#kinda a bit of a break inbetween working on things

[emmster]

Little wip 👀

(Actually proud of my lineart here hence I’m showing it off)

[sidoopa]

lookin

[oh-no-its-bird]

Obkk modern au where where Kakashi and Obito are online friends who have never seen eachothers faces. It's a years long friendship (and mutual silent crush) where they've helped eachother through what was truly the darkest parts of eachothers lives.

But irl they also happen to know eachother from childhood due to having gone to the same schools and shared the same classes, and they fucking DESPISE the other. You can not stick them in a room without someone starting a fight.

When they interact irl, play into specifically the early dynamics of obkk, with kind of superficially happy/dumb Obito and a "follow the rules to the letter" grumpy overachiever Kakashi

But when they're online, play more into the older obkk dynamic.

Where Obito shows that he has a pretty big mean streak/humor and a serious talent for playing dumb; where he overlays his happier side irl for just social reasons.

While Kakashi shows he's actually super lazy and imperfect with most other factors of his life outside of work/school (and ofc downplays his actual work ethic when it comes to work/school, framing himself as doing bare minimum when he should really do more (bc he genuinley believes that)) and has a pretty wicked sense of humor himself, a love of over-romantic, fluffy porn, and a habit of using endless "cute" emotocons

Kk: Did my proposal today, it was so bad... I really slacked off this time on it. I was so nervous they'd tell me no (｡﹏｡")

Kk: I guess the other presentations must have been pretty bad too because they picked mine anyways? I feel so lucky (╥﹏╥)

Ob: it's ok even if you tried your best!! Im proud you were able to do even as much as you did.

Ob: I'm glad you got it, at least one of us won their proposal today. That jackass had a fucking 30 slide detailed slide with 6 DIFFERENT PIE CHARTS and a scheduled water break inbetween. Fucking kissass

Kk: nooo im sorry ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)

Ob: it's whatever. Just glad you got the thing :)

Ob: want me to kill your boss tho.

Kk: lol

Kk: I'll help hide the body ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

And then one day Obito does some sort of very mean prank on Kakashi. And it goes uhh. Badly.

I mean, badly for Kakashi. Obito thinks it went great!

That is till he gets home and finds his best friend for a decade, and crush for even past that decade, texting him about a very specific mean prank that got pulled on them.

Wait. No. Wait. WAIT. FUCK.

So like. Obito is a bit conflicted now. He doesn't know what to really do here??? Like. What if it ruins everything with his best friend??? But also hey best friend why the FUCK are you such a BITCH.

But also also, suddenly Obito is recontextualizing SO many of their interactions— from Kakashi suffering the devistating loss of his father when he was especially annoying, to explanations of why he reacted certain ways. And oh my god Obito is... also a kind of a bitch???

Obito has NO idea what to do and is just swinging so violently back and forth on what are really his only two options.

And sometimes he's like gleefully feeling vindictive bc after arguing with irl Kakashi, online Kakashi is ranting about "that same asshole again" at work, so Obito is like "I KNEW it was getting to u, haha you're NOT better than me after all!!!"

But then later he feels kinda bad about it bc like. Aw wait no he actually might have genuinley hurt the person he loves. And also he doesn't want to lose getting to see the real Kakashi, a mix of both of his masks, by fucking this up and choosing wrong.

Anyways Kakashi finally somehow figures it out on his own, they fight, they make up, they make out.

The end yay happy ending

There's an alternate universe where neither of them every found out about eachother and continued to be friends online and hate eachother to escalating degrees offline. But one day they start to slowly shift in dynamics. Irl they get closer and online they get so much angrier and more distant. Till we've swapped and now online they just have this GIANT fallout but offline they're actually in love now. And this continues till they're about to get married/no longer on speaking terms with eachother. And so on their wedding day they reach out again online but ONLY to hate on eachother like "oooo fuck you I'm so happy rn I just got MARRIED."

"Oh yeah you bitch??? So did I. And my husbands better than anything your ugly ass could ever pull"

"FUCK YOU MY HUSBANDS FUCKING AMAZING AND YOURS IS PROBABLY LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE SHIT"

"OH YEAH????"

"YEAH!!!"

"PROVE IT!"

And then they very sharply turn and take simultaneous photos of eachothers furious faces and then angrily, instinctivley press send.

And then they stop. And then they have a moment of dead silence.

And then they begin to have an actual, physical fist fight in front of the uncut wedding cake with ALL of their friends and families watching. And the photographers with their very ready cameras.

There was a lot of cake.

Yeah that was ah uhh. Interesting

The good news at least is now they have a photo of them fist fighting like they want to kill eachother while covered in wedding cake in a frame that says "happy marriage <3" on it, and they like to joke about it (to many, many peoples horror)

The end yay happy ending x2

If I were to write this fr I think I'd legally have to write both versions bc both are excellent

[colourstreakgryffin]

Hi I’m the anon who submitted the ‘Hi! I hope you’re having a good day, I was wondering if you could do a platonic fanfic with parental Husk and Angel dust with a teen reader who tries to sneak out to prove their ‘adult’ enough to go out on their own. Maybe they get caught w a secret S/O 🤔’ ask and to answer your question I think a Huskerdust parental duo would be killer, thanks!

Hmmm… okaaay! That can work! This is my first Angel Dust writing as well! Let’s just pretend HuskerDust isn’t built on sexual harassment and that these two get married after a healthy relationship— just a little AU for a, could be, cute couple… if it’s handled better! Also, sorry… this is kinda short

Husk and Angel Dust- Growing Up

Before anything starts. Let’s establish how these two gay dads treat their adoptive teenage child!

Husk is a doting and caring but also strict and wise father. He gives off the most brutal but truthful advice and reality facts. He is a loving parent and won’t tolerate his child being mistreated or bullied so you can always turn to him when upset or in need for help, he is emotionally intelligent and protective after all

Angel, on the other hand, is the most affectionate and mindful father you’ll ever meet and have. He isn’t the one to deal out the punishments, he’s the fun one. Playing with his child, giving them unconditional love, support and encouragement but he is also quite protective. He will come running at the drop of a hat

Whilst both Husk and Angel encourage their kid to be independent and not rely so much on them, they aren’t a fan of letting you out on your own. You are still fifteen and therefore, completely vulnerable to this nightmarish hellfire realm called H E double hockey sticks

However, you’re determined to prove to both of your dads that you’re capable of defending yourself and be an adult so you’ve been recently sneaking out of your home and going around Pentagram City. On your own, no protective powerful Overlord father or protective infamous actor father

You’ve been doing it for weeks now. Going behind your dads’ back to prove to yourself, then to anybody, your complete and utter independence… but of course, all good things must end

And both of your dads had caught you escaping the house through the window and your beloved partner, a demon you fell in love with and begun dating in secret, just waiting in the backyard of your home whilst you climb out

Husk is very annoyed and ordering you to explain yourself, not at all happy with what you’ve done whilst Angel is dragging you off the windowsill and is resisting the urge to cry since his heart is broken

Your dads fend off your lover, not wanting to deal with them at this moment whilst they are trying to scold their child for doing this… and yes. This causes a big old fight with your parents. You just wanted to prove that you can handle yourself whilst your dads aren’t happy that you did something so reckless and harmful to yourself

