#so yeah! he's actually older than any of the other characters. in concept at least

[carbonateddelusion]

I'm too lazy to draw it rn but imagine Tommy

imagine being Hannah (his mama) in this situation. you had this kid with this That Boy Ain't Right french dude who is CLEARLY not interested in you because you were in a comphet relationship. and then your child starts talking about seeing your brother, his uncle, who disappeared YEARS ago and your mother, who is long long long gone, watching over him. you have produced another Boy That Ain't Right

[wasyago]

some rambles about gillion trans headcanons and other stuff

im realizing that i write these posts because i have no one to talk about riptide with, so this is like a monolog that is meant to be a dialog? sort of? the point is, the thought process is unpredictable and this is just everything that goes through my head and not like a structural point or anything and some things are random and not uhhh pretty(?). i dont even know why im writing these disclaimers, no one cares probably?

anyway. so, if gillion was a trans man, how would that work?

did he know from the young age, before the elders even, that he was a boy? was it just an obvious thing for him and his family? was he loved and accepted? and when the elders took him away, did they accept him as well? did they even see him for a kid/a person he was, or did they only think about the prophecy and didn't care what gender The One was? when gillion got older, did he get his top surgery inside the walls of the palace without anyone questioning him or looking down upon? or did he have to sneak out? probably definitely not sneak out, im not sure gillion ever left the palace or seen the world outside much. did he even get top surgery?

that's an interesting question to me actually, because if tritons (in this campaign at least) hatch from eggs, do females even have bigger boobs? technically no, right? do they even have boobs? i mean, they do have chest muscles and stuff, but do they have nipples? the one time i drew gill without a shirt i didn't draw him any, so im gonna say "no" for now. sorry im huge bore when it comes to these types of questions, i don't even know why actually... is it weird?

uhh what was i talking about... so i guess yeah, if female and male tritons don't have that different of a body structure, gillion probably didn't even need a top surgery to begin with. and maybe he didn't experience much in terms of dysphoria, which honestly? good for him, he had enough going on already...

but if gillion wasn't trans before the elders? if he was fine with his gender, he was only five after all, he had better fiveyearold things to worry about. what happened after he was taken away? was it his own realization, just at an older age?

or was it forced on him by the elders? (its definitely a darker concept and would be out of character for the elders, but as an alternative universe I think its interesting as well). because "the chosen one", the hero of the prophecy, the one who will decide the fate of the world and who will protect the undersea, in the eyes of the elders could've only be a man (if they were misogynistic). and when they come to this family and they see a 5 y.o. girl, what can they feel except disappointment? they will try anyway though, because what are they supposed to do? and if they need a man for a prophecy they will get him one way or another...

again, a darker concept, and i think i like it like an au better than a headcanon for the main campaign. because it's ooc and brings up slightly different topics from the original.

at the end i think i wont headcanon gill as trans? (although who knows, maybe I'll come around eventually, we'll see) maybe as nonbinary or a secret third thing though. gillion to me doesn't feel like a "man" man, his gender is "a guy" i don't know how to explain it hdgsbbs (maybe im just projecting idk o_o)

I love it when people hc him as trans tho, its very sweet!!!!!!! and i believe he does have the top surgery scars in the official art? so like, pop off king lets go???? (actually i just checked and no he doesn't, but im gonna think he does anyway)

im a little scared to re read this post and i think i'll delete it later probably, but uhhh yeah... again, just rambling and thinking out loud (not out loud but you get what i mean. writing all this down or drawing something really helps me to think and figure things out, so that's why)

[imthepunchlord]

Oooh a Gina and Marianne Teacher Team-Up sounds GREAT!! Let’s give the older-generation lady characters some love too!! This isn’t meant to be a put-down of Master Fu—I love a Sweet Old Guy Mentor (when he’s handled correctly ML WRITERS)—but both Gina and Marianne have more hand-on, go-getter personalities from what we’ve seen in canon, which is needed in the case of TEENAGE heroes who still need more life guidance mixed in with training guidance than an adult hero (probably) would. Also, I love the idea of everyone in the Miraculous circle knowing who each other is (and being introduced as newcomers join if they aren’t all active from the start) with everyone outside being unaware, kinda like the setup in Totally Spies if you’ve seen that show. This genuinely isn’t meant to be shade towards that one anon either, but I’m yet another one of your followers that would really love to see the ladies of the show get the EXCLUSIVE spotlight magic-wise on the protagonist side of things at least; this is especially after seeing how many girls there are from that other anon’s character-to-color list who just don’t have a lot of personal info revealed or built upon in-show despite being part of the canon Miraculous team. If the boys were to be involved, I would much rather see them support their female friends and girlfriends on the civilian side of things (whether they’re also in-the-know or not) since we don’t get nearly enough of either case done correctly in the show (which is especially ridiculous for the boys in relationships with the girls given the show’s focus on ✨RoMaNcE™✨). As for the boys actually having Miraculous/participating in fights on the heroes’ side, I just really, really, REALLY don’t wanna see it, at least not in this specific AU’s setup ^^; Not after everything that’s canonically happened and, if the recent London Special is anything to go off of, will continue to happen as long as the show goes on.

Gina and Marianne I am so intrigued to explore as mentors to the team, overseeing the next generation of Bugettes. Cause, yeah, they're both go getter personalities. Gina's a free spirit while Marianne is feisty. By set up, it does make more sense for them to be more hands on.

From what I am seeing and gathering, yeah a majority exclusively want an all girls team, and I am in the same boat. There aren't currently a lot of ideas I have that are exclusively an all girls team. And by their treatment in the show, yeah they need something to hold the limelight, and at this point, they'd only get it fan content wise.

Which I am sorry to those who wanted an honorary guy, but Bugettes will be really girl focused. Most I'll give is that Centipede and Scorpion are up in the air in the story and who may have them, but I'm not going to make any promises. Off to Italy, which I know it's been years with this idea, is more likely to deliver honorary guy to the team, as that's more planned to be an all girls' team but I am more open here to incorporate a guy into the team.

As for Bugettes, I do also think girls exclsusive will work off the concept best. As the little we see of the Bugettes, there's no guy, no Chat Noir in sight, it's just the girls. It gives off the impression it was always meant to be just girls.

[eegasleega-will-change-this-l8r]

this post is just incoherent rambling about eb64 porky, driving myself crazy over it

godddd i wish so bad we had any idea what porky would've looked like in earlier versions of m3

there's those unused sprites which i'm obsessed with but that's it

especially with benimaru itoh being the original art director for m3, and knowing how differently he drew eb porky in his manga, i'm dying to know the direction he went in with him originally

i've seen speculation that the character in the center of the front row (3e, in the light suit) in this pic of the eb64 cast was porky

prominent cheeks and chin, large seemingly-upturned nose and the odd importance placed on him with his suit and position at the very front not totally unfitting

even so, i'm doubtful it's supposed to be him, although the points against it being porky i've seen raised on reddit don't really convince me

looks too sweet and happy - yeah porky's childish and faux-innocent qualities are one of his defining creepy features (and the unused sprite design is far less obviously-evil than the final version) actually a totally different character that clearly has a different model - why are they given so much focus in this pic doesn't look like porky - see the manga design, it's not really out of the question for them to depart so heavily from his eb sprite

on the one hand i'm a little skeptical they'd just put the big twist villain in a promotional picture like this, but on the other hand they were already talking about an older porky playing a major role in the story so who knows i'm no expert on eb64's development (i couldn't tell you who most of these characters are supposed to be), but i'm not sure we've ever seen that particular character anywhere else? very weird

the thing that makes me go absolutely feral is this infuriating quote from an interview with the enemy designer from the n64 era

gahhhhh why couldn't they have shown him a picture or somethinggg please i need details iuhfjowqjidumqiobuyrfhunwjuwu

especially annoying is that i can't even read the article to see if there's anything else because earthboundcentral died a couple months ago and wayback machine is getting freaking DDOSed ughhhhh

i'm dying over this, i neeeed to know more about him gahhh

in other news here's a concept for new pork city i'd never seen before, so at least i'm not completely empty-handed

[where-theres-smoak-2]

The Rookie Series Thoughts (Major Spoilers seasons 1-6!)

