#overlord is weird to draw in perspective

[decepti-thots]

springer for the ask meme?

one aspect about them i love: Springer is a character who is basically in the wrong story and, on some level, knows this. Or rather, he wants to believe that; he wants to believe that the problem is that he's in a story that doesn't allow for him to be the kind of uncomplicatedly good hero he feels like he ought to be, and so maybe it's OK if he's not. He's someone who has been complicit in a lot of terrible things because he told himself step-by-step that because they were the Good Guys, because he was the good influence, it couldn't possibly have actually been terrible that they did those things. And he keeps trying to make decisions that will correct this, that will actually set things right, and it never quite seems to work because it takes him so long to understand that the issue is that the Wreckers exist at all, and he can't have the fight without the violence underpinning it. Huh. Writing that out just made me draw a new parallel between him and Prowl, actually. Wild.

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: Springer is a guy who has done really bad things, and enabled worse things. Impactor went too far after a loooong build up, one which Springer canonically managed to justify to himself for a very long time and was only able to try and fix when it was already too late. Not to mention that he turned a blind eye to the complicity of all the other Wreckers even in the aftermath. His own sense of innate goodness is what allowed that! And the Wreckers saga is, from his perspective, kind of this long trek to finding out what you can actually do about that.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: this is kind of coming at it sideways, but it includes him, so. I don't think Kup was a great influence in some ways! I think he loved Springer a lot and that this was immensely important. I also think that Springer was constructed in wartime and immediately handed over to a military guy with the explicit intent that he be shaped for said war, the main difference between him and an actual MTO mostly being that at least Springer didn't just wake up on the battlefield. Some of what Springer was as a Wrecker- willing to give himself over to violence and romanticize it as necessary and heroic, defining himself by a institution that inflicts it- probably arose from that before Impactor ever entered the picture, from what Kup taught him. I think it can be harder to acknowledge things like that when they come from the people who genuinely loved you, rather than people who outright mistreat you.

one character i love seeing them interact with: VERITY. I love their relationship so much. I think it's so important that the relationship that ultimately allows him to actually find a way to move beyond everything is a) the first relationship he really chose in a sense and b) the first relationship he forges away from the context of war. Verity, for all her accomplishments (RIP Overlord) is not a soldier. I love what we see of them in Requiem, where they've clearly been talking through a lot of his shit while they're living in that barn. They're dealing with things! She can tell him to talk about his weird robot Dad feelings! I love them.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: I don't know if it's that I'd say I want more of him and Tarantulas interacting. But gosh did I want more of Springer talking... about him. We get these little hints of how Springer has handled the revelation of who he is, we know he and Verity discussed it. But. It's so hard to get a handle on exactly how Springer feels about it. I guess that's kind of the point. But I still wanted it, haha. Alternatively, Roadbuster. If you've read Zero Point, you know we see a little of what Roadbuster caring for Springer looked like, and I would have loved to see a little more direct interaction in Sins before he... uh. Explodes.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: Springer did not really get along with Ultra Magnus a lot of the time, though there wasn't any actual antagonism per se. The problem was that Springer always looked like a real moral beacon of the Wreckers until Magnus showed up, at which point the artifice became uncomfortably clear, because Magnus always remembered a dozen moral concerns that Springer was good at sliding past without acknowledging. It was just enough to remind him of all the qualms he managed to avoid thinking about too hard most of the time.

[acatpiestuff]

I asked my friends who would be in the KILL meme picture, and  @thanksjro​ and @djdlovebot​ said Overlord and Rewind, causing everyone to go absolutely bonkers. 

Original:

[gaitwae]

Could you write a fic where Loki and female reader switch bodies and have to stay like that until someone figures how to turn them back?

Comment/reblog!

Tag List: @make-me-imagine @bwemph @myraiswack @rorybutnotgilmore @loki-snape-our-hero @wolfish-trickster @lucywrites02 @mostly-marvel-musings @winterfrostsarmy @superheroesandstardust @castiels-majestic-wings @geekns @natandersonnla @cozy-the-overlord @megthemewlingquim @whatafuckingdumbass @thebookbakery @delightfulheartdream @twhiddlestonsstuff @lokistan @the-emo-asgardian @itscomplicatedx @sophlubbwriting @darkacademicfrom2021 @lilyofthesword @xlehukax @electroma89 @joucebox @high-functioning-lokipath @lokislittlesigyn @kingix-the-confused-earthling @nilavey @superfangirl-romanogers @funsized-mimi

Warnings: A disgusting amount of fluff.

“Oh, for the last time, darling! You shouldn’t be messing with spells you don’t know the first thing of,” Loki scoffed behind you, making you jump and snap his spellbook shut. It was an odd thing to remember that Loki even had a spellbook, but you had to learn new spells somewhere, right? You were just a simple mortal, and you had no use for things like magic on Midgard.

Or so he told you.

“I mean, yeah, but what’s it to you?” you mumbled, turning around to face him. “I wanted to go over a new spell with you, if that was okay.” You put your hands together in front of you and smiled up at your friend. You tried for your best smile, which ultimately caused him to cave.

“Fine,” he sighed. “Alright. But is it within the range we spoke of? What we just went over? I don’t want you to overwhelm yourself so soon in your learning. Some messes just don’t clean as well as the others do.” He put his nose in the air as if he was remembering just how uncleanable past messes had been. He took your hands. “Let’s do the spell. Hurry. I haven’t got all day and I truly don’t want to be stuck in some kind of situation we can’t sort out ourselves.”

“It sounds like you’re noncommittal,” you teased, reciting the spell you had just read out of the spellbook not even seconds before Loki opened the door and walked in on you.

“I can be plenty committed. Just not to your self-destructive need to be a sorcerer,” he said airily, speaking through the incantation; he didn’t even comment on it. 

If he had even heard it.

When you finished the rest of your incantation, the spell started to take hold. You became woozy, and so did Loki. You crashed into his arms, and he collapsed on the floor with you in his embrace. He smelled like mint and some kind of harsh cologne, but it fitted him. It was the last piece of consciousness you could hold onto before you awoke...

+-+--

“Hey, Lokes, are you awake? Hellloooo?” Tony’s voice came. It sounded far away. You stretched, and you could still pick up that cologne from where you laid. It was less intense than you thought it would be from hardly smelling it at all. You opened your eyes.

“Where am I?” you asked, and funnily enough, so did Loki. Odd choice of words.

