#if he really wants a villian this would definitely be a point to make

[fluffycloudhead]

So, I just realised, we know nothing about Braius' family. He keeps repeating that family is important to him, but also made it clear that he doesn't have one at the moment and is looking for one.

My question: is his family still alive? He said he was kicked out of the temple and kicked out by his family. But he very obviously was NOT 100% honest, at least we as the audience and the other players know that, not the characters.

For example: Jester and Nott did not burn the temple down. But... Did he? As an act of revenge? Isn't that a possibility?

So... My brain loves to jump to the worst possible conclusions. I know it was probably a joke for his Stanley cup, but he killed that dude for backstabbing him.

So... Again... My question: is Braius' family still alive? Or is there a possibility he enacted some kind of revenge there, too? Did he kill them? Because that sounds more in line of what a follower of Asmodeus would do.

It would also make a great parallel to FCG who accidentally killed his party without knowing about it and regretting it deeply.

[blossomthepinkbunny]

Talking about Adam and the villians of HB

Adam is such a dissapointing villain for Hazbin Hotel that absolutely doesn't make use of the great opportunities they had for the bad guy of this project. Like, what is Adam? A sexual, irrational, rockstar asshole who kills demons for fun and is shown to be completely idiotic and unable to make any good point for his actions. And that sucks.

Atleast to me, them making Adam an irredeemable asshole type just seems like the show acknowledging that they can't take any actual feedback on Charlies idea. He is a strawman who never really gets to be anything else until his final moments, when they want you to care about his fight. The show doesn't want you to actually think critical about what Charlie has planned it just wants you to think she is right, by making you hate Adam, by making his side actively carry out genocide. The fact that a show all about revealing that people have layers and presenting seemingly morally grey areas in them has a villian who is completely one note and just evil and irrational because the show needs him to be is not great.

There are actual things that can be criticized about the Hotel and the idea of redeeming sinners, but Adam can't call any of these out because then Charlie would have to defend herself, which she can't do and then you would realize that the writers couldn't think of arguments for why she is right. And then Charlie would come off as not as great as they want you to think she is.

What if he had called out the fact that genuinely no demon seems to give a shit about being a better person. We don't get a definitive time for how long Charlie has been working on the Hotel but we can assume that it has been atleast a little longer. We see her advertise her idea on the news in the pilot and the Hotel makes an advertisement in the first episode, so we know that it's pretty open information that a place where demons can redeem themselves exist. Yet in the entirety of the pilot, season one and however much time lays between the two, only two sinners came to the hotel to change (im not counting staff members because they are there to work, not to be redeemed).

Angel Dust and Sir Pentious are the only ones who came to stay, which either means that just no other sinner cares to be better or that Charlie is not taken seriously and that her hotel is viewed as stupid in concept alone. And you have to remember that even these two didn't initially join because they genuinely wanted to change.

Angel just decided to stay because it was a cheap place to live where he wouldn't have to see Val. And while Pentious does decide he wants to be better, we don't know if he would have even done that, had it not been for the agreement he made with Vox (which made him come to the hotel with bad intentions in the first place).

Why doesn't Adam get to point out that sending Sinners to heaven might be a bad idea when there are probably people that they hurt or may have even killed up there. Like, Angel Dust was in the Mafia and you can assume that he has quite the killcount and it's very possible that some of his victims are in heaven. That goes for every other demon too, they're down there for a reason. And while sometimes that reason might be something stupid or irrelevant, just giving every demon the benefit of the doubt and a chance to get to heaven (in theory) seems pretty irresponsible.

That is also completely ignoring the fact that Charlie's method has no proof of even working. Seemingly in the entirety of hell existing no sinner has ever redeemed themselves and went to heaven until Sir Pentious, which was mostly an accident as well.

I'm not saying Adam had to be likeable or relatable, but it's pretty obvious that they made him so hateable just because. He can't just be an obnoxious, sexist asshole because that's not blatantly evil enough apparently. He also has to commit genocide for no reason other than that he enjoys it. Again, im not saying his genocide should be excusable, but he should have a reason that isn't presented as him just doing it for fun because hes a jackass (he should have a reason that would make what he is doing okay in his own eyes where the viewer could understand how he views the world without having to agree necessarily).

Writing evil characters who are purely bad because they just are can work. But in my opinion that shouldn't be the main villian, especially not in a show where the central idea is supposed to be discussing morality and moral greyness.

Cioccolata from Jjba is a villian where this works in my opinion. He is just evil and Araki really plays that up. He isn't just a crazy doctor type who violently experiments on people for fun, his backstory also shows that he has been doing this since he was 14 and started with driving elders to suicide. And also he films everything he does because he just likes watching people suffer. Cioccolata really is just irredeemably crazy and sadistic but it works for him because he is just a side antagonist and therefore doesn't have the burden of playing as a direct counter to our main protagonist and because for all his immoral actions he still has philosophy behind that. A fucked up philosophy but an understandable (not excusable) one nonetheless. He explaines that in his eyes people can only experience true happiness from two situations. Either when your own despair is replaced with hope, or when one watches other people fall into despair themselves. In his eyes, the more people he watches die, the more he understands the human race and the stronger he gets, which leads into another aspect of his philosophy, which is that the strong have have the right and responsibility to rule over the weak. That is why I think he works.

We actually get some insight into Adams deeper character motivation in his last moments. When he gets upset that the demons aren't just falling at his feet, worshipping him, even though he is the original man all life came from. And that would be a good idea to expand on, that Adam has this intense sense of entitlement that leads him to despise the demons because he doesn't have power over them, when he feels like he should. And because a crowd of people that don't worship him, feels threatening to him, he would want them gone as to not possibly risk his position of power with their ideas.

That could be the reason for why he despises Charlie, because she is a demon who makes her own plans to save her people, which would mean they could start to follow her and work with her, rather than idolizing him. Something like that would work so well for his character and would fit this saviour attitude that some religious people have when "helping" atheists by recommending that they should be religious to make all their problems dissapear or something (no shade to people who genuinely find peace and safety in their religion I think that's actually great but it's not a solution for everybody). The last moments he has give great insight into what his character could've been, had they focused on this, rather than always just having him say how much he enjoys killing demons for no reason.

And in the song he has he also nearly approaches giving another possible reason for his actions (that being that he just doesn't care because demons already had their chance to be good, didn't choose that and now don't deserve a second chance), but that is also never expanded on and is pretty much ignored throughout the season.

Also I find it interesting that Adam has to be completely and irredeemably evil, hated by everyone, while Lucifer gets away with just letting the people he is supposed to rule die like it's nothing. Lucifer didn't to anything to stop the exterminations, he didn't contact his daughter in quite some time and actively mocks her idea when first meeting her after these months of not giving a shit for her or what she does (her idea that is supposed to save his people from literal death btw).

We see him easily finish Adam off in the finale which begs the question for why he just never cared to do anything before. But it's fine because he's just so silly and goofy and actually cares a lot for Charlie say's the show. That is why he gets to be redeemed in the same episode he appeared in for the first time and no one is allowed to question him because then you're just not nice and understanding.

Lucifer didn't have to like sinners. I think his approach of basically leaving the sinners to their own devices is pretty interesting. But HH wants you to hate Adam and like Lucifer without acknowledging that people who just watch bad stuff being done without doing anything about it are also shitty. And for Lucifer it seems extra shitty because we see he can literally just defeat Adam and he just didn't do anything for this whole time.

Helluva Boss has this problem too where it picks characters it wants you to like and if you don't like them then you're just wrong. And therefore no villian gets to call these characters out without being shown to be either stupid, irrational or mean.

Striker was genuinely interesting and cool when he first appeared. He was an antagonist who had understandable goals that tied in well with the trajectory of the story. The classism in hell's society is a pretty relevant theme for HB. We see that Blitzø has to sleep with Stolas to be able to even do his job and earn a living, we see Imps just being tossed around and abused and hear Stolas say stuff like "impish little plaything" to Blitzø. Striker wanting to take the demons of high rank down to make hell better for the Imps by ending classism made sense and was an interesting take to see. Especially since at that point the show didn't insist on Stolas being this misunderstood good guy who just cares soo much for Blitzø, there was a sense of suspense maybe to watch wether or not Blitzø will go along with Striker or if this interaction might influence how he views his clearly predatory "relationship" with Stolas.

But all of that got thrown out the window because in s2 we just can't have people criticise Stolas, since actually acknowledging the fact that he benefited and actively made use of hells classist system would mean that we wouldn't see him as a poor confused bean anymore and that one might actually think of some of the pretty bad implications the Stolitz relationship has. So now Striker is a completely obvious, self obsessed bad guy who loves himself so much that he monologues about how great he feels when torturing Stolas instead of just killing him while they also gave him a weird gimmick where he doesn't like it when someone makes a sexual remark and gets so upset that he drags out Stolas' killing and gets defeated by Millie and Moxxie because of it (the same guy was established as a great assassin in another episode).

