#my fav design i've ever made honestly

[bambiilooza]

WHY CAN I BE NORMAL AND GET COMICALLY ATTACHED TO ODYSSEUS LIKE THE REST OF Y'ALL WHY'S IT GOTTA BE FUCKING PERIMEDES?

no but actually look at him he's my light he's my love he's my life-

[dollya-robinprotector]

honestly I've always been been curious who was your favourite character or a character you simp for or you know a character you just admire or like a lot in alien stage ever since I saw you draw luka dressing up as Ivan and mizi or when you made your pc and Robin as sua and mizi

You're not gonna believe this but...

My bias is Till. I love his character SO MUCH like he's my son. I love all his ships, my fav song is Round 2 Unknown - Till the end (then Sweet Dream), and all I ever rambling with my friends in our group chat is about Till and how he represent "Freedom" or how I don't want to interact with the fandom especially since round 7 because all they care about is fighting about ships or who would Till choose bla bla bla...

I do like Mizi and Sua too, but if we're talking about no.1, then it's def Till.

I'm actually pretty sad because I can't draw Till too well. He's not suited with my drawing style. Mizi, Sua, Luka, I can draw them well, their designs are "soft" and "pretty". Ivan, Till and Hyuna, I can't 🥹 I feel like I can't describe their characteristic with my style. Sàdgeeee =((((((((((

[marleemutt]

Figured I'd throw one of my sonas in here since I saw some other people doing it and it looked like fun :]

This is PBnJ! I usually call him just PB, and he's my secondary sona. So he's not the most complete representation of me, but he's one of my two main comfort sonas and reflects my more kinda chill and affectionate side haha. He's also bfs with my main sona and the bassist for my OC band called Let's Get Back! He's also one of my favorite designs I've ever made! It's relatively simple but I adore him and he's one of my fav characters to have other people draw <33

omg u had me at OC band 👀 thats so cool!! making your sona apart of a band and then bfs with your other fursona is sickkk

for a design like this honestly simple is best! i probably wouldve done something similar to this ^^ love the frecklessss such a cute concept!!

[faksyan]

kazi baby and maybe sunny on the side idk if she has enough in canon for an ask on her own

Oh you know it I want to talk about Kazuhira Miller. Of course I do.

(my favorite Sunny moments are all of mgrec and jomo am I allowed to answer that. Loved her there the writers did such a good job. I wish we were friends.)

First impression

Honestly, I don't think I took that much notice of him in his first appearance? I saw him in pw first, and in the beginning he is just a guy idk. The ending of peace walker and his tapes made me go a bit feral over him though. just a little.

Impression now

I'm in love with his anger issues. He's a scared animal backed into a corner that bites at the hand reaching for him even if it wants to feed and soothe him. I like thinking it gets better with age, but never quite leaves him to some extent, he did think about his revenge on bb for years (even though I think by there end it was less personal and more about. you know. not letting the world explode.)

I really really really like all of Kaz's designs. They're so expressive and tell so much about the mental space he's in. I love how resilient he is throughout all of the shit he deals with and how he passes it on to Dave. What else. There's so much more honesty I talk a bunch about Kaz in other asks, nothing else I haven't mentioned before comes to mind right now.

Favorite moment

Him almost killing himself and bb with a grenade. Showstopping. Brilliant. Never done before. All of first encounter honestly it does so much for him as a character. His tapes where he talks about his childhood too. Every Kaz moment is kind of my favorite I think. I like his lines as Master Miller where he tells Solid he should survive and about cheese fondue and stuff.

Idea for a story

I'm afraid I tie him to Ocelot too much because I love their dynamic. A big fic during the nine year gap where they do a bunch of dumb shit and make Diamond Dogs and kiss is the main one I guess. They go to a casino and beat the shit out of each other one (1) time and beat the shit out of other people many times. So much more bullshit happens but im not getting into that right now. I also have a story with the main focus on Paz in mind, but he's also there a lot, I just want them to be friends.

Unpopular opinion

He can be impulsive but he is a lot more rational than what people often portray/describe him as I think. Also, almost all interpretations of him in v I've seen feel kind of. wrong. Yes, he's traumatized and paranoid, but he is not a *mess*, not in a way he is often viewed. I already said about how I think Kaz's designs are very expressive, and there was this really cool post (don't really know where it's now unfortunately, don't think I reblogged it) about how his facial hair in tpp isn't him giving up on shaving, it's him having a fucking designer stubble that was a rising trend at the time. This, coupled with the fact that he wears so many layers (of also fancy clothes), carries a gun on him at all times, and orders people around as if it were his base (it is) and his soldiers (they are) is exactly the opposite of a man that gave up on his life. It isn't his low point. I headcanon the actual lowest low point in his life being somewhere during bb's coma, and by v he has gotten over it. It was a really long time, and they needed to move on to get things done, so he did. He didn't really need Snake by the time he gets back, I think. Not anymore. It was purely sentimenal by then, plus wanting revenge. And then not even that.

Favorite relationship

Oh would you really make me choose. Ocelhira for all the reasons listed here and so many more. Him and bb for all the baggage they have. Him and V for all the baggage they don't have but think they do because Zero is insane what was that plan. Him and Solid even though they have almost no screentime together. Everyone who ever interacts with him is my favorite relationship because it's Kazuhira Miller. Sorry for being abnormal about him.

Favorite headcanon

Transfem Kaz maybe, but I don't write or think about him with it in mind a lot of the time. Also I think he lost the hand in Ground Zeroes, it makes sense with him bringing up losing limbs and the pain being a reminder of what was taken from him nine years ago in his helicopter speech.

Bonus

Okay, more seriously about Sunny. Everyone always draws her so cheerful and outgoing aka closer to how she's in Rising I assume, that I didn't really expect that she'd be essentially kind of a shut-in in 4. She's a scared anxious child who is also a prodigy, and they are so fucking mean to her there. Made me honestly pretty sad. Though a lot of it might have been the stress everyone was under. I haven't gotten to her in mgr yet, but it makes me happy that things get better for her, like everyone always wanted.

