#just to show that I'm referring to their characters in like. the franchise as a whole

[descendant-of-truth]

What I like about Rockman.exe is that. they push the notion that Netto is the wild card between the two so much, right, like he's the classic loud, reckless kid who jumps out of windows and runs into radiation on purpose. so, next to the sweet and mild-mannered Rockman, he's gotta be the crazy one of the two, right?

Except at every turn, Rockman proves time and again to be WAY more susceptible to unhinged behavior than Netto could ever be

And to his credit, the stuff with Dark Rockman and the Cybeast forms were caused by external factors, even if it still adds to a narrative pattern that I'm very invested in. But the part in the manga where he tears a navi apart with his bare hands was 100% pure Rockman rage, and Netto has to be the one to tell him not to give in to it while he's strangling his evil double in the background

The best way I can think to explain it is that Netto is a consistent level of insane across the board regardless of the situation, while Rockman switches rapidly between the extremes of being Actually Normal and needing to be physically restrained to stop his bloodlust. And truly, who else is doing it like them

[goemon-fan]

This was easily one of the best Lupin episodes

[t-u-i-t-c]

Family to the End, Until the Day We Meet Again

[scourgeofmyownbrain]

My siblings in Primus, holy fucking shit. I made an Optimus Height Chart. This took me.. SO LONG TO DO. Were y'all aware of how many Optimus designs there are?? Because I don't have all of them on this chart, and I still have TWENTY NINE (29, a 2 and a 9) out of the THIRTY SIX (36, a 3 and a 6) that exist. I didn't include the SEVEN (7) because either they were just a temporary upgraded form, or I already had multiple designs from that universe that were the same height and having all of them is redundant and repetitive.

40 fucking years and nearly as many distinct designs, I deserve a medal, honestly. Optimus has been in every single piece of media the Transformers franchise has ever made. Working on this in tandem with the Megatron one was a wild choice of mine, but I did it.

I included Optimus Primal on this chart. Both are named Optimus, I should not have to explain myself. Big Monkey and Big Truck are the same. No, your honour, I do not plead insanity; why do you ask?

Quick Disclaimer, if any of the images look weird, it's because I had to stitch a few separate images together to create a full body shot of the character.

Links to my Bumblebee Chart and my Megatron Chart. !!NEW!! -> Shockwave, Soundwave, Ratchet, and Ironhide. For future reference, all these charts will be filed under my "Transformers Height Charts" tag and my "aka the adventures of a..." tag. Hopefully, my bumblebee post is acting up and idk if the same issue will happen here.

Master Post

Explanations below the cut because I have fucking WORDS to say. This is gonna be a long one... 29 separate designs...

G1 Beast Wars V1 - ~9 Feet (Primal. Straight from TFWiki, converted to feet and rounded, the tiniest baby man gorilla)

G1 Beast Machines - ~8 Feet (Primal. The wiki failed me, but I found a old forum discussion where they made a chart comparing all the BW/M characters. Glorious stuff, I commend their effort.)

G1 Beast Wars V2 - ~10 Feet (Primal. TFWiki with the clutch, I will not always be this lucky.)

Earth Spark - ~15 Feet (Prime. No official numbers have been given, but I have already figured out how tall Bee is, and I was able to compare the two and get a good estimate. This is the shortest non-animal universe to date holy shit. Look at this, I'm showing my work

I am having a conniption they are so short)

RID 2001 - ~16 Feet (Prime. TFWiki once more, we love one source for everything)

Unicron Trilogy V2&3/ENG&CYB - ~16 Feet (Prime. For the uneducated, the Unicron Trilogy has given each of its 3 seasons separate names and 3 separate art styles. These are the designs used in Energon (S2) and Cybertron (S3). The Wiki had Cybertron's numbers but not Energon's, so for my own sanity, I decided the two were the same height. I could have done something in between Cybertron's and Armada's (S1) numbers, but there was a lot of float between the two)

G1 Beast Wars V3 - ~16 Feet (Primal/Optimal Optimus, this is the result of a fusion between Primal and Prime. The TFWiki says this design is like 40 feet tall, but if that is true, Rattrap, a character stated to be 1.8m or ~6f tall across several sources across several different languages, is actually not that tall. So I call bullshit, this guy is 2.6 Rattraps tall, making him around 16f or 4.9m tall. Checkmate, I win)

Prime Wars V1 - ~17 Feet (Primal. Slight spoilers for further into this chart but I decided that the Prime Wars Trilogy and the Netflix Cybertron Trilogy Optimuses were the same height as the Gen 1 design, because they're nearly identical. So comparing Primal to Prime, Primal comes up to about Prime's tits, bada bing bada boom)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~17 Feet (Primal. Identical explanation to above, don't want to repeat myself)

One V1 - ~17 Feet 10 inches (Prime. Okay, the Wiki says 32.534 feet, and I call Bullshit. A: These numbers are sourced from the Walmart Promotional AR Experience that came out before the movie. B: There are three decimal points, and that number does not convert into a whole number in meters (which is originally what I thought was weird about it). C: The director has said that this movie is both canon to the LA movies and its own separate canon. I already stated all of this in my Bumblebee chart post, and I will be dying on this hill. This is as short as we see OP in the movie, him at his tallest should match his KCV height, he's never taller than Megsy, so knock a couple feet off the biggest number and voila, my brain hurts)

One V2 - ~18 Feet 10 Inches (Prime. Same explanation as above, but taller than he was without his cog, because he got bigger)

Gen 1 - ~19 Feet (Prime. TFWiki has saved me the effort of figuring it out myself)

Prime Wars - ~19 Feet (Prime. As I said before, since this design is identical to Gen 1, it is the same height)

Netflix Cybertron Trilogy - ~19 Feet (Prime. I've said it twice now, identical, therefore same height)

Knight/Capel-Verse - ~19 Feet 4 inches (Primal. No Robot height given, I have his monkey form height from TFWiki, but comparing him to Optimus he's only a few inches shorter)

Prime Wars V2 - ~ 20 Feet (Primal. Compared to Prime, Prime comes up to about Primal's nose area, and we all know how tall I think this Prime is)

Animated - 20 Feet 6 Inches (Prime. This number actually comes from @phoenix-inanis and the glorious calculations they have done on the TFA Characters. Go check it out, because animated has literally no actual numbers -> https://phoenix-inanis.notion.site/TFA-Height-Chart-f6ad2960ca8c4c5b859ee4958723aaa4?pvs=4)

Knight/Capel-Verse - 20 feet 10 Inches (Prime. TFWiki has graced me with a number)

One V3 - ~20 Feet 10 Inches (Prime. If it's canon to KCV, then it's canon here. I've already told you my reasons)

Cyberverse - 21 Feet (Prime. Oh, shitty screenshot from a random Russian YouTube video; you treat me so well. I would adore a better scan of this if anyone has one)

Unicron Trilogy V1/ARM - 22 Feet 11 Inches (Prime. Technically, this number is for the Armada video game, which isn't exactly canon to the show. But I don't have any other numbers and my brain is tired, so CANON IT IS)

Aligned Cont. RID15 V1 - 25 Feet (Prime. I'm really proud of this one: I can already hear some of your questions. "But I thought his second form was as tall as his TFP V2 form, and this one was as tall as TFP V1," "but his V1 forms and V2 forms look like each other," You thought Wrong!! And I can Prove it!! Let's refresh ourselves on the height difference between TFP V1 Prime and Bee.

As we can see, Bee comes up to the top of Optimus's hips. Lovely. Now, let's look at RID15's height difference when Optimus first returns. Keep in mind that RID15 Bee and TFP Bee are the same height.