“Stark!” someone called. You sat up to see who the person was, but your blood ran cold at the sight. “Stark, what happened? What has been done to me!? Where is—?” 

They stopped as well. There you were, your face, your voice, but... not you. You looked down at your hands. They weren’t yours. Your heart dropped significantly.

“How’s this even possible?” you asked, hearing Loki’s voice once again. “Am I—? Did we—?”

“Don’t do anything!” your voice came again, but littered with Loki’s speech pattern. “If you stain that Asgardian leather, I’ll—I’ll—”

“Oh, you’ll what?” you scoffed, standing. “I don’t even know how this happened! I’m surprised you haven’t started running your hands all over me!”

“Oh, please, we’re friends first,” you—Loki—mocked. Tony was staring at the two of you like you were talking about the finest boots to eat. He lifted a finger, but Loki raised a hand to stop him from even trying to speak. “It appears you’ve gotten us into a mess we cannot fix, haven’t you?”

“Will someone else have to change us back?” you asked. You stood, managed to walk over to Loki, and sat down. “I didn’t mean for us to... to...”

“Swapped,” Loki sighed. “We’re swapped. Either it’ll go away on its own or we’ll have to go to Asgard to convince my father to reverse us. How in the Nine did you find such a spell? It shouldn’t even be in the books!”

“Should I leave you two alone, then?” Tony asked. “Since, uh, you’re both acting extremely weird?”

“Yes,” you and Loki chorused. You crossed your arms and Loki mimicked you. Stark left quickly, leaving you two alone in the medical room, where only a blink ago you had been in a completely different room with Loki in his own body and you in yours.

Once he had shut the door, you watched your own body twist with Loki’s mannerisms and expressions. They turned to you and pushed your chest. You scoffed, gasping. “How could you even experiment with such a spell?!” they shouted. “We might be stuck like this forever! You made me mortal!”

“I wanted to swap our perspectives,” you admitted, gulping, “but I didn’t think it would lead to this!”

“What else could it have meant?!” Loki scolded. They put their hands in the air, then dropped them. They began pacing. “I’m stuck in your body! I may have wanted to hold it, but I certainly didn’t want to have it!” 

You bit your lip. “I didn’t want to have your body, either,” you mumbled. “I just wanted you to see how I look at you... I had thought...”

“Thought what? That suddenly I would fall for you? You’re out of luck there, mortal. It wouldn’t have gone the way you wanted it to,” Loki sighed, shaking their head. They sat on the cot where they had awakened from the spell. 

“I didn’t know you knew,” you said meekly. You looked down at your hands. Your heart was racing. It didn’t usually race when you spoke to Loki. The hands that had become yours, hopefully for a short period of time, were long and pale and so different from yours.

“How could I not, little mort—Y/N?” they asked. “It’s almost like watching someone sink into a depression; everyone can see it, but no one talks about it. I know you have feelings for me. I don’t blame you, though.”

“You don’t feel the same, do you?” you asked, sitting down on your cot. Loki shrugged. 

“I didn’t say that. I said I wouldn’t fall for you by seeing myself the way you do.” Loki picked at your nails. “Y/N, we shouldn’t be talking about this now, we should be finding a way to get out of each other’s bodies.”

You huffed a sigh. “We should ask Strange. He knows insane magic, and I doubt if I use your powers anything will change. I already botched this spell.” You laughed but stopped when you heard what it was. It wasn’t your laugh. It was odd. Laughter was determined by one’s body, so it made sense that it wouldn’t have been yours... 

“Oh! Brilliant idea!” Loki praised falsely. Clearly, they must have still been upset about the swapping bodies thing. 

You were disappointed in yourself for it, too. “Can we just go and see him? It’ll take no time at all.”

“He isn’t even home," they sighed, wiping their face with your hand. It was hard to watch. "Why must you be so perfect? Being so adorably shy that you cannot even ask me if I love you back?"

Your heart thumped. No, no. Loki's heart thumped for you. "...Don't mock me while you're in my body. I can still hurt you."

Loki narrowed their eyes. "You wouldn't."

"I so would!" you announced, crossing your arms and jutting your hip out.

"Hurting me goes against loving me, doesn't it?" Loki asked, slightly panicky. "You couldn't draw my blood, could you?"

"I won't draw blood," you promised. "I just have your daggers on my person, and I've never really cared for this stupid Asgardian leather..."

"This is going to be a long time waiting for Strange to be back, isn't it?" Loki groaned. You nodded happily. You scooped your own body to his body's chest.

"Oh, yeah. Swapped, for better or for worse."

[aros001]

Read through light novel vol. 14. Random thoughts.

I haven't read/watch a lot of harem stories. My exposure is mainly from Rosario+Vampire, Negima, UQ Holder, and maybe Code Geass and Overlord (I'm not sure if I should count Konosuba). So my perspectives on how harems typically work in stories is a bit limited. That said, I do like how Naofumi's "harem" differs from the norm I'm aware of.

Most harem MCs: Has many girls after his heart/wang and is either oblivious to it, can't make up his mind as to who he actually likes, or doesn't have the time for love/booty.

Naofumi: "Will you people f**king leave me alone?!"

I just love the concept of Naofumi's "harem", where a second person who likes him romantically isn't even introduced until volume 10 and Naofumi is absolutely annoyed with every member who joins his "harem", save for Raphtalia.

I tend to forget Naofumi has a brother because it isn't brought up that much, even though I did like that backstory for Naofumi we got in vol. 1 regarding him. It does make me wonder how much time is passing in his old world vs. this new one. With the other three heroes, they died, so they don't really have lives they can go back to. But for Naofumi's parents and brother he could theoretically be missing for months or years by the time if or when he goes back. But back on topic, I do like him drawing parallels to his family and Sadeena's, how his brother compares and contrasts with her and her sister when it came to the pressure from the parents. I already like Sadeena but it was nice to see her and Naofumi actually getting to bond a little over something that was very personal to one of them, without romance or attraction being the main drive of their interaction like it usually is. Honestly, there were some nice parallels drawn between characters throughout. Naofumi's brother with Sadeena and her sister. Sadeena and Raphtalia's father with Shildina and the child emperor. Even a little bit with Raphtalia's status in Q'ten Lo with Naofumi's in Siltvelt. It's a good thing she's not staying too long or she might end up in a harem bath like he did (even though, given the difference between male and female biology, there wouldn't be much point in that. She'd get her selection of guys but can only get pregnant with one at a time).