So due to health reasons I have spent the last couple of weeks bedridden, which has sucked, but to pass the time I decided to watch the entire series of the rookie, I'd seen some gifs here on tumblr and thought it looked interesting and turns out it really was, I love this show, its got it all, action, emotion and sometimes pure goofiness.

So here are some random thoughts I had about the series as a whole I am going to stick the rest under a page break because I had more thoughts than I realised, just be warned there are spoilers from here on out.

I really liked the concept in the first season of Nolan being this older guy starting out as a rookie and how this is unusual, it was interesting to see him navigate being the oldest rookie and seeing in what ways that put him at a disadvantage but also how in many ways it was actually an advantage to him and how his life experience meant he was able to connect with people, he knew how to talk them down. I also thought him becoming a TO was a good move for his character and I love the dynamic between him and Celina.

I also love all of the characters in this show. I've really enjoyed seeing them grow over the seasons and seeing the relationships strengthen and change, they really do seem like a family. The group chats they sometimes have over the radio our always hilarious. I love how Grey is like the dad of the group and is constantly trying to get his kids to behave.

Tim very much has that protective oldest child about him, he might seem gruff but as Lucy always says, underneath he's a big softie who always has his friends backs, I loved the scene when Angela is wedding dress shopping and calls Tim because she's upset that her bridesmaids said she has to hide her baby bump, he gave her the best response and the scene was funny but it also showed a softer side to Tim and he was so supportive of her, show off that baby belly Angela.

Angela, Nyla, Lucy, Tamara, Bailey, Luna and Talia are all badasses, I love the sisterhood between all the ladies, I also love how different they all are but how they are all awesome in their own ways. I think the show does a good job of portraying strong women without falling into the troupe of just giving a woman typically male traits, like yeah she's a good fighter and doesn't like girlie things so that makes her a badass trap, they are still allowed to be women. Hope I am making sense there, there are all allowed to be there own person instead of just a cookie cutter 'tough chick' but are all also 'strong women' in their own right.

Jackson was also a really interesting character. I thought it was interesting how they explored how his father being this well respected cop had an effect on his own journey as a cop. Both the good and the bad sides of it. How he never really had any other dream than being a cop and how he had to explore whether that was really his own dream or whether he just went with that because he comes from a cop family. Also showing how he had to deal with the expectations of everyone knowing his father was this almost legendary cop along with his father's expectations for him. I was so upset when Jackson was killed, like I was so shocked by it and it took me a hot minute to accept that he really was gone.

It was also a shame to see Talia leave the show earlier on but at least she is still alive and just at another station. Still I really liked her character and wished we could have gotten more time with her.

Aaron and Celina are both really great additions to the cast as well. They both have these dark tragic backgrounds, Aaron being falsely charged with the murder of his friend and Celina having to go through her sister being abducted and murdered. It's interesting to see how this effects how they do their jobs and how they see police work. For Aaron I do think it helps him relate to those calls involving people who have been incarcerated in the past because he himself has experienced being in prison, it gives him a special edge. I also really like Celina's intuitiveness and how she is into the psychic stuff, aura's and dreams etc, I also like that although it throws Nolan he doesn't dismiss it, he helps her use it to improve her police work, its an interesting element to add and I think it makes sense for her character. I also really love Celina and Aaron's relationship, I love their friendship but I do wonder if they will eventually become a romantic pairing, they have kind of teased it but it also looks like they might chalk it up to being a result of the trauma they went through together. Honestly I am happy either way, like I said I already love their friendship so if they decide to keep them as friends that's all good, but if they do decide to shift them into something romantic I wouldn't hate it.

What I really love about all the characters is that they aren't perfect, they all have their flaws. You might not always agree with them or like what they are do but they are all growing and these flaws make them seem more real.

I also really enjoyed those special episodes where they are filming a documentary, there have been three so far, the cult one, the one covering Aaron's case and them solving Patrick's murder and the one with Jake and Sava. They are weird but in the best way possible. I don't think I'd like for every episode to be like that but they are fun as occasional one offs, like if they did one a season or every other season going forward I'd be happy. I love how goofy they are but also at the same time they are really engaging and suspenseful, like you are along for the ride just waiting for the next twist in the tale. I also love how they have those interviews with the police officers, those episodes are just really fun.

Ok so we have to talk about the ships, my favourite part of watching a new show is adding to my ship list and I am pleased to announce that there are some really good ships in this show.

I love Angela and Wesley, their dynamic at the start was really funny to watch because it was that kind of enemies to lovers type arc with the whole lawyer vs cop thing, I thought it was really funny when they are both arguing with each other and the criminal Jackson was arresting was like 'man they really dig each other.' They had a very passionate and fun dynamic and I really loved watching that grow into a steady loving marriage. Seeing them navigating marriage and parenthood, Jack is the cutest lil one, I love that they named him after Jackson and I am sure their new daughter is going to be just as adorable, have we been told her name yet, because I don't think we have? Anyway, I also like that it isn't also smooth sailing and that they do hit bumps in the road but that it is clear that they still love each other.

I also really enjoyed Nolan and Bailey's relationship, loved seeing them finally tie the knot in 6x02 and of course their honeymoon turned into a murder mystery type situation because its Nolan the bad luck magnet, but I do love how playful they are with each other and how they have that competitiveness. Similar to the Lawyer vs Cop thing that Angela and Wesley have going on, Nolan and Bailey have the whole Firefighter vs Cop thing which they play off as another fun dynamic between them. I like the whole, she runs into fires and he runs towards bullets line that they had, I also like that while they both worry about the other because they both have dangerous jobs, they both still respect that is part of the other's jobs and understands that they are capable and have been trained to deal with that aspect of their jobs. They have professional respect for each other as well as respect within their romantic relationship. I am excited to see more of them.

Nyla and James are also a really cute couple and their baby girl is the cutest but maybe its just me but I don't think we see this couple as much as the others, I wish we could see more of them. But I do enjoy their scenes together and I love that James' character isn't like a lawyer, cop or firefighter and how he's a community worker, its interesting seeing the perspective of someone who is a community member and is outside of the justice/service if I am making sense there. I just think James adds a new and interesting perspective to the show and I wouldn't say no to seeing more of him and of him and Nyla together.

Ok but now we have to talk about my favourite ship in this show, because they have taken over my heart and I am obsessed with them. Chenford, Tim and Lucy, I loved them from the very beginning and I have loved seeing their dynamic change and grow over the seasons and how they went from TO and Boot to literal soulmates who are deeply in love with each other.