Look, Bee comes up to Optimus's chest in this form, not his hips. He comes up to a similar point on Bulkhead in the previous picture. Let's look at Prime's second form.

This is from the intro; yes, Bee is crouched, but look, if he stood straight he only comes up to about Prime's hips, JUST LIKE IN TFP!!! With this evidence, we can conclude that Prime's first RID15 form is similar in height to Bulkhead! I was so fucking excited to show y'all this, I was so proud of myself, I still am)

Bayverse V1 - 28 Feet (Prime. From the first 4 movies. Straight from TFWiki, because Mr. Michael Bay loves me)

Bayverse V2 - 29 Feet (Prime. Only in The Last Knight. Mr. Bay has lovingly kissed my forehead because he always gives me numbers for his movies)

Aligned Cont. WF/FOC/TFP V1/RID15 V2 - 30 Feet (Prime. TFWiki/Fandom/Me respectively. I love you, Video Game Info Screens. I am still pretty syced about figuring RID15 out, oh I feel so good. Almost makes me forget about how FREAKISHLY HUGE this universe is. And how the games concretely prove this fact)

Aligned Cont. TFP V2 - 35 Feet (Prime. Yes this number comes from Fandom, but this entire universe is monstrously huge for no reason, I believe it. Go look at my Bee chart for more in-depth and insane rant about how huge this universe is compared to other universes, it's at the end of the post)

Not Pictured: Aligned Cont. Rescue Bots and Rescue Bots Academy Optimus Prime - 30 Feet. (Yes, Optimus in the Aligned Continuity has 7 distinct designs across the whole thing. I am in physical pain. SEVEN?? ONE GUY?? SEVEN??), Bayverse Optimus Prime Power Up - 40 Feet. (It's an upgrade form that does not stick around, why should I include it), RID 2001 Super Mode - ~21 feet (Optimus can turn it on and off at will, it's just an upgrade mode), Unicron Trilogy Energon & Cybertron Optimus Prime Super Mode - ~20 Feet (Once more, upgrade mode, it's like stilts, you don't count something you don't always have on.)

29 pngs, holy shit I've done it. This took so long. If anyone has any suggestions for which transformer I should aggressively analyze next please tell me I don't know which ones to do next.

Here are the different layers separated, just so you can see all the many Optimuses (Optimusi?) clearly. I know my og chart is crowded, there's 29 pngs on there you don't think I noticed?

[warpcoreweirdness]

just finished season 2 of Lower Decks and i'm SO glad i tried this show again

i actually started the show a while ago, but the constant easter eggs put me off.

(i still don't know how non-Trekkie viewers are meant to get the jokes where the punchline is "reference!! ����", but lots of people enjoy it so ymmv).

i stopped a few minutes into episode 2 after Rutherford agrees to quit his job as an engineer so he can watch the Trivoli pulsar with Tendi.

i honestly thought it was going to be a storyline about a guy giving up a job he loves and making his boss angry so that he can spend time with a female friend he has a crush on, because that's the plotline i've been conditioned to expect from tv. i wasn't feeling excited about the show, so i put it on pause.

but if i'd watched for about two more seconds before noping out for a few months, i would've seen this:

when i started watching again, i realised that the episodes never bog themselves down in drawn-out, uncomfortable storyline or character staples - they're actually incredibly well-written, tightly paced, and tell their stories in just the right amount of time. Rutherford wants to be Tendi's friend (at least for now), his boss Billups is really supportive, and Tendi brings a PADD into the Jefferies tube so they can both do what they enjoy, separately but together.

another great part about that scene with Rutherford and his boss is something that Lower Decks does a lot, which is make jokes that actually rely on subverting audience expectations. a big example - and a way of referencing other parts of the Star Trek franchise that does work for me - is when the creators gently poke fun at or subvert common story beats, emotional arcs, or dramatic moments from other parts of Trek.

like when Rutherford loses his memory and Tendi is excited to get to know him again, rather than devastated that he doesn't remember her.

or when they save themselves from being smooshed by Dooplers by dramatically ejecting the warp core of their tiny model starship.

or when Tendi goes on an arc of significant personal development over the course of one (1) whole episode.

they're general enough that even people who haven't seen other Star Trek shows (or movies) can still recognise and appreciate them.

beyond this, the show also has great moments where they (lovingly) cast a light on some of the flaws and foibles in the franchise, often in subtle or comedic ways.

like showing people in beep chairs living their best lives (in contrast to TOS and SNW's view of the beep chair as a tragic, doomsday fate for Pike).

or using Tendi to comment on Trek's depiction of Orions specifically as all pirates and slavers, and alien cultures more generally as monocultures.

or even just acknowledging that Trek shows mostly focus on the bridge crew doing heroic first contact-esque adventures, when that can't be all there is to Starfleet.

heck, they even have Rutherford go on a journey of acceptance and self-discovery after a permanent memory wipe (in contrast to Uhura in TOS, where it's never mentioned again).

another reason i really appreciate the show is that the creators have taken the time to think through what a more inclusive future could look like, in ways that are noticeably lacking or absent in many other Trek shows:

beyond exploring diversity through explicit identity representation (which is still very important), it does this through its world building as well.

i love this communal sonic shower scene for what it says about gender and body politics in Trek. in the future, why would we still separate bathrooms and changing rooms by gender? and why would we have the same views and expectations around bodies that we (by "we" i mean Western countries) do now?

this short scene dismantles the idea that nudity is inherently sexual, that gender is binary and biological, that some genders can't be trusted around other genders while naked, and that heterosexuality is the default (and when you bring dozens of alien species into the mix, why wouldn't we have more and newer ways of thinking about gender?). it even has a little mention that Boimler prefers not to shower with others, leaving space for people to act however feels most comfortable for them.

it's such a little thing, but after years spent (lovingly) yelling at the screen during TNG, TOS, DS9, etc saying, "why are they assuming everyone is straight? WHY would people be this sexist?", i noticed it immediately and appreciated it immensely.

(this isn't related to the storytelling, but i also have to say - the animation in Lower Decks is so pretty???):

this isn't a perfect show, but it's funny, has fantastic storytelling, and it loves the source material without worshipping it. (which is not something i expected to say, given how it started).

plus i love these characters SO MUCH.

so far, so very good 🤞.

(image descriptions in alt text)

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

The Animaniacs Shared Universe (A.K.A The Tooniverse)

It goes deeper than you think!

(I put way too much thought into this lol)

Tier 1 - Mutually Canon (They definitely share a universe)

I'll be separating each property mentioned into tiers (hey I told you I put too much thought into this). This tier is for properties where characters from Animaniacs have shown up in them as themselves, and vice versa. These have to be more than just references. No parodies, knockoffs, cases where the characters exist but are fictional in universe (as in they're not toon actors, they're fictional cartoon characters with no thoughts of their own), etc. These are part of the ASU, no question.

Tiny Toon Adventures

First, there's the fact that Ralph debuted in Tiny Toon Adventures, before he became a recurring character in Animaniacs, although he was unnamed at the time:

Then, once Animaniacs started, characters from Tiny Toon Adventures would often make cameos, and Animaniacs characters would cameo in Tiny Toons' post-series specials:

Before I move on to the next property, although most of the properties mentioned in this post don't always adhere to continuity, I still only want to provide evidence from content that at least could be considered canon, so while I feel obliged to acknowledge the existence of "Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain", given that it isn't canon, it's depiction of how these characters share a universe doesn't really matter.

