#my favourite animals and boys combine in one show!!!

[scrumptiousstuffs]

Hey, I just came here to express my happiness and excitement for CFC because after today's event I can surely tell you that it's gonna be overloaded with cuteness, I think this show will bring out the most wholesome vibes wdym we will be getting a khao character who doesn't think he can be loved and first's charater making him beleive that he has always been surrounded by love ufff the romance is gonna be romancing and then I'm always up for khao's character being miserable coz man just kills it with his emotional scenes also first talking to cats yes yes yes just give me this damn show already 😭

You and me both anon 😭😭😭🧡🤍

Gah!!! The NEKKO pet event was the most adorable thing I’ve seen for such a long time. GIVE THE BOYS more pet events and sponsorships 🧡🤍🥺🥺🥺…I’m here for it

CFC got so many flacks when the pilot trailer came out but seriously - why are so many people against FK with fluffy cats 🐈 🐈‍⬛????

Look at them cuddling those cats 🥰…my stress level just melts when I see them.

And I’m here for it. Even if I have to see blatant pet food/toy ads during the show, I can already tell it will heal my soul (and my cat!)

(Sorry, I can’t resist putting up my own fur baby, she was being cute this morning when I tried to leave her to go to work lol)

[originalwinnerfanfish]

Well, I did it

Megatron - I love his tfp design. Probably one of the best iteration of Megs. He is huge, heavy armoured, his face covered with scars… He doesn’t looks like an ordinary military leader who is only capable of giving orders, but like real warrior who can destroy any enemy with his bare hands.

So, in the WOF version, he definitely shares some features with Princess Burn, not only because of his might, but also because of his horns shape and dirty-dark scales (that absorbed blood of his enemies)

Starscream - Boy, I hate him so much 🤣… but in the good way, trust me! In my opinion, when the show's creators make you feel such strong negative emotions towards a villain, it means they've done a great job. Also, I think that his animation in the show was absolutely incredible, because even though he's a 3D model, he still manages to move like a 2D character, which is amazing!

I feel that in my design he still looks more like a skywing, than an icewing (which is kinda logical)

Soundwave - This one was tricky. I couldn't figure out what his mask would look like, so I just made his face a really dark color. I think Soundwave has both gifts of the nightwings, and he’s equally great at telepathy and a future vision. So he doesn't really need equipment to predict enemy movements, which makes him an ideal communicator in the WOF setting. His Laserbeak is part of the armor enchanted by Shockwave, and it might also allow him to open portals (but I'm not sure with this one)

Shockwave - My favourite evil genius. He would definitely have animus magic and mind reading. I think Shockwave is the only one who has advanced the study of magic so far, precisely because he combined it with scientific knowledge and created safer methods of using it, that don't damage the mind. It's like if a Mastermind got animus magic in books.

I also like to think that he didn't heal the damaged part of his face just so that his enemies would fear him more)

Dreadwing - This man deserved better! It's really a shame that he was removed from the show so quickly due to financial problems. It would be great if his arc got a proper conclusion in season 3.

Considering that I didn't want to make him a hybrid, it was difficult to choose a suitable color palette. So let’s just say, that I tried my best😅

I don’t think that he would have any nightwing powers, but honestly it doesn’t even matter - this guy can make a bombs, what else does he need to be cool

Arachnid - Did anyone even doubt that she would be a hivewing? Damn, she even got her own “Othermind” virus. Her design was the easiest to work with - just a little poisonous ass (suspiciously similar to Maleficent).

Just like Starscream, I hate her, but in a good way. She's one of the creepiest characters in the entire series, who’s acting like a fucking heartless monster, especially with Arcee, but even so, there's always was something mesmerizing about her. I just really like strong female villains

Knockout - Wery bright and charismatic guy, definitely one of my fav cons!

I tried to draw him as handsome as possible. Worked a lot on the face shape and coloring, and as for me it turned out pretty nice (finally).

Most decepticons think Knockout is as stupid and lazy as all the other rainwings. And it's not like he completely disagrees with that. Of course he’s not stupid and lazy, but if it’s means less dirty work on the battlefield, well, he’ll continue act like a tipical rainwing

(I also believe that Megatron keeps him as an “art”)

Breakdown - Fun fact: "Operation Breakdown" was the very first thing I saw in this series. And it was an interesting experience for 8 year old me. Maybe that's why I'm so scared of eye gouging scenes in movies now…

I think that he didn't have any siblings initially due to his parents nature, and even after meeting Bulkhead, he felt uncomfortable among the other mudwings. And this is why he later chose the side of the decepticons. And maaaaybe because of one cute rainwing influence)

P.s.

I think that, being mostly nightwings and icewings, the decepticons are much more concerned about purity of their blood and rarely accept half-breeds into their ranks.

During the war, there were many animus dragons among decepticons, which is why they have so many artifacts that allowed teleportation and communication at a distance. But, honestly, I still can't imagine what Nemesis would look like in this AU

[ben-drowned-me]

hi! could you write some general hc for Jeff and Toby? Also could you talk about more about your canon plsss?

✧.* gen jeff and toby headcanons

-aaa of course !! i love jeff and toby so much

for my canon, I like to think that i just kind of make the characters more real. For most of their original canon stories, or for the fanon versions of them, their characters are made to be just killing machines with a little bit of angst and the story of whatever caused it. I base them off my favourite versions of their stories (or combine), but i give them flaws and little quirks that make them into an actual character rather than a person. I also try to write in how they are all traumatized people because thats usually brushed off. I wouldn't mind going into more detail if you'd like :3

jeff the killer

 incredibly close with liu before everything went down, now he just feels guilty being around him

hardcore metal and punk fan. Screeching Weasel, Benighted, To The Grave. stuff like that

Has night terrors. Rooms with Ben because he's the only one who can calm him down when he awakes. 

Soft spot for animals (usually prefers cats but doesn't say anything to Smile)

Grew up in a very strict catholic family

Is the self-proclaimed "white boy" of the mansion but is hispanic

Pushes his emotions away until something really triggers him

When he finally gets triggered, it does not end well

Full breakdowns. Rage, Depression. He goes through all of it in the span of like 2 days. 

Everyone gives him space except Ben

No mirrors in his room. Avoids ones outside

phantom pain from the burns 

he looks absolutely atrocious. Probably the worst of all the creeps but to be fair he went through severe body trauma

For a grown man, he's on the skinner side 

still really fucking strong though

Can't sleep without noise. One of the reasons he rooms with Ben so much bc hes loud

Messy room. Does not clean, does not know where anything is

only really uses the top of his face to show emotion because he's scared of re-opening his mouth scars

He would spend hundreds of dollars at bath and body works but all the scents he picks up would clash so badly

the kind of guy to say no when someone asks for something but then get 3 of it

listens to british rap unironically

toby rogers

mentioned before, but hates waffles. Any classic breakfast food he dislikes but those are the worst

a collector. His room is filled with small little trinkets he's picked up. Has a rock or button collection

Probably the worst of the creeps emotionally

Was raised in a pretty toxic environment.. Never learned how to manage his emotions. Has too many of them and they change too often so he kind of just. explodes

Usually extreme rage or goes nonverbal

is autistic idc

very ! bad ! ptsd

nervous around male authoritative figures

initially refused to eat at the dinner table since it was a requirement of his fathers, but is getting better at it

soft spot for kids, will let sally dress him up and do his makeup

religious guilt though he was never religious

finds EJ to be very good company, he enjoys the atmosphere

speaking of EJ, he taught Toby a lot of medical care since he's not always available

sleeps on the floor pretty often

kind of an asshole sometimes

master of sarcasm tbh

[irenewsky]

Anime I watched in 2023 (Part 1)

In honor of the new year, I’m gonna be casting a look back at the anime I watched last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of free time to watch anime at the beginning of the year due to university kicking my ass, but after I finally graduated with my master’s degree, I could finally work through some of the backlog I had accumulated on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Anyway, without further ado, this is a list of anime I watched in 2023 with some short descriptions and my own personal opinions. Let it be known, there is a lot of text in this one.

