#so here’s a bit of positivity

[phoenixkaptain]

I’m rereading Shugo Chara (it’s been years and the nostalgia I feel is immense) and I’ve got to be honest…

I think Amu and Ikuto is the funniest ship in the whole world.

Like, they just like each other. They like spending time with each other. Amu is genuinely comfortable around him until he starts flirting, then she’s mostly just kind of exasperated. All of Ikuto’s interactions with her are based on cats. He brings her food (human can not hunt for themself) and he lays on her (human is the most comfortable pillow) and he teases her (human must be kept on their toes). Like, he’s just a big ol’ cat and I love it.

But also, the manga is fucking hilarious.

When Kukai is graduating and everyone’s saying goodbye and Tadase asks “When I’m in trouble, can I talk to this picture I have of you?” When they’re all talking about what happens around springtime and Ikuto casually says “Being in heat. Because we’re cats.” and Amu’s respons is “Can he say that in this manga?” And Sensei… “Why are you still teaching here?” “I do have credentials.”

Ikuto is the funniest character. He brings cookies because he broke Amu’s tart. He brings ice cream because Utau dropped Kukai’s ice cream (and maybe Amu’s? I’m unclear) ((how did he even know that that happened? Does he have a sixth sense, “Someone just ruined my human’s meal. I have to fix this immediately.”)) He always shows up with a bag of food and just drops it on Amu, then leaves. He came here for one reason and one reason only, and it was to drop off food, bye.

My favourite part of the manga is Nadeshiko/Nagihiko. I love Amu’s comment early on “Nadeshiko changes so fast!” I love Temari, who just repeats “my kimono will get dirty.” And when they’re crawling through the vent or whatever, and Temari is crawling while still covering her face with her sleeve and says “my kimono is getting dirty.” Hilarious. I love Temari so much.

I love that Nadeshiko is Amu’s best friend. They are besties. The extra where Nagihiko breaks out of his house to spend time with Amu? Perfection. Nagihiko holding Amu’s hand, and when she points it out to him, he just goes “Oh yeah. I forgot I’m different today.” I love Nagihiko, he’s the best. The whole explanation is totally wild and honestly baffling, but I love Nagihiko and his weird ass family all the same.

I liked the show a lot as a kid, and I liked the manga even more. I think Amu and Ikuto are adorable. I think it’s funny that the characters don’t act like any elementary school students I’ve ever met (including the ones who were in elementary school with me). I like that Kukai is everyone’s favourite, and he’s just so chipper. I like Tadase’s wish being to conquer the world, and everyone agreeing to help him with it because “It’s fun :)” I especially like that Amu is consistently and constantly judging the capes.

Maybe it’s nostalgia colouring my view. Maybe I’m biased because it made me laugh a couple times. Maybe I just like Ikuto and Amu being comedic foils to each other. Whatever it may be, I really enjoy the manga. Would I recommend it? Yes. Would I recommend it if you’re going to be pissed by the age gap? No.

(“The age gap is so problematic!” But have you considered that they are funny?)

[umblrspectrum]

tessa, being the edgy little freak she is, obviously took the original darkxwolf username

[vaguely-concerned]

the fact that irving canonically survives through the end of asunder to be at wynne's funeral is so fucking funny to me. nothing but love and respect for MY unstoppable cockroach morally grey machiavellian mage dad!!! he's survived in his position through multiple attempted rites of annulment and blood mage plots popping up left right and center around him. the chantry keeps trying to stamp him out but his dodge game is simply out of this world, divine. civil wars, political machinations and minefields, chantry atrocities, this wily old motherfucker is dodging and weaving his way through it all, not-quite-no-hits-taken-running-it-but-honestly-close-enough-under-the-circumstances style. if solas does succeed in tearing down the veil I would fully believe that one of the like three people still alive at the end of it all would be a very weary 90 year old first enchanter irving going 'oh this shit again huh'. the maker has cursed him for his hubris and his paperwork is never finished (affectionate, it's fine he canonically loves paperwork)

[lgbtlunaverse]

I feel like too often people frame Nie Mingjue's issues as ignorance borne from safety. Like, they think that because of his privilege as a sect leader he doesn't know what it's like to be in danger and forced to make hard choices to survive. And I disagree. Strongly.

