#imo manny is way more interesting as a person!

[manny-jacinto]

wait who's friends with simu liu and why is that bad?

simu is lowkey shady. there's a detailed article here about his reddit history and it's pretty ugh. he also got very pressed by quentin tarentino's remarks about marvel movies. so pressed that he seriously cannot get over it. granted, he's trying to suck marvel's dick to get his sequel but like... lol. he also lost the lead rode in crazy rich asians to henry golding. people told him he didn't have the "it" actor and i think he was also bitter about it because the way they phrased it, it was almost like he wanted to prove these people that he had "it" because he was cast in a marvel movie lol. he also gives very douchy asian bro vibes. it's a very specific vibe and they're not great people

it's not horrible terrible things but it adds up and it hints that he's not as genuine as he wants to be perceived. and to answer your first question, i'm talking about a youtuber who was on buzzfeed. he's close friends with simu so by association i'm 🙃 about them

[mooifyourecows]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Sure! (given in no particular order)

1. Daichi from Haikyuu, of course.. I just love everything about him. He's a great captain and he has a big appetite and he's so down to earth and masculine in the best ways, what a man!!! I want a tattoo of him on my body!

2. Pam Poovey from Archer. It's hard to stand out in a show where nearly every character is the single most interesting person in the world but I really do think that Pam takes the cake. She's a real one. She stays true to herself no matter how much everyone else begs her to stop and I RESPECT THAT. Also she's a fat character who isn't limited to being the Fat Character. While her weight does come up, often in insulting jokes or bits, she has so much else to her that it feels like such a small part of her character.

3. Princess Carolyn from Bojack Horseman. Out of all the insanely good character arcs in Bojack Horseman, Princess Carolyn's is my favorite. Usually the hardworking career woman character who wants a baby winds up the most disappointing character for me because she always gives up her career to be a mom but NOT MY GIRL PRINCESS CAROLYN. She said I want to be a badass boss lady AND a mom and I don't need no man to get what I want! And she did that shit. She deserves it.

4. Linda Belcher from Bob's Burgers. I aspire to be like Linda. She's fun, she's extroverted, she is just so excited to live her modest life with a struggling burger business, a husband she actually enjoys spending time with, and 3 kids she adores with every fiber of her being. She sings and dances at any given opportunity and doesnt let embarrassment faze her. What an icon.

5. Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings. Every time I think of him I wanna cry. He's just so.... perfect.... and wonderful.... He is the sweetest, bravest man to ever exist and NOBODY CAN ARGUE. The original Ride or Die. We all need a Samwise Gamgee in our lives. 🖤

6. Usopp from One Piece. That's my boy! He's so funny and relatable. I love characters who are brave while being terrified. Despite his wacky goofy personality, he's complex and insecure but he stands by his guns and isn't afraid to challenge even his best friend/captain to defend what he believes and GOSH what a stand up guy ammiright?

7. Eleanor Shellstrop from The Good Place. I love a disaster of a woman. She's a selfish bisexual with zero shame, what's more to love? I just can't help it. I'm weak for women who are just The Worst ™️.

8. Manny from Swiss Army Man. I mean... He's dead, he teaches us what it means to be alive, and he's played by Daniel Radcliffe. He's basically the perfect character, right? Listen, Swiss Army Man is my all time favorite movie and I want everyone else to like it too. I can't even talk much on it because it's so much better when you watch it yourself. Especially if you love amazing soundtracks, beautiful visuals, and queer revelations.

9. Hal from Malcolm in the Middle. I'm such a sucker for husbands who are obsessed with their wives and men in touch with their emotions and Hal is the epitome of both those things! I watched this show while growing up and I truly think that Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Hal taught me how men are supposed to act, especially in regards to their romantic partners. And now my own partner is basically a less theatrical version of him so it paid off ya know?

10. Judas Iscariot from Jesus Christ Superstar (1973). This is mainly based on performance. Carl Anderson did such an AMAZING job playing Judas that he literally stole the show, imo. Jesus who? You mean Judas's boyfriend? It's not JUST his performance though, the way the character is written is so well done that I feel like Judas is the real main character. Yeah, this is the story about Jesus but he ain't the star, ya dig? He's a basic bitch in comparison to the complexity and emotional turmoil of Judas. Also they're gay and in love, what a tragedy! This is cinema!

[entropy-sea-system]

Some things abt monster high (2022) ships!

Draculaura x Lagoona

This ship made some sense to me after the episode w who gets voted head fearleader. They really seem to at least, connect with each other. And hinted at a bit in over bro tective. Probably my second favorite mh ship. However I believe the movie episode makes Lagoona x Gill seem like it could become canon however they have literally never interacted onscreen yet. Lagoona has two hands too so. Honorable mention to Twyla x Lagoona bc of the movie episode although as an nd person it came off more like nd solidarity. I relate Lagoona's 'chomps' to some aspects of my bpd and Twyla is of course canonically autistic. But also as a ship I think it could work, as literally nd4nd is so real.

Draculaura x Manny Taur

This is one of those one-sided rivalry turned study buddies turned ship things, I don't think I ship it a lot but it seems plausible except that Manny seems to be more a side character. The kind of ship that would probably happen irl and be relatively stable. The episode where Clawd first appears was when I felt this seemed to show up.

Draculaura x Clawd

This. Like. Tbh I feel Draculaura didn't exactly show kindness towards Clawd due to being worried about her vampirism in that ep. But the resolution of the conflict in this ep kind of made me realise that they may actually be hinting at this ship in canon(maybe a call back to older versions of mh) although I did not expect that

For what it's worth I don't really know if I see Draculaura as into any of these characters romantically. Maybe bc she always seems more focused on other things but. Also I feel that makes her come off as a character whos either into multiple people or not into anyone, also gives room for an aro or arospec interpretation but.

I feel that could be true of Clawdeen and Clawd as well, tbh those three just. Don't seem all that invested in romance or interested in others that way. I also think Twyla and Draculaura(more so movie version than show tho) and Torelei (yeah ik shes like. mean but Im apl and literally not my fault half the apl coded characters r villains or bullies) also come off as aplatonic or aplspec coded.

Frankie x Cleo

This. Probably my mh otp. Horoscare hints at this ship so much and so does that episode where they find the mummy necklace thing! The ship I think is most likely to be canon! They even show Frankie blushing and stuff like. Theres a lot of things that make it clear they're implying romance in terms of how cartoons tend to imply ships. Also one episode description for a future episode literally involves Deuce being a wingman for Frankie to ask Cleo to the monster ball!!

I think I definitely ship this in an arospec way bc Im arospec but. Quoiromantic greyromantic Frankie is such a headcanon I have and maybe Demiromantic Cleo bc. I also feel Cleo would realise her feelings after Frankie realised theirs. Although I also see Frankie having trouble interpreting their feelings towards Cleo or maybe not.

In one episode a playback of Clawdeen's monster minute is shown in which she says something about who she thinks is cute but it cuts off before any names are said (I believe it could be Deuce or Howleen. My partner and I even have a lighthearted bet on this in case it gets revealed, they guess Duece and I guess Howleen. Theres also the chance that neither and/or it is not revealed). It is to be considered that in the movie Deuce and Clawdeen do have chemistry but. I don't see that in this version at all tbh. Clawdeen doesn't seem to have romantic chemistry with anyone in the show tbh. And neither does Deuce imo

I do know that one sided Heath x Abbey is. Kind of noticeable but tbh Abbey is new to school at monster high and also I dont think its ever hinted that she feels the same about Heath although its possible she does and this ship may become canon?

Not really a ship at all for me but. Ghoulia seems like she really looks up to admires Skelly maybe in a fangirl-y way and that may be like. A celeb crush thing there and/or gender envy?

[papakhan]

Hey I was wondering, do you hate Boone due to his writing or his character? What I mean is do you hate the quality of the writing for Boone or do you like the writing and think it contributes to your read of the character? I guess what I'm asking is if you think Boone is poorly written. Sorry if this is rude in any way! I don't like Boone either I just wanted clarification

in all honesty it's a mixture. i've said so many times I even tho I think Boone is a terrible person, I do actually think he's is a really interesting character who you can do a lot with but that doesn't take away from the fact that there's a lot of poor writing choices involved with him. also I think his stans/people who genuinely believe any of his choices were remotely justified are ANNOYING

you asked about the writing so that's what I'll talk about. Boone's backstory is effectively "poor soldier forced to murder innocents and feels sooo bad about it" which is a bad premise anyway but is executed very poorly IMO. First of all, the Bitter Springs Massacre in its entirety feels like a set dressing to this NPC's tragic backstory because it is just SO badly written. The game wants the NCR to look morally good/neutral SO bad that it's willing to make Bitter Springs look "justified" or "accidental" and I'm not even sure if it happened on purpose. There's like so much wrong with it I don't think I can even explain everything and it's not even just me whining because I'm a fan of the Khans (tho it is some of that) like it's just badly written

This affects Boone's writing because it's a huge part of his backstory but the game never challenges you or tries to make you feel for the Khans in the situation. All those dozens of Khan children and elderly and sick he murdered, you don't get a single name or living relative you can talk to or ANYTHING compared to what you get for the NCR's side of the story like Dhatri and Bitter Root and Gilles and Manny. All you get for the Khans is Oscar Velasco who, by the way, if you visit while Boone is your companion, Boone will execute immediately. so like? you can't even watch a heated exchange between two snipers on opposing sides? Can you imagine how much more interesting and empathetic and grey the situation could have been if you had to convince Oscar and Boone not to kill each other? but no! Oscar is marked as EVIL!!! HE HAS TO DIE!!1!!

every bad thing to NCR did at bitter springs has a shitty silver lining that makes it "justified" like "the person on the other end of the radio didn't understand that there were children fleeing" or "we gave them medical aid! and allowed them to settle at red rock!" or "all the Khans are actually shitty and abusive! I'm a Khan and I'm happy they're all dead!" or "it's hard not to shoot your own guys in the heat of battle" and all of this is why WHY I think so many Redditors fully believe that the Khans deserved because even Manny and Bitter Root say they think it was justified!

all of that really takes the bite out of "Craig Boone did a horrible terrible thing" because the game Lets you. no actually Encourages you to make the argument that what he did was okay. At no point are you allowed to call him out or call him a shitty person or force him to face Khan justice all you can do is tell him "actually what you did was justified" or "there there boone its okay we'll work through it <3" and I'm sorry but those are just. weak choices. especially in comparison to how rich other choices in the game are. yes I know all the companion quests come down to two very cut and dry black and white options at the end but cmon VULPES is offered more depth then this. And also Cass and Arcade can be handed over to their enemy factions why can't I do the same with Boone???