Also, since there ended up being a lot more shows that I watched than I thought there would be, this had to be cut in two -> Click here for part 2

Some of my older lists:

My favourite animes (Old. Tells of my tastes back in, like, 2018-2020 or something. Updated list coming once I get around to it)

Feel good anime Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Handa-kun

Handa Seishuu is a calligraphy prodigy and a high schooler. For years he has been living under the assumption that his student peers all hate him. This is, of course, a huge misunderstanding. In reality, Handa is very much admired in his school, to the point of being popular. Where did this misunderstanding stem from and how can it be resolved?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I liked this one! Although I did have a little bit of distaste towards one of Handa’s so called friends. You’ll understand who and why if you decide to watch this.

Barakamon

Handa Seishuu, now a 25-year-old man, punches a famous, older calligrapher judging his latest work. As a consequence of his own actions, he is sent to live in small town in the countryside where a group of kids rutinely keeps breaking into his house. Beautiful friendships bloom between Handa and the people of this town.

12 episodes - comedy, seinen, slice of life

Took me an episode or two to get in to, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Backflip!!

Shoutaro Futaba enters high school with intense love for sports, especially men’s rythmic gymnastics after he saw Shoushukan high school’s team perform in a competition. He enrolls into said high school and hopes to join the team despite not having any prior experience with gymnastics. Another boy, Ryouya Misato, get recruited alongside him and together with their senpais they start to work towards Inter-high tournament.

12 episodes and an OVA - sports

I started this in the beginning of the year and only got around to finishing it in November. Actually liked this one a lot! The final movie left me feeling so happy yet bittersweet. I recommend this one!

Skip and Loafer

Mitsumi Iwakura leaves her small countryside town and moves to Tokyo to live with her aunt in hopes that attending a prestigious high school would aid with her ultimate goals in life. As the new school year begins, Mitsumi leaves for school with high hopes, gets lost at the subway station, runs into classmate called Sousuke Shima and together the two barely make it to the entrance ceremony. What will her school life shape up to be?

12 episodes - romace, shojo

Nao-chan supremacy! The bestest aunt!

I really liked to animation animation style of this anime. For me, the show looks very soft and fresh in a spring and pastels kind of way. It’s hard to explain but I hope at least one person gets what I mean. I like the characters a lot and their interactions feel nice and grounded. The romance isn’t the main focus in this one, at least not in this season, which I liked since it’s always lovely to just see friendships put into the spotlight.

Buddy Daddies

What do you get if you combine two trained, professional assassins who live together and an accidental child acquisition? A riot of a family dynamic. Katsuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa fumble through their new shared life as parents to a four-year-old Miri Unasaka. What seemed like a temporary situation at first, stops looking temporary when genuine affection and care for the little girl and her well-being start to blossom in both men’s hearts.

13 episodes - action, comedy

This one was so good. I loved every minute of this and the characters’ dynamics worked so well together. Anyone in the shows comment section who complained about Miri being annoying had clearly never been around young children and it showed. Miri is a delightful little girl who loves her dads very much. There was also a fair bit of action in this which was a nice change of pace amidst all the parenthood things.

My New Boss Is Goofy

Momose Kentaro is a 26-year-old office worker working for a marketing firm, Minette. He is new to the job, having just recently quit his previous job due to power harrassement and abuse he received from his former boss. Can his new clumsy and little goofy manager Shirosaki Yuusei make him feel comfortable in his new job?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I love everything about this show. The characters, the storylines in each episode, the art style. This just makes you feel happy and a little giddy. Definitely my favourite show of the year. This one earned the top spot on my rewatchable shows list.

If you liked Play It Cool, Guys or The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, you might like this one.

Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

Kamonohashi Ron was the best stundent of an elite detective school until an incident took away his future career path and made him live as a recluse as he refused to receive any information about the world outside his four walls. One day a police detective Totomaru Isshiki is adviced to approach Ron about a series of cases that have stumped the police for a while now. But because Ron is not allowed to do any sleuthing, Totomaru has to work as Ron’s puppet of sorts. Oh, and there is also the thing about having to keep Ron from influencing the killers to take their own lives. Oh well.

13 episodes - comedy, mystery

I’m a sucker for anything ’Sherlock Holmes’ type of media so this show was right up my alley. Eagerly waiting for the confirmed second season.

Play It Cool, Guys

Group of goofy and clumsy guys from different stages of life happen to meet one another and develop heartwarming friendships. Little mishaps won’t ruin their day!

24 (short) episodes - slice of life

Easily one of my favourites of the year. Watching this felt like sipping a cup of hot green tea while wrapped up in a blanket. Instant rewatch.

If you enjoyed The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague or My New Boss is Goofy, you might also like this one

Vanitas no Karte

A vampire named Noé Archiviste is looking for a book called ’the book of Vanitas’ in the 19th century Paris, when he unexpectedly meets a man calling himself Vanitas and carries the book he’s searching for. The Vanitas he meets isn’t the original maker of the book but a doctor who possesses the ability to save vampires by returning their true names to them.

24 episodes - action, fantasy, mystery

Me, mere minutes into the first episode: ”If anything were to happen to Noé, I would kill everyone in this room and the myself.” Anyway, love me some vampire action, especially with that late 1800s, early 1900s Paris vibe. Delicious.

Vampire Dies in No Time

One day vampire hunter Ronald is tasked to infiltrate a castle and save a woman’s son. Things don’t quite go as he expected. Inside the palace, he meets a vampire called Draluc, who is truly so pathetically weak that he turns to ash from smallest of things that ahppen to startle him, and Draluc’s companion, armadillo John. The kid he seeked was totally fine and playing with Draluc’s video games. Oh and Draluc’s castle gets destroyed. Yeah… Ronald has a new roommate now.

2 seasons - comedy, supernatural

This truly is armadillo John’s world and we’re just living in it.

Love me some more vampire action. Only this time it’s a lot less angsty and violent and a lot more ridiculous and goofy. I laughed so much while watching this.

[featherfangart]

Which one is your favorite, Trigun or Trigun Stampede?

Oh.

Good question.

I like the first half of Trigun. Right until after Eriks arc? I love the characterizations, I love the humour, I love how funky and groovy the thing is. But. Uh. Right after Eriks, the second half... the animation goes... Places. You can pinpoint into which shots the budget for whole episode went and during the last four episodes I was yelling for the martyrdom to just. Stop. Especially after WW's infamous... Let's call it "Exit".

Stampede on the other hand-- I love how well it works all together, I love the new designs (except for WW, tug your shirt, man, seriously), I love the colour schemes, music, how much attention is paid to the details, all the homages, how well it works with the manga. But. (There's always a but with me lol) It's too fast for me. There's little to no time for the character moments. My favourite moment in the show is when WW is teasing Meryl around the campfire and Vash shows up, sits down, and finally. EATS. And I would love to see more of such moments.

