#just like they’re rebooting everything else

[transformers-spike]

You put Breakdown with a gutbuster in my head, and now I need. For him to use it. On me. (Aka reader)

Bonus points if it's disgustingly cute and sweet and BD gets lots of love and praise. 🥹🥺

I overdid it. Again. Thank you @drunkeninlovesailor for beta-reading this fic and smacking some sense into me when self-doubt reared its ugly head. And I will go on to say @ss-shitstorm made me adore Breakdown so much more through Breaking Bread. I look up pictures of him and cry And yes, this is a sequel to Visitors - so back to the heatverse

Knock Out always goes first. Breakdown doesn’t mind it. At least he shouldn’t. He knows he’ll have his turn with you. Everyone does.

Second or seventh place, it doesn’t matter. He should be grateful to have a chance. Just like he should be grateful he didn’t lose more than one optic. Or the feeling in his left arm. Or his honor.

Again, it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. It’s his turn. No superior waiting at your habsuite, no humiliating dismissal (obviously, they don’t mean for it to seem humiliating – they’re his superiors after all, and he has to obey them) – only you in the midst of your heat cycle.

The “breeding room”, as you jokingly call it, is actually Knock Out’s old habsuite. Repurposed, yeah, but he’s been here enough times to recognize it. Any Con worth their ball-bearings can upgrade after reaching third class. Knock Out used to be a first class. Then he was promoted to Chief Medical Officer and skipped a rank. Breakdown is stuck in second class. Better than first. Better than being a vehicon. He should be satisfied.

You’re curled up in your oversized berth on top of the heating pad. “Hey, squishy,” he whispers, taking his usual place next to you. “Don’t tell me Knock Out tired you out.” Your answer is a snort. You stretch, flesh poking out from under your frame coverings. A common sight by now, but his cooling fans didn’t get the memo. His frame vibrates with their familiar hum.

“Like what you see handsome?” you ask and scuttle up to him, wearing that precious spark-warming smile. He returns it full force.

“What can I say? Even a one-opticced oaf can recognize true beauty.” “Careful, partner. There’s only so much I can take before jumping on your spike.” He barks a laugh. “It may come sooner than you think.” “Bring it. I’m ready to deepthroat until your system reboots. But first -” you huff as you climb into his lap, waving away the servo he’s offering. Once comfortably seated in his lap, you cheekily rub your aft against his interface panel.

“Spill the tea, sis.”

“Hmph…” He drums his digits over his thigh. “We’ve had a record break in the mines! I haven’t seen them this happy in quartexes. There was a small party at homebase, squad’s been celebrating with engex.”

“Homemade?”

“Nah – I’ve checked. I won’t let them pull that stunt again.” He winces at the memory. B15F. Poor scrapper’s been euthanized well before his time. There wasn’t much left to save. The engex melted right through his fuel tanks. Breakdown didn’t pride himself on morality anymore – none of them did. But it was the right call – even if the uncertainty is tearing through his circuitry like a horde of scraplets. Could Knock Out have fixed B15F? Or maybe it would’ve just dragged out his suffering for a chance at nothing. His conjunx had studied at a bigshot academy – Breakdown’s knowledge’s based around rushed medical training. “You okay, big guy?” He snaps out of it. “Yeah! Everything’s good.” You can’t see his reassuring smile with his massive chassis in the way. But maybe if he keeps it up he’ll really mean it.

“You sure? You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” His smile falters. If a human has noticed it… who else has? Is this why Dreadwing’s been especially tolerant of his mistakes? Scrap, Breakdown almost misses his commanding officer’s reproaches. Could he get any more pitiful for frag’s sake? Proving himself after losing an optic to fleshies is bad enough. He’s not an invalid – he won’t be demoted to janitorial duties after working his aft off to make it this far.

“Workload’s been pretty intense. Been on my mind a lot.” He adds a chuckle to convince you – but he can’t see your expression with his chassis in the way.

“Bad enough for the vehicons to get blackout drunk again?”

“Found them recharging in mine carts.”

“Just like a college frat party, huh?” He has no idea what that means. Doesn’t stop him from laughing, though. “You should’ve seen them getting out! The sight brought lubricant to my optic.” “Scrambling like turtles stuck on their backs?” Oh – those, he definitely remembers. “Better. Remember that video you sent of the cat-looking thing surrounded by fermented fruits?” “The raccoon?” “Yeah! Struggling to sit up, then falling back in again!” You snort louder. “Ah. An absolute classic. You should totally film it next time, I would kill to see it.” “Oof. I’d love to, but I’m not sure I can do that while on shift. Ask Soundwave. Nothing escapes him.” Especially any contamination of the medbay – his processor shudders at the memory. At least it wasn’t Commander Starscream. Fooling around’s been kept to Knock Out’s habsuite ever since. And outside the ship, but that’s not the Intelligence Officer’s business.

“More than you know…” you say. Your tiny digits sneakily stroke the protomatter between his hip and thigh. The touch isn’t sensual. At least he doesn’t think it’s supposed to be. You’re not shy about squeezing, biting or running your glossa over it. This feels different. Hesitant.

“You know… you rarely visit first.” He sputters. “It’s not that I don’t want to or anything!” He shifts his frame and cranes his neck to take a good look at you. No success. “It’s that… I’m still a soldier, and they’re my superiors.” “I know that, silly. I’m talking about how you always let Knock Out have the first go at me before either of your shifts start. Why is that?” “I…” He shakes his helm. “Come on, second place doesn’t make any difference. As long as I get to pay you a visit, I’m happy!” His vox is strained. He meant to sound cheerful. What came out felt like rust being scraped off mesh.

You sink your digits into his thigh. Not enough to hurt. Never enough to hurt. A single fleshie can’t hurt a Cybertronian. But it’s clearly meant as a warning. Even he can tell that.

“Dude, just ask to go first. Knock Out is lovely and all, but you shouldn’t neglect yourself for his sake. I want you to come around and let loose before anyone else. Hell, you deserve it. Do you want me to ask Megatron personally? I can do that, no prob-” “No!” It comes out too desperate. “No,” he repeats. Softer. “The others don’t do well with favorites. Uh… except maybe Soundwave, but he doesn’t count.” Breakdown cringes. He wants no part in their power struggles, especially Commander Starscream’s. Else he’d end up at the barrel of his Master’s cannon.

“Okay… but my point still stands. Ask Knock Out to reschedule next time orr I’m bringing Megatron into this.” His vents huff, servos drawn into fists.

“Got it,” he relents. “I’ll talk to him, but if he refuses-” “He won’t refuse,” you say none-too-softly. “We’ve had a chat post-coitus.” He blinks. “You cannot be serious.” “Low and behold, I am. What? Did you expect me not to address it?” “He’s going to be furious at me.” “Like hell . If he so much as lifts a digit, I’ll be happy to inform Megatron and get him put in his place. He’s your superior in the medbay, not outside of it last I checked. And trust me, I’ve been checking.” He clenches his jaw and offlines his optic. “We’re not…” he starts gently, leveling his words carefully. “We’re not Newsparks. There’s a balance we’ve established on the Nemesis. All of us. Bringing Lord Megatron into this won’t offset the balance. It’ll destroy it. What we have here,” he gestures at the small habsuite. “Is thanks to his generosity. I don’t want to lose this because of some petty interface stuff. If he intervenes… I doubt we’ll still be able to visit.” There’s a long pause. He gives you the time to mull it over. An apology already on his glossa. “I understand. I know it’s not my place to call the shots. Part of me wishes that…” You swallow. “Part of me wishes that I could make things easier for you guys. You’ve all been through so much, and I know I’m only the ship’s resident pet or whatever, but I can throw my weight around a bit. You know, use my position for good?” “For good? Primus, you’re already doing us enough good!” “Hm, not exactly. You’re the ones helping me with my heat when he’s not around. Ugh – I would be suffering without you guys.” You squeeze his thigh. “Man-” you laugh nervously. “I hope I’m not getting too sappy. You’re, like, the only one I can have these conversations with.” His fans stutter. “Really? Not even Lord-” “Not even,” you repeat with finality. There’s a comfortable silence. Breakdown is smiling to himself.

“Hey, big guy.” “Yeah, squishy?” “Wanna kiss?” “Is that even a question?” he asks as he picks you up from his lap, servos cradling your fragile human frame. “Mmm, you know the answer.” You touch the sides of his face. His cooling fans flip to the second setting. Your hands are soft. Incredibly soft. His vents cease functioning entirely as you kiss him. Your glossa is warm and wet. His circuits crackle with charge. How could something so small push his systems into overdrive? When you pull away, he’s left cold and yearning. You don’t waste a klik undressing yourself, tossing your frame coverings over his servos and onto the berth. His lips find yours again. You devour his intake like your fuel tanks are empty.

Knock Out satiated you groons ago, but you’re already running hot with want. His heavy engine purrs. “Someone’s eager to get spiked,” he mutters against your intake. You ex-vent sharply and kiss again, grinning against his lips. He slides a digit between your legs, which you immediately part. There’s still feeling in this one, taking in the heat of your slick valve. There’s no trace of your last interface, only a craving for more. A hiss escapes you as he rubs the digit over your minuscule anterior node. Your hips buck into him, teeth grazing his lip.

“Please, stop teasing already. You know I can’t take it.” “I’m not a tease - that’s Knock Out’s job.” He swipes his glossa over your intake. “I’m the total opposite. So, what do you say? Is your little valve ready to take my spike?” Your optics widen, lubricating in excitement. “Oh finally!” You press your helm against his. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this! I’m so glad the recent energon haul got you enough to mass displace.” “Actually, I’ve been rationing my energon for a deca-cycle!” You step away from his helm and look at him in… strange horror. “You what?” There’s pity in your optics and disappointment furrowing your optical ridge.

Oh frag him! Why did he have to open his intake? “It’s nothing to worry about, I swear! I’ve done this plenty of times in the past – there was this time my unit was stranded in the Sea of Rust and there was no energon for almost a whole deca-cycle! Impressive, right? You don’t see any seekers surviving that!” Your horrified expression worsens. “What do you mean you’ve been starving yourself for weeks just to mass displace and fuck me?”