So not only does Craig have a fridged wife (I know people Love to say that Carla's not an underwritten fridged woman but tell me one thing about her other than she was mean and pregnant. one thing.) but he also has piles of unwritten dead civilians in his backstory too and they're all just kinda there and the only thing the story tries to tell you about them is "maybe they did deserve it" and I think that sucks. Carla is her own special problem in the writing by virtue of being a fridged wife because she was invented and murdered just to punish Boone, which still doesn't work if Boone thinks it's divine punishment that he decided to pull the trigger on his wifes head.

TLDR: You're meant to feel bad for Boone, not any of his victims. Not any of the Khan children he killed, not even Carla is afforded any empathy. The game wants you to feel sad about Boone and that's it. that's why I don't like his writing.

[isagrimorie]

for the reverse unpopular opinion – 12 Monkeys and Star Trek Enterprise? (thought i'd give you one easy one and one hard one)

for this ask game: Reverse Unpopular Opinion meme

Let's start with something hard:

Star Trek Enterprise:

This is... going to be interesting. I'm not a fan of this show and it has alienated me from the first time I've watched it.

But I will give this the good old College Try.

Things I like about Enterprise: I appreciate that as a show, it was trying a new thing and that it was experimental. They tried to distance itself from the Star Trek franchise by not using 'Star Trek' at first, but they returned to it.

I appreciate NX-01's sparse interiors that gave it a more submarine look showing it's one of the first ships out in space. It reminded me a bit of SeaQuest but for space.

I appreciate seeing an Asian woman in space! I wish there was more of Hoshi just like I wish there was more of Toshi Sato on Torchwood. But also there are more Japanese surnames than Sato.

T'Pol was really interesting and I appreciate T'Pol and Trip's love story and how hard it is for them as the first Vulcan/Human pairing. Jolene Blalock is also a good actress.

Braga and Berman handed-off the show to Manny Coto who did a really good job for season 4. Only good things can come from that except for the finale.

Phlox is a fun character.

Now for the easy one!

12 Monkeys

"Death Can be Undone. But Love cannot."

I wish 12 Monkeys was more popular than it is.

It's so damned good. 12 Monkeys has a really great cast of characters, I love the awesome women.

I love how everyone is so complicated and messy. The first season, admittedly, is slow because it was building blocks for what will happen but also if you watched the last season and the first season -- it legit blew my mind because it contextualized a lot of moments in season 1.

Season 2 is when 12 Monkeys becomes the show it wanted to be from the start. (SyFy forced Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett to rebrand their show idea from something original to 12 Monkeys).

IMO, 12 Monkeys is the best Time Travel show I've ever watched. It also had such a great soundtrack!

It is also such a romantic show, in every sense of the word. The whole beating heart of why the characters do what they do. Right or wrong and right and wrong. Because of love.

Cassandra Railly

Goes through a journey from the beginning to the end -- she starts thrown into the middle of a time travel story. She cares so much for people but ends up hardened and cynical.

She always, always is about owning her own agency. (Season 3 starting episodes are rough because of that). Right or wrong, she owns her decisions and she doesn't want anyone to take that from her.

Jennifer Goines

The Artist Currently Known As Primary! Jennifer started out very lost in season 1 and first half of season 2, she's had a tragic childhood but when she finally knows who she is in this 'verse and what she can do, she slowly gains power.

And, essentially, Jennifer is the most Important Person on this 'verse

Dr. Katarina Jones

She's the leader of the Splinter program. Katarina Jones is like Kathryn Janeway except a lot more morally gray and more willing to be ruthless. She will do whatever it takes to fulfill her goal.

And she starts off unlikable (but I actually liked her from the jump). She is complicated and thorny. And she has hubris for days.

And, of course just like Janeway -- she has a moment when Jones meets her past self and it's just as fun when Past and Present/Future Janeway meet!

In the beginning, Team Splinter didn't even like each other much but by the end of the series they are a family.

It's a serious show but 12 Monkeys also has time for levity and fun, a fun time travel heist in the 80s is one that comes to mind. Or when some team member gets stuck in the past and has to find a way to earn some money.

Or when the team realized they had to steal from their past selves.

Anyway, I highly recommend this show:

"Iniate:"

"Splinter Sequence."

[numericalbridge]

Since Raine & Camila dynamic is the one I have more trouble picturing in the Darius/Raine/Eda/Camila ship, Ramila for 1 maybe.

Hi! Thank you for the ask!

Ramila

when I started shipping it if I did: one day while rewatching i was thinking about similarities/differences in their personalities, then i also remembered that i have a couple of AU concepts where they would be the main adult characters, and then it occured to me that they might work as a ship too.

my thoughts:

I think they have enough similarities while also enough differences in how they behave that it can be interesting.

For example they both are more easily outwardly soft, especially when interacting with children, compared to many other toh adults; they both seem to have a strong sense of wanting to protect vulnarable people, again, especially children (and in Camila's case animals too) and are very open about it rather than hiding it; and in general they seem to be more open emotionally compared to someone like Eda or Darius or Lilith, while at the same time it is still clear that they too hide many of their issues and for different reasons can't allow themselves to become fully open about it, yet neither has became cynical. Both are rather dorky and easily embarrassed too.

But at the same time Raine - even when they get embarrassed and run away - seem to be embracing their dorky side and really unashamed of it, while Camila seems to be trying to hide at least some of it. Raine is also more chaotic and has a ruthless and very pragmatic side, and they, imo, can be pretty judgemental and unwavering in their opinions; while Camila seems to have a lot of doubts even when she is trying not to show it. There is also something with the way Camila seems to have a lot of trauma related to her own time in school and obviously it greatly affected how she was raising Luz, and Raine's role as a former teacher who at the same was against the system... there is something there.

So i feel like the combination of these similarities + differences together can actually be a point of conflict (it's the 'need an episode of adventures together to overcome it' kind of conflict) and they might initially rub each other the wrong way / not know what to think of each other, but once they figure it out they might become close (but not necessary the closest) and help each other get a different perspective on some things.

Plus, i feel like Raine might remind Camila of the type of slightly morally grey rebel hero from a scifi media, and Raine would probably be the best out of the adult characters to show Camila the isles without making it way too weird and chaotic - Raine is chaotic but they can reign it in when they want, so i feel like they could help Camila get out of her shell, kinda like Manny did.

What makes me happy about them: i think they can, in theory, help each other once they understand each others issues and can offer a different perspective in a very mature manner.

What makes me sad about them: they never actually interracted

things done in fanfic that annoys me/things I look for in fanfic: tbh, i've never even thought about looking up a fic about it.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Darius and Eda for Raine, Darius and Perry for Camila

My happily ever after for them: part of a polycle (or in Human Gus - Witch Luz AU they just end up together)

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Raine is the big spoon

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: going on walks together

for this ask game

[kindheartedgummybears]

Small(?) update on the Du'met!Erin au.

ok, so it's been what? a month since TDiM community chose the Du'met and Erin role/character swap AU and the bad news is: No, I haven't started writing it yet(disappointing I know and I am so sorry I have never written anything before so I will be slow with it :') BUUUT I do have some information about it! the brain has been storming the past month!

Ok, so first of all I would like to clear up some things before people start to question it.

1(and probably the most important at least imo): With Erin and Hector being swapped I would like to clear up that Jamie and Hector are NOT LOVE INTERESTS!!!! They are BFFs instead and Jamie's room scene will be slightly different and not at all romantic(at least between Jamie and Hector). And now that I'm writing that I feel like that was probably obvious since I did put it in a JERIN fic poll but JUST IN CASE.

2: The whole Manny Sherman and Hector being in the FBI thing will be sliiiightly different. Without giving too much away, Hector was still in the FBI and worked on the Sherman case but was able to catch himself before Sherman brainwashed him basically and resigned shortly after. However~ This time he had a partner investigating the Sherman case with him and let's just say maybe taking the tapes home with you (illegally btw) and stuffing them in your attic for someone to possibly find later on wasn't a good idea...

3: Erin still has asthma. That doesn't change and it actually has plot relevance.

So yeah! that's the "clear ups" if you can call them that?

now, time for plot stuff

ok so basically, for plot reasons I am swapping Charlie and Jamie's placements in the story, and by that I mean, Jamie falls down the trap door instead of Charlie in the freezer and she goes through most of the stuff he goes through in the actual game and vice versa with Charlie and what Jamie goes through, and I am debating if I should do the same with Mark and Kate. There's no reason to do that really, but I think it would be fun!

I am also now realizing(not really now I have thought about it for like 2 weeks) that with position swaps also means death swaps👀👀👀👀

also just some fun facts about this au ig?:

Hector and Kate PTSD twins😍✌️

Erin and Hector do maintain their canon personality to an extent with some parts of their personality obviously swapped.

Yes, Erin having asthma does take a blow on the crew's egos.

---- Oh! and if I may give you a littlleeee sneak peek of what is to come, without any context:

OMFG ERIN HOW ARE YOU NOT DEAD HALF OF YOUR FACE IS LITERALLY MANGLED AND BARELY HANGING ON TO YOUR SKULL-

:)

Also side note: I have been debating if I should do little one-shots for all of my Jerin AUs to give people a basic kind of plot or story for all of them. Obviously, I'm going to make and finish the Du'met!Erin au first before going into any of my other AUs for them. Some of them (HoA AU and Ultimatum) won't be getting one-shots since they are one-shots in and of themselves, but my other AUs(Like the 1980s murder wives, Deadpool x Spiderman, and my many(by many I mean 4 XD) werewolf AUs. Oh! And by the way, I forgot to mention that the Vampire x Werewolf AU is also an 1800s AU I know I should have included that in the poll but I completely forgot :')) That have actual storylines and plots to them that would be more than a simple one-shot. Like for the murder wives, I have an idea for a one-shot that is kind of like a prequel to the actual fic.

Please let me know if you'd like for me to make little one-shots for them first! Also sorry if this is a hard read grammar is not a very good skill of mine and I'm from the South so my English is kind of broken to begin with XD

[dexterouslycharming]

Is Rosie Midas a Monster High transfer, since her father is from Greek mythology like Cupid's dad and Deuce's mom?

So she's actually not! The rules between Monster High and Ever After High are super interesting imo and there's a lot to play with, here's my take on some of it. I firmly believe all mythos and gods of any kind/religion (greek, Roman, Indian, etc.,) all originate from Ever After due to the fact that they're considered 'stories' or 'fabrications'. Basically they were tales passed down through the generations much like modern fairy tales (whether they're true or not who knows.) However, anything seen as 'monstrous' or non-human could attend Monster High despite originating from Ever After (I also headcanon that Ever After, while canonically split up into 'Kingdoms' (as seen in Epic Winter (which btw I despise with all my soul) when looking for the roses, is made up of various other places that have specific ways to get to them (I.E Wonderland.) These places being catered to specific mythos and what not (like Mount Olympus for example is where the Greek Gods and Goddesses would be.) So, creatures like Harpys, Giants, Cyclops, etc., all are able to be in the Monster High world but originate from Ever After. It's why you see those types of monsters within Monster High (Iris whose a cyclops, Manny whose a minotaur, the one fusion girl whose part harpy, etc.)