My fave episodes are deffo 5-7. Child of Blessing still gives me shivers. The ending. With the windmills. HECK YEAH. And... Steamer... well. WELL.

I loved the Stampede's climax? I was nearly hysterical waiting for the last episode. But we all yelled here (my best friend from Canada was here with us in person when we watched it for the first time, and I wll never forget us being full ass football fans screaming at the tv, when Vash showed up with the new/og hair).

I'm not too fond of the MMO design of his wings, I'm too much of a conservative and gimme those feathers. But I understand the struggle of animating. Actual. Wings.

So. Yeah. It's hard to say.

Trigun OG and Trimax is what I see when somebody says Trigun.

Stampede is what I see when somebody asks me about a real good tv show.

And boy, what I probably enjoy the most is Badlands Rumble (tv-wise, Trimax is my fave otherwise). It combines all of the things I like about both shows (and manga). Good visuals, OG like humour, Onosaka Masaya Vash, an okay story (for my taste), HECK YEAH MOST TRIMAX WOOWOO and. Well. Yeah. WW's whole. Thing. With the glasses. I'm easy to please.

However, believe me you, when I say I spend a lot of time each week speculating what's gonna happen in season 2 of Tristamp. I can't wait.

[insomniamamma]

Get to know your moots! Thank you @fromthedeskoftheraven and thank you for reccing my Ezra stories 🖤

What's the origin of your blog title? Honestly? It’s a pretty accurate description of my time here. I love my fictional spacemen while experiencing hot flashes and unprecedented levels of existential dread.

OTP(s) + Shipname: John Chricton/Aeryn Sun, Jack O’Neill/Sam Carter, Kara Thrace/Leoben Conoy (Karaben), Chrisjen Avasarala /Bobbie Draper, Gwen Cooper/Captain Jack Harkness (Gwack), Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper (Sherlolly) Frankie Morales/Benny Miller (Fishben)

Favourite colour: Purple and dark green

Favourite game: Dominion. This is a table top deck building game. The mechanics are real simple, but there are so many combinations of cards that you can repeat play it forever and still have a great time. The hubby’s cousins got real into Dominion for a few years and at every family gathering there would be at least four Dominion games going at any one time.

Song stuck in your head: “If It’s True” from Hadestown

Weirdest habit/trait? Before I start my car I have to switch my foot between the gas and break pedal several times so I can be sure which one I’m touching.

Hobbies: Cooking, art, writing, tabletop games, amateur cosplay, crochet, sewing.

If you work, what's your profession? I am a finisher in a shop that builds store displays. Which means I am a jack of all trades. I can run a CNC router, three different kinds of large format printers, vinyl plotters. But sometimes I get to cast things in resin and foam, and sometimes I get to build LED lightboxes, which are my favorite. You wire it all together and that shit lights up. It’s satisfying.

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be? Honestly? Probably an electrician. I’m seriously considering trying to get myself certified. I enjoy the work. And I could probably make some decent money.

Something you're good at: Working with my hands. Cooking. Singing. Writing stories.

Something you're bad at: Math.

Something you love: Cheetahs.

Something you could talk about for hours off the cuff: Star Wars, Prospect, The Apollo program, the Challenger disaster, plane crashes, a whole bunch of medical stuff that would squick any normal person out. Cooking methods. Hadestown.

Something you hate: Cruelty for it’s own sake.

Something you collect: Cookbooks, cool rocks, Pedro Pascal ephemera, metal lunchboxes.

Something you forget: Dates and days of the week.

What's your love language? Acts of service. I might not be able to talk about my emotions but I will cook you a nice meal and make sure you’re wearing a coat when you go out in the cold.

Favourite movie/show: Prospect/Farscape Favourite food: I love Mexican food. Favourite animal: Cats. They are God’s most unhinged creations. They have egos the size of Jupiter and they only weigh ten pounds and they love so hard that they vibrate about it.

What were you like as a child? I was weird like it was my job. Let’s put it this way, I got diagnosed with ADHD in the early 80s when people thought that only boys could have ADHD. I was bullied pretty relentlessly. If I could have spent all my time drawing and ignoring the world I would have been happy.

Favourite subject at school? Biology and art. And AP psychology. Least favorite subject? Math and gym. (I don't even need to change Adira's answers) (I don’t need to change Raven or Adira’s answers.)

What's your best character trait? Loyalty. Work ethic. What's your worst character trait? My inability to articulate my feelings. I hold that shit in until I explode.

If you could change any detail of your day right now what would it be? I’d like the knot brewing in my neck to go fuck itself.

If you could travel in time who would you like to meet? Jesus. I know that’s cliched as shit but I would love to hear first hand what he said versus the crazy ass version of Chistianity that dominates right now.

Recommend one of your favourite fanfics (spread the love!): I am going to recommend Compulsion by @iamskyereads. This is an incredible story that feels like a genuine extension of the events of the movie. It's really fucking good.

if you see this consider yourself tagged ❤️

[siobhanhazel]

🏳️‍🌈20,000 words Draco-centric M/M fic. 🏳️‍🌈 My friend pointed out that since this is a Draco coming out fic, I might show it off here on tumblr for Pride Month. Hope you enjoy it, I had a lot of fun writing, here is a snippet from Chapter 1:

Deep in the quiet loneliness of night, Draco lay awake, unable to shake thoughts of his wooden box. Peering around the dark dorm room, he noted that the hangings around the other boy’s beds were drawn.

Draco slipped off his bed, crept to his trunk, and dug through it. Returning to the safety of his sheets, he only opened the box after tightly cinching the green velvet curtains. Safely inside, he retrieved the thick envelope. Cold unease washed over him as he examined its contents.

Draco’s carefully selected collection of magical photographs flickered, animated under the orb of Lumos. It had been so enjoyable to choose and clip them. He couldn't recall when he began clandestinely sliding them away inside this mislabelled envelope. That very act rendered the photos so incriminating.

The wisest decision would be to vanish the lot without hesitation and resist any future temptation to collect more photos. Frustratingly, Draco was tempted to take one last look. Carving the images into his mind before burning them was simply the most rational course of action.

He carefully splayed the paper clippings over his bedspread. Most were from Quidditch Quarterly and other sports magazines. There were some images he had magically duplicated from books and a few clipped from the Prophet.

Nevertheless, weeks after Draco began hiding them, he dimly realised every athlete was a man, despite the even gender mix represented in the league. Both wizards and witches received even coverage in Quidditch Quarterly, after all.

Handsome, dark-haired wizards with carefree postures smiled up at him. Some were shots taken post-game when they were sweaty and had peeled off their outer robes. Wizards grinned at him in the haze of post-victory euphoria, sipping from water bottles and glancing at the camera. Friendly blokes posed with their brooms for interview scoops.

Although Krum was his favourite player (everyone’s favourite, surely), Draco hadn’t clipped many photos of the Bulgarian Seeker. The only one from a magazine was a shot with his arm around Todorov, the star Chaser of their national team. As he admired the photo, he abruptly realised he'd been captivated by the friendly, blue-green eyes of the Chaser fellow, not Krum’s stoic sharpness.

The more recent clippings were from the Prophet: the ones from the Triwizard articles. There were a dozen photos showing combinations of Krum, Diggory, Potter and Delacour. He kept the individual portraits of the three boys but had overlooked saving the Veela girls’. His jaw tightened with the weight of realisation. It was vital that he dispose of the whole collection.

