#i'm not sure the unpopular opinion is actually unpopular but i think his design could use more hype

[jichanxo]

Talk about Higashi my eternal bbygirl

first impression: okay i can't remember my REAL first impression (i.e. when i first ever laid eyes on him) BUT he was my first favourite judgment character, before lost judgment happened. he's still really really great. love you higashi.

impression now: almost the same but he's just gone down the rankings in terms of favourites. he's still pookie wonderful handsome cute etc

favourite moment: when the group are interrogating yui mamiya and after hearing about kuwana's plan he goes "damn i'm kinda rooting for this guy" LMAO. higashi kaito files apron is also good. also forklift driving. and also him realising that the pretty lady he saved was saori and getting mad that yagami isn't picking up her call right away. sorry it's just a lot of Little Moments yknow

idea for a story: literally nobody cares but i would love to put higashi in the same room as kuwana. watch him go from "oh this guy hates yagami? maybe this guy will get me" and then it slowly dawns on him that no. no this guy is worse. higashi might "hate" yagami but he does actually truly hate kuwana. this idea will never not be hilarious to me

unpopular opinion: his design is underrated as HELL the sunglasses + earring combo is a deadly combination 🔥 he looks cooler and more yakuza-like than a bunch of mainline yakuza characters without being tacky. prescription sunglasses king. kissing him

favourite relationship: seeing him bickering with yagami has really grown on me a lot lately… funny of them

favourite headcanon: he's well liked by the kids at the arcade (though initially seems intimidating) and a great boss ❤ and of course he has a forklift license

[blighted-lights]

i have to do every meme u rb bc friendship code. but tfp soundwave, my most jealous wife. gimme the hcs 🫵🌸

(TFP Soundwave, IDW Sunstreaker, IDW First Aid, and IDW Ravage have all been asked for! Feel free to send in an ask for any character that isn't one of these four 🌸❗️Not limited to followers or mutuals, so go wild!)

First Impression: Oh, this design FUCKS. My first watch-through of TFP happened when I was very young so I cannot remember much of my first impressions of each character, but I do remember really, really liking how Soundwave looks in TFP. More than that, I LOVED the idea of Soundwave being a stealth aircraft + his full-face glass visor. While Knockout was, and is, my favorite character in TFP, Soundwave was also very up there when I was first starting to watch the show. Keep in mind I was a kid so I wasn't having many mega-brained thoughts on him quite yet. I thought he looked sick as hell, he was cool when he fought, and I wanted his gender.

Impression Now: It's a mix of two things. One, not only does this design fuck, but given the chance I'd tap in a heartbeat, no one could pull me out. And two, he's um... well. He's not much of an actual character, is he? I believe he is one of the Decepticons we see the most, but it feels like he's in the background for most of his scenes. And aside from his loyalty to Megatron and his care for Laserbeak, we don't really know that much about him. He doesn't really have personal relationships with the other 'Cons outside of Megatron and Laserbeak, he doesn't have any hobbies from what we can tell, he's got a bit of a snide sense of humor sometimes but not often, and he's mostly shadowing other characters when he is on-screen. Plus, we never get to see extra moments with him like we'd get with the rest of the Decepticons. It's a bit of a shame. He's still one of my favorites of TFP, but his rank is a bit lower on the leaderboard now that I've watched the show a few times.

Favorite Moment: Very hard pick. There are a handful of scenes that I really, really like with TFP Soundwave, but I think the one that stands out to me the most is when Laserbeak is injured by Wheeljack and Ratchet, he abandons his fight with Wheeljack to go to her once he gets her signal. This is probably the most characterization we really get to see for this Soundwave. I go back and forth on this scene a bit because it feels icky that Ratchet and Wheeljack refer to Laserbeak as an it/a drone so often, so it's one of my least favorite scenes in general, BUT it's one of my favorite scenes for Soundwave because we get to see his care for Laserbeak.

Idea for a Story: I would LOVE to read/write a fic or see art of Soundwave returning to the Decepticons after being captured by the Autobots and learning that Megatron intentionally did not go to save him. Like I am sure this is something Soundwave understands already, but I want to see him realize that he was essentially abandoned and left in Autobot hands by the one person who he'd sworn loyalty to above all others. Soundwave was going to be tortured. He could of died. And Megatron wasn't even willing to go after him, despite everything Soundwave did for him. I would eat this UP.

Unpopular Opinion: Do I... do I have an unpopular TFP Soundwave opinion? Not sure. I'm not sure if I'd really call it unpopular, but it's an opinion I don't see very often. I wish we got to see Soundwave outside of Megatron's influence. And I don't mean having Soundwave while Megatron isn't in charge- we had that before. I want to see him act outside of Megatron's will. The leader/servant dynamic is one that is only interesting to me if there is conflict between the two parties, OR if there is an equal level of respect and care between the two. That is not the case with TFP Megatron and Soundwave. Sure, Megatron values Soundwave, as Soundwave is one of the only consistently competent people around, but he doesn't care enough about Soundwave to protect him. Value ≠ care or respect. It just means Soundwave is useful to Megatron.

Favorite Relationship: Soundwave and Laserbeak. Easily. She's the only person Soundwave seems to give a fuck about outside of Megatron, and it's very clear that this care is returned, as Laserbeak was the one who went after Soundwave when he was captured by the Autobots. I wish I had more to say here but Laserbeak is even less of a character than Soundwave, so there isn't much to go off of. I also like that this Soundwave actually has a gap in his armor that Laserbeak docks to, rather than just his usual tape-deck. It makes it obvious that the bond he has with Laserbeak is singular, as there are no other cassettes present in the TFP show, and it makes it feel more personal.

Favorite Headcanon: Soundwave does not have a conventional face under his mask. I might not know WHAT is under there, but I do know that I hope it is cool as fuck, and a face isn't going to cut it. Give me a mess of wires connected to his glass visor. Give me a single glowing optic and a fucked up mandible mouth. Give me anything that isn't two eyes and an average mouth. Make him fucked up!!