First of all, Nie Mingjue is very familiar with death not only from war but from. You know. Actively dying since the age of fourteen. Let us not forget Nie Mingjue is dead! Super dead! And maybe he didn't die the exact way he expected to but he did, absolutely, know he was going to die. To act like Nie Mingjue is unfamiliar with the scenario of "do something you find morally reprehensible or die" is to ignore that he has been living that exact scenario and chose death.

Nie Mingjue knows death is a risk for someone like Jin guangyao, in fact he explicitly acknowledges it even in his worst moments like the stairs in chapter 49. Had his issue been ignorance, then he would've responded to Jin Guangyao saying that he's in danger and has to sacrifice others for his own safety with "No you aren't you'll be fine." But he doesn't. He accepts the fact that jgy is in danger with no qualms and says: then you should die.

That's not him betraying his values, those are his values. He is, essentially, pro-suicide. Jgy is like hey I have a moral dilemma what should I do and nmj straight up goes "Kill yourself" and earlier that same chapter when he was faced with a moral dilemma he went "I'm gonna kill myself." He believes the solution to moral dilemmas is suicide! He is extremely consistent about this! When it's pointed out to him that it would have been dangerous for Wen Qing to oppose Wen Ruohan it doesn't phase him because he thinks putting yourself at risk to do the right thing is the only moral choice. The idea that he can only hold this belief because he is himself somehow not in danger, again, requires you to ignore that he is dying the whole time. And it doesn't deter him. He is the idea of self-sacrifice as a moral good taken to its absolute logical extreme. Someone who is ready to die and demands the same from everyone else.

It makes him a very fun case study for fandom, because a lot of fandom spaces also tend to revere self-sacrifice as the ultimate good, and yet we get very uncomfortable when someone starts demanding it of characters we love. Like woah, hold on, that's a bit too far isn't it? Only we the audience get to do that!

[posi-pan]

a day late, but i’m here now so let’s spread some love and support for pan folks!! i hope pansexual, panromantic, panalterous, pansensual, panplatonic, panaesthetic, and pangender (and any other pan related labels i might’ve missed) people have a lovely week. i love y’all so much.

pan week is december 6-12 💗💛💙

[admiral-bennetts-aide-de-camp]

a lot of people talk about abed comparing troy to comfort TV, but not enough people talk about the implication of how, by saying that, abed positions himself as a parasocial fan

[coldshrugs]

testing me, bad but sweet ✨

happy birthday pigeon (@ahollowgrave) !!

um. i know these are meant to be oc thirst shots but for io, feeling The Most means things are a bit more. involved. :> another (more explicit) one under the cut!

[luna-loveboop]

Maybe I should do. Linktober? A bit? I would post egg carvings on some days

Egg carvings! :D it's an area of art I do a lot and would want to grow in... it's wierd tho ':D I hollow eggshells and engrave on them or carve them into shapes... I did this one quick today for examples

If yall want me to do it a bit I will... and that top photo would count for day one- mirror. The reflection setting in the sksw final boss is so cool to me and also I love drawing lightning, tho this isn't my favourite egg I've ever done. Anyways. I could do some days? What do y'all think?

.

Edit: well I guess I'm doing it then! Happy October yall, this should be fun :D

[vivispec]

Hello there! I'm not even sure how to start. So I felt very disappointed by DA:TV, because of various reasons. Not trying to dampen the mood, I am super happy for you if you actually enjoyed the game! If you do not mind, could you list the things you liked/loved about the game? Help me see the "bright side"? Just gush a litte about it, I could use some positive input around my favourite gaming series of all time. :') thank you <3

Absolutely! For me, I think I always figured I was going to like this game, even if it wasn't my fave of all time? Trick Weekes always writes characters/quests that I like, and for me, story/characters come before anything else. I liked Andromeda, flawed as it was. Even if the gameplay was mediocre, I was certain I'd find something I'd like.

But the gameplay wasn't mediocre. It was actually really, really fun. I played Spellblade, and honestly, the gameplay might be a highpoint for me. I don't really like action gameplay, I tolerate it. I loved this, though.