I'll admit, most of this book I was waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me, mainly because of Naofumi's comments throughout of how well the invasion was going and how stupid the enemy was being. I was waiting for it all to be some kind of trap or manipulation but...nope, their government really was just that bad and the victory was just that easy. On the one hand, it does make it feel like less of an earned victory, since they didn't have to fight too much to achieve it until the very end (and in that case it was mostly Sadeena and Raphtalia against technically the same single opponent), but on the other hand, in regards to the overall story, a comment from Naofumi does make an argument for why it works, comparing Q'ten Lo and its ruling class to Queen Melromarc. A respected ruler whom is very skilled at diplomacy and manages to work with or at least create truces with other countries, even those hostile to hers like Siltvelt, vs. the child emperor of a completely isolated country (save for some imports from Siltvelt) whom is placed on the throne far before he's ready and puppeted from behind the scenes by a very self-serving individual. There is certainly a very (unfortunately) real argument to be made as to why the latter would be already be on the verge of falling apart from such greed and sort-sighted actions. Wisdom and long-term planning vs. greed and short-term gains.

This is going to sound weird but Motoyasu #2 reminds me a little of Bakugo from My Hero Academia, in regards that they both fill a similar trope, where the character (a non-villain) is very unpleasant and easy to hate but you, the audience, do have to acknowledge, even begrudgingly, how good and skilled they are at what they do. He's a horrific perv and womanizer but his blacksmithing abilities are genuinely impressive, especially with how he handled that cursed blade from the Hydra and his explanation of life force applied to smithing. I don't think we've had another character quite like that yet in this story. The other three heroes were also unpleasant and easy to hate but after the first wave battle they never really showed anything the audience is forced to give them props for, at least in comparison to what Naofumi and party could already do. They were unpleasant and were useful only in what they could potentially be once they got their heads out of their asses, not for what they were currently. I imagine we'll get something similar to the trope with Trash at some point, as even the Queen herself talked about how brilliant a strategist he once was. Though Bakugo grew as a character as time went on and the unpleasant parts of his character slowly winded down. I'm not sure we'll see that with Motoyasu #2 and Trash. Trash is maybe more likely but he'll have more of a journey he'll have to go through after how unpleasant (and kind of unhinged) he's been.

The parts about Naofumi's character that I like the most have almost nothing to do with him being a hero. I love that he's a really good businessman, both of the good and shady parts of it, and that he's a really good cook, even when he's not adding life force to the dishes. For as much as he wants to go home, of the four heroes he'd be the one who'd have the easiest time settling down in the new world once the waves are gone, since being the Shield Hero just makes what he does a little easier and it's not absolutely essential to do it. He can use his shield to improve the quality of medicines or compound it for him but he still can make good medicine on his own.

Also that he can't stop basically adopting kids despite flatly denying that he is any sort of parental figure or that he should be seen as such.

"I'm not your mother!" He says as he wears an apron and cooks and dishes up delicious hot meals every day.

"I'm not your father!" He says as he teaches them confidence and toughens them up against those who'd ever try and hurt them again.

"I'm your owner! I'm a tyrant! A dictator! I'll make you work off every penny I've spent on you!" He says as he keeps them safely protected from the dangers of the world they can't yet handle and offers them a place of peace and security like they've never had before, taking the time out of his day to play with and entertain them when they ask him enough.

Naofumi collects son and daughter figures like Lilo and Steven Universe collect father and mother figures. No wonder Raphtalia and so many women like him. He's a business owner, can cook, never gets drunk, and is good with kids and animals (and threatened to feed a kid to an animal! That's double points right there).

That reminds me. I'm not sure how much time passes between when each group/generation of Holy Heroes is summoned but I'm curious when we'll meet (or if we've already met) a child/decedent of one of the previous heroes. A previous Shield Hero apparently really like his harems so I'm sure he must have sired at least a few children (unless the shield also offers protection against pregnancy (Condom Shield!)).

So...Makina. Bitch #3 or Kyo #2? I think either would fit, though I suppose Bitch #2 is just my nickname for Kyo and not one Naofumi ever gave him. Honestly, from just the short bit she was in the story, she kind of feels like if Kyo and Bitch had a baby.

...I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

I kind of love Ren and Rishia being exposition buddies, just exclaiming aloud all the techniques and magics that are happening during a fight.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/shieldbro/comments/fm85q5/read_through_light_novel_vol_14_random_thoughts/

[littlemisssquiggles]

Pinehead Headcanons: Oscar Will be the one to stop Salem?

I know the fan favourite RWBY theory has always been that Ruby will the one destined to stop Salem. That is the key theory that all us RWBY theorists have agreed upon, right? However after today’s episode---RWBY V7CH6--- this squiggle meister can’t help but feel as if the CRWBY Writers might be setting us up to pull a Shaolin Showdown or a Lego Ninjago and reveal that Ruby is not the saviour we’ve all been envisioning her to be.

For those of you who have seen these two respective shows, remember how in Shaolin Showdown, throughout the series, they hyped up Omi as becoming the Grand Shaolin Master to lead everyone against the Forces of Evil but in the end, it was revealed to be Raymundo and not Omi.

And for those of you who watched Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu, remember how the show sort of hyped up Kai as our protagonist and made us think that he was going to be the Green Ninja destined to stop Garmadon and the Overlord when in reality, it was never Kai. As a matter of fact, as Kai soon learned---his role was never to become the Green Ninja but to protect him as the Green Ninja was later revealed to be Llyod---the son of Lord Garmadon. 

So with that thought in mind, I can’t helped but feel that RWBY could follow the same pattern. We’re all thinking it’s going to be Ruby when in reality, it’s NOT her. It’s someone else---probably the least likely of our two smaller, more honest souls.

 Imagine if…Ruby does get the chance to ask Jinn the question “Who can stop Salem?” but instead of Jinn telling her that she is the one destined to stop Salem as a Silver Eyed Warrior, what if…that’s never been Ruby’s destiny at all.

What if…Ruby realizes that her duty has never been to stop Salem herself but to fight by the side of and be the sworn protector of the person who will---Oscar.

I know I’m probably going to get a lot of folks who disagree with me on this but…hear me out with this one, will ya?

Is it weird of me to think that Ruby being the one to stop Salem might be a little too obvious at this point? 

Like this recent episode even had Nora kind of look in Ruby’s direction in an almost knowing fashion; almost like she’s is having the same theory as the audience and suspecting Ruby to be the one to put an end to the Wicked Witch.

 “Jinn said she can’t be beaten. She told Oz that he couldn’t destroy her.” “But maybe someone else could?”