They also removed all the backbone to his ideology. He still talks about Stolas diminishing Imps in "Western Engery" but it lacks any point because they have gone so far with woobifying Stolas that he is presented as sympathetic and Striker as bigoted. Striker also acts like he can't kill Stolas because Stella called off the assassination on him. I get him being upset that he won't get his money for the kill but he still has very clear reasons for why he would want Stolas dead regardless (atleast he had when he was still a cool character). It's not like suddenly not being hired anymore would make a big change for him.

Killing Stolas could have consequences because Stolas is royalty, but these consequences always existed for him even while Stella was requesting the assassination. Stella would obviously not want others to know that she is reponsible for Stolas dying (then again we don't know if that would even matter since demons generally don't care about killing others until it's plot relevant) and the point of an assassin is that people are killed in a way that can't be tracked back to someone, so Striker should also not face issues, especially since he is apparently a really good and threatening assassin.

Striker was interesting until the show decided it liked Stolas too much for people to call him out and be presented as reasonable. Stella was turned into just an abusive, whiny and stupid bitch who just hates Stolas and wants his money instead of acknowledging that she pretty much has the same backstory as Stolas, who we are constantly told to feel bad for because of his childhood (arranged marriage, forced to have a child and a set-up relationship neither of them wanted).

Verosika is really not relevant but usually also falls into the "bitchy and just rude" category because she doesn't like Blitzø (it's not as bad for her as it is with Stella but still). Asmodeus and Fizzarolli where really mean and exposed and embarrassed Stolas and Blitzø publicly. But the next time we see Asmodeus interact with Stolas he is just chill with him? Why? Blitzøs and Fizzarollis relationship was atleast handled in a way and we see him act rude towards Blitzø until they make up. But it still followes the theme of people who dislike Stolas and Blitzø either changing their mind or just being shown to be horrible to make their opinion seem invalid (also notice how these male characters in the story get to be forgiven for how they acted and show different sides to their character while the women are reduced to being bitchy).

Barbie Wire was also handled soo bad. She only appears in the last few minutes of her début episode and never gets to talk about specifically why she doesn't want to have contact with Blitzø in the first place. The focus is mostly on how hurt he is by the fact his Sister wants nothing to do with him, even after he worked soo hard to find her and just wanted to make things right with her soo bad. They also basically made her a groomer which just doesn't help her come off as reasonable at all.

For a show that wants it's main characters to do bad stuff and have to deal with being called out for that it surely doesn't like people actually calling them out.

The double standards applied to the villians as opposed to the "good guys" are also just amazing. Like Millie and Moxxie can complain about Chaz being a bad partner in hindsight, but when Verosika talks about Blitzø being selfish in their relationship it's all about how he feels. Loona literally throwing stuff at Blitzø, hurting him just because he dared to carefully point out a true fact about her behaviour is played for laughs, but Stella abusing Stolas is super duper evil and we all hate her now (not saying it isn't bad but the show shouldn't pick and choose who is funny when abusive and who is evil when abusive). The I.M.P taking out random people because they were paid to is fine, but Striker attacking Stolas after being hired is bad just because he also happens to have a (understandable) motiv for why he would want to do it regardless of his job and because Stolas just so happens to be a main character. Blitzø and Loona commenting on Moxxies weight is funny, but when Mammon remarks that Fizzarolli gained a few pounds he is just bad.

That's just my opinion on some of the antagonists in HH and HB. Mammon is pretty much the only villian I really care for in both shows (also Stella and Striker before they got ruined). I mainly think antagonist are either really underused (Vox, Velvette, Verosika) or were just incredibly mishandled (Adam, Striker, Stella). Part of this post was just an excuse to talk about Jjba tho, which I always love.

[baby-tini]

Okay, okay, so this is kinda touching on religion, so if you're uncomfortable, please ignore this!!

But I can just imagine Dabi shoving his dick down the reader's throat, knowing she's super religious, saying something like "I am your God now," and before she can reply, shoves it deeper.

Im a simp and I'm not apologizing for it.

No, because I can definitely see this... also I'm fine with writing religious things, don't worry. I do want to say that, I support all religious beliefs and this is not meant to offend anyone, it's all fiction. TW: religious themes, noncon blowjob, yandere Dabi, Dabi has a God complex, disrespect and mocking of said beliefs, implied kidnapping. Dabi thought your beliefs were stupid, he pitied you for your beliefs to someone who would never answer them, they would never come save you. He looked at like, those naive people who still looked up to heros.. they didn't care about you, so what's the point in devoting your life to someone that allowed a monster, like Dabi, too take you away from everything that you once knew. Allowed a villian to break you down and use you for his own selfish desires. He'd watch you pray to a God that never saved you, cause if they cared, you wouldn't still be chained to the bed, stuck in a cycle of naive hope, waiting for someone, you should know by now, wouldn't help you. "I'm gettin' tired of this doll, you'll get on your knees for a non-existent God.. but not for me?" He scoffs, watching you pray on your knees, hands folded on the bed. Standing in the door way with a scowl he walks over to you, pulling you up by your hair. He sits on your bed as he makes you stand in between his spread legs. You try to pull away, you really do, slapping at his hands and trying to back away. It just doesn't work though, with a couple harsh slaps to your naked thighs, your attempted fighting subsides. "Try and pull away again, see what happens." His eyes are narrowed, the bright cerulean now a dark admiral blue, sharp eyes waiting for you to step out of line as his hand tightens in your hair. His free hand coming to wrap around your throat, causing you to bend, face to face with him. His eyes fly over your face as he grins, pulling you down harder so that your situated on your knees. He looks down at you, a faux pout on his mis-matched lips. The hand on your throat eases up when you completely stop struggling, running the hand in your hair, down your face, petting your cheek as he laughs. "There we go, pretty girl... just stop fighting, hm? Be good for me, It's so much more filling to behave for me." Moving both hands to your face, he rubs his thumbs over your cheeks, in comforting circles as he coos at you mockingly. Keeping a hand on your jaw, he unbuckles his belt with the other, popping open the button as he unzips his pants, slightly pulling down his pants and boxers, just enough to pull his cock out. There's an immediate attempt to pull away on your end, wiggling away as he squeezes his hand harder around your face. "Ah ah, you like it on your knees so much, praying to bullshit.. you'll love worshipping my cock then. I'm your new God now, you'll serve me, whether you like it or not." He places the leaky head on your lips, tapping it on your bottom lip before the hand on your jaw squeezes, causes your lips to open slightly and he pushes in. Moving both his hands through your hair, making you bob your head, his grip unyielding on your hair as you gag. His pre cum slipping down your throat causing you too choke as your eyes squeeze tight. "Don't. Look your God in the eyes as he cums down your throat, show him how much you appreciate him.'

[violeteclipseboaty]

So I recently went to go watch KOTPOTA again. I wanted to share my thoughts overall on the film, I couldn't properly do it before because I had forgotten some stuff lol

The pacing: at first watch I though it was kinda weird but watching it again I realized it pretty much went straight to the point, if anything I wanted MORE but you know the movie would've been too long but I wouldn't have minded either way. I mean, I've watched the Avatar and Harry Potter movies, so yeah I could've handled that lol

I really like the environment they set up with the eagle clan; their culture, their tradition with the eggs, and their bond with the eagles. I hope we get to see more details in the next movie.

The cinematography was amazing, they really nailed it. The sceneries were outstanding. A lot of that stuff reminded me back to Rise, back when it was filled with human life, now sadly the structures are abandoned and overtaken by nature but look pretty either way. The action scenes omg were so engaging and just done so well.

Let's talk about the main characters:

Noa: Great character. He's curious, smart, brave, and compassionate. I know a lot of people wanted him to be Caesar's descendant but i didnt really care about that. I'm excited where his next journey will take us if they have the chance to make a sequel (please 🙏) I'm pretty sure at the end of the film, Noa now has a new view of the world he lives in and now questioning his entire existence lol

Raka: loved him!! I really like how he truly understood what Caesar stood for. I did notice some things he believed were wrong lol but he's got the spirit and would lighten up the mood after what happened with Noa's clan. He's got a good heart, he sacrificed himself for Mae despite knowing her for a very short amount of time after all. Also I refuse to believe he's dead so there's that also and I hope he comes back to guide both Mae and Noa onto the path for the coexistence of both apes and humans.