Husk takes a bit longer to own up to his accident. Making you cry and angrily go to bed. You’re nearly a legal adult and they are shackling you… Angel can sense how you feel and immediately apologies for his lashout and tries to encourage his husband to do the same thing

When they do. They talk to you, accepting and encouraging, to try make a compromise inbetween you wanting to go outside at night to have fun with your lover, and talking to them and informing them about your location so you three will be happy

Husk lays down the must text them rule with this accommodation himself and his husband have made for you, their precious baby, that you must follow this at all causes whilst Angel is actually excited about you going to have fun on your own but begs you to inform either himself or his husband if anything bad happens to you

They just love you… please. Give them a break, they’ll try their best to let you do whatever you want on your own… as long as they know you’re okay

“Heartthrob. Do you have your present for your partner? Yes? That’s good. When you get to the party, text me or your father so we know you’re okay. That’s all we ask now. Here, let me finish rolling you up before you go”

“Fluffball! Fluffball! Fluffball! Aww! You look so precious! You’ll blow the competition off the dancefloor and you’ll make that partner of yours’ jaw drop! Make sure to shoot me or your dad a text when you’re there, ‘kay?“

[kcrossvine-art]

hi birds of paradise and of prey! I sincerely hope your 2024 has been kind to you so far, and if it hasn't, I hope it starts being fucking nicer soon. We got eyes on it and are ready to take it out should it fail.

I'm coming to the end of my list here soon, so if anyone has ideas on what they'd like to see next, please do hit me up! Even if its just a piece of media with interesting food in it and not a specific dish you wanna see. My roommate got me a recipe book from that TikTok fantasy tavern guy, "recipes from the lucky gryphon"? So we could also take a shot at a few of those, although im not really familiar with his work. Regardless-

We will be making Stuffed Cabbage from Lord of the Rings Online today!

(As always you can find the cooking instructions and full ingredient list under the break-)

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes in to this Stuffed Cabbage?” YOU MIGHT ASKYou cant kinda put whatever you want for seasonings and even the meat filling. I used ground beef but pork and lamb are also stellar candidates.

Yellow onion

Garlic

2 eggs

Ground beef

Rice

A head of cabbage

Oregano

Thyme

Red pepper flakes

Cumin

Crushed tomato

Tomato sauce

AND, “what does this Stuffed Cabbage taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASKBa bawsa

Very, very filling wow

2 rolls filled me up for a meal and i made about 20-ish from one head of cabage

A bit plain tbh, the texture is great but I'd really double up on the seasonings

A blank canvas for you to impart your spice preferences onto

Reheating makes it taste almost identical to fresh

Would pair well with a hot sauce dip

could also go well with an artichoke dip

If you run out of room and need to layer the rolls, I'd try experimenting with pouring some of the crushed tomato and sauce inbetween the stacked rolls. Otherwise the ones at the bottom lack a lot of the tomato flavor. However it might make the bottoms on the rolls laying ontop soggy?

. Where rice called for, used long grain white rice

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I've never blanched anything before. Theres not much western food that calls for it, meanwhile whenever my friend from malaysia shows a dish they ate, 9 times out of 10 the vegetables are blanched. Much easier process than the fancy name might suggest- boil water and dunk the thing in until its done. Whatever 'done' may be for the thing you are cooking.

Also for the ground beef (or whichever meat you use) you don't have to cook it beforehand, but in doing two tries at making these cabbage rolls i would recommend you at least season your meat before mixing it with everything else. The meat will cook to a safe temperature inside the cabbage rolls, i just prefer the taste and texture of it when cooked twice.

I give this recipe a meandering 7/10 (with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.) I want to review more horrible recipes, truly i do, so that the rating scale isnt always a 6 and above, but whenever i try something horrible its like "why the fuck would i put all the effort into making and sharing a review of this thing i Do Not Want others to eat????" yknow?? Would people be interested in roasting horrible recipes? 

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW ��

Ingredients:

1 yellow onion

6 cloves of garlic

2 eggs

2 lbs ground beef

1 1/2 cup cooked rice

1 large head of cabbage

28oz crushed tomato

14oz tomato sauce

Oregano

Thyme

Red pepper flakes

Cumin

Salt/pepper

Method:

Saute garlic and onion in butter over medium heat until onions are caramelized. When done, remove from heat and let cool.

Season the beef to your liking with cumin, red pepper, and salt. Very, very lightly cook the beef in the same pan used for the garlic and onions. Cook until it starts to brown, but dont let it darken. 

Beat eggs thoroughly with oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Add all of the above ingredients together in a bowl with (cooked!) rice. Mix thoroughly then cover and let rest in the fridge.

Core and blanche your cabbage in boiling water, peeling them off as they become limp.

Once you've separated all the leaves, cut off any thick stems that would prevent the leaf from folding.

Put roughly 2 tablespoons of meat filling into each leaf. Fold the sides of the leaf inwards and roll it up. Place each cabbage roll seam-down into a casserole dish.

If they don't all fit in one layer, its more than okay to stack. Try not to stack more than 2 layers though.

Once you've used all the cabbage, take your can of tomatos and pour them over the rolls. Mix some oregano into the tomato sauce and pour that over the rolls as well.

Bake uncovered in the oven at 350 for about 2 hours. Dont worry if a bit of tomato on top looks burnt.

IF REHEATING LEFTOVERS: Bake 10 cabbage rolls in the oven at 320 for about 40 minutes. Reduce time for less rolls.

[gamergirl-niffler]

Experiment || Dottore x Fem!reader

Warnings: smut (unprotected p in v ), creampie, kinda dark, a bit of blood, hybrid!reader

Synopsis: Dottore decided to check how much his favorite specimen can take

Synopsis:A/N: Hello and Welcome to another day of Kinktober '23 Collaboration! Little Niffler is here yet again to deliver another steamy work! Hope you will enjoy! Today's prompt: Torture

💉Masterlist💉

He wasn't sure what he exactly injected you with but your body was so warm and needy for him. This was a perfect way to extend this experiment.

Hybrids rarely ended in his hand!

How could He; a scholar say no to this. He already had a plan.

"Look at you! The mixture is working wonderfully on my little specimen. Such a needy little thing, let's make you feel good and see if something interesting will happen," Dottore smiled, showing his sharp teeth.

You shook your head trying to push him away since your body burned from the inside. Yet a pornografic-like moan left your lips as his throbbing cock pushed past your entrance, giving you a pain stretch that you made even harder because of the burning, even the metal table under you didn't bring you any comfort.

Dottore snapped his hips hard, setting a harsh, strong pace from the very beginning, not even giving you a second to adjust. Your body could take it, he knew you were strong enough to take it as a good specimen.

According to him your body responded correctly but for you it was a torture. Every thrust sent the wave of fire through your whole body.

He fucked you with wicked smile on his lips, just the sight of you was something beautiful. Just his little specimen taking his cock while suffering from yet another of his concoctions.

As a hybrid, you had one thing that really piqued his interest - a pair of horns on your head. He was curious how strong they are, will they break? Will they grow back up? There was one and only way to find out.

Dottore pulled you up so he could comfortably fuck your while grasping your horns tightly in his gloved hands. At this you gasped and moaned, trying to grab his hand to stop it. 