“Come on, it’s not really starving! We bots can deal with it better than you humans!” he stammers, engine revving in panic. “It’s not about that – it’s about sacrificing yourself for… for this!” you gesture at your body. “Fuck’s sake, you could have told me! I was waiting for you to ask! I could have gotten you the energon ages ago!” “Then why didn’t you?” The words smash through his intake before he can stop them, leaving him to clean up the mess.

His spark tightens when you flinch. It’s the first time he’s startled you. The first time he’s seen you scared. “I… I didn’t…” Your gaze falls. “Scrap, I’m so sorry! It’s not my place to say it, I didn’t mean-” “It’s fine,” you gently stop him. He immediately yields. “You don’t have to apologize. I just… didn’t expect it to be this bad.” A sigh leaves your intake. “I still want to help, though. If Knock Out can mass displace almost every time he visits, isn’t there plenty of energon to go around? Don’t you also work in the medbay on top of everything? You deserve at least the same amount of rations.” “It’s more complicated than that,” he mutters. “Knock Out outranks me.” “So? You’re just one bot, it won’t drain the reserves.” He presses a servo to his helm. “My frame type’s the issue. Us warrior class bots need far more energon than the average vehicon.” “Yes, and? You’re still just one more war frame. Who else is there? Megatron, Dreadwing – that makes three.” You bite your lip when you meet his optic. “Let me give you a hand. I’ll leave the whole thing with Knock Out alone if you let me help with this.” “I…” His vents huff. “Okay. I’ll let you take care of it. But, please tell him not to summon me. Else it’ll seem suspicious.” A smile tugs at the corner of your intake. “Got it. Easier done than said.” Hesitating, you reach out to touch his cheekplate. He leans in. You take a deep in-vent. “I’m sorry for blowing up like that. I’ve been so worried about everyone lately, I’ve overstepped so many boundaries. The energon thing just… drove me off the edge.” “It’s okay,” he says, unsure of his own words. “It happens to the best of us. If it’s any comfort,” he grimaces, “Knock Out’s been riding my tailpipe about my energon intake for the whole deca-cycle. That’s why I… tried to keep it a secret. Until now.” “Did it work on him?”

“Frag no!” He laughs. “For all his drawbacks, he’s the closest thing to a doctor on this ship. Noticing something’s wrong’s part of his primary code!” His laughter dies down. “Sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I definitely ruined the mood.” “Not at all.” You press your cheek against his. “If it’s any comfort on my part, I’ve been called someone else’s name during interface.” His optic buzzes in its socket. “Who?” he demands without meaning to. “Who?” He repeats, far softer – now a polite question. “No one in High Command, sadly,” you say like you’ve read his mind, adding an apologetic shrug. “Another human before the alien shebang happened.” “Ah.” He averts his optic to hide his disappointment. “Come on, man. You know I would have immediately rung you up if Starscream had been moaning Megatron’s name during overload.” He cracks a smile. “I guess you’re right.” “Gossip girls forever?” You offer your fist. “Gossip girls forever,” he agrees, tapping it with his digit. You both mimic an explosion and draw your servos away in slow motion. “Still not sure what explosive punches have to do with gossip.” “Shhh - it’s a human bestie thing.” You kiss him again. Gently at first, then harsher with his wordless encouragement – your hunger makes his engine rev. “Want to start with valve to glossa action? How about we keep mass-displacement for the final course?” “Like I’ll ever refuse a free refueling.” You snicker. The noise is so precious it makes his joints weak. Lying on his abdomen with you in his servos, you writhe as he presses his glossa to your valve. “Fuck,” you hiss. “You okay?” he’s unable to hide the smugness in his tone. “I thought Knock Out had the first taste.” “ Fuck , Knock Out. I need your glossa right now. No one else’s.” His fans shudder. Once, handling someone so small was circuit-frying. He’d been with plenty of minicons, but never an organic. Those bots could take a good pounding. Fleshies? Not so much.

“Fuck.” You shiver as his glossa rubs up and down your pretty valve. Your hips buck into it. He grins between your legs and licks again. And again. And again. Until he feels your servos on his crest. “I need to ride your face,” you say – more declaration than request. He blinks, grin widening. “That desperate, huh?” “Shut up,” you growl – too adorable for your own good. How he wants to squeeze and smother you against his face. Your legs are soft on either side of his cheeks, servos gripping onto his crest with impressive strength for a creature so small and frail. He holds his glossa out for you to use as you please, two digits holding your hips in case you tumble off. “How…” You pant. “How are you this good?” He shrugs with his free arm. His vents blast harder. “I’m not even doing anything,” he mumbles with his glossa out. “Of course you are. You’re being your sweet himbo self,” your words falter as you keep riding. 

His cheekplates heat up. “Uh, a what now?”

There’s no answer, only your legs shaking as you furiously grind against his intake. You grip onto his crest, your entire frame shaking. “Breakdown!” you call out, vox breaking. A sudden burst of charge travels down his interface array. His pressurized spike clanks against his panel. “Frag,” he groans. His spike’s throbbing, Ugh, it hurts like he swung it against a wall.

At least you’re oblivious to his, uh, mishap – twitching against his glossa while trying to slow your ventilation. The plating of hips shifts and his panels release his array. His valve is soaking with transfluid, steam almost emanating off of it after overheating for half a groon. The cold air makes his spike twitch. “Is it… is it time?” you ask weakly, turning around to look at his lap. “Oh hey, so that’s where the noise came from.” He cringes, but still helps you get down. You scurry towards the middle of the berth and cheer out “Show me the goods, big boy!” Mass displacement is something he’d done in the past – back on Cybertron when there was plenty of energon to go by. Now it’s just a waste. Not for you, obviously! Primus, you’re worth every last drop. His working receptors buzz with sensation. System diagnostics appear at the corner of his vision. Mass conversion: successful

Warning:

Minimum energon required: 70%

Current level: 93% His joints are calibrated, there’s no ache in his processor, subspace feels fine – everything’s in working order. He can rest easy and focus on the important stuff. “Woah.” you beam at him. It’s uncanny to see you… so much bigger than he’s used to.

The hug is sudden but not unwelcome. Your helm comes up to his chassis, but only barely. It doesn’t take long for you to pull him on top (the close view is to offline for), and drag him into a kiss. His spark pulsates like never before.

“Please, spike me,” you beg. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.” He looks down at his spike. Then back at you. There are many things he’s learned as a nurse, one of which being: pick the smallest pair of forceps when operating on minicons. Sadly, he cannot replace his spike with a smaller one. But he can prepare you for the operation. “Hey, how about I get you started with something else before you get the hammer?” He lifts up the servo with functioning receptors and flexes his digits. “Promise you’ll rail me afterwards.” “Promise.” He grins.

He’s a denter first and all, but he’s always been careful with his servos back when brushing debris off his comrades after a busted demolition job. It felt like second nature to him. They were at the bottom of the scrapheap. Caring for others, even in small ways, made their plight bearable. His own at least. He pushes in, chuckling as you furrow your optical ridge, intake slightly agape. “Does it sting?” “No.” Another digit is carefully added. You whimper and grit your dentae. One digit and a half then. “What about now? How do you rate your pain on a scale of 1 to 10?” “Oh shut up…” Your tiny valve is absolutely soaked, slick with human lubricant, struggling to accommodate him. If you’ve taken the entire High Command, you can take him. Sure, he’s been told his spike is a “weapon forged by Solus herself”, but Megatron’s definitely bigger. And you’ve fragged him. Everyone knows that. Your valve’s more durable than it seems.

You clench around his digits, expression so lovely it’s clear you’re about to overload. He cautiously curls a digit inside of you. The gentle pressure’s an easy way to make your valve calipers clam down on him. Another whimper escapes you as he rubs at the spot. Your pedes push against his thighs, a desperate plea to stop. But he knows better. “Cute,” he thinks as your sweet noises intensify. He never expected fleshies to be so adorable – but then again, you’re not like the other squishies. Lord Megatron picked the best one. “Please,” you whisper. “This is torture.” “Aw, I thought you wanted to overload.” “You and I…” You swallow. “We both know damn well you’re teasing me. I need your spike, not… not this .”

He laughs. “I keep my promises, don’t worry about it.” He pulls you flush against him, legs over his hips. Bracing himself on one servo, he’s got an arm cautiously wrapped around your waist. “Comfortable? How do you rate your position on a scale from 1 to-” “Breakdown, I swear to fu-” “Got it. It’s hammer time.” He grins. You grip onto his digits and offline your optics. He pushes in. You suck in a sharp in-vent. He pauses.

“Go on,” you say after a moment. “I can take it. I guess I didn’t expect it to be so big.” “Big?” He blinks at you. “You’re the one taking Lord Megatron. He’s larger than me.” “Not his spike.” You chuckle. He looks up at the ceiling in wonder. “Wow.” “Wow indeed. Now please put that spike to good use.” Like a good soldier and seasoned interface partner, he follows your orders. Ridge by ridge, you take him, grip tightening and dentae gritting until he reaches your limit. He shudders. You’re clenching around him like a cold press, crushing his spike harder than any minicon valve. You seem on the verge of shutting down. “You okay?” “...yeah.” “Do you want me to stop?” “Don’t you dare.” “Got it.” His smile widens.

The pace is incredibly slow. Yeah, Knock Out likes having his circuits rearranged – and yeah, most vehicons he’s been with want to get railed into oblivion. But taking his time with you feels just as good. Charge is building along his array. He wants to tell you so many things – how you’re so beautiful holding onto him like he’s the center of your universe, whimpering and repeating his name listlessly – or how he wishes this could last forever, that he can forget the war when your arms are wrapped around his frame, no matter how small.

Your optics come back online and meet his. Wordlessly, you beckon him closer. He leans down, now bracing himself on his arm. Your servos find his face. “Have I ever told you how handsome you are?” you ask, nuzzling his cheekplate. It’s not the first time you’ve done so. But at this moment, either from mass displacement or the sight of you sprawled out before him (or both), his spark throbs in his chassis. His array is pulsating with charge. He presses his forehelm against yours. “Yeah. You always do.” “Good. Because I love you.” Your lips meet his. The charge explodes. Your valve clamps down on his spike. Sparks shoot through his sensors – his engine roars. The world stands still.