[kosmicdream]

im confident enough to post FFAK, which has anal prolapse, but i dont post the true drama....... my opinions about manga. *dramatic music* sometimes i kinda want to do some reviews.. its mostly me complaining.. it makes me sound so bitter like "do you like anything kosmic!" and..yes ! i do!!! okay!! i like a lot of things. once in a while, i dip my toes into a popular series to try to see if we are a good fit. Series like: Beastars, Dorohedoro, Dungeon meshi,ect.. and i kind. well. I dont like any of them LMAO. I mean, Ok, i actually really was into Beastars for a time, but after the fight with the bear guy (its been a few years sorry) and that story arc concluded.. it just spiraled to laughable levels and did not recover. I was genuinely laughing at it at times bc it kind of felt like a desperate scramble with the like. loopholes and power upgrades.. But I was invested for a time, it had a charm to me! I also loved the art and im curious about the authors next series about santa (partly because i too, am writing a story about santa). Dorohedoro has a great visual style, fun characters, i enjoyed reading but it also kinda didnt ...land for me beyond that, which is a shame. I feel like it is a series that "should" have clicked with me. And its like, not offensive to me but.. I'll forget that ive read the whole thing. I like STUFF in it. but thats not enough for me anymore. If i had read it when i was younger tho, it might have been a diff story. idk. My most unpopular opinion of all is that... I hated Dungeon Meshi.. Sure its ..pretty! cute designs. but i found it SO painfully boring and it actually was a struggle to finish. in the end, it felt like a waste of time.. SHOCKING take i know. That is the darling of everyones heart and i like, understand WHY its popular. .. but for me, i was not fed by anything. i am unfed and starved and going to eat elsewhere oh, and i.. as a person who has read a lot of fighting mangas.. I have tried to read chainsaw man, but i dont know if I can. I did finish Fire Punch. I'm surprised to say: i kinda liked it but it took a long time to force myself to read thru it. I honestly hated many aspects of Fujimoto's storytelling/character acting that i didn't think my opinion on it would change, but I'm a little more open to it now. I dont think i could ever super be into it or whatever, but i did find genuine enjoyment in aspects of fire punch. I did not really like look back. I haven't read his other one shot(s)? Where am i going with all this..I guess im giving some unrequested reviews after all...oops... a lot of this is spurred by how houseki no kuni is one of my most fav series, not only visually/characters/story/ect.. but i cant lie.... the ending... was kind of a flop for me... gorgeous and poetic ig sure but.. AUGH! it isnt what i wanted. maybe it'll be one of those "it'll grow on me" endings but thats mostly me having to go thru the 5 stages of personal grief and gaslight myself into it, but as the like actual honest first-reaction feeling it kinda lost me. I think it did not work when i felt the confrontation btwn phos/cinnabar wasn't the one i wanted to see. i will say tho, while im dissapointed, its not like a DEEP one or anything. I know its a miracle to even get to an ending.. i guess my take away feeling from it was like "everything fit together too well, too planned" but didnt feel planned, emotionally. I wasn't sold on it. Anyway, im here to speak my truth and my hot takes which, i honestly dont even want to have that one about HnK but its the real feeling i have for it.. Once again Utena's ending just has made all these other issues i have with various stories more obvious LOL

[mnemo-sick]

Chromedome, for the send me a character ask? ;)

thank you rushing-waters!!!

(this is probably obvious but many spoilers incoming)

First impression

"wow, the artists really are pushing the proportions on these character designs, huh?" -my thoughts when reading for the first time

no seriously his waist is smaller than his head. why do you have a waist so small? for other bots to grab? (yes) (five husbands)

actually seriously tho mtmte was such an intricate fast-paced colorful blur on the first read that I didn't really notice him in particular until issues #14-#16 where I uh. started paying attention. for obvious reasons.

Impression now

whiny self-deprecating loser sadboy who I love with all my heart and soul

no on subsequent reads I definitely started liking him even more. the happiest scenes are when he's fully just some guy, like in the bar talking with swerve about nightmare fuel or trying to guess people from their transformation noises. he's also really good at his job!! (not just mnemosurgery, but forensics in general!) and sorry rodimus, but I would invite him along just for his dry wit.

Favorite moment

I thought for a long time about this one and I think there's just too many to choose from. but if I had to give one off the dome, (ha), maybe that little moment at the beginning of the time travel arc where he's talking to rewind and defending brainstorm. because yeah! he's his friend! and he likes to think he's good at reading people.

Idea for a story

hm. maybe a post canon / au situation where they're still on the lost light and he joins a dedicated forensics team. because I think it would be good for him to feel useful after giving up mnemosurgery

Unpopular opinion

maybe not unpopular. but his holomatter avatar would not look like that. maybe it's just the 2014-ness of it but it just rubs me the wrong way. I don't know exactly what itd be. maybe long blonde stoner hair. I'm thinking he's still masc. idk. he just needs to look pathetic. sadder

Favorite relationship

I could say rewind or brainstorm, but I'm gonna go the other direction. I'm gonna say rodimus. because rewind is right, he is an enabler. actually it's worse than that, since rodimus is not just enabling self destructive behavior but actively initiating it. ordering it, even, as much as anyone on the LL really needs to listen to his orders. (sorry roddy buddy.)

no but I think about this so much. because we remember a few times in canon where rodimus orders a crew member to shoot another. and it's often the same pattern: "shoot them!" "do I shoot to kill?" "yes!" "uh... are you sure??" "okay just incapacitate them." and in these cases rodimus is asking a crew member to harm (or kill) a crew member.

but with CD, rodimus is asking him to hurt himself for the betterment of the crew. usually for the reason that having the information in a dead or unconscious person's head might tilt the balance toward their survival. so in these times, when rodimus says "hurt somebody! (yourself)" there's nobody to say "are you sure?"

(granted, CD does usually say something like "this could kill me" but I don't count it because he's bent on self destruction and he's already got his needles out. I'm sure rodimus brushes it off as that "dry wit.")

Favorite headcanon

idk where this one came from. I think it's a pretty common fanon interpretation. but I love love love the idea that brainstorm made CD's needles. the drama. the angst. I live for it. it just makes sense too! they're both incredibly skilled in their fields and I think having them overlap in this way is incredibly satisfying. (heartbreaking. gut-wrenching.)

[booksandfairytales]

CHARACTER ASK!!!! Okay! Let’s do Hiccup!!!

Ooo thank you!!

Send me a character!