[ilkkawhat]

i'm drunk enough to think about nick again (not that it like, hurts to think about him anymore i think that heartbreak is solved) and godDAMMN they really buried a man alive on network television and then went the extra mile to make him get EATEN ALIVE AND then almost k*ll himself and WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE to watch this in an IMAX theater, being buried alive is the ultimate Horror Trope for me and it happened on the one character that takes the cake, that changed my life forever like there has been characters that have impacted my life that i think made me better as a person but nick stokes is on a whole nother fucking level and it all started with this episode where he gets kidnapped and buried and i distinctly remember what it was like watching it for the first time, knowing that he survives cause he obviously shows up in episodes after this one and i started watching csi with re-runs of season 4 on spike tv but also the live season 6 finale where nick was clearly okay and cracking jokes even at a scene about severed heads (god bless him) but one day spike tv showed this episode and i stomped into the living room after part 1 ended almost yelling at my dad like ARE YOU KIDDING ME HOW DOES HE SURVIVE THAT BUT HE'S NICK FUCKING STOKES SO OF COURSE HE DOES AND i've never been that close to the knife or bullet in my life but have had..............idealiziations myself and sometimes, just sometimes, i remember how he was at the end of his rope, he waited until the last fucking second like think of a fucking saw trap he would fucking dominate that because he's nick stokes and he doesn't give up, he doesn't believe in past lives cause he's just fucking trying to get through this one and he's been though so fucking much between the fucking babysitter and stalker and gunpoint and being buried alive? ok yeah just another day in the office for him, he fights like hell, he resists his own temptations, he has so much belief in his co-workers, his mentor aka former boss that they'll find him that he hangs on for almost 24 hours in this goddamn coffin designed to torture him, sure, he can stay alive with the provided fan (something that honestly this year, i've have instilled myself when i go to bed) but the fan's gonna die and can they find him before that fan runs out? not fucking likely but TV magic unbeknownst to him they DO cause otherwise lmao nick stokes woulda died in the season 5/15 finale and i probably would have stopped right there even though grissom was my fav at first NICK STOKES STOLE MY HEART and even in my darkest hours i'll think of him, as if a ghostly image of him shows up in the mirror, "i survived why can't you?" motherfucker this is mY BOY stronger than any character i've ever related to--obviously nick and i have had different lives and he's so much stronger and better than me in so many ways but i guess he's what i aspire to be (albeit with a bit less...ignorance but nick is def the type who like. learns his lesson, he matures out of old prejudices which i admire SO MUCH of him) and i don't think i could have had such a strong role model in my formative years cause i started watching csi in 7th grade cause a real forensic scientist came to our school and of course, mentioned how CSI was not real but it piqued my curiosity and it possibly sparked my interest in horror to a degree cause my first episode was a horrifically bloated body (4x02 to be exact, assume nothing nick) and as a 7th grader up until that point even though 9/11 had passed (i was in like. 4th/5th grade that point) i guess i didn't know how cruel people could be but nick showed and continues to show me that people have the capactity of enduring the worst horrors this world can inflict on a person and they can still come out on top, they can still be the hero, they can still save themselves as well as others and FUCK man i miss nick stokes

[mintaikk]

Analyzing the Circus & Theatre Elements in Hellaverse

One thing I love about the Hellaverse is that every character looks like they should be in a theatre.

I haven't seen anyone talk about it, so I'm talking about it bcuz it's something I really like about the art style. It was also probably done on purpose, considering the whole circus theme for Hell. I just wanna rant about it bcuz I love these shows, and a lot of the theatre elements have inspired my own designs for OCs and potential redesigns if I ever hop on that train.

Stolas

Starting with Stolas bcuz he's the first one that made me realize this.

Stolas is an owl, and his entire face reminds me if a masquerade mask. For one, since ye has a widows peek and his face is completely white, it looks like something that can be put on (his face is also heart shaped and I feel like that's a reference to his personality and role in the story). The beak also reminds me of the nose on a masquerade mask, and the line on his face makes it look more like a mask. His eye shape even looks like the exaggerated large eyes of a mask.

The eyeliner as well. I haven't been in any plays, but ik a lot of stage makeup has a lot eyeliner, and while its apart of his body (his newly hatched photos show him with it), I think it's a neat detail still.

And, he's an owl. So many masquerade mask and balls are animal inspired.

And the royalty outfit. Since a lot of clsssic plays were made by rich European people in the 1800s, a lot of them had upper class and royalty themes, so we ended up seeing a lot of the extravagant suits and dresses of the rich, but in theatre form.

(Chose Phantom of the Opera bcuz it's one of my fav musicals, and Hellaverse seems to favor it as well)

While I do think Stolas's outfit looks very goofy at times (the freaking tophat-), I do somewhat like it. For one, the brimm of the hat looks like Paimon's face, showing that he is under Paimon's legion and his son, but again, it also looks like a masquerade mask. It also carries a crown, which I just realized, and I think that's cute because Octavia'a beanie also has a crown on it. The the collar also looks like the spots of a barn owl, which fun fact; Female barn owls have more spots than the males. Idk if it was done on purpose, but it could be used to show thst he's more sterotilypically feminine or smthn.

Anyways! The royalty outfit he has reminds me of a cheap outfit for a snobby royal that a local theatre would use. The cape, I think, is given for dramatic effect since from a lot of the plays I've seen, they do a ✨️dramatic swoosh✨️ with it.

Thanks for coming to my Ted talk. I was gonna talk about multiple character, but honestly, there's so much to analyze with designs, and I think is shound give the ones I analyze their own individual posts. Super excited for Paimon & the Sins, bcuz they just scream theater.

[delyth-thomas-art]

Tired Webcomic Creator Noises

Gags … ah yes lets make art into mindless content spat out by Ai cos we've been literally killing creators with inhumane workloads to spit out as many episodes as possible for mindless consumption.

I make my comics with passion and love of the craft! I have a degree in Comics, I spent years...years learning, practising, experimenting, adapting. I recall the days where you may get a page a week, or a few at the start of the month back in the 2000s era of self hosted webcomics and smackjeeves. (Rant below)

I've had to learn how the whole scrolling format worked to adapt to where all the readers had gone to, having been taught the traditional print page formats. And now cos its suddenly a massive money maker for these few hosts and they've pushed creators to the brink with the sheer volume they want pumped out that of course they want to use AI.

But it will speed up colouring! I have multiple tools available by the software I use and made by the wonderful people who love creating that colouring isn't that much of a chore, Its my fav part honestly. And its also a job sector within comics, colourists are skilled artists and this is another way to trim the fat, to pocket more money and keep churning out the 5th millionth villainess story.