The interesting thing about Tim and Lucy's dynamic in the first couple of seasons is that you could almost see Tim as being a bit of an asshole with all these Tim Tests he does on her, like he's just being mean and messing with her for the sake of it, but when he gets a new rookie and he's being really nice to her so Lucy confronts him and he explains that he trains his rookie's according to what they need. His new rookie had just got out of the military and needed help recognising that not everyone was the enemy and that people could be nice and kind. Lucy on the other hand kind of saw the world as sunshine and rainbows, she sees the best in everyone, she really is the sweetest, which is great in many ways but Tim had to show her that the world wasn't always a nice place and sometimes people do bad things and she should be on her guard sometimes. As much as the Tim Tests weren't fun for Lucy every one of them held an important lesson. The one where he said he's been shot and she had to call for help where was she, showed that it was important for her to always be aware of her surroundings and it pays off when Tim really is shot later and she saves his life, taking her duty belt when she went to the toilet taught how important it was to make sure the toilets were floor to ceiling or the belt wasn't secure and how important it was to make sure her gun was always secure so it doesn't end up on the street, the flour bomb taught her that using a radio near an IED can cause it to go off. So it wasn't just him being an asshole because, he had valuable lessons to teach her.

But I also loved that their relationship wasn't just about what he could teach her but that he learns from her too. I really do think she softens him and helps him heal from the trauma from his abusive father, she helps him to become more open about how he is feeling. Watching them pull pranks on each other is also really fun, like Lucy doesn't just lay down and take it, she gives back as good as she gets. Like when she takes his money clip, or leaves him the bar tap or puts the booties in his locker.

When they do start getting into the romantic era of their relationship their scenes are just so so good, there are so many golden moments like right from their first kiss where they are practising being a couple before going undercover and then realise that it didn't feel all that fake. Got to love the fake dating turns to real feelings troupe. What I really loved about this plotline was how it was actually Tim who was more open about his feelings which was unexpected. Like he was the one that confronted Lucy in the hotel room when undercover and said that it didn't feel like pretend whilst she was still in denial and went with 'its just basic biology' sure Lucy sure. It was also Tim who asks Lucy out first and I love that whole scene, it is definitely one that I rewatched more than a few times. I love how vulnerable but intimate it was. How Lucy is scared to take it further and admits that Tim is the most important relationship in her life. How she says its not worth the risk but Tim says what if it is before taking that deep breath and asking her out. They are both just all smiles and you can see how happy they are with each other. I love how that conversation about it being worth the risk parallels with the conversation they have about how Lucy deserves someone who is worth the effort.

Other stand out scenes are their first dates in 5x10, both of them (though I would still argue that their first date was that double date they went on with Ashley and Chris because lets be real those two might as well not have been there Chenford were so wrapped up in each other), their first time in 5x12, their breakfast scene in 5x20, they are just so domestic, their 'I love you' scenes in 6x02 and the trophy scene in 6x03, but honestly I love every one of their scenes and I can't wait to see more of them.

I love seeing how supportive they are of each other, like how happy Lucy is every time Tim gets a promotion and how she reassured him that he wasn't like his father, how he supports Lucy with her undercover work even though he has issues due to his past with Isabel and how he tells her she could never disappoint her, which I think is really important for Lucy because she has always felt like she has let down her parents so I think its great that she has that support and reassurance from Tim.

Anyway I could talk about Chenford forever but I think I have rambled about them enough so I'll stop now and move on.

If there is one plotline or scene that really stood out to me over the whole series it has to be the one with Rosalind and Lucy's abduction. The show has alot of really great plotlines and covers some really important issues throughout the series but this one really is one that got me in the feels, like it wrecked me. I think Rosalind was a truly terrifying villain not just because of the crimes she committed, which are horrifying in themselves, but because of the way she relishes it, the way she gets enjoyment not just out of committing the murders and inflicting pain on her victims but because of the way she also gets pleasure from seeing her victim's loved ones pain and suffering too, its just so disturbing. Also how she continues to kill even from her jail cell by taking on acolytes to do her bidding like Caleb.

The one scene that always gets me no matter how many times I watch it is the one where Lucy is in the barrel buried alive and is singing dream a little dream, there's no background music or any other sound, its just her voice and they show clips of the team all searching for her. It's just such an intense and emotional scene and it gives me goosebumps and makes me want to cry every time, it just never seems to lose its impact no matter how many times you watch it.

The moment Tim finds her burial site and the whole team are just digging with their hands trying to get her out in time, when they get her out and she isn't breathing and again there is very little sound just a few notes of sorrowful music here and there, then she wakes up and just breaks down crying whilst Tim holds her, its just as heartbreaking and suspenseful and I cry, every time. I just think the whole team did an amazing job with that episode.

That whole plotline is terrifying, suspenseful and heartbreaking. Just the idea of being buried alive is horrifying to me, also the whole idea of her day of death being tattooed on to her is another thing that is psychologically terrifying. I do love what Tim said though about how Lucy can choose to see it as a mark of her biggest failure or what it really is a mark of the first day of the rest of her life and that it shows that she is a survivor. I do wonder whether she kept the tattoo or not because I don't think we are ever told in the show whether she went through with the removal or not.

I would like for the trauma this left on both Lucy and Tim to be brought back up again at some point. Whilst they did explore some of Lucy's trauma over what happened and some of Tim's guilt I do think there is even more to explore there, because it really was so traumatic. Like is that song still a trigger for Lucy, are small dark places? It could be interesting to see her working through some of the lingering trauma. Also I do feel like Tim is traumatised by what happened but in a different way, like during the episode where Lucy was abducted you really did see how it effected Tim in particular, he felt responsible for Lucy and was frantic to find her and I think it effected him more than he realised and that it stayed with him and now that he and Lucy are together and she is exploring undercover work I do wonder if some of his issues are also connected to what happened with Rosalind as much as his past with Isabel, but that is just speculation on my part.

Anyway going to wrap this up now, overall I really did enjoy this show and now that I am all caught up I am looking forward to seeing what's going to happen next with all of our beloved characters. I am also officially declaring myself a huge Chenford shipper and if you follow my blog then fair warning I am going to be reblogging every gif set I come across for the foreseeable future, sorry not sorry.

[mdhwrites]

Im sorry if im annoying, is just I really love Tmnt, specially Rise, and I also enjoy reading your analysis and stuff.

So, if is bothering you, you can delete this ask, is cool 👍

Now, my question is, character wise, like in a quick grande, idk if makes sense- IMPRESSIONS.

What would it be your first impression of the characters?

*bops you on the head* Stop apologizing. I've said before that if I had nothing to say, I'd just answer it privately. However, I LOVE discussions and I always appreciate asks so you're never annoying me with these. Please, don't worry about it so much.

As for the characters for Rise of the TMNT, I can't comment on everyone as I've only watched so much, like I have no real grasp on April yet besides liking her, but I actually want to start on the major thing that I think both allowed Rise to stand out and what made it so divisive at its inception, especially since talking about stuff like that is kind of going to bleed into what I think of the brothers. After all, I think whether you love the show or hate it, we all recognize that the brothers are very markedly different in this incarnation than literally any other, even if you can point to ones in the past for inspiration.

Most TMNT shows are MNT. Mutant. Ninja. Turtle. Those are the elements that they care about. Rise cares about TMT and goes about SHREDDING the fantasy that is the turtles as ninja. Not that they aren't ninja but like... What do ninja who TEENAGE MUTANT TURTLES like?

This actually even goes to Shredder's change which I'd never heard about before now: He's kind of a washed up loser. Again, I don't know everything but he's just as playful as the boys, he watches television, he goes on joyrides, he loses his mind when he's sick. He's not some grand wise mentor... And I get it. This is a man, going off normal canons, who lost his master, got thrown away, ended up halfway across the fucking globe and lives in a GOD DAMN SEWER. Not some pristine dojo. Not some high tech. Not even a cozy lair repurposed out of a sewer because none of that shit was around. All he had was a dank ass sewer. To say he hit rock bottom would be an understatement.