The biggest thing that really sold me is the fact that the big choices in this game are difficult in a way Bioware has been trying to capture since Origins, but I don't think they've ever nailed until now (except maybe in Mass Effect). Even in Origins, when they had big choices like what to do with Connor, or how to deal with the werewolves, there was always a cop out choice. There isn't one in this game, so far as I can see. At the end of EVERY companion quest there was a choice I couldn't choose, something that made me wonder just what would've happened if I'd picked something different, and don't get me started on the endgame. The endgame was brutal :')

I love the characters, too! I do think some of the writing can get a bit campy or be a bit on the nose, I think some subtlety is lacking for certain characters especially in the beginning, but once shit hits the fan just about every companion has their gutwrenching moment. I felt for every single character in this game, during their act 2 personal quest moments. In all the other games there was at least one character I just couldn't care about, but even the ones that I thought wouldn't tickle my fancy snuck up on me. By the end, I loved all of them so much. I only wanted more.

I like Rook, too. I think I can see how their characterization might be disappointing, though. I think the key for me and my friend @sweetmage was finding the right Rook to play. We both had lots of concepts and while I plugged in the right one first, I know they struggled until they found the right one. Rook is kinda like Hawke in the way that they have a bit of personality already and a defined character path, which can get in the way of true RP. Once I stopped fighting it and let Rook be Rook, I liked the game a lot more, and I liked my character a lot more.

Then there's lore. Oh, lore. I have listened to or read every codex. I have a treasure trove of theories I keep locked in my head. All I need is a corkboard and some red string. Getting to see so many of those theories come to fruition? Things they've been teasing since Origins, that I picked up on when I was 12? Absolutely magical! Some of it I think they bungled--there's one reveal I've been waiting for for 15 years that I found in a note, not codex, on a bridge in Minrathous, no fanfare or anything--but the majority of it punched me right in the face with so much force I had to pause the game and do a little pacing. I won't get into specifics for spoiler reasons, but seeing all those little dots connect? seeing when I was right, and when I was wrong? SO euphoric for me!

A lot of the things I didn't like, too, like making the Crows less shitty--so easy to headcanon around, in ways that don't contradict canon! It's one of my favorite things to do, it feels like a puzzle to me, making everything that is for certain and everything I want fit together. That one, for instance, Zevran totally gutted all the shitty Crows, and left only the good ones :)

I will say, it's clear they were trying to wrap things up. I got the sense while playing it felt that they didn't want to leave any loose threads in case this was their last DA game, so that felt a bit rushed. But I loved it. To me it was a love letter, saying goodbye. Wrapping everything up in a nice little bow. I've always struggled to choose a favorite game in the DA series, they all do something I love so differently that I can't pinpoint one singular favorite, and I think this one is right up there for me, tied for 1st place with the other three games. Like DA2 and DAI I think it could've cooked just a little bit longer, there's a lot of potential for it to be a 9/10 game imho if they'd smoothed a couple of things out, but there's a lot in there for me to love.

Thank you so much for the question, I hope the wall of text will help you see a bit of the light haha. I don't mind that people didn't like it--that's just how it goes sometimes, and I think there are a lot of valid criticisms to be had. For me I was just super bummed that it was the only thing I was seeing online. I'm following lots of positivity now, so the occasional disenchantment is not a problem. Idk if it'll work for you, but @sweetmage was similarly disappointed until they streamed it with a friend, and then just having someone there to converse with it on really helped them to enjoy it. I hope you can find something to love in it, too!

[uncanny-tranny]

Choosing to be alive is a hard task sometimes, so I'm always so proud of people who choose to live for "weird" reasons.

Like, yes! Live to watch your favourite show for the millionth time! Yes! Live to hear rain against your car windshield! Live to laugh, to cry, to make Naruto proud! Do all of this to live, no matter how strange it is. You enrich this world, and no matter what you are living for, it is good enough. I am so incredibly amazed at your resolve, and your sheer willpower. I hope you never forget that part about your spirit because it is spectacular.