Except…

Hesitancy enveloped him as he stared at a solo photo of Harry, shuffling and smiling awkwardly up at him. It was printed large and in colour, typical for coverage of the Boy Who Lived. Printed in muted forest ink, these green eyes were nowhere near as dazzling as the real thing. Draco was caught for a long minute before he lost all heart. Groaning, he swept the other photos into a neat pile and slipped them safely inside the envelope.

[catsofemma]

i recently rebinged g3 and i have some notes

• i absolutely adore paisley and autumn. i feel like it’s really hard to pick a “best girl” or even “best character” when it comes to this generation. they’re all amazing and wonderful in their own ways. but if i had to pick the characters that i feel were the most influential, it would be those two. they make me feel so joyous and happy when on screen. i love paisley’s friendship with olly… i love autumn’s passion for animals… they’re both just so cute and so sweet and perfect

• liann and nova are totally girlfriends. my friends and i were in the car discussing the new playset (of the chocolates, flowers, etc. from nova to liann) and how specific it is. like they have to be dating! dating! I WOULDNT DO ALL THAT JUST FOR A FRIEND! i know it’s a show about friendship but cmon! why didn’t nova do that for anyone else? oh, i don’t know… BECAUSE LIANNOVA IS 👏🏻 CANON 👏🏻

• leo is by far my favourite boy. he’s the perfect combination of silly, creative, anxious, and boyish. i just adore him and his goofy watermelon shirt whenever he is on screen

• brad is the funniest character for sure. it’s never a dull episode if brad is getting some screentime. he totally reminds me of those class clown kids at school who did a bunch of childish, random, “funny” things just to get attention from the teachers and classmates. like bro doesn’t need to be doing all of that. i love him for it, though

• aliya and autumn have the cutest friendship for sure. they level each other out pretty well and that’s always something i always look for in my ships and pairings. i of course love autumn with nova, i love aliya with liann. i love most pairings. but those two were my og ship from g3 just just just being announced and they still live on as a top favourite ship of mine. they’re so perfect together

• paisley’s backstory literally tears me apart. her and olly being friends is so cute. one of my most favourite moments between them (and the entire show, to be exact) is when they were both filled with tears of joy and olly asked to give paisley a hug. that is the purest most sweetest most kind hearted thing and they are so adorable. olly is always there to lift paisley up and help her through her troubles. she’s always there to support him and be kind to him. getting her to sing her mother’s song and getting her to perform were two very big things paisley never would’ve done on her own. i think if any of the other friends were to try to help her with that, she wouldn’t have gone through with it. but her friendship with olly is so sweet and i hope they stay best friends forever

[fandom-blahs]

twofold. 1. The Lanterns show isn't just about Hal Jordan btw but are you looking forward to seeing it? 2. Emerald Twilight is just 3 issues though? how can that be a good story?

hi

The Lanterns show isn't just about Hal Jordan btw but are you looking forward to seeing it?

You're right about that sorry about that. I barely kept up with the project in the first place. I remember back when DC announced it years ago as part of their lineup but never bothered to check in because I had my doubts about the show taking off.

Am I looking forward to it...honestly for the past 5+ years I've been quite avoidant with Western adaptations moreso with projects that I either deeply liked it's source material or am aware of how good it is even if I never got around to reading/playing/watching (eg: Halo, The Witcher). The Green Lanterns are by far one of my favourite concepts in comic books and I always felt like they have so much to offer in terms of storytelling and visual storytelling yet rarely have I been impressed. I'm also worried in terms of budget. HBO is suffering from budget issues which were very apparent with HOTD where it effected it's storytelling (or maybe that's just my TG goggles on) I can't imagine it's a good idea to have another big budget show when they don't have the budget for one lol. I hope they don't spent time on earth that's so lame i'm sorry.

I'm a bit of a purist but idgaf when the source material is mediocre or "just alright" (The Boys, Umbrella Academy, a lot of anime lol, heartstopper, upcoming DMC anime)

For personal reasons Hal Jordan is one of my favourite characters in comic book so you can understand why I'm very hesitant to pick up the show. I'm very much pretending to ignore but I know curiosity will eventually have it's way (very much what happened with HOTD).

I kind of...tapped out of comic book adaptations for a while now lol and am very behind but it implies I care enough to keep up with DC/Marvel projects.

Emerald Twilight is just 3 issues though? how can that be a good story?

Good point but I meant more of a holistic view of Hal Jordan even if you take a non-chronological view (it's comic books, make your own canon) I think you'll end up with something worthwhile.

Obviously in the span of 3 issues him breaking down and becoming a villain is very very rushed but the overall arc, when combined with how great of hero Hal was (with a dash of being questionable human but not morally grey) him rising to the occasion and becoming the best GL from a shitty undermined planet to the greatest of villains has massive potential ... outside of comics lol.

[xombiriot]

TOP 3 Metal Albums I Enjoyed from 2023

A lot of great metal came out this year and it was hard to narrow it down to my Top 3. There were some great EPs released this year— Spiritbox’s The Fear of Fear, Brand of Sacrifice’s Between Death and Dreams and Knosis’s The Eternal Doom among them. Singles I enjoyed include: "On the Verge" by thrown, “Masterpiece” by The Anchor, “Enemy” by The Gentle Men (ft. Andy Cizek), “Weight of the World” by Harper (ft. We Came as Romans and Brand of Sacrifice), “Viking” by Slaughter To Prevail, "III" by DEATHPHONK (Nik Nocturnal's weird project); and Knocked Loose had the double, “Deep In the Willow”/“Everything is Quiet Now”.

My Top 5 honourable mentions: 5. [m]other by Veil of Maya, their newest does everything I want it to do, good riffs, cool effects, great vocals; 4. Soul Elegy by Termina, Nik Nocturna, Andy Cizek and friends deliver an awesome metal album; 3. Chaos Horrific by Cannibal Corpse is a strong entry and shows why they're still so loved after so long; 2. The Fox and the Bird by Ok Goodnight mixes folk, rock, metal and whatever else they want to create this really entrancing album; and 1. Take Me Back to Eden by Sleep Token is one of the albums I listened to the most because it's easy to put on when you're tired of being relentlessly pummelled by deathcore, but though its highs are super high, it just misses out landing on my top 3 because there are a few spots it lags

3. ...And Everything In Between - Unprocessed

Manuel Gardner Fernandes has quickly become one of my favourite guitarists between this release and Unprocessed's previous album Gold. The combination of styles on this album exemplify modern metal: bludgeoning heaviness, thumpy prog riffing (à la Animals As Leaders or Polyphia) and a mix of harsh and clean vocals. Despite the polish of these 9 tracks, some express such raw emotion and a ferocity that they really get me hyped up. The variety of tones and vocals kept me engaged throughout, and they blend and balance heaviness and melody so well. The guitar sounds so angry sometimes–especially the part of "Thrash" where Manuel beats the shit outta his guitar after screaming, "But you're just a fucking lie!" I love that. Other songs like "Blackbone" and "Die on the Cross of the Martyr" continue the trend of excellent instrumentation, the latter featuring guest solos by Polyphia's Tim Henson and Scottie Lepage. It's so well done and so engaging. In the short time I've had this album, it's become one of my favourites of 2023.

2. Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre - Periphery

When Periphery released "Wildfire" as a single I immediately bought into what they were selling. The way they transition through the various parts is seamless, the mix of vocal techniques and the jazzy interlude are all fantastic. It really captures the spirit of the whole record. Songs like "Dying Star" and "Zagreus" are also so hard. Periphery continues to show off their musical dexterity, and the band members prove once again they're not only some of the best musicians djenting their way through the world but as a collective they add up to more than the sum of their parts. My hottest take when it comes to this album is that I love "Silhouette" — it's like if you ran 80s soft rock and 90s/00s boy bands through a progressive music filter. I think they wrote this song and put it on the album just to prove they can do anything. And if Periphery is Djent, and Djent isn't a genre then why shouldn't they go in every genre direction they want to explore?

1. War of Being - TesseracT

In other years this top 3 could have been entirely deathcore or melodeath or metalcore, but this year it was djenty prog metal through and through. It's the music I gravitated to the most this year and nobody did it better than TesseracT. Daniel Tompkins vocals are incredible throughout, his cleans sounding particularly great on "Echoes" – giving us one of the best choruses before following it up with another great one on "The Grey". The album offers engaging lyricism throughout and the instrumentation is at a pedigree one would expect for a band in the vanguard of this genre. The album gives us atmospheric moments, synths, meditative passages before blasting us with metal. In many ways the whole album does what the best tracks on Sleep Token's Take Me Back To Eden do. Each song and the album as a whole provide an expansive experience. And that's why it's my number one. More than any other album released this year, TesseracT's War of Being makes me want to sit down and listen to it from beginning to end.

Other great albums: SUPERBLOOM by Silent Planet; Fatalism by Polaris; Feral by Left To Suffer; Foregone by In Flames; Ashen by Humanity's Last Breath; The Sin of Human Frailty by END; Symptoms of Survival by Dying Wish; and The Death We Seek by Currents.

[douwatahima]

the thing for me about free! is i genuinely think the first two seasons are really good. hell season one is one of my favourite anime seasons of all time! but then kyoani just decided...to keep going. and like, yeah, the prequel movie was pretty good, but it added all of these new characters that then had to be added in to all future projects (because everyone is someone's fave and you can sell more merch if they're all present at all times). so now we're at a point where every time there's something new in the free! universe there's all these disconnected scenes of the boys doing shenanigans or reacting to shit in different combinations so everyone's always doing something and it leads to shows/movies that don't have good plot progression because there's just too many spinning plates!

HOWEVER, i am 100% part of the problem because i saw rin matsuoka one sunny day in 2013 and immediately gave over my life to him. so whenever there's a new free! project i will inevitably end up looking it up like a disgruntled middle aged mom who has to get up at 5am to watch her son's swim meet. yes, i have coffee but no, it doesn't help and i would, in fact, rather be anywhere else but here, but hey maybe my special little angel baby will win his match and i can take him out for ice cream afterwards.

[hollowwhisperings]

The Mythology of Keyblades: Riku the Beach Boy of Avalon

This theory is partially Crack and partially a genuine investigation into the usage of Arthurian mythology within the KH series.

(this line from Monty Python & the Holy Grail inspired this whole theory: all i had to do was replace the referenced [Lady of the Lake] with Riku)

If you've loitered about the Kingdom Hearts fandom enough and read enough interviews with Tetsuya Nomura, you'll soon conclude that Riku is Tetsuya Nomura's Favourite Child in this series. Riku is the driving force for most of KH's story beats & Riku has played deuteragonist to Sora, story-wise if not in gameplay, in every game that isn't a prequel. Riku seems to gain a new & unique special ability with every game (often at a harsh price). Yet, for all the time the audience spends with Riku... the series is very careful about revealing anything about the boy beyond his utter devotion to Sora. The game even encourages players to Forget and Overlook the integral roles Riku plays in the series, typically via throwing a Kairi between him & Sora.

Jokes aside, while Riku's Secret Anime Prince coding is STRONG, it is not the point being explored here: there are 2 seemingly nonsensical Disney Crossovers established prior to most everything else: 'Alice in Wonderland' (something somewhat explored in my 'Princesses of Light as Stars' series of tinhattery) and 'The Sword In The Stone'. This post shall examine the latter, an animated adaption of the King Arthur myth, and how it is represented in KH not solely through the character of 'Merlin' but as the underlying principle behind the x-blade, Keyblade Wielding & how Riku acts as Kingdom Hearts itself.

Boy at Beach Distrubiting Swords

Let's start with Riku's Keyblades: he has had more than one, not due to gears or keychains but due to... apparently being able to churn fresh swords from his Heart as the Plot Requires.

The different keyblades used by Riku throughout the series thus far are the following:

Kingdom Key (Sora's default keyblade)

Souleater/Way to the Dawn (Riku's default from KH1 until KH2.9)

the Keyblade of Heart (while possessed by Apprentice Xehanort's Heartless, AKA Ansem Seeker of Darkness);

the [Combined Keyblade/"Gayblade"] (alongside Sora)

Braveheart (Riku's current keyblade)

(given that King Mickey found Kingdom Key-D in the Dark equivalent of the Destiny Islands & the whole "x-blade was made of light & darkness" thing... THAT keyblade, currently wielded by King Mickey, may ALSO come from Riku)

That's 5 different keyblades (6 if we include Kingdom Key-D), and ALL have been seen onscreen with at least 1 other, typically Kingdom Key, marking each of these keyblades as being 'distinct' and 'separate' from each other. Before figuring out what Heart Maths may be at play here... a brief interlude.

Young Adult Gifts Toddler Giant Sword: More Wholesome than it Sounds

Supposedly, the ability to [manifest] & "wield" a keyblade is only possible through a successful Bequeathing Ceremony: Terra performed such a ceremony for Riku in BBS. This, however, is a method passed on by the Master of Masters & subsequent schools of keyblade masters: given... literally EVERYTHING seen on "traditional" schools of keyblade mastery, this Premise is Factually Dubious. The series shows multiple characters manifesting or otherwise wielding keyblades without any such ceremonies: even assuming that these rites "carry over" through acts of Posession and Cloning, the Need for a ceremony becomes questionable. This would not be the first (nor last) time in the KH series that the "knowledge" of Foretellers, Mentors & Scholars prove to be Assumptions rather than Absolute Fact.

Exhibit A: Axel & Accidents

Axel is the best example as, unless we are later informed that Subject X performed the ceremony on Lea (or that Roxas or Xion did so without knowing), Axel has never been part of nor possessed by an existing keyblade wielder: his keyblade is entirely his own, a surprise to all.

Sora & Kairi were never formally bequeathed a keyblade though the latter "accidentally" inherited the ability from Aqua in BBS. Sora never had such a ceremony, the KH Wiki (dubious resource that it is) explains Sora's keyblade wielding as being a result of Ventus sleeping within Sora's Heart: I think it is more likely that, unlike the Formal Ceremonies of past keyblade schools may have taught, Hearts do not actually require outside recognition of "worth" in order to manifest a keyblade.

Once Upon A Meteor Shower

Riku's Heart entrusting Kingdom Key to Sora in KH1, a last-ditch effort from its Light to keep to its Oath of Protection, strikes me as being more "faithful" to what we have observed of keyblades in-game. For all that the formally schooled Keyblade Wielders past recited "May Your Heart Be Your Guiding Key", no one embodies the intent of this principle more than the entirely self-taught Sora: Riku and King Mickey likely next closest in trusting their Hearts over what they have been taught.

A Heart entrusting its physical manifestation to Another due to the Connection between them seems a "Truer" bequeathment than the (admittedly heartwarming) recitations of a stranger. Keyblades may NOW be deemed "weapons" to conquer Darkness... but the original x-blade was made of Light AND Darkness, a union of forces working in balance rather than opposition. The first x-blade was a tool for Protection, not Hurt: a creation of Heart and, thus, of Love.