Pinky and the Brain

A pretty obvious pick, given that Pinky and the Brain were initially just Animaniacs co-stars before getting their own show:

Their spin off series has plenty of references to Pinky and the Brain's adventures in Animaniacs. Also, Phar Fignewton, Billie, and other Animaniacs characters all make appearances (with Billie and the Warners appearing multiple times):

Those in addition to the series finale ("Star Warners"), where the cast of Animaniacs reunite to do a sketch that parodies Star Wars, make it clear that the spin off definitely takes place in the same world as Animaniacs.

Freakazoid!

This show is more removed from Animaniacs than the previous two properties, but Wakko and Brain show up in Freakzaoid, and Freakazoid shows up in Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, so it's in the ASU alright.

Space Jam/Classic Looney Tunes

I realise that Looney Tunes in general doesn't really have a "universe", just various iterations/reboots. So the versions of the Looney Tunes I imagine exist in the ASU are the ones in the Space Jam movies/classic shorts (or pretty much any version of them that are toon actors in the modern world).

The Looney Tunes appear or are at least mentioned in Animaniacs multiple times:

Space Jam is alluded to in the Pinky and the Brain episode "Inherit the Wheeze", and the Warners are in Space Jam: A New Legacy (their water tower is even placed in Looney Tunes World in the movie).

There's also the fact that Tiny Toons is an official Looney Tunes spin off, so presumably if Animaniacs shares a universe with that show the Looney Tunes should therefore exist as toons in the ASU.

Tier 2 - Implied/Headcanon (They could share a universe)

For cases where Animaniacs or another ASU property implies that they share a universe, but this isn't done the other way round (for example, if a character from the property appeared in Animaniacs, but no characters from Animaniacs appear in their franchise). This can be done via references, cameos, mentions, etc., but they have to come off as more than just references/jokes, they have to imply characters from those properties really do exist. Basically, the Tooniverse may consider them canon, but the feeling isn't mutual (yet, at least).

Mickey Mouse & Friends

For this franchise, when I say they might "share a universe" it's assuming the context is that Mickey and Friends are also toon actors in the real world, like the Warners, Slappy, Bugs, etc. I'm also including Goof Troop stuff, Donald Duck universe stuff, etc. WB cartoons reference/take shots at Mickey/Disney ALOT, so I'll only talk about a few references that imply that Mickey, Minnie, etc. are real people in Animaniacs.

Slappy mentions attending Daisy Duck’s bar mitzvah in a season 3 segment called "Gimme a Break", so that implies Daisy, and therefore the rest of the gang, really do exist and aren't just fictional characters. She also mentions Huey, Dewey, Louie in the same episode. She mentions these characters while delirious, but one of her gimmicks is being reminded of younger versions of other cartoon stars she's met, so who's to say she hasn't actually met them?

Dot says "Why don't you go bug the kids on Goof Troop?" to a nanny in another season 3 segment called "The Sound of Warners". Again it's just a mention (and a sarcastic one at that), but it does imply that they are real people in their world.

DuckTales has been mentioned a few times; by Pinky in "Opportunity Knox" ("Egad, this is better than a DuckTales episode.") and Yakko mentions the DuckTales reboot in "Suspended Animation - Part 2".

These references alone don't imply Scrooge, the triplets, etc. are real, but alongside the previous references, it does seem to imply that the cast of DuckTales are animated actors in this world too (Animaniacs, the show, exists in-universe too yet the Warners are real people).

All these and more just seem to repeatedly hint that Mickey and his pals are toons in Animaniacs just like the Warners, but since they're from another studio we can't see them onscreen.

This is supported by the possible presence of…

Roger Rabbit

Ralph greets Roger as he enters the lot in the limo (presumably with Jessica) in Tiny Toon Adventures, and although we don't see Roger's face and he's wearing grey gloves rather than yellow ones, Ralph explicitly refers to him as "Roger":

He shows up again later:

OK I admit this one's kind of a cheat because this guy could count as a knockoff (different clothes), but think about it, if he is just supposed to be a knockoff, why hide his face? Why make sure we never see him up close? He's one of the only supposed knockoff characters they do this with. It just implies that this is actually supposed to be Roger, but for the sake of copyright they keep his face away from the camera, since Roger Rabbit is considered a Disney property.

Mickey, Minnie and more appear in WFRR, which goes perfectly with the implication that they are toon actors in Animaniacs. It’s also one of the only properties where both Bugs and Mickey exist (or in Animaniacs' case, Mickey is implied to exist) in the real world as themselves and not parodies or fictional characters. I'm just saying, Animaniacs and Who Framed Roger Rabbit being taking place in the same world would make sense, considering they are both about toons in the real world.

Plus, Steven Spielberg directed Who Framed Roger Rabbit and even voices the "knockoff". I think it's only fitting the movie that got him invested in directing animation shares a universe with the rest of his animated work.

Tier 3 - Reaches/Outside References (It's possible they share a universe, but unlikely)

For cases where a property implies/shows that Animaniacs/ASU characters exist in their world, but this has not happened the other way round. This tier is also for cases where the property has no canon and hence can't share a universe.

Histeria!

Some of the character models that were used in Histeria came from Animaniacs (like ones for caricatures of historical figures such as Michelangelo and Ludwig von Beethoven), and some Animaniacs characters are mentioned/seen in Histeria!:

So why isn't it in Tier 1?

Two reasons. First, in regards to the character models, this seems to be a case where they just reused background character designs rather than intentionally putting an established character in a different show. For example, the World's Oldest Woman was not given a name until Histeria! and was slightly redesigned, and Ludwig von Beethoven has a different voice in Histeria!, so they're not really official appearances of those characters as their Histeria! selves. Yes that's a similar situation to Ralph, but the difference is that the background characters have completely different roles in Histeria! whereas Ralph is the WB security guard in both Tiny Toons and Animaniacs and looks exactly the same (Frank Welker even voices him in both). In the case of the historical figures, two properties depicting the same historical figure does not mean that they share a universe.

As for the Animaniacs references, Histeria has no canon. It's not like Looney Tunes and Space Jam where there's at least a duology of films where one continues the story of the other. There are recurring characters and gags but each episode is completely standalone (different settings, time periods, etc.), unlike most of the other properties which are episodic, but do have continuity (Miss Flamiel is hired in her debut episode and continues to be the Warner's teacher in later episodes, Snowball buys Microsponge in season 1 of PATB and still owns it in season 4, etc.) Histeria! exists in it's own little reality-warping world. Therefore any references to Animaniacs are just that: references.

Teen Titans Go!

Yes, really.

Starfire mentions that the WB water tower is where "the Animaniacs" live in "Teen Titans GO! To the Movies".

(Yes they make the mistake of calling the Warners "the Animaniacs" when that name is meant to refer to the entire recurring cast of the show, but to be fair official Animaniacs media has made this same mistake so whatever.)

And before anyone thinks "Well she's an alien who probably doesn't understand that cartoon characters aren't real", TTG is yet another show where toons are actors in the real world. This is confirmed in multiple episodes, such as their Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary special:

So Starfire knew exactly what she was talking about. The thing is, the Warners themselves don't appear in any episodes of the show, neither inside or outside the water tower. However, the Animaniacs cast may still exist as toon actors in their world. This is implied by:

TTG'S ACTUAL CROSSSOVER WITH FREAKZOID. Granted, he is sort of treated as a fictional character, but in a meta way that would fit right at home in an episode of Freakazoid. The toon actor reasoning can still apply. The point is he's interacting with the real world and doesn't only exist within a TV screen. However, until TTG itself is referenced in some way in either official Animaniacs media or some other ASU property, these are just references.

.

.

.