First impression: "Aw, he's so awkward" and "cool! He draws like I do!" (I was 13 and recovering from getting some teeth pulled so I could get braces the first time I saw the movie, I didn't think about things too deeply)

Impression now: This man has been through so much and he may be fictional but I have a lot of respect for him. Hiccup is a great character and feels more...real than most other animated characters, if that makes sense? His mannerisms definitely have a lot to do with it. Most recently I watched Race to the Edge and it kinda helped me see Hiccup in a new light

Favorite moment: There's so many. I like a lot of his comedic moments, but also when he's determined and stands up for what he believes in. And basically all of his cute interactions with Astrid throughout Race to the Edge and the second and third movies. Literally love seeing them interact all couple-y. I also thought this was a great moment too:

Idea for a story: I'm not sure to be honest, maybe him telling Zephyr and Nuffink about his and Astrids' adventures? I feel like they'd have funny reactions! Storytime with the Chief of Berk with a bunch of Berks newest generation. Man would be accidentally creating his own legends haha I will say though im currently reading this amazing fanfiction that takes place a year after the third movie, called Pain in Solitude. And oh my gosh. It's so good, and the characters are so on point, I'm accepting it as canon

Unpopular opinion: ...I liked The Hidden World. The movie trilogy to me as a whole was so beautifully done. I mean, at that point , Hiccup and Astrid were engaged for a while, I feel like it was totally plausible for Toothless to want a dragon to love too. But then again, I am a sucker for love stories....

I also really don't want a live action (that part may not be unpopular, but I'm just really tired of all the remakes/reboots)

Favorite relationship: romantically, him and Astrid, they're so cute together. I also like how close he is with his parents, and his friendship with Toothless too of course!

Like dang. That was smooth.

Favorite headcanon: There's a lot of good ones floating around, but I don't think I have any of my own just yet. This is where it would be handy if I actually tagged any of my reblogs in an organized manner lol

Hmmm....he's a good cook, and designs a new axe for Astrid that becomes her new favorite. If I think of anything else I'll let you know!

[featherlumina]

8, 12 and 17 for the ask game 😁

Thank you so much @duttfisch! Apologies for the Genesis spam below, haha. XD

8. Common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about.

GENESIS BEING INCLUDED IN THE NIBELHEIM INCIDENT. People treat this like some unholy retcon, the greatest narrative sin Square Enix could've committed via the Compilation. And I for one think that's a complete over-reaction.

Seriously. Sure, Sephiroth's definitely not in a good mental headspace by now, but having Genesis water the freshly planted seeds in Seph's mind in the reactor only serves to drive him further down in a really believable way. I always found it a little odd how quickly Seph seemed to spiral in the OG (admittedly Rebirth handled it better), so I think the addition of Genesis makes the scene more fleshed out and raises even more questions for Sephiroth to investigate in the manor.

And a fun one for good measure that's been disproven by Nomura himself - the fact that everyone is like 'hurr durr Genesis can't come back cause Gackt says no / Square won't pay for his likeness'. Admittedly less people are using this as a 'ew no Genesis is icky he can't come back' now, but it was SUPER annoying for like a decade up till this point.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them.

Feel like I should be putting my clown makeup on at this point because yep, my answer's Genesis! Again! XD Between the rest of the awesome peeps / moots on Tumblr who've argued for why Gen actually is or has the potential to be really interesting, I think it's fairly obvious why, but I'll summarise my view.

Basically, Genesis suffered from poor writing. Between that and the intense LOVELESS quoting making up the majority of his dialogue, I can see why it frustrated people. But if you look beyond that you'll discover some really neat stuff:

Having Genesis (and by extension, Angeal) as prototypes to Sephiroth actually makes boatloads of sense scientifically. You can't expect ShinRa to pop out Sephiroth on the first try, can you?

Genesis can basically go toe-to-toe with Sephiroth for an extended period of time, which is just... insane, when you think about it. Cloud and Zack have both reached similar heights but Sephiroth is just on a whole other level, so the fact there are a select few who can last against him is just really neat.

Bro had his world shattered and understandably lashed out at the company that shaped and controlled his entire existence. We're on Zack's side for Crisis Core, but it's pretty clear the real world-destroyers are ShinRa, and I think Crisis Core could've done a better job at helping us see Gen's perspective a bit more.

His aesthetic is just gorgeous, let's be honest here. That red coat is iconic and I want it. Superb character design (bless you Gackt for choosing red over black or white.)

Canonically he was well-liked and respected by the majority of SOLDIER, given that he convinced so many SOLDIERs to leave with him. People don't just follow you to the ends of the earth willy-nilly. Also, despite being an 'introvert' and averse to large people groups, he displayed kindness and gentleness with his younger comrades. Gillian called him 'such a good boy' for a reason, damn it!

...and I probably have more, but my hands are tired. XD

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art.

Honestly, I'm a sucker for hurt/injured/degrading Genesis and him both going through trauma and then being comforted and cared for by his loved ones. It's a major part of why I started Thing With Feathers after all. XD

I also love seeing how people explore Genesis' relationship with his changing body/his wing. I could read stuff about that for days.

Also would love to see more written redemption arcs for Genesis, whether it's through 'what-if' AUs or post DoC.

Lastly, I'm not hugely into overly sexual stuff, so any of the above fics without anything explicit is just *chef's kiss*. Of course I understand that many folks love the spicy stuff on its own or mixed into a plot, and that's okay! Just not my cup of tea is all.

[wh33zy]

Uhh I dunno if you still accepts asks atm, but I’ve been reading your fanfic for Kotetsu and I LOVE WHAT YOU DONE FOR HIM!!! Honestly thought S2 was gonna give him focus since I was sure from seeing the opening as he was seen closing his locker and that left me to believe (oh there’s gonna be a huge arc for Kotetsu?) but fast-forward to the end, THAT NEVER HAPPENED 😭

So I’m glad this fic exists so I pretend this was actually Season 2. Also, if you had to make a visual for Kotetsu’s Invisible Crusader costume (+ his and Barnaby’s stealth suit) what it would look like?

HOWDY! I do accept asks! Thank you so much for sending me one!!

I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT!!! THANK YOU!! I'm also so nervous every time I post another chapter lol. My intention with No Good Deed was to give myself the series 2 that I wanted. I treat it like American comics where this is canon but it's just my universe. If I had the drawing talent, I would LOVE to make this into a comic book!

But DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON HOW BADLY THE WRITERS FUMBLED S2 OR I WILL RANT FOR PARAGRAPHS. I was also hoping that it would be focused on Kotetsu (expected it actually because the focus is always flipflopping between him and Barnaby). There's SO MUCH about Kotetsu and Ouroboros that we still don't know about!

I also wanted a specific focus where Barnaby was the support this time BUT could give crucial insight as someone who spent a good portion of his life doing investigations/getting obsessed with getting justice. Like WHY have that be a main part of his backstory and then be like "oh, well, he's done with that now, who cares?", especially when he STILL doesn't have answers about Ouroboros?

It just felt like if S2 decided to not add in three new random unlikeable characters, an entire Ryan backstory, all the casual friendship episodes in the first season, fiercely not letting Kotetsu and Barnaby stand no less than five feet away from each other 90% of the time, and making L.L. Audun a random adversary (and not even connect to ANY of the heroes by making him a past villain of Kotetsu's or SOMETHING), then the show would have made far more sense to be called TIGER & Bunny.

We also probably would have had less cringey and cooler fight scenes but I digress.

Suit Inspiration:

My vision for Wild Tiger's crusader suit was VERY much inspired by some of the early versions of Marvel and DC costume designs. Considering that Kotetsu would have been a crusader in the 60s very early 70s.

I was thinking something like Wildcat (DC) and Black Panther (Marvel) but with green tiger stripes, green claws, and a cape added like this:

BUT add the overall shape of Wild Tiger's cowl of his first suit so it comes across like more of a Tiger than a panther:

^^^Like this! I don't know WHY they got rid of the ears OR the cape!!! Not to mention I theorize the reason WHY Kotetsu is so clumsy in the Apollon suit is because it's BIG, HEAVY, CLUNKY ARMOR and he's used to lightweight, skin-tight, and having a full range of motion. AND I have the wildly unpopular opinion of preferring his first suit over Saito's.

NOW for the stealth suits for Wild Tiger and Barnaby:

SO I don't have the clearest vision here for them, but this is what they're supposed to be giving a mix of-

The Batman Beyond suit

and The Arkham Knight's suit:

BUT in their individual colours of course.

Kotetsu's helmet has the same ears that his first suit does and has claws, Barnaby's helmet has ears too but they look like the ones his regular Apollon armor has already.

Again, thanks SO much for the message and the ask! Please don't be shy to send asks my way as I very much welcome them!

[essegigi]

Some quick and disjointed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice thoughts (spoiler free)

Fun movie, for sure, but similar criticisms I have with the first movie. Rules of the world are still just whatever is needed for the plot, no explanation and no consistency.

Takes some time to pick up the pace, which could be fine if the beginning were more interesting... there's lots of time spent on things I don't care about while less time spent on things I do. Also felt like too much exposition was given by dialogue instead of letting us see it, which again didn't have to be a bad thing but it felt clunky to me.

There's some interesting plot ideas, but most don't really get a satisfying follow through, imo.

Honestly it's not really my jam, but probably will be someone else's!

It's just a little frustrating for me bc I'm so interested in some of the concepts but nothing is ever explored deep enough to actually get me too invested.

There's also a couple scenes (related) that squick me out real bad x_x

(Also maybe unpopular opinion, I don't really care for Tim Burton as a director... saw someone upset that he didn't have any say in the production of the musical, and imo that's not a bad thing at all. They took inspiration from his style for design elements, which I think was the best way for them to include him)

(Yeah I'm a fake fan I enjoy the musical the most by far 😅 but to each their own!)

(Also oh god shipping discourse is gonna suck, isn't it... I do not want to see it)

[literally-just-a-little-guy]

Hi today I'd like to talk about the reveal of the Loungefly merch for the Care Bears x Universal Monsters collab!! In summary, we got 6 new pieces in total--2 backpacks, one card holder, one wallet, one crossbody bag, and one bomber jacket!

I'll be adding pictures into the read more with more "analysis" and opinions :3

First off we have the Mummy Bedtime Bear backpack and card holder!! I love the design of both of these. The backpack's mummy wrappings glow in the dark, too! It looks like it'll be a soft backpack, which is nice, and I'm in love with the art for the cardholder--I feel like the colors they chose are very harmonious and pleasing to the eyes, though I don't have much use for the cardholder (it is still a very tempting purchase)

Next up we have the Sweet Dreams backpack and zip-around wallet!! I already mentioned how much I love the official art for this collab but I have to say it again because wow these are beautiful and stunning. The background stars on the backpack glow in the dark, which could be a fun effect! Personally, I don't think the green glow fits well with the rest of it, but it's definitely something I can overlook. Something fun about this one is the usage of Sweet Dreams Bear, who I rarely see added to merchandise, and especially Loungefly merch! At first I thought she was Share until I noticed she had a totally different belly-badge. There's so many fun details on this one, and I just. I am obsessed with these designs I love them all so much. I also love the usage of the actual star characters and how they gave them monster designs, too! Honestly, I'm hardcore debating getting these--or at least the wallet, because they're just so cute and it can be kind of hard to find merch in darker colors for these guys, and most of my wardrobe is incidentally pretty dark

Next we have the Bride of Frankenstein Cheer Bear crossbody bag! The design of this one is super pleasing to me, it kind of gives Sailor Moon vibes, and I just think it's awesome. Definitely one of my favorite pieces for the collab! It's hard for me to envision the actual sizings and how much would be able to fit in it, so I don't know how practical it would be, but it's very cute! The colors all-around work very well together and are also super nice to look at. I especially love the pattern on the inside of the bag--the art of Cheer and Grumpy hugging is so sweet! It could probably do without the lightning bolts they added, but I don't necessarily think they take away from it either. I don't really like the debossed details on the outside of the bag--I think it could've definitely been done without those--but it doesn't impact my overall opinion too negatively, and it's overall pretty fine--I do like the star details. I'm very tempted to get this one

And finally, we have the all-over print bomber jacket! I have some mixed feelings about this one. I absolutely adore the patterns on the outside and inside (the return of the stars!! and Care-A-Lot!!) but I'm not so sure how well this pattern works as a jacket. Like it's fine, and I like it, but the collars, cuffs, and pockets kind of clash and there's not really a color that wouldn't clash, plus it's a lot to look at in a way that I'm not sure works for this kind of clothing. A friend of mine suggested that it would look better as a Hawai'ian shirt, and I'm definitely inclined to agree. That or some other form of button-up. Maybe even leggings, or a skirt or dress, perhaps a headband--or even a tie would be super fun, if a bit unpopular. That isn't to say it's bad though! I still do think it's cute, and maybe seeing it in person would change my opinions on it--it looks pretty good on the models in the photos. I suppose time will tell!