Deuce would be considered a 'monster' due to his mother being a gorgon, (much like Viperine, his cousin!) But, because his mother is THE Medusa from Greek Mythos, he could also attend Ever After High if it was a known thing within the Monster World, he's based upon a story, not exactly a fairy tale, but a myth which were the fairy tales back in Ancient Greece, (Draculaura would technically also fit into this Category, as she's the daughter of Dracula himself and he's fictional, but she's a whole topic for another post.) My personal headcanon for Medusa (and various other creatures who originate from Ever After) is that at one point, there was a known way to get between the two 'worlds' and you could cross freely (i.e tourism) but Milton decided enough of that because it was influencing his students to embrace their freaky flaws and be who they wanted to be instead of signing the book (this is where the whole 'if you don't follow your story you'll disappear' thing comes from. Medusa left Ever After (because of the way she has been treated due to Poseidon's misdeeds not her own. What happened to Medusa WAS NOT and NEVER WILL BE her fault. She was a victim like many other women in Greek Mythos) , therefor her part in Greek Mythos hasn't been fulfilled for a long time because her son (Deuce) is in Monster High and not at Every After so he cannot sign the book.

As for C.A Cupid, hers is a little more uhm complicated to say the least. She's stated to be the adopted Daughter of Eros in Every After High, and the adopted daughter of Cupid in Monster High. This makes things a little complicated due to Eros and Cupid technically being the same entity but not at the same time. Eros is the Roman equivalent of Cupid (different from C.A Cupid herself, they're one in the same and yet the Roman versions of the gods are different from the Greek versions so various extents depending on who you're speaking about, so it's hard to decide where she would accurately belong, especially when it comes to the back that in both worlds (I use worlds lightly as I considered them different like pocket dimensions or something, I need to hammer that out) C.A Cupid is adopted. In Monster High it's stated she's an unknown being, no one quite knows where she fits categorically, though a lot of the fandom has accepted her as a bone elemental (which I can agree with, at least for her state of being in Monster High.) Here's where my explanation for Cupid comes into play, Eros/Cupid (not OUR Cupid) has an identity in both worlds, much like C.A Cupid herself. Because there is still a way to go between Monster High and Ever After (as seen by C.A Cupid using it in one of the episodes of EAH) Eros/Cupid was able to go between the two (love is needed in all places, right?) And he still is able to, but he sent C.A Cupid to Ever After so both places were covered (somehow the way they had to go between worlds was shattered (coughwonderlandcursecough) so C.A Cupid is stuck in Ever After. To get to the point here, C.A Cupid IS NOT a goddess. It's unknown what she is in both places. In Ever After she is called a cherub, while in Monster High she's a bone elemental. C.A Cupid's bow is the only thing that allows her to do Cupid/Eros's job. She doesn't have love magic herself, at least not to her knowledge or anyone else's. She's simply an unknown entity. But, because of her adoptive family and Cupid/Eros's role in both worlds (in Monster High, Cupid/Eros would be considered a love monster/emotion manipulator (kinda like a witch or a sorcerer but one who specializes in love of all kinds) C.A. Cupid is known in both Ever After and at Monster High and could at one point travel freely between them.

As for Rosie, she's considered a human. She has no monster like abilities or powers, no horns or anything that would make her considered monstrous. She's simply a human cursed to have everything she touches turn into gold. Theoretically she could attend Monster High, but she wouldn't fit into any sort of category of monster or anything. Not even the category of sorcerer or witch because she can't manipulate gold or other metals, her touch just turns stuff into gold. While I quoted Frozen in her little blurb, she and Elsa are quite different in how they would be categorized. Elsa would be considered an ice elemental, a sorceress, therefore she'd have a category and a place within the Monster World, Rosie doesn't. She can't be considered a sorceress because she can't manipulate the gold she creates. By all accounts she'd be considered a normie like Jackson.

All in all, Rosie originates from the same place Deuce and others like Iris come from, which is Ever After. Could she theoretically go to Monster High? Of course because they'd accept her for who she is (Monster High is all about acceptance after all) but she doesn't come from there! Going back to C.A Cupid for a brief moment, it's unknown where she came from because she just showed up on Eros/Cupid's doorstep one day as an infant so her origin is still lost in the universe.

Sorry for the long answer fjsjfjso I hope it all makes some kind of sense.

[katikacreations]

I'm curious, are you still into DuckTales? And were you also disappointed with the lack of character development with Gyro after 'Astro B.O.Y.D.' (including the lack of development of his relationship with Boyd and Fenton, as we barely know what their interactions look like)? What were you personally hoping for?

Hey there! Sorry I haven't been around much. Yes, I still love Ducktales! I've been a Disney Duck fan since I was a kid so that love isn't ever going away. I got the deluxe artbook just the other day, and I'm excited to eventually finish the Boyd and Gyro fic... it's just probably going to take awhile. It's a big story and I want to do a good job, telling it well :) But I did feel pretty let down by the end of the series, and the fandom has gotten pretty quiet… Not to mention I've gone through a lot of big life changes, so I haven't had as much time for writing fic or drawing fanart. Yeah I was disappointed by the lack of Boyd and Gyro after they had such a fantastic story in Astro Boyd, but I understand why we didn't get to see them any more - the crew was struggling to try and tie up all their loose ends with the short span of time they had left. But frankly I think they could have done a better job and used their time more wisely, and that some of the things they made episodes about were ideas that should have been in season 2 or 1.... But it is what it is. I think in a lot of ways they were phoning it in during season 3 and so there were some real stinker episodes as a result. I was really hoping to see Dr. Akita come back with FOWL, even if only as a silent cameo, but I knew deep in my heart that we wouldn't get that... Realistically Boyd's presence in the narrative should have been a game changer, he's a powerful ally for the McDuck family, and it would have been much more interesting to see FOWL develop a countermeasure for him, rather than just find the "funniest"way to nerf him in the finale lol. (The combat robot that destroyed a major world city has their head fall off in a plane crash but the flesh and blood children are all completely unharmed?) Hell, I would have accepted "Boyd was damaged in the fight during Tokyolk so we can't take him with us" or something like that, if they really wanted to write him out of the conflict. Or "Boyd jumps out of the plane to deal with the missiles and gets hurt in the process". If I had my way, I would have taken Launchpad's big hero moment and moved it to the Darkwing 2-parter episode, and I would have taken Manny's reveal and put it in the Halloween episode, and that would have improved both of those eps (which were also lacking IMO), and bam, now there's more time to allow Gyro, Fenton and Boyd to do things in the finale.

I know I would have liked to see Boyd helping Huey somehow... and it would have been nice to see Gyro asking Fenton for help and acknowledging his competence... Maybe instead of Launchpad wearing the Gizmosuit, Gyro getting to wear it (since it was originally for him), but then afterwards admitting that it's better if Fenton wears it... Stuff like that! Sorry if this got a bit long and rambly, but I hope it answers some of your questions!

[mythoughtsxxblog]

My Top TV Show Female Characters

I made a male version of this that some people actually read (thanks!!) So I thought it's time to make my female version! I'm sure there's more that I adore, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind. *In no particular order*

Haley James Scott (One Tree Hill)

Bethany Joy Lenz was one of the best actors on this show, and she brought so much to this character that I'm sure was only initially supposed to be your typical best friend to the main character. Haley James Scott was more than that. She is a wonderful wife (Naley forever, my #1 otp and simply iconic) and mother. Not only that, but she's talented and funny af. Her humor is so underrated, especially during her pregnancies, lol. Not only that but never mess with her family cause she will quite literally fuck you up (*cough* see Rachel Gatina) 💀

Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)

1/2 the reason why I even bothered with Gossip Girl to begin with. Takeaway that God awful relationship with the wannabe Batman voiced man, she is a literal queen that deserved better!! Leighton Meester's acting so underrated it annoys me that her career didn't skyrocket after this (there's still time though 🙏). Blair had her flaws, but was shown to be quite the good person despite everything. She is not only intelligent, but she's witty af and I love every bit of her sass. If only she had ended up with someone on her level mentally and spiritually.

Manny Santos (Degrassi TNG)

A whole ass trendsetting queen!!! Manuela Santos walked so that so many other bad ass tv women could run. The very first time I watched this show I instantly fell in love with her. She was honestly a good ass friend that dealt with so much shit that she didn't deserve. The abortion storyline was simply great because I'm almost positive girls watching the show felt safe knowing they had options when it comes to unplanned pregnancies. Her style? Immaculate. Her ability to change a once bad boy to an actual good guy? Iconic. Love her forever.

Stephanie Tanner (Full House)

This show was the very first sitcom I fell in love with as a little girl. I remember loving Stephanie. To the point where I wanted to join dance classes to be like her lol. I always was more invested in her storylines and I thought she was extremely relatable. Her catchphrases >>>> and the episode where she drove the car into the kitchen? Forever iconic. I haven't seen enough of Fuller House to give an opinion, but I'm sure she was just as iconic on there.

Jen Lindley (Dawsons Creek)

My sweet precious muffin. My cinnamon apple. Jen brought so much to this show. An iconic friendship (her and Jack 😭😍), amazing character development, and a lovable personality. I truly love her so much and I cannot believe the way her story ended. She deserved so much more. She was a beautiful person inside and out and Michelle Williams did such an amazing job. Especially when she was the youngest amongst the cast.

Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf)

My favorite banshee ❤ I seem to love characters with amazing character developments because here's yet another character that had amazing development. Lydia literally went from typical mean girl to an actual badass superhero. She was so real and so complicated (in a good way). I loved the depth to her character and forever happy they didn't keep her as the mean girl with no personality. Lydia Martin is a powerful woman. Also, her and Stiles forever have my heart.

Lois Lane (Smallville)

I love this show and the minute she came on I personally believe the show got better. Lois and Clark are legendary especially on Smallville. I know a lot of people preferred Lana and at first I was all Lana/Clark. But once Lois came on, I was like Lana who? Lois was more interesting and had better chemistry with Clark imo. I think my love for this character stems mainly from Erica Durance. She brought such a light and lovable vibe to this Lois.

April Kepner (Grey's Anatomy)

A strong ass woman. She faced so much hardship, but never ever gave up. Like the amount of shit this woman had to deal with?? It's always the characters that I love that have to deal with a lot and quite often never get the happiness they deserve. I'm so happy they brought her back and gave her a better and more proper ending with Jackson aka who she deserved to be endgame with. April could be quite neurotic to the point where it got annoying. But I still loved her and her flaws. She was extremely relatable. Also let's take a second to recognize how amazing Sarah Drew is.....the shooting episode and scene with the shooter??? ICONIC.