I realise most of these were probably just seen as fun cameos and/or references and nothing more, but the idea of the Warners and Bugs Bunny canonically being co-workers who have known each other for years, or something like Dip actually existing in their world, etc. just feels right. Helps the world seem...larger, and more developed! (Goodnight Everybody!)

Ahem. Anyway, this was post fun to think about, and only slightly less fun to make (f#@% the 30 image per post limit).

[purpledemonlilyposting]

Lily you must have as many memory problems as your wife because you continuously seem to forget you made a Steven Universe video in 2023 in response to HiP. And that's what I reacted to.

[Lily's Post]

Meanwhile literally me: "Yeah some of my fans aren't interested in my Steven Universe stuff that's expected. Don't care if people don't like the show just don't lie about it"

And of course:

Also you still don't understand blorbo refers to a character not a franchise. You can't even understand made up Tumblr words, Lily.

Also also have you noticed how like none of the other people I've prominently covered are trans women? James Somerton, Yandere Dev, Shadiversity, unless I've missed some news I'm pretty sure none of those are trans women.

What you do all have in common though is dogshit opinions.

[splinkoplinko]

I'm gonna share some Guilty Gear LGBTQ+ "headcanons" that are most likely canon. Most of these go off of the idea that Elphelt's Magnum Wedding Instakill (MW) doesn't override sexuality.

Despite my claims of these being most likely canon, most things here are not directly confirmed by Daisuke Ishiwatari, ArcSystem Works, or any other individuals involved with the making of these characters or the Guilty Gear franchise and the following should still be taken as headcanon as these are my readings of certain things I've found in the games. You have been advised.

May - Bisexual, possibly confused lesbian - She does, in fact, fall in love with Elphelt here, but has a thing for Johnny, possibly. The thing with Johnny is that she might not actually have a crush on him. From my own experiences, it's possible that May could be overly obsessed with Johnny, and may be misunderstanding her obsession and hyper fixation on him as a romantic interest in him. This idea also makes the whole Johnny and May thing less creepy as Johnny is her dad, and, I believe is supported by one of MW lines being "C-Could this be romance?! Oh my gosh!" implying that how she feels for Elphelt during Magnum Wedding is different from how she feels for Johnny, possibly even completely redefining romance for her, which is pretty huge for someone who's been seemingly romantically attracted to someone for years.

Millia - Bisexual, possible preference for women - She 100% had romantic and sexual feelings for Zato, which he manipulated prior to his death. Because of the sexual manipulation from Zato, it seems that she is not keen on being involved with a man again in any way. However, in MW, she falls in love with Elphelt, even going as far as to say "Have I chosen the yuri route..?" This doesn't really explain the "preference to women" part of this idea, but another quote of Millia's is "This is a whole new world...!" which, at least to me, shows that she experiences romance with a woman in a much more positive way than with a man.

Elphelt - Pansexual - When MW is used against herself, Elphelt says "I-I'll just take anyone...?" So like, yeah. Also she fell in love with herself, that's pretty gay.

Baiken - Bisexual - I'm pretty sure that she and Anji are confirmed to be a thing? I could 100% be wrong on that. However, when Baiken gets hit with MW, she falls in love with Elphelt. Despite that, she seems very reluctant, which could be shown as rejection (which I'll get to because it DOES happen), but I interpret this instead as denial of her feelings. This is further emphasized by her character, being a cold, lone wolf type of person. This can be seen in her platonic relationships as well, in which, only really accepting the company of Anji (possibly not platonic) and Delilah with Delilah being her latest friendship. The idea of her being in denial is in the line, "Won't work. Try to fall for someone el...?!" which, in my interpretation, means that she doesn't believe she's good enough, but is cut off by the sheer amount of love she's feeling from MW.

Jam - Bisexual - She wants to hire "cute boys" (boys she's attracted to) like Ky Kiske to work at her diner. In both Jam's Story ending 1 and Bridget's story ending 1 of Accent Core Plus, Jam actually hires Bridget to work at the diner. While Bridget identified as male then, she now identifies as female, though, that might not mean much. What means much more is her MW line, "Cute girl maybe ok, too." which implies that "cute girls" (GIRLS she's attracted to) would be hired as well.

Jack-O' - Bisexual - Is Aria, wife of Sol Badguy. They're also together in the ending of Strive. Reason that she's bisexual is because she refers to her and Elphelt as a couple in her MW line "Birth of a new-age couple?!" so that's pretty cut and dry.

Kum - Lesbian - When hit with MW, she falls in love with Elphelt as shown by the line, "Romance filter severely damaged!" meaning that, well, romance. Duh. I say lesbian specifically because, to my knowledge, she doesn't show attraction to any men, really just Elphelt, if anything were to come out where she shows attraction to a man or if I missed something that does the same, then I'd say she's bisexual. But for now, she's lesbian.

Venom - Gay - Now for the part that proves that MW doesn't override sexuality and that all of the above characters are attracted to women. Venom is canonically gay, this isn't a headcanon, this is just outright confirmed. However, it's important to note that Venom resists the romantic nature of MW as shown by his lines, "My loyalty cannot be broken!" "You cannot tempt me!" and last, but not least, "Lord ZATOOOO!" The fact that Venom, who in canon is exclusively attracted to men, does not fall in love with Elphelt in MW, means that the above characters DO fall in love with Elphelt and ARE attracted to women.

Bedman - Aroace - Completely rejects the concept of being in love ("Damn witch! You cannot take my heart from me!" "Are you trying to corrupt me?) when hit with MW, and, in one line, exclaims, "You cannot replace Delilah!" which is just comparing the effects of MW to his only other relationship, which is platonic, which is with his sister, which makes me feel like it's not at all romantic or sexual to him in any way.

Ramlethal - Aroace - At first, I thought she could be lesbian, but one of my friends who knows a lot more about GG lore and Ramlethal in specific than me argued that she's Aroace, citing one of her taunts in Strive that implies she has no concept of romance and that it's kinda gross to her. He also said that her saying "Is this my true self?" is about her experiencing human emotions, which she doesn't believe she can do (at least during Xrd's story mode). He, however, did say that as her concept and expression of human emotions develops, things could change, and she may end up developing romantic feelings, but that is not definite. As of right now, Ramlethal is aroace, at least in my books.

Testament - Nonbinary with attraction to men - I don't know if Testament has any attraction to women, but I read their intro lines in Strive with Johnny as them being a thing, as Johnny offers to go out to eat after their fight in one line. Testament is confirmed to be nonbinary though.

Johnny - Bi or Pansexual, though could still be straight? - This one veers much more into headcanon territory, but it's possible that Johnny could be bisexual or pansexual as he may in a situationship with Testament, as I mentioned just above. Testament does, however, present more femme than masc, and does use feminine pronouns alongside gender neutral and masculine pronouns, so it's possible that Johnny simply counts Testament as a woman and is still straight.

Bridget - Sapphic transgender woman - Bridget is a trans woman in canon, however, it's not confirmed if she is attracted to men, women, neither, or both. However, Daisuke once made some very interesting art where May is gripping Bridget's butt pretty strong (which is really just more evidence for May being sapphic), but Bridget doesn't seem troubled by it or anything soooo. Also, of the 2 characters that have special lines when defeated by Bridget in Strive, May gets 2 lines while Bridget herself only gets 1, no one else has a special line at this time.

I-no - Pansexual - Pretty sure she'll top anyone, even people who claim to be tops. This is basically just a headcanon, but apparently she teases both men and women when defeating them, soooo.

BONUS!!

These characters are, in my opinion, heterosexual despite this being contested in some smaller aspects of the community.