Then, he breaks the silence. “By…” his vox crackles with static. He recalibrates his vocalizer. “By Alchemist Prime…” there’s still a buzz to his words. “What was that?” “You tell me,” you answer shakily. Neither of you move for a while. Diagnostics report: Energon level: 87% He pulls out of you, earning a wince. You loosen your grip on his neck and fall back. His optics widen at the load of transfluid trickling out, valve still twitching. He feels equal parts pride and wonder something so small took his spike. Should he tell you about it? You appreciate greatly when he says what’s on his processor. Not everyone does. “Good job,” he tells you, petting your helm like the human he saw congratulating its furry companion. Your expression spells confusion. Then, you grin wider than he’s ever seen and pet him back. His engine rumbles in content. “I would die for you,” you declare without a hint of sarcasm in your vox. He laughs nervously. “Please don’t, Lord Megatron would kill me.” “Then I’d kill him first.” “But you’d already be dead.” “I’d come back as a ghost.” He laughs again, twice as nervous. “Anyway, was it… good?” “You blew my back out.” “I – what ?” “You rearranged my guts.” “Wait, are you about to offline-” “Human euphemisms.” “Oh.” “It means it was the best frag of my life.” “I… oh wow.” He allows you to pull him back on top. “You’re the best I could have asked for.” His cooling fans are blasting. “Um…” “You’re my favorite blueberry popsicle.” “Uh, thanks?” “I love it when you’re blue in the face.” More energon rushes to his cheeks.

“Oh, um – you too!” Frag - that didn’t sound smooth. He hasn’t been this bad since he was newly forged. “Raspberry and blueberry,” you press your helm against his. “My favorite mix.” You kiss him again, less desperately – finally satiated for the next cycle. Or at least a few groons. “Can you cuddle in this form?” Or…do you have to turn back?” He hits his chassis with pride. “Another groon won’t hurt me – I’ll do just fine..” “Aw hell yeah!” He lies down and you quickly take your place at his side, burying your face in the crook between his neck and his chassis. You let out a hum when his digits stroke your back. He can sense the minuscule hairs on your plating. They tickle.

A klik passes by, but you can’t seem to sit still. You push his arm away, readjust yourself, then pull it back in, only to start again a nanoklik later. “Everything ok?” You make a noise of frustration – so adorable it makes his spark ache.

“Give me a sec,” you mutter.

He watches as you get up to fetch your blanket and pillows. “Uh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I barely managed to clean up before coming over.” “Don’t matter.” You cover his side in them. “I just want to cuddle you.” He bites his glossa. You’re too sweet for your own good. Once comfortable, his servo comes back to stroke your skin. You shiver. “Are you cold? Do you want me to get the heating pad?” “No. You’re warm enough. It just… feels nice to be with you this way. I meant what I said. I do love you. Maybe not on Knock Out’s level – he’s known you before my great grandparents were even born.” He affectionately taps your helm. “I mean, yeah – but what does that have to do with us? Do you humans have a monogamous contract or something?” Your expression says it all. “Oh,” he drawls. “Uh – it doesn’t mean that you can’t be with us, it’s that-” “I’m Megatron’s first and foremost,” you say, looking away from him and straight at the wall. “I… yes. But I mean that-” “I’m together with everyone. I know that.” You turn your attention back to him. “And no, it doesn’t bother me. I simply want to give you the praise you deserve. And the energon. Man, you need that so badly.” Resting your helm atop his chassis, you flash him a warm smile. “I love you. Don’t you ever forget that.”

[absolutelynotsanebaby]

In response to some people expressing interest in the tags of this post, here’s an explanation of what I’m calling my Poltergeist AU.

Basically, during Rebooted while fighting nindroids Jay gets shot straight through his forehead. Him and Cole were arguing, distracted, when it happened. Everything goes the same that season, minus the added grief and tension because of Jay’s death. Zane still dies killing (most of) the Overlord.

The team breaks up like in canon but on angrier, more bitter terms. Cole stays in the city instead of running off to become a lumberjack. He feels like he can’t leave, the catatonic guilt, and rents a shitty, ratty apartment alone. Both Kai and Nya are angry at Cole, Lloyd kind of blames him too but isn’t as angry and more worried about every one. Cole isn’t talking to anyone, really. He’s wrought with constant nightmares and flashbacks to the moment and generally not doing good even before the “haunting” starts.

Speaking of that, so he starts to realize he’s being stalked. Someone—or something— following him, leaving dirt and bugs all over. Someone following him, he’s feeling watched even all alone in his apartment. Other stuff happens, like his apartment seeming infested with bugs (roaches, spiders, maggots) and constant flickering lights and half the stuff he touches keeps zapping him. He gets horrible nightmares and feelings like he’s hallucinating (this will get worse!!) He eventually starts seeing a figure literally following him and eventually figures out it’s Jay.

Jay himself is half-alive, definitely a corpse but cognitive and half-himself. The overlord infection is quite literally like an infection rather than a possession. Like a wound left to fester, it’s corrupting him. He’s angry and blames Cole like (most) everyone else, he’s bitter. He wants someone, Cole, to hurt about it.

Short story is they’re both obsessed with each other in very doomed ways. Jay wants him to hurt, Cole just wants him back.

SO! yeah that’s the explanation for now, I’m still ironing out most it. It’s pretty horror-esc and the imagery I have in my head is pretty dingy, darkly colored, and bug-y.

(Tagging @short-sapphic @wyrmswears and @razzle-zazzle since y’all seemed interested)

[wayfayrr]

This is the last set of headcanons for my 200 followers event! these are for @h4wari and they're for a reader asking the links for affection <3 I hope you'll enjoy them! writing them going soft for affection was so fun to write <33

[masterlist]

✦ After the initial meeting with the chain, once you’ve gotten comfortable with them enough to in your eyes gain a close relationship with them and close enough for them to fall. If you’re the one to initiate affection? They’re going to fall so much deeper into their obsession, taking it as you reciprocating their twisted love whether that’s your intention or not

✦ Some are far more than willing to give you it in public than others, not saying that they won’t love giving you affection they just don’t like all the looks they’ll get in public. Asking them then means you’re just gonna have to wait a moment longer before being spoilt with more affection than you could’ve bargained for. 

✦ Twilight would jump at the opportunity to give you affection, from even the smallest things like holding your hand or giving you a light kiss on the cheek. If you gave him the go-ahead to smother you? Yeah, you’re not getting away from him for a long while. He’ll give you the warmest hugs, if you really want to fluster him though just ask for anything by leaning close to him and whispering it into his ear. It’ll turn him redder than Legend’s tunic. 

✦ Time would be willing to always give you some kind of affection, unlike Twilight though he won’t always bring you into a bone-crushing hug not because of not wanting to, he just feels like it’ll be uncomfortable for you when he’s in full armour. Twilight’s strength does come from somewhere so he’s just as capable of it. His favourite thing instead of hugs, when he’s in his armour, is to pepper you with feather-light kisses all over your face. 

✦ Wild gets flustered at the idea you even possibly like him back so you asking for anything? He’s just falling even deeper for you every second you’re close to him and you don’t even know that you’re making him so much worse. Every single time you ask for something as small as holding his hand in his mind you’re telling him that it’s okay for him to press his luck further because if you’re like that then surely you aren’t bothered by the reports of villagers going missing. If everything he’s doing only pushes you closer together then… why should he ever stop? Besides that though one of his personal favourite things to be asked is to cuddle while the both of you sleep, you’re asking him to hold you when you’re most vulnerable? Sign him up.

✦ It takes the captain a little bit to get used to being affectionate with you, he’s petrified of how Cia will react if when she sees the both of you together and it absolutely kills him to turn down your requests for any. After a trip back to his Hyrule however, most of that discomfort is gone like he’s stopped considering her an issue little do you know that she won’t be bothering either of you ever again.  

✦ You don’t have to ask wind for anything, the kid is constantly hollering for your attention, whether that’s playing a game or having him ramble to you about anything and everything. The rare chance you ask him to play or if he wants to know about your past he’s literally bouncing on his heels. He gets that his older sibling might want focus more on the others seeing as they’re all significantly more touchy with you compared to anyone else, so for you to want to be with him? Your little brother, over any of them? He’s ecstatic.

✦ Hyrule turns into a flustered mess whenever you ask for attention. He just seemingly shuts down as his brain tries to come to terms with the fact that you want him over the others just doesn’t make sense for him. When he does reboot though he’ll give you the gentlest kisses as he does whatever it was that you decided he would be the best to go to for, one of his favourite things to do is slow-dancing with you, swaying together in a field as he hums a light tune? He would die for it.

[pinkiemachine]

hey!! i saw some of ur posts on my feed, and im just wondering, what is the gotham files series u have going on? is it like a recap of the storyline or something else? :3

So Batman: Gotham Files is the name of a tv show pitch of mine. Basically, if Warner Bros. came over to me and said, “Here’s the DC franchise, go nuts,” I would then begin to create a new DC Animated Universe, starting with Wonder Woman: Heir to Olympus—Wonder Woman’s first ever animated tv series. At first, it would have two seasons, and then we’d move on to Dawn of Superman, which would also go for two seasons, before finally reaching Batman: Gotham Files. It would also go for two seasons, and then we would launch Justice League: Heroes Rising for one, maybe two seasons as well, and then The Mighty Teen Titans for two seasons. From then on, it gets very complicated, because not only are we going to continue making seasons for DoS, HtO, Gotham Files, Heroes Rising, and TT, but we’d also kick off a Flash show, a Green Lantern show, and possibly an Aquaman show, but I’m still figuring that one out at the moment. Not to mention, there would be mini series too. Like, Supergirl’s Lost in Space years, and Red Hood and the Outlaws, and then there’s Young Justice as well. I’m still in the process of making a detailed timeline that tracks everything and keeps the ages and events straight, but it’s coming along.

Why am I doing all this writing? Well, let’s put it this way: I walked into this big, old Victorian Manor, and it was full-to-bursting with junk. There’s a lot of really good, really cool stuff in there, but it’s over-crowded, there’s mold growing, there might be some rats, and it DESPERATELY needs to be cleaned out. This is a metaphor. This was me when I tried to walk into DC. A normie, just trying to enjoy the franchise. I looked at the comics… and they’re a mess of conflicting timelines, retcons, reboots, world-ending events, changing backstories, and so many characters that it is dizzying. Then I looked for something more digestible, like the tv shows or movies.

…

I did not like the movies.

I like the OG Teen Titans cartoon…

That’s basically it.