Soona: I really wish we could've gotten more scenes with her, but I really like her. She's brave, sweet, and a ride or die for both Noa and Anaya. I hope we get to see her more in the next film

Anaya: yall already know cause I made a seperate post lol but loved him and I wish we had more scenes with him as well! I felt so bad for him when we see him again with Proximus, he's been through enough!

Proximus: he was a great villian and I did not like him, which is good! Not all villians need a sad backstory, this dude was clearly only hungry for power. He was twisting Caesar's words, enslaving other apes, killing humans, and wanted access to technology capable of bringing destruction and chaos. He's smart and knows how to be resourceful. I find it funny that he was talking smack about humans yet his way of thinking and actions are similar to the bad side of humanity. I only wish we could've gotten more scenes with him; he was underused and I thought he would have a much bigger role based on the trailers, but I enjoyed his presence overall.

Mae: I've already made a seperate post about her character and I still sorta feel the same way about her. Rewatching it again, I got to sympathize more with her situation. She's a survivor who clearly grew up and was taught misinformation about apes, but after meeting Raka and bonding with Noa; i truly believe she'll come around and change her mind. I believe in her, and I hope we get to see her again and get more of her backstory to understand her better.

The movie was great. The plot, visuals, and acting were so well done. I took about 5 years for them to work on this, and it SHOWS. Their dedication shows that when enough time is given; movies that involve CGI can be done properly. I'm sick of projects being crunched and the visuals ending up looking like 💩 because the teams/artists aren't appreciated enough. I definitely recommend watching at least twice, and I pray for a sequel.

[starlight-bread-blog]

I Watched The First Two Episodes of Hazbin Hotel

Overall I wasn't bored. It's a fun show from the little I've seen. I have thoughts and notes I'd like to give so here's how this is gonna go:

🔵 Is for things I liked/would like to be expanded upon in the show's future.

🔴 Is for things I disliked ranging from nitpicks and just general critisisms.

Whenever something about Angel Dust's trauma I will come up, I'll mark "————" at the beginning & ending so you can avoid the topic if you'd like.

So let's dive right in!<3

🔴 I am so confused. This is narrarated by Charlie. And her goal is to redeem sinners so they can enter Heaven to save their lives. But she also knows that Heaven doesn't kill sinners to stop over-population, it's just plain evil. So, what are we doing here again?

🔴 This is the first time her relationship with her father is mentioned in the show. And it's done though a joke made by Alastor in a commercial he made. (Also, how would he know about Charlie's "daddy issues"? This isn't common knowledge as far as I know).

————

🔴 WHAT THE FUCK? I'M SORRY. WHAT THE FUCK? I hate being this negative in the beginning but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. I don't want to discuss this line any more than the shock I felt while hearing it. Next.

————

🔴 Everyone already talked about how the camera work is crap and I agree. But here's an idea: If they wanted to make something grandiose, why not make a classic musical number that's completely unrealistic, and then make the reality of Hell clash with it?

🔴 This scene could be cut off mostly entirely. The point here is to show how awful Adam is, and the second the talking's over, we get a better song that does just that.

🔵 At first I was gonna make this a critisism, but all it did was making me ask questions, which is good in a first episode. This has me wondering about the characterization of Heaven and how it came to be. I can accept them being a shitty bureaucracy who only appear good, but this is some Saturday Morning Cartoon villian stuff. I'm very curious about this.

🔵 Niffty couldn't say her lines and just stared at the camera and was completely unaware of the fact that she did a shitty job. How come? I wonder what they'll do with it.

🔴 This is edited. The scene didn't go like this. We cut from the hotel to the Vees before we see Alastor's counter-attack. They cut to a really long section of the episode, in the middle of something that could be dealt with in a second. I wasn't as invested as I could have been in the introduction of the Vees, because I kept waiting to come back to Alastor.

🔵 I'd like to know why Charlie is so naive. Optimistic? Yeah, makes sense. But naive? Now that's interesting to know. She clearly goes outside and sees how sinners aren't the safest people (ie Happy Day in Hell), so you think that spending eternity with them would get her acquainted with the culture and make her adjust her behaviors. But she's still looking at the guy who just tried to kill her and goes "Oh, hello again". I'm dying to know why she's like that.

————

🔵 I see where this is going<3 Despite it all, Angel Dust clearly still loves acting. So when he'll escape Val, he'll show his theatrical side by improvising and acting for Charlie<3

🔵 Despite Angel Dust not adoring the hotel, it's very much a safe place for him. A safe the Vees, from Valentino. Now, someone who worked for them just a second before getting discovered, is in. Can't wait to see more of this.

————

🔵 I liked the rivalry of Alastor and Vox. I liked how Vox is this perfect big shot, yet crumbles about Alastor when he's barely trying. Definitely a highlight.

To Summarize...

🔴 6 negatives 🔵 6 positives

I enjoyed myself a fair bit. Most of the negatives are either nitpicks or won't matter in five eps. It had some flaws but it's a start.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

With what you mentioned about the villians' stories being retold/censored, it does make me wonder about the possibility that they were intentionally done so, and not just by time.

I mean...Crowley is certainly hiding something at NRC to not want outsiders to investigate further, who's to say it's not actual records of what really happened back then? Something like that would definitely damage the reputation of the school

But that's just a theory. A GAME THEORY

[Referencing this post!]

That’s a possibility! Crowley’s been skittering around in the shadows and acting super shady this whole time… Either it’s a huge red herring and the man’s just that incompetent or he’s actively trying to cover something up. (He did call STYX that one time though, so I wonder if he weighed his pros and cons and would rather take the chance with a secret organization than actual law enforcement??)

We don’t know for sure what he is, but I think it’s safe to speculate fae due to his pointed ears and vague lines of dialogue which imply he has been around at NRC for a while (which may suggest a long life span). We’re not totally sure how long he has been headmaster for (the game says at least a century), but he does seem to have an attachment to the institution called NRC (or at least his own reputation), which particularly comes out during rivalries with RSA 🤔 If Crowley’s as old as we suspect him to be, then he does very well have opportunities to alter records. However, I doubt about the scale of it if he’s working alone or truly only has been at NRC for only 100 years; I don’t think one man alone could change the entire history of Twisted Wonderland, and certainly not in the span of like a little over 1 human’s lifetime. Crowley would have to be ancient (as old as Lilia, if not older) for this theory to be viable. After all… If you control the narrative surrounding the characters, then safe to say you control the story (or, in this case, history) itself.

Makes you wonder what Crowley’s objectives truly are, huh? But I have a feeling that if this is the case (and Crowley’s largely behind it), his motivation might go even deeper than just salvaging his street cred. I wonder if the opening speech to the game, all that talk about his “cherished benefactor”, his “flower of evil”, his “fairest of them all” has anything to do with it??

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

Whilst I'm at it, if the cast decided to write fanfiction, would they write, what tropes would they be fond of and who would be writing the filthiest and freakiest of smut you can think of.

Ok so assuming everyone had to write one and they couldn't say no this is what I came up with

Takemichi- superhero fic, very cliche, follows pretty much every trope. It's dedicated to Hina too (she loved reading it). It's probably got something to do with a 4 leaf clover in the name.

Mikey- Writes fic about Taiyaki kun being the hero, probably a long adventure type story, taiyaki kun rides a motorbike at one point, it's a wild read.

Draken- He'd likely be very big on the found family trope, you just know his fic would be about some rag tag group coming together and bonding to the point of becoming family (the villian is probably based on Hanma).

Hina- oh definitely romance, the hero saves the girl, the girl saves the hero. She just writes the perfect couple and then overcoming any obstacles together in their way.

Emma- Romance #2, she writes the cutest fluff you can think of.

Naoto- Probably a horror mystery with plenty of occult themes and references. He looks key really enjoys writing it so it's probably a long multiple chapter fic, with a bunch of people following it.

Kisaki- Story about the hero however with a major plot twist towards the end showing the hero was actually the bad guy. It's actually very well done and clever despite how cliche it may sound.

Hanma- ok I see two possible ones here, either he takes it seriously and writes one of the most interesting fics ever (hey he knows whats exciting and what makes a good story) or he absolutely does not take this seriously and writes the smuttiest smut to have ever smutted and attempts to annoy the others with it.

Kazutora- i think he might do something a bit different and write it in letter format, as in character's sending letter's to each other. Letter's probably mean a lot to him and he's likely the most comfortable writing in that format so he uses it in his fics.

Baji- Cat story!!!!! There's definitely some kind of big cat fight scene (baji can't resist) but ultimately it's a happy story. He probably also makes a few spelling errors but it's ok since Chifuyu helps him correct anything. 