Yes I am in most views a tiny creator, I haven't even broken their 1000 sub goal to even try applying for ad rev in the near 5 ish years on webtoon. But what I make I love, I spend hours researching folklore, scripting, drafting the whole kabudle like many other creators. And other than the kind supporters on my Patreon and Ko-fi I don't make much from the hours, days, weeks I pour into what I make. But at least I know its made with my own hands. That its made with love as corny as that sounds.

Ai is creeping its tentacles into everything, now ethically trained ai tools to help smaller creators would be fine. Most creators already rely on 3d tools to speed up things like backgrounds for webcomics. But when we don't know what its trained on, and is marketed wholesale as something anyone can use to make "content" is where it gets insidious. I am all for anyone with the desire to create and tell a story to go out there and do so, whether a beginner or a master. Part of the joy of a long running webcomic is seeing the artist grow both artistically and literary. But with ai it will be all one homogenous style, a copy of what ever is the hot thing. We already have amazon stuffed to the teeth with ai generated books, videos, merch and more all to be sold in some get rich quick manner. (need I point at the Willy's Wonderland incident). Youtube videos being spat out by faceless accounts stealing and regurgitating content at the speed no human video making team can easily match without cutting out quality or fact checking.

It is tiring. Creatives as a whole are treated poorly for decades, and now with the rapid late stage capitalism, website /social media enshitification and the blind headlong rush into the next big money making thing (watches the nft crash). I can't deny Covid sped this up, as everyone was locked inside and turned to what we creators made for comfort. But that content eating boom, lead to more demand, faster output and tighter budgets. We are seeing journalists being cut, game designers in their thousands and recently Dreamworks cutting a bunch and pushing to make their Robot film come out sooner due to public demands.

Skilled creatives are being treated like disposable fast food restaurant employees. Used til they burn out, get injured and even die! And then are simply replaced.

I've never been a creator with huge ambitions to work at places like DC, Marvel or Top Cow. I simply wished to create and share stories with the world, to bring smiles, to create art that evokes emotions, inspires others to look around themselves and create too.

Art is for everyone. You just need to take that scary jump, there is a whole array of welcoming communities willing to teach and share. I wouldn't have improved so much without the kindness of the webcomic groups I've discovered and learnt from. Everyone is always learning, and there no shame in not knowing how to do a thing. Even I started with the cheesy how to draw books as a kid and made my own pokemon and digimon.

Don't let the world treat your art as content. It is "ART" as much as what's kept in the louvre is seen as art, so is that little stick man doodle on a postit.

So Try something new, try a new material, a new style.

And support the artists you enjoy, tip their Ko-Fi, pledge to their Patreon, buy a sticker or print. Share their posts and tell them what you love about what they make.

Don't let machines steal away the art in HEART.

[swansong-if]

Since this is honestly the very first. And mean that the very first IF I ever read aswell as fell inlove with IFs with. I found it randomly on itchio and it made me curious about what other IFs were and I just didn't even know IFs were a thing till them. This IF holds a special place to me.

So had to add you to my random tour.

I am Continuing my tour of my fav IFs/authors. I'm giving yall some fictional love lives... 👀 If you HAD absolutely HAD to choose one of your ROs/ side characters to romance. I know we only have 2 ROs but still.

Who would it be and whyyyyyyyyy??

Also Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ♥️

That's honestly wholesome to hear, I'm HONOURED!!! 🥺🙏💖 There are lots of incredible IF stories out there and I'm glad you get to experience them!!!

I designed Swan Song with very few characters on purpose because I really wanted the focus on the Leir-MC-Odile triad; and uhh as someone who often inevitably falls in love with the side characters, I avoided making any additional characters that would steal my focus lmao so there aren't really people to pick outside of them.

This feels like I'm cheating, but I've mentioned once or twice how in my heart the polymance is the 'real' route, so if I could pick who to romance personally I would simply pick both 😂 I ain't gonna pick Rothbart that's for sure, now way I'd let a ginger do all that...

[rockybloo]

What’s your favorite fairytale(s) reimagined piece of media? I’ll start first, beanstalked. It already looks so cool and reading about the characters makes me so excited to see more. The character design are amazing, your style is so damn nice to look at and seeing just how much these characters mean to you is so nice to see. MORE UNAPOLOGETIC LOVE FOR YOUR OWN STORIES! Everyone should I their own little fandoms in their heads! Draw those badass monsters! Make your silly little guys kiss! Your brain should be mush from your love of your own works! Also thanks for indirectly bring back my love for my oc’s from middle school, I missed those guys. Your stories have feel so nostalgic, so familiar and comforting but new and refreshing.

T thank yo ou u. I get so happy when people like Beanstalked, I KNOW I SAY THIS EVERYTIME SOMEONE SAYS THEY LIKE IT BUT I'MMA KEEP ON SAYING IT, because it is my baby 😭

AND YES-THE SELF INDULGENCE SPREADS

As for fav fairytale reimaginings-OH BOY here we go because do I have a LIST

Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997): One of my earliest memories of a fairy tale retellings that I actually enjoyed as a kid. There are so many things in it that just hit along with the songs. Honestly, every other live action Cinderella falls flat in comparison for me.

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child: I grew up watching reruns on HBO and it was a big motivation for me to say "fuck it" and make a vast majority of the characters in Beanstalked people of color. Plus, I love the design choices they make for a lot of the characters. And the 90s vibes are just sooo good.

American McGee's Grim: I love this demented little game and its style. The execution makes it worth it to play for me even if you aren't into fairy tales. Plus, how can I turn down technically having the ability to run around inside an ACTUAL level based on fairy tales. I have Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella and I like to play them occasionally just for the fun of it. And yes, that Jack and the Beanstalk is 100%ed

Shrek 1 and 2: I love both these films and they are very nostalgic to me but I especially love the second. It really goes all in on that "living in a fairy tale" aspect with Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, the Frog Prince, Puss in Boots, etc. Plus, that "I Need a Hero" montage just goes so hard. It's honestly one of my fav animated scenes in a film.