Sin - When hit with MW, one of Sin's lines is, "Farewell... virginity..." so yeah, he's straight. Idk, could be bi, but I see no evidence for that. Most people say he's aroace because he's so young, childish, and dumb, but Dizzy fell for Ky around the same age soooo...

Dizzy - When hit with MW, it feels like she's rejecting Elphelt, much like Venom and Bedman, saying "I'm married!" "I'm sorry, I can't!" "I-I have a son..." much less like a denial of feelings similar to that of Baiken. I don't think her sexuality is contested as much as Sin's is, but I still feel like this is worth mentioning.

yeah i think that's it really

END

If you have any other pieces of evidence for OR AGAINST my ideas and evidence, then please share!!! I am open to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism :3!!!

Reminder that MOST of these aren't technically confirmed to be canon, so take these as head canons if anything, not cold, hard facts!! And please, do not be rude about these either.

Also, do not deny ACTUAL canon (Venom being gay, Bridget being a transwoman, and Testament being nonbinary) as that is not cool and disrespectful to the ideas of Daisuke himself!!!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have a great day ^^!!!!!

[lizz-crimson]

MK Characters Intro Banter With Monster Hunter Reader!

In this scenario the Reader is a monster hunter from the Monster Hunter game franchise! I love, love, love MH, and I also love, love, love, MK! So why not bring them together!? Reader is gender neutral and is simply called 'hunter' in these.

Tags/warnings: Language, talk of violence (against people and animal-like monsters), Monster Hunter termanology and references, Reader is a funny monster hunting badass!

Characters: Liu Kang, Scorpion, Raiden, Johnny Cage.

Part 2 Part 3

Liu Kang

You: "Y'know, I hunt dragons for a living."

Lui Kang: "Is that a threat, hunter?"

You: "Just a friendly heads up."

Liu Kang: "What are those blades made of?"

You: "My dual blades? These are made from the parts of Rathalos and Rathian I've hunted."

Liu Kang: "They are pulsing with both flame and poison..."

Liu Kang: "My dragon fire does not effect you nearly as much as others."

You: "These talismans aren't for show, Liu."

Liu Kang: "Let's see if I can't knock them off!"

You: "I'd love to see you get into a kick-off with a Seregios."

Liu Kang: "A Seregios? Another monster of yours?"

You: "Just imagine a golden parrot with knives for feathers. ...They also kick really hard."

Scorpion

You: "Never thought I'd meet someone as angry as an Odogaron."

Scorpion: "My rage cannot ever be sated."

You: "I can't imagine how hard that is.."

Scorpion: "Have a taste of hellfire!"

You: "Please no, I've already hunted a Magnemalo today.. "

Scorpion: "I will prove a much bigger challenge."

You: "It feels odd fighting you."

Scorpion: "How so, hunter?"

You: "I only ever fight monsters. I feel I may go too hard on you."

Scorpion: "That longsword is impressive."

You: "Thanks! It's made from that Teostra you saw me hunting earlier!"

Scorpion: "You mean to tell me you successfully slayed that creature?!"

Raiden

Raiden: "What are these Elder Dragons you speak of?"

You: "They are the scientifically unexplainable monsters that roam my world. I have fought and slain many."

Raiden: "Impressive. We could use your skills in defending Earthrealm."

You: "A Zinogre would be a good companion for you, Raiden."

Raiden: "I have no interest in pets."

You: "Not even a dragon dog with natural thunder abilities?"

Raiden: "I must admit, you are hard to strike with my lightening."

You: "I had to get good at dodging thunder attacks when a Kirin went berserk back home."

Raiden: "Your world has made you versatile indeed."

You: "Raiden, help me test out my new weapon!"

Raiden: "Are you welding an axe or a sword and shield?"

You: "Both, baby!"

Johnny Cage

Johnny Cage: "Damn, you take hits like a tank!"

You: "Armor and food, Johnny. Armor and food."

Johnny Cage: "What are those cats feeding you!?"

You: "Ready to face the music, Johnny?"

Johnny Cage: "Wait, you mean that's not a hammer?!"

You: "I'm gonna play the Ninja Mime theme while bludgeoning you to the pavement!"

You: "No Johnny, you cannot pet the monster I captured."

Johnny Cage: "Why not? It's just a big turkey!"

You: "A Kulu-Ya-Ku is stronger than it looks!"

Johnny Cage: "You beat that poor thing to death!"

You: "Unfortunately, that Pukei-Pukei became to aggressive near my village. I had no choice."

Johnny Cage: "Well pookie-pookie didn't know what hit her.."

------

Hope ya liked these! I keep saying I'm gonna post write stuff here but never do lol

Here's the monsters mentioned in these interactions for those curious! I put them in a lil collage in the order that they were mentioned!

[vavialdavi]

Frozen fandom, I have a message for you!

Y'all really need to calm down on the asumptions cause it's possible that none of them turn on canon. I'm gonna adress the two big ones: Norse myth and Hans (by extension Helsa)

Unless, we've heard completely different speeches, Jennifer Lee never mentionned Norse myth. The castle in the sky could be Asgard as much as it could not. Let's not forget the question castle ruins in Ahtohallan. Ahtohallan already being its own entity. Norse myth could play a role in F3 and F4 as well as it could not. Yes, Frozen has inspirations and references to Norse myth, but it's not the only one . One thing you tend to forget is the great inspiration of Saami culture the Frozen franchise have, especially in the second movie. It would be more logical if they keep that way for the new movies instead of going after Norse myth as their main base. Nothing's confirmed.

Y'all have the right to make every theory you want but, keep in mind that at the end of the day, they remain theories. Mrs Lee told us to not hold onto that concept art. Let's consider all possibilities. It could be completely wipped off and we wouldn't know before 2027. Don't forget they were still chanoine the script a few months before F2 premiere and that Elsa was villian before Mrs got involved in the project. We're never sure with Frozen.

I'ma be fully honest, I don't want Hans to be a relevant character again and I'm quite fine with him being a joke along the franchise. The idea of a redemption arc with him having a positive role in the sisters' story, the possibility of Helsa even more make me sick. BUT all I'm about to say could also apply to my views on Honeymaren and elsamaren.

"Coming out of Frozen 2, we still have some questions. A lot of questions. That is just page one. Now you see why it will take two films to answer them. Just a tease, once again just a tease." These are Mrs Lee's words

This more looks like a list of the questions they've received. Rather than the ones F3 and F4 are gonna answer. Mrs Lee didn't say that. Considering the fact that the first two are already answered. Ahtohallan. The fifth spirit is the human spirit, Elsa and Anna are the bridge between spirits and humans (one side of each). Just watch Frozen 2 and the Myth short, please.

But let's say, all of these questions are gonna get answered. Some of them can just be mentionned a few seconds. And It's still not a confirmation of Hans's return and even less of a potential redemption arc. You can theorize what you want but Hans could also remain a blatant franchise joke. Or we could just see a memory of him in Ahtohallan showing what he became. Mrs Lee didn't confirm which characters are coming back for the sequels (even though it seems clear our five MCs and the Nokk are). We don't know anything about Hans's future.

1- Long story short, I'm not telling y'all what you should believe or not, I'm just asking to not act like what is NOT confirmed is. Don't hold too much on your asumptions cause you might end up not appreciating the actual movies if none of them happens. As an elsamaren shipper, I feel what I say.

2- I also fear y'all might start a new misinformation wave. Critical thinking and media literacy being concepts unknown in most of the fandoms, it can turn out really bad. I haven't forgotten how dirty some of you did Honeymaren just you didn't like the idea of lesbian Elsa. To this day, there are still being convinced she is her cousin. I remember really well how many people fall for that ai fake news made by a SATIRE disney account that Elsa was getting married to a woman in F3...