If Ruby is to be the one stop Salem then fine, all of our theories have been right all along. 

Howeeeeevr....

I still can’t help but feel like it’s a little too on the nose. If the PLOT itself is acknowledging it then…I wonder...maybe it isn’t Ruby. I dunno. I want to put this theory on the table if it hasn’t already.

I know folks are probably going to tell me that “IT’S NOT GOING TO BE OSCAR BECAUSE OSCAR IS A DESCENDANT OF OZMA AND OZMA WAS TOLD BY JINN THAT HE CAN’T STOP SALEM!”

But there’s the thing with that too! The PLOT has also been teasing that Oscar is going to be DIFFERENT than Ozma. That he has some unknown special role in all of this that will make his experience different from other lives.

So…who knows? Maybe it will be like Shaolin Showdown and Lego Ninjago! Ruby isn’t the one who’s going to stop Salem.

Oscar is and Ruby will be his protector. 

Didn’t some folks say that Oscar also draws inspiration from Dorothy Gale since he grew up on a farm and lived with his aunt?

In the Wizard of Oz, didn’t Dorothy not possess a pair of silver or ruby red slippers that protected her from the Wicked Witch?

In the Wizard of Oz, didn’t Dorothy not stop the Wicked Witch by dousing her water?

So if Oscar is Dorothy. Then Ruby Rose as a Silver Eyed Warrior is his protector against the Wicked Witch. 

And the way Oscar will destroy Salem…is with the Remnants of the Fountain of Creation which probably still exists somewhere in Remnant since the Land of Darkness still exists?

I dunno...when you look at it from this perspective, it kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

Not to mention it makes you take into context all those times Ruby has been shown to protect and look out for Oscar from the moment the two met. Without even knowing her true role, she’s always been looking out for him from day one. 

I know a lot of folks aren’t going to like this theory...

...I mean, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case but, why not? If this head-canon isn’t already on the table then I’m tossing it on there and if it already has then I’m adding myself to the bandwagon of backing it a little bit.

Oscar being the true saviour of humanity (much like his ancestor Ozma was supposed to be) and Ruby as his Silver Eyed Protector as they fight together to end the Wicked Witch once and for all.

Hmmm....I dunno. It could work. But, it’s only a theory for now.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[stuartha06-blog]

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[primeadv]

SITS DOWN

PULLS OUT 10 GIANT ALBUMS :))) 

(this came out way longer than I intended im so fuckgkdsdf sory)