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio: I love stop motion. And I love retellings that know their source material while also adding their own flavor. This film is such a work of art from head to toe and I balled so many times watching. Plus the way it touches on the aspect of life and death makes me so happy.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish: I could gush on and on about how much I love the animations and characters but like…everyone has already done that for me so I will focus on what specifically made me love the film. And that's how it handles fairy tales. It takes a much more earnest approach than Shrek, which while I love, you have to admit it can be a bit mean spirited at times. So I enjoy how this movie was more of a "these tales are people living their lives". I love the found family aspect of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Puss in Boots being a legend and a bad ass and cocky like the OG tale. I even liked Jack Horner and how he was just that good classic "I am a dick and I own it" character. Personally, I view him as a sort of commentary on how companies will IP dump things to seem cooler and more successful. In this case, it's Fairy Tale dumping which is DEF something I've seen SO MANY TIMES because companies will thing having a bunch of tales in one thing automatically makes them cool since "DISNEY DID IT SO IT'LL WORK" and they just land flat on their face. I genuinely hope that more films in the Shrekverse have this sort of down to earthness to them…and if no the Shrekverse then maybe some more animated films that genuinely reimagine fairy tales.

Relating to the previous point but I do not care what anyone says that little boy with the cow and the giant covered in greenery was def a fuckin Jack and the Beanstalk reference and I will fight everyone tooth and nail about it I SEE A REF TO MY FAV TALE WHEN I SEE IT DAMMIT

Alice and the Nightmare: A webcomic that's based off Alice in Wonderland. Currently, it's one of the only Alice based reimaginings that I like and the art is just so GOOD??? I am always hyped to read the next update.

I'm sure there is like...a crumb of more but these are the ones that really resonate with me and motivate me to work on Beanstalked when I see them. I keep thinking the list is gonna be longer but honestly...it's the list of fairy tale retellings that I'm NOT into that is the long one. It doesn't help that I occasionally watch the off brand animated fairy tale based movie on Netflix for funzies and come out mildly disturbed.

[lonewolflink]

Hey, Link! Got some super important questions I need you to answer! 😉

- favorite itzy variety show?

- wdzy or twinzy? who looks most like their cartoon counterparts?

- favorite title track? favorite era?

- favorite solo covers/performances from each of the members?

-any concepts you want itzy to try in the future?

Love your writing and I'm eagerly waiting for the next update! 💕

hi!!!!! omg i think this is the first non-anon ask i've ever gotten lol I'M EXCITED! and very glad you're enjoying my writing...next chapter of wsc is a real doozy so look out!!

answers after the jump :)

favorite itzy variety show?

easily it'zzz. oh my god it's been so good. i literally imitate yeji yelling "MAC" into the void on a daily basis because it makes me giggle every time. my one true wish is for it'zzz season 2 when lia comes back

wdzy or twinzy? who looks most like their cartoon counterparts?

prefacing this by saying i do genuinely like twinzy, i think they're super cute! that being said it's easily wdzy. members were more involved in their creation, the designs are more unique/distinct, and honestly just more fun. for twinzy i think kkengee looks most like yeji, and for wdzy it's gotta be my fav tuk (when ryujin's got her ears popping out the hoodie) or lya!

favorite title track? favorite era?

fav title track is SO tough there's so many good ones. ugh. honestly it might be cheshire?? that was the first itzy title track that got Stuck In My Head and then i had to listen to their entire discography lol. my favorite era as a whole is easily kill my doubt.

i think that entire EP is phenomenal, and it's what made me really hop on the itzy train in a permanent way (i became a fan during that comeback). bet on me and none of my business are the reason i survived the last year of my phd program lol

also like...their styling in that era (esp their hair)? ELITE. (blonde lia...i'm on my knees...wtf...)

favorite solo covers/performances from each of the members?

this is so tough oh my god uh...

lia - can't take my eyes off of you

hearing lia sing this is one of the major things that made me want to look into itzy in the first place. i wish lia would sing more jazzy/r&b stuff, her voice is so suited for it

yeji - river

idk if dance covers are included here but if so then obviously river. her stage with hyunjin was insane too. if no dance covers then...hotter than hell

ryujin - every second

i love every second, and i especially love ryu's cover of it. i legit listen to it all the time. lemon might be taking over its spot but we'll see

chaeryeong - 10 minutes/chitty chitty bang bang

ok i know this was a catz line (+yuna) performance but i literally go back to it constantly specifically for chaeryeong oh my god SHE!!!

yuna: u-go-girl

i mean. it's yuna's Statement performance. feels wrong to go with anything else

any concepts you want itzy to try in the future?

this is also tough! itzy has proven they can basically rock any concept so it's hard to say really. in terms of styling i would really love to see them go a little more masc (like the airport fits in the algorhythm mv) and do at least some r&b (like stuff in the direction of mr. vampire, especially when lia comes back)...i guess like to see them do a darker more mature concept but not girl crush bc i feel like we've seen them do that.

more than anything i'd say what i want is for the girls to have more creative control of their direction in concept, styling, and music. i think they have all shown themselves to be incredibly thoughtful and talented in those respects, beyond performance, and i'd be really interested to see what they come up with together if given the opportunity for input. fingers crossed that the solo projects on born to be were indicative of that becoming the new norm.

[charlieslowartsies]

Been re-reading KGA and the hyperfixation has sunk its claws into me and refuses to let me go, but honestly I don’t mind it.

Speaking of not minding shit that holds and refuses to let go, any commentary on Mike and Marion’s relationship? For some reason its one of my favorites in the series (prolly because Marionette has always been my favorite FNAF character) regardless of how borderline toxic or even codependent it could be interpreted as.

haha I'm glad you're enjoying the reread! At some point I want to sit down and try to reread LB-GS myself. Maybe after LW is completed.

As always, this bitch RAMBLES.

Marion is def one of my favorites too. I'm more a Bonnie fan though, but despite that, I didn't really expect to find so much interest in Mike and Marion becoming so close. Of course, as I've mentioned before, Foxy was the original character I intended to be closest to Mike Schmidt.

Marion and Freddy had other plans apparently lmao. The story really started demanding things from me around Devil's Spine and Ghost Strings. Characters wanted things I tried giving them.

The more I mapped out Marion's history and fleshed out dumbass golden retriever Mike, I realized I really wanted to lean into them being inseparable with the mindset of: To be loved is to be changed, and to be used is to be harmed.

Marion was used a lot in his past, so he was harmed, and he harmed others for it. He had misguided wishes, he didn't listen to others advice, and he wanted to blindly protect the restaurant and the children.