[chill-vibes-but-rainbow-panic]

Finally back, with a lil more of Chill's Artist Admiration Sketchbook; making fanart for blogs I like :D

@kingspacebar

Accessoires and colours my beloved <3 <3 <3

[humming-fly]

This 4th of July I’m stealing the patriotism euphoria that’s usually associated with assholes idolizing the worst attributes of this country because fuck ‘em I live here too and remembering the things this country actually got Right is an important exercise when trying to rally anyone to want to defend it in November SO putting my money where my mouth is I’ll start easy and say I really like National Parks!! It’s rad how many of them there are and how they’re actual set up to preserve some of the most beautiful wild areas in our country while still letting people visit to enjoy and experience nature!! (Less important but I love how they put national parks on the quarters I think that’s real fun)

Feel free to add on if something speaks to ya!

[skrunksthatwunk]

love like you / maternal pang

bonus under cut:

the first stephanie + the maternal pang tone destroyer i couldn't include bc it's a serious comic

[biblically-accurate-dca]

super disorganized sketch page because i do what i want

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

my n1 guilty pleasure is thinkin that post m2 lauretta moved deeper into criminal after several years & ended up sentenced to jail somewhere in the middle of 1970s

[australianklaviergavin]

OTHER DESIGNS: Baby bunny Trucy, Uendo lizard, Prosecutors, Aura Blackquill, Clay Terran, Bobby Fulbright, Skye Sisters, Valant Gramarye, Iris Wilson, Datz Are'bel, Mael Stronghart, Enoch Drebber

AUXILIARY POSTS: modpoppy's Uendo, okartichoke's Caracalvier, Iris 1.0

Compiled here is almost every single design sketch I've done for this... AU? It's my nonsense, take it or leave it! The tag for it is "#The Great Detective's Animal Attorney", but the prefix is mostly for filtering, I just call it "Animal Attorney".

I must disclaim that this is not meant to "compete" with any other AUs or designs! They're all real and I hope my dognix can be friends with yours.

The below post has my designs for the Gavin brothers, Maya, Fransizka, Phoenix, Athena, Sholmes, Lord van Zieks, aaand a teeny Harebrayne. Sadly, no Apollo this time, all his art is doodles and I hit image limit anyways! Him and Trucy may get their own post soon, however!

These were all done with my non-dominant hand, and Athena was done on a Magma board, if that explains the anything.

The Gavins are the first ones I really did, and they're both caracals! I've kinda wanted to go back and change Klavier a bit in regards to an insane headcanon, but caracalvier is too iconic like this, I just can't do it

Putting Maya and Fran together, cause they're both kitties! If Maya was a specific breed, then I forgot, but Fransizka (and her dad, by extension) are both oriental longhairs. If I weren't presently injured, I'd draw a scrungly Manfred, but alas your mind's eye will have to do the work.

Phoenix is a puppy dog! Very very nearly made him a hyena... But I couldn't. I couldn't reconcile it with Ryunosuke. I have a Yeenix in the back, for any interested parties

LASTLY for my main-series designs is Athena! She's a seal. I don't think I had a specific reason besides not being able to get ears to fit with that ponytail... Might change her to a sea lion, though!

AAAAND TGAA BONUSES... Aka the Barokorn Cinematic Universe

Sholmes is a lion (with his sad little low testosterone mane)! He was easily the hardest, as I went back and forth... Alot. He was a pigeon at first! I contemplated rabbit..? But I tried to steer away from the mascot designs, generally. I'm happy with the decision of lion, however, mostly cause it gives him fun symbolism with the whole Professor thing.

The van Zieks-es are unicorns, and Bunnybrain is a pony! I could go more in-depth, buuut that's kinda spoilery

Ryunosuke and Kazuma (not pictured) are both puppy dogs, and I think I settled on bunny for Susato?? To make her pops a bunny also? I also have some sketches of her as a sugar glider, but I don't really like most of their art 👎 so there's a couple gaps here

If anyone wants to (??!?!?!!) you can use these designs for pretty much anything you want (and feel free to extrapolate upon the rest of their designs, most of these are very limited), just make sure to tag me, partially for credit, but also because I'd just REAAAALLY want to see... They are my babies, my world, I think I might break down into tears (/pos) BUT ANYWAYS I LOVE YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME AND I HOPE THIS MAYBE MOTIVATES YOU TO DRAW SOME SILLY ANIMAL ATTORNEYS OF YOUR OWN!!