How I feel about this character: EVERYONE WHO KNOWS ME KNOWS I’M IN LOVE WIHT RATCHET. I love him in all iterations of Transformers because he’s always the tired, pragmatic one of the group. In contrast, he’s also almost tiredly optimistic in some ways. He won’t get out of bed, but if someone gets shot in the head he’ll spend however long and beyond to resuscitate them. There’s 2 halves to this--the me who identifies with the beating exhaustion he exudes, and the me who’s in awe that he’ll still fight his way through life.  I won’t... get into each continuity...because that’s too much, so I’ll stick with probably the most unpopular version of him and that’s IDW (my impression, anyway). IDW Ratchet gets a lot of flack for being way too sour and like, maybe not selfish, but uncaring. He cares! A lot! He’s always thinking about everyone in really surprisingly thoughtful ways. Like when he’s 90% sure he’ll die due to Overlord and his last words are to promote First Aid to CMO (he’s ready!! god that’s sweet), and to give his hands to Whirl (though maybe a bit blindsided, he’s paid attention to some roots of Whirl’s trauma). Or yeah he’s hella mean to Drift in the beginning, but when Drift is dying in his arms he’s scREAMING at him “you’re gonna make it! You’re gonna be fine because I’m gonna make sure you’re gonna be fine”. He can be an asshole, but he knows the time and place. Death isn’t something to play with--he’s seen probably countless friends die, and he doesn’t want that to happen again. Even now, even after the war.  So I feel very confused when ppl act like he’s this mean, cold person. He’s exTREMELY emotional. He’s probably way too invested in everyone’s lives, honestly? He interrupts a round table story for Rung just to reminisce on the veery last time he, OP, and Roller were together in the same room (not even hanging out or anything, just being together one last time. who remembers that after 5+ millions years??). He started an illegal clinic in the bad part of town because he wanted to put his skills to better use! Like! LOL.  ALSO, a point that i think is unfair is that ppl think his atheism is just really mean. IT is! But I think it shows just how much of an emotional and extremely, deeply hurt person he is. It gets aggravating when he’s condescending of religion, because there’s no simple logic to it. He reacts the way he does because he’s a hurt person who’s gone through years of trauma and this is his way of coping. Is it healthy or right? Nah, but it’s humanizing. It’s why when he becomes closer to Drift he occupies this weird between space where he snarks but also tries to indulge more in perspectives outside of his own in his own dumb old tsundere way. He’s a person who believes in justice, ultimately, and religion to him doesn’t fall under justice.  ALSO, can I say that his inability to say good byes is so.. like relatable? I have rly bad social anxiety, and so I’ve definitely ghosted people who’ve been nothing but really supportive for me. It’s not because I wanted to burn them, but it freaks you out needing to, not even say goodbye, but communicate with ppl. And for Ratchet--how many times was he FORCED to say good bye to friends + patients who were dying beyond his help? Maybe, if he could help it, he doesn’t want to say goodbye. And it’s tragic the times he’s just left, these were people who ended up either dying for falling astray into insanity, i.e., beyond his help. But he learns. He chases after Drift, who he actually said, in a way, good bye to (helping him off the floor after being attacked, also I should point out that a very tiny handful of people were comfortable interacting w/ Drift at all, and how much Ratchet just doesn’t give a shit abt how other ppl think abt him. he’ll help drift off the floor bc t’s the right thing to do). He says goodbye in his old dumb way--First Aid calls him out on it. ALSO his trust in First Aid is super cute. ALSO he’s like.. genuinely nice to Ten (he helped him get a date with Minimus!!!). And he’s not afraid to call out on other ppl’s bullshit (telling rodi straight you dont deserve to be captain which, at the time, was really true). He’s also SUPER smart. Also there’s that post on tumblr that pointed out that Ratchet immediately goes to deescalate conflict. He’s willing to put aside pride and anything if it means ultimately coming to a resolution where EVERYONE involved is safe. The only time he doesn’t is FUCKING OVERLORD who he rightfully, immediately, tries to briefly incapacitate to lockdown his medibay (protect patients/information). Ok I gotta stop I can go on forever just going page to page. Also, despite my love, I can totally point out his flaws. He’s grating when it’s unnecessary, he’s abhorrently bad at communicating, he’s privileged, he’s narrow-minded at times, etc. ec. But again what I love about him is that despite all that, he’ll throw his own self out the window for others’s well-being bc he genuinely, genuinellyyy cares about other people. If only he could care for himself //cries All the people I ship romantically with this character OH god... everyone. He’s my bicycle.  ok look, ya’ll know I’m an intense dratchet shipper and I could literally write a god damn essay. ... here’s another essay???!! So, I’ma be real, I wasn’t a super dratchet shipper before. I wasn’t anti (i have no notps), but I was just “yeah they’re cute i guess haha”. But 99.99% the reason why I ship anything is all for super cute adorable fanart. and I kept drawing them because 1) ratchet’s my fav, 2) drift is super popular so I figured I should learn to draw him. And they became the only 2 mechs I could draw. I used to be way more into Scavengers + megarod. I used to only like 1 dratchet fanfic and that’s bc it was less romantic and more plot centric (still a fav tho). Then I kept seeing cute fanart, I would read posts by other dratchet shippers too about what makes them so nice? And I was yeah.. oh yeah. And it doesn’t help that in Lost Light, drift is CONSTANTLY by Ratchet’s side. He’s constantly checking up on him and holding him and touching him, like as if Ratchet is the thing that he needs to make sure, at all costs, is safe.  In Drift’s life, Ratchet is the one who appears to him when he needs support the most but is in the most denial of it. When Drift is at the brink of death, overdosed and about to be broken apart and Orion brings him to Ratchet’s clinic. Ratchet patches him up pro-bono and tells him that he sees something special in him.  like??? can you imagine how that feels? To have no one believe in you--you don’t even believe in yourself, and yet here’s this person who tells you “you’re gonna be great”. And it totally doesn’t hit Drift in anyway, at least in a way that’s tangible to him, until much later in life. Or maybe it does (hey, how do you weave character narratives when it’s been written by like 3 different ppl shrugs). And that statement means 2 different things to them. To Drift, it’s a reminder that he’s worth something, even if it’s a sliver of nearly nothing to hold onto. To Ratchet, it’s a reminder that the greatness he saw led to the deaths of thousands of people.  HEY can you imagine this person you saved, patched up, tried to encourage, ended up being a mass serial killer in the future? (have you ever read Monster by Naoki Urusawa). Ended up killing people you loved?  So it’s no wonder that a good part of Ratchet is absolutely mad at Drift. And I think if that was all, they probably would’ve ended up being amicable. But Drift also ended up being super religious and seeing the hand and primus in everything and oh my god is this person really waxing poetry on the value of life when he, himself, shot several bullets at me at one point?  I also believe they are uncomfortably similar as they are different. The reason why they constantly butt heads is they’re two people trying to escape a past they don’t want and found complete opposite ways to cope with their losses. Drift found religion, Ratchet is gratingly pragmatic, and they see each other and go “how could this guy choose to be this way?”. I’ve heard ppl like to cite the annual as the reason why they could never work out. BUT, can I point out, that they act around each other in a way they don’t with anyone else? Drift gets SO MAD. Ratchet gets extremely talkative and incredibly personal (pulled out an electro slug from someone’s spark, holy shit that fucking traumatized you didn’t it??). They challenge each other emotionally, and it’s so fucking difficult bc they’re both extremely depressed and suffer from PTSD and would probably rather just go on their dumb space adventure and look at stars--take 2 emotionally constipated idiots and you get them. And hell no, don’t tell me Drift is in-tune with his feelings bc he’s 10000% not. He uses religion to cope with a past and life that he doesn’t want to think about. He tries to re-contextualize himself because he hates who he is. OUCHHH. And Ratchet MAKES him confront the parts of himself he hates--bc Ratchet has seen his worst traits and isn’t afraid to make him think about it.  So why do they work out eventually? They realize how important they are to each other. Delphi, Drift saves Ratchet’s life while he’s barely holding onto his own because he probably feels like he owes Ratchet his own life. And that’s a huge turning point in their relationship--Ratchet sees that... Drift tries really really fucking hard. My friend Zig pointed out that post-Delphi, Drift is eating energon w/ chopsticks (what a fucking nerd), and you can see in a later panel that Ratchet (who chose to sit next to Drift) is using those chopsticks too. IT’s such a small thing, but they’re becoming closer by sharing and learning from each other. And then Drift takes the fall and leaves. And Ratchet realizes just how important Drift’s presence is in his life. I mentioned it already lol but the scene where Ratchet helps Drift up off the floor and it’s superimposed with the love message Rewind left for CD. They care about each other so much!! And Ratchet chases after him!! HOLY SHIT. If that isn’t romance, what is?? lol I kid, but it’s obvious just how important Drift’s presence meant to him. IT’s really because they became so so so close in a way that can’t be described as just friends. They deeply understand each other in really uncomfortable ways and bring out the absolute worst and absolute best in each other. And this point is where Ratchet again appears when Drift doesn’t realize he needs someone in his life. Drift thinks he can be a loner and just float aimlessly and voicelessly--hell no! He needs friends, he needs community. He NEEDs belonging, because he wants to belong somewhere. And Ratchet helps bridge him back to friends and found family.  And Ratchet slowly changes the more he’s with Drift. He reads religious text and tries to brag about it bc he’s a dumb tsundere lol but he’s trying to understand Drift’s interests more even if it takes a decade and more to get there. And Drift values him for being his rock. That’s why he’s constantly making sure Ratchet is safe and unharmed, because he owes at least that much to him. And yeah they eventually fall in love because they value each other in a way they haven’t anyone else. IM EMO I CAN GO ONE, this all probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense but yeah. I’m just so soft to the fact that they’re horribly hurt people who don’t know how to redirect their pain, but by being together they come out healthier and more confident. IT’S RLY ROMANTIC IDKKK My non-romantic OTP for this character As much as I also love OpRatch, they are also great best friend platonic ship. They know each other best, they’ve been through SO MUCH together. It’s honestly a shame they barely interact in IDW bc the small tidbits we have, they obviously deeply respect each other’s opinions and deeply value the relationship they’ve had over the past millions of years.  I’m also all for non-romanceOTP for dratchet because I can totally imagine they go to each other to talk about things they feel uncomfortable sharing with others (they’ve seen the absolute worst of each other afterall).  My unpopular opinion about this character I don’t... think I ahve one. Some ppl view my love for his as grating lol.  One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. Medic spin off.