I’m trying to watch Justice League, the animated series right now, I’ve seen the original Superman film from the 70s, I’m starting to watch the live action Lois and Clark show from the 90s, I want to get into Batman the animated series, but 1: a lot of these shows don’t feature all the characters from the comics, especially the ones I’d like to see depicted in a show, and 2: they’re all disconnected from one another, with conflicting backstories and different takes on different characters.

I am tired. It is so much work to just try and get into the DC fandom. Let alone stay there.

So I took it upon myself to perform a public service. I told myself, I would roll up my sleeves and write a new DCAU from the ground up. One where even the most normal of normies could jump in and learn about these much-beloved characters and enjoy them. One where the timeline was untangled and there’s a proper beginning, middle, and satisfying end. I will tell the most complicated interwoven story in the history of television just to appease my need for organisation in this forsaken franchise!

…

I feel passionate about things…

Anyway, hope this clears everything up :)

Gotham Files post 1 👇

[pinkpinkmermayyy]

guys I have an idea for how it would got if house of mouse came back

@orchestra-of-demonic-screeching @champmorado @x0stormie0x @anemoia42 @thisismisogynoir

Imagine the house of mouse starting off with Mickey announcing to the gang that he’s rebooting the show, this time inviting not only the new Disney characters in store, but also the Pixar characters!

There’s the Toy Story gang, the Bug’s Life gang, Monster’s Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and everyone else in the Pixar studio is invited to join this new show in the House of Mouse. The new Disney characters such as those from Wish, Encanto, Frozen, Tangled, Moana, etc is also invited.

That includes…the villains.

But we’ll get to them later.

anyways, Mickey and the gang feel overwhelmed with how many more guests there are now, with Mickey especially feeling like he isn’t doing enough and isn’t being grand enough for the “much more advanced and futuristic characters”. But Minnie reassures him and over time this inner conflict is resolved with great payoff. This will also connect with the second conflict of this:

The Pixar and Disney heroes not getting along. They have their tensions during the opening episode, but there’s a moment in the climax of it where they start arguing with each other about everything due to a big moment enacted by the villains.

Oh by the way, let me bring up those villains again!

Similar to ‘the House of Villains’, this time, The Evil Queen, Maleficent, Jafar, Chernabog along with Auto, Syndrome, Hopper, and Lotso lead the Disney and Pixar Villains into a total overthrowing of the house of mouse, getting all the protagonists kicked out while the antagonists and villains reign free in the house. We could have a little gag here where when the Disney villains are singing and they point to the Pixar villains, they just go “oh we don’t sing sorry lol” and they have an “ok whatever” moment and continue.

This makes the tensions between the Pixar and Disney characters that were previously established reach its peak. It starts off with one of the Disney characters saying that it was the Pixar characters’ fault for not stopping them since they’re so much more advanced than the Disney characters. It then blows off from there, and, at least for me, I’d wanna see a moment in this huge argument where someone shames mater for being just an idiot tow truck, with lightning defending his best friend by saying “oh so dopey and goofy are allowed to be silly but mater can’t? Give me a break!” Or maybe something where lightning or mater respond but this time making fun of the early disney princesses for just being damsels in distress who sing with animals, with the princesses gasping in shock and the sidekicks of snow, cinderella and aurora being like “how DARE you!” (Especially grumpy because. He’s Grumpy). You could only pick one to keep the consistency but both are funny ideas for this.

This argument ends abruptly with Mickey yelling “ENOUGH!” which leaves everyone silent. He starts talking about how all the fighting they’ve been having is not only pointless, but extremely damaging to any chances they have at taking back the house. He goes on saying that the Pixar and Disney villains were able to cooperate and they become stronger, and if the protagonists couldn’t do the same in time then they’d be letting the villains take over everyone’s worlds. The other Pixar characters such as (but not limited to) woody and buzz join in as well as other Disney characters talking about their stories and how they’ve had to grow to understand others to get to their goals and more importantly to not let evil prevail. There’s a little heart to heart before Carl from Up interrupts saying “well, how are we gonna defeat them together? We can’t just believe in the power of friendship to do this!” and then Mickey gets an idea. And the training montage starts.

Mickey and his gang along with Woody and his gang of friends are the leaders of the operation, and they decide to use the magic of Disney and the technology of Pixar and mix them together. Thinking of Antonio from encanto leading the bug’s life characters into battle, miguel and moana getting an epic team up with maui as they fight against tamatoa, and some other cool stuff with other characters but the thing that I’m thinking about the most (because I’m a die hard cars fan and since this probably won’t happen I don’t have to worry about the other characters) is the idea of LIGHTNING MCQUEEN MATER AND THE OTHER CARS CHARACTERS DRIVING WITH TINKERBELL’S PIXIE DUST. LIKE IMAGINE LIGHTNING ZOOMING BY AND ABSOLUTELY BESTING CHICK IN A RACE WHILE FLYING WITH TINK’S PIXIE DUST AND MATER BEATING UP THE LEMONS WHILE A BUNCH OF GLITTER IS EMITTING FROM HIM OMGGG

Also like tinker bell teaching them how to control themselves while flying with her little bell voice and them learning how to steer and stuff and lightning stumbling a bit in the beginning omggg

but the final act comes from sorcerer Mickey. There’s a moment where the villains are weakened where Maleficent decides to transforms into her dragon form as a way to finish the battle quickly. Mickey shows up in his wizard attire and they go in a final battle which ends with Mickey winning, and saying that the villains are allowed in the house of mouse, but ONLY if they don’t pull a stunt like that again, which they reluctantly agree to.

This ends the opening episode for the new house of mouse, and with the heroes from Pixar and Disney being closer now.

Now here’s some ideas for other episodes in this new house of mouse. Keep in mind this is all cars related because I am a massive fan of cars, and I’m not really thinking of the other franchises for this as it probably is not gonna happen. If you have any ideas for the other characters though, feel free to share them in the notes!

here’s the first idea:

Lightning and Mater enter the house of mouse, with lightning talking about how great Cruz has been in training and in her races, as well as both of them just being glad that they’ve found the time to be in the house of mouse again. But then, we focus our attention to the evil queen from Snow White, who has a new magic mirror after her old one quit to work as Walt Disney’s co-host (my headcanon btw LMAO). She asks her iconic question and it shows that MATER is the fairest now, due to his naturally optimistic and kind personality and how everyone enjoys his company. She then decides to try and kill mater, first using some poisoned gas to try and kill him. Lightning, who knows exactly what’s going on, kicks the can of gas away before mater can consume it. We get a whole montage of the evil queen in her hag form trying numerous ways to kill mater but failing as the episode progresses while the different cartoons are played, only with the hag having a breakdown after not being able to kill him. Mater asks what’s wrong and the queen replies saying that she just wanted to be the fairest in the land, which mater says he can help with, since “that’s what a tow truck does!” The episode ends off on a comedic note, kind of similar to that one 2013 Mickey Mouse cartoon short, where despite still being an ugly hag, the queen is much happier than she was before, and mater being proud of himself for helping someone out (while lightning is slightly uncomfortable but still happy for his best friend).

now here’s the second one:

Here we have lightning and mater in the house of mouse again, this time with lightning remarking that he hasn’t been spending much time with Sally, especially since he’s started training cruz. He goes to look for her with mater only to find her hanging out with…the Disney villains! She’s seen sitting at a table and laughing with all the female Disney villains, such as Maleficent, lady Tremaine, cruella, madame Medusa, the evil queen, and more. Lightning shows up to the table asking her why she’s hanging out with the villains of all people, with her replying that yeah sure they may be a bit eccentric, but they’re actually fun to hang around. The episode progresses with this conflict and Lightning realizes that because he has been neglecting time with Sally, she actually feels a little hurt because of it, even though she knows racing means a lot to him. Lightning convinces Sally to not hang with the villains and apologizes to her for not giving enough love to her, which Sally forgives him for. This one isn’t as strong in my head as the first one but if I think it through it can be decent.

hope yall liked this train wreck of a post though! I might add more who knows lol

[bunnyboilovessookie]

YHS headcanon (warning: yapping)

Introduction: Lemme start yapping. I like to think that all 4 of Sam’s best friends throughout both YHSs have/had a crush on him (which is very funny considering we’re talking about Sam). And this is me rambling about how each of them views him/their crush on him. But I do need to say that I last watched YHS two years ago and, while I’m currently rewatching it, I’m only at episode 5 right now, I never finished watching Tokyo Soul and barely remember it and have not watched the YHS reboot at all, so all of this comes from what I remember of YHS/TS + things from fanon content, and only things from fanon content in the case of the reboot so this might be out of character but it’s how they are in my head right now and I need to get the brain worms out. Also because I haven’t watched the reboot, the sections from Taurtis and Grian will be longer than the sections from Coolment and Owl. Oh yeah, I also haven’t watched Yandere either so I have no idea how the OG trio met.

Taurtis: Taurtis views Sam as his best friend, and they’ve lived together for a long time, so they’re very close. I don’t think he ever realises he has feelings for Sam, it’s not like suddenly he likes him, it’s a long process and by the time he’s absolutely smitten he has no idea. He knows he feels all warm and comfortable around Sam, but he thinks that’s just a friendship thing (doesn’t help that he also has a crush on his other closest friend). He is fully aware he wants to date Sam, he knows how he feels, he knows he fantasises about kissing him, he just doesn’t clock that’s because he likes him, to him, that’s just something his brain does. Even after Sam goes crazy, he doesn’t really care, it’s still Sam. He probably realises it’s a crush after telling someone (probably Grian) about it and getting told “yeah, that’s a crush”. He’d be like “ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that explains a lot lol”. He doesn’t pursue a relationship with Sam though, because he’s happy just being friends with him. He wouldn’t mind dating him, of course, but to him it doesn’t really matter what they are, as long as they’re together.

Grian: Grian fucking hates Sam. And he also hates the fact that he has a crush on him. It makes him irrationally angry whenever he gets all flustered over Sam doing anything. Especially if that thing is hurting someone (because obviously that’s bad but, man, does he look good when he stabs people). He hates the fact that he thinks Sam’s rabbit traits are adorable, he hates the fact that he knows the exact number of freckles on Sam’s cheeks and nose bridge, he hates how in love he is with a fucking psycho who has caused him more trauma than he has anyone else. He tries to bottle up the feelings because he really doesn’t want to end up actually dating Sam, that’d be the stupidest thing he’d do in his life. And yet, sometimes, he can’t help but let himself go. They’ve definitely kissed before. And Grian cherishes those memories but also prays they never happen again because if he gets just a little more he might just completely shatter. He doesn’t want to feel like this but no matter what the crush just doesn’t fade. And sometimes, he finds himself just hanging out with Sam when he isn’t being an absolute menace and thinks “why can’t we be like this all the time?” but he knows the answer. It’s all just wishful thinking. It’s better to just leave.