Exhibit B: Body & Hearts

A creation of "Heart". As in, 1 heart = 1 keyblade. Multiple hearts in 1 body? Multiple keyblades.

Roxas is the Go-To example: the Nobody Twin of Naminé, created when Sora "unlocked" Kairi from his Heart whilst Ventus slept within it.

Roxas, in his every appearance, is capable of Dual Wielding: a keyblade from Sora, a keyblade from Ventus. Upon gaining an independent, replika body... Roxas can still, apparently, dual-wield.

...despite no longer sharing the Hearts of Sora nor Ventus (nor Xion).

(as this is a Riku speculation post, not a "what the heck is up with Roxas" one, i'll just... put a Pin in this mystery for now but the "maths" of 1 heart = 1 keyblade are, indeed, still facts of canon: Nomura confirmed as much when revealing the Above Album Art he made for Utada Hikaru's KH3 songs)

Exhibit C: Proof of Concept

Then we have Aqua: she lost her keyblade between saving Ven & falling into Darkness. The keyblade of Master Eraqus came to her aid: this is consistent with the established concept of Bequeathing Ceremonies. It's uncertain whether the same person can bequeath keyblade-wielding to multiple persons but it seems likely given the scale of the Unions in KHX.

(At that same point in time, the Heart of Eraqus was hidden within a Nort'd Terra: 3 Hearts existed within Apprentice Xehanort, all of them in conflict with each other, to varying degrees.)

The keyblade Aqua receives, the keyblade of Master Eraqus, is named 'Master's Defender'. This was originally the keyblade of the Dandelion Brain but was passed onto Ephemer and from pupil to student until eventually being inherited by Eraqus. This seemingly aligns with the concept of Masters 'bequeathing' keyblades to students, specifically THEIR keyblades.

Interestingly, Riku has never wielded Terra's keyblade (or its likeness, via keychain) 'Earthshaker/Ends of the Earth' after its being bequeathed to him, likely due to its remaining with Terra's 'Soul', the 'Lingering Will' within his armour. If this is the case... NONE of the keyblades Riku has conjured or wielded are a result of his Bequeathment Ceremony. Terra's Keyblade becomes a 6th (or 7th) keyblade connected to Riku, albeit an unused one.

Speaking of Terra...

Xemnas (the Nobody of Apprentice Xehanort AKA 'TerraNort') is NEVER seen wielding a keyblade, let alone two.

...but he DOES wield two [lightsabers]/'Ethereal Blades'.

If Xemnas had ever believed in his own personhood, it's plausible that he could have dual wielded keyblades like Roxas... though the conflict between the Hearts of Xehanort & Terra are unlikely to have cooperated long enough for dualwielding to be sustainable in combat.

Back to the Beginning

Kingdom Key was formed by the Light within Riku's Heart. That Light entrusted itself to Sora while Riku himself was lost in Darkness. Riku is later seen wielding a different keyblade, 'Soul Eater'. Given that KH1 sets up a premise of there being 'two' Kingdom Keys, one of Light & one of Darkness... perhaps 'Soul Eater' was made from the Darkness within Riku's Heart. Maleficent or Ansem SOD would know better than most anyone how to create such a thing.

(it's still Weird that Riku's Heart is the ONLY Heart we see capable of manifesting TWO, simultaneously existing & separately wielded keyblades: Riku using Souleater never prevented Sora from using Kingdom Key; Souleater becoming 'Way to the Dawn' did not affect Kingdom Key; and Riku & Sora use each other's keyblades interchangeably in KH2, even dualwielding at times)

While Riku is possessed by Ansem SoD (the heartless of Apprentice Xehanort), he wields a keyblade forged by the hearts of 6 of the 7 Princesses of Heart: this keyblade is named 'Keyblade of Heart' or 'Keyblade of People's Hearts'. This is an artificially made keyblade, wielded by an entity made up of at least 4 people's Hearts (Riku, Xehanort, Terra, Eraqus) and it does not seem to survive past Ansem SoD's defeat.

During the events of KH2.9 (at the 'Drop Point' between the first timeline of KH3 & Sora's First Retcon), Riku and King Mickey find themselves struggling in the depths of the Realm of Darkness. They had hoped to find the missing Master Aqua yet their journey has only proven the point of Master Yen Sid's preventing such a rescue 10 years prior: alone, surviving the journey to the abyss would be all but impossible. Similarly, Sora immediately post-DDD would not have survived the pace set by Mickey & Riku: Sora needed the lessons and confidence boost he found through Herc & Meg before he was truly ready for Aqua's Attempted Rescue.

Before Sora has his Hero Moment (complete with Riku's slow-mo heart-eye reaction to it), Riku's keyblade 'Way to the Dawn'... breaks. Riku also spontaneously gets a Hair Cut. Not due to any attack landing on him from the Demon Tide nor due to any bout of Gay Agony: just... "randomly" (Sleeping Realm Theory covers this).

So then Riku casually manifests a BRAND NEW KEYBLADE, while not at all possessed nor acting as a Heart Hotel, and that keyblade is Braveheart.

(which is basically Kingdom Key but Make It Modern)

It's also in the Realm of Darkness that Sora & Riku first wield their Combined Keyblade whilst in the same plane of reality: in DDD, they wielded their blade across parallel dreamscapes. The [combined keyblade] in KH3 looks exactly as it did in Dream Drop Distance: half Mirage Split, half Nightmare's End.

How Many Hearts Does 1 Riku Have?

The highest number of "hearts" occupying 1 Riku is 10, in KH1: his own, Xehanort's & Terra's, the ghost of Master Eraqus (still biding his time for Maximum Drama), with the 6 Disney Princesses of Heart smooshed within the 'Keyblade of Heart' the Riku Vessel is wielding.

By that time in KH1, both Sora and Riku have wielded Kingdom Key. Riku had also acquired & begun wielding the 'Souleater' keyblade.

Kingdom Key is the keyblade born of the Light in Riku's Heart: a sword entrusted to a Crowned Prince from someone hidden within water, a gift that marks its wielder as a saviour and a fate-chosen king. Sora bears Riku's Crown, a pendant he is never seen without, and Riku (& his Heart) was sinking within both literal (storm and tide) and metaphoric (falling into darkness/sinking within deep waters) waters when Sora receives Kingdom Key. When Sora arrives in Traverse Town, the Final Fantasy & Disney characters there hold Kingdom Key in reverence: the Key follows Sora so THEY follow him too.

There is an Irony about every keyblade-related argument Sora & Riku have in KH1: Kingdom Key WAS Riku's before it was Sora's, the authority of the sword & reverence given to its wielder WAS on "loan" from Riku... but, ultimately, the wielder chosen by the Physical Representation of Riku's Heart & the Light within it?

Yeah, no, sorry Riku: your Heart Likes Sora More.

After KH1, Riku never attempts to "reclaim" Kingdom Key: it's probably during the events between KH1 & KH2 that Riku realises that Kingdom Key is not only a literal manifestation of his own Heart but that he believes Sora to be the best person to wield that "Heart", that "Destiny".

Even if Riku had not somehow managed to manifest the Souleater/Way to the Dawn keyblade, needing to "borrow" Kingdom Key during his year-long vigil at Sora's bedside... I doubt he would have KEPT the sword or that it would let itself be "kept".