He didn't plan to stop. His grip only grew stronger despite your squeals and begs inbetween moans. 

Suddenly a loud crack followed by an even louder scream filled the room. One of your horns was broken off by him, the blood poured out soon covering your face.

Dottore felt just a little disappointed, he was sure your horns were way stronger but the beautiful sight of you in this state made it worth it. He threw the horn over his shoulder and grabbed your waist to use you even harder. At this point he didn't care about your body anymore, he just wanted to use you and see how much you could take. He soon filled your insides with his cum as you collapsed onto the cold table.

"Such a good specimen. You deserved this little reward from me," He chuckled, patting your belly as he pulled out. "I think I have even more experiments fitting you."

Dottore laughed darkly as you curled up into a ball on the table, trying to deal with pain. You wanted the torture to end.

[bl00dycraniumm]

Cliff nsfw alphabet?

「 ⭒⚝🥞 CLIFF BURTON ꩜.ᐟ 」

nsfw alphabet, gn reader (💋/📌)

✰ 𝐀/𝐍; hihihi!! thanks for the request anon!! this is for fun, so if you dont agree with sth i write on here, just move on 🫶🏻!!

✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬; nsfw (obvi) • gn!reader

✰ a = aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

he’s really good with aftercare and pretty sweet, but he tends to just lay with you afterwards for a bit before cleaning you up and making sure you’re comfortable.

✰ b = body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

his favorite parts to show off for you is his hands, knowing they get you going (a little self-projection, i love his hands). his favorite for you is your waist, or thighs.

✰ c = cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

cliff loves cumming in you, on you, and in your mouth; he doesn’t mind which, just as long as it’s one of them.

✰ d = dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

he doesn’t mention it, but he likes being taller and bigger than you.

✰ e = experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

VERY experienced. he knows exactly what he’s doing and how to work you.

✰ f = favorite position (this goes without saying)

missionary or riding. he just likes seeing your face and what he’s doing to you. when he gets high, he’d rather sit back and relax while getting a good view.

✰ g = goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

defintley goofy. even in intense moments, he’s finding something to laugh at.

✰ h = hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

i’d say it’s fairly groomed, probably not THE best, but yk it’s not way too much hair??

✰ i = intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

sooooosososo sweet 🙁. using sweet names, making sure you’re okay, etc.

✰ j = jack off (masturbation headcanon)

rarely masturbates, since he always has you. even if you weren’t in the mood, i don’t think he would.

✰ k = kink (one or more of their kinks)

voyeurism, but only when he watches you..and a little bondage. i think he’d really only like hold your hands above your head with his hand (does that still count?? idk)

✰ l = location (favorite places to do the do)

defintley the bed, it’s easy and comfortable. but, if you’re not around a bed, a wall will do!

✰ m = motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

honestly, doesn’t need a big motivation. if you’re both in the mood, anything can be; what you’re wearing, your laugh, your subtle hints that he pretends he doesn’t catch, etc.

✰ n = no (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

besides nasty bodily fluid stuff, i think he’d be up for anything you suggest, always wanting to satisfy you.

✰ o = oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

cliff loves fucking your mouth..i don’t think he’s too into giving tbh, but he’ll do it if you ask for it.

✰ p = pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

it depends on the mood. a date night/anniversary, he’s really slow and taking his time. when he’s high the pace is pretty slow too. other than that, it’s a fast pace.

✰ q = quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

cliff doesn’t really like quickies; he wants the whole thing on his own time, getting to explore you ‘til you both are done. but, if neccesary, he won’t pass up the opportunity of a quickie with you. they often happen before he leaves for band practices, if you guys didn’t get time in the morning.

✰ r = risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

he loves experimenting with you and meeting your needs, especially when you meet his own too. for him, it’s really special when you both share something you wanna try without being embarrassed or feeling judged.

✰ s = stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

his most, without a break, is two rounds. but he could go more with breaks inbetween. with how long he can last; it kinda depends on his intentions. a quickie, 5 minutes tops, but when it comes to the real deal he can last for about 20 minutes to a half hour.

✰ t = toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

i don’t think cliff would really use them for you, unless it was like a phone sex thing when he’s on tour, then he’d probably encourage you to use something.

✰ u = unfair (how much they like to tease)

in my opinion, he haaaates teasing. he thinks it’s such a waste of time, when you’re right in front of him.

✰ v = volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

not very loud unless he’s high, then small moans here and there.

✰ w = wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

i got nothing, guys sorry 😪👎🏻

✰ x = x-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

BIG. thats all i can say.

✰ y = yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

very high, i’d say almost every day. usually something good to start off the morning, something at night. that sorta thing.

✰ z = zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

like i said before, he’ll lay with you for a bit and then clean you up, so maybe about a half hour? maybe sooner, if he’s really exhausted.

[princess-of-the-corner]

On the Winx Club reboot... Lightrock? Also, how does it go for Diaspro? In the early seasons, the poor girl always gave me the impression most of her bitchiness was caused by knowing she'd have to spend her life saving Sky and Heraklion from his recklessness (and eventually snapping when he was about to risk a civil war to marry Bloom), plus Bloom being revealed a princess suddenly stripping her of the one working solution to the love triangle she knew, that is marrying Sky for duty and let him have the red-haired commoner as a lover.

Diaspro my darling!! She deserved better lmao.

this is gonna get long so

So like.

Diaspro is from a high-ranking noble family on Eraklyon, and her parents have some deal going on with the Royals for her to marry Sky. This has been a fact of life for her for as long as she can remember.

Now, Diaspro does care about Sky. She grew up with him. She thinks she's in love with him because she's supposed to be. Because she never had a choice not to be.

She never really had a choice for much of anything, really. She was to be Sky's trophy wife. She didn't really need to do anything, he'd take care of it all. She could have a hobby here or there, something to entertain herself. But why bother worrying about a career or politics or anything when Sky will do it for her?

Sky breaks out of this mindset earlier and has tried to do more gentle rejections. But things kinda. Explode out of hand. Because when we're in Season 1 we have Sky and Brandon doing their swap thing, then Diaspro shows up and blows their cover and introduces herself as Sky's fiance when he's dating Bloom and....

Like he explains before anyone gets too mad at him, and it's. Being confronted with Sky actually dating someone else is the first time it really hits Diaspro that he may not actually want her, ya know?

Which. Has her hurt and confused because she literally doesn't have anything else in her life except being his future wife. And she does initially take that out on Bloom, seeing it as a 'he would be happy with me if it weren't for you!' thing.

This doesn't last long though. Because Sky puts his foot down on a lot of things as he's like. Aware of the problems on Eraklyon and wants to fix things and wants to actually be a good King to his people. (Like remember what I said about his parents being kinda assholes? And the reason for the Sky-Brandon swap is a whole 'political unrest that is causing assassination attempts' thing.)

Anyway.

During the end of Season 1 and the inbetween of Season 1 and 2, Diaspro does a good bit of thinking and reflecting on Sky's words and actions, and the potential freedoms opening up if she can be whatever she wants instead of just 'his wife'.