[maklodes]

The politics of Discworld -- specifically, Ankh-Morpork -- are kind of weird.

The authorial perspective seems to be pretty clear that Monarchy Is Bad -- but what is the posited alternative? Not democracy, certainly: Havelock Vetinari reacts with contemptuous amusement on hearing that Quirm is attempting to govern itself democratically.

Some sort of oligarchic rule? An even more emphatic no -- the Ankhian aristocrats like Lord Rust are portrayed with, on average, even more contempt than the benighted masses. As for an aristocracy of merit, the educated or experienced, people like Leonard of Quirm or Sam Vimes certainly have a role in Vetinari's administration, but Vetinari is portrayed as the only one who can coordinate them and draw them out to their fullest potential.

The only clear alternative to monarchy is Havelock Vetinari. Yet who is Vetinari? Well, most literally, he's a monarch, in the sense of a single-person ruler. However, he has no dynastic claim to being ruler. In fact, it's not clear what his claim to being ruler is at all -- except, perhaps, "a lot of people have had the idea that Havelock Vetinari shouldn't be ruler (often with the idea that they should be), and have attempted to effect plans to change the situation more to their liking (often through plans involving Vetinari's death), and Vetinari was always about forty steps ahead of them."

In the early Discworld novels like Guards! Guards!, Vetinari seems to have had an institutionally weak position: a weak hand which he played well. The city's governance was portrayed as a patchwork of autonomous guilds, gangs, and fiefdoms, over which Vetinari had little personal control. However, he intervened -- lightly -- to keep them balanced against each other, so that he could add the small but decisive force that tipped a city otherwise balanced on the fulcrum of institutional deadlock in the direction he wanted it to go.

As the series goes on, Vetinari accumulates more and more power in the hands of the Ankh-Morkporkian state (and, by implication, in his personal hands): the Night Watch is expanded from being a tiny, ceremonial legacy unit of four men into a full-fledged police force. The Post Office is restored to operation. The Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork falls under Vetinari's control, through ownership of a single share, and a dog who owns half of them.

This accumulation of power in Vetinari's hands is portrayed as a more-or-less unambiguously good thing. The old Ankh-Morpork where pickpockets had more to fear from the Thieves' Guild than from the City Watch is gradually replaced by a relatively modern, efficient state under Vetinari's benevolent control.

On one hand, it makes sense to regard the early years of Vetinari's rule -- one in which he ruled by playing the precariously balanced guilds and nobles against each other -- as a governance style born of necessity, not choice. He did what he had to to rule a city in which his personal powers were limited -- but from the very beginning, he was looking for ways to accumulate power for himself, to build or take control of institutions that would give him greater personal control, all while delicately avoiding alienating the city's power brokers in a manner that would have lead to his overthrow, as happened to his predecessors such as Lord Winder and Lord Snapcase. In early books like Guards! Guards!, he was still early in that process, and hadn't accomplished much, but by later books like Making Money, he had built something like a modern state as his personal institutional demesne.

On the other hand, one gets the sense that Ankh-Morpork had to turn into something more appealing than it was in the early Discworld novels, to delegitimize Carrot's claim to the throne. Havelock Vetinari had to be transformed from a canny but precariously positioned politician into a benign overlord. Otherwise, it's easy to imagine a pragmatic case that Carrot Ironfoundersson should be king.

Imagine it: Carrot claims his rightful throne to overwhelming popular acclaim. Vetinari is arrested for various crimes he probably committed as patrician (and before), then probably pardoned because he was as good as a patrician could be while still keeping the city in one piece (compared to, e.g., Winder and Snapcase), and perhaps becomes one of King Carrot's advisers. With a public legitimacy that Vetinari never had, combined with charisma and dwarven efficiency and rectitude, the king is able to reform Ankh-Morpork, bringing the Thieves' Guild, aristocracy, and the like to heel. He improves the City Watch, revitalizes the post office, etc, and generally transforms Ankh-Morpork from a crazy quilt of petty domains into a unified, well-governed kingdom. To avoid making a hypothetical King Carrot sound too good, Vetinari had to do it instead, to weaken the monarchic case.

King Carrot would, of course, die eventually, and then be succeeded by his eldest child (or perhaps eldest son), presumably with Queen Consort Angua. With succeeding generations of his dynasty -- perhaps as few as a single generation -- the integrity, benevolence, and effectiveness of the dynastic administration would regress to the mean, with members of his dynasty periodically going above or below the mean. What's the alternative, though? Vetinari is mortal too (barring transformation into a zombie, vampire, etc). After he dies, will the patriciate fall back into the hands of men like Winder and Snapcase, the office's interlude of sanity and competence under Vetinari proving to be a small temporal island lost in a sea of self-indulgent lechers, paranoid torturers, and the like? If there's any reason to suppose this won't happen with Vetinari's death, I haven't seen it. Worse, it seems likely that a succession from Vetinari to whatever successor emerges will be considerably rougher than the succession from Carrot to his child.

Ultimately, the argument against monarchy seems more aesthetic than anything else. The Ankh-Morpork patriciate may function similarly to a monarchy, but at least people don't have to bow to the patrician, don't have to think he's better than everyone else, etc.

[beyondforks]

Release Day Review! Dangerously Dark by C.J. Burright, Plus an Interview w/ the Author!

Dangerously Dark (The Dreamcaster Series #3) by C.J. Burright Genre: Adult Fiction (Paranormal Romance) Date Published: November 13, 2017 Publisher: Ravenrock Publishing LLC

Some call him Purgatory’s Missing Prince. Demon Master. Overlord of Shadows. Only one woman may call him hers.

A master of dreams, a failure at life…

After another botched career attempt, Quinn Carmichael escapes to a remote lodge for a weekend recharge, needing respite…especially from the nightmares that haunt even her days. When a wounded, sexy-as-sin stranger faceplants unconscious on her kitchen floor, there’s something disturbingly familiar about him—as in he’s the boy from her childhood dreams. Mr. Dark, Dangerous, and Diabolical may be the key to unlocking the mysteries of her past and future, and Quinn isn’t about to let the opportunity—or him—escape without a fight.

His time is running out…

Known as Purgatory’s Missing Prince, Zaire’s existence has been one of endless pain, torture, and loss. Resigned to his fate, his final goal is simple—rescue his nephew before succumbing to the deadly darkness inside him. But when a fateful misstep brings him face-to-face with the one woman who could have saved him once upon a dream—the one woman he treasures above all else—he battles to keep his distance before he destroys her, too. But he would gladly sell his soul for just one taste.