Marionette, much as he made poor choices and harmed so many, was also a victim of grooming/true cruelty from William Afton. He put so much blind faith and trust into Afton in the very beginning, and drew lots of similar traits from him as well that didn't become apparent until Afton was gone and the other Animatronics noticed how...intense Marion was, in trying to protect and control every angle.

This doesn't make what he did right. And it took him a long time to learn the lessons he needed. (LW being my fav example when he apologizes to Max/Michael for how he treated the zombie, indicating something is shifting between them especially. I'm SO excited for the end of LW where Max gets the Gift from Puppet, the thing he's wanted most.)

Most of that undoing was thanks to Mike, who was both kind and easy going while becoming less of a rug as time went on to Puppet, who mentions more than once across the series he isn't used to being challenged.

Mike came into the restaurant with no understanding of the horrors that occurred. Of what Marion had done, or could do. He just knew Marion helped him out a little bit for those first five nights, which meant Mari was his friend. Once Mike is a friend with someone he accepts them/loves them but also speaks his mind if he thinks it's needed.

And then of course this comes around to the side of Marion's thinking. 'This is my person, someone I can trust, who won't harm me/my family. I need him. He won't use Fredbear like Springbonnie was used. He is loyal and affectionate and tries to meet me halfway, even when we don't agree on something. And if I lose him...what's left? What else is there for me, but to go back to the way things were? I can't ever let that happen.'

Marion's going to be protective, naturally. Flip-side being that he needs to work on not taking that too far. Coming back in Last Shift, I didn't want like...a perfectly stable and fixed Marionette just appearing out of Lefty and having everyone go 'Why is he playing nice all of a sudden??' Because frankly the in-character response from them all minus Mike would be "We don't trust him far as Foxy can throw him" which....fair.

I didn't want 100% of his growth as a character being off screen. I wanted that to be earned and for readers to be given it, so the Revived design and the strings being tied to Mike are for that door way to be opened.

I wanted Marion to do the work, but Mike also had some growing to, that he had worked on in FF. (Marion was breaking down in GS, but he'd only split apart because Mike goes against Mari's warnings and ends up getting the Puppet destroyed when he was trying to help.)

You mentioned the borderline between how dark their bond could go, and yes I wanted that showcased too. I wanted a balancing act.

Repeating history won't do any good, especially not for Mike if Marion goes too overboard. At the end of the day though, Mike can dial Marion back, and keep him on a better straight-and-narrow than the lil devil used to exist on.

I think what helps steer away from the dangerous edge of what I would consider true toxic-ness is Mike can call Marion out, effectively. Likewise, Marion can call out Mike to. There's also Foxy, who is equally happy to call Marion tf out, as well as others once they see Marion isn't how he used to be.

Marion's themes/lessons in LW are: Being different doesn't mean the other is bad. To be loved is to be changed. And they overlap with Mike's, which are:

You can be put back together even if broken. No one can be strong all the time.

Is being too controlling harmful as fuck? Yes. I do not condone it , obviously. That's why Marion's story is NOT: "he became more possessive and was allowed to, and go on hurting himself/Mike or others." The narrative at the end of LS and into LW began rewarding Marion for trying to work on his aggressiveness at others. He was trying.

He choose to let Mike go, not letting him fully die out in Limbo. Then protected him from Henry's Rage where-before, all he could do was hide in Lefty and try to give hints and clues. He gained more agency the more he did the Right thing. (Of course, Mike rebuilt him a body and helped him come back.) And out of the gate in LW we have Mike advising Marion heavily to work on his attitude.

So Marion reaches out to one of the Mini Music Men in LW, and this ends up earning him a small friendship that chapters later saves Max and Gregory's life. Mari didn't have to use threats, and he wasn't in the scene but the ripples of his actions caused this effect. He also started listening to the DCA instead of ignoring or simply powering them down, and that meant he was able to see things from their perspective and help them out instead of pushing them away. Marion's gunna get softer the longer he spends anchored to Mike Schmidt. In some ways, Mike Schmidt will harden a tad, but not to the point of changing much beyond his typical kindness. More like maturing, and understanding to not launch himself head first into everything.

Basically Marion needed some socialization lmao. Mike unknowingly helped that early on (like, think GS days) and then after he got him back he noticed the problems better/clearer.

While I always hope people interpret the series the way I envision it, everyone reads differently and has their own life experiences that colors their thinking. Which is p neat, but if nothing else...I just hope people have a good time reading the fics as I do writing them out.

[a-slut-for-smut]

*years later* thanks so much for the tag @lovelybeautifulpretty!! cant recall if i warned u before but i tend to go buckwild with these, sorry and your welcome :D

Here are top 10 fav films and surprise surprise, im just a hot mess of eclectic tastes 🤷‍♀️ in no particular order:

Robocop

This 80s masterpiece is a smart political satire/social commentary disguised as a comic book/action revenge movie that interweaves hilarious dark humor, ultraviolence and science fiction in a simple yet seamless plot. It will honestly SHOCK you just how much it has to say on American evolutions in capitalism, media influence, desensitization to violence, gentrification, and our perception of heroes, each in service of a greater conversation about identity and culture.

Atonement

I consider this film the pinnacle of an angsty/doomed romance executed perfectly on-screen: the performances, the cinematography, the music, EVERYTHING!! Funny story, me & the girlfriends went to see this in theaters expecting a typical period romance; left completely snot-dripping, bawling our eyes out. I shit you not, i felt the utter devastation from this film for WEEKS

Amelie

If there was a film to define the term "whimsy" then this is it!! Its so creatively rich, with such a fun and sweet art style in the characters, the way its filmed, the music, the romance- it'll make your heart ache for days.

Inglorious Basterds

I'm a big whore for Tarantino ever since Reservoir Dogs, but I consider film his ABSOLUTE masterpiece. The comedically distinct characters, the sharpness of dialogue, how he builds up the tension of scenes to the point of explosion with just a simple conversation- *CHEFS KISS*

Children of Men

This dystopian sci fi drama was made in 2005 but with all the social commentary woven into the background of the story, it is eerily topical in today's tumultuous political & social climate (which is very telling about us as a society I suppose). The director Alfonso Cuaron is a master at "show don't tell" filmmaking and it SHOWS. Also the tracking long shots in this film are something to witnessed, beheld even. Masterpiece.