And mind you, it's not that her turned cruel because of this. He still passed on what culture he could but without stealing really expensive imports, what of his culture does he even have? He can't go to the library to check out books for the new family he wants to make. He can't buy home school programs to help him teach them. He has nothing. And he's old. He was already a man when shit went wrong for him in most canons so by the time the turtles are teenagers, he's at least fifty. Usually he's depicted as WAY older than that, like 70 or 80. Instead of that meaning he's some mystical figure, he's instead the cooky old dude who's maybe not all there all the time. That's a really neat reinterpretation of the character that's genuinely more realistic while befitting the tone of the TMNT franchise where yeah, it's still kind of cranked to eleven.

This is also your warning that I fucking love these characters.

So what about the brothers? If they aren't privileged but underground but instead genuinely stuck slumming it, what happened to them? Well, a core change seems to be not so much a want to belong, they actually don't seem that interested in being accepted by society, but a desire to covet society. To be able to watch and be a part of the concept of society. That's why they're totally at home watching a wrestling match. They aren't wishing they could be in the ring, they're just happy to be part of the crowd with the best seats in the house. They don't have to mind that they have to fight in costume, they're gonna rock it because they're in fucking costume and someone challenged you to a dance battle? You respond with a dance battle. They are MORE content with being outcasts than the turtles normally are because they live vicariously through media like many people do. This is with ONE exception that I'll get to.

I also like, just as a side note, that just because they are normal amongst mutants biologically, they still have no fucking clue what they're doing. They're genuinely caught between two worlds with double the naivety because of it and get screwed over by both halves because of it. Just a fun touch.

OKAY. Enough preamble. Let's actually go from the least to most bold changes of the brothers, at least from my perspective. I've never been huge into TMNT, just never really found a show I managed to watch consistently but I've liked most of what I've seen including the first Michael Bay Turtles movie, so I may not know how radical these alterations are or how safe they are except in a few small cases. For this though, the first one to talk about is pretty easy:

Michelangelo: *stares at how spellcheck just wrote that name* No wonder people fuck up mine. ANYWAYS, the reason I say he's the least bold is because adding artistic to your quirky, comedic heart of the group is not really so much a change as just a small pivot in trope. He's still more inclined towards recklessness, he's still the one who can broach the gaps between his brothers and he is the... Well, he is the one who is telling the most genuine jokes. Again, we'll get to him. But yeah, I like him but he's not actually that interesting to discuss, yet, for me because he is the one who is the most what you would expect.

Donatello: I bet some of you expected him to take the top slot but hear me out: I actually recently did a blog contrasting Big Bang and The Owl House for their depictions of nerds. The point of it was really to say that TOH tried to claim their nerds were some groundbreaking, brave representation but that they were 'good' nerds besides the one uncomfortable nerd who got in the way and that no one liked. The difference between a nerd who never brings up their interests at dinner unless prompted versus one who MIGHT ask "Hey, am I bothering you with this," thirty minutes into a rant about a niche issue with their favorite media that they brought up because you mentioned the wrong time. Say yes and you are going to be there the rest of the fucking night. THIS is what I see with Donatello. Donnie is usually just the tech dude and by that we mean he's conveniently the one who can spit technobabble out and fix things. He is nerdy but he'd never be someone you really question spending time with. This Donnie refuses to spend time with YOU and he will let you know it. He is the brutal honesty, amongst other things, of being autistic, alongside the fact that when they say he "Does machines" in the intro, I wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't foreshadowing him making himself a girlfriend out of his one true love. Now, that is going a little far. Donnie does love his brothers but of the three, he struggles the most to know how to deal with them in a human way, to the point where this is addressed very early on with him trying to fix what he finds most annoying about them and how that's wrong. This is not literally the opposite of normal, Mikey is usually the heart of the brothers after all, but Donnie usually gets along because he doesn't really have enough personality to clash. This Donnie has enough personality to perform a heel turn for someone taking shit from him. It's great. However, he is still the tech dude and still somewhat removed from his siblings, both of which are pretty normal even if the execution is different, so it's not as radical a change as the next two.

Now for the two that actually play into why I did all my preamble.

Raphael: I haven't gotten backstories yet but if it turns out Raph looked around himself as he was growing up and realized NO ONE was the adult, I wouldn't be surprised. He doesn't seem traumatized by this fact by any means but he does give the impression of having grown up faster than the rest. He's not just physically more than them, he's mentally more. He's taken a step they all will eventually need to follow him... But he's not going to drag them kicking and screaming with him unless they're being genuine dumbasses. I actually love EVERY part of how this comes to play out. Raph doesn't have his hotheadedness, he has something much closer to cold fury which implies he knows that he can't lose it the way old Raphs did but that anger is still there. He is the one who actually has plans and most often presents worry over how something might go wrong, or sees through the rouses set by his brothers, meaning that he's taken the role of guardian over them (which makes his power being a form of shields technically chef's kiss). HOWEVER, by contrast, he has what feels a bigger blindspot to people outside of his family when it comes to tricks, likely because he's been focused on his brothers for long enough that he has become more naive than even many of the others of the world outside their home. This is probably why he has some of the bigger hero worship amongst them, especially since he's trying to live up to nobler ideas, or at least more adult ideals. That's ironic due to-

Leonardo: The choice to give him the voice Randy Cunningham is pitch perfect casting. This is EASILY the biggest and most jarring change but for the me the most welcome. Leo was never really a straight man from what I could tell comedically, Raph or Donnie usually did more of that, but instead was meant to be the rock of the group. Instead, he just came off as many bad adventure leaders: No personality. He's a nice enough guy and he's good at what he does but that's what you say about your mailman, not the leader of your ensemble cast.

This Leo is anything but this. He does not covet society, he wishes for society to covet him. He has taken celebrity worship to its natural conclusion of wanting to be a celebrity at all costs. He sees himself as the hottest shit out there and you bet your buns he's going to let you know it. He will do anything for recognition which is hardly surprising for a kid who grew up in the sewers watching stuff like Kung Fu movies. He wants to be that level of awesome and you better believe he knows the phrase "Fake it till you make it." Of course, he doesn't think he's faking it which makes when he gets punched in the face all the more satisfying. But... This does come with some wrinkles. He does not look upon the world favorably. If Raph is too innocent, he's cynical. Everything is quid pro quo. If you show him why you're giving him praise, even if it's shallow or a lie, he'll believe you because he is easily manipulated but you show him nothing? You say you JUST want to help without even being family? Yeah that doesn't fly because it's not what he would do, often times even with his own family. It makes for an interesting version of awareness. All of this does beg a simple question though: Is there any connective tissue between old Leo and new one? Is this like Teen Titans Go where they entirely scrapped the old character just to make him some shit eating idiot?

Confidence, wit, and spirit. Raph's greatest problems as a leader is that he isn't quick on his feet, he can't get people to listen to him and when he does have a plan, he doesn't have as much confidence as he needs to make sure everyone follows it. Leo genuinely has everything and than what Raph has a leader. He is smart, that's why he's a snarky bastard. He's confident to an extreme fault but that means when he pitches you an idea, it sounds legit just because of how much he seems to believe in it. And hey, even after he gets punched, he gets back up. He will make you say he is the best or die trying (which from my understanding is essentially the fuck up he makes at the beginning of the movie but with nobler intentions). He is missing two key components from being a genuinely great leader and ninja. The ability to see outside of himself and maturity. He needs to grow up and remember there's no I in team. That it doesn't matter who got the final hit, what matters is that the job was accomplished at all. He needs to stop wanting to be a celebrity, an icon to worship and trudge behind, and instead be a leader who is shoulder to shoulder to you. Who says that anything he'd ask of you, he'd ask of himself.