While her acceptance of this is shaky at first, she does start looking at the prospect of getting her life on track without him. Ofc her parents wouldn't let her actually do that but... well. If she tells them 'how about you let me enroll in Alfea so I can be closer and keep an eye on Sky and try to win him back from that harlot's clutches?', then they're totally gonna throw money at her education.

She has little intention of actually doing so and is like. Quickly dragged into the friendgroup during Season 2 because they realize she's actually going to be incredibly helpful to have. (her powers are earth/rock-based and they're going underground).

[fairytail-whathesays]

Natsu x Gajeel x Laxus, Part 3 of ?

I have let this spiral out of control.

Part 1 and Part 2

The next sign of movement on Naxjeel Island is when Natsu and Gajeel basically, after a week or two of threatening to break out into fights again at the sight of each other, they agree to a truce: maybe they aren't gonna both be able to date Laxus, but they will not be fighting over him. No matter what stupid shit they fight about, they are not gonna squabble over a man of all things.

Speaking of, Laxus has basically been unheard of since he shot Gajeel down. No one's seen him, not even his bodyguards aka Freed/Bickslow/Evergreen. So when they finally find him and get him alone, they have a lot to talk about.

Does he let them down again? Well, yes, but he's polite about it. He's barely ready for a romantic relationship, let alone one that has to be all tense and complicated, so even Natsu's throuple idea gets shut down. And besides--when he asks that crucial question "why do you two even like me?" they have some dumb looks on their faces when they try to answer. You know. Strong, handsome, etc.

It isn't that Natsu and Gajeel are shallow, they're just not good at this stuff. But what they are good at is using their noses. See, no one knows where the hell Laxus has been and what he's been up to...because no one else could smell the remnants of those chemicals Laxus was working so hard to wash off.

Turns out the old man's birthday is coming up and Laxus has been in the cellar...cleaning it. Yep, by hand. Why? Because he wanted to do something nice for his old man. Maybe kinda make up for all those times he left it a pigsty, etc. They don't tell Laxus they've figured this out, so he only gets to know when he sneaks down there one evening and they're in there--already having finished the half he hadn't gotten to yet.

Gajeel brought beer. Natsu is so ready to make fun of Laxus for ten thousand years over this. All mature and shit, just like a reformed thug punk should be, lmaoooo. Laxus makes them swear on the spines holding them up not to tell anyone and they just laugh his shit off.

And they chat about all those other times Laxus has been unexpectedly sweet, except he always has to be a badass about it. Stories get swapped--Gajeel has a lot to say about that time fighting Tartarus where Laxus showed up, 90% dead to rights, and all but made him a cheerleader while he pummeled Tempester. Natsu has similar things to say about the fight with Hades.

Laxus isn't interested in hearing that shit. He wants to be more than strong, now. If he's a hundred or a thousand times stronger than someone else, or anywhere inbetween, he doesn't care--and Gajeel gets...a little sentimental.

Like he's just sitting there talking out loud about how worried he was when Laxus was fighting Tempester. Something different than just being worried for his life. That feeling that he might lose someone he really admired and felt like he could maybe connect with. And how Laxus' skin was all cold and clammy but it felt like touching fire when he touched his bare body. It's this stream-of-consciousness that just kind of overflows him and he's basically like. Coming to terms with liking men and liking Laxus right there at the table with Laxus and Natsu both listening. Summarily ruined when:

"I don't think I've ever screamed someone's name that many times." "I have that effect on people." "Shut the fuck up, asshole!"

Because they really do connect well. It prompts similar purgings from Natsu and Laxus. Natsu isn't as bothered by it being a man as Gajeel is, talks about how Laxus has always kinda been his hero a little bit, and is still ready to crow to this day about how he was right, how he knew Laxus better than anyone thought, knew he had a big heart in there somewhere. Laxus is all embarrassed and he comes clean about how he still isn't great at social stuff and hesitates to try and bond with people, but that he's come to admire the both of them a lot and, well. He's not gonna deny that Gajeel is a hunk and a half or that Natsu has a smile that could replace the sun.

There's a very honest conversation about how all three of them see things in the other two that they really want to be and be around, little details and charming things that make them like the others more. But they don't get together. Not yet.

The truth is Laxus just isn't sure about relationships yet. He's still very much a reflective type who has doubts about his own flaws. He worries he might not be a good boyfriend, especially to guys like Natsu and Gajeel who he actually admires. But he never tells anyone that.

I truly couldn't create the scenario that gets them to come together, at least not in a tumblr post where i try to limit space. Let's say it's Alvarez, or something that comes after. Some big huge event that puts Natsu and Gajeel on the line, and Laxus is forced to fight again. Come to terms with how much he wants their love almost as much as their safety.

But when it happens, it happens gently. The climactic fight scenes are one thing, but what I picture is a relaxed air, and just letting the love breathe, letting the affection surface. Maybe there's no words at all. Maybe Laxus just finds himself in a hammock, drifting off, not caring all that much that Natsu and Gajeel joined him on either side. Natsu's the brave one, so his lips find Laxus' first. Laxus turns and kisses Gajeel, too. It takes a little nudging but Gajeel gives Natsu that kiss right back.

Gajeel gets to be vulnerable, Laxus gets to be needed, Natsu gets to be honest. It all works out.

Alright so this farce has gone on long enough, I definitely did not need to make 3 whole parts to a single ask about relationship headcanons. No one asked for all that.

I will be doing one more post and getting to what the ask was probably actually about, which was general headcanons about their love life and sex life if no one is opposed. And it will be worth it to get to that point.

[hardworkandguts]

Project A-Ko

プロジェクトA子

(Anime)

Action Comedy series

Era: 1980s

Rating: Project A-Ko: S, 2: B, 3: C, 4: C Overall:A

Plot: Girls doing AMAZING things.

Thoughts: Considered doing the OVAs on a different post, but I'll just do everything here at once since it's a continuity. Anyway, this has a very Gainax "we love what we do and we love doing it" feeling to it, and many people working here would a couple of years later be doing animation for Gunbuster, and it even feels like something the studio would do. Along the copious fanservice (in both senses) and cheesy 80s music, there's a city rebuilt after a spaceship crashed on top of it, and our main girl Eiko "A-Ko" Magami, who for some never explained reason is inhumanely fast and strong, Shill "C-Ko" Kotobuki, the kinda ditzy crybaby who's incredibly attached to her and loves her more than anything in the world and Biko "B-Ko" Daitokuji, who wants to break them apart and take C-Ko to herself, using increasingly bigger mechas (never explained how she built them) to settle a dispute she had in kindergarten with A-Ko. In the middle of them wrecking their school and then the city there's an alien invasion led by an alcoholic captain, searching for a lost princess who they believe to be C-Ko. Guess what, also never explained if that's true or not. We're just here for 80s cheesy music, the vibes and explosions, and boy, there's a lot of that here. Visually, it's not that different from your average TV anime of the time, only with that often elusive thing called "budget for Inbetweens". Great fun. That scene of A-Ko jumping between missiles? Classic.