Bridget Jones' Diary

My absolute FAV romantic comedy, i totally relate to this bumbling, epic disaster of a woman, even more so now that i'm 30+ like her. Fun fact, the plot is heavily inspired by Pride & Prejudice which is probably why i love it so much. Also Colin Firth 🥵 (which leads me to another fun fact- he was cast as Mark Darcy mainly due to the author's crush on him from his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the 1996 BBC miniseries which put him on the map, and rightly so. I know the film adaption is super popular, but any P&P fan NEEDS to watch this version, so so good)

Chicago

This musical ruined all theater musicals for me forever- the film adaptation is THAT good!!! The spectacle, the numbers, the PERFORMANCES- Catherine Zeta Jones slayed as Velma Kelly (also my ovaries), i love it so much that i watched it 3 times back to back on a flight i honestly couldnt get enough lol

Kung Fu Hustle

This film is Stephen Chow's magnum opus- an action comedy that blends kung-fu and all sorts of historical chinese references and homages of the directors favorite films, you can tell the passion and the fun that went into making this film and it really REALLY shows. I consider this a perfect execution of what a live-action anime could be, this film is an absolute blast and classic

Annihilation

I've got a bit of a cosmic/existential horror kink (where a form of media makes you question the world/life as we know it or triggers an existential crisis) and this film gets it RIGHT. It's a philosophical sci-fi thriller but is so much more with its themes of pain and identity, exploration of humanity's disposition for self destruction but also its unsettling visuals and soundtrack. Funny story, the sound design is so alien/unsettling that it spooked my cat from her nap and got her staring at the screen with wide eyes and an arched back trying to figure out what the eff was going on (me as well).

Also love how its an all female cast but its never mentioned in-film; just a bunch of capable women going to take care of business (i didnt even notice until my 2nd watch)- im a fan of this approach as it in effect "normalizes" this scenario whereas calling it out as if its special just highlights how it's an exception...anyway, its a horrifically beautiful film.

Sicario

Denis Villeneuve can do no wrong in my eyes (nor cinematographer Roger Deakins), a beautifully shot thriller that serves as a social commentary on how laws are meant to be broken, lines are drawn and then erased when convenient, as long as it serves a so-called greater purpose, that keeping a moral code is a futile effort. Brilliant performed and written, nuanced characters, glorious cinematography and a killer soundtrack (RIP Johan Johansson), A+++++

alright sorry for the long rambling post, cant help myself! Tagging a bunch a folks that seem alive per my notifs, no pressure of course!!!

@writebecauseyoucannotbreathe @nuri148 @your-lavender-dreams @warbarbie @levi4mikasa @onigiri-dorkk @helena-thessaloniki @misplacedgamer @lovely-apparitions @ally147writes @stalactice @vero-icon @mylienated @hellhorsedotjpg @magicalanchordestiny

[roselightfairy]

Also, I suspect I know what this title is for, so I'm hoping for some fun juicy additional tidbits from:

Mod FAV snippets

Hahahahahahaha so this one is a pure vanity project, maybe the most navel gaze-y thing I've done.

When I started working with @deheerkonijn, I absolutely loved playing around in modverse and I've continued to love it. But it's an interesting balance, working with a specific set of characterizations and situations! Our depictions of Legolas in our own work often appear on the surface to be completely, completely different. While working together, we've found a ton of points of connection and similarity, and have realized that we have a very similar view of him as a character after all, but the way that looks outwardly is - uh, quite different. Influencer!Legolas is about as opposite of FAV!Legolas as you could possibly come, you know? So just for fun, just for myself, I started playing around with what my specific characterizations and OCs would look like in a similar fusion universe. It was only for me and DHK, but it was a ton of fun (and turned into, like, a Legolas Family Drama TV Show haha).

Probably the crowning jewel of anything I wrote in there, though, was a made-up magazine profile of Gimli the architect, and since I haven't given you any snippets, I'll include a bit in here:

But if he’s been collaborating with Éomer of Rohan, does that mean we can expect to see more of his work outside the country? “I’m not saying anything about that yet!” he deflects again. “Nothing is set in stone – if you’ll forgive my pun.” No amount of gentle prodding will get another word out of him, so I return to the subject of his life. What has the transition been like – between Erebor and Minas Tirith, moving outside of dwarf-only circles, and rising so quickly to prominence? “It’s been . . . surprisingly easier than I expected, actually.” He smiles fondly. “I was lucky that I made some really wonderful friends right away, and having them has helped me both with the emotional transition and with even the finer aspects of design. I might have loved Lady Galadriel when I was younger, but having an elf as an idol doesn’t mean I really knew anything about elvish design. But since I met Legolas, I’ve been introduced to a whole new world. I find I love trying to integrate all these different inspirations and sensibilities – it’s a refreshing challenge.” Ah, yes, Legolas. The elusive elvish husband who has somehow remained such an enigma to the public eye. What about him? I can’t help asking. What’s it like being a dwarf married to an elf – especially that one? Are the rumors true? Is he really that Legolas? But Glóinul refuses to tell me anything. “That’s personal,” he says. “We like to keep our private life as private as possible.” If the rumors are true, I can’t blame him. It’s been whispered that Glóinul’s husband is Legolas Thranduilion – yes, son of that Thranduil, longtime prime minister of Eryn Lasgalen and generator of the most rumor and controversy since Thingol himself. Legolas has been much farther removed from the spotlight than his sister Laerwen Thranduiliel, former Lasgalen Secretary of State and center of a fair amount of spectacle herself – but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t step forward and claim some fame himself if he asked for it. So far he’s never granted an interview, and even Glóinul has never explicitly confirmed his identity, but my eyes keep straying back to that gorgeous antique desk in his studio. If that isn’t Lasgalen design, I don’t know what is. “Legolas is my husband,” is all Glóinul will say when I point this out. “All that’s important for you to know is that he’s my most fervent supporter, my biggest inspiration, and he makes me happier than anyone I’ve ever known. He’s been with me since before all this started, and honestly I admire him more than anyone I’ve ever met.” His fond smile says it all, but I can’t help teasing a little. Even the Lady Galadriel? “Even her.” Glóinul smiles. “But I don’t think she’d hold it against me.”

Thanks for asking! These will probably never see the light of day, so it was fun to get to share a little bit of it!