That is a fucking INCREDIBLE pitch for your main character as a starting point. All the things he needs but a radical wake up call that will force some HARD change if he wants to realize his real potential. Even better, his real potential is what he wants to be seen as, just that so long as the image is what he cares about, he'll never be what he wants to be. It's pitch god damn perfect and the fact that he is a delightful asshole who gets everything he deserves coming to him, constantly, from all angles, while he works on himself makes for a very entertaining character even as you wait for this arc to potentially happen. He is a good cartoon character either way and not everyone call pull that off.

In fact, even the most shallow of them makes for someone who you know will at least make you smirk if you give them eleven minutes. To me, that's a pretty good sign for a good character if one of your main goals is to entertain. And man... These turtles are entertaining. See you next tale.

======++++++======

Also, small note: I finally hit 200 followers! And I'm announcing this on a blog most of them probably aren't going to read. XD

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[harukirai]

Queer history of Final Fantasy

I am replaying all the old final fantasies(mostly psp psone releases), first time with english localization and not the original jp.

Now i get it.

It all make sense now.

I couldn't understand the wave of "why shove the gays in our face" backlash of 16(even though, the non homophobic felt it was lacking since they didn't want to 'push it in yall face'). Like apperantly moat of the implication or straight up fruity moments in the old game was completely removed, or changed to the point of it being a 'silly thing'.

So lets clarify -

*Cecil(iv), your homeboy- an Non-binary (language is the best indication, but yeah i think it was a decision made for both female and male players to be able to relate to them, but yeah funny outcome non the less)

*Bartz(v)- outright bisexual, they didnt even hide it- next person on this list gonna make it make sense.

*faris(v)- an ftm transgender( at least in the original version, i know in some new iterations they scrapped the whole concept, but left it in in others?)- mainly speak about himself with (ore/boku- which is conventionally usally by male speakers), after finding out soem of the cast either use a female pronounce on him, but bartz constantly either avoid it or use male pronounce(or the nonbinary version which is usually reffered to kidz) but yeah, bartz was crushing on faris where he thought he was a cis male and unlike the other guy didnt shy away.

Lets jump a bit to 8-

Irvine(viii)- even though considered very handsome to the point he could get with any girl hed want, was even flirted with by selphie i think i need to remember, but he usually brush it off.

If anything he is either asexual, or gay(its very subtle, but its what called queer coding, and well see that allot from now on cause japan caught up to westerns norm on media)

Quina Quen (ix)- literally, a nonbinary- but i think they kept it in eng as well cause they are not human, but like black mages they have no sex, but unlike black mages they are 'genderless' and dont care for human norms.

Kuja(ix)- either gay/intersex/both.

Look at him.

Seriously that character confused a whole generation sexuality.

Like sephiroth, but unlike sephiroth he also have effeminate mannerisms, and until it was revealed by text it wasnt so obvious.sephiroth in jp have a confusing language because he himself is possed by jenova, so evem though i love this headcanon, sephiroth isnt trans actually.

Auron(x)- ahh yes, your favourite broody guy and probably where im gonna get tons of hate.

Auron is very subtle, but once you notice it its hard to deny.

I think Auron is gay, unlike jecht or braska- he did not have kids, denied arranged marriage, and followed jecht to dream zanarken just to save jecht only son- it was pretty obvious that auron loved jecht. He also loved braska but not as much, and it shows- that for auron it was more than friendship. You can see it with his attitude towards yuna vs tidus- with yuna he is nicer, politer. Liem you act when you babysit your friends /cousins child.

But to tidus, he is a full father figure.In their journey together they grow, and i think if he wasnt the boy of the man he loved he wouldn't treat tidus as his own. With all the scoldinngs in mind.

Paine(X-2)- qlmost forgot her, but yeah she's pretty gay for riku

I dont remember much though because if the mission structure of the game.

Larsa(xii) - ohh i see you boy, i see u. He is sus as hell. He is a kid so its pretty innocent(and relatable to us queer kidz)

Its pretty obvios that he is crushing on basch, innocently though. I know some ppl who shipped him with penelo, but canonically by spinoffs at least she and vann are an item.

Also they made sure it was obvious cause japan have this thing that a young character is crushing on a teacher,mentor , older characters in general(aka cc sakura- her friend crushing on a teacher, syaoran & sakura crushing on yukito, also happens in tons of pop culture media at that time, so im not surprised, but im happy this time its one sided, THANK GOD)

But yeah if you reached the ending its pretty obvious.

Fang & vanille(xiii)- the first lesbians couple! Terra(VI) was supposed to be the first but they were afraid it will make her less marketable so they scrapped her gf. They made them clear, but at the same time they tried to make sure pple wont be fetishizing them(they tried, at least).

I want to explain their story more but i think ill mess it up since i tend to mix up 13's lacie, falcie and all that jazz.

So ill just say that basically there are 2 world in 13, pulse and cacoon. Pulse is basically earth and cacoon is the moon. There is a god for each world called a falcie.

Few of them but ine for each major ones. Our main gand from cacoon, branded by a falcie to be slaves(lacie) vanille and fang are from pulse, and slaves of pulse lacie, so basically they are with the task of creating Ragnarok which is like the end of time and but limw they dont know cause the gods in this game is like 'yeah imma give you a mission but wont tell you beside weird non undersandable feaver dream and you need to figure out and fast or youll become this universe version of zombie, and if you do complete it you become a ceystal living forever but like, sleeping beauty style. So lose lose situation.

The focus of them both is different from the gang, caus the falcie of cacoon is evil so he gove them focus destroying cocoon while if fang& vannile mannaged to ruin that falcie and bring ragnarok theyll become a crystal, and they used it to save coccon from falling and crushing killing all the people in it, basically became a pillar in eternal sleep when they hheld each other.

But they are saved in later game only to... Lightning return which we wont talk about cause i hate timers.

I love the story of xiii, big part of it is vanille & fang, i havent played in english yet, but i will say, their story is one of the more meaningful on this list, very well developed and i will do it disservice if id try to explain it in few sentences - so do yourself a favour and play or watch the playthrough.

Ignis& gladio(xv)- here is when localization ruimed it. I know cause i palyed on jp dub with eng sub and heard the differences live- first of all gladio and ignis are completely different in jp, as individuals and as a pair- they were supposed to be the first dion& terrence moment, but it got scrapped and they went the vannile& fang route, only that bec they are men, the localization team missed the mark.

Gladio got pissed at noctis in the train because of ignis.

In jp its clear their bond is beyond friends, and not mention the fact that their AI is always stuck together, and that gladio isnt a womenizer in jp at all, and there is no fiancee/girlfriend.

In jp he said suggested there is someone he wants to be with but bec of the state of the world and them both being constantly in the battlefront he couldnt ask.

(and ignis clear his throat when everyone is like oh great, very subtle but it was leading to that)

Every stop of the train or erea post blindness gladio was with ignis not leaving him .

Also tabata san also said that they are more than friends. So there's that too.

But its no secret 15 localization is tereible, the massacared prompto, he is so cringy in english, in jp yeah he is funny but like he says more stuff then random pop colture references, he breaks the 4th wall occasionally but not on the same level of the localization. Also, jp noctis is a little shit because he can and will, in localization he is more relatable while ignos and gladio are kimda mean. In jp its the other way around and up until chap 13 (when he is alone) noctis is a bratt. He has some moments when he is nicer, but when struggle shows he is a bratt about it- and its done purposely since he is a spoiled pronce who never done anything alone in his life.