Moving on to 1987 and Plot of the Daitokuji Financial Group, the first of the OVA sequels. It's a few weeks after the alien spaceship crashed, and they turned into an hotel and resort hoping to pay for the repairs. Meanwhile, Hikaru Daitokuji, B-Ko's dad and military contractor is interested in getting the technology of the alien spaceship for his own use. All in all, it adds a bit more fun and to the story, while not being exactly a must see. Also adds one of the best gremlin faces I've ever seen that is going to get it's own post. Following that, the third OVA, Cinderella Rhapsody (1988) brings another love triangle to the mix with the addition of Kei, a quiet biker to the mix, with the usual consequences for the poor spaceship when A-Ko and B-Ko get a bit too intense over him. A new bit of information is that their bickering and the presence of the alien spaceship has become a bit too frequent and there's a voluntary municipal defense force with its own super robots to control damage, and that A-Ko's bracelets are actually there to limit her power, but I feel it's a bit unfocused and tries to do a bit too much with limited runtime. Shout out to the absolutely gorgeous introduction. The third and final OVA (there's an unrelated crossover, but that's for some other time) is Final (1989), set to the invasion of earth by the aliens trying to rescue the princess during the arranged marriage of Ayumi to Kei, who's still very much in love with C-Ko and have A-Ko and B-Ko fighting everything, even each other over him, in a love triangle now with five players nobody is interested in the other person (well, A-Ko really likes C-Ko, but is it romantic?).

Looking over the OVAs, I think keeping some of the ambiguity and unanswered questions would be fine - what if Ayumi was really the princess all along and Napolipolita and D were just so bored and wanting to go home they jumped to conclusions? But maybe C-Ko returned not because her mother saw she'd only be happy on earth, but because they really got it wrong. Who knows. Now I'm doing the same thing of overthinking the show of the girls in sailor suits destroying a school fighting each other.

Recommended to: do you like having fun?

Plus:

Pure "turn off your brain and enjoy the show" entertainment

Funny faces (you know what's coming)

Minus:

OVAs are fun to watch but not exactly necessary watching.

[squirmydonnie]

CW: unreality,

I've been relying on them for too long.

I started having imaginary friends pretty late.

I didn't really have a need for them before 6th grade.

So, in that aspect. I was lucky

I first drew Kumo in class and then pretend she was right next to me.

Then I drew her as my best friend on my personal drawings. And sometimes to my irl friends.

I drew Kumo in drawings with my OC and my fursona. So I think I had been blurring the lines too much.

Eventually I started to draw her in my vent drawings. She would try and cheer me up.

She was also an angel.

By the end of 6th grade I had found out I was bisexual. I was hard on myself about it. But despite that i made her my girlfriend.

That is kinda embarrassing for me to say. But I probably should say it. I don't like dancing around it. And the only reason I do, is because its embarrassing.

Either way. I think I used it as a way to make myself feel better in general.

Then one day she dissapeared. It really scared me and made me sad. I tried to make her come back. But it didn't work on my own accord. So this is the kind of thing that confuses me.

Still do this day, I cannot control this kind of thing. Which is the only reason why I question it just being my imagination.

She did come back for a bit. But she then dissapeared again and didn't come back for months.

Inbetween that time I came up with Alama. She would be Cookie's companion. And sometimes I would be Cookie. This was so I could also be around her. I wanted to live his life.

Later on I made Jack-al and Janiah.

All the people that I daydreamed about were based on other people.

Including Alama and Kumo.

Because they met Cookie first, I don't think they really like me as much.

Janiah met Cookie before both Alama and Jack-al did. Despite me making Alama first.

So the day I swore off C12 daydreaming, she already knew it was me.

I was never Cookie then.

BC later on also, left me.

I had been getting closer to her last school year. Which wasn't really a good thing. But it was what happened.

During Christmas break I had my hair in an afro like hers. We spent 2 days together consecutively. And then she left me.

So I didn't have anyone.

It really scares me when I'm left without an imaginary person.

And right now. I'm not especially close to any of them. Things have gotten better between us though. And maybe that's why.

They don't want me. I tend to want them much more.

BC did enjoy terrorizing me and making me feel bad. But it didn't last. I became boring to her.

After shes changed. Only I alone would be one one doing that stuff to myself now.

I never imagined this as my future.

I assumed I'd live my life only with them. But that's not how things are going to be.

I'm connected to Cookie, but I'll never be as close to him as I wanted to be.

I don't really know what this means. For the future or anything like that. I just know I've been too attached. And it's all unrequited (mostly)

From what I do know currently. Alama doesn't see me all that highly. And Janiah doesn't either. I don't think Jack-al thinks of me. I'm not really important to him. I spent time with Jack-al the least. So I really don't know for sure. But. I assume Cookie knows more.

Kumo is not a common occurence for me. So I'm not sure.

Shes the only one that. I, I guess see.

That's what I first did when speaking to her back then.

And then sometimes I may see her in the corner of my eye. But that was also in the past. More of a purple blue indigo light. But I would avoid it by that point. (8th-9th grade)

It's really mostly daydreaming now.

I mostly interpret it all by drawing. Since that's how this all started anyway I've just noticed.

Like when a bird was pulling on my eye. It was Alama.

Stuff like that. Or just litterally drawing them.

I don't have any clear or significant hopes for us like i used to.

I think. I just hope. Things are fine.

[cheesycokeart]

Rambling about scrapped projects so I don't feel like the work went to waste

I've only really made like, 3 little games. Which admittedly, I should be trying to make myself Finish more projects just so I can get more experience and be able to reliably work on something larger. Inbetween, I get the spark to make a buncha different ideas that usually don't get very far for one reason or another. I know this is a bad habit, and I'm tryin' to work on it.

Otherwise though, gonna talk about a few projects where I wanna show off what little work I did put in before deciding I was better off killing it, including a "follow-up" to Grenade Volley.

This is just some not-even-prototype-level stuff with myself rambling about things I wanted to do. So be warned before hitting read more!

Drivin' Breach

So this was started in part based on my desire to create something utilizing the Grenade Volley world with a more "safe" gameplay style. I absolutely love old distance games, like Learn to Fly, Kitten Cannon, Shopping Cart Hero, etc etc but I realized it wasn't a super common style of game these days so wanted to take a crack at making one.

I had the basics of it going and I was pretty proud of what I had artistically and in terms of tone. Ambitiously, I even wanted a fully animated opening cutscene, but in hindsight that might've been a bit much to try and pull off.

To try and set it apart, I imagined that one main hook would be having a wide variety of "special items" that you could used to propel yourself further, each one controlling differently for players that wanted some variety, and maybe even implementing individual upgrade lines for said special items. I wanted to make the "Magic Tail" item a buttplug tail.

After a bit of time of working I just realized things weren't coming together how I would've liked them to. Physics weren't quite satisfactory, I couldn't figure out how to implement gliders, and I wasn't super confident about balancing it to stretch the game out but also make it feel rewarding. Those combined with waning passion for the project just kinda killed it off. I was pretty proud of the art and stuff I did for it, though, and what I had going so far.

I also ended up applying some of the code (where the world moves around the player, allowing for infinite movement) to Downhill to Infinity!

(Also that shop music you here is Closed on Sundays by Mana Junkie, a CC3.0 track I found online)

Earth Servant Ms. Usagi

I was super enthusiastic about this one for a while!! I was stoked about the idea of making a game using Ms. Usagi because she was one of my many characters made with games in mind from the get-go. I ended up settling on this weird mix of Megaman-style, fast platforming, and stylish melee combat. Notice, though, the animations are not finished at ALL.