Chifuyu- Was tempted by Baji's cat story but settles on a person romance instead. It is full of manga references and the girl eventually kisses the guy after he gave her a polkadot based surprise. Probably a soul mate au.

Mitsuya- very detailed fic, like expect everything to have every last detail described (especially people's clothes).

Hakkai- space story! Probably a self insert about him going to space and being a hero (when he comes back mitsuya is incredibly proud of him).

Pah & Peh- They do everything together including fic writing. Definitely a story about two friends (them two), is a happy story about these two friends vs the world.

Smiley- fights, fights and more fights, everyone just wants to beef each other here.

Angry- I think he would write am interactive type fic, like the type where people comment and choose what they want to happen next, I just think he'd enjoy the interactions with people.

Mucho- coffee shop/ bakery au! Actually probably writes about his friends working there, izana is the manager, kakucho the assistant manager, sanzu is a loyal customer, mucho himself prepares the cakes, the Haitani brother's face the customers, mochi handles the drive thru and shion is the dishwasher who keeps breaking things. 

Sanzu- definitely a royalty au about a king and his loyal soldier. 

Inui- probably heavily use the miscommunication causes the main issue trope, he's seen it irl and knows it really can cause a bunch of problems.

Koko- probably a fix it fic, writes about a fire but this time no one dies, the girl gets saved and ends up happily living with her rescuer. This is probably actually something he uses to work through his regrets.

Yuzuha- a cute fic about a sister protecting her brother, she probably beats all the bad guys easily (and the brother's phone lockscreen is of the sister)

Izana & Kakucho- they work together to make another royalty au but this one focusing on the king and his kingdom, the story of this king creating his new world.

Ran- oh definitely a very obvious self insert story. The main character? Flawless hair, everyone loves him, has a little brother who adores him, dresses famously, treated like a celebrity. The guys name is probably like nar or something. Just basically his perfect life, tries to make it very poetic too.

Rindou- probably actually a song fic, the type with lyrics to match the mood. He just expresses himself a lot through music so brings it into his writing too.

Shion- another one with a self insert fic, this one really does go over the top though. Writes himself to practically conquer the world, winning every fight he gets into. 

Senju- Probably a fun adventure fic, I think she would also be pretty big on it being a family adventure/ a found family adventure. 

Wakasa- ok idk exactly why but he gives me those text fic vibes, where two characters are texting each other. I feel like he'd actually kinda unexpectedly enjoying making it too. 

Benkei- Another fic very high on the action, a lot of fights, the characters are likely based on the 1st gen Black dragons.

Shinichiro- Say's he's going to write smut but then gets too embarrassed and ends up with fluff instead. 

South- ok I think he'd also write a kinda lyric fic but instead of lyrics he'd just straight up put musical notes down. He's just so passionate about it and doesn't really care if others don't understand what those mean (he'd passionately explain it to anyone who asked though)

[loveinamystery]

I think about this scene a lot and now I'm going to talk about it.

Reposting this from my Twitter Tomb

This moment really hit me when I first watched the 2021 anime adaption. Why? Because it was one of those rare moments with Anna showing herself being vulnerable.

Now, you could take this as 'If you don't get stronger Yoh, another man will take me and make me his wife' type of thing. Especially as this happens after Anna's run in with Hao. Hao drops a couple of comments about Anna being such a good choice for an Asakura bride, so this could definitely be it.

Anna knows Hao is strong. She plays it cool, but still understands what a threat he is. She isn't stupid.

Personally, I feel like Anna was intimidated by him, even if just for a moment. She was caught off guard when he caught her hand, something no one had done.

That's why I put in another option here. A mixture to the feelings Anna must have been feeling.

I feel like it could also have been Anna showing that she was worried Hao could 'take her' and use her. And I'm not referring to a romantic way. I mean to just use Anna for her power in order to get what he wants.

I say this as a Haona enjoyer too but we have fanfics for that.

If Yoh doesn't get stronger, then Hao could easily defeat him, take Anna and use her power for himself. Hao is so driven to achieve his goal to become Shaman King that he will do whatever it takes. He will use whoever it takes.

Look, I am a Hao fan. I love Hao, and I will forgive him for whatever, but I know what he would do in order to finally reach that goal of becoming Shaman King.

We know Anna is super strong and a badass. We love her for it. But in Osorezan Revoir, we saw the Oh-Oni take her and take advantage of her/her power. What if she was worried it could happen all over again?

And I mean not with Oh-Oni or other Oni's resurfacing. I mean being used again as a source of power.

I think a lot of us in the fandom can agree there is a lot more to Anna than what we saw during her fight with Hao.

Anna is Anna. But who is Anna? Takei, please show us one day

I feel like Anna knows it too, that there is so much more to her, and that is what is so terrifying. What if she is taken and used again like the Oh-Oni did? But this time it isn't on a snowy mountain away from the population, it is the whole world.

All those feelings; worry, sadness, guilt.

So when Anna says 'someone else might take me', I feel like it comes from an anxious and worried place. Like she needs Yoh to be stronger, she needs him to be there.

Anna needs him, she needs Yoh.

And there are some thoughts. If you made it through the long read, thank you.

These are only my head rambles so feel free to add your own points. All respectful please :)

P.S. The way the English dub f**ked this whole scene over and did Anna dirty, is my villian origin story.

[newx-menfan]

Thoughts on Cerebro Podcast:

Readers paying attention to nothing except X-Men is kind of brutally true 😂🤣 (I do read other comics…but X-Men is the only book I consistently read…)

Apparently one of the writers cats is very vicious! (I think it’s Jackson’s )🙀😾😹

Was kind of apprehensive when the podcaster mentioned not being a fan of NYX or NXM:AX- NYX I at least get…but I kind of am surprised they weren’t a big fan of NXM…honestly this is the same problem with “Xavier Files” for me; they write it off as “gimmicky” or “commercialization” or “a Harry Potter knockoff”, instead of admitting that NXM really was a great predecessor of Gen X and NM and fit really well with what Morrison had developed. I would say NXM was the only x-book that ever fully “felt” like a true blue “school” book and that the characters felt more realistic because they were flawed and more nuanced than a lot of previous teen characters 😒

Don’t agree that all the NXM should necessarily “break bad”- it makes sense more for someone like Hellion, (who went through bodily harm repeatedly, was heavily “shunned” by adults or labeled as a proto-villain, and was already pretty naturally rebellious) than a lot of the other NXM characters. Like I don’t envision Indra or even modern day Elixir turning because of their personalities…MAYBE Pixie because of Limbo influence? Even Surge, for example, as angry as she is…I can’t picture it working narratively as well.

Agree with the Podcaster that in a lot of ways these characters work in a new title because they feel “college age”- they’re not too young that you have to write a YA/highschool book and can feature broader themes…but they’re also still a “hip” and “young” age…

Brought up what I have been saying for years- that the NXM represented cultural crisis like climate change, 9/11, recession, ect… basically general disenfranchisement caused by modernity…and that they still work for that feeling and are basically the “millennials” of X-books

Kamala WAS editorially mandated 

I feel better hearing it described as “older Bendis” kind of book- as negative as I feel about Bendis, I did really enjoy his “street vibe” with Jessica Jones and Miles and miss those kinds of books. I miss books like “X-Factor Investigations” or the original “NYX”…

Really thrilled to hear Hellion is their favorite lol! (Although Hellion is pretty much EVERYONE’S favorite lol😜)

Really agree with the note that Hellion’s BIGGEST flaw isn’t that he’s wrong, but that he’s arrogant and condescending about it (it’s also TOTALLY why I think he’s an ♈️ and not a ♌️ )

Same with the “he’s not a BAD kid, he just comes off as bad”…

Agree that Laurie Collin’s COULD have made a really cool villian…although I really liked that despite her power set, Laurie WASN’T evil….also objectively…I’m more excited about it being Empath, because as everyone KNOWS, I REALLY wanted the Hellion v. Empath smackdown 😂🤣🤣

F***…. Might need to go back and read “Hellions” now 😂🤣🤣

The writers are obviously going to address the Sophie-Prodigy moment and Laura and Kamala (I have said this with Surge/Dust AX storyline…but again…there’s a difference with writing a problematic scene to explore a real problem vs. being racist/sexist/ect…) 

Really sad to hear the Surge hate ☹️, especially since the writers are obviously doing the same “learning moment” with Sophie and David….again, I would ARGUE the whole point of that original story WAS that Surge was wrong…but whatevs

The “shippers” commentary made me laugh 😂🤣

Liked the conversation around the local feel/geography (I was actually really excited when the “Vessel” at Hudson Yards popped up in issue #1)

I actually DIDN’T think about how Sophie MISSED Decimation…which actually makes it even MORE interesting!… Hellion AND Prodigy are definitely going to give Sophie a piece of their minds though lol

Sophie and Kamala being in the same boat (both didn’t experience THE BAD ERA of X-Men) and learning from one another sounds like it will be really interesting! I am actually MORE excited about Sophie than I was previously after listening to this podcast episode!