[39oa]

Talk Hockey To Me

tagged by beloved @txstars T__T <3 thank uuu as always

1. The thing that got you hooked on hockey

it's hard to pinpoint one moment because i honestly genuinely believe that it's the best sport in the world just in terms of pure mechanics and objective viewing enjoyment and live crowd atmosphere so it's easy to get hooked once you actually watch it... i've been on and off with hockey fandom itself and took a few years away from tumblr until recently but i'd say it was a mix of just watching games + discovering fandom spaces on tumblr/reading fic on ao3 + having a decent home team at the time + canadian tax etc.

2. Your first ever fandom friend

ngl i think most of the people i first met in hockey fandom eventually moved onto bts (or k-pop in general) lmfaooo but i met @regularseason when i was in 11th grade making connor mcdavid gifsets and now i am somehow 25 years old. we have seen so much on this vast internet together ❤️ 

3. The jersey you would most like to own

MOOTERUS BROS RISE UP ☝️🐮  absolutely my favorite jersey of all time i genuinely don't think any other design comes close. i also really love the stars rr 2.0 but i finally bit the bullet and bought it so that's out... another top contender would be sabres goathead 🐐 and maybe mighty ducks era pkariya, also i think the sharks rr 2.0 with the spin on the seals logo is sooo cute and i love the og sharks logo designed by terry smith as well... specifically the classic late 90s teal jersey. and my fav regular home jersey of current teams is the kraken :')

i have way too many opinions on jerseys honestly. if i could pick some from my warmup jersey database then i lovelovelove the habs 2023 bhm and pride designs (i have apparel for both of these...), the leafs indigenous celebration design, and the kraken women in hockey design. gorgeous girls!!!!!

4. YOUR player (you only get ONE so choose wisely)

:saluting_face: there is only one guy for me... jr21! (real talk like a big part of why i got into the stars and came back to sports tumblr was because of him despite having 0 geographical ties to texas LOL. admittedly there was some superficiality involved at first in seeing an asian guy achieve top-line star status against the restrictive pains of bones hockey but then i was like oh your game is actually efficient and understated as hell? and it kind of spiraled out from there. my favorite deceptively abnormal "boring" guy!!!)

5. A pairing that deserves more fic

i will echo 2124 💚 but i am part of the problem for having 4 partial aus in one doc and not actually writing anything of substance for them... otherwise there are a ton of rarepairs i could argue in favor of but i feel like i'd sound insane. where is the otter/woll boston goaliefic... where is mitch/nrob with robo being vaguely horrified but trying to be supportive of his brother's poor decision making skills. where is my sabresfic and kidsline shenanigans in general......... also if we're going back to the stars then 2141 honestly have so much untapped potential wrt Why Are You Both So Weird Can You Please [Redacted] About It. but you get the gist i'm sure!!!

6. Your favourite on-ice moment

my memory does NOT go that far back. whatever is the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened to some guy i hate is good enough for me

THEN

link someone else's art/fic/etc that you love & think everyone should check out

immediately the first thing that came to mind is that i still think zoe's 2129 primer is one of the most fantastic and comprehensive labors of love this fandom has ever seen... truly one of the major backbones of starsblr. honestly despite hockey fandom not being quite what it used to be on here i think there are sooo so many great creators making stars content and i am immensely grateful to all the gifmakers + artists + writers who constantly feed me no matter what time of year it is!!! i'm kind of shy but you know who you are... TT__TT

AND

link something you made & are proud of & want people to see

\o/ i desperately do not like any of the things i make and i am already grateful to the people who have looked at my measly creations before so thank you!

tagging @regularseason @iamidentical @pupuhintz @slagkovsky @supersoftsports... apologies if you've already been tagged and no pressure as always but pls feel free to if you'd like ❤️

[liz-allyn]

how can I get my fics to get attention like yours do? working your ass off and then getting 20 notes sucks. and I’m trying to become a better writer and honestly crave the validation like you get from your followers. hopefully you’ll see this! Obsessed with S&V

Hi my fellow 🖋️!

Thank you so much for your comment, and thank you for thinking so highly of me!

answers for fic writers after the cut

So honestly? I don't know how to get followers. This blog has been running since 2021, and I only started writing fic < 1 year ago. I've become so much more well known (ha) in the TASM fandom because I've hung out here a long time. I don't have a secret to engagement or understand how tumblr 'works' that well (ie the algorithm that social media sites use to decide what to put in front of you). There are still people I freakin' worship on this site who don't interact with my fics at all, haha. AND flip side, some of the best writers I've ever seen are on here and their fics have less than 100 notes. I have learned that persistently I'll look over into other peoples' yards and be like "fuck. how did they get 4K followers?" or like "wow, she just posted this yesterday and it has over 1k notes."

as for working your ass off and getting 20 notes—CAN CONFIRM: that sucks. some fics I wrote for fun. some fics I wrote for the creative challenge. but pretty much on all of them I've left a little piece of me, of my soul and the lessons i've learned in my meandering partial journey. blood on the keyboard. and those fics? the really great ones (or ones just as good as sugar and vice)? they still don't have many notes.

But I will acknowledge that my following dramatically increased when I started posting S&V. I think I had ~900 and that blew up to 1.5k. There are a few factors in this:

Always post fics with fic art (with gifs! if possible) - This is the number one thing that draws me to read fic. I like art that looks cool. I also have been playing around with Canva Pro for 3-4 years (it's my fav) and I'm animation-adjacent as a day job, so pushing myself to think about graphic design has been really good for me. I find it fun to come up with a whole aesthetic for your story, whether it's a mood board or a color scheme (I usually have 'branding' on the brain). If you don't want to play with fic art, at least find an appropriate gif. Use the actor's face. I also think the gif search on Tumblr sucks balls but it's really worth it to have the right gif.