I wanted to push fun and snappy combat, encouraging the player to bounce between enemies while using environment and speed to their advantage. Think like a hectic anime fight where the main character is running around boppin' every bad guy while darting between them. A style meter was also applied, rewarding chained attacks.

To go over the moveset: Attacking from a standstill performs an uppercut, attacking in the air performs an air kick. If you only tap the attack button for the air kick, it stops Usagi in mid-air and keeps her close to the enemy. If you hold it, however, it will both put her current speed into the kick AND launch the enemy according to said speed. Holding down while attacking in the air will slam to the ground. She also has a blaster move that's especially good for continuing combos. For defense, I added dashing maneuvers and a block/parry inspired by MGR.

I still think this kick feels fuckin sick to pull off.

Few problems came up. First one was just plain ol' being scared of level design, but that one I coulda bruteforced through. More importantly at one point I took a break and went back to it later only to realize that it Wasn't Fun. Movement felt way too slippery, I wasn't making the fast momentum-based movement blend well with the fast combo-based combat. If I wanna do anything like this again, I'd have to figure out a better way to blend this.

Either way, I know for certain I'd LOVE to make a Ms. Usagi game in the future, I think she could make for something very fun and poppy and stylish.

BONUS

During one of the beta versions of Godot 4, I had short-lived thoughts of wanting to make a wave-based FPS to play with its 3D features. I wanted the game to have a gross, crusty aesthetic. It never got far at all, but I made a "gore harvester" machine for it and I still really like that thing. It was fun to draw such ugly textures.

[junjiie]

can i hv a little more about that mark murder plot.. :o

STOP IT WOULD BE SOOO i dont hv any concrete ideas they were js turning in my head like a washing machine.. but i will yap semi in depth for you now because im bored and may want to expand \(>o<)ﾉ 

semi-big apt complex.. someone’s just been pushed down the stairs or off the roof if we’re going crazy extreme. it’s not a particular big building but it is kinda fancy (ground floor is a lobby type fancy..) and everyone is SHADYYYYY like not strangers from hell crazy but they still have things they’re not telling anyone.

police wrap it up as an open-shut suicide but mark wld fs not believe a bar of it 😭 he’s close to the victim—as in, knows that they’ve got enough people in their bad books that would take it a step further and kill them. he starts subtly poking around, making excuses to try and get into the apt the victim lived in to try and find further evidence and asking questions as inconspicuously as he can at tenant meetings.

speaking of the tenant meetings.. GOSSIP GALOREE they are talking all kinds of shit ant the victim and making the wildest things up that he might even get a bit confused—like yes he doesn’t actually believe victim was killed by a ghost that they’d angered by moving into their old apt but still.. What if..

he starts to think he’s getting somewhere, maybe finds a phone wedged under their mattress and breaks open even more leads, talks to even more people who knew the victim, etc etc. he starts calling himself marklock in his head it’s so serious at this moment. until he finds something that makes him think he’s gone too deep—messages mentioning him. pictures, texts, notes, whatever. he knows they’re about him, and it scares him SHITLESS.

he’s no doubt been working with ( ) this whole time (mayb they also know the victim? started off as awks acquaintances but now they’re partners in crime-solving, or something) but this is when he cuts them off. he’s scared, he’s paranoid, and maybe this is all a ploy? maybe ( ) is who did it?? ( ) used to know where mark kept his spare door key, but now when they go to check he’s removed it. they carry on separated.

until mark goes even further, despite how scared he is, despite how he can’t take five steps down the street without looking over his shoulder, despite how he can’t say hello to the man in the lobby these days because he’s too paranoid, and finds exactly the same things to do with ( )—msgs, letters, etc. they might be next as well. and he’s just pushed them away, blocked their number, and sealed himself off. shit.

shit indeed!!!! shit fuck we’re really in it now!!!!!! he stews over it, still too stubborn to actually reach out, and stays digging. and finds even more on ( ). so much that it’s practically crystal clear the next body they’re finding at the bottom of the stairs or dead on the pavement is theirs. it’s past three in the morning when he makes this discovery, and he’s delirious as he books it out of his apt over to theirs. he knows where they keep their spare key, too—but the door’s already cracked open, and he’s fearing the worst, but tries to stay as silent as possible as he walks in and grabs a knife from the block as he goes. for protection.

which.. he’ll definitely need. walks into the living room with the window overlooking the city—the one he once loved to admire the view from, inbetween trying to solve the murder that got them there in the first place—to find ( ) being held against it, the culprit at their neck. he screams, ( ) screams, the culprit turns and it all really goes to shit. there’s yelling and he drops the knife or cuts himself and maybe ( ) too and it’s all just so dark—and then, the glass smashes. and it’s not him or ( ) that’s just fallen out of it.

it’s almost like a rerun of the months before. open-shut suicide, mark and ( ) putting on their best tearful performances and pretending they begged the culprit not to do it, but they just hadn’t listened. no one took any notice to the forgotten knife shoved under the sofa cushion, and they all just tried to move on.

the aftermath: mark and ( ) dump their phones, pack their things, and move the FUCK out of that apt complex! hopefully in the next there’s no murder, no secrets, and no need for spare keys—they live in the same flat, this time around.

[sabotsen]

Hi there! First of all, your perception of Roland is absolutely impeccable. I don't generally read fics as they tend to spoil/contradict my image of a char, but your Roland? Pure canon. In a single paragraph you are able to convey such complex images, wow. I even find myself with same longing described in a text, and it lingers. Also your signature tripple "burn"s. At this point I can recognize your work without captions. Hope you are having a good feedback! I also did not find any request closed/open status or rules so please forgive me if you don't do requests.

With that, may I take the liberty and ask for a Roland fic where we hug him? Because Re-reading Knight's longing for 3rd time and ugggh I just wanna squish him with a hug. I also thought the idea of "if you need anything — ask for it" "but no everything has to be 95 steps long and complex" is fun, but what if he does actually ask for something, and we give it to him, and it works, and he's shoked? Kinda?? Since he usually doesn't speak plain and honest, and things usually dont actually go his way. But hey he did this time and that single shot got through! It's a little bit like teaching a child to say "pass the salt please", except it's a grown man and we try to tell him not everything has to be attained through suffering and hinting, he can just ask. Or, on a different note, maybe he does not actually say it out loud but we still guess, since after so much time we know him well enough? Regardless of whatever he builds of himself, he still has some patterns he follows unknowingly in any of his instances, and those could be learned and read. I just wanted for Roland to be comforted a lil'. ;< maybe not a lil'. Maybe actually very much.

Even if this req is not to your liking, I still wish you the best with your art, thank you for your hard work! Bye have a great time 👋

I’ve had to walk laps around the room several times before I could even fathom a response to this message so forgive me if I’m incoherent in spots.