On one hand, I'm a little sad that we didn't get TenderHeart, GoodLuck, and Grumpy as solo items like we did Cheer and Bedtime (for the Loungefly drops in specific because there's a bunch of other merch too that I haven't gotten a good look at yet), but I feel like solo Bedtime merch is really rare nowadays and I'm glad to see that we're not putting all the attention on Grumpy again because he's pretty much the most common one for pop culture merch (which has always kind of peeved me). I'm very excited to see GoodLuck appearing here, too! Their design is adorable, and so is TenderHeart's (I didn't have the chance to mention this earlier, but I love how they subtly altered all of the Belly Badges!!)

All in all, I think this is a very awesome collection, and I'm absolutely dying to get these (and my wallet is weeping because Loungefly is expensive)

[katatonicimpression]

8, 9, 17 and 20 for Exodus

8. Unpopular opinion about them

Oooh this is hard I'm not sure what is or isn't popular.

Maybe just something things that I've seen disagreement over:

He's not got a lot of internalised homophobia. I wrote about this before but I genuinely think he has not carried over the residual homophobia of his era into the modern day. And, like, guys. There are a whole bunch of interesting ways to characterise sexually repressed angst without going "oh no, but jesus says I shouldn't." Challenge yourselves.

He's a heretic. He's zealous, overly religious, but he's not actually a pious christian you guys he just makes up shit to suit him and is in complete denial over the fact that he does this.

Weird one but he drinks. Not like a lot or anything, but the idea that "good christian = sober" is an incredibly modern one. No way a 12th century frenchman believes that.

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character

That man is pure cunt from his first appearence. Just the character design of the century my god.

Scene wise, theres this bit in one of his early appearences when he's talking to magneto doing his "i'm an evil gay-coded grand vizier/royal advisor type - watch me go!" schtick. And the art is so atmospheric and beautiful (it's all sweeping high arched ceilings like Mags lives in a cathedral - you know, how god is supposed to) and tropes aside, the way that Bennet is characterised is so resolute. This is a man who is lying, but has convinced himself he is not. This is man who has chosen another man as his god daddy and will bend his own perception of reality to fit this.

It's fucked up in just the most entrancing way.

17. Quotes, songs, poems, etc. that I associate with them

I think I named a fic after something from an Anthony and the Johnson's song (probably The Crying Light or Cut the World). That vibe suits him, very chorister very religious-sounding but also emotionally overwrought and tortured.

20. Scars

He has those forehead scars sometimes, and canonically they're from that whole shebang with apocalypse in Black Knight: Exodus.

Funny how they're only there sometimes. You could say they've disappeared because of resurrection resetting his body. But I think it could be fun if they're a decorative element that just recurs sometimes. Maybe they can be glittery, for a treat.

Otherwise, I think he literally can't have scars because of his powers/resurrections.

[professionallydorkish]

OK (lots of) thoughts about tf Rise of the Beasts (spoilers below)

I'm just gonna put these thoughts as bullet points bc there's no real rhyme or reason to the flow of these thoughts . THAT SAID I watched the movie Friday night and have been stewing on some things, and reading some other people's thoughts, so thought I'd throw my own together here

OVERALL I thought it was a fun movie, and mostly good - like, I'd go back to watch it maybe 1-2 more times at the theatre. On discount ticket days or smth. That said, unpopular opinion, I don't think it was AS GOOD as people have been hyping it up to be (but I really WANTED it to be that good)

And like, I can probably tell y'all now that the things bugging me are probably nitpicky, but were bothering all the same. For instance,

Mirage - I *adored* him as a character. He was SO SWEET and fun and has SUCH FUN RELATIONS with the humans, and it's extremely enjoyable to see other Autobots forming those human relations outside of Bumblebee. BUT. Why... Mirage? There are DOZENS of other characters that could have fit this bill without having to give a total personality change to an existing character (thinking of Smokescreen, Jazz, Tracks, Hot Rod, either of the Lambo twins, even Blurr ... all of these characters can fit a youthful / pranking / kind of reckless speedster profile that cares about their appearance and is slightly anti-authority but heart of gold enough to go against Prime's wishes in a charming way). It's not *bad* to see Mirage like this, but again .... it just threw me a little bit. It also makes me curious as to what this means for characterization in the future. Again, I really liked him, thought he was super sweet, and obviously his abilities were super cool to see on screen!

I'm also extremely conflicted on having Unicron & co as the big bads for this movie. I've seen some mixed opinions on this as well, and generally agree that having Unicron as a looming presence and not actually destroyed at the end of the film was handled well. HOWEVER - and this is probably coming form my own wishes, seeing as it was called Rise of the Beasts, and REALLY just wanting to see more Beast Wars characters - I think they could've gone a different route with the antagonists that wouldn't have felt so grand life and death

Actually, tangent here, I think that was one of the things that actually had me feeling disappointed with the movie. I think I went in with expectations and standards close to what I felt after watching the Bumblebee movie for the first time. And the conflict in Bumblebee isn't some grand end-of-world threat (as seen on the screen - sure it's a looming possibility etc etc but), it's a small cast and a very personal conflict in that sense. ROTB returns to having huge stakes, larger cast of characters that can't ALL get a chance to shine, but imo not a large enough cast to take on a threat like UNICRON

So like. I'm glad that it wasn't directly Unicron, and instead got to see his power play out through Scourge and his team.

But still, I think it would've been cool to have our antagonists be those from Beast Wars as well (although I admit that I'm not super familiar with the series both tv & comics but STILL. I think it would've been cool to see Dinobot and Inferno and shit). I think this would've been SUPER COOL to see the Maximals shine even more!!