Coolment: Coolment, from the little I’ve seen of him, reminds me a lot of both Grian and Taurtis (which I could write a whole essay about, Sam’s new best friend being a mix of his old ones is just peak material). He likes Sam in a way he can’t really describe, but he just wants to do everything in his power to make Sam happy. He follows him everywhere, always helping him with his antics, no matter what they are, just to see him smile. His therapist has 100% told him that he shouldn’t be doing that but he thinks seeing that smile is more beneficial to his mental health than anything else ever could be. He doesn’t want to date Sam, he doesn’t even think about that being a possibility, because he’s certain Sam views him as below himself, so there’s no way there could ever be anything between them. Sometimes Sam kisses him, or acts in a loving way towards him, but he can tell Sam’s doing it because he misses someone else, he’s thinking about that other someone the whole way through. (I do think Sam has feelings for Coolment as well, but oughhh my polytrio angst,, he misses them and uses Coolment as a replacement :(( ). But he doesn’t really care. He’ll take what he can get. Just as long as Sam is happy.

Owl: Owl, I think, is the only one that doesn’t really have a chance with Sam (bro’s totally gay, you cannot convince me otherwise). She knows this and she doesn’t really care. The one thing that makes her the happiest is the fact that Sam is very comfortable around her, being vulnerable in a way he isn’t around others. He loves angrily ranting about his problems and making them everyone else’s problems, but when there’s something that’s truly eating away at him, something that he doesn’t want to tell anyone else, he goes to Owl, and she listens to him and she comforts him and she never tries to come up with solutions for the problems because she knows that’s not what Sam needs. If he’s there, it’s because he’s already thought about everything he could do and has come up empty handed, and feels like he just can’t get out of this situation so he goes to the one person he knows will always let him cry on her shoulder while she holds him close and reassures him that, not matter what he’s going through, she’ll always be there for him. She takes pride in that, even if no one else even knows he does that. She wants to help him as much as she can, she wants him to get better. She knows he’s never going to go to a therapist, so she tries to be his therapist the best she can. The very few times Sam is actually sweet to her, acting gently and trying to be as kind as possible, she almost feels like crying. She knows that’s hard for him, she knows he’s making an effort to act like that just for her. She might’ve cried happy tears once or twice because of that. I imagine at some point Sam tried to help her preen her wings (which he knows how to do because of Grian, but of course, he doesn’t tell her that) and she was scared at first because her wings are very delicate and, with how much of a brute Sam could be at times, she thought she was gonna end up in pain, but he was very gentle, and she felt the closest to him she’s ever felt in that moment. And still, she keeps quiet about her feelings, because she knows they could never amount to anything. It’s still a nice thought tho.

I yapped more than I thought I would. I might make a part two talking about other characters that, either canonically or just my own headcanon, also had feelings for Sam (Yuki, Invader, Dom…), but for now this is all you get.

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

Alright, I’ve avoided talking about this design for long enough.

This design sucks, but not for the reasons you think.

Allow me to explain.

People rightfully give Viv shit for having every character be super skinny, so Mammon’s design should be a breath of fresh air right?

Wrong, his design sucks because Viv played it too safe.

I get that it’s hard to design a greedy character, because you don’t wanna accidentally come off as antisemitic or fat phobic, but everything about Mammon’s design is just lazy.

It feels like it was designed by committee, or ChatGPT.

“He’s super greedy, so he’s gotta be overweight and his outfit has to be green because that’s the color of money.”

Yes, I’m sick and tired of Viv’s ��Super skinny gay twink.” character aesthetic, but wouldn’t it have made more sense for Mammon to be a handsome tech bro?

Think Mark Beaks from the Ducktales reboot or Ivo from My Adventures With Superman, just a pompous asshole who cares more about making money than anything else.

But a character like that would require Viv and the rest of her team to put in some actual effort when it comes to the writing/world building, and fuck knows they’re incapable of doing that.

[artist-issues]

What are some fandoms/pieces of media you enjoy but don’t get a chance to talk about often and why?

I think I genuinely talk about most of the pieces of media I enjoy all the time on here. I started using tumblr to just word-vomit about whatever I was obsessed with, so I’ve basically continued in that.

I don’t talk often about Sonic, because the online group of people who like Sonic are super bizarre and unpleasant—and the people who like Sonic in like, a healthy way, are not really on the Internet that much! Go figure.

But I love Sonic the Hedgehog. Partly because it’s one of the earliest things I was a “fan” of, I’m talking like 9 years old, and I think that’s a lot of people’s experience with Sonic. Which is why most of us are not mad and so willingly accept the new Sonic movies that come out, where he’s like, not Sonic, he’s just a smartmouthed kid in an Alvin-and-the-Chipmunks-quality adventure, and he happens to be a speedy blue anthropomorphic hedgehog with Sonic the Hedgehog’s same name. And they just throw all the nostalgic poses we remember from the video games at us to satisfy our memory. But like, we all accept that, because it feels vaguely like the kind of thing our…9 year-old selves would have also accepted.

Anyway. I like Sonic partly because of nostalgia, and partly because he’s just a compelling character. He’s static. He doesn’t change. He’s the kind of hero who just “keeps moving and doing what he loves, and what he loves happens to be saving the world and looking cool doing it.” And then all the characters around him, no matter what version of himself or world or plot hole he’s in, get changed by Sonic’s unchanging powerful personality. I like all that.

Also, speaking of Alvin and the Chipmunks, I like Alvin and the Chipmunks. I think there’s something to be said for a franchise that knows who their characters are, era after era, generation after generation, and even if everything else about reboots are wrong, their characters never feel out-of-character. Plus there’s always genuine, earnest heart in Alvin and the Chipmunks movies. You can tell the creators really are doing that thing I have in the pinned post on my profile: enjoying and being passionate about the thing they create. Even if it’s a cartoon about anthropomorphic singing chipmunks who’s main “fandom” nowadays like the show for unfortunate reasons.

My favorite sitcom (if it is a sitcom) is Community, (if you don’t count the Andy Griffith Show) and I never talk about Community. Disclaimer: I hate how Community handles the topics of religion and I hate how Community tosses in sex jokes and lewd stuff and running gags about LGBTQ stuff. But other than that, I think it’s one of the smartest, rapier-wit, seven-layers-of-thought, funniest sitcoms ever.

And I don’t frequently talk about the Dark Universe (which I think is a cringe title) the old black-and-white monster movies made by Universal Studios. But I love most of them. I don’t think they’re all airtight, great, stupendous stories. But I think they use monsters the right way, most of the time.

I thiiiink that’s it. I also really love Star Fox, and Anne of Green Gables, but that can be a topic for mother time.

[myehm228]

Sorry if you've answered this before, but why do you hate the reboot so much?

well, actually, I’ve already talked about this several times here

I hate him because it ruined everything for me. I’ve been in the fandom for quite a long time and it’s not just a fandom, it’s already become my home, it’s one of the few things that makes me happy, that can bring me good emotions, I had it during the terrible periods of my life, I’m very close to the show and the characters, I love this very much, I can’t take it any simpler, I just can’t. I built so many things, I had so many ideas, I thought about the holes in the plot and in the lore, about the characters, about what could have happened before and after the canon, taking into account almost everything that was said in the canon, I really tried to do everything logically and as best as possible. and now that this has come out, everything I’ve done all these years has become worthless in an instant, I don’t know what to do now. previously, no one cared much about my ideas and creativity either, it was almost of no interest to anyone, and now even more so. people only like the reboot, they don’t like anything else, they don’t always like the original either. I don’t like it, I don’t want it this way, and it’s everywhere, I can’t even hide from it, it’ll get me everywhere, everywhere they will shove it at me, everywhere they will equate my headcanons to a reboot, everywhere they will call my designs peri and irep, and they will be surprised that I use the original canon, wow. I can isolate myself from artists or writers that I don’t like, but I can’t with this, it makes me sick, I want to bang my head against the walls.

and in general, the reboot itself is pretty mediocre, let's be honest. it may not be downright terrible, but it’s pretty boring and mediocre, and it’s only being singled out for its beautiful graphics (and even then, computer animation doesn’t suit the style and it looks bad). if it weren’t for all this, I simply wouldn’t care, but I really don’t understand how people can lick this so passionately, and also say that this is a masterpiece and much better than the original, well, excuse me of course. they forgot about the canon, if you are making a direct sequel in the same universe, as reboot are very fond of repeating all the time, then can you at least, I don’t know, normally review the original cartoon? seriously, there's a change in how Cosmo and Wanda met, well guys, I wanted to cry. it feels like everyone who created this didn’t watch anything other than season 9 and half of season 1 (and then only with one eye and background), otherwise I don’t know how to explain these huge holes and illogicality. and the fans are also good, they’re sitting there, they haven’t even watched the show and are already proving something to others and doing something, well, are you serious or what. how many fans of the reboot will cry if I say that fairies canonically cannot have children not from fairies, but how can that be, but what about the children of perirep оh how did it happen🥺🥺🥺 and the fact that Cosmo and Wanda should be fairies of Timmy's children and not on some vacation and with Hazel, because it corresponds to the time, well, who cares about stupid original. and this is not an isolated case.

and also, simply because I didn’t like the reboot (at that time I didn’t hate it yet, I just didn’t love it), so much shit was thrown at me than I had ever seen in my entire stay in the fandom. I was called a racist simply because I don’t like Hazel and I think that she’s not an interesting character, well, because after all, we know that everyone who doesn’t like the reboot is racist, really, yes yes, that's the truth. and also in response to criticism of the reboot, they told me to grow up, touch the grass and that I’m toxic, oh how cool, and after that it’s me who’s bad, it’s me who needs to be cancelled, I DARE NOT TO LOVE A N*W W*SH OMG, that’s how it works yes.