But firstly — thank you??? ( ; - ;) this is such a kind message I’m honestly really fucking humbled and at a loss for words, especially for speaking so kindly of my interpretation of him. ;;;; thank you truly for taking the time to send this, it means a lot to me. ( & I can’t help the burns repetition with him lol, the irony when your in game element is fire but you’ve long since forgotten the warmth of human kindness and contact so even the gentlest of brushes feels like scorching heat. The man is a clown)

I’ve never actually gotten a request before lol so you’re the first, hun. I’m open to ‘em, especially since they can be a way to talk to people about different hc and interpretations; I find it really fun. And I really like the view of him I see in your message. Roland blue screening is always a highlight to me tbh

it’s actually a bit ironic Knight’s Longing is the one you’re most fond of. The second part is in the works, told from Chrome’s POV about your closeness with Roland, and there is a short scene that plays off Roland’s affection line where you fall asleep against him. It’s mostly a fun experiment bc they’re just such fascinating foils. (There’s also a nutcracker inspired fic with Roland that has been in the works for a shamefully long time….)

But yes! You’re welcome to suggest ideas hun! And yours actually gave me a brain worm so consider that wip added to the fic list. I just… I either churn out 3 fics in a month or 1 fic every three months — there is no inbetween I’m so sorry….

I did draft a few lines tho based off the images I got from your message tho, so I don’t forget the emotion I want to go for (the despair of waiting for the other shoe to drop bc he can’t trust your kindness as something that isn’t attached to strings or the guillotine). I can’t promise it’ll make it to the final draft but here’s a little snip for now if that’s ok?? I gotta chew on how I want to shape the scene but I’ll toss the snip beneath a read more break. please know I’m tucking four leaf clovers in your pocket in hopes you have nothing but wonder days ahead!! ♥︎ thank you again for taking the time to talk to me ♡

[...]

It's the weightlessness – the moment of bated breath when the stage crumbles beneath his feet and the scaffolding overhead groans as it collapses. It's the loaded silence – the millisecond between the trigger pull and the expected result in roulette. It is the corpse of every script, every scene, every line that always, always, always ends with the flourish of the guillotine. 

He feels it, scorching and molten – the seeping, slow spread of warmth like molten glass. There's a sharpness to it, biting in the way it cuts through the cold metal of him until it sinks into his wires. It burns. It burns. It burns.

The weight of your arm around his shoulder, your foolish flesh and bone hand on the small of his back, the faint brush of your breath against his temple – you're close, too close and it burns. He feels the subtle rise of your chest with each slow breath, and it's the casual defenselessness of it all that turns the heat into something boiling. It churns with all the jagged, rusted blades that have burrowed into tender places he thought lost beneath the metal. You're completely open and every single vital point flashes through his mind in an instant. How easy would it be to press a little here or cut deep enough there to bring you to your knees in blooming crimson glory? 

His hands move – too late and too early all at once – and you don't even flinch when the cold metal of his fingers wraps around the back of your neck.

[lipglossanon]

Hope you had a good break girlie! So I looked into it and you unfortunately cannot get OG 2 or 3 on PS. I finished Leon 1st route! I was literally cheering as Ada fell and was yelling at her when she kissed him I was pissed. I started Claire 2nd and I’m having trouble understanding how her run lines up with Leon’s. I’m doing basically the same exact things I did with him which is honestly kinda annoying. I’m also trying to figure out the timeline between this one and the first one. Ik that 1 takes place in July & 2 is in September, but what happens in between that with the STARS members? Hoping it touches more on that in 3 (it was on sale digitally for like $10 I’m so excited!). Mr X is terrifying I see why people said this one was the scariest. Anyway sorry for all the info but I couldn’t remember which comment section we were talking g about this before on. 😂😅

Hi!!! 🥰 Never apologize for talking Resident Evil with me cause I’m a huge fucking nerd for this series 🤣

Read more cause it’s long lmao also spoilers for 3 😬 but nothing crazy I don’t think plus 3make is a little different from OG

Also sorry this is like another rant lmao

Yeah I didn’t think it was possible but I always hold out hope cause Capcom are so weird about their IPs 😒 and yes Mr. X was so fun in RE2make (way better than Nemesis but that’s a whole other tangent 🤣)

You might if you can find the GameCube versions of the OG RE2 and RE3 games. They play as well as the PS1 versions and it’s the exact same so not missing anything 😉

Haha that kiss is what I was talking about! Like she’s such a user —which I get that’s her character she’s a spy (first mentioned in RE1 as John’s password-his girlfriend’s name- and that’s why she’s in OG RE2, looking for her boyfriend who was a researcher for umbrella).

And to be honest the B scenarios do NOT complement the A scenarios. I am 100% of the belief that they were last minute additions 😒 for the most part they don’t really add too much in the way of story aside from a few little anecdotes.

So yeah sorry for that big disappointment 😆 oh man that’s a whole can of worms sorta? Lmao. Capcom is notorious for retconning or having confusing timelines 🤣 So buckle up I’ll try to keep this pretty streamlined:

RE1 takes place in July of 1998 and RE2 and RE3 take place at the same time with 3 lasting longer as Jill becomes infected and is in the city a bit longer. Like another disappointing factor is not having any crossover from the 2 and 3 remake cause come on! That would’ve been sick as hell for Jill to run into Claire or Leon in the RPD 🙄

Anywho, but as for the time between RE1 and RE2 is that Umbrella has Chief Irons in their pocket and so has him disband STARS and sweep everything under the rug. So no one believes them about the Spencer Mansions incident and so everyone’s oblivious to the shit storm about to happen 🤣

Brad is a chicken so hides away from everything. Rebecca peaces out. Barry takes his family and leaves for safety; Chris goes off to Europe to look into some Umbrella connections (which is why Claire didn’t find him and what leads into her looking for him a la Code Veronica).

Jill stays behind in Raccoon but she’s legit about to peace out to go after Chris when all that shit goes down and Nemesis is hunting the STARS members down; he fucking annihilates Brad, like tentacle through the mouth out the back of the head (so in 3make his death was way lame in my opinion 😒)

So unfortunate in 3make they don’t touch on anything inbetween 1 to 2 and 3; with OG RE3, there were epilogue scenes that explained what happened to everyone which was really cool but they took those out for some reason. They’re online if you wanna look it up. It explains why Leon ended up working for the govt, where Claire went, what happened to Jill, Barry, Chris, Ada, etc. All really cool and idk why they didn’t toss it in 😞

[drawnaghht]

SRTUC and the "3D vs 2D" toons

a little animation prediction:

...10-15 years from now, the kids growing up watching things from their parents' handheld devices are gonna be nostalgic for their cocomelon's and will be wondering, "why aren't there any good 3D cartoons like in their childhood??" just like how ppl in each generation have always been nostalgic for the entertainment of their own childhood haha x3

this little anecdote is smth I've slowly kinda realized after thinking abt the whole "3D vs 2D" mindset ppl have about animation in general. i've been seeing a lot of complaining online abt 2D cartoons and indie cartoons in general and I'm wondering.... when will the criticism end? Just 8 months ago, people would have shared the sentiment, "more indie animation! hollywood is starving our artists!" but now from online fans, I see a lot more of the sentiment of "this thing sucks" or in the case of Rise TMNT for example, "we were too late for this show".