Pay attention to the hashtags of other popular fics in your fandom - when I started paying attention to notes, this was the best advice. I was using all kinds of tags that made sense to me, but weren't effective. In the web version of Tumblr, I can search for a tag and see how many followers it has. It's significant if #peter parker x reader has way more followers than #tasm!peter x reader. Also trends come and go, tumblr has their hotboy of the month and it rotates. there have been months were TASM Peter was non-existent in the last year, and months where we're getting *fed*. Pro tip with tags: I have a separate Google Doc with a list of hashtags that I copy and paste to save time. After a while, you should try reblogging with different hashtags

Use a spelling or grammar checker - I'm not a grammar fac*st but if I open a fic and everything is misspelled, almost no punctuation is used, and I have to work really hard to understand your story, then it's not going to go far. (With respect to writers who post work in English, and it's their second language). I never pay much attention to the occasional misspelling or grammar mistake, but when it looks like you sent your fic via text message or tinder chat, I just can't. I personally use Grammarly, but I also hate it and think it's buggy and overpriced. If anyone else has a better option that works with Google Docs, let me know!

Never write your fics in Tumblr's post editor. That has nothing to do with engagement but that shit is buggy as hell.

Avoid putting too much text up front before the fic. I put author's notes at the end. I try to keep summaries short. I try to focus on what someone absolutely needs to know to understand this fic, and I *mostly* try to avoid apologizing to the reader ahead of time for what they're about to read, for it being too long, for it being weird, bleh bleh bleh

If you're writing a series, make people reblog to be tagged. I've seen lots of people do taglists and then they give up because it's a pain to manage (and it is), plus you have a bunch of people that go "add me to the taglist!" or "next part, when?" and they didn't even reblog what you've already written. I think that's been one of the really big factors behind S&V's success

Make navigation as easy as possible - this is web design 101 (which I flunked repeatedly), but a masterlist is good to have. If you're in a series, a link back to the previous chapter + next chapter is good to have, I've also recently started putting a link back to the masterlist. people that know more things about stuff than me told me that you want to make things as simple as possible for viewers to get from one page to another. (that's why youtube links are shit on tumblr, even videos are meh, but GIFs work so well and attract so much attention). this is a visual site, so big images or headings or links with color help to draw the eye's attention.

Write what you want to write. Because you really need to gain enjoyment from writing, and it should never feel like you're a content factory. Do this 9 out of 10 times. The 10th time, write what people want to read. My first mob fic was These Violet Delights which I thought was so smart, and I was so proud of, and I planned this whole series out for. But also I tag things accurately, and some people (even my moots) are uncomfortable reading about those topics. Then when I started S&V I was extremely self-critical because I didn't want to write something filled with tropes and cliches. And then I sort of got off my soapbox and let S&V be its own thing, full of tropes and cliches, because they're popular for a reason, and they're fun to read, and it's okay to have candy for dinner every once in a while. And I've been able to pivot my plans and create something I'm pretty proud of.

It does help to stay consistent in the fandom you're writing for. Either by writing or reblogging other writers. Just don't make yourself feel like you're a slave to Tumblr and you must stay active at all times f o r e n g a g e m e n t. Everyone should take breaks when they need to.

Don't listen to my advice because no one knows how to hack tumblr. There are some posts that have sooooo many notes and I'm like 'why?' Meanwhile, my heart's been ripped open in LED pixels on screen and sometimes it passes by.

I hope that this was useful! And if not, I'm sorry for the long post. I look forward to reading your fic (whoever you are), and feel free to tag me when you write your next thing!

💜

[turtlemagnum]

i think my first exposure to AI art might've been this video where somebody was testing out this new, weird thing where they automatically generate a song using AI, and i couldnt help but feel that it was an indictment of the modern music scene that a goddamn computer could effortlessly and accurately replicate the generic swill that passes for popular music nowadays. didnt have a vocalist synthesized yet but those have been becoming a thing too, or so i hear.

i saw a little article about how the newer generations of gamers are turning more and more to retro games. as somebody technically belonging to the "newer generations" this felt self evident, as frankly most of the gaming i do nowadays is almost invariably in an emulator. i think that to a certain extent, most of the best mainstream games that are going to be made already have been, at least for the forseeable future of major developers with games made scientifically perfect for milking you for the most money possible rather than as an art form. im sure it's all gonna collapse in on itself eventually, from what i hear some of the older folks who lived through more than i have we've been here before. hell, pretty much anybody who cares even a bit about gaming history knows first and foremost about the gaming crash of the early 80s, mostly spurred on by the temporal equivalent of modern cheap asset flip garbage that floods most stores these days. it's hard not to feel like we're about to see a massive crash yet again, with the ones inheriting the earth being the little fellas, and of course nintendo. which, makes sense, their earliest history is of weathering shit just like this, of course they'd know when to spot enshittification and stay clear of it. i'm in no way saying that nintendo is exempt of being a shitty corporation, but i will say that from a business standpoint they're one of the only ones i know of that actually seem to understand the idea of sustainability on a broad scale. hell of a lot better than the likes of activision, thats for damn sure. but back to what i was actually trying to get at before i adhd tangent'd, i think it makes a lot of sense that when the majority of the shit being put on the market is corporatist, design by comittee, prefab trash with aggressive monetization and a consistent attitude of fixing any problems in patches, it makes a hell of a lot of sense that we'd go back to our roots. NES mario is the same as its ever been, has been for over 30 years, and will be in another 30. you dont gotta worry about them patching it to make it actually function as advertised, or patching it from being something you enjoyed into something you hate, or having fomo marketing based microtransaction bullshit. the most that's gonna change is that every now and again, nintendo will make the only version they give not have flashing lights for epileptic folks, or patch out mike tyson because he sucks and replace him with a white guy, and the white guy's less hard but thats ok because it's still pretty hard, and either way it's a good game, fun, and you can still find the original on rom sites and also probably ebay if you dont have a vpn but do have a disposable income, so dont worry about it. getting sidetracked again, ANYWAYS-

what i wanted to get at is that i wonder if we're gonna see a similar resurgence in other old kinds of media just like, in general, for the mainstream. like why watch the 22nd reboot of ghost busters when the originals are right there. king crimson's still good, why dont you listen to them instead of bemoaning how your new favs are problematic, even though i dont think fripp can reclaim the fag slur (im gay, i can it's fine). i've recently been watching fist of the north star and original dragon ball, ilike the m. there are books. lots of those, actually,. you can read em! if you have the attention span. i honestly think we might be seeing more and more of this, now that im looking out for it. like i see just like, random people mention how much they like prog rock or 1930s dracula. relatively normals talk about how they like lemon demon these days. those stupid aestheticized classic anime accounts on twitter get sososo many likes. can you tell im sleep deprived writing this? i can, and im writing thjis. im writing this SO HARD. send poast.