Riku's unique connections to both Light AND Darkness make it somewhat reasonable to conclude that 'Souleater' is the Dark counterpart to Kingdom Key: a keyblade formed by the Darkness of Riku's Heart, a keyblade that evolves to 'Way to the Dawn' and Riku's efforts to master his Darkness and return to the Light.

(this still begs the question: how the heck does Kingdom Key-D fit into all this?? no, i'm genuinely asking: what is up with that keyblade)

ALTERNATIVELY! Kingdom Key-D was very logically forged by Riku's Darkness, manifesting in the Realm of Darkness alongside the Fallen Destiny Islands. This makes it Interesting that Mickey could carry it around prior to personally meeting Riku but, regardless of any realizations on its nature & likely relationship with Riku (or Sora), Mickey wields this keyblade-D from KH1 onward.

(This potentially leaves Mickey's Original Keyblade, seen in BBS, as yet ANOTHER keyblade available for Riku's use: the count has risen to 9, 8 if excluding Key-D.)

So... if Riku's Darkness forged Kingdom Key-D, what was Souleater & what IS Braveheart?

Alt #1: Riku, like any Strange Pond Person, can summon as many Magic Swords as Destiny Requires because... he is Literally Kingdom Hearts & that leaves ALL hearts "free" for his use.

Alt #2: The keyblades Riku wields (Souleater, Way to the Dawn & Braveheart) are all manifestations of SORA'S Heart. Sora may be oblivious as to why he is so fixated on Riku but, if Chain of Memories is anything to go by, Sora's HEART knows what it wants, damnit! Even without any allegedly required Bequeathment Ceremony, Riku is a "Child of Destiny" and had already crowned Sora as one too: just as Riku's Heart reached out to Sora, Sora's Heart may have reached BACK for Riku. Thus both boys end up with Keyblades: each holding onto a piece of the other (somewhat literally).

This gives additional explanation to their easy trading & wielding of each other's Keyblades in KH2: the keyblades "belonged" to BOTH boys and always had.

This interpretation easily applies itself to Sleeping Realm Theory, too: 'Way to the Dawn' still "broke" because of Riku's Sacrifice but instead of figuratively representing Riku's Heart "breaking" via his actually Dying, it would represent physically the effect that Sacrifice had on Sora: his Heart broke, "dying" with Riku.

Alt #3: Riku's extra keyblades were from Maleficent, "Ansem", Ansem &/or King Mickey. The timeline allows for Maleficent's providing Riku with the 'Souleater' keyblade: it does not QUITE align for the broken connection between Riku & his Would-Be Fairy Godmother that we can assume happened upon her death in KH1, nor account for any effects caused by her subsequent "resurrection". The timelines required for the other candidates to be involved are not consistent with that of the games nor supplementary canon.

Before wrapping up, let's acknowledge the Giant Crowned Rainbow Sword in the room:

The [combined keyblade], wielded by Riku & Sora in DDD & KH3, is a manifestation of "their Hearts [beating] In Tune". It is That Simple: any efforts to straightwash its existence WILL cause plot holes so just Accept The Gayblade is Gay.

That the Gayblade just so coincidentally resembles both the Ultima keyblade(s) and various x-blades, definitely fit most description of what the x-blade is & how it can be made?

These are also Just Gay. Kingdom Hearts has been building up to (gay) Love being the Ultimate Power of the series from its very beginning: it has ALWAYS used heart imagery and symbolism, used Disney Couples to mirror the changing relationship of Sora & Riku, used "the connections between hearts" as a child's understanding of love (in all forms).

The logical evolution for a Coming of Age journey about a Boy & his Best Friend, in a series that repeatedly uses & is named for 'hearts', who have become stronger as their hearts became more attuned... is for said Boy to realise, acknowledge and recognise that the connection of their hearts has Changed into something less platonic: romantic love, like that between couples in Disney films, like Riku (& Selphie) brought up to Sora through star-shaped fruit before ever exploring those stars personally.

The [combined keyblade] was naturally forged through mutual devotion: its existence implies that the fabled x-blade of legend was ALSO forged by mutual love, that Kingdom Hearts chose its guardian because of Love, that the x-blade's legendary strengh came from its need to protect its dearly Beloved: there is no Straight Explanation for Sora & Riku being able to make the combined keyblade.

[moonlitnight]

I just binged episodes 1-9 of A Condition Called Love. I'm sort of conflicted because although I do like it and I'm invested, I also feel weird? Some spoilers ahead for the anime.

So Hotaru has elements of myself. I could be projecting, but I see her as some flavour of neurodivergent, on the aromantic spectrum, or a combination of both. I've thought that could be a reason behind my difficulties with others' feelings and my own, misunderstandings, and trying to understand what love is. I totally get the "Is this love? What even is dating? You're just important as my friends and family. What are the conditions of this arrangement? How we doing this?"

This is where Hananoi comes in. My boy definitely has abandonment issues that have traumatized him. (Don't leave me behind.) He gets attached super easily and love bombs. It's like he's overcompensating looking for The One/The Soulmate. He self sabotages. Gets super attached, shows too much affection, scares them off, abandoned again. Hell, he latched onto the tiny amount of kindness Hotaru showed him with the umbrella and bam, let's date. He has possessive tendencies (I need to be your favourite, if I have you I don't need anyone else, friends don't matter as much so I don't need them, showing up at her job everyday.) It's completely warped.

Their characters are interesting because honestly, I get where Hananoi is coming from. You know it's a toxic mindset, but you fall into patterns. You just want someone to consider you the most important person to them. You get jealous of folks who get in the way of that. You want to keep your Favourite Person all to yourself and you're terrified they're going to leave you.

But I don't know if it's fair of Hananoi to put all of this on Hotaru. I kind of like that he had to set that boundary of "I can't be friends if this doesn't work out." That he understands how attached he is already and would need a clean break. But from Hotaru's POV, I get why that hurts when friendship and love get all mixed up and confusing, and you just want to be with the person you care about.

I like that she does try to stand her ground on things, like him needing to care for himself and be less self sacrificing. That she said they are going to have different views and she'd like to try to make it work regardless. They obviously care for each other, whether it is love or not. I like how Hotaru was able to decide for herself that this is love *for her* and it may be different from anyone else's interpretation, but that doesn't make it any less significant.

This turned into an essay. I guess my thing is that I like how the characters are so interesting. I don't think the narrative is overly trying to excuse Hananoi's behavior. (Even the friends point out that him getting hired at the same place as Hotaru is a little sus.) I'm hoping for more growth for the two of them individually and as a couple. But with only three episodes left (I'm guessing it's a 12ep season?), I'm curious how things will go.