The statement about Empath being “Emma’s greatest failure” because you can’t really humble or nudge that character was an interesting way to look at Manuel and I am interested in seeing more of this play out

Sounds like Anole is going to be the one that gets arrested (1:11.45)

The idea of Emma constantly talking shit about Carol Danvers cracked me up 

Dante, David’s boyfriend will be heavily featured in issue #6; also I really appreciated the discussion around Dante, in general 

It does sound like no one should get super attached to any ship from this podcast ep lol

Not sure I care for “Kamala= Superman, Laura=Batman”….but whatevs

Feel super empathetic to Kelly needing to get off the call for his wife- it was super nice of him to do this podcast interview and congratulations on the new addition to his family!! ❤️

Everyone already knows this by now but QQ was originally meant to be “The Krakoan” in the first pitch…honestly it’s for the best because I am picky about my QQ representation…

Hellion commentary (1:27:15)- because THAT’S the most important lol

Totally agree that QQ was a million times better as an antagonist and they (cough…Aaron…cough) ruined a great Morrison character 

Kind of hope they didn’t JUST choose Julian because he’s a “white male privileged character”- Julian definitely IS that, but there’s also plenty more layers TO Julian…

This whole podcast episode is a love letter to Morrison and I LOVE it 😂🤣🤣🤣

Quentin DID steal Julian’s thunder and I am GLAD someone fucking SAID IT! 😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

Calling me out on my Hellion grievances lol - yes, yes I AM that bitter lol

Again- I actually don’t see Surge and Wallflower going evil; Wallflower because she saw how her father’s abuse of his powers affected her mother, and Surge, because I think Noriko is too loyal and dependent on others ultimately…. Julian makes sense because he’s always been a pretty independent thinker/ stood his ground when he thought he was right and always had a “damn the consequences” attitude. Julian IS loyal…but his need to do what he saw as “right” often trumped that loyalty- remember him turning on Emma to defend Laura! (might do a bigger write up on this later!)

Hellion got his hands back…but it sounds like they’re going to tackle THAT story on page possibly

I agree that Hellion TOTALLY would have gone through the Crucible as well- while I LIKED Julian’s prosthetics and what they represented…the truth is Julian more or less SAID he wanted them HEALED in “X-Men: Legacy”…it wouldn’t narratively make sense for him to pull a “Karma” and keep them

Kind of do hope we see Julian MAKING telekinetic floating hands as a fight move…

I agree that Hellion would be angry over the loss of Krakoa…but I actually think, after years of Hellion “wanting fame and glory”…after years and years of trauma and abandonment…receding into the background, having his friends alive and back…might have been a relief to him. While Hellion DEFINITELY IS arrogant…I do think he learned his lesson that there’s a negative to “fame and glory”…

Really pleased to hear Lanzing say he wants Hellion to be a bigger character and kind of push back on the “Hellion is just taking QQ’s original role’s place”- I know I am going to get flack for saying this from QQ fans… but; Hellion is more interesting than just being the ANGRY REBELLIOUS FASCHIST KID. QQ’s original anger didn’t have the layers Hellion does. While there’s definitely some egotism and arrogance there….Hellion WENT through a lot of trauma and isn’t entirely WRONG to be angry at the X-Men….Hellion I would argue ALWAYS had a complexity that QQ never did, because Julian was more emotionally intelligent than QQ (and that WAS kind of the point of Kid Omega…his intellect didn’t match his emotional intelligence! He WAS a more realistic take on the kid who is too smart for his own good!)

Glad to hear him mention Laura specifically!

the 7 train IS objectively terrible lol

This *might* be the book where Kamala’s family finds out she’s a superhero…

I agree with the writers and liked the Aamir moment- I think it does highlight that it IS easy to play into stereotypes and discriminate…especially when there’s propaganda actively reinforcing it…

Kamala is apparently going to get an X-verse version of “the Trumper relative” 😳🤣🤣🤣

G Willow Wilson run shoutout ✊✊

Couldn’t say much about the new “Quiet Council”….but they’re all “failed, used, and taught by Emma Frost”…

“Emma is the educator that matters”- truth!…although this DOESN’T highlight her legacy in a particularly nice way or bode well for the new generation of students 🤣🤣🤣

“Why would we STOP” commentary about Krakoa and the freedom they once had is great!

Calling attention to Hellion AND Esme not having the Empath power effect over them in the art (although the cuckoos powers often show up as pink as well)- won’t confirm or deny Empath controlling them

There isn’t a “Cut and Dry” villain in the book apparently (Ooooohhh! I love that! I really DO hope we get Magneto levels of ambiguity with all these characters!)

Agree that the artist did a great job with Empath’s character design and harkening back to the 80’s! (Technically Empath’s hair color changed depending on the artist- sometimes it was a dirty blonde, sometimes brown…also I could totally see Manuel dyeing his hair to match Emma…so…)

Kind of wonder if Firestar OR Magma will pop up… one of my FAV issues of Uncanny X-Men WAS the one where Empath and Roulette manipulated Warpath’s grief over Thunderbird and Firestar…

The commentary ON Empath and the relationship of psychology to power sets was really excellent!! (1:52:05) [I ADMIT IT NOW- I MIGHT NEED to EAT CROW and read “Hellions” 😂🤣🤣] 

Possibly WILL be in conversation with Eve Ewing’s Emma book… (I really WOULD like to see a dive into Emma constantly trying to “undo” the past with new students, and how it’s NEVER about Emma trying to do “right” by these kids…as much as Emma USES her students as martyrdom…the truth is, much like Xavier, it’s ALWAYS ABOUT her ego…that’s why she does it…) [I KNOW people hated KYOST’s take on Emma back in the day…but I would argue that they weren’t entirely WRONG that Emma’s actions are complex and not ALWAYS altruistic…]

….It KIND OF IS Emma’s fault, people 😂🤣

Not sure I love the idea of the cast growing…but we will see…

Lanzing and Kelly MIGHT be on again! 

Thought about making a Greg land joke with the Spider-Man plug…but I won’t be petty….

Overall- I feel better about this book; it DOES seem like the writers are putting A LOT of thought into this book and aren’t just doing things without thinking about it deeply first! I definitely think this is going to be one of the strongest X-book we’ve gotten in a long time and I am PUMPED! 

(Also I may have to listen to CEREBRO Files more- the commentary was really great 😂🤣🤣)

I know I may regret it…but I am REALLY feeling optimistic about this book!!

[kay-then-i-guess]

I don't know how many dsmp-ers agree with this, but from a storytelling standpoint, c!Dream is just. A bad villian. I think it's a big reason why the ending is so universally hated.

I think in the beginning, it was okay, because we were all expecting more depth to get added to his character later. I saw so many fancomics and theories and analyses that gave such good ideas for a solid character, motive, and overall, a good villian. But we never really got that payoff.

He starts off with a basic "control obsessed" trait. He opposes the L'Manbergians for a mildly valid reason, and then only gives up the fight for control over Tommy (the discs). Then, Schlatt gives him the revive book; he gets even more control crazy. It's a good setup, but it never pays off in the way we want it to. The ending is unsatisfying for many, and nobody really stops to pity Dream, even though that's what they're trying to do. They're trying to pull this "aw, what a tragic character" card, but it's ultimately unsuccessful. Why? Well...

As I said, the setup is good, but things get muddled in the middle. After Dream gets the revive book, there is not a single moment where he's protrayed in any positive light. In fact, after this point, people's view of him gets worse. He slowly becomes more and more unforgivable. The problem with this is that after a certain point, characters cannot have a redemption arc. Or, at the very least, it would be very, very difficult. Dream hits this point. Once he hits that, the ending that people are expecting for him likely ends in death, or worse. The most satisfying ending for the audience is for him to die in a dramatic fashion—kind of like what happened with Schlatt. Schlatt's a good villian with a good ending; it's a satisfying end for a villian while still making it clear that our protagonists' stories are not over. We expected something like that for Dream, and frankly, nothing else would make sense. He had become so evil that the only option was death. There was no pity.

After he escapes from prison, we were ready for this ending. Clearly, it was ramping up for some big finale. And then, he never shows up. I recognize that there were other things going on behind the scenes that led to the lack of content, but it got to such a point that I was beginning to doubt if it ever would get an ending. I started to think that the dsmp would just fade away, all because their lead villian would not show up. All that build up to a dramatic death was, well, dying off. It was taking too long.