People like 2D animation, but any time there's a new show out, people either don't give it a chance (thinking of my old faves, like Motorcity and Sym-bionic Titan, but also many others). Or like with Moon Girl, people seem to ignore it more than talk about it. Is it because it's a Marvel show? it's like the spiritual successor to both ROTTMNT and LMK, but also BH6 a bit?? it's good. animated by Flying Bark (known widely for Rise and Lego Monkey Kid) with supervising director Ben Juwono, story artist on BH6 and Glitch Techs. and there's lots of other cool ppl on the crew

also just, I'm thinking again abt how the 1st reactions from many different fans and viewers in general was so... strong. People reacted so badly to the 3D in SR, and it didn't make much sense to me, because personally, as someone who's seen many animated films and series since Toy Story in 96, it looks better than just "fine". the art direction in the show actually looks great to me. I do notice smaller animation or model/render mistakes but tbh they are so few and inbetween, that usually does not break enjoyment for me when it comes to 3D tv. So a lot of the hate that the "3D style" gets still doesn't make sense to me.

now I see that it's probably bc ppl are still used to 2D being their preference or something they see as better.... and maybe not entirely just ppl being tired of certain 3D rendering styles. A few thoughts...

So alright, it does not look like disney or like Sony artists' work with Spiderverse and later films. "Styles" or approaches to rendering which ppl are used to or have come to expect from all animated features and even animated series now. But it's still unique and strong in its own way. It doesn't look like Trollhunters either, 99 pictures' previous series of works, and I find that a good thing. it's been a long time since Trollhunters was in development to when Samurai Rabbit started 3D development.

The show is stylized in a way where it takes into account the work of all the visdev artists while also juggling the task of making anthro animals look animal-like and cartoony, but not too cutesy or too smooth either. It seems to follow the visdev art a lot. So there are many considerations to balance in the style. They also used many budget-saving methods, i.e. the changing walls of the city so they would have more variety without modelling a lot of buildings, or how scenes were rendered in a way to save time and space. Or cut character's legs off via camera view bc it's not important to see leg etc. So for the result they got on the show, it looks fine and quite often also nice. Again, the art directions saves the show from a lot of the smaller mistakes and ties it nicely together. One thing that did bother me a bit more was the crowd-characters style, both in 3D and 2D. To me they look a bit ugly and like they don't quite go together with the main cast "drawing" style, but again lol, you cannot splurge on everything when you're on a TV budget and imo it's not a huge loss.

I do like however how this show avoids what a lot of videogames do (for good reason), and what some 3D shows seem to also do. Everything looks like it's at the right size. Like the characters and objects/scenery/city they interact with feels tangibe, despite any technical shortcuts mentioned before. It looks really nice to my brain, especially knowing what many of these things look and feel like irl. I also enjoy that they've made the simple choice of making the characters more "furry" looking anthros and "less human" - so they don't feel awkward for having too many human traits and less animal traits. Or like animal heads with human bodies with the wrong proportions. Sometimes these things just work better in drawings and 2D vs 3D. Smart choice to not overly humanize them when they're already walking on their very human-like cartoon legs.

Lol maybe I've just seen much uglier things in 3D than what kids these days are used to. It does feel like with Samurai Rabbit in general, it's another case of a show coming out a bit too late for the changing tastes of viewers now. But then again, if we consider how many of these criticisms are coming from teens, who maybe just have a different taste and preference (e.g. they haven't seen maybe early 00s stuff so they judge all 2D to be superior bc they're tired of 3D? could be anything like that). And the other contingent I see are some older adults in their 30s/40s who are critical of animation in general, or they don't like how it's not a direct adaptation of Usagi Yojimbo. I remember a quote my sibling throws around about fans like these: "and baby food doesn't taste as good as it used to!!!" and I find she is right haha, some people have way too many opinions about shows which are not for them at all. Like, move on and watch something else x3 It seems it was popular with the indended demographic of kids ages 6-11, so, if that's something that helped the show, good. That's nice.

BTW, on that last note, been meaning to say this for a long time, but imo, it's actually good that the show wasn't a direct adaptation. Think about it. How many adaptations have you seen where people don't complain about how xyz part was left out? Or how they didn't capture the essence in their style? Stan and crew worked with what they got from Netflix, and I find that admirable on its own, seeing how Netflix treats many of their animated shows nowadays in general. Not just cancellations, but other things like contract disagreements and changes to a show. It seems with the last 2 years, the halcyon days of Netflix are over. Even though animation was the thing holding the entertainment industry in the US up during the pandemic, it and its workers are treated unfairly by the megacorp, who have also revealed that they're losing money in general. And from interviews and articles, it seems this show also had hard times, in terms of getting an adaptation at all (it was changed and NF asked them to do it about a younger Usagi instead, something like that), so they got the short end of the stick, but dealth with it. When Candie and Doug, the showrunners, were brought on board, they were told that it had to be for a younger audience, so a younger Usagi and the solution was to make a descendant. But that freed the show up a lot more than it would have been before. Now, instead of deciding on what favourite UY story to cut, the crew could instead focuz on making a complete story and rounded characters without stepping on Netflix's toes. It also seems the show had really enthusiastic execs and producers in general. So in the end we got a show with descendants of some of the comic's cast, who just happen to also be like retellings or their own versions of some of these characters (like Chizu and Kitsune for example)

saying all that.... lol if this show does come back, it'll be a while again and 3D preferences and styles would be changed again... I wonder what kind of visual style they would opt for if there was a new series based on Samurai Rabbit or based on other Usagi Yojimbo series, like Chibi Usagi or Yokai Hunter.

there's also of course just the factor that a lot of animation fans might be coming from a different place compared to fans of other media and are a lot more critical about what they watch. Never really been big on liveaction fandoms cuz I only watch liveaction stuff w my family as a fun activity to do, but i get sorta bored otherwise (so personal preference). I do know ppl complain abt their liveaction shows too but... it seems from this far away, much less whiney in some way. Like ppl being used to it and moving. But animation criticism always seems to be coming from an ungenuine or unfairly angry place. I don't know if it's the combo of "nostalgia nerd"-like youtuberisms having an influence on this, or just general negativity, but it's definitely something that's sorta become more boring/annoying to see. If you're critical of everything, eventually you sorta have nothing to criticise, or at least, nothing to enjoy.

but hey, if the general taste preference is still 2D, that's great! that's nice. I also still prefer 2D even if 3D is something I've worked with and something i've become accustomed to in animation in general. I just wonder where this mindset comes from that animated things have to be absolutely-infinitely PERFECT, or else it's not worth the watch.

I've definitely been in this camp of cartoon haters myself in the past... maybe not so much looking for perfectionism, but trying to see things I liked from an adult POV... but thankfully the early 00s we didn't have internet access i my family yet so no one else saw lol. As a kid, I genuinely thought that to be an animator, I have to learn how to be critical of every movie and animated thing I see. But animation brings me a lot of joy even when it's not "objectively" good... I wonder when more people will catch up and see their old mindset from a different point of view. I just find it sad that critics and internet drama seemingly have a much bigger impact on a show's success than say, the actual demographic watching it, or sales or whatever.

Anyway, if you read this far, thank you! I would offer an internet cookie, but it seems so here have a SR! Gen, representing how tired I am after staying up too late to write this haha x3

Anyway, good night, if you like a show or really enjoy it, pls watch it and share the word about it, that seems to do good.

Night!