They all had such cool designs, and I really loved Primal & Air Razor. I wish we could've had more of Cheetor and Rhinox ;-;

I was actually annoyed with the resolution of the warp bridge explosion to send Unicron back 😭 particularly since it was ESTABLISHED that an explosion would have the FORCE OF A SUPERNOVA -- a fucking SUPERNOVA MY FRIENDS Earth should be PERISHED in an explosion like that!! The opening of the bridge portal to Unicron could explain SOME of the force being applied back through the opening but for the Earth to not really experience any of the damage, AND FURTHERMORE FOR NO GRAVE INJURIES TO COME TO PRIME, PRIMAL, OR NOAH/MIRAGE IN SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY....

Just. If you're GOING to prop up something as a danger, and have an action posed as a non-viable solution to the problem (and have a good alternative ie. the passcode!), but then ultimately have to go back to explosion -- it should be held up as impactful as stated!! Like listen I KNOW we go into movies with the expectation that our friends on screen will be okay BUT OPTIMUS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET OUT OF THAT THAT EASILY. It also, imo, feels like it weakens Primal's oath to him in his sacrifice.

Also side note I actually did quite like the humans & the interpersonal relations happening - between Noah, his brother, Elena, and with the bots - I wish there was a bit more of it even! In concept, ex-military man who values family over the country & archeologist intern, BOTH POC, are FASCINATING CHARACTERS TO HAVE AND PLAY WITH. I think there's a lot of potential.

ALL OF THIS ASIDE. I thought it was a fun movie, I'm hopeful for what the franchise will bring. I'd REALLY LIKE for Travis Knight & Studio & Bee movie writers to come back on future movies (getting to the credits of this film and realizing it was Bay, Spielberg, and NOT writers from the Bee movie actually felt like that explained a LOT for where my disappointment and story inconsistencies were coming from)

[gnegon-g]

Having finally watched Arcane I started thinking what other Piltover & Zaun champions I'd like to see in S2 and which I'd rather have the showmakers NOT include and so I assembled a simple list of yes's and no's just so I can be annoying with my shitty little opinions

who I'd LIKE to see:

Renata Glasc: seems the obvious choice, Silco's demise surely left a void to fill and frankly none of the other chembarons introduced in the series seem fit to be anything more than third-rate characters. Plus, Sevika's effectively lost her job and she'd definitely like Renata's business model

Urgot: my man, my boy. Same as above, really. This is a very good moment to introduce him, especially with the whole theme of Zaun barely becoming its own independent thing now. Unfortunately I have little hope since he's unpopular among players, is difficult to animate and would completely fill the frame in every shot

Twitch: what can I say I love the asshole rat. I'd be happy if he even appeared for just a moment, but there could be like a scene where characters end up in a sewer and realize there's something really fucked up there

Janna: I'm always a sucker for Janna representation, especially after her LoR redesign. But I don't so much need her to appear on screen as just be mentioned as something Zaunites believe in. Maybe a statue somewhere? I feel this isn't a good story to get actual deities involved

Ziggs: Heimerdinger needs a buddy now, come on. Ziggs could show him that making deadly weapons is actually very fun and productive and definitely safe

Camille: honestly I don't care much for Camille but I'm willing to believe Arcane could convince me otherwise. She has potential

and now why I DON'T want to see THESE guys:

Corki: who gives a shit about Corki? It's a badly designed character all around and I feel like that's irredeemable. His two paragraphs of entire lore put him in Piltover but honestly if you're not gonna delete him from Runeterra completely then move him to Bandle City with the Bandle Gunners and have him not interact with humans at all cuz there's no way that could work imo

Dr. Mundo: I love Mundo but there's no way in hell he could fit into this series. They'd probably delete everything that makes him funny and turn him into a generic tragic character and I don't care how well that'd be written or animated, I don't want the chadification of Mundo to continue

Orianna: same as above, I love Orianna but she'd require so much screentime to do her justice. Anything less would be an affront to the character

Seraphine: I wouldn't be surprised if they make like a bar concert scene with her or something but I just don't give a shit

Zeri: fuck Zeri all my homies hate Zeri

Ezreal: we are not ready for the YA Netflix side of Tumblr discovering Ezreal. trust me

Blitzcrank: beep boop boring

Zac: absolutely can't fit into the series' mood, don't even try (and 100% they won't, Riot clearly doesn't care about Zac)

[thepineconelord]

ooh I would LOVE to hear your impressions of three or four cats. and the wife. and anybody else you choose

Sure thing bestie<333

For the cats I'll do Cassandra, Bombalurina, and Skimbleshanks since I don't think we've talked about them in depth.

Cassandra:

First impression: Kinda thought she was just like a cool, loner, suave kinda lady. Meant to represent a cat that really couldn't care less about you.

Impression now: She's kinda mystical and ethereal, I feel like she overhears all the gossip. I also still think shes a cool loner type.

Favorite moment: In 1998 I love the abrupt closeup for the "moonlit eye" line bcuz it always freaks people out.

Idea for a story: It'd be fun to have a story where she gets her fur ruffled a bit bcuz she's normally so unbothered.

Unpopular opinion: no romance for her she's too good for it.

Favorite relationship: Her and Alonzo awkward friendship

Favorite headcanon: She and Mistoffelees scheme together.

Bombalurina:

First impression: Just thought she was the typically "sexy mean girl" type character and didn't think about her too much tbh

Impression now: She's so ahefuehakfhdakfea I love how she is like a cornerstone of the community and how shes so caring, but also like she's such a baddie. Anyway I love her.

Favorite moment: In Bustopher Jones(1998) when Jenny gets the flower from him and she shoots him the dirtiest look for a split second.

Idea for a story: She should get to kill Macavity

Unpopular opinion: I don't think her an Demeter are dating or even sisters I think they've just trauma bonded

Favorite relationship: Her and Demeter would be the obvious choice, but tbh I think whatever her and Tugger have is really funny.

Favorite headcanon: She's definitely fucked Macavity and honestly had a pretty good time about it.

Skimbleshanks:

First impression: The silliest of all time :)

Impression now: The silliest of all time :)

Favorite moment: in the paris 1990 performace where he just yanks Mistoffelees around(pretty sure this was him its hard to tell).

Idea for a story: I think it's be cute to have a little story establishing how like all the London city employees know him

Unpopular opinion: He's probably one of the most disconnected from the tribe bcuz he's employed

Favorite relationship: honestly idk, maybe him and asparagus cuz they're like the only two of that age range.