Love draws them together, destiny will tear them apart

With ruthless enemies closing in, Quinn and Zaire must fight to save each other and those they care for before it’s too late—even if it means they’re doomed to live apart forever.

Dangerously Dark is the third book in the Dreamcaster series by C.J. Burright. This series just gets better and better. This time we see things mostly from the perspectives of Zaire and Quinn, though we do get glimpses from other characters from time to time. These different views really helped to build the situation and what was going on. Zaire has had a horrific life. Granted he has also done a lot of horrific things. Quinn was unique. She has used her dreams to strengthen herself it seems. She is a survivor. So, when Zaire disappeared from her dreams, she learned to fight them herself.  I loved her strength. I also love when they showed their vulnerabilities too. Characters like these are what makes fiction believable. I love it. The romantic tension is palpable. You don't know if they're going to rip each other's throats out or rip each other's clothes off. Add in the horror and mystery that always surrounds the world of the V’alkara, and this is completely impossible to stop reading. The whole Dreamcaster Series story line is pretty ingenious. Each book blows me away. I can't get enough. 

The ARC of Dangerously Dark by C.J. Burright was kindly provided to me by the author & Bewitching Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Quinn tossed the note on the coffee table and wrapped one hand around the warm ceramic mug, absently petting Wolfgang with the other. Dusk took over beyond the wall of windows, made darker by the blizzard. Falling snow hid the skirting tree line. Wind howled at the house corners and turned treetops into jerking puppets. The perfect meltdown location. No phones, no people, no problem. The lamp flickered and died, leaving her with only the dancing firelight, not that she minded. The power had lasted longer than she expected. Stoked fire, hot cider, and now she had a great excuse to procrastinate reading unhelpful flyers. She sipped her drink and wriggled back on the couch. Wolfgang launched off her lap, kicking papers everywhere and sloshing her drink. “Bad cat!” He scurried into the kitchen, out of sight. A distinct thud followed, which meant Wolfgang was up to no good. “I should’ve sent you off to the Nameless One.” Quinn shoved the remaining flyers aside and nabbed the flashlight from the end table. “You’d make an amazing hat, and there’d be enough fur left to make a stole, the perfect ensemble to compliment her plastic face.” She flicked on the flashlight and shuffled into the kitchen, ignoring how the light made all the shadows twist and scuttle on the walls and ceiling. Broken bones might bother her, but the dark never had. Wolfgang expectantly stood at the back door. He meowed, high and plaintive. Nothing looked out of place. Whatever had made the thud wasn’t in the kitchen. Maybe the wind had blown a loose branch against the house. “What, you’re a snow leopard now? There’s no fancy feline feast waiting out there for you.” Wolfgang rubbed his cheek against the doorframe, circled, and meowed again. Thud. The entire door shook. Quinn jumped. That was no branch. All the horror movies she loved to watch and ridicule flashed to mind, a lot less funny now. Alone in the woods. Killer storm. No electricity. No connection to the outside world. Wolfgang’s purr rumbled, and he slid his face over the jamb again. The noise hadn’t spooked him even a little, and animals always sensed evil. Wolfgang had had no problem detecting it in Molly. She squared her shoulders. No one would be roaming around in a blizzard. An animal had probably knocked the trashcan into the door, and a quick look would ease any worry. At the first glimpse of fur or fang—or red, glowing eyes—she’d go for the door slam. Pushing Wolfgang back with one foot, she cracked open the door. Wind exploded in, ripping the doorknob from her grip and firing snow and ice into her eyes. The door banged into the wall, and the storm’s full force rushed inside. Quinn scrambled for the knob and stopped, frozen by more than the sudden blast of cold. A man filled the entryway from threshold to frame, dark as the nightfall behind him. Steam drifted from his bare head. Frost coated his short, sable hair, and even in the flashlight beam, his complexion held an unhealthy blue-gray hue. One hand was anchored to the doorpost in a white-knuckled grip. The other brandished a wicked as sin knife. She shone the light on his face, and her stomach roller-coastered. Her demon. The one who’d haunted her nightmares years ago and then abruptly bailed, never to return. No matter what face he wore, his death-black, abysmal eyes were unforgettable. Or were her delusions returning with a vengeance? “Get out of my way.” His chest heaved, and he lurched forward, the knife pointed at her. His guttural words erased any suspicion that he might be another hallucination. He was too present, too solid to be anything but real. Merde. He was real.

How long have you been writing?  Growing up in the boonies, I had to find ways to entertain myself after I’d read all the books on hand, so I turned to writing my own stories when I was in my teens. I wouldn’t call them good stories and they are best kept in a shoebox in the deepest, darkest recesses of the attic. Those early scratchings should probably be burned to avoid becoming blackmail material. What inspired you to write The Dreamcaster Series? A dream started the whole thing. Appropriate, huh? 😊 I dreamed of Kalila from Wonderfully Wicked, standing in a café with Lydon standing menacingly behind her, and I had to know why he was stalking her. Then I started plotting, and as more characters come out of the shadows, I find I must write their stories too. Did you always plan for it to be a series? Once I started writing Wonderfully Wicked, I knew there was too much in this supernatural world of dreams and nightmares that I wanted to explore to include in a single book. And as I fall in love with the broken characters, I want them all to experience their own HEA. It wouldn’t be fair to leave them all hanging, right? What was the weirdest thing you had to google while doing research? I did Google some angelic language, which was both weird and interesting. I thought about using a bit since Zaire knows how to speak in angel/demon tongue, but I didn’t want readers stumbling over how to pronounce words like oxex and gmicalzo. But I’ll definitely name my next cat zvrza. This series would make some great movies. Would you want to turn your books into movies or TV shows? Ooh, thanks for saying that! I’d choose a long-running TV show like Supernatural – with awesome (and hot) guys, spooky stuff, action, fun times, and romance. Maybe Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki could find a new acting home. 😊 Which of your characters do you relate to most and why? They all have a piece of me stitched into them, but I relate most to Kalila from Wonderfully Wicked and Quinn from Dangerously Dark. Kalila is guarded with people she doesn’t know well or trust (like me), but I’m also an idealist like Quinn. And like both of them, I’m not afraid to fight for what’s important to me when necessary. Ka-pow! What is a secret about you that nobody else knows? I’d be on Dancing with the Stars if I could partner with Val Chmerkovskiy. And dancing (especially in public) sooooo isn’t my thing. What book have you read too many times to count? The Magic Garden by Gene Stratton Porter. It’s antiquated, beautiful and bittersweet, and a rescued treasure from my grandmother’s library. I’m not usually prone to waterworks, but this story gets me. Every time. What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received? Keep writing, keep learning your craft, and never give up! If you could hop into the life of any fictional character, who would it be and why? Claire from Outlander because…Jamie. He’d be worth giving up a couple hundred years of technology. What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books? In researching dreams, it was interesting how some people are so paralyzed by their dreams they can’t move and even have trouble breathing. It’s amazing how the subconscious (or is it some outside force?) can affect the body. What do you like to do when you're not writing? I have a day job which takes up an unfortunate amount of my time, but when I’m not writing or working, I’m reading, working out, or playing Assassin’s Creed surrounded by my adoring cats. It’s a superb life. Are any of the things in your books based on real life experiences or purely all imagination? My stories are a mixture of both—I think it’s impossible not to color my writing with my own life experiences—and as far as who and/or what are based off truth…I’ll never tell! Thanks so much for having me! <3