[the-one-and-only-taffie]

Back with more White Diamond x Sentinel Prime crackship nonsense baby!!!

Ever since I first thought about these goobers, I haven't known a single day of peace (mostly cause the ideas are just racking around in my brain)

So here's a list of headcanons I came up with for Prime Diamond! If you have any questions regarding this ship, my ask box is open. Double if you have any thoughts or anything to add, go on ahead! I hope y'all enjoy!

I may make a part 2 when I come up with more lol

For this relationship to even be possible (as possible as a crackship between two characters from completely different franchises can be), it will have to take place Post-Steven Universe Finale/Future when White Diamond is in her therapy, self-help guru era. And when Sentinel Prime is... alive.

Also, I have been trying to do research regarding this but since the results are so inconsistent, I'm gonna assume White Diamond is around 80 to 90 ft tall and Sentinel is around 60 (based on how he's double Orion Pax's height and apparently TF One Orion is around 33 ft tall). If you know their actual canonical heights or anything close to that, please lemme know!

As mentioned in a reblog, White Diamond would take an interest in Sentinel Prime as a sort of little DIY project. Though he tries to hide it, White with her supernatural intuitiveness can tell there's more to him than meets the eye (he's an asshole). Having been inspired by Steven to see the worth and beauty in imperfections, she wants to give someone like Sentinel a chance like Steven did for her. Though she is making genuine strides to improve upon her previous controlling and obsessive behavior regarding perfection, this aspect of her will resurface in her attempts "fix" Sentinel while in a relationship with him. She adores and finds much interest in his "positive imperfections," but helping him improve on his more negative ones wouldn't hurt, right?

Other reasons she developed an attraction to him is for the same reason all the Sentinel fangirls did: he's just so... pathetic. When he tries to impress her with stories of battles he's never fought in and gives her a tour of his treasure room full of artifacts he didn't discover, she can tell he's trying way too hard to impress her. She finds this cute and charming rather than douchey and desperate.

Sentinel Prime pursued her because, as stated in a previous reblog, "his diva ass was always going to try and seek out a gem fit for a king." He laid his eyes on an 80-90 ft giant alien rock woman and thought,"I need her." As any sane person would. She was supposed to be nothing more than another symbol of wealth for him to show off to the other elites and officials of Iacon City to further cement the royal image he works so hard to maintain. He definitely underestimated how overwhelming White Diamond can be, and I am not just referring to her height.

Sentinel would rather have his spark be extinguished than admit to this, but his stabilizing servos get wobbly at the idea of his alien girlfriend being so much taller than he is. His pride would never admit to this, nor would it accept someone taller than him accompanying him. He believes that as a "Prime," he is supposed to be much taller, bigger, and more imposing than those around him.

Whenever they make a public appearance, Sentinel insists that White shrink herself to a height more tolerable for his fragile ego. He bullshits an excuse about their buildings not being designed for a being as tall as she is. White obliges, but given how Iacon was built when the previous actual Primes were all gigantic and alive, she quickly figures his lie and confronts him about it. He'd just lie again and say he didn't want the other Cybertronians to be intimidated... by her beauty. Clearly, it's not because of some Napolean complex or something. Still, White is in her patience era, so she takes the compliment for what it is.

The "guy who doesn't like speeches" vs. "professional yapper" isn't a joke. Sentinel can't stand how much White Diamond loves to yap. She's the kind of person to have thoughts and opinions about anything and everything. Given that she doesn't breathe, she doesn't even need to catch her breath in the middle of speaking, so she can go on and on and on, much to Sentinel's annoyance.

He tries to get her to quiet down at times, but as White tends to do, she either doesn't hear him or straight up ignores him. Her monologuing, along with her height and just how shiny she is, is very overwhelming for Sentinel at times. The only good thing he finds about this aspect of his sweetspark is when she dotes on him and showers him with compliments and attention. As if an attention hungry fame whore needed any more of it.

Sentinel even allows White to indulge in her psychoanalysis, playing up the whole "tragic hero whose brothers and sisters perished in battle and now has to face the pain and weight of protecting his people alone" angle that she eats up. White does sometimes hit dangerously close to home, so Sentinel shuts her down before she could dig straight to bedrock and uncover the more unfavorable parts of himself he wants to stay hidden.

Speaking of staying hidden, the way White carries herself in public makes Sentinel was to keep her locked away in a jewelry box. White is excellent when it comes to using her words to inflict psychic damage or to build someone up. When it comes to social situations where charisma, relatability, and poise are needed, this is when White is at her most alien. She is not the most socially adjusted given that prior to the finale, she spent thousands of years hidden away in a world of her own delusions. She doesn't have much of a filter, something she has been working on to avoid upsetting others.

She has the habit of pointing out any interesting thing that catches her eye, especially about people, whether or not it's positive or negative. This has led to her unsettling the bots at best or offending them at worst. Sentinel then has to come in and use his charisma to difuse the situation and paint her behavior in a more positive light. Only for White to turn around and ask everyone if they ever noticed how Sentinel's wings move in accordance to his mood and how adorable it is. Everyone laughs. Sentinel is thoroughly pissed.

Sentinel definitely has more relationship experience than White Diamond. All of her knowledge comes from what she's heard from the gems that come to her for advice or from that human show the little green Crystal Gem recommended (she can't remember her name). In her attempts to emulate the behavior she's heard of and observed, she ends up coming off as cringe or detached from reality. At certain points of the relationship, she even imposes certain "deadlines" on courtship behaviors she expects from Sentinel. All his previous relationships were private, casual flings. He only made this one public because bagging a bad bitch like White Diamond is an accomplishment he felt he had to show off.

This may come to bite him in the aft when her radiance catches the attention of other bots. On these occasions, he acts possessive and showers her with attention, gifts, and affection. He tells himself and Airachnid it's because he doesn't want her to outshine him in the eyes of the public. In reality, he gets jealous and doesn't want to lose her interest and, most importantly, her attention. As overwhelming and embarrassing as she can be, a twisted part of him really craves her attention.

In private, Sentinel can flip flop greatly in how he treats White. On some days he leans on her for support and wants her to pet his wings while he vents about all the dumb, annoying bots he has to fraternize with and all the boring meetings he has to attend. White occasionally interrupts him with advice or her own views on the situation, which frustrates Sentinel. On other days, he's completely detached, not even bothering to give her the time of day. He is at his most consistently sweet and romantic when they're both in the public eye, performing grand gestures of love. This intensifies when they're on camera.

They present themselves as THE Iacon couple, but Sentinel and White argue a lot about pretty much anything. More often than not, White is trying to advise him on how to improve himself and his city, and Sentinel kindly tells her to shut up and mind her own business.

They are both very prideful people who can't accept when they are wrong. White is more willing than Sentinel to admit to it and compromise. If she believes she is 100% in the right, she won't go down without a verbal fight. She has yet to figure out how to properly counter Sentinel's "NUH UH!" though. She believes this is normal and healthy as she hears time and time again how arguments are a sign of a functional relationship. White knows how in the past she never allowed anyone to express their grievances or criticize her. If they did, she'd twist their words to further force her own viewpoint or take control over their mind and body. Seeing Sentinel passionately argue back while White practices her listening skills and only sometimes speaks over him gives her hope that she isn't regressing back to her previous toxicity. No one has told her that disagreements are healthy and normal, but frequent fights and arguments are not. And the kind of hellish circles these two go in just ain't it

[empyrealwinter]

So i went ahead with the Elder Scrolls au idea and have some sketches (sorry for the horrible picture quality i don't have any way to scan my art)

This'll just be me rambling about this idea :D Feedback is welcomed!