Tia and Tamera (Sister Sister)

Another sitcom I absolutely adore. Tia and Tamera are forever iconic queens in the show and in real life. I'll admit, Tia was favorite as a kid. I resonated with her more, but during my last rewatch as an adult I enjoyed the two of them and now I can't really choose a favorite. These two are my childhood ❤

[mego42]

I know it’s the writers fault, and I feel like this season rio is a different person than seasons 1,2 and even 3. But if I ignore my opinions on the writers and the odd choices they’ve made for him, and just watch the show as a normal viewer, rio is fucking pissing me off. Like all he had to do was tell Beth she was being followed. He made the mess. And he’s such a dick. Like at this point kill her or don’t. But this whole “Rio can’t hurt Beth/rio has love for her/brio love triangle” thing? Like nah I’m not seeing it. He’s being literally stupid for no reason.

i'm v sorry he's pissing you off and you’re super entitled to feel that way! but tbh, personally i don't totally agree that he's different or that he's being stupid for no reason (though, if you're not buying into the idea that he's genuinely into beth than yeah, i can v much see why you would feel that way, i think that's a p significant puzzle piece). 

imo, the primary difference between the rio of s4 and the rio of previous seasons isn't in the character, but how much more context/insight/backstory we're getting for him. we’ve seen bits and pieces before, but they’ve been very sporadic (something that’s been a p consistent complaint since i joined the fandom) and i think s4 has really dug into shading rio’s character and backstory in with much more detail and depth than we’ve seen so far. i also think the show's p steadily developed the idea that he has some degree of genuine feeling for beth (and that they make him act rashly and stupidly) along the same pace.

putting the rest of this below the cut bc it got long and should you continue, do so with the caveat that i’m not here to change anyone’s mind, i’m just breaking down why i disagree.

in s1, rio was a p one-dimensional character (like, on paper he's basically a walking first page google search result for "mexican gang banger stereotypes") and it's a testament to how much manny brought to his performance and the way he sparks with his scene partners (particularly christina and jim) that he came across so engagingly and elevated the character far enough that people so easily overlook that. over the course of s2, they peeled back the curtain a little bit and rounded him out more in ways that (imo and ymmv) really efficiently counteracted that stereotypical portrayal like introducing marcus, being softer with beth, and the different faceted glimpses of him we saw through his personal and business spaces (the club, his loft and bar). in terms of his feelings, while a lot of the softness with beth was him working an angle, we still caught glimpses that hinted at something real developing in his reactions to her that either served no purpose for keeping her in line (the way the camera lingered on his face falling in 209 after beth had turned away and couldn't see him) or, most significantly imo, doing things for her that actively undermined his authority (retrieving!!!!!!!! the!!!!!!!!!! dubby!!!!!!!!!!!!).

and speaking of 209, we also saw him react in increasingly more irrational and outlandish ways (ignoring her calls/texts about the fbi closing in on a business he’s somewhat tied up in, sending her body parts in the mail, kidnapping her) in reaction to beth quitting him, underscoring both the idea that 209 (and beth) meant something to him and that he gets real dramatic and questionably intelligent when he’s in his feelings. 

there's nothing to really say any of this was a swerve from s1 bc s1 left p much everything on the table. s3 built that out a bit more both in terms of what we know about him (thinking specifically of fitz's rundown of what he gets up to when beth's not around) and his feelings for beth (how he handled the wake of 213 was, uh, illuminating and it’s been made even more illuminating with the context s4 added with nick’s involvement in rio’s business and the fact that nick knew nothing about lucy).

s4, to me, is building on all of that (see the above comment about the new layer of context to lucy and repeat, for one). we’ve met his family (who they’ve already hinted he’s very close to through the photos in his loft), we’ve found out how he got involved in crime in the first place (and i've seen criticism of the tragedy aspect of it and how that disproportionately applies to characters of color and that’s super valid, though i do think there’d also be a lot of valid criticism if they’d gone the opposite route and written rio as knowingly and gleefully deciding to be a criminal. the show kind of put itself in an impossible position there, but that’s something that goes back to s1 and the entire concept of his character. i’m not saying there isn’t a nuanced way to tell this story but, i don’t think anyone in the fandom would argue the gg team doesn’t often do so well with narrowly threaded needles, hahaha), and we’ve also seen that rio’s got some kind of big, complicated feelings for beth that result in him making moves and choices that both are and aren’t in his best interest/at her expense and the dichotomy is sloppy bc, as established, those kinds of feelings make rio sloppy. 

honestly, i think one of the biggest reasons rio’s deepening characterization is so controversial is bc by holding off for so long (a choice that i admire conceptually from a storytelling angle—keeping him shrouded in mystery keeps the audience firmly rooted in the girls’ POVs which is where they want us to be—but v understand how it hasn’t worked for a lot of people and do think they’ve fumbled it at a couple of key steps), it allowed people to sort of choose their own rio and now that the show’s committing to their vision, it’s demolishing a lot of people’s personal versions and that sucks! if the show ever canonically says rio and mick haven’t been friends since they were kids, i, for one, am going to elect to ignore it bc FALSE!!!!!! but this phenomenon is also, you know, part of watching tv. someone else writes it, you ultimately have no say in it, you can really only decide for yourself when it no longer sparks joy enough that it’s a dealbreaker and you walk. 

BUT yeah, i guess to wrap it all up, i do think s4 rio tracks with and has been directly built on the rios that have come before, but also think that accepting that he has big messy feelings for beth is a crucial part in understanding the choices he’s making, and if that’s not working for you, i don’t see this trajectory ultimately being v satisfying bc uh, yeah, i think it’s only going to get exponentially messier as we go. 

[justagirlsearchingforamuse]

For your character ask thing you reblogged, the one with the hcs could you do Ellie and Abby, please?

Abby Anderson: Sexuality Headcanon: Bisexual with a preference for women. Probably took her a while to come to terms with her bisexuality and probably denied it but met a woman who made her realize she isn't straight. Also, probably had a crush on Nora when she was younger and when she was a young kid but was mean to her to hide these feelings which Nora still doesn't know about. Gender Headcanon: I headcanon her as someone who goes by all pronouns and might be genderfluid. A ship I have with said character: I ship her with Nora a lot and I really wish they could've dated as their relationship is so cute. A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Manny or her with Owen because I believe that their relationships were kinda cute (Owen was kinda cute with her when he wasn't favoring her as to Mel and treating her bad because he likes Abby more.) But I really love her relationship with Manny and love their dynamic. Kinda underrated imo. NOTP I have with said character: If we're talking about canonically then Ellie and her or Owen and her (don't hate the ship that much but personally don't ship them together.) Also I do like Abby and Ellie and the thought of them together but not in canon. A Random Headcanon: She enjoys bonding with those around her with working out like for example she'll jog with Lev or something and enjoys talking with him and for her it's her own weird way of bonding with people. She loves to work out and exercise and not to mention loves to use her muscles to impress someone she's into or will often go on gym dates with her partner. General Opinion Over Said Character: I love her and I feel she's really unique and complex without being too much, she's so interesting and I love how flawed she is, how much she grows, and how she finds her place in the world taking care of Lev. I love everything about her. Ellie Williams: Sexuality Headcanon: They are a lesbian not really a headcanon just canon, lololol. So yeah they are a lesbian in my eyes. Gender Headcanon: I headcanon them as a non-binary lesbian who goes by they/them pronouns as well as she/her pronouns. A ship I have with said character: Of course her with Dina but not Ellie then I'd ship them with Abby (not in canon of course) but yeah I really like what they could be and stuff. Not to mention, could be amazing enemies to friends to lovers. A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Jesse so much! Like bruh, I love how supportive he is of her and how much he ultimately cares about her and Dina. He is a true friend. Also, enjoy her brotp with Tommy if that counts. A NOTP I have with said character: Not her with Jesse or Joel. I swear people in this fandom are weird about that and it's just gross, she's a confirmed lesbian and it's gross that people don't care and don't respect her sexuality. A random headcanon: She at some point in her life either shaves her head or cuts it real short and Dina would help her with it, calling her handsome and attractive when it was finished. Also, probably would get another tattoo of a moose on her hand as a symbol of Joel. A general opinion of said character: I love them, same with Abby I love how complex they are and how she's allowed to make mistakes, her relationships with those around her, and how in tune she is with her emotions. She's really well written and she's probably better than Joel imo.

[ripjaws]

Ben 10 Survey Results!

Huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response, it was really fun looking through them all and I was genuinely surprised by the results of some of the questions.

Hopefully this will work under a read more because it's quite long and I don't want people to have to scroll a hundred years to get past it.

If anyone has any questions or anything please feel free to ask! :)

Thanks again!

General

Q1. How would you describe your gender?

36% - Female 25.3% - Male 24% - Non-binary 8% - Prefer not to say 4% - Agender 2.7% - Genderfluid

Q2. How would you describe your sexuality?

32% - Bisexual 20% - Heterosexual 20 % - Asexual 8% - Lesbian 6.7% - Prefer not to say 5.4% - Pansexual 4% - Gay 1.3% - Demisexual 1.3% - Questioning 1.3% - Polysexual

Q3. Current age

48% - 20-24 39% - 15-19 13.3% - 25-30 1.3% - Older than 30 1.3% - Younger than 15

Q4. Age when you first became interested in Ben 10

86.7% - Younger than 15 9.3% - 15-19 2.7% - 20-24 1.3% - 25-30

Episodes and season

Q1. Which series did you watch first?

88% - Original Series 9.3% - Alien Force 1.3% - Omniverse 1.3% - Reboot

Q2. Rank the series in order of preference

[IMAGE ID: Five separate groups of five vertical bar charts. The individual columns for each group are coloured in the same order and corresponds to what ranking they recieved on that question of the survey. According to the key at the top of the image the order is; blue = 1, red = 2, orange = 3, green = 4 & purple = 5. The Y axis of the graph goes from zero to thirty in intervals of ten.

The first group is labelled ‘Original Series’ and shows that it got twenty votes in blue, seventeen votes in red, sixteen votes in orange, ten votes in green & twelve votes in purple.

The second group is labelled ‘Alien Force’ and shows that it got nine votes in blue, eighteen votes in red, twenty-one votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & five votes in purple.

The third group is labelled ‘Ultimate Alien’ and shows that it got thirteen votes in blue, ten votes in red, fourteen votes in orange, twenty-two votes in green & sixteen votes in purple.

The fourth group is labelled ‘Omniverse’ and shows that it got eighteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seventeen votes in orange, fifteen votes in green & ten votes in purple.