[christlois]

//I just wanted to say, back in my Black Butler days (Which was WAY back like 2009-2019) I used to be a HUGE fan of Ash/Angela in particular, they were my first muse and for that, they still hold an EXTREMELY special place in my heart and sometimes I honestly kinda wanna go back to writing them lol //They were my favourite chracter, and Alois is/was a close second, I wrote cringey fanfic, had based and created a whole OC off a kinda "Combination" of them who I still use today, and also RPed him for a time back on a few ancient forums and Google+ when that was a thing still (I'm ancient lmao) //but overall the former ESPECIALLY barely had ever gotten any content - especially good, genuine content made from love rather than half spite "Look at this asshole" - and putting aside my surprise that the Black Butler fandom is still alive and kicking, i just stumbled across your blog and while I'm not sure entirely what Christlois is about (Please do feel free to give an explanation!) I just wanna say, a combination of my favourite things from my Black Butler days: Being Ash/Angela, Alois, THAT SEASON ONE AND TWO GET SOME ATTENTION, SERIOUSLY THEYRE STILL SO FUCKING GOOD!!!! ill be honest the direction it took with season three onwards kinda was a part of why i fell out of love with the series and just the existence of catholicism/priest aesthetics as a whole lmao) //For the longest time the memory of the Black Butler fandom had left a VERY bitter taste in my mouth since being around in it's heyday as an Ash/Angela RPer was certainly an experience lol, but just looking through your blog, though I don't exactly know what it's about, is such a sweet taste of nostalgia that while I don't exactly find myself missing the community, I miss the characters and story established by the first two seasons greatly. :,) It's kinda odd to say but I was almost certain that Ash/Angela would just fade into obscurity with offhand mentions at best, no one to love and care for them, and so glad to see that someone is caring for them where I couldn't anymore! //While I still find myself coming back to the priestisms (Leonard's 1.3 verse.... *Cough*) after all these years, it's honestly been a nice reminder on just how much these Ash/Angela and Alois have impacted my writing, both in muse writing and creative! Either way, thank you so much for your care put into this and please pardon the long message sfkdhbfkhkdfh

HI HELLO THIS IS SO SWEET OH MY GOD!!!

Where do I even begin? First of all THANK YOU!! I love these angels so bad, and YOU understand. They're a fascinating evil and a very interesting character concept. It's really cool that you roleplayed with them and I bet you had a ton of interesting headcanons and developments, more so than we got from the show! Because the thing is there is not a character as neglected by the fandom and the media as Ash and Angela. For their presence in Season 1, they are never talked about...

And that's not fair! They're so fascinating!! And thank you so much for the ask, genuinely, lenght doesn't bother me at all, and it's nice my mildly sacreligious blog brought some feeling of nostalgia.

ONTO THE INFO DUMPING! You're going to love this!

So Christlois is basically the universe of one specific fic, that being this one , written by me and co-written by @eemoo1o . It's basically a story about Alois turning his back on Claude and instead being swayed to Ash's side, becoming Ash's little puppet as opposed to Queen Victoria. It's mythological, theological, philosophical, and also really really disturbing JFJKSDF there's sebaclaude, sebastian being ciel's weird dad, alois being in-characteredly toyed with (poor boy), and ashgela being a total bastard.

here are some other goodies you might have seen, some animatics about it: part 1, part 2, and an anime opening, and an original song piece (I know...I'm very intense about this hgshdf).

Oh, and this! its unrelated but also I think you'd enjoy it!!:

[aeronics]

thank u for the tag @fizzy-watches-dps :)) this is the first time ive been tagged in one of these sorry about the wack formatting it needs to look good to appease my little monkey pea brain top 5 books: lord of the flies, wuthering heights, cant think of any others rn

top 5 shows/movies: dead poets society, midsommar, little miss sunshine, the batman [2022] [are you seeing the paul dano theme yet], there will be blood, dont hug me im scared

fav movie genre: idk the weird slice of life ones that have no point like little miss sunshine or just psychological horror

top fandoms you're in: dead poets society, south park ig, some of the og lets play youtubers (markiplier, jse, etc.), life is strange 1+2, metal family

top fandoms you’d like to join: scp foundation stuff, the welcome home arg

top artists you listen to: abba, ghost, gorillaz, la dispute, crywank, wilbur soot's old music, msi [i dont support their actions at all]

top songs currently: to be alone with you - sufjan stevens, voulez-vous - abba, tous les mêmes - stromae

a song that describes you perfectly: iris - goo goo dolls

top music genres currently: [according to spotify stats] rock, pop, permanent wave, indie, modern rock

favourite music genre: oh god idk uhhhh id just say rock if i had to pick

love language you're most comfortable giving: acts of service

love language you like receiving: physical touch, quality time

favourite aesthetics: liminalcore?? grunge, gross boyish boy things idk how else to word that [maybe transmasc-core]

characters you kin: stephen meeks [dead poets society], kinda charlie dalton [dead poets society], ches [metal family], richard cameron [dead poets society, listen i have my reasons], red guy [dhmis], nathan prescott [lis], max caulfield [lis], dwayne hoover [little miss sunshine], todd anderson [dead poets society], scott tenorman [south park, idc he listens to radiohead too], michael/tall goth [south park]

fav colour and why: grey, nice n neutral and chill or red bc it looks good on everything

interests i would like to talk about: just random obscure facts i have collected [..whales sometimes explode when they die], also the dark web, also morbid history things, also dead poets society and how we were robbed of the deleted scenes, also the 4th dimension, also philosophy and politics

fav animal/s: raccoons, cats, basking sharks

favourite season: summer or winter i can never decide

favourite weather: sunny with a breeze or violent thunder and lightning

sixteen personalities type: intp-t

mtg colour quiz results: planeswalker of the jeskai way, a combination of blue, red, and white apparently

kinda not serious fears: baby birds opening their mouths to be fed [its fucking horrific]

random tags [sry if u have already been tagged!]: @elistudies @springlikesmile @taciturnpoet @pinkobsessedfreak @dpsthinker and anyone else who wants to

[katblu42]

Thunderbirds/Gatchaman crossover intrigues me immensely!

Hello. Thank you for asking about this one. This is an idea that both excites and scares me. I really want to write a story that combines both of my favourite shows, but I have a feeling that it's going to end up being long, and getting anything wrong could annoy readers from either or both fandoms!

This is one that's still only in rough notes, but the basic premise is that Virgil and Thunderbird Two somehow wind up in the Gatchaman universe - probably involving some inter-dimensional portal that is only a vague idea at the moment!

This way I get to explain everything through Virgil's eyes as he finds the similarities and stark differences between IR and his family vs this team of 5 and their amazing vehicles, their secret "island" base in the Pacific and the scientific/technological organisation that backs them.

Virgil will quickly bond with Ryu over piloting fast, but heavy, large aircraft. He'll see similarities between Ken and Scott, recognise the brother/sister relationship between Jun and Jinpei, and wonder about Joe's reluctance to trust anyone except his team who he trusts implicitly and protects fiercely.

There will be comparisons made between Jinpei and Alan - wanting to be cool/popular, and feeling the need to prove themselves, to measure up to the teammates/family they idolise.

Virgil and Jun will have a chance to talk about the way the boys tease her about her cooking (which is no where near as bad as Grandma's!).

And while Virgil is here, working with Dr Nambu to find a way back home, Brains and the rest of his family are figuring out what happened and trying to work out how to find him and get him back.

The reason any of the Science Ninja Team trust Virgil and try to help him, rather than continuing to suspect he might be some kind of Gallactor spy of failed experiment is because Dr Nambu has heard of the Thunderbirds. He shows Virgil an old TV show where all the tech is the same kind of retro-futuristic gear he sees around him in the Gatchverse (massive computers, data stored on tapes of various sizes and design, lots of buttons and levers and coloured lights . . .) and the people are all puppets. He's kind of gobsmacked about the details that are correct, but also struck by how much is different from what he knows back home.

When he finally gets home to tell the tale of all he's seen Grandma reveals that she has a vague memory of seeing something like that when she was very little . . . and after a quick archive search finds the anime of Battle of the Planets. The names are different, and the team travels to space, and the bad guys are Spectra not Gallactor, but it's similar enough for Virgil to say "that's them!"

(Sorry, that became a bit of a ramble!)

Thanks for the ask!!