I have enough reasons not to like the reboot and its fans, especially after what happened to me. I really feel bad watching this, it ruined my whole summer, it was terrible, it was so terrible, if they release a season 2, I don’t know how I’ll live, I don’t think I can stand it. I don’t want, I don’t want to see this, I want the fandom to die again, I feel bad, it’s killing me from the inside.

ой достали меня эти омерекосы все вам объяснять надо😑😑

[bugeyedfreaks]

While I would be interested in a darker reboot of the PPG, I think it would be more on the level of Mystery Incorporated or Batman the Animated Series (dark but ultimately uplifting). Where exactly is the idea that the series should go into Grimdark coming from? Is it just edgy teenagers, or is it from older fans forgetting all the silly stuff?

Mystery Incorporated, yes. Possible! It definitely still had an undercurrent of humor. BtAS… I dunno, that’s skewing too serious for my own tastes in most cases.

From my own experience, I usually (though not exclusively) see calls for excessive gore or ultra dark content from what I like to call The Internet Edgelords. They are annoying and span young and old alike. 😆 Despite that, I mean, they can obviously like the show and everything, and enjoy the gorier/darker aspects of it. One of the things that I truly love about the show is the fact that it was essentially made for everyone regardless of age/gender/whatever else, but there are multiple things that make it good! It’s a super funny show with heart and humor that also happens to very occasionally have a lot of very cool action sequences and intense fights in it.

But it’s interesting that, for every person who claims that the show was made “for the girls” and want to erase most of the violence from it, there are fans who claim it’s solely “for the boys” and, therefore, must be stripped of anything that could be heartfelt or silly and should just be bloody fights 24/7. There isn’t anything wrong with loving all the cool fights in the show (because, hey, I love them too!) but it’s like the inverse of people reducing the show to be about little girls who very rarely use their superpowers: in this case, they’re seen as superheroes who very rarely act like the little girls they are.

…sometimes it feels like that almost translates to some of these people like “superheroes who are soulless killing machines and just so happen to be trapped in little girl bodies…” 😬

[storygirl000]

okay genuinely what is with some of the complaints for mh g3 because at this point it just sounds like y’all hate it for existing and nothing else.

"ewwww the outfits are so ugly!!" gee, it’s almost like popular fashion trends have changed over the years. there’s a difference between "this outfit is ugly" and "i greatly dislike this outfit"; i personally think a lot of the outfits look pretty cool, but i’m not gonna default to calling the ones i don’t like "ugly" just because i don’t like the style.

"everyone’s personality has changed for the worse!!" because it’s a reboot of the franchise; of course they’re gonna change things to keep things "fresh". besides, i honestly think the personality changes got me more invested in certain characters compared to g1 – frankie and lagoona in particular are characters i didn’t care all that much about in g1, but i’ve loved their g3 characterizations so far.

"it’s racist because they toned down clawdeen’s blackness!!" i am admittedly as white as can be so i don’t know how well i can comment on this, but i feel like people who use this argument have a tendency to sound more bigoted than they claim mattel is. i have both g1 and g3 clawdeen dolls; they have pretty much the exact same skin tone, so that complaint only really applies to the live-action movie. the arguments about her personality being "less black" sound like they’re turning into "clawdeen is less of a sassy black woman stereotype and i hate that". and all the complaints about her being mixed race (and thus "less black") now just sound bigoted against actual afro-latina people. and that’s without getting into how this old argument keeps being used while they ignore that there’s a wider degree of racial diversity in the line, that clawdeen actually has a black va now (light-skinned black, sure, but still an improvement over having a white va do a "black" voice), and that some of y’all made fun of the new venus for looking different when they gave her implicitly black facial features.

and on that note, "you’re just sucking mattel’s dick and ignoring everything bad because there’s more diversity now!!" so people aren’t allowed to be happy that they’re being properly represented in their favorite doll line now? so plus-sized people aren’t allowed to be happy about plus-sized catty? so south asian people can’t be happy that abbey is now properly south asian-coded instead of weirdly russian? so i can’t be happy that one of the characters is explicitly autistic? sure, a story should have more than good diversity if it wants to be truly good, but every time i see this complaint get brought up it’s phrased like we shouldn’t be happy about the increased diversity at all.

"this is just as bad as g2!! why don’t you hate it like g2?!" because it’s not like g2 at all. g2 suffered from a combination of budget cuts that led to cheaper doll designs and marketing unsure of whether or not it was connected to the original g1 continuity; g3, while not perfect, definitely has a better budget and marketers who’ve learned from their mistakes and made it more clear that this is a full reboot.

and all of these complaints seem to carry an undercurrent of "g3 is the only option available and it’s bad" which...just isn’t true. g1 fans still have stuff like the boo-riginal creeproductions, the reel drama dolls, and so many special dolls that hearken back to g1 aesthetics and designs. mattel’s still paying attention to them.

tl;dr stop using increasingly flimsy arguments to justify complaining about people liking something.

[quietlyimplode]

the language of flowers and silent things

Whumptober 2023: Day 21 - Vows

Warnings: nil

Word Count: 1k (gif not mine)

Summary: Clint and Natasha try and write their vows

A/N: a short one today. This is a lead up to the endgame, so whilst the surface is quite fluffy, know it’s a lead up. Ty again to everyone who’s been following the story each day, liking and commenting. It makes the whumptober marathon easier. <3

Masterlist

Whumptober Masterlist

.

No, Clint thinks. I don’t want to.

He’s never been one for displays of emotions and he’s not one to start now.

It feels too vulnerable, even amongst those he knows and loves. Selfishly, he feels those emotions are only for Natasha.

“No,” Clint says, out loud this time.

Natasha shrugs.

“Fine by me,” she agrees.

Pepper groans.

Maria sighs, heavily.

“You’re still going to marry us right?” Natasha asks Maria.

The only one of their friends with a celebrant license, Maria had agreed immediately.

When asked why she had one, she had shrugged, commented about a mission in Arkansas and not elaborated.

“Without vows?” Maria asks, “I just think you should do it. Say something in front of everyone that commits you both.”

Natasha rolls her eyes, the movement exaggerated.

“Yeah, cause that’s what we are known for, deep expressions of emotions in front of each other.”

Pepper looks at both of them. Looking like a disappointed teacher, she peers over her glasses.

“You’ve sorted the venue, and everything else, why not just write something down? You don’t have to share it with us, maybe just with each other. And then what about choosing one line each to say?”

“How long is this going to go for?” Clint asks, looking to the door.

Natasha kicks him under the table.

“I don’t mean this, here, I mean the wedding? Like how long do these things go for?”

Maria smirks, “the way you two have set it? Maybe like twenty minutes in ceremony and the rest as requested will be at the beach.”

Clint nods.

“Twenty minutes? You’re sure?”

Maria holds the papers and goes through the things she has to say, Natasha changing some of the wording for commitments and religion and Clint nods along.

“Now this is the part you say vows, something; anything, to each other.”

Handing them both pen and paper she finds in the desk, Pepper frowns.

“Go write, find a sentence each, talk to each other about it and then come back and tell us. We’ve got everything else sorted, okay?”

Maria calls after them, “it might be the week before Christmas but it’s also the week before your wedding,” she reminds them.

Clint follows Natasha into the elevator.

“This was a bad idea,” he groans.

“We just needed one of them and now, everyone is coming here for Christmas, so we can all go together.”

Natasha agrees silently, in two minds about just how difficult this would be.

She loves her friends, loves that they’re around, but hates the fact they all have opinions on how things should go and how things should be.

The vows, just seemed another tradition that they didn’t want to participate in.

Clint steps out, and grabs her hand.

“Let’s go,” he says, “grab a bag and things you need. We’ll come back for Christmas Eve and to meet with Yelena and Gus when they get here, but let’s go.”

Natasha kisses him, almost runs into the room and grabs a bag.

“Five minutes,” she calls.

He nods, not answering, gathering his phone charger, and a hoodie, stuffing them into a bag.

“Jarvis, if you tell the others, I will give the tower an EMP and make you reboot from the bottom up,” he threatens.

There’s no response.

Ready, Clint finds Natasha with her backpack on, hair in a braid and a grin on her face.

“Let’s go,” she smiles.

.

Natasha opens the widow, airing the apartment out. Since staying at the tower, her apartment was empty, and despite the amenities and ease of the tower, she feels herself in her own place.

Clint sticks his head out and holds up his phone.

“I’m just ordering Chinese, what do you want?”

Natasha sits on the couch.

“Just some dumplings - the ones I like.”

Clint disappears again and she hears him ordering so much food.

The pencil and paper that Pepper had handed to them taunts her and she picks it up, wandering after Clint.

“Fifteen minutes,” he tells her, setting an alarm on his phone, “then we can get it.”

He sits at the kitchen bench and sees the paper in her hand.

“No,” he whines, “don’t tell me you’re listening to them.”

She shrugs, “I know it’s stupid, but maybe it is a line we need.”

He takes the pen off her.

“Google it,” he laughs.

She laughs too, opening her phone and looking at what the results.

“No…” she groans, “look at this - ‘I never knew that life could be a dream until I met you.’”

He laughs, “it’s true though, right?”

She scrolls further.

“This is stupid.”

Clint passes her the keys for her motor bike.

“Let’s eat and then talk about it?”

She nods.

.

Her bed is cold, but Clint is warm.

“We didn’t do it,” she mutters, sticking her cold feet into his legs.

He squeals and pushes her.

“Whyyyy? I was warm,” he groans.

“Fine,” he says, “give me one thing you love about me,” he challenges.

She thinks.

“You inspire me to be better,” she says on a whim.

He freezes, hearing the weight of her words.

Natasha feels the tension and her face goes red.

“Your turn,” she mutters.

“You taught me the meaning of brave,” he says quietly.

It’s the truth in their words that fall heavily on each of them.

“I love you,” Clint says, turning to her, “whatever that means to both of us.”

She turns to face him too.

“I love you too.”

“Do we say that in front of our friends?”

He shakes his head.

“I don’t think so,” he replies, “maybe we can just say ‘I do’.”

Natasha nods, “I’ll think of something.”

He kisses her and turns back around.

“Night Nat,” he says quietly, both their thoughts loud.

.

A large boom wakes them, an aftershock earthquake pulses through the city, and Natasha is immediately on her feet.

“What was that?” Clint asks, alert, his gun in hand next to her.

“The tower,” she says, uncharacteristic fear in her voice, “someone’s blown up the Avenger’s Tower.”