The fifth and final group is labelled ‘Reboot’ and shows that it got fifteen votes in blue, fifteen votes in red, seven votes in orange, six votes in green & thirty-two votes in purple. END IMAGE ID]

Q3. Favourite season (Original Series)

40% - Season 1 18.7% - Season 2 18.7% - Season 3 17.3% - Season 4 5.3% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Ken 10 (S4E10) & Kevin 11 (S1E7)

Q4. Favourite season (Alien Force)

52% - Season 2 28% - Season 1 16% - Season 3 4% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched

Most popular episodes were Alone Together (S2E2) & Save the Last Dance (S2E4)

Q5. Favourite Season (Ultimate Alien)

36% - Season 1 25.3% - Season 3 20% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Forge of Creation (S1E16) & Duped (S1E2)

Q6. Favourite Season (Omniverse)

18.7% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 18.7% - Season 2 16% - Season 5 12% - Season 6 10.7% - Season 1 9.3% - Season 8 8% - Season 4 5.3% - Season 3 1.3% - Season 7

Most popular episodes were And Then There Were None (S6E1) & And Then There Was Ben (S6S2)

Q7. Favourite Season (Reboot)

60% - Don’t like/Haven’t watched 17.3% - Season 4 10.7% - Season 3 6.7% - Season 1 5.3% - Season 2

Most popular episodes were Omni-tricked (S1E37) & Innervasion (S2E36)

Q8. Which live action movie did you prefer?

40% - Alien Swarm 22.7% - Race Against time 22.7% - Didn’t like either 14.7% - Haven’t watched either

Characters and aliens

Q1. Favourite main character

45.3% - Ben Tennyson 28% - Kevin Levin 17.3% - Rook Blonko 9.3% - Gwen Tennyson

Some ‘Why’ responses:

Ben -

I know it's a really basic pick but I enjoy Ben alot as a character. Even though I feel like he took an extremely sharp turn into immaturity in the final season of Alien Force onward (from what I've heard it was due to ratings), it still fit well after a bit of time of adjustment. Him being rash and selfish at times while still having a good heart feels...very human. I'm a huge fan of flawed protagonists and Ben is a prime example of such, imo! Plus I hradcanon that he has autism and it's a big comfort for me :)

I love his potential as a character and the way he hands having such power and responsibility thrust upon him. Ben has done so much for the people in his life and the universe, and I absolutely adore him.

I think of him like a kind person who tries his best to the right thing, he's pretty chill and optimist and in my mind he's a chaotic bi and i can relate to that

Kevin -

I like that he's always been an antihero in the original series. And in the reboot I really like the direction the showrunners are taking his character. He has a different backstory, motivations and I'm really enjoying his character development. It's a fresh take on his story and they're treating it with care, which I really appreciate. His Antitrix aliens also have some really incredible designs.

Cool powers, uncommon character in children's media, especially as a primary character often cast in a good light (ex con, high school dropout, masculine, not emotionally mature). His character development is some of the best in the series.

Gods, we could be here forever... Okay, short version- 1) I can relate to him on a mental health level, especially in the OG series we seemed to have similar issues and to handle them in similar ways 2) there's a lot of depth and variance to his character, he's angry and aggressive and dangerous but also a dork, a sweetheart, and very affectionate once he lets his walls down, he loves cars and supernatural romance, violence and magical girls, he'll rescue an aggressive dog for no reason other than it needed help but also he might consider how much he could get for selling you, he's a complex character and he's allowed to be in a way the Tennysons can't because of how firmly they sit in the Hero seat 3) for all of this, we never really know all that much about him and his experiences, at least in comparison to what we know is there- we never learn about his time traveling the galaxy, we haven't heard anything about his time stuck in time, it's only in the reboot we're getting trustworthy information about his background and even then it's rare tidbits- he's ripe for exploring in fic, headcanon, and so-on 4) his powers in the OG series, his status as mutant or alien or both who knows anymore leaves a lot of doors open to play and to look at the world through different angles 5) dude has turned into six different monstrous chimera forms over the course of the franchise and honestly you have to support that sort've shit in media otherwise they might stop

Rook -

Alien catboy with a glorious voice and have you seen those arms??? And he's so polite while also being hilarious when he gets a little rude/snarky and his character development is amazing!!

While I would normally say Ben himself, Rook is his only friend that hasn't tried to kill him. Additionally, he provides Ben with guidance as well as support the Gwen and Kevin are fickle about.

Having an actual alien joining the cast and serving at Ben's foil worked well to me.

Gwen -

Smart, talented, funny, snarky, confident, and super cute. Jock-prep-nerd energy all in one. Deserves the world. Criminally ignored by the majority of the fandom. Knows karate and judo?? College at 16?? Icon.

Angel, can do no wrong, was capable of so much more than the show let her do, potential to be the most powerful member of the team if they'd just let her go a lil feral sometimes :/

She was a good voice of reason most of the time. Her powers were really interesting and overall I think she had a lot of wasted potential having to be sidelined since the series was about Ben ultimately

Q2. Favourite minor characters

40 votes - Paradox

22 votes - Max Tennyson

18 votes - Tetrax

17 votes - Argit

16 votes - Julie Yamamoto

15 votes - Azmuth

12 votes - Ester

10 votes - Looma Red Wind

9 votes - Glitch

9 votes - Kai Green

7 votes - Alan Albright

6 votes - Jimmy Jones

4 votes - Cooper Daniels

3 votes - Eunice

3 votes - Helen Wheels

2 votes - Elena Validus

2 votes - Manny Armstrong

1 vote - Cash Murray

1 vote - Driba

Other votes went to Penny Bennyson, Kenny Tennyson/Spanner, Lucy Mann, Rook Shar, Eddie Grandsmith, Myaxx and Pakmar.

Q3. Ship or Zed

64% - Ship 36% - Zed

Q4. Favourite main antagonist 

20% - Albedo 13.3% - Kevin 11 12% - Vilgax 10.7% - Charmcaster 10.7% - Zs’Skayr 9.3% - Malware 5.3% - Forever Knights 5.3% - Eon 4% - Highbreed & DNAliens 4% - Aggregor 1.3% - Servantis & Rooters 1.3% - Khyber 1.3% - Dagon & the Esoterica

Some ‘Why’ responses for top 3:

Albedo -

When I first saw him during the airing of Good Copy, Bad Copy, I was scared that Albedo might be a one-and-done evil clone that doesn't get much development. These fears went away, and I was pleased to find out about his backstory and motives, just a sour soul in an unpleasant situation. Even in Ultimate Alien with his reappearance episode, he tries to work on his own to cope in a horrid human world. He isn't necessarily malicious until Ben gets in his way, he just wants to return to his own body and leave, even stating that he wasn't going to fight Ben anymore while he had temporarily returned to his Galvan form. I know DJW stated in some interview that Albedo could never be redeemed, but I believe there's some hope if he gets help. And I'm a sucker for those redemption arcs :)

Tragic frog man that could have been helped but nobody helped him and he doubled down on his hatred which led to him getting stuck in a cycle of revenge and punishment and it's the tragedy of how much better things could have been for him if someone just helped him that I love so much!!

Kevin 11 -

He’s very dangerous and has a terrifying power to absorb electricity and living DNA to have the same powers of who he absorbed it from and even turn himself into a mutant with all those powers combined leading to destructive power 

Kevin was a good antagonist and a good protagonist, although i feel the transition was rushed. Anti-hero kevin in the reboot is great!

Vilgax -

He was always the endgame villian for Ben, despite how many battles they've had, despite countless losses, he always tried to stay one step ahead, and plan everything.

"Speak with care, Psyphon. Your counsel is valuable...not irreplaceable."

Q5. Favourite minor villains 

38 votes - Animo 20 votes - Hex 18 votes - Michael Morningstar/Darkstar 14 votes - SixSix 13 votes - Zombozo 9 votes - Vreedle family 9 votes - Vulkanus 8 votes - Rojo 5 votes - Inspector 13 5 votes - Billy Billions 5 votes - Will Harangue 4 votes - Fistrick 4 votes - Nyancy Chan 3 votes - Lord Decibel 3 votes - Simian 3 votes - Subdora 3 votes - Viktor 2 votes - Addwaitya 2 votes - Fistina 2 votes - Kraab 2 votes - Psyphon 2 votes - Steam Smythe 2 votes - Sunder 1 vote - Liam 1 vote - Ssserpent

Other votes went to Maurice & Sydney, Bugg Brothers, Alternate evil Bens, and the Mummy.

Q6. Favourite canon relationship

66.7% - Gwen & Kevin 13.3% - Max Tennyson & Verdona 5.3% - Ben & Kai 4% - Rook & Rayona 1.3% - Julie & Herve 1.3% - Max & Xylene

Q7. Favourite non-canon ship

36% - I don’t have one 30.7% - Ben & Rook 6.7% - Ben & Kevin 4% - Ben & Julie

Other responses included Ben & Rex, Kai & Julie, Looma & Attea, Alan & Cooper, Ben & Looma, Kevin & Manny, Gwen & Cooper, Ben & Ester, Max & Phil, Azmuth & Paradox, Cooper & Elena, Kai & Ester, Ben & Zak Saturday, Ben & Eddie, Ben & Albedo, Ben & Kevin & Gwen, Kenny & Devlin, OC & canon, and Ben & a therapist. 

Q8. Favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

18.7% - XLR8 17.3% - Upgrade 13.3% - Ghostfreak 10.7% - Diamondhead 9.3% - Heatblast 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Snare-oh 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Four Arms

Q9. Least favourite alien introduced in the Original Series

22.7% - Eye Guy 18.7% - Spitter 8% - Articguana 8% - Frankenstrike 6.7% - Upchuck 6.7% - Stinkfly 5.3% - Buzzshock 5.3% - Snare-oh 4% - Four Arms 2.7% - Blitzwolfer 2.7% - Ditto 2.7% - Wildmutt 2.7% - Grey Matter 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Diamondhead 1.3% - Ghostfreak

Q10. Favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

46.7% - Big Chill 17.3% - Rath 8% - Goop 6.7% - Lodestar 5.3% - Swampfire 4% - Chromastone 4% - Spidermonkey 2.7% - Alien X 2.7% - Echo Echo 1.3% - Humungousaur 1.3% - Jetray

Q11. Least favourite alien introduced in Alien Force

18.7% - Lodestar 17.3% - Brainstorm 13.3% - Alien X 10.7% - Humungousaur 10.7% - Spidermonkey 8% - Jetray 8% - Chromastone 5.3% - Goop 5.3% - Echo Echo 2.7% - Rath

Q12. Favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

18.7% - Juryrigg 16% - AmpFibian 14.7% - Clockwork 12% - NRG 8% - Armodrillo 8% - Shocksquatch 8% - Terraspin 8% - Water Hazard 2.7% - Chamalien 2.7% - Fasttrack 1.3% - Eatle

Q13. Least favourite alien introduced in Ultimate Alien

30.7% - Fasttrack 18.7% - Eatle 13.3% - Juryrigg 9.3% - Chamalien 8% - Shocksquatch 6.7% - Terraspin 5.3% - Water Hazard 4% - Clockwork 1.3% - AmpFibian 1.3% - Armodrillo 1.3% - NRG

Q14. Favourite Ultimate Form

38.7% - Echo Echo 24% - Big Chill 10.7% - Swampfire 9.3% - Way Big 8% - Wildmutt 6.7% - Spidermonkey 1.3% - Cannonbolt 1.3% - Humungousaur

Q15. Favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

29.3% - Feedback 13.3% - Pesky Dust 12% - Gravattack 9.3% - Ball Weevil 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Whampire 5.3% - Bloxx 4% - Atomix 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Gutrot 1.3% - Crashhopper 1.3% - Kickin Hawk 1.3% - Toepick 1.3% - The Worst

Q16. Least favourite alien introduced in Omniverse

24% - The Worst 14.7% - Bloxx 12% - Mole-Stache 8% - Bullfrag 6.7% - Astrodactyl 6.7% - Kickin Hawk 5.3% - Atomix 5.3% - Gutrot 4% - Crashhopper 4% - Walkatrout 2.7% - Toepick 1.3% - Ball Weevil

Q17. Favourite alternate Ben timeline

29.3% - No watch Ben 24% - Gwen 10 17.3% - Ben 10,000 8% - Mad Ben 6.7% - Dimension 23 6.7% - Eon 4% - Nega Ben 2.7% - Benzarro 1.3% - Bad Ben

Misc.