Thats why in chap 13 he has a change of heart, because he was alone and learned to appriciate his friends when he was stuck alone in the dark with no weapons and i think it was a good call storytelling wise, but yeah the english localzation ruined it and made the whole chapter pointless .

Those are the implied/canon gays of final fantasy up to 15(we got a kiss so its obvious).

The series has always been kinda Fruity and i know some of yall will be like, 'but there's no proof'. Well, japanese speakers(who arent homophobic at least) will agree with me that we tend in media that is not specified like BL or GL to make things subtle. So what in the west is called 'queer coding' is very common in japanese media and it comes in way more shape and forms.usually implied with a desper conncetion relationship or linguistics.its funny cause in the 80's and very early 90's gay pple wasnt hidden in jp pop culture (no kisses or anything but it was straight out told to the viewer/player)

And only later 90's there was a trend of removing us completely from the media, but around that time a specific genre was created so it wasn't out completely.(like yaoi/yuri as erotic mangas existed aince the 80's but usually only love stories or main gay characters were mixed in with the straight media, kimda like what netflix does today, but around 96, 97 the shounen ai and shoujo ai genres rose in popularity(mainly cause of clamp) and things got seperated. In games- because it became a bigger deal in the west square took caution with how clear they gonna make stiff not to piss of the christians after the backlash of Pokemon (idk how it was really but through japanese media and news it seemed at the times that the american patents were pissed so game companies started sensoring their games from all things might piss off christians/monotheistics ).

*also i dont live in japan but i am mixed so i grew in a jp speaking house and family from there always sent games on holidays and birthdays+nhk was always running in the backround to check on the motherland😂

[fourswords]

ultimately when it comes to the four swords manga part of the loz series as a whole i personally couldn't care less about shipping because they're all just a bunch of silly preteens to me and i have more fun imagining them blowing each other up than i do anything else and having fun is the whole point of fandom but i will say. when it comes to shadow and link as they grow older i do think they naturally develop a sort of "not romantic not platonic but a secret third thing" relationship because that's just kind of what's to be expected when you're dealing with a character and their literal shadow-turned-person and they're friends on top of that. shadow is more his own person than any of the four links ever were just by nature of how he was created (and since he Is Canonically Alive at the end of the manga i have no doubt that he continues to branch out and become even more of his own person) but in that same vein...he was still born from link's shadow. the four links were SEPARATIONS of link but shadow quite literally started out as Link But Dark Mode. and you can kind of see that in bits and pieces throughout the manga, from them both being overly-arrogant to them both doing their damndest to run to zelda's rescue (especially so in shadow's case—she calls for link when the dark cloud takes her, even though she knows that shadow isn't her link. he answers anyway). all this to say that i think they would be able to look at each other and fundamentally understand each other in a way that other people just can't, which is a sort of feeling that i think would be frustrating and relieving in equal measure (i think sometimes they would be so grateful for it and other times they still try to kick each other off cliffs. it's just who they are). it carries a closeness about it regardless. i sincerely doubt they ever actually talk about it though LMAO.

also the fact that shadow either does not understand or does not care about the concept of personal space when it comes to people he gets attached to and given that there is at least 1/4 of link who will just sit there and let him do whatever (bumped up to at LEAST 3/4 by the end of the manga because he got attached to him in turn) is hilarious to me because i think it would lead to situations like:

some guy: hey uh. link. are you aware that there's a shadow demon on your head. shadow, sitting right on top of link's shoulders with his elbows on link's head and with his appearance (fangs, claws, etc.) dialed up to 11 for Maximum Scary Effect: yeah link are you aware there's a shadow demon on your head link, who doesn't actually mind it at all and has not done a single fucking thing to move him but has a reputation to keep up: Yeah he keeps going intangible every time I try to pull him off. I'm gonna go visit Zelda to see if she'll blast him off for me (<-is not heading in the direction of the castle at all)

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

Tbh I still like the Collector in TOH as he is but mostly cause it opens up possibilities of frightening cosmic entities and, though kinda sloppy as is, the possibility of retconning his character to something in between the 2 "versions" of him we see (pre and post freedom Collector I mean) if the show is ever allowed more episodes or seasons.

Like, Collector having experienced death before or that some things hurt others being something he dislikes can explain why he scribbles out the genocide part of his book.

Or like, since they took the child route, he's seen death, knows what it is, but when he's faced with it on a personal level it's not something he can process.

But on the other hand, I wanted more of the mean-spirited troublemaker we saw at first. So once things calm down, we could get a glimpse of him being more like that again. I feel like being around Belos would have a more... Lasting impact on his personality. Once he calms down, he starts to show these pretty concerning lacks of morality and even somewhat sadistic sides that he learned from Belos.

I'm just so upset cause I like the concept of Collector and his siblings a lot, but since the show was getting cancelled we lost our on a lot of possibilities.

Like many things the show has, the Collector is good in concept but the execution was lacking; we essentially have two different characters in Season 2 and 3 and people have been bending over backwards to justify or explain it.

The simplest answer I think is that the creators liked this character but did not want him to be a major antagonist so they stripped him of any cruelty or malice, shifted any wrongdoing onto other unseen characters, and butchered his characterization to the point that he doesn't even make any sense anymore.

I've seen a lot of people point to Belos as the main reason the Collector is so malicious in the previous season but for me this raises two problems: one, it relies on Belos once again being the cause of all things evil in the isles when that concept is already stale and boring and actually kneecaps your world building and characters because you have to rely on ONE character to actually drive the plot and everyone in it. Two, the Collector is implied to be thousands of years old (or at least older than 400), and yet I'm expected to believe that Belos was the one who had the greatest influence on him in all that time? If so, then the Collector should be trying to appease Belos all the time for the fear that he may go back on his word (because you know Belos would use that to keep him in line). Instead, the Collector openly mocks him and acts like the two are equals.

As you said, a better characterization for him would be a proper blend between the two versions we see; instead of scribbling over the Archivists' genocidal plans, have him be casual about it.

"Yeah, my siblings like to play this game where they set the world on fire but it's been done so many times before!"

Have him get a genuine kick out of people being hurt because his concept of morality is so different from our own and it is the kind that Belos reinforced instead of planted. And if you've had that mindset for eons, completely blind to the fact that you've been hurting innocent people, then that would be a difficult mindset to break out of.

Obviously, the show has zero time to get into all this so they decided to retcon his character and make him an 8 year old with god powers.

It's just another waste of what could have been a great antagonist.

[strangefable]

oc tag game

thank you for tagging me, @socially-awkward-skeleton, @marivenah, @clonesupport, & @voidika <3 <3 <3

passing no-pressure tags onto: @confidentandgood, @v0idbuggy, @adelaidedrubman, @florbelles, @unholymilf, @henbased, @direwombat, @trench-rot, @detectivelokis, @ivymarquis, @schoute, @dumbassdep, @legally-a-bastard, @wrathfulrook, @incognito-insomniac, @roofgeese, @theelderhazelnut, @poisonedtruth, @fourlittleseedlings, @inafieldofdaisies, @cassietrn, @vampireninjabunnies-blog, @harmonyowl, @redreart, @jacobseed, @euryalex, @mars-colony, @glass-hope, @gayafsatan, @the-lastcall, @shegetsburned, @g0dspeeed, @eclecticwildflowers, @aceghosts, @megraen, @strafethesesinners, @derelictheretic, @sukoshimikan, @inquisitors-grave, and anyone i've missed or forgotten, i'm tagging you too <3