.

[aballadforbarbatos]

a gift for satan, the master tutor

btw this one is like. 80 points long so gl with that. i had fun with it though! hopefully you do too ^.^

“listen. satan. let’s go out.”

his brain totally stops at that. nobody else seems to notice- did you whisper it? he can’t quite remember! he needs to reboot his brain, hold on a second MC

“hellooo? satan? i asked if you wanted to go out with me to town? on a shopping trip?”

so not a date then. WELL NO WONDER NOBODY LOOKED OVER AT THEM BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T ASKING IN THE FIRST PLACE

there also wasn’t a single question there, so he can’t help but suspect you were trying to tease him with the possibility of reciprocated love…

you smile at him. he thinks about saying no in retaliation. but then… what if asmo goes with you instead… or mammon… can he really risk that? no.

great day in town too btw. nice and warm and peaceful. you say something about how lucifer would give you his credit card if you got 100% on all your exams, and you did! satan thinks about how lucifer is such a goddamn sap when it comes to you. grow a backbone, loser

“so where are we going?”

“clothes shopping!”

ugh. he hates clothes shopping. it’s so boring, and he has enough in his wardrobe. so do you actually, why are you choosing to go CLOTHES shopping with lucifer’s credit card?? you already have enough?!

he voices this. but nicely. you shake your head and laugh.

“no, silly! we are going clothes shopping for YOU.”

we what now

“no offence, and i mean this with my whole heart, but your clothes are so incredibly ugly. it always looks like you got dressed in the dark. this belt looks like the one i had when i was 11.”

ok, rude

“it’s a good thing you’re a demon bc your closet is a sin in itself”

:( he thinks it looks nice!

“tbh i am embarrassed to be out with you looking like that, but for today it's fine because it’s for the greater good”

apparently it does not look as nice as he originally thought. ok

well, it’s lucifer’s credit card, and he gets to spend the day with you, so it COULD be worse

majolish is up first

he does a lot of standing around while you play around with clothes

“it’s kinda hard to see how this would look on you because your jacket is so goddamn ugly. can you take off your shirt for a second”

TOTALLY misses the flirtatious tone in that sentence and is just offended instead

then it clicks what you asked him. but he still doesn’t get what you were talking about and just gets nervous

“mc we are in public?????????”

you give him a Look.

he doesn’t understand why (he will hours later) (he will burst into your room while there’s another brother in there and say “i’ll take my shirt off for you mc!” and pull it off and the brother will punch him in the stomach. i’m thinking of mammon when i write this)

you find a sales attendant

“hey so i’m gonna burn all his current clothes because they’re awful”

you gesture at his outfit

YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES??

WHY IS THE ATTENDANT NODDING LIKE SHE UNDERSTANDS??

“the jacket is distracting me because it’s ugly. can you help me out here?”

“have you tried taking it off?”

“i asked but he whined”

YOU DIDN’T ASK DON’T LIE AND DON’T LIE ABOUT HIM?

the attendant purses her lips but keeps her mouth shut. probably because he’s the avatar of wrath

“it’s so terrible because when you look at his face he’s hot, but then you look at the rest of his outfit and realise you value your dignity more. imagine how much of a heartthrob he could be if he didn’t permanently look like he was getting dressed in the dark!”

mc. what the fuck? HE’S NEVER HEARD SUCH A BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT

“i see. this could cost a lot of money…”

“it’s okay. we have his dad’s credit card.”

he’s going to strangle you. he starts thinking about how to kill you. au revoir mc. it is the end of your life. you will not get a gravestone.

then he remembers how much he’ll miss you. FUCK.

satan settles for a very strong glare. scowl and everything

“um. what size is he?”

“great question. satan take off your shirt so we can find out”

he does not. he still doesn’t get it. he does know his size though so he lets the demon know and then she does her thing.

then it’s trying on clothes. DAMN he hates this. this is terrible and SO BORING. how tf does asmo do it

it takes forever too :(

the demon whispers in your ear.

“hey satan have you tried wearing pants that fit you so we don’t have to suffer through the ugly belts you choose”

at least asmo isn’t here with you???

he finishes shopping with you at SEVEN O’CLOCK. HE SPENT NINE HOURS SUFFERING THROUGH THIS

you even asked if he could wear one of his new outfits out of the store and fold up the other one, and that’s how he ended up wearing something more “stylish”

you pay for them to deliver his new clothes to the house of lamentation via truck because you decide you can’t be bothered carrying the boxes.

not that it would be possible there’s like 20 there and they’re NOT small

“i feel like we’ve hit the spending limit on lucifer’s card even though it doesn’t have a limit”

honestly he feels like that too. but he’s a lot less remorseful about it than you apparently are

you grab his hand and squeeze it and look at him with such a lovely warm smile that it makes this whole day worth it.

you really wipe away all his suffering with a smile. this is really bad for him, satan is in for a whole world of trouble with you

you squeeze his hand

augh he’s so in love with you this is terrible. but so GOOD at the same time it’s a complicated thing don’t ask him to explain it

“now we get to go home and have fun!”

have fun…?

OH RIGHT YOU’RE GOING TO BURN ALL HIS CLOTHES HE TOTALLY FORGOT

“we don’t have to go that far”

“no we do. we can get belphie and asmo in on it too!”

so that’s how he’s spending his saturday night. burning all his clothes.

asmo says this is a celebration and brings music

belphie brings gasoline

asmo says that it’s fabric so there’s no need for gasoline

belphie pours more on the clothes like he’s making a point. satan has no idea what the point is

you bring out the rest of his clothes and tell him to kiss them goodbye

“can i at least keep the jacket?”

loud sigh from you! whY??

“ok sure whatever. now lets light these things on fire!”

asmo and you are having a great time. belphie is watching them all go up in flames from his spot on the ground

lucifer comes out and yells at you both but you’re too busy dancing in front of the fire to pay attention

“dance with me?”

satan feels a smile tug at his lips as he takes your hand.

he’s in love with you.

he’s so in love with you.

his heart will beat for you forever, taken in by your evil doings and gentle ways.

and tonight he’ll dance with you until the flames subside and you tell him to stop.

[dante-winning-archive]

DmC: Devil May Cry Thoughts

So I finally decided to experience the DmC Reboot, and my overall verdict is: Not As Bad As I Expected. 

I took notes, so let’s break it down. This is over 3 pages in a doc btw, so buckle up I guess. Hope it was worth the wait.

What I Liked

Level Design

This is probably the game’s biggest strength. Great amount of variety, and the atmosphere of each level was great. 

Limbo is a really cool concept. 

The twin’s special abilities (like Dante’s grappling hook type weapons) made for some really cool platforming. 

The typography really works in this game. Like, words and phrases appearing in the environment to taunt Dante or just provide additional flavor to whatever is happening. Very comic book. 

The Bob Barbas boss battle had a really cool neon techy aesthetic, which isn’t something I would have expected for this game. Neat!

The game show levels leading up to Lilith’s boss fight were cool too! 

The Succubus boss battle made really good use of the environment. 

Enemy Design

General demon mobs are automaton-like, which is pretty neat. I’m not a fan of that sort of aesthetic, but I respect the creative direction. 

All the bosses had decent variety in terms of design and battle mechanics.

Item/Weapon Design

I think this was another pretty strong point for this game

It’s a small thing, but the designs of the orbs were nice.

Rebellion’s shape shifting is neat. Rebellion doesn’t really have any cool powers like Yamato does in the mainline games, so it was nice to see it do something besides being a big sword. 

AQUILA IS SUCH A COOL WEAPON

Ebony and Ivory were pretty, but didn't seem particularly useful what with all the other weapons Dante had at his disposal.

Misc

Combat looks dynamic and satisfying, and I can see the influence it had on DMC5’s combat. 

The voice acting is good

Occasionally, it was genuinely funny

The Vergil gameplay at the end? INCREDIBLE. 

The music was good. Nothing really stood out to me, but it did enhance the game. 

What I Disliked

Lilith

I really hated her character design. And I’m not saying it wasn’t effective character design, or that it was bad. I just personally didn’t like it. 

Her weirdly pulled skin, the corset piercings, the way her skin bunches up around the tops of her gloves… ugh. 

And maybe that’s the point! I’m probably supposed to find it offputting! But I hated looking at her. 

Pregnancy is a really intense squick of mine, so all that was just no! No! No! No! 

I wish I could unsee her boss battle

Minor Design Complaints

Dante’s DT design was a little disappointing, especially considering how well designed everything else is. 

Yamato’s design was also lackluster. 

Misc

The fatphobia was disappointing but not surprising, especially considering the year this was released. 

Mundus sex scene… ew

The sniper abortion scene wasn’t as shocking as I expected it to be, but it sure was there

The way Vergil pronounces Yamato lol. Ya-MATT-o

Pronouncing Mundus differently was a little weird. The mundus amungus…. 

Mundus’ boss fight was uninspired. Wow, a giant statue trying to squash Dante on a platform. Never seen that one before.

A lot of this game has a ‘gross’ factor, which I’m not really into. That’s just personal preference, because I do think it mostly works in context. Just not my thing. 

Characters:

In general, I found the characters to be pretty one-dimensional. 

The Twins

The two of them working together in Mundus’ tower, one in each world, was really cool. If you’re going to have twins in a setting with two worlds overlapping, having one in each is (chefs kiss). Being able to play as both of them to achieve the goal would have made it even better. 

I really enjoyed the scenes they had together, but there just weren’t enough of them. 

It was nice seeing them share physical affection (in the form of a mutual shoulder pat)

But “I loved you, brother” just didn’t have the emotional impact I wanted it to have. 

And the issue is really… they’re strangers. They may be brothers, but they barely know each other. Their relationship just didn’t get as much attention and buildup as it should have. 

Vergil

He’s so friendly and helpful sounding at the beginning, it was kind of cute. 

But it is revealed he’s pretty cold and calculating, willing to sacrifice Kat because saving her wasn’t worth the risk to him. 

His mad hax lol 

give him his hat back, cowards

Even though he was carrying Yamato around, I wasn’t sure he could even fight until the very end. He just seemed so weak. The thing about the twins is that they’re equals on the physical level. IDK, it was just weird to see a Vergil that didn’t fight. 

honestly, a way more interesting character than Dante.

Dante

A devil-may-care character that learns to give a shit? Always a classic. 