Scar as a bosmer just makes sense I'm not gonna lie. There's no real deep interesting though about why he would be. But I did want to add horns because its my favorite little bit of Bosmer lore and I want to see it more often.

Same thing goes for Mumbo and being a vampire, its a common head cannon. TES vampires are a little more interesting cause of their lore and the different variations to them.

Major spoilers for the background lore of TES and some for The Dawngaurd DLC of Skyrim

Grian on the other hand has a lot more meat to him. I've made him a deadric prince because of the whole watcher thing. Compared to the others I cave more idea's about his schtick, mostly cause I'd need to justify him being a literal god like being. Spoilers for if you don't know anything about the deadra or the creation story of the world in the TES franchise . I feel like he'd have a some what similar story to Meridia who is the deadric prince of light. The idea is that like her Grian would've been a Magne-Ge but unlike her chose to watch the creation of the mundas and stay rather than flee with Magnus and choosing to become a deadra. Sort of like a curiosity situation, instead of fleeing he chose to watch and be patron to the mortals of Nirn.

The last guy on the page is Etho who, I sorta struggled with finding a race for him. Thinking maybe a snow leopard Khajiit or just some regular dude and then I remembered there's a literal race of Snow elves in Skyrim. They falmer (snow elves) are a whole can of worms on their own considering there were only 2 living uncorrupted/not devolved falmer left, which show up in the dawngaurd dlc. So actually making a falmer based character is hard enough but theres only one set of snow elf armor in the game, with little to no references to clothing or cultural art. Which is unfortunate since every other race has documented history and culture or the player is physically able to do to the ruins. Still, Etho as a snow elf is a fun idea so I'm sticking with it

Not sure if I would want him to be a worshiper of Auri-El since that is the dominant and only known (at least for me but I don't think there's any other religions) religion of the snow elves.

That's honestly all I have fore now, hope its interesting

[lesterwillington]

We Need a Lovecraft Musical (or play, I would not mind a play)

I love eldritch horror and weird fiction and I love musicals so I might sound biased, but I need this to happen. Technically, there are a few that exist, but I can find very little detail about them. So, what I'm asking the universe for is some sort of Lovecraft stage musical adaptation (preferably something from the Cthulhu Mythos) that recieves a major professional production somewhere in the world (like off-west end or off-broadway or chicago or something, I would love regular west end and regular broadway but I am trying to manage expectations here, kinda). Also, we just need more mainstream horror theater stuff in general. There isn't much of it, and what does exist mostly have been financial and critical failures. Now, you may be asking, "aren't Lovecraft's works famously unadaptable? why not just leave them as short stories and novels? also he was a pretty bad dude should we even be adapting his work at all?", and to that I say: 1. HA, if you really think that, you are a COWARD, a FOOL, and a SCOUNDREL! People thought Dune was unadaptable and now it is a critically acclaimed franchise with at least 2 movies as well as an upcoming tv show and a third movie in development. So, people that say things like that are dumb. Plus, that's mostly in reference to film adaptations anyway, which I can understand for Lovecraft's works. He mostly relies on the audience's imagination for the horror, he tries to get them to fear something they can barely begin to understand. It's hard to translate that into film because film is inherently a visual medium (mostly). However, theater almost always relies on the audience visualizing more than what is really on stage, so I think it fits Lovecraft's works perfectly, especially because of how short most of them are. You can really take your time to flesh out the world and characters if you wanted to. Or just do like, a one-act thing. That woks too. 2. I understand leaving them as their original works, but I think the theatrical experience can elevate the experience of the written works or at least get the audience to see them in a new light. I think an ideal theatrical adaptation would leave the audience extremely unsettled, but wanting more. And they can get more by reading Lovecraft. So, I don't think it's too much of a problem. 3. I'm terribly sorry but like 95% of old, white guy authors were bad people and I think it's reasonable to be able enjoy and appreciate what they made while also condemning who they were. Plus, it's not like Lovecraft or his estate is making any money off this because his works are public domain babyyyy. But yes I need this to happen desperately and I'm afraid it won't. I'm heavily considering trying to make something myself (because the works are public domain and I am a writer), but I have a lot on my plate right now (including an In Trousers screenplay that I have mentioned in a post or two) so I have no idea when I'd be able to really work on it and try to fully realize it. Plus, I have zero connections in the theater world so getting a major production for it would be extremely hard. I still think it's cool, though. Let me know what you guys think. Is it possible? Or are his works better left as they are?

[tleeaves]

Folks going "WHAT they made a show about the Fallout franchise?? I've been hearing people say Bethesda messed it up, but I haven't watched it myself, so I'm going to trust the word of other people -- some of which also haven't finished watching it" is driving me insane.

Being a hard core fan of something obviously brings with it a lot of passionate feelings when adaptations come into play. Of course, there's going to be people going "but in 8 episodes of the first ever season they made, they didn't explore Theme C or D, didn't introduce factions E and F and G, and because the source company is notorious for its scams, we and everyone else who's a TRUE fan should hate it".

The Amazon Original series Fallout follows the videogame franchise of the same name. It is a labour of love and you can tell by the attention to detail, the writing, the sets, and YES THE THEMES ARGUE WITH THE WALL. It's clearly fan service. I mean, the very characterisation of Lucy is a deadringer for someone playing a Fallout game for the first time. She embodies the innocent player whose expectations drastically change in a game that breaks your heart over and over again. Of course, she's also the vessel through which we explore a lot of themes, but I'll get to that.

There're some folks arguing that the show retcons the games, and I gotta say... for a website practically built on fandom culture, why are we so violently against the idea of someone basing an adaptation on a franchise that so easily lends itself to new and interesting interpretations? But to be frank, a lot of what AO's Fallout is not that new. We have: naive Vault dweller, sexy traumatised ghoul that people who aren't cowards will thirst over, and pathetic guy from a militaristic faction. We also have: total atomic annihilation, and literally in-world references to the games' lore and worldbuilding constantly (the way I was shaking my sister over seeing Grognark the Barbarian, Sugar Bombs, Cram, Stimpaks, and bags of RadAway was ridiculous). Oh, and the Red Rocket?? Best pal Dogmeat? I'm definitely outing myself as specifically a Fallout 4 player, but that's not the point you should be taking away from this.

The details, the references, and the new characters -- this show is practically SCREAMING "hey look, we did this for the fans, we hope you love it as much as we do". Who cares that the characters are new, they still hold the essence of ones we used to know! And they're still interesting, so goddamn bloody interesting. Their arcs mean so much to the story, and they're told in a genuinely intriguing way. This isn't just any videogame adaptation, this was gold. This sits near Netflix's Arcane: League of Legends level in videogame adaptation. Both series create new plots out of familiar worlds.

Of course, those who've done the work have already figured out AO's Fallout is not a retcon anyway. But even if it was, that shouldn't take away from the fact that this show is actually good. Not even just good, it's great.

Were some references a little shoe-horned in to the themes by the end of the show, such as with "War never changes"? Yes, I thought so. But I love how even with a new plot and characters, they're actually still exploring the same themes and staying true to the games. I've seen folks argue otherwise, but I truly disagree. The way capitalism poisons our world, represented primarily through The American Dream and the atomic age of the 45-50s that promoted the nuclear family dynamic -- it's there. If you think it's glorifying it by leaning so heavily into in the adaptation, I feel like you're not seeing it from the right angle. It's like saying Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck glorifies the American Dream, when both this book and the Fallout franchise are criticisms of it. If you think about it, the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout is a graveyard to the American Dream. This criticism comes from the plots that are built into every Fallout story that I know of. The Vaults are literally constructed to be their own horror story just by their mere existence, what they stand for, what happens in each of them. The whole entire show is about the preservation of the wrong things leading to fucked up worlds and people. The missions of the Vaults are time and again proven to be fruitless, unethical, plain wrong. Lucy is our brainwashed character who believed in the veritable cult she lived in before she found out the truth.