Q1. Favourite watch design

37.3% - Original Series 29.3% - Omniverse 17.3% - Alien Force 9.3% - Ultimatrix 6.7% - Reboot

Q2. Favourite alternate watch design

29.3% - Biomnitrix 20% - Gwen 10 18.7% - Negatrix 17.3% - Antitrix 8% - Power Watch 6.7% - Hero Watch

Q3. Favourite planet visited

32% - Anur Transyl 20% - Revonnah 13.3% - Mykdl’dy 10.7% - Galvan Prime 9.3% - Vilgaxia 6.7% - Piscciss 5.3% - Petropia 2.7% - Khoros

Q4. Favourite locations

34 votes - Undertown 23 votes - Ledgerdomain 23 votes - Null Void 22 votes - Bellwood 19 votes - Friedkin University 18 votes - Mr. Smoothy 16 votes - Forge of Creation 15 votes - Los Soledad 7 votes - Burger Shack 7 votes - Plumber Headquarters 4 votes - Incarcecon 2 votes - Mt. Rushmore Plumber base 2 votes - The Perplexahedron 1 vote - Plumber Academy

Q5. Favourite Vehicle

33.3% - Kevin’s car (Original) 25.3% - Rustbucket 18.7% - Proto-TRUK 13.3% - DX Mark 10 5.3% - Kevin’s car (Omniverse) 4% - Glitch

Q6. Favourite Kevin mutation

40% - Original series 20% - Ken 10 future 12% - Ultimate Alien 8% - Omniverse 8% - Alien Force 6.7% - Omniverse flashback 5.3% - Reboot

Q7. Favourite Omniverse redesign

66.7% - Ben 26.6% - Kevin 6.7% - Gwen

Q8. Least favourite Omniverse redesign

76% - Gwen 18.7% - Kevin 5.3% - Ben

Thoughts

(Putting every single response here would make this insanely long so I’ve just put the most detailed/most echoed responses & include all sides of opinions when possible.)

Q1. Thoughts on the Osmosians retcon?

Okay, first up, do you know how much work I had already put into building shit surrounding those fuckers by the time of the retcons? I had been working on this crap since AF season 2! But no, they gotta go ruin that in one fell swoop, thank you, much appreciated. Second up, I wibble on it? Like, working with mutants is fun and interesting and I've done plenty of shit with them as well, but in the end I'm always going to be a pro-Ossys person. Mostly the retcons left more questions than they gave answers (how, if Osmosians never existed, did everybody and their mother know Kevin was an Osmosian? why, if Osmosians never existed, did none of the people not-involved in this whole disaster with Servantis's mindfuckery look at Aggregor being reported as an Osmosian and go 'wtf that's not a thing'? do they really mean to tell me that not only did Kevin never bother to look into his heritage, but neither did research-happy Gwen? or am I expected to believe the Rooters made enough fake information and put it out publicly that they fooled literally everyone? and if they did then why? when it would've done the same thing with less effort if they'd just, let Kevin be a mutant with a Plumber father who died) and I feel like they didn't really give enough to justify them. One of those cases of 'making your work less interesting to make it more 'accurate''. Personally, I forever keep working on Osmosians (where's the line where it just starts becoming your shit, I think I may be heading there) and I love on mutants and I flip between or combine the two as needed for whatever story I want to tell.

While the fake memories plot isn't great I think it's for the best because the original series meant for Kevin to be a mutant while UAF changed it to alien. I like him better as a mutant human. Too much alien connections in UAF.

I could scream for hours. Easily one of the worst decisions they ever made. Omniverse picks and chooses what canon to follow from AFUA + the original run and throws it in without care or concern to what it means for the timeline. Retconning something and keeping the effect it had is just bad writing. Kevin coming to terms with not being human and that’s okay was important to me when I was a kid. Knowing that he’s just been on an unending series of brainwashed nonsense all his life deprives him of his agency. I hate this decision more than several dozen essays could ever convey.

I wasn't mad about it. Mainly because I liked the idea of Kevin being a mutant than an alien. Alien Force really was pushing that aspect even with Gwen. To the point where she called her powers 'not spells' because of her heritage. Stupid that the rooters and fake memories were a thing, but necessary.

I was never a big fan of the Rooters Arc, but this doesn't bother me too much. It makes UA a little weird with Aggragor, but again, it doesn't really bother me, as most of Omniverse didn't explore Kevin (While UA Did), and was mostly about Ben.

Osmosians were such a cool idea, and it would've allowed for more exploration into what Mike Morningstar was as well, but just writing them off as mutates is so boring. As well as it makes Aggregors whole part not really make sense, like who is he then.

While well executed, it was unnecessary. You could have had the same story line where Kevin was used to mutate other kids and still had him an Alien. You could have had it where it was another alien species that used Osmosians to morph other species to theirs; a call back to the DNAliens if you want.

Q2. Thoughts on how the Ultimate Kevin situation was dealt with in UA?

Terrible. They wanted to go far. They wanted to go dark. But they didn't think their viewership could handle it so they dialed it back. I will always be curious to know what they would have written if they didn't have those constraints. Because the final product was a mess of contrasting tone and unsure footing about how far to go with questioning our hero's moral compass. They wanted to push Ben to see what he would do and apparently, we got that he would kill Kevin and maybe Gwen if she got in the way of saving the universe.... but not really because he didn't. And then the gang is happy all back together like none of it ever happened. They wanted to explore dark themes but have it leave no consequences on the characters. Also... it was so ableist and awful and Kevin deserved better than how Ben and Max (and the writers) treated him.

If they did everything the same but the argument was 'we need to capture him and lock him away' instead of 'we need to kill him'? I would be fine. It's the fact that they slipped so quickly into murder, into murder by his 16-yo bestfriend, that gets me. Like, there's apparently no space between 'recklessly risk our safety trying to talk him down' and 'Ol' Yeller his ass' and that just does not sit right with me.

Ben should have looked for alternate solutions before jumping on the "Let's kill Kevin" train. I understand why he did (this took place immediately post-Aggregor so Ben was still traumatized about having lost so many people and because he failed and "let" Kevin get turned into Ultimate Kevin, he felt as though every person Kevin hurt would be on him) but I wish he hadn't.

Pretty good actually. I like Gwen's emotions becoming a hindrance to the job, I like Ben putting on his big boy pants and I like Kevin going up to Aggregor and saying "y'know, I was a big boy villain once and I'm tried of just getting kicked around" (obviously paraphrasing)

Other than the scenario being overplayed, I think Ben was right. Kevin was eventually going to end up killing Gwen and he'd already put others in the hospital. He needed to be stopped.

Ben jumping straight to murder, yikes. Kevin dismissing Gwen to hang out with Ben almost as soon as he turned back to normal, yikes. Otherwise, it was an interesting plotline.

Really bad. Really shows how awful max and the plumbers really are. I mean , the guy saved the universe and now he clearly needs help but all they wanted to do was kill him.

it really felt like Ben just wanted to murder Kevin because he saved the universe that one time and Ben couldn't stand someone else being the hero for once

The worst, Max straight away wanting to put him down makes u wonder how long he's been waiting for that kind of opportunity.

I'm fine with it, maybe they could have spent some time dealing with the consequences of Kevin's actions, possibly even the ramifications it had on Ben and Kevin's friendship, but overall I'm ok with it.

Q3. Thoughts on the Plumbers

Plumbers ain't shit. Individuals can be acceptable or not but the organization as a whole has too much power, not enough oversight, utilizes child labor, uses a deathtrap of a hellscape dimension as a penal colony, has been shown onscreen sentencing people to imprisonment in said dimension without a trial, and I'm sorry the fact that a Plumber official could walk into a base with his team, assault several members of staff, attempt to kidnap a boy, admit to having and planning to continue to run illegal experiments on him and others, admit to having altered the memories of other Plumber officials, all in front of the entire base, and nothing was done until he tried to kill the golden child Ben 10 and failed, got his ass kicked by one of his victims, and in a place where presumably there were security cameras? And that the response was, again, to sentence him and his team without trial, take all the evidence, and peace out without so much as looking at nonetheless apologizing to his victims? Yeah, that don't fly. Doesn't sound like an organization that has it's shit together. Either the Plumbers don't have their shit together or the higher ups were in on it until it became something that could actually damage their reputation, and either way I Do Not Approve.

They're pretty cool. I know everyone's talking about how Plumbers are space cops and therefore absolutely corrupt and bad but this is a fictional universe in which corruption in organized forces isn't a necessity. Plumbers don't function the same way real cops do, they don't follow they same chain of command, they don't have the same motivations and they definitely don't have the same biases. Plumbers perform an essential function in the Ben 10 universe, which is to capture and contain aliens who aim to hurt anyone (or those who Ben defeats).

My knowledge of the Plumbers' unfortunately doesn't go beyond UA. They're not my favorite thing ever. Some of my least favorite episodes were the ones where the Plumbers or Plumbers' kids are involved, except for the episode "Everybody Talks About the Weather". The way Alan is introduced is really cool and very X Files-esque, and it ties into the DNAlien plot very well. But throughout the series I stopped caring about the Plumbers in general and I think that concept was given too much attention.

They don't do what they're meant to. They act like heros yet I don't think I've ever seen them do anything heroic. The DNAliens situation, the aggregor situation, dagon etc etc. Where were they??? Why did they leave the fate of the universe in the hands of a 16 year-old boy? Ben has the omnitrix sure , but he's still just one guy, how much can he fight? They showed up every once in a while but that's it. They were useless.