As unnecessarily edgy as he seems, his poor coping mechanisms make sense for how he grew up. 

Kat

An assault survivor, because of course she is. It’s just disappointing. Was it necessary? Was it??

Overall, she’s fine. No real strong feelings about her. 

Despite having a ‘role’ (guiding Dante through Limbo and helping him escape it), her job could have been given to Vergil and the game would have worked fine. Maybe even better. 

Sparda and Eva 

Having Sparda outlive Eva and be responsible for hiding the twins was an interesting choice. I also like that we have confirmation for what happened to him (eternal torture). 

I would have expected an angel and demon to be a power couple, but they seemed to have been beaten pretty easily. For plot, I guess. 

The Story

I wasn’t really all that invested, tbh. There’s nothing wrong with the story, but at the same time there isn’t really anything notable about it (except Vergil’s bit). 

It’s a hack n’ slash, so I’m not expecting a masterpiece, but it was pretty one note.

WHY is there a war between demons and angels? Where did the Nephilim come from, how many were there, what role did they play? More importantly, why should I care about any of this? 

The twins avenging their parents should have felt like… like taking on a mantle to continue their cause, and I really didn’t get any of that. There wasn’t any weight of legacy. And the main games handle that so well. 

Overall, I just felt like there wasn’t enough emotional impact, especially between the brothers. There wasn’t enough time to really grow to care about the three protagonists, imo. 

Dante's character arc is... learning to give a shit, I guess, but even then, his decision to be the protector of humans feels really out there. Did he really show that much growth throughout the game for this declaration to really feel deserved? Rewarding?

Likewise, Vergil's shift from revolutionary to would-be king is equally abrupt. Like maybe the entire point of it was to be out of left field, but from a storytelling standpoint... an out-of-nowhere twist like that just doesn't feel rewarding. Having more time with Vergil as Dante throughout the course of the game, to have a subtle buildup so that when you look back and say 'the signs were all there and I missed them', that would have been really good. Like, disregarding the fact that any fan of DMC knows Vergil is going to abandon everything for power.

Vergil’s gameplay and story at the end was a lot more compelling than the rest of the game combined. It’s literally the only thing I’m interested in learning more about. 

Final Thoughts

The game was… alright. Not as bad as I expected it to be, but I’m not sure I would call it good, either. There were a lot of really interesting concepts that just didn’t reach their full potential. The ‘hard’ elements like design and combat were there, but the characters and story were lacking. Making a DMC game heavily influenced by the Divine Comedy is a great idea! 

I think that there are two things that really held this game back. 

Making it a DMC game. As its own thing, it could have been really good. Could they have told a story based on the Divine Comedy with twins named Dante and Vergil without stepping on DMC’s toes? Probably not. But with some changes, it could have worked.

The marketing. I didn’t see it in real time, but we’ve all heard of the weirdly homophobic marketing for this game. And I think that really soured people’s opinions of the game. Still does, tbh. ‘Dante is not a gay cowboy’ as if that isn’t his entire appeal….

Anyway, I don’t think it quite deserves the hate it gets. If you go in knowing you’re not getting a ‘real’ DMC game, it’s not bad. 

Rating: 5/10 

[the-bjd-community-confess]

I love D0llfie Dreams and I love Hatsune Miku and Vocaloid. I love the Miku dolls. But I’m just starting to get tired of how much the DD brand revolves around her now. Every single year has to have a vocaloid related doll release or outfit (sometimes more than one outfit, this year has snow Miku, spring Miku AND autumn Miku just announced. And the NT Miku dolls from last year are just now coming out, AND a rerelease of Sakura Miku was just announced?!) And then they ALL get rereleases.

Now that a new DD body is out there’s probably gonna be a Miku Reboot V2 so she can be on it, as well as Miku NT V2, and then they’re rerelease everyone else on it too, and so on. I don’t know. I love Miku. But even I think it’s all too much. I feel like there used to be so much more excitement and variation in what dolls come out but now it feels like everything is just padding for the next Miku or Miku adjacent release and rerelease. I know they’re not gonna stop doing it because she’s the most popular character they’ve ever made and no matter WHAT there are people that miss the rereleases and beg and cry and scream for another one.

The money they make from her is probably responsible for most of their growth over the past 10 years, and like I get it! I really do. But with only a limited number of doll release slots each year, it’s hard to not feel kinda jaded when I’m looking forward to seeing who the next doll will be or what the next fancy outfit set will be and once again it’s Miku.

~Anonymous

[parachutingkitten]

Not an ask per se, just a similar feeling. You’re someone whose Ninjago stuff, here and on YT, I’ve really enjoyed for at least a few years. And I’ve been similarly obsessed with the show for some time. But… it’s as you say — DR is objectively fine, objectively nice, but I don’t feel the same obsession about it and its characters, plot, etc that I used to feel all the time with Ninjago. And I *cannot* figure out why, and it’s also been driving me slightly up the wall. It’s maybe because I genuinely try to give media the best chance when I interact with it, but despite multiple DR rewatches I don’t see what everyone else sees. And the disconnect is a sad, like you mention — I joined the community here because I was so glad to have people who loved this show in the same ways I did, and now it’s like they’re all on a different wavelength and I want to be there but I’m not. It’s definitely strange for sure, made worse I think by the fact that DR isn’t like horrifically bad or anything, I just feel… okay, when watching it, and can’t even explain why.

I don’t know how much sense this makes, but I thought it might be something for you to think about if you’d like. I’ve been tossing around the idea that I don’t love DR because it is… good. It’s good, but too neat — if that makes sense? The new characters — I love them all, but their personalities and backstories and situations they’re put in all remind me of several other stories. The subplots of the episodes always have an end goal in mind, often an emotional realisation, and whilst that’s a neat way to tell stories, it doesn’t feel like, to me, the way Ninjago used to tell stories. Like, the first thing that comes to mind is Sora feeling hopeless and that episode with the djin where she realises that it’s important to hope. And maybe this isn’t a great comparison (as I’m typing it out, I realise that it isn’t the best example oof), but I immediately thought of Zane after Seabound, when he’d turned off his emotions. Sora’s bad feelings, whilst not as ‘significant’ as Zane’s in that context, began just before and were wrapped up neatly in that episode and not brought up again. Zane acts detached from the start of S16 if I remember, and it’s only near the end of the season (I think! I know that it’s a few eps at least) when he meets Sally, talks to her, learns a little about her life, and is able to come to the realisation that he shouldn’t be repressing everything. I think DR, because of the amount of characters it has, especially those that are new, and the amount of new worldbuilding, plot stuff, etc that they have to add in, it being a reboot/sequel type of thing, leaves less time for the nuance and time devoted to the character arcs in the original show. Or maybe I’m just crazy, honestly idk.

Something else that stands out to me is the fact that DR has to establish so much about these new characters and their world that they… they do something that old Ninjago didn’t do, and whilst it’s maybe objectivity a better storytelling choice, I think it’s part of the reason I’m not really feeling it. What they do is that they have the characters act kind of realistic. Arin worries about his parents, often. Sora did too. Wyldfyre and Kai definitely have a few moments where it’s implied that they’re confused about what’s up with their powers. In Ninjago up to s16, because they wrote a lot of it without intending much or anything to come after it, I feel like they thought less about this than the DR writers, who know that they’ve got a few seasons lined up, do. For example — hands of time is when we find out about Ray and Maya, but it was never often addressed by Nya and Kai. It’s brought up in s4, of course, but if they were real kids whose parents had vanished one day they’d probably bring it up more often, like Arin did. But it’s often not done in the narrative because the writers gave them other things to focus on, because they’re storytelling devices and not real kids. There was no real buildup to Nya being the water ninja, for example, but Sora’s said to be good with tech a few moments after we meet her. This ain’t a critique of either show — just a different choice I sort of picked up on, if it even makes any sense. And as crazy as it may sound, I liked that about the old Ninjago — it saw the characters more as storytelling devices, I think, than relatable to the audience (Kai was the hothead, Jay the humour, etc — ofc they were more than that, but they retained that sort of vibe from S1 a little all throughout the show I think). DR, on the other hand, seems to want their characters to be more relatable, more multifaceted, make more sense — which, when coupled with the fact that they’re new characters and that the ninjago fandom has historically thrived on gaps in the show to enjoy it (we’re a very AU, OC, heavy fandom, etc), I think DR attempting to flesh out their characters in the way that we’re often used to doing with the old characters in fic, art, etc means that I like DR a little less because there’s less to ‘work with’, and less that inspires thinking of the characters in different situations — bc whilst relating is nice, it is also enjoyable when the characters are written with some core characteristics in mind and you explore other parts of them or those characteristics in different contexts. I don’t think makes much sense, but I hope that it maybe gives you something to think about — as you can probably see, I’ve been going a little crazy over not liking it and not knowing why, so I know that the feeling isn’t great.

I'm picking up what you're putting down here. My next video has a bit about getting disillusioned with a fandom, and it sucks. It always does. It's heartbreaking when you feel like that special bond between you and your show was somehow broken. I empathies, and it's important to feel it out.

Now, I don't think ninjago was better at character arcs, i don't think having a character arc be longer is better, or even really a characteristic of classic ninjago, but I do think the DR character arcs feel very by the book. They're following the screenwriting 101 guide perfectly, but it ends up feeling a bit lacking because of it? If that makes sense? Now, ninjago was historically very bad at character arcs, but when they got it right, they always had a bit of a spin on things, and interesting visual payoff, whatever. I think the zane's emotions arc isn't particularly great (and the sally piece is sort of at the end of the first half of the season ;) I would argue sora's arc in season 1 about finding confidence is better, but that doesn't mean I find it much more enjoyable.

I will agree that that the characters in ninjago definitely feel more like characters, while the DR cast (old cast included) feel more like people. Neither are a bad thing, but I think it definitely has an effect on the tone. Characters allow for a more lighthearted goofy vibe, because the show is operating on a higher suspension of disbelief most of the time. DR on the other hand, does want a little more vulnerability from its audience on a regular basis.

Lastly, I do think you're onto something with DR being fully planned. The two seasons we have so far feel very indistinct. There is less of a defining singular "adventure" in each season. And again, that's not a good thing or a bad thing, but it ends up making things feel different. Ninjago is an episodic series of adventures. DR is a continual evolving set of circumstances. Those are just going to feel different.