Favorite headcanon: He actually wears the little waist coat. the humans put it on him.

I don't know if you wanted me to do your wife or mine so I'll do both.

Belos(i'm only giving my general impression bcuz I don't know that much): He's a Puritan, everyone is wrong about him. He'd probably creep me out and I probably wouldn't like him sorry. I probably wouldn't like the owl house in general tho. He's definitely a man, I like how strange and diseased he is and I love the look on people's faces when u say hes ur wife.

Ghostmaker aka Minhkhoa Khan <3:

First impression: I though his design was so cool and I was like "fuck i gotta figure out how to pirate comics so i can read about him" anyway here we are like a year(2 years maybe? idk anymore) later.

Impression now: he's so everything to me. I think he's such a complicated and pained guy and I love him the way he is. I think he's silly but in like a badass way

Favorite moment: When he kills madam midas its like The Moment of all time.

Idea for a story: What if....he was happy... and loved... idk

Unpopular opinion: Rhea Sinha was an interesting love interest and backstory element for him.

Favorite relationship: I love his strange and silly relationship with Icon I could write an essay about it.

Favorite headcanon: The only thing between him and substance abuse disorder is sheer force of will and the tools of modern technology.

anyway thats it :)

[carneflower13]

perceives those character questions... how about ur man seymour anddd.. homura. variety. you don't gotta do both if you don't want

SEYMOUR!!! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH <3

favorite thing about them: Oh god do I have to pick just one thing?? I love his hair, I love his glasses, I love his clothes, I love his voice....I love how sweet he is to Audrey and to his plants <3 I also love how he was immediately convinced to kill orin when he saw him hurting audrey like YESSSSS KING!!! THE GUY SURE LOOKS LIKE PLANT FOOD TO ME!! He is also so SO sopping wet and pathetic and that only makes me love him even more.

least favorite thing about them: NOOOOOO I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING I DISLIKE ABOUT HIM I LOVE HIM TOO MUUUUUCH

favorite line: "Hi, Audrey! You look radiant today~ <3" OR "Twoey, that's disgusting." OR "You watch your language!"

brOTP: i guess him and twoey but only in AUs where twoey is actually nice and isn't trying to eat the world. I would like for him to have more actual people to be friends with!!

OTP: Him and Audrey, obviously. Literally they made me believe love is real <3

nOTP: Seymour/Twoey or Seymour/Orin. He does not deserve that kind of suffering.

random headcanon: He has autism (just like me!) and his special interest is plants/botany, specifically weird and exotic plants (His monologue in "da-doo" could be interpreted as him infodumping). Also, he's prone to sensory overloads bc he gets overwhelmed easily ;w;

unpopular opinion: hmmmm. idk. i think some people give him too much credit for his actions. some people like to act like he was some secretly fucked up mastermind from the beginning but he's literally Just Some Guy who was talked into killing people by a giant plant bc his life sucked and as far as he knew, he didn't have any other chance to make things better. he was living in poverty and stuck in a dead-end job. he was desperate. did he make mistakes? yeah of course he did. but like. idk. i feel like everything was more twoey's fault than seymour's.

song i associate with them: "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" by Paul Anka. Its from around the same era the movie takes place in and I can picture him singing it for whatever reason.

favorite picture of them: LISTEN i have a whole folder of pictures of this man its impossible for me to pick just one BUT:

this recent addition to my collection is pretty cute <3 he looks soft i just wanna kiss his cheeks and give him a big ol hug

aaaaaand now homura

favorite thing about them: SHE IS LITERALLY SO COOL. I like that she seems cold and distant but is actually feeling SO MUCH beneath the surface. I also like when she uses her guns or her time-shield thingy. OH and the sassy little hair-flips she does sometimes!!! ALSO she kicks kyubbey's ass all the time it's great. I also have a weakness for characters who have distinct "before" and "after" personalities (Homura's being her shy pre-magical girl/time loop self and her serious self that we see for most of the series)

least favorite thing about them: Her whole deal at the end of Rebellion is kind of weird I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it (I think the main series ended on a well-enough note) but her demon design is still pretty cool. Also she kind of gets into Madoka's business a lot like showing up at her window in the middle of the night?? It's funny but also girl what the hell are you doing?

favorite line: Uhhh I don't remember any of her actual quotes from the series so here's one from the legendary video Meduka Meguca: "MEDUKA DON'T GOOOOOOOOO"

brOTP: I feel like if her and Mami had a better, less antagonistic relationship they could be good friends.

OTP: Her and Madoka of course! <3

nOTP: I have no idea.

random headcanon: She is autistic and also a lesbian to me <3

unpopular opinion: ummmmm i don't know lol i don't really interact with the pmmm fandom much

song i associate with them: "In the End" by Linkin Park. I'm pretty sure I saw an AMV with her set to that song way back. Plus, the lyrics fit her situation pretty well

favorite picture of them: This one speaks to me

[spyridonya]

For the Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme...tell me what you think about the other companions in Wrath, besides Daeran and Lann!

*DEEP BREATH* I focus on the good and not the bad of the following characters.

Arue wasn't quite the dream girl I had hoped for, but I still like her very much, and I'm honestly glad she was different from what I hoped. I liked her struggles to become better, I liked her sweetness to those who gave her compassion and her sheer bafflement on the occasion. My only sincere wish was showing more of a struggle in action than being told of it. I really wished her quest wasn't so black and white in Act 4, though I know such a thing couldn't be possible due to the writing of other characters.

The entire character of Camellia is ingenious. There is no redemption, there is no twist of love saving her, she's really that evil. Her characterization is perfect, she's cruel, cutting, and wears such a pretty mask. My only misfortune with Camellia is playing good female characters of either high intelligence or wisdom, so Cameilla doesn't have a chance to try and corrupt my KCs. Her treatment of Ember and Lann is breath taking in hit’s meanness. Her coxing up to a noble despite her peasant heritage and bastard status seems on point, and how she fools Sosiel is hilarious.

Ember is a charming character and I love her. I love her naivety and her innocence, I love that she's determined to do her best and forsake the gods, I love that the game allows her to be a paradox (because one of the deities loves Ember very much) but never calls her out on it because of her age and her trauma and genuine desire to help others. But... but I don’t want to take my smol daughter out in battle and I’m not giving her Hellfire Ray because that’s EVIL. ... though casting it on Baphomet and sending his essence straight to Asmodeus would be great.