(also forgive me but i'm not making banners for ocs i hardly ever talk about any more, so this post is gonna be mostly text. if you want images of anyone i can share, but i just don't have energy to make new banners and i still want to actually post this so, please forgive me <3)

favorite oc

she's my baby girl right now. she's got the most space in my head, at all times i am thinking of her. she owns me and i'm not sorry. this is micah's world, i'm just here to serve her, and i would not have it any other way

honorable mentions: niamh gannon & beauregard barrett

they've been with me the longest and once had the strongest hold on me for more than a decade. they're two very formative characters for me and i will always have tiny palaces in my heart for both of them

oldest oc

niamh gannon

as far as fandom ocs that i've written and shared anywhere online, ni is the first baby girl. i started writing her when she was just a wee 11 year old student all the way through to her adult life as a wife, mother, and badass. she's the most developed oc i have, because i spent decades writing her. (she's also a bit of a precursor to what lore eventually became)

newest oc

i've got a few newer concepts circling, but as far as ocs that fully exist, lil is still the newbie on the team. she's a fun way to stretch and do some things i've never dared try before. fiery little pistol and demon who is out to create chaos in an act of revenge against a world that's wronged her

meanest oc

this is a hard one! i have several evil ocs, but they're not necessarily mean in any traditional sense. they play politics too well for that, though they can be underhanded and they'll fuck you up. of the ones i talk about here, it's probably either lilith or bowie, but neither of them are mean, exactly. lilith just wants to lash out and hurt everyone, and bowie is just blunt and crass. of my older ocs, there's fletch, who's a dumbfuck gay werewolf with a chip on his shoulder and no filters. and daphne, who's the evilest monster you'll ever meet: she wants to cut you open and splay your insides while you're still alive, but she'll talk so sweetly to your face. there's leona and lysandra, who are daddy's girls and spoiled brats. there's lux, who wants to look like a bad boy and live up to his evil father's legacy, but mostly he's just an asshole. and his father, chrys, who is evil. he trains monstrous dogs that are built to attack people. also he's a ruthless murderer but he's a suave and smooth politician, so you'll never catch him. also there's rand, my evil alpha werewolf man. then there's alfie, an absolute shithead of a bully and a punk, but he's really just a sad lonely idiot. there's torvald and romeo, my supercreeps. elena my snarky little shit who lashes out and hates everyone.

yeah, this is too hard, i have several meanies.

softest oc

none of the ocs i talk about here are soft in the least. but i have some old ones who are total cinnamon rolls. dierdre delaney is a soft sweetheart of a seer. there's bethy baby, bethany, who is a shy tiny pixie girl who is full of love and sunshine. liam who is a soft gentle romantic soul. naveen who is a sweet little nerd. rune, my soft gentle werewolf boy. olwen, who is gentle like a fairy. sienna my sweet little miracle baby. kaz the softest cuddliest kindest doctor you'll ever meet. teddy, the most cinnamon roll to ever cinnamon roll. ajlgdjlg agh i can't any more, the soft ones make my heart and teeth ache and i'm missing them so much now

most aloof/standoffish oc

i'm gonna give this one to micah, though some of my older kids could probably show her up on it. she's the one of my current stable that has the most trouble interacting with people.

smartest oc

nora by a landslide. she's a certified genius and a savant. the woman knows all.

dumbest (affectionate) oc

oh boy let me tell you, i love making himbos. fletch is one of them, what an idiot. there's rory who's a hardheaded dick. there's junior, declan, and nate, who are the pinnacle of himboness. there's cosmo, my silly class clown boy. there's virgil the clueless. there's pillip, who's theme song is literally 'stupid boy'. and then there's emmy, my flighty fashion icon

oc i'd be friends with irl

giving this one to the jameson sisters. they're the kind of friends anyone would want, imo. (there's a lot of my oldbies i'd put here, too, but this post is too long already)

if you bothered to read all that nonsense, i owe you a kiss or a cookie <3 thanks for listening to me ramble incoherently about ocs i never share any more lmao

[iwasforcedtomakethisbytum]

As a former homeschool kid there are sometimes characters that i see in a different light because of my personal experience and with wttt there are 3 characters i personally see aa having a homeschooled vibe, there's probably others but quite frankly i don't care about most characters outside of the main six

Firstly Florida for starters speaking complete full sentences but being unable to read (at least in English, he might be able in Spanish but that's hc to my knowledge honestly) and that's not necessary impossible for a non homeschool kid to be unable to read especially with a reading/learning disorder but homeschooling doesn't typically make it much better, and plenty of kids I've met have learned to read later in life because their parents simply didn't care to teach them, i think he'd have less issues with overly strict parents, and more with his parents just being neglectful, so i feel he would be just allowed to do whatever outside all day so maybe he'd be waiting for his friends to get out of school to hang out so he might be slightly more socialized

It could also explain how he acts in meeting, seemingly unable to talk in any formal manner for the most part, from my experience i didn't have much experience with formal conversation and i didn't really learn too much about formality aside from being nice to strangers honestly until i was a bit older sure it probably doesn't matter too much considering barely anyone speaks formally in the series but him especially is informal most of the time like most other characters seem capable of formality

California is the second one I'm listing here and i think he would get a fairly okay education, he'd learn how to read at an acceptable age and maybe know the most basic math, i personally like to think that his issue with homeschooling would come with religious shit and isolation, hence why he'd stop reading the Bible i personally would think he'd stop as an adult after realizing what actually happened when he was growing up i do imagine his church was quite fucked up

And his behavior in meetings, he's stated to not be friends with anyone even if he talks to them assumingly on a regular basis, he's fairly nice (i mean in comparison to others) but he is overly self righteous and I'd argue a bit uptight and thinks he's better than others, and it's not like they're the worse traits ever but yeah, that's not really fun to hang around without other traits to make up for it, which i cannot really think of anything i mean I'm sure there is but i just can't think of anything tbh

And lastly texas he's probably in a tie for most well adjusted with califlower (i simply just can't decide who handles their adulthood better) he's a jackass i mean what else can i say? I mean he could also be unaware of how to act in formal situations but yeah that's not as interesting as everything else

I personally think his religious trauma would be less extreme than California so he'd still be religious but he's probably gone no contact with his parents honestly, he does have a stronger accent and although i know it's really just an exaggeration of the real thing but i do think the idea of him only having his relatives teaching him how to speak would make a bit of sense because in our generation people typically in the us speak pretty similar (with a bit of difference but often not much) especially since the internet was invented and i could imagine his parents not liking it and banning it. Of course i would believe there was physical or emotional abuse, i could also see child labor a line a remember, i think it's an interesting concept, honestly overall he might see his parents as horrible people but not the fact he was homeschooled as horrible idk i just don't think he'd fully realize his trauma maybe somewhat but not fully

Thank you for reading this, what do you think?

also I'm not that old I'm just in highschool, i just wanted to clear any miscommunication about it

[in-newjersey]

So here are my thoughts on my first time seeing a live BMC production!

Making this non-rebloggable, I am not a real theater critic and I do not want to draw any attention to this actual cast on an anonymous blog to strangers on the internet

For starters, casting!

I respect the variety going on here and the degree of diverging from famous character appearance-tropes. Tiny Latino Jeremy who's as fit as a gymnast and can (and does) do acrobatic spin kicks sometimes? Love it. Plus-size butch-esque Brooke? 10/10. Genderfuckery long-haired Michael who gesticulates with a huge fan through most conversations? Hell yeah. Pink-haired Nirvana-grunge-style trans guy Jake? Now we're talking. Christine a head taller than Jeremy? Awesome.