So then consider the Brotherhood of Steel. I really don't think it exists in the story to glorify the military. We see just how much the Brotherhood has brainwashed people like Max (also, anything ominously named something like "the Brotherhood" should raise eyebrows). Personally, I don't like Max, but I am intrigued by his characterisation. I thought the end of his arc was rushed the way he "came good" basically, but [SPOILERS] having him embraced as a knight in the Brotherhood at the end against his will -- finally getting something he always wanted -- and him grimly accepting it from all that we can tell? Him having that destiny forced upon him now that he's swaying? After he defected? If his storyline is meant to be a tragedy, it wouldn't surprise me, because Fallout is rife with tragedies anyway. And a tragedy would also be a criticism of the military. That's what Max's entire arc is. It goes from the microcosm focusing on the cycle of bullying between soldiers to the macro-environment where Max is being forced to continue a cycle of violence against humanity he doesn't want to anymore because a world driven to extremes forces him to choose it to survive (not to mention what a cult and no family would do to his psyche). Let's not forget what the Brotherhood's rules are: humankind is supreme. Mutants, ghouls, synths, and robots are abominations to be hated and destroyed. If you can't draw the parallels to the real world, you need to retake history and literature classes. The Brotherhood is also about preserving the wrong things, like the Vaults (like the Enclave, really). They just came about through different method. The Enclave is capitalism and twisted greed in a world where money barely exists anymore. The Brotherhood is, well, fascism plain and simple.

Are these the only factions in the Fallout franchise? Hell no. But if you're mad about that -- that they're the main ones explored, apart from the NCR -- I think you're missing the point. These themes, these reminders, are highly relevant in the current climate. In fact, I almost think they always will be relevant unless we undergo drastic change. On the surface-level, Fallout seems like the American ideal complete with guns blazing that guys in their basements jerk off to. Under that surface, is a mind-fuck story about almost the entire opposite: it's a deconstruction of American ideals that are held so closely by some, and the way that key notion of freedom gets twisted, and you're shooting a guy in-game because it's more merciful than what the world had in store for him.

I mean, the ghoul's a fucking cowboy from the wild west character he used to play in Hollywood glam and his wife was one of the people who helped blow up America in the name of capitalism and "peace". There are so many layers of this to explore, I'd need several days to try and keep track and go through it all.

The Amazon Prime show is a testament to the Fallout franchise. The message, the themes? They were not messed up or muddled or anything of the sort, in my opinion.

As for Todd Howard, that Bethesda guy, I'm sure there's perfectly valid reasons to hate him. I mean, I've hated people for a lot less valid reasons, and that's valid. We all got our feelings. But the show is about more than just him. My advice is to keep that in mind when you're judging it.

[luescris]

Everybody buckle up and to those of you who follow me: I am sorry.

But I have acquired the Images and I must yell about them.

Because there are two things that always gets to me when it comes to shows: Imagery, and symbolism. It is not often where both are done well or right. Sometimes neither even exist. So I would have never expected a "what if" funny haha Lego star wars show that has a million meme refs in it to put such thought and care into how both are EFFORTLESSLY presented. And then slap on a whole layer of emotions and meaning.

Let me show you what I mean.

This. This was like the second thing that had my jaw drop to the floor. Glass shattering imagery combined with sick as hell lighting and a hint of symbolism in it???? Are you kidding me??? Like look at these; they're gorgeous!! I could stare at the quality for HOURS.

And don't even get me started on Dev and Sig's whole relationship. Cuz I have a MILLION things to say about it. For example.

Yes. This image is similar to the glass shattering one. But it's also so very much different because of the lighting and position of the two brothers. Dev being high above and Sig looking up from down below. This could also be a clever way to reference the, “I have the high ground” scene, but with that crack on the wall behind them?? Literally separating them apart while the bridge is already physically doing so??? There's so much to look at, so much to inference. The creators of this show paid so much attention to placement and meaning it's actually insane. 

Dev's whole point was to be devastating. He's more than just a villain with a temper, he has been hurt and was alone and was angry. His intro scene had him going, “If I didn't have you..” With a look of despair. He shook, he yelled, he was on the verge of tears. Like.

This. This? Sig's face. Dev standing over him like that. The freaking. Placement of where the characters are I don't know what the word is but dude. This was on purpose.

He doesn't even have the yellow Sith eyes! Sig knows he's not going to hurt him and he's so right and Dev hates that he's right. 

How can you sit there and hate after being given a face like that. A face so trusting and open and it's proving what Sig already knows. There is still hope left for Dev. There's still hope for everyone. Sig is just that beacon.

All his life Dev was alone and out of nowhere here Sig comes to ruin everything all because he cared. And the voice acting just sells it. It SELLS it. Sig whining whenever he was scared, Dev's “shut up.”, Jedi Bob being a sarcastic Master. Actually Dev's va work entirely like who IS that guy god-

I loved the chaos and ridiculousness of this entire show, but it combines the elements of Lego humor with the serious and heartbreaking stories of Star Wars and it's been a long time since I've seen that for this franchise. And to top it off???

It's all about grief. About moving on. Jedi Bob lost his whole galaxy, Sig has to learn how to live in this new one, Dev is struggling with the idea of how unfair it all is that he never got to be happy. Like at this point I don't even care if I'm looking way too far into this there's still so much meaning. 

How does Lego nail it in the head so many times. They're plastic toys meant to sell toys and it is working. 

One last honorable mention image that I just find absolutely sick as fuck for the road:

Another purposeful shot. Absolutely amazing. I'm gonna fall over and die. They're just legos..,,..,..,,,

This all happens in the span of the last episode and it is only four eps long, 26 min each. But it is so worth it.

Tdlr: Go watch Rebuild the Galaxy so we can get More of this please and thank you.

[madara-fate]

Hey maddy, I heard from a friend that the studio made a video of all of Naruto’s important bonds in celebration of the 25 years that Naruto started and Sakura was apparently omitted or not included? I didn’t bother to verify the information though (very busy with uni) but I haven’t really seen any similar videos passing any of my fyp’s. But if it’s true, what do you think about how the franchise is kinda denying Sakura as one of Naruto’s main and significant bonds? I don’t get it because when airing the Naruto Shippuden they heavily emphasize and implied the relationship between Sakura and Naruto (to the point that they even include some scenes of NS) then now they just completely dismiss it. They did it too in the Movie, when making that huge Rasengan, they didn’t include Sakura.

I hadn't heard about it either, but after doing some research, I believe the below video is what your friend must be referring to.

So firstly - Yes, Sakura was completely excluded from the video. However, I don't think the video was about showcasing all of Naruto's important bonds, for two main reasons.

Haku and Zabuza were featured, and they were most definitely not some of Naruto's most important bonds.

Other notable characters such as Tsunade, Shikamaru and even friggin' Kakashi were also completely excluded from the video.

This is why I'm pretty sure that the video was just done to show some of the most important events that happened to Naruto specifically, and in chronological order. So while it would have certainly been nice to see Sakura, Kakashi and some of the other notable characters in a celebratory video like this, I don't think it's an example of the franchise denying Sakura as an important bond for Naruto, because the video wasn't about showcasing his key bonds in the first place.