And then, when the ending did come along, it only pushes his "evilness" more. He reveals his revive book experiments and his end plan for Tommy and Tubbo. For a moment, the fact that he was gone for so long disappeared. The tensity is back.

And then they pulled the pity card.

It felt like a cop-out. There was no build up to it, no extra scenes with him before this moment where we stop to see his stuggle. No earlier streams where we can see him in an even slightly positive light. It just doesn't happen. So, of course, when they pull the "why can't things just be simple?" we all are yanked from the illusion of the world.

There are a lot of problems with the ending, but the failure to understand Dream's character, role as a villian, and audience expectations for him definitely harm the ending more than others.

I'd love to hear if you guys agree or disagree or just have anything to add! This is just my opinion, so I'd love to hear if anyone thinks differently. I like analyzing <3

[starlightshadowsworld]

So in comics there's definitely been and are characters that everyone just agrees that they have to die.

And stay dead.

Think of Thomas and Martha Wayne, Uncle Ben etc.

Now these have changed from what they were initially

After Death in the Family, Jason Todd was supposed to stay dead.

And he did, for 17 years before coming back as the Red Hood.

Like there was a fake out in Batman: Hush that it was Jason and it was wild.

Bucky Barnes, also meant to stay dead and did so for 37 years.

... 37?!

Before becoming the Winter Soilder.

And these aren't in universe years, this is real world time.

Now it's hard to imagine them not wandering about.

So I'm trying to think what 3 characters I think should stay dead.

At least for the forcible future.

And who's dead that should be bought back.

.

Staying dead: Jason Grace (Percy Jackson: Heroes of Olympus.)

Yeah... I know.

I love him I'm still holding out hope he will return but I don't think it's coming.

I say think because... Leo.

Jason Grace is the perfect example of, I followed the rules, I did everything I was supposed to and I still lost everything.

He's the perfect soilder, the paragon of heroism and he fell sacrificing himself to save his friends.

I think it's best if Jason stays dead because his death is used to show the fragility of human life.

Of the harrowing lives demigods lead.

His final words are punctuated by him staring at Lester, Apollo in his eyes as he's stabbed.

And telling him to remember.

Remember what you saw, remember the way my life drained from eyes.

Remember this day, and know I'm not the first nor the last.

It's such a powerful moment.

Especially because Apollo gets to know Jason and is hit throughout the book that Jason is so young.

That he's just a kid.... that they all are.

Demigods aren't promised happy endings.

Most don't live to be adults, and it's perfectly and tragically shown perfectly through Jason's death.

He just got the life he wanted, found out Leo's alive... And than in a moment it was all gone.

Also, for Jason who's served 14 years at 16, he deserves to rest a while.

.

Coming back to life: Summer Rose (RWBY)

Didnt see that coming, I was very much on the "Oh my gosh can we not... Can she just stay dead" train.

Now look at me.

To be fair we know more than we did than and I am really interested to know what happened to Summer.

What happened to STRQ in general to be honest.The tragic death that no one speaks of.

Who's events seem to be only known by Summer herself.

And with the rise of Grimm like the Hound, a beast made of both grimm and silver eyed warriors.

With the note from Ruby and Yang that Summer could have been the turning point.

From Salem killing silver eyed warriors to capturing them.

Given Salem was trying to kill Maria when she was young, now am old lady.And has only ever tried to capture Ruby.

That and Grimm Summer is just the concept ever, I wanna see Summer Rose the paragon of being a huntress be an underling for Salem.

Especially if she's not as reluctant of a follower as we may believe.

.

Staying dead: Junko Enoshima (Danganronpa)

Junko is that werid one of I want her to stay dead but like keep her memory alive.

Because it makes sense too, woman caused the apocalypse.

And if we're still operating in that universe it makes sense she'd be bought up, especially after the fact.

But I don't think Junko herself should be bought back.

I get why they did it in Danganronpa 2 because it made sense.

But after, I don't think Junko needs to keep being our main bad guy.

I think exploring the word, her followers and hell people have nothing to do with her would be a lot of fun.

If they do bring her back I'm not gonna be mad, just think hey if we can have multiple protags it'd be fun to have multiple villians too.

She can't carry all of this on her own.

If they do bring her back, kinda defeats the purpose of her death.

Of why it meant so much to her, why she had to lose to Makoto the ultimate hope and her own class.

She lost but she also won.

It's such a huge thing and to bring her back and than kill her later it really deminishes the impact her death had.

... That and...She'd need a whole new body because who knows what happened to her corpse.

.

Coming back to life: Matsuda Yasuke (Danganronpa)

Speaking of followers of Junko I'd like to see.

We know little about Matsuda, given he's only appeared in Danganronpa Zero.

I think him being around would be really interesting especially in a world where Junko stays dead.

Because Matsuda is that complex thing of being someone infatuated and in love with Junko.

He was her childhood friend and boyfriend after all.

But also someone who wants her to change.

He created a version of her devoid of despair and he'd be happy to keep her that way.

Which is a unique perspective because most Junko followers think she's the most perfect thing ever.

And I think having that perspective would make for an interesting story.

Because no one really sees Junko as a fully realised person, not even Mukuro her own sister.

Also even aside from Junko, Matsuda also plays a huge role in the killing game's.

He's the one responsible for the memory wipes.

Being the Ultimate Neurologist.

I personally would love to see the memory stuff explored given it was always second to the killing games.

I get why but it's so cool and not something we talk enough about. Wonder if he was scouted by Hope's Peak not just for having a talent but for it's usages.

Say... The Kamakura project 👀.

I dunno but I think Junko's boy toy deserves some time in the spotlight.

.

Staying dead: The Grabber (The Black Phone)

His death was not only deserved.

It was fucking satisfying.

Watching Finney use everything the other boys gave him to beat that fucker.

That has kept him hostage, killed several others and is now getting his just deserts.

Was glorious.

... And I'm well aware that there's a sequel coming.

And I'm just hoping he stays dead.

Because not only do the ghost boys, Finney and Gwenny deserve to rest.

The Grabbers death was just perfectly set up and delivered so brutally.

That him being alive and returning to die later kinda ruins the ending.

Because it's Finney's fight to freedom.

I mean if that's the way they go with it, I can't say I'm not intrigued but yeah... Not in a rush to see him again.

Would much rather see someone else wear that mask.

.

Coming back to life: Sammy Emily (Five nights at Freddy’s)

The fact everyone dies and comes back to life in this series.

But not Sammy is a crime.

I'm sorry but the story about the mysterious twin brother of the girl who becomes the puppet.

Is something I wanna see.

I know he's only been mentioned vaguely in the Silver Eyes books.

But that's only more reason.

Just Sammy who's thought be dead for years raised by his mother and having an unexplainable connection to Freddys.

I mean tons of kids in the Fazbear Frights books have been drawn or compelled to go to Freddys.

His would make the most sense.

Maybe Williams after him?

Maybe it's Charlie in the Pizzaplex recognising and calling out to him.

Maybe he's the new night guard at the place trying to figure out what happened here... And why it feels familiar.

Maybe he knows about Freddy’s but he knows Charlie was taken and killed.

A parallel to Charlie thinking it was him in the original books.

Maybe he's out for revenge or just trying to find his missing sister.

There's so many possibilities.

I'm just saying if we can get a book about Sea Bonnie's we can get a Sammy Emily story.

.

Well that's my list.

Feel free to add your own, I'm curious.

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

SRMTHFG! - The Legend of the Six Monkey

Mandarin, as a concept, is fascinating. Mandarin, as he's presented, is... disappointing.

As he's presented, the only thing that really goes for him is that he's the Sixth Monkey turned Evil, and that's as far as it went. Then he just became a wacky villian who lasted longer than a week, because he's aesthetically appeals to the hero team, the Hyper Force.

The problem with having such set up, but not having any decent presentation that couldn't be found in "name a comic book newspaper strip", is that eventually you just end up with a mook character that has an aesthetic.

And that cuts the branches off from "was a teammate turned bad".

The way Mandarin is introduced, immediately brings such a suddenly serious take to the show. Because now we know the show is self aware enough to make its own in-world connections and take them seriously, and that catches attention.

He isn't just the Sixth Member of the Hyper Force, he was the Leader.

He wasn't just the Leader, as we later find, he was the First Monkey made.

And he wasn't just a tyrant over the Hyper Force. He did enough good with enough good intentions, that he was considered the Wisest, the Strongest and the Best. That though he definitely pulled some horrible stuff near the end (such as Nova's torture excused as training), he can still be spoken of fondly by Antauri.