Of course the Plumbers have their problems, but looking at most characters we've met that were plumbers seem to be pretty good people. Max, Patelliday and Rook (and even Kevin, technically) are great examples of Plumbers, Servantis being a bad example of one.

Honestly liked it when it was disbanded. It’s cool they introduced Rook but like there’s so much wrong with how they run most things. My favorite version of the plumbers was tbh the first live action movie. Where it was just a bunch of old people watching out for Ben cause they actually cared about the people they protected (in this case Ben).

Q4. Thoughts on Grandpa Max

(The responses to this one were way more divided than I thought they would be omg)

He said Kevin was a mad dog that needed to put down. He's terrible. Military. Secretive. Kept his kids out of the loop and probably told the grandkids not to tell them about a huge and extremely dangerous part of their lives. Thus creating a gap between them and their parents that didn't need to be there. Child endangerment. Other than that....? He's important to Ben and Gwen so I tolerate him and he had some good life lessons to share. Also legendary adult figure in a kids cartoon who had relationships with multiple aliens.

He’s incredible, he worked in the Air Force, was going to be one of the first people on the moon (But he refused because he joined the Plumbers) had children with an Energy Being, he has a few grandchildren, and not to mention knows how to still kick butt despite him being in his 60s and was there to help Ben grow

He’s a complicated old man. Love him to bits in the original run and I love him in AF! He’s a utilitarian doing what needs to be done and suffering the consequences when need be. He does what he thinks is going to lead to the best possible outcome for the most people in any situation.

Needs to get knocked off his pedestal more often, both in and out of canon. He's got good traits, they're very nice, but there's other shit that gets glossed over, ignored, brushed aside, too easily forgiven, and just. They really needed a character who served double duty being a counterforce to him. Somebody to go 'wtf is wrong with you?' or 'yeah, no'. Ideally this would've been Patilidae, but no. We couldn't be so lucky.

Conflicted. Was he grooming Ben for plumber work, or just trying to support him in a situation he knew would be dangerous? It’s not made very clear...

I think he's got some sort of narcissistic personality disorder. I just can't forgive him for making Ben carry the burden of the Omnitrix at the age of 10 without ever explaining anything, and for not letting Ben and Gwen know he was alive after the Null Void grenade incident in AF. He clearly could have, if Helen could reach Gwen so easily. I think he views Ben more as an asset than a grandson at this point and that's really sad.

I love him! The progression from family hero to questionable old man felt kinda natural, like learning about a family member as you grow older and realizing they aren't perfect

He's awesome. He was a good role model for Ben and he was very supportive to both his grandkids. I hate that they made him mute in Omniverse and changed his design so drastically. I loved Max in every season from the original till Ultimate Alien. After that, he was pretty much just a prop.

Q5. And finally, give me your most controversial Ben 10 opinion!

It seems to be the worst thing to say that Ben isn't perfect and that Kai isn't demonic. And it's pretty standard for the women of color characters in every fandom to get the most hate so to me all the hate towards Kai when her personality is so close to Ben's AND she's also more hated than the ex-villain and the actual villains that tried to kill Ben multiple times just seems- hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. But really, and really I've needed to say this for a long time but I'm afraid of being strangled. Some fans will denounce incest/pedo shippers and people that interact with them and then reblog from a proud Bwen shipper with no self-awareness. Please I have the tags blacklisted are you safe to interact with and you just don't know? Or you're just saying you hate Bwen shippers to give yourself an out for reblogging their content????? Or are you all closeted incest shippers trying to maintain a public image???? I'm at my limit.

I do not think the reboot should have existed tbh :,D I know that it has a ton of fans and all due respect to them, but from what I've seen of it I don't think it was worth tossing away four interconnected series' worth of development and starting from scratch to end up with what we have now. I would be fine with it existing if we got an Omniverse continuation alongside it, but CN screwed OV over by the decisions they made near the end of it's run. So it's probably impossible it would return, even moreso because of the reboot already airing, and it would probably confuse younger audiences that don't know about Omniverse if two Ben 10's were running separately. I just really miss Omniverse, it had more potential and the reboot placed the final nail in for it to ever return.

The Ben 10 reboot is fun and meant more for kids rather than the ones watching for nostalgia. I didn’t like how Gwevin were sidelined and downplayed to make Ben look better. Sometimes it felt like Gwen was a bit naggy towards the two of them. I didn’t like how the fact that she was the only female lead how she had sometimes act like a parent or that they put Gwen and Kevin together just because. Their relationship felt forced and awkward a lot of the time. Omniverse’s designs while controversial were fun and unique but I didn’t like what they did with Gwevin, especially Gwen.

Kevin is totally smart enough to figure out an Omnitrix with the blueprints in front of him, we see him do amazing shit with technology- including the Omnitrix- in the OG series, people just don't notice he's as brilliant as Gwen because the show never made it as big a point that he and Ben were so very smart like it did with her before the reboot, so now they're being forced to acknowledge that Kevin might have two braincells to rub together and they're pushing against the supposed 'change'.

idk if it's controversial but there should've been way more episodes of just gwen & kevin & rook without ben or ben having a very minor role in the episode. just more time for those three to shine and show off how capable they are without ben always having to come in to save the day at the end

Gwen and Kevin aren't good friends to Ben. I mean they were initially, but once he got famous and they didn't, they stopped putting more than a half-assed effort to help him. They also don't really consider his feelings nor really care about the toll heroing takes on him.

The Reboot has the best jokes in the entire franchise and I don't why people give it so much crap.

Kai Green is an abuser and I refuse to find anything redeemable about her character. "Worthy to wield Excalibur," my entire ass. And Ben and Julie's breakup was good for them both, as people, and just as much her fault as it was his.

Ben 10 is an incredibly flawed show and people need to stop getting butt hurt when the blatant misogyny, and copoganda in the show get pointed out or when any even minority critiques Ben's character.

Ben is the worst character in Ben 10 and the whole franchise would be better off without him.

Azmuth is fine for the most part and malware was not exactly the most understanding person

I think Ben should've stayed single. Every episode where romance (or the girl Ben was dating) was the focus of the episode was pretty boring to me, personally.

Ben's parents were right to try to stop him from being a hero, so were Gwen's.

Ultimate alien force season 2 and 3 were amazing.( not comparing the OS since obviously that's the best, or omniverse since I haven't watched all the episodes of that)

Pierce deserved to die for being a boring character. I just wish his death had actual consequences.

The reboot is a genuine improvement over the original continuity in MANY ways!

Oh geez, um, Kai was a good character, just her and ben were obviously toxic. Not everyone needs to like Ben and she isn't an abuser, they just don't get along and that's fine but by God, why did the writers have to force them in a relationship? That's all I could really think of on the spot. Oh! And that the first two season of AF were a watered down version of Ben and the plot focused more on Gwen and Kevin than it did Ben. He felt like a side character and I'm not mad about that, but I don't understand why people praise that characterization of ben when I remember more about gwen and Kevin then Ben. Dude, I've been watching the show for the past week and I can name more about kevin and gwen because they're memorable.

Azmuth's hot af, but y'all aren't ready for that conversation...

----

If you’ve made it this far then thank you!

Again huge thank you to everyone who submitted a response and if you have any questions/comments please feel free to leave them in the replies/send me an ask/dm/whatever ^^

[leam1983]

Felix the Reaper - Thoughts? Review?

Can't really go into too much detail, it's rather late as it is and the ol' bed is beckoning, but I also want to couch this down somewhere while it's still fresh...

So, Death as a concept - as a character - obviously permeates the whole of human civilization. You've got Anubis and Osiris, Humbaba the Undying, thousands of years of mythology surrounding the concept of life leaving you and your flesh-bits rotting, generation after generation of people processing grief in visual and abstract forms - and now, we're sort of living in a context where Death isn't really all that scary anymore. We understand it, we can push it back in some cases - and when we can't, then we can sort of map out its occurrence. What started as just this inexplicable force swiping at hunter-gatherers and that warranted Danse Macabre paintings across Medieval France is now something we can put an almost-precise date and time on. There's a bunch of "death clocks" online that project a potential DOD based on your age, gender, health status, habits and BMI; sort of turning the concept of memento mori into a shockingly literate manifestation.

You will die, one day. We're so aware of that that a bit of science and Web design wizardry can shit out a half-serious guesstimation of when it'll happen. Pre-Colonial aspects of Death survive in Mexican culture in the forms of both calaveras and the Santa Muerte cult, and the inevitability of death now even counts as a game mechanic in the SoulsBorne genre. You've got Terry Pratchett's extremely Humanist rendition of Death and, well, Hollywood faff à la Meet Joe Black. The short of it is we're far from the robe-wearing zombie we used to plop everywhere as a reminder of our own supposedly sinful urges or on the fleeting nature of youth.

Another item that's of interest is the notion of life and youth being represented as the Maiden - and of Death being in love with her. Sometimes, the affection isn't returned and disgust is shown. That's most of Holbein's death-related works, in this case. In others, the Maiden leans in, lets the skeletal figure push a hand underneath her skirt and against one of her thighs. They share a kiss, press against one another in the way honest lovers might. He's a dried-out corpse with a bloated midsection and she might've stepped out of some sixteenth-century church in the Netherlands, but their liplock is intense and genuine. In one statue, the Maiden looks like she might've just surrendered to the Reaper's arms, but her hands are also touching his scythe....

Eroticism, a commentary on suicide or plain acceptance - there's several ways to look at that duality, and it's even managed to worm its way over to cultures that don't natively have similar associations with human remains. The Japanese, for instance, do have their own Gashadokuro concept, but the locals of Nagasaki needed their initially-exclusive exposure to Portuguese traders to shrink down their massive skeletal eidolons of doom and to design woodblock prints where a Danse Macabre effectively meets the dress codes and habits of the locals under sakoku, or the Emperor-mandated closing-off of Japan to the outside world.

Death as a dancer. Death, especially, as a force that's quite lively, despite its attributes. A force that falls head-over-heels for Life in its own anthropomorphized form.

This is what Danish devs Kong Orange opted to work on in Felix the Reaper. Their Death has a human name, has a thing for the stuffier ends of Business Casual, is maybe eighty pounds overweight - and won't ever, ever, let the music die. He's also in love, obviously - and in love with Betty, the equally portly and nimble personification of Life. The pair look a bit like a Fernando Botero couple waiting to happen, with ample waists and sagging breasts held aloft by spindle-thin legs - but if Ghostbusters taught us not to cross the streams, then you can assume that Life and Death starting a tango in the same workspace could have severe coincidences on the biosphere. Not that Felix cares, he'd want nothing more than for Betty to notice him. His supervisor is voiced off-camera by Sir Patrick Stewart, who's as delightful as always, and who sort of plays the part of the well-meaning supervisor who eventually realizes his new employee's quirks don't diminish his potential.