Thank you for hanging out at my blog & answering all my questions!

Check out my review of the previous books in this AMAZING series!

C.J Burright is a native Oregonian and refuses to leave. A member of Romance Writers of America and the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal special interest chapter, while she has worked for years in a law office, she chooses to avoid writing legal thrillers (for now) and instead invades the world of urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or fantasy. C.J. also has her 4th Dan Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and believes a story isn’t complete without at least one fight scene. Her meager spare time is spent working out, refueling with mochas, gardening, gorging on Assassin’s Creed, and rooting on the Seattle Mariners…always with music. She shares life with her husband, daughter, and a devoted cat herd. To learn more about C.J. Burright and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

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[nofomoartworld]

Samurai Jack Creator Genndy Tartakovsky on How To Make a Great Villain

The final episode of the final season of Samurai Jack airs tonight on Adult Swim. After a slog through depression and hallucination, a comeuppance and a love story, Jack's narrative arc is drawing to a close, creator and show runner Genndy Tartakovsky tells Creators. This means that so is the story of the Dark Lord Aku, arguably one of the most memorable animated villains of all time.

Aku was originally voiced by award-winning Japanese voice actor Mako Iwamatsu, who died in 2006, two years after the original Samurai Jack series on Cartoon Network ended. In Season 5, we see mostly the understated, creepy side of Aku, as voiced by Greg Baldwin. "50 years of Jack has left him—in some ways he's as damaged as Jack is, because he just can't make Jack go away," Baldwin tells Dot and Line. "It's literally driving him crazy." Both actors' flamboyant performances, coupled with the Samurai Jack team's gripping visual style and dry humor, has made Aku into an icon of evil for evil's sake—utterly heartless, but also relatable.

"Uniqueness," is how Tartakovsky expresses the most important characteristic of his villains to Creators, ranging from Aku to each episode's baddie du jour. Each starts as a jumble of sketches, plot ideas, and vintage pop culture influences from classic sci-fi or Japanese television. Demongo, a crowd favorite from Season 4, was born from the straightforward visual of a "head on fire." The idea for a demon who collects the souls of great heroes and uses them to fight others like Pokémon was built out from there.

The Moscow-born, New York-raised director/producer specifically cites Spectraman and Battle of the Planets—which originally aired in Japan as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman—as wellsprings of villainous inspiration. A recurring henchman from the new episodes, Scaramouche, is rooted in "characters with boots and raincoats and stuff like that," from Battle of the Planets, primarily the show's big bad, Zoltar.

Samurai Jack is ready to fight. Samurai Jack airs Saturdays at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT on Adult Swim's Toonami Block

Tartakovsky says the inspiration for Aku is rooted in another terrifying-yet-bewildering villain: Ming the Merciless from the 1970s Flash Gordon serials. "There are a lot of overlord type characters who aren't as interesting," the 47-year-old filmmaker says. "Ming is so creepy and weird and understated. I liked that more than an over-the-top kind of character."

Ming's indulgent wardrobe and red-tinged palace is a dead ringer for Aku's fiery lair, and his weakness for dramatics is also mirrored in Aku's many downfalls at the end of Jack's blade. In fact, Jack and Flash Gordon share a number of similarities as well, both honorable to a fault and plunged into strange lands far from home.

Japanese cinema's influence on all of Tartakovsky's work is apparent, from the giant monster battles of Powerpuff Girls to the giant robot fights of Dexter's Laboratory. These films and shows are cheesy by Western standards, but they're unique—Tartakovsky's prime value in a villain. John E. Petty articulates the common thread between Tartakovsky's influences in his 2011 dissertation for the University of North Texas, Stage and Scream. He traces the fantastical, wires-on visual style of Japanese film, also the bedrock of Flash Gordon, back to woodblock print paintings, and the stylized costumes and rigid structure of kabuki, noh, and bunraku theater.

"While much of Japanese art takes natural settings, places, and events as its starting point, the emphasis has never been on a slavish recreation of reality," he writes. "Instead, Japanese artists value such qualities as suggestion, perishability, irregularity, and simplicity."

Aku represents anything but reality. His name literally translates to "evil" in Japanese, the definition of a concept too pure for the complexities of real life. His speeches and gestures also recall the intentionally exaggerated performance and makeup of kabuki. Looked at from this perspective, Aku's true origin could be a Japan none too different from the pastoral kingdom Jack fights to resurrect in the show.

However, Tartakovsky's visual samples more rhyme with his influences than repeat them. Scaramouche's silhouette mimics Zoltar's, but his twists and turns—telekinetic scatting, an exploding knife, and the ability to walk around without a body—are purely the product of Tartakovsky's gut. Aku may have decorated his lair from the same catalogue as Ming, but he's still a sliver of cosmic darkness fallen to earth, not a mere mortal tyrant. Like the films of Quentin Tarantino, part of Samurai Jack's appeal is how its creator artfully alludes to the stories he loves, but makes them his own. "Everything that I've ever made in my life is from my instinct," Tartakovsky sums it up.

After the book shuts on Samurai Jack tonight, Tartakovsky says he has no interest in reviving his other popular franchises. Instead, he's looking forward to exploring the unfamiliar characters and worlds languishing in his sketchbook.

The series finale of Samurai Jack airs at 11 PM tonight on Adult Swim.

Related:

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