( We can trust the Hyper Force not to turn to evil action, even under direction, so we have to assume that Mandarin had, at one point, been a leader with a decent enough nature. And that his torture of Nova was coming in when he was about to betray the Hyper Force )

His skill set speaks of a Jack of All Trades, even though he lacked the equipment the other Monkeys had--which meant he had to be Very Clever.

And as its implied in Golden Age... he didn't start evil, he was corrupted in the same way the Alchemist was, though not nearly as physically.

Effectively--Mandarin had starred into the Abyss, and the Abyss starred back. And it was a subtle corruption. In fact, the entire show serves constant evidence about how corruption goes through all sorts of scenarios.

So its disappointing that we receive so few indications of how Mandarin was, or any depth beyond "I hate the monkey force whom I used to know", without any situation that shows how well he knew them.

Nova got an episode that dealt in torture, but we don't see the rest of the force.

Hell, we don't even see Mandarin's own torture. He went from independant master mind, to foolish obsessive mook under the Skeleton King (with the outright implication of torture, forceful mutation, and more, to ensure loyalty--and it seemingly cost him his jack-of-trades status and self-determination (corrupted as it was)).

And then, midway through the show, Mandarin dies and gets replaced with a clone. The clone is everything evil that the show wants outta of Mandarin, but without the depth of conflict that would occurred with the original.

Its the writing idea of "the uncanny replacement"--they are the character, but its just off enough that the writer can write what they want out of the character, without having to dive into the complexity of the original set up or change the over all character.

( Its like writing superman. Say that you want an evil superman, but don't want to permanently change his character or destroy his set up and meaning--So, why not just make an Evil Clone, and end it with "It was the Evil CLone after all!". Its a cheap trope, but it does work. )

Since SRMTHFG takes its set ups very seriously, it had to go the round about way of avoiding the set up it already had, in order to get the "aesthetic villian rivalry" it wanted, without creating a story about character motivation or relationships, or contradicting / retconning itself.

Clone Mandarin can simply hurt the main characters as much as he wants, with character reason, but without the show ever diving into the whys, hows, and depths. And the Audience doesn't generally question "why don't they try to redeem him?"

( I mean... I do, but I'm not THE AUDIENCE, I'm just the odd ball in the corner of the theatre. )

When it comes to set up... when you know more about the character, no matter what they've done and why, the audience as a whole will get sympathetically attached. If you don't show anything of the character, only telling what they've done and maybe a hint of evil here and there, its very hard to get sympathetically attached.

Mandarin's arc screams of potential sympathetic attachment, because his is a backstory we're slowly, painfully, shown at points. And given the show as a whole, that dives into various scenarios but keeps those scenarios, we can piece together what happened with Mandarin without having to be explicitly shown it.

And We're in a show where redemption is as easy as earning forgiveness from the heroes, so of course, someone the heroes grew up with and worked with, and followed with genuine loyalty up until the wire, would be the greatest example of desired redemption.

If you never show the character, you don't get that sympathetic attachment, and we don't scream "Redemption Arc!". the problem comes in, is that when you've set up a character that would naturally fall into sympathetic attachment--you now have a cause of boredom with a character. Because you've stepped by stepped showed that you aren't going to do anything with them, so what's the point of keeping up with them, and if there's no point in keeping up with them, then what's the point of all that complex backstory?

You might as well set up a mook with an aesthetic.

[onejellyfishplease]

Jelly, help, I’m already letting this au consume me LOL

K so translating my notes(cause my writing sucks) and then a breakdown of each doodle. This is just some ‘testing the waters’ doodles to see what ideas I like and what I don’t.

This isn’t actually finished yet, but I ended up loving the Sketchpage that I wanted to show, so here we are lol

“Lantern/light clan cult gang thing, tried to get Donnie to join by sending an oozesquito after him.”

So yeah, there’s a gang of moths that worship light and they wanted somebody smart in their ranks. They wanted Donnie to join because he was known all over the hidden city for his intelligence during the krang invasion. They uhh… They kinda kidnap him during a mission ig lol. He escapes but not before getting turned partially into a moth. They weren’t really as smart so they didn’t even think that maybe the mutation would only take partial transformation so uhhh mission failed-

“Tiny hairs as per many insects”

I liked your idea of the hairs that allow Donnie’s hands to stick to stuff, so it was kind of a no brainer to add that here too, since moths stick to stuff all the time.

“Common Crimson & Gold Moth (an attempt at keeping sorta purple colors)”

Yeah no, it’s more red and gold than anything but dang these things are pretty. Could be a nice design.

“Luna Moth (mostly here for the green, but an iconic moth too)”

Yeah, I wanted a nice green match for the wings as a potential option too, and I also figured when you think of moths, a lot of people think of Luna moths.

“White Ermine Moth (fluffy Dalmatian vibes)”

Kinda thrown in for the recognizable reason again, since a lot of people tend to think immediately of fluffy snowy white moths like white ermine moths or poodle moths.

I kinda like the first two a bit better tho, ngl.

“Eyes go black when pissed or scared?”

Yeah, so, I had an idea where his eyes would invert so his eyes were black with white pupils, but I kinda dropped that idea, but then I picked it up again and thought maybe his eyes look more moth-like when really stressed or enraged or smth?

“So meticulous but I love the detail ngl…”

“Mini moth man”

So yeah, I learned I liked the more meticulous antenna style. Also yeah, even if I don’t use it I’m totally making a Mothman version of him lol

“Smth like this ig??”

Me trying to figure out the wings and she’ll mix. I had the idea that the wings would sprout out from inside, sorta like your idea ngl, but I think it’d be less like… Under, and more through, so the wings would kind of be impossible to hide at that point.

“Donnie Day 1

‘Everything’s fine ✨’

‘W a t ?’”

“Donnie Day 5

‘isaideverythingsfine~’

‘Wat.’”

A stupid silly comic I made for an idea I had where Donnie starts out kinda like a moth caterpillar, looking and feeling normal, but the more days that go by the bigger his wings and antenna grow, becoming impossibly to hide, and he just can’t really pretend that he’s a full turtle anymore lol

Also definitely not motivated by me wanting to implement an idea about how apparently the reasons you get holes in your clothes is because caterpillars are eating through it (and not fully grown moths usually) so maybe he’d be hoodie biting excessively during that time lol

I have a few more snippets only written on Google docs right now but gosh I am loving this au, I totally see the fun of formation swapping Donnie now LOL

Eventually, all the important info will be on one sheet though (hopefully) and I’ll tag you then about it lol

OMG i actually love this so much!

i love how the transformation is a slow one.

And he eats his clothes as a nervous habit??? love it. glorius. amazing.

Also the eyes going black? that would be so creepy to see, it would definitely terrify villians. and his brothers (the first few times lol)

AND HES FLUFFY AHHHHH

[eliasiis]

notes

pairing: cynonari

word count: 600??? around that

i havent had motivation in so long but i finally did. idea courtesy of an ask sent by @/chibimochii to @/lovelynim both of which who i wont tag because im a coward but im sure theyll see it eventually thank u guys

The paper falls with a near silent ‘thud’ on Tighnari’s desk.

Silent to everyone but Cyno, anyway.

He scribbles ‘Give me your notes’ in pencil on another paper, crumpling it and throwing it at Tighnari.

This is the fourth paper. Tighnari basically growls at him as he glares, then turns his head back to his paper. His eyes tell Cyno all he needs to know. He’s not getting those notes.

The growl was pretty cute, at least.

Okay. Plan B. Which is…

He didn't think this far ahead. He really needs those notes. As he thinks, Tighnari’s tail gently swishes behind him.

There we go. The corner of his lips quirk up a bit. This isn't the first time he's done this, definitely not— Teasing Tighnari is among Cyno’s favorite hobbies.

It almost looks hesitant, the painfully slow way he reaches out to Tighnari’s tail. He needs to catch the swishing, fluffy mass in such a way that he can scritch at the top quickly enough without Tighnari having the chance to notice and pull away.

Of course, Cyno has had practice. He would almost notice Tighnari biting his lip and his cheeks flushing with anticipation if he weren't so focused.

The calm, rhythmic back and forth of the tail becomes stuttered and shaky as Cyno’s hand gets closer. Of course he notices that change, but he doesn't notice Tighnari actively making it easier for him.

Cyno squints. Tighnari pretends not to know what's about to happen.

Tighnari gasps and smacks his hand against his desk as Cyno trails his fingers against his tail. His lips form a shaky smile as the ticklish, electric feeling shocks him. He should be used to it by now, but he still squeezes his hands into fists and shuts his eyes as he tries to ignore the feeling.