Greybor is someone that I'd think I'd enjoy more if I sat down and respec his build. There's a lot of lore and crunch that don't fit with this guy. Regardless, I do enjoy him and his quips. He's very low key and while I don't entirely agree with his alignment, he's a great 'Cool Uncle' character that I should just enjoy.

Nenio makes me laugh. I really adore her kitsune form in theory, though I feel the artwork compared to her human portrait has no personality. Fan art tries to make up for that. Regardless of the portraits, Nenio zooms in with a comment or two that makes me laugh out loud, which is a total rarity in most games I play. ... And I really think she's one of the best portrayals of True Neutral I've seen. I know a lot of folks code her as autistic, but I'm not entirely sure if I agree, because poor social skills and hyper fixations are symptoms of many neruodivegant folk.

Regill is such a wonderful character. The initial impression of his design is such a whiplash from the character we actually get. At first glance you're seeing a three foot tall man with hair akin to a troll-doll in edgy black armor before you take in the details -- the character is old. Still, so much could have gone wrong with this character, and yet Owlcat nails everything. The writing takes the premise seriously enough to be intimidated, but allows enough levity to make Regill endearing, and never forgets at his core Regill is a gnome. And then Owlcat nails it all down with the perfect voice performance for him, something that could destroyed this character completely. Regill is such a high risk character, and Owlcat slammed it with a home run.

Seelah's personality is one of the best for a paladin I've seen in years! Warm, kind, and following her duties while putting goodness first. She likes to drink, she likes being with people, she likes giving people the chances that she was given - she's heavily GOOD and I adore it. I feel like her quest deserved far more thought and effort like Amiri's was given in Kingmaker.

Sosiel is someone that I don't play with enough, simply because in my first run I was the buffer and Daeran is a better healbot/blaster. However, he was exactly what was needed for Shelyn in Owlcat games after a horrific introduction with Valerie's quest. He was sane but naive, sweet and impressionable, and his faith is slowly put to the test that he fairs well in. On the surface, Sosiel would feel better in a more down to earth game when not romancing him. When you romance him as a demon, Owlcat goes places that few CRPGs do with LI who falls for someone who is actually evil, and how love can be corrupted.

Wenduag is... really good with axes and I enjoy her voice actress. I keep playing good characters so I don't get her until Act 3 and we all know how Act 4 goes. She's probably the most 'typical' character in the game for me. Woljif is a character that I might headcanon as younger compared to most! Mind, I see him as someone of age, but someone in his late teens or very early 20s because of his maturity and behavior. He's really a good portrayal of a young man who has had rough life, who has no real loyalty because it's never been shown to him, and is very aware what demons can do. Essentially he's my smol idiot and I love him.

Trevor as a concept is really neat and while his build is a nightmare, I find it eerily accurate to folks who go through war and PSTD without the help they truly need. They have so many skills and concepts inside that have gone missing due to trauma, and tapping into them without help is a challenge. On top of this, I almost feel like Owlcat is saying 'no, don't drag him through more shit than you have to' with this build. Trevor and Sosiel's relationship also mirrors Zon-Kuthon and Shelyn so well.

Finnean was really quiet in my run. :(((

Aivu is a delight, though I've heard stories that Aivu's inclusion meant that Azata got less story and more whimsy with a fairly powerful addition to the party. Regardless, when I found out that Aivu and Daeran had the same writer, I wasn't shocked. Aivu picks on Daeran the most! She really feels like a toddler which gives me the same emotinal whiplash as I get from Ember: these are my babies, why am I putting them near the soul eating demons?? I think Aivu was written so well, I wasn't sure if I should listen to a five year old girl about rushing down to do Midnight Fane, but I'm going back, taking a deep breath, and replaying before going into the Ivory Prison.

[uh-e-rinnie]

This is an unpopular opinion on my part, but I don’t think the sides need an update to wardrobe. Especially with more complex and detailed designs like Janus and Remus (and I guess Roman), they already seem pretty complete.

However I did love your suggested redesign for Virgil. You’ve convinced me a bit more that he should have a costume update, but other than him I still don’t think the others need one.

This is only talking about their clothes, I know that they will all get hats regardless due to announcement and I am fine with that as obviously it’s so Thomas is more comfortable on camera. I’m not going to be an ass about that, nor if they sides do end up getting good wardrobe updates. It’s cool seeing the fandom coming up with different suggestions so even though I don’t think they need an update I love seeing people be creative regardless.

Hope you are alright with me sharing my opinion here, have a good day/night! (I was also prompted to write this when I saw you post about rude anon. I’m not them but as another anon I apologize they were being shitty to you).

Thank you for the opinion anon!

I agree yes, I don't think the sides really need a wardrobe change. Which is why my post focused on Virgil alone. Janus, Remus and Roman all have outfits that are perfectly tailored for them, and I really wouldn't change those as I think the outfits themselves are very flexible in regards to Thomas himself. Logan and Patton never actually changed their outfits from season 1 tbh, the only substantial addition was the logos. Logan just changed his tie lmao.

Virgil was the only one I felt like needed one, or well not necessarily a complete change. Just a few touches here and there. If anything, I don't think Virgil needs a complete look overhaul, I feel like it would be nice to see him go the Patton-Logan route and change something while keeping his overall look.

That's why I tried to keep my design idea as true to the current virgil as I can haha. I see people wanting to see him in a leather jacket, and while that's cool and all I think a hoodie is a core part of his design and should still be incorporated. I'm glad you like it!

It's interesting to see people's takes on it, especially with the hats thing. I'm sure Thomas and his team will come up with something interesting if not fashionable, haha. I've seen a few people talk about putting Logan in a fedora and based on the halloween episode I'm not sure that's a good idea, but all is well.

Thank you! Yeah, that anon has been blocked. Like I had mentioned, I don't tolerate rude behavior over things that aren't that deep. If you're going to be rude over an opinion on clothes then I wonder how worse could you be over other things. I'd rather block for my own comfort.

I'm always open to hearing opinions (as long as you word it in a decent and not rude way!) Thank you for sharing, again!