite fun if he had medium-length dreads or something (akin to Meguro's, but with Allen's sweatband pushing them back, plus perhaps copper-toned tips?; it'd also help make him look more youthful). But I wouldn't have been able to edit that well, so just accept this for now.

And that's that!

If you read all the way to the end, thank you! Again, this is just for fun and I don't mean to upset anybody. These are just choices/changes that I personally would make, hypothetically. Lmk what you think!

[thegeminisage]

ok, now that i've watched all of tos (none of the movies yet...) i am going to do the top ten worst and best episodes, according to Me. they are as follows:

WORST EPISODES

10. the savage curtain - idk who thought putting abe lincoln in a cage match with the vulcan version of ghandi against like, ghengis khan and space hitler would be a good idea. but it wasn't. i did like seeing the vulcan father of logic though like "im gonna go sacrifice myself for peace" ok king

9. i, mudd - all of the mudd episodes are bad. he's not charming at all whatsoever. however, this one is better than the other one because uhura gets to pretend to sell out kirk and they're SOOO cute about it. her little giggle when he PICKS HER UP BY HER SHOULDERS and tells her how proud he is. PLEEEEASE

8. charlie x - the entire premise of this episode is that the bad guy is just autistic. and then they make him live on a planet without people because he can't adjust to normal life ???

7. shore leave - obvious racism of this episode aside, the faux-irish jig that played while kirk was being menaced by his extremely unfunny old bully nearly drove me over the edge. we DO love a good mccoy death fakeout tho

6. a piece of the action - if i had any interest in gangster films before this it's all gone now. that being said. i loved when kirk drove the little car. he was so bad at it. he was so happy.

5. mudd's women - like he's literally just selling women?? and the plot twist is that secretly they're ugly?????

4. who mourns for adonias - this is just "what if ALIENS build the pyramids bro" except for the 1960s. nail in the coffin for this one was kirk proudly declaring they didn't needs gods - because they already had the One God, thank you very much!

3. the paradise syndrome - WHY WOULD YOU HAVE NATIVE AMERICANS MISTAKE KIRK FOR GOD. WHY. like i know why but Why. i think the very worst part of this episode was that it had an amnesia plot that would have FUCKED if you had simply removed the people. if there hadn't been people in this it would've been in my top 10 episodes. i think this broke me.

2. the omega glory - this is the same as the last episode except there's no amnesia, and also the "native americans" are white cosplayers who worship the american flag and mistake kirk for god because he can recite the pledge of allegiance yes really. if i had a nickel for every time this happened i'd only have two nickels etc etc at least kirk didn't knock anybody up in this one ig

1. patterns of force - why would you make your two jewish leads wear swastikas and then literally be whipped by nazis. i know he's such a bad person but not even william shatner deserves that. number one worst episode everyone says it's omega glory but it's this one

BEST EPISODES

10. plato's stepchildren - this episode is hard to rank because like it's both good and bad. the torture scenes were genuinely upsetting, especially the ones at the end w/ spock & nurse chapel, because they weren't just violence being inflicted on tied up guys, but they were SUPPOSED to be upsetting, like it was literally the point. and also this episode bears the distinction of THEEE kirk & uhura kiss. literally historic.

9. the trouble with tribbles - i feel like everyone's heard of this but it really is as good as everyone says. sometimes 1960s humor doesn't translate to 2020s humor but it was genuinely hysterical start to finish. also, the distinct trilling sound was so imprinted in my brain i recognized it in the 2009 movie where i had never registered it before.

8. the naked time - aside from the KING SHIT george takei pulled with the fencing this episode also contains the "i am in control of my emotions [sobbing]" moment and kirk & spock LITERALLY having a slapfight. this episode has everything. an absolute masterpiece

7. the empath - i feel like this paired with "the world is hollow and i have touched the sky" really made me a Bones Understander. i feel a little bad about that bc everyone says the characterizations in s3, or actually that the season as a whole, is kinda shaky? but i watched without knowing that and i feel like i Get It now. also, this was the only score i went and relistened to on spotify

6. tholian web - the spock & mccoy episode ever. there's so many things to say about this from the death fakeout to kirk's little space suit but what TRULY got me was the instant and totally nonverbal agreement to lie straight to kirk's face to both preserve personal dignity and troll the shit out of him (while chekov and sulu are like also silently laughing as they listen in no less). what this episode made me realize was that it's a good thing they argue all the time and make kirk play referee because if they were on the same side kirk wouldn't stand a chance. like he'd be finished.

5. the city on the edge of forever - ok, so, this episode made me feel like i was having a mental break. the time travel. spock's little hat. when he watches kirk kiss edith and then goes back into their room to pretend he didn't see anything. mccoy and kirk basically hugging at the end when edith bites it.

4. requiem for methuselah - the first time i watched this i was kinda like :/ because how does kirk fall in love with a woman in FOUR HOURS? that aside the ending scene blew my tits clean off. i paced around my house for like 30 minutes going "what the FUCK was that" because i couldn't simply lie down and sleep after seeing it. rewatching the episode with uh. new context made me like it a little better. but even if it had been garbage the last scene shook me so thoroughly it would still need to be on this list. i'm getting wound up just thinking about it. number one most shocking tos moment.

3. the dagger of the mind - look, i understand that this episode was technically just run-of-the-mill stuff as far as everybody else is concerned but they put james t kirk in a little brainwashing machine. and the machine was shaped like a chair. and it gives people amnesia sometimes. i don't know how i'm expected to behave normally

2. this side of paradise - this is the episode where a flower jizzes on spock and gives him feelings. and look: it's really funny, and there's a lot to love about it. but the ending where kirk hurls verbal abuse at spock for a solid 92 seconds WITHOUT STOPPING followed by: spock beating the shit out of him until he gets his logic back. i have rewatched this perhaps 1,000 times at minimum. what the fuck were they doing

1. conscience of the king - this episode got me into this mess. i don't think i can elaborate further without significant self-incrimination. let's just say what happened was i thought "oh i'll just watch this one tos episode for context for the fanfiction" and one month later i'm writing fic about [redacted] [redacted] [redacted] DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT

ok, that's my list. i thought about doing honorable mentions for episodes that had scenes i liked even though the overall episode didn't make it into my top 10. but then i realized that would mean recapping basically the entire series and this post is already too long. i do have to give the pon farr episode a shoutout though because even though so much of it was offputting there was literally a titty window in kirk's shirt. like, it's the pon farr episode. ok NOW i'm done