Heads turn toward them as they hear the thud of Tighnari’s palm against the polished desk. Used to their antics by now, nobody comments. The class moves on, but Cyno only smirks and chuckles quietly as he curls his fingers into the fluffed fur of his friend’s tail.

“The notes, Nari~” He whispers teasingly into his ear, sighing in faux-disappointment as Tighnari defiantly shakes his head.

With his other hand, Cyno tickles and scratches ever-so-gently at the middle of the tail. Tighnari arches his back and grabs the desk for dear life as he tries to keep his composure against the unbearably gentle ministrations of Cyno’s villianous hands.

“Cyno, plehehease,” He whispers, his plea coming out whiny and weak. Even though this is embarrassing and childish, when else is Cyno this physically affectionate and playful? When else do they get this chance?

Tighnari doesn't do much else to stop him.

“You know what I want, don’t you?”

“No wahahay! Take— Take your own nohohotes!”

They don't even notice how loud they're getting or that the professer is glaring at them.

Cyno decides to take it a step further. He wiggles his fingers over Tighnari’s shoulderblades.

Tighnari gasps, already tensing his shoulders and raising his hands as if he could really stop Cyno, whether he wanted to or not. “You wouldn't!”

”The notes.”

”No!”

“Boys!” The professor calls out to them. “Settle down.”

Tighnari shudders as Cyno’s hands retract.

Cyno looks disappointed, but it's not about the notes at this point. He really just wanted to tickle Tighnari to tears.

Maybe it's not the best idea in class, but still.

As he thinks about it, he looks down to see a notebook on his desk, opened to a page with fancy green handwriting in bullet points.

Tighnari refuses to look at him.

[grucylover]

Thoughts on DM3. Don’t hate me. 😂

DM3 was not a bad film, I have seen a lot worse and I even went to see it at the cinema a few times. I’d rate it a 6/7 out of ten.

The problem was with it, it felt outdated with an 80s obsessed villian. Don’t get me wrong, I think Bratt is a great idea and I get the concept of it but just maybe with his own film, not in DM.

Aswell, I felt they took a lot of things away from us that were just getting started.

- Agnes sold Fluffy the unicorn though in DM2 she would have screamed the house down if anything happened to him and he was such a big part of the merch. But no, gone, sold to some lil blonde.

- We didn’t see much of Grus freeze-ray nor his tank of a car. - not a big deal but these lil things make the film what it is.

-There was no Fred. - again like the point above. I would have also have liked to have seen Jillian, I thought she was a great and (annoying) addition to DM2.

-Gru didn’t really bother with the girls or interact with any of them, well a part from Agnes. He didn’t even put them to bed like he used to and just left Lucy to do it all. He didn’t really seem supportive of her with her trying to be a mum I thought. If that was my husband I would have kicked his arse lol!

- Margo got engaged to some weird kid and Gru was nowhere to be seen but in DM2 he was this overprotective dad that would have broke his nose or something lol! I know Lucy had it in hand but…..ya know. I wanted to see the overprotective dad mode.

- We didn’t see much of the house which we seen a lot of in DM1/2 and I thought that was such a shame. Why couldn’t Dru just come to Grus house or something lol

- I disliked how the writers wrote out Dr Nefario (we won’t mention the actors name and no one would of cared if someone else was voicing him) but what a lazy way to just freeze him in carbinite. Gru didn’t really seem that upset over it though the Dr had been like a dad to him. Like ?????

- Dru wasn’t bad, it was kinda nice seeing Gru have some male company as if he was down the pub with a mate but I also found it odd they had all of a sudden put on him the temptation to go back to villainy when in DM2 he had that temptation but he wasn’t interested in the slightest. He just wanted to be a father, get a job, get his girl and that was it. Every scene was perfect, the actors, writers etc put all there heart and soul into it and you couldn’t have put anymore into it really, even if you tried. Gru was really at his peak in DM2. Maybe I’ve got it wrong. Idkkkk.

- I didn’t mind the Minions and personally I never do, I think they just add to the film and I don’t find them annoying. I actually liked the prison scene, I thought that was a pretty good idea tbh.

It even felt like at times the animated characters didn’t want to even be doing the storyline in DM3. 😂

3 obviously made a lot of money because everyone was still hyped around DM2 but came out of the cinema or wherever they first watched it empty handed.

Yes it’s ok chucking in a scene here and there with a treehouse or an Agnes and Gru moment to put in some heart but it was almost forced. The writers said themselves they struggled and just wrote for themselves which I found really sad as there is so much you can do with this franchise I think.

I’m ngl, I am a bit nervous about DM4 as I think this will be its last chance to survive but the trailer looks amazing and I’m already won over by the baby Gru Jr. I wanted them to have a baby in DM3!!!!! Really DM4 should have been 3.

Should have rhey aged the girls up. Yes and no. Maybe a bit? Tbh personally, I don’t really care. It keeps there innocence but I would like to see Gru bonding with them again.

It wasn’t all bad though, I liked Lucy trying to be a mom and the animation has definitely stepped up a notch to the point that Gru is pale AF now and they all look a bit different. Aswell the actors, Carell, Kristin did a great job as always.

This is all my own opinion so don’t come at me 🤣.

[lyraspace]

Here's my concept for the "villians" of a Care Bears reboot/sequel series that answers the questions, "what if there was an overarching story that pushes the Care Bears Family to their limits?" or "what happens when someone needs the Care Bears, but slips through the cracks instead?" But most importantly:

What if the villian was right?

Broken Heart

When the Care Bears and Care Bear Cousins finally defeated No Heart, his amulet was lost. None of them could find it, no matter where they looked. Eventually they gave up, hoping at the very least it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands again.

Imagine their surprise many years later when a mysterious hooded vigilante starts using said amulet to shake up the world in ways none of them have ever seen.

Not by spreading hatred and malice, but bizarre displays of activism.

One minute she's stealing millions of dollars from banks and CEOs with reckless abandon, the next she's donating the money to every charity in the city. She'll use her powers to shoot a Rainbow Roller right out of the sky to sabotage a caring mission...then help the child in need herself, and then some.

It's almost as if she's trying to beat the Care Bears at their own game...

...And the people are loving all of it.

The worst part is that the Care Bears have no clue who this girl is, or how someone so young managed to find something as powerful as No Heart's amulet. Maybe it found her on purpose, and it's feeding off her anger. The only flimsy lead they have is that Broken Heart popped up around the same time a 14 year old girl ran away from the Cherrywood's Orphanage after hearing that Social Services was going to place her in a group home, splitting her up from the little brother she swore to protect after their mother died.

The Care Bears Family have yet to connect all the dots, but Broken Heart is a monster of their own making; they weren't there for her when she needed them the most, and it ruined her life.

And now, she's going to make them pay.

Not by ridding the world of Love and Caring...

...But creating a world that doesn't need the Care Bears.

And to them, that's the most frightening aspect of all.

"The Bull"

Older than the trees and younger than the mountains, The Bull is used to being alone; feelings aren't his strong point anyway. He's been just about everywhere, only stepping into a situation when he needs to; he may be the origin of a folk tale or two, if you know who to ask.

But whatever you do, do not mistake him for any of those Care Bears.

If he was one of them, they would have picked him up ages ago. But they never did, so he guesses he just wasn't up to snuff.

The Bull has no clue what compelled him to jump in the fight to help some hooded kid who did not need his help after all thank you very much from a group of Care Bears trying to get some weird necklace from her, but it was definitely worth it; knocking their little fuzzy butts down a peg was the most fun he's had in ages.

(He quickly learns that pushing Brave Heart's buttons is very fun.)

After some back and forth, his new boss ain't all that bad either; Broken Heart is smart as a whip, passionate about her beliefs, and kinda sweet once you get to know her. It doesn't take a genius to see that underneath that hood is a scared, lost kid who has every right to be angry at the world.

He's even inclined to agree with her frustration; if the Care Bears really wanted to spread Love and Caring, why not use that Care Bear Stare of theirs on a dictator or two, or an oil tycoon?

Why waste their time on a girl that only wants to make the world the better place her mother always wanted?

Wait a minute...

Is he...starting to care about someone?

Broken Heart becomes increasingly irritable and possessive of the amulet, and her vision of a "better world" is becoming disturbingly warped. She kidnaps her brother from the Cherrywoods and begins plotting revenge against the truck driver that fell asleep at the wheel that fateful night one year ago.

The Good Times don't last.

As much as The Bull hates to admit it, he can't get through to her alone...

...only the Love and Caring of the Care Bears Family can save Broken Heart now.

But will it be enough when it's too little, too late?