And what is Felix's job, exactly? Well, he's Death. He's not getting paid to distribute hugs and kisses, obviously. He gets sent to the mortal plane to, well, kill people, and more specifically, to kill people in precise and pre-ordained ways. His "televator" takes him to an instant frozen in time, and he has to alter the surrounding scene so that once time resumes its course, the requisite accident or happenstance occurs. You do that by picking up items, flicking switches, and placing targets in the path of whatever it is that's set to kill them. You also move the sun around the world using a magical sundial doohickey, as Death can only move in shadows. You're basically Death in the same sense as in the Final Destination movies, except you really, really, really want to twerk and sashay your voluminous heinie through the small changes needed to turn a nothing-burger into a drunk huntsman getting his head stuck in the stump of a decapitated deer, so the dejected and near-sighted hunter you've been following mistakes him for a target and shoots his spear through his brain-case.

And yes, Felix does twerk and he certainly sashays. Dude dresses like a stuffy librarian, sure, but seemingly loses all inhibitions once his headphones come up - which allows the player to share in his personal soundtrack. This particular Reaper seems to have a thing for very bass-driven and samply EDM, with occasional forays into Ambient and Jazz. His many, many, many idle animations all sync with whatever it is that's playing, and so does the variety of prances, somersaults, grands jetés and twirls he goes through while moving from place to place. Comparatively, you get the sense that Felix's coworkers are more the dour and solemn type - with a few unsubtle cameos from Skeletor and Manny Calavera in the opening cinematic - and Felix, well...

Let's just say it's a wonder he has those hips and that paunch. If he twirls around for every little thing he does, then you'd assume he only sits down to hoover an Olympic athlete's worth of food once a day. Or maybe I'm overthinking things because, well, death.

And therein lies the problem, honestly. In thinking, I mean. Felix is a puzzle game through-and-through, and also ties into a Challenge system in order to really tickle those completionist nerves. The starting scenarios are braindead-easy, but the later ones left me stumped for fifteen minutes per screen. Add to that the notion that the game doesn't check off some of them as complete if you only do the bare essentials, and you're left with another would-be mobile offering that doesn't reach its endpoint until you exhaust every little bit it has to offer - even if you're effectively done with the main gameplay loop. It's a great game, but there's just not a whole lot to do in those six chapters, beyond repeating bits of drudgery until your noodle clicks or you give up and look up a solution online.

It's a shame, too. The isometric perspective is perfect, and the game could've been pitched as a hybrid between a puzzler and, say, XCOM: Enemy Unknown. You'd take cover to hide from moving targets or to escape daylight and instead of shooting at them, would emerge from cover to move items around or solve puzzle elements. You could've had Death evoke the illusion of a friendly face to inject some more concrete narrative delivery, for instance. Steal a friend's features, magically conceal yourself, and then have your target piece her own weaknesses together, leaving you to retreat and regroup before executing your plan of attack. But no, everything is out in the open and everything is spelled out for you. Kong Orange could've also stolen a page from Hitman Go and set multiple triggers in place to truly sandbox the experience.

What is there is fun - it oozes personality and charm - but there's just not enough of it to justify Steam's full asking price, IMO. Comparatively, the Switch's online store is currently running a sale for it (as of Sunday the 15th, at least) and lists it as being 2,15$. Two bucks for a few hours of harmless fun is a pretty good deal, as far as I'm concerned. It also underlines why the devs and Daedalic Entertainment alike consider it as having "bombed", as the marketing effectively targeted Devolver's usual stable. It's not crunchy enough, however, and not exactly irreverent enough to warrant that comparison. A more hefty Felix could've earned its full 20$ price point on PC - and Kong Orange's very design for Betty makes it obvious that if Felix ever returns, it'll be in a co-op setup with the love of his, well, unlife.

I'd be up for more of this cuddly, swinging skelly - assuming the devs mature a tad and put something together that's just a smidge more compelling.

[crowsent]

Here's your daily reminder to drink some water ❤️❤️❤️ ((they have,,, more than 2 ice age movies??))

there are 5 mainline movies that all follow the same storyline and 1 spinoff:

ice age 1 = the original and the originator of most of the ice age memes made back in the day. manny the mammoth, sid the sloth, and diego the sabretooth tiger return a human baby to its human tribe. enemies to friends, diego redemption arc, and found family tropes all abound

ice age 2 = my personal favourite. manny believes hes the last mammoth but he actually isnt when he meets his love interest whose name i have forgotten bc its so generic but shes actually a spunky and interesting character who got adopted by fucking POSSUMS

ice age 3 = the most forgettable imo, which is a FEAT bc this is the movie with DINOSAURS in it, but all i remember about this is that sid kidnaps three children and that theres a badass weasel who has a questionable kismesissitude (love-hate) relationship with this white dinosaur

ice age 4 = the one ive seen the most. features a lady tiger love interest for diego, monkey pirate, sids grandma, a weird romance between manny’s mammoth daughter who he named “peaches” and an actual mole?????? how would that even work???? poor man is gonna get crushed

ice age 5 = never seen it, but from the trailers id assume it was an asteroid extinction event and that the gang have to stop it. i would not be surprised if peaches the mammoth daughter and her love interest an actual fucking mole get like. married

spinoff movie: no time for nuts. thats the title and the only thing i know about the movie and i would like to keep it that way

[mrsstampede]

So I have thoughts on tlou2 I need to get out.

I haven’t finished watching the game but i've seen enough to feel a certain way Spoiler warning for those who haven't finished the game.

I genuinely cannot understand the logic behind the sequence of the game. Joel is murdered by Abby about an hour into the game. We get to play Abby for a short amount of time before it happens but at no point during that time are we made to feel anything for her. It's far too short of a time for us to care about her. Yet ND expects us to later feel conflicted about her actions.

We’re not stupid. We understand why Abby wanted Joel dead. The thing is we as players/viewers have years of attachment to Joel. We have bonded with him and care for him. So them expecting us to care about his killer just because they show us her life before she killed Joel and force the player to play as her is ridiculous.

The players view and feelings for Abby are tainted an hour into the game.Then you play as Ellie getting revenge, which imo is fine, I personally have no problems with a revenge story. Anyway you go through all this shit with Ellie, you take out these people who want Ellie dead, even before she kills anyone btw. We see the people who helped kill Joel and they’re assholes. So once again we see them as villains. Why shouldn't I cheer Ellie on?(besides the obvious of the effects it take on Ellie and her life)

Again I get there motivations but like Ellie says at one point, they're out to kill anyone who shows up in there area, not even making sure people aren’t in need of help. They are not exactly coming off as the nicest. They come off as bad guys yet were later asked to see them as people who are just like Ellie. They were wronged by Joel and so they seek out revenge. Its simple but it really isnt that easy. Even if them being standoffish is logical in this world people will still always associate the bad guys as the ones who kill anyone without giving them a chance. 

How many villains become villains because of revenge and are simply bad guys. Giving them a motivation isnt enough to make them interesting and much less make them sympathetic. Of course it's needed and helps but it's not all you need to make a interesting grey character.

Joel himself is a good example of a character that is not strictly a good person. He kills a bunch of doctors to selfishly keep a girl he’s grown to love and see as a daughter alive. He makes choices that you can argue are wrong yet we sympathise with him. Through the progression of the game we learn to care for him so when we get to the ending we now understand Joel. We fully understand how fucked up it is but we also get where Joel is coming from. We know the fire he’s playing with. The choice he makes and the lie he now carries. The first game does a wonderful job of giving us a flawed morally grew character.

Tlou2 does not. It fails miserably. It tries to force and manipulate the player by making them play Abby. It tries to manipulate you with pregnant Mel parallelling Ellie’s pregnant girlfriend, Dina. Using lazy tactics like flashbacks showing Abby’s loving dad being a cool dad who rescues animals and is playful with his daughter. Yet Abby is such an uninspiring character. She just isnt likeable. You have to be able to like a character to be able to sympathize with them, Just showing me that her dad was great and loving, isnt enough. Showing me Mel was pregnant, Owen was struggling, Manny was caring about his friends isnt enough. Yes it's good that they are being humanized but it all feels far to late and fleeting (even though her playable time is so long and god damn boring ass hell).

ND tells us these people are humans just like Ellie. They are flawed just like Ellie. Don't you feel conflicted? Don't you feel for Abby, who lost her father? 

but frankly I dont feel anything for any of them. I feel for Ellie who lost her father figure. I feel for Ellie who slowly loses herself. I feel for Jesse who loved his ex and his best friend and didn't care they got together. I feel for Jesse who died before getting to see his child. I feel for Dina who never got to directly tell Jesse of her pregnancy. I feel for Dina’s unborn child. 

Its laugable that ND gave us Dina and Jesse yet thought we’d be feeling things for Owen and Abby who have sex when Mel is carrying Owens child. Am I supposed to feel bad for them because they didn't get together when they were younger? Am I supposed to feel bad for Abby when Ellie killed Mel, when Abby betrayed her herself? 

Abby and friends where always going to have a uphill battle to be seen as more than villains yet it feels like ND did the bare minimum to them likable.

I will never understand why they didn’t introduce us to these character first so we could get to know them before our view of them was stained by Joel’s death. The game can only be so long so I get not having a lot of time to make us care which is why im kinda baffled they even went this route. Not that its impossible to do.

Then there's Joel’s death. Boy oh boy was it so underwhelming. I felt sad but honestly it was fairly fast and I felt like I had no time to really feel much. One moment he’s being beaten the next we’re with Ellie then we find him and bam he's dead in a few more minutes. I'm not saying it should have been some long drawn out sequence but it all happens to fast. I would have liked to get reacquainted to him before he died. See him and Ellie together more again. It would have hit so much harder then. Instead we see him a two(?) times then he’s dead. That's it. The main character of the first game is done. 

I know how it ends and what happens but im waiting to see it to. I want to see it and see what my feelings are but i'm not excited. What i've read sounds dumb frankly but we'll see i guess. 

I dont even hate the game or the plot. Fuck im not even mad about Joel dying. Hell I dont think id even be mad about him dying so soon if he’d have died in a better written scene. I just genuinely think the way it happened was so poorly written. It all feels lazy and badly put together. It feels like they think we’re stupid and would just like dark zombie movie like game with morally grey villain. That just because Its part 2 of a beloved game we’d just eat it up. It feels like ND got cocky and thought they were master storytellers because TLOU was so beloved and raved about.

Idk man I just want Abby dead and we dont even get that :/

TLDR; Bad bland unlikable villains that are supposed to be morally grey and sympathetic, bad story sequence, poorly written death scene. Oh and god awful cringy sex scene. Don't hate it, dont like either.