I will not get too into describing actual real people on here much more than that but in general it was wonderful to see a wide range of character-actor types inhabiting these roles. As someone involved in The Fandom, even though I have frequently expounded upon the mutability of character traits per the text, you do still absorb a general idea of what the characters "look" like; so it was a fun twist to have literally none of the performers fall into those tropes.

I will also say - and this is not a read - that I am no longer going to assume I'm too old to play any of these characters, because I guess that's the magic of community theater lol

On to Thoughts, which I will loosely group by characters:

Rich was fucking awesome. Like I was impressed by the singing skill across the board, but this guy fucking killed it at every turn. I looked at my friend I went with after The Squip Song and we both were like OH OK. Rich also wore mostly KISS T-shirts? Like the shitty glam rock band? But yknow, work. Excellent voice (if casting were a little more 'stereotypical,' he probably would be an excellent Michael). Emotionally, he was on the more explosive side while SQUIPped, melting toward just charmingly cute once in 'real Rich Goranski' mode.

The aforementioned Jake was an interesting take on the character. Definitely leaned more into the kind of douchey side of things, but did at least at one point seem genuinely into Christine (although the actor was very much leaning into the interpretation 'yeah he has multiple interests and he honestly likes them all in the moment but gets bored quickly, and that includes girlfriends'). Is that kind of shitty? Yes. Is that a realistic take on what a rich popular 17 year old might be like? Also yes. Nirvana-fan Jake was not a concept I thought of before but I was down for it (though I discovered later on the cast instagram page that the guy playing Jake said that his version of Jake thinks Nirvana is a clothing brand which, like, galaxy-brain take lol).

THE SQUIP!!!!! Actually cycled through Keanu Reeves costumes, which I loved. Started out in Bill & Ted, then Matrix, then POINT BREAK of all things, before landing on a pretty-impressive-for-the-budget version of the light-up circuitry priest robe thing from the Broadway style. He had the hair and beard pretty close to present-day Keanu too, which made him both line up with the resemblance and seem significantly older than the other characters; voice-wise, this guy was clearly a skilled baritone, which meant his delivery on some of the more rock-style songs was a bit unusual, but not bad. This SQUIP was suave at the right parts but did NOT shy away from being scary: the 'take me inside you' part with Brooke during Upgrade was staged very menacingly with regards to how he was physically moving around/behind Jeremy. The Play was delightfully sinister, leaning HARD into the SQUIP as literally puppeteering everyone: saying their lines and moving his hands like marionnettes throughout, keeping things very creepy and villainous.

On the topic of the play, the fight choreography kicked ass. Mr. Reyes's ALL THE WAY TO BROADWAY rant was delivered while he yanked Jeremy off the ground by his shirtfront and then threw him furiously across the stage, genuinely concerning and upsetting to watch (especially as the SQUIP was miming the same actions and lines behind him, obviously in control of Reyes's body) (I literally said 'oh fuck' out loud when it happened and got a Look from the presumably-grandma in the row ahead lol). The fight choreography during Two Player Game Reprise was also solid: the guy playing Jeremy was FIT and did a lot of impressive acrobatic kicks and such, and the person playing Michael being a lot taller and larger worked well with letting him like bounce off, lift him up for spin kicks, etc.

And in general, I respected how much this production was willing to let certain moments be dark. The Play in general was pretty horror-movie-climax; I also respected that the costuming did indeed look like so-so high school mockups of a modern zombie movie. But the whole number was eerie, SQUIPPED character movements and voices became unnervingly smooth and robotic, and positioning the SQUIP as the puppetmaster in the middle, literally moving the characters around, just sold the whole thing wonderfully. Very appropriately leaning into the horror part of horror-comedy.

Similarly, Do You Wanna Hang? was scary. AS IT SHOULD BE. My friend who came with me compared it favorably to the car scene in the movie 8th Grade, where you're just On Edge the whole time you're watching. The actress playing Chloe did a good job with it, that's an uncomfortable thing to portray but she went for it and it paid off in the moment.

Chloe and Brooke had a fun dynamic: the styles of the costuming/performers did add some interesting dimensions. Chloe was, as usual, pink and perfect and feminine, head-cheerleader vibes; Brooke was short haired and dressed a lot more masculine. Brooke had a very earnest sense of vulnerability to her, and excellent comedic timing during Do You Wanna Ride and The Smartphone Hour, as well as just the minor background-acting moments. They leaned pretty hard into the 'Chloe will take things just because Brooke wanted them, because she likes that Brooke is always a little jealous of her, and thinks that that's friendship' and, like the portrayal of Jake: is that a shitty thing to do? Yes. Is that a realistic thing teenagers might do, especially poisoned by toxic ideas about femininity and power? Also yes.

Which is a good spot to add, the ensemble was small (4) but they were serving it. The band appeared to be octogenarian church volunteers (oh, yeah, this was at a church??? Wesleyan Methodists, so the cool liberal branch of American Christianity) so I will say that with what they had, they were making it work. It would have been served well by a second keyboardist and/or guitarist to do the trumpet parts (it was drums, bass, guitar, and piano). One of the ensemble members, a tall goth-femme person with hot pink hair, played the role of the theremin by doing the melodies in remarkable and ethereal bel canto. And honestly, work.

Jenna Rolan was fun: could belt for the gods, had some pretty-intense Crazy Eyes thing going on that really sold the comedic moments and made her appropriately frightening as the Final Boss in the squipped battle at the end, styled like an early 2000s-lesbian-coded-soft-goth best friend archetype. No notes, 11/10.

The actor playing Mr. Heere/Reyes/Stockboy did a fantastic job of making those three seem separate, and as I mentioned above, really made Mr. Reyes come to life in a dynamic way. Sidenote, this production changed all references to Hobby Lobby to Michaels, which I found both funny and appropriate. Fuck Hobby Lobby, we all hate Hobby Lobby.

Back to characterizations, Christine was sweet and straightforward. Not as quirky or dynamic as Stephanie or a lot of other actresses make her, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Very gentle and smooth voice, she just really likes theater and wants someone to like the real her. They went with ballet-style choreography to introduce her during More Than Survive, which is always a wonderful touch for the way the music swells. There were points where I think a little more creative movement or a wider emotional range might have worked well, but the take on the character was consistent.

I am going to keep that positive thread through the next sections: while I might not have agreed with the interpretation through the text, I do respect going in a starkly different direction to how most productions and fans usually take such things.

I have enormous respect for the performer playing Michael for radically making it their own. The cast bios had pronouns, and Michael's performer was they/she/he, which as a fellow they/she/he who would love to play Michael someday was rad to see. They kept the CREEPS shirt and a hoodie with a lot of patches (albeit a black one with red accents), but that was about it. Michael had light-up cat ear headphones and a huge black fan which he used throughout, alternated between baggy sweatpants or just a floor-length hippy skirt, usually high-heel ankle boots, and some kind of green bathrobe thing for The Pants Song? Characterization, again, respect for making such an iconic character so heavily different. This Michael was not....very emotional. He was usually snippy and sarcastic in a very erudite and matter-of-fact way, at pretty much all points in the show. Not a lot of emotional range going on: this is a Michael who is in some combination of 'doesn't give a shit' and 'not going to let this bother me,' which came off....interesting. The chemistry this created with Jeremy was a starkly different one than we usually see. The original productions - and most since, and the majority of fandom depictions - imagines a Michael and Jeremy who, at their core, love each other a lot. However that manifests of course varies, but you Usually get the impression that (even with a little bit of codependence), these two genuinely love each other and spending time together, which makes moments in the show either heartwarming or devastating to see happen between them.

Not these versions of the characters.

Which didn't make it bad, but it did shake things up. This Michael and Jeremy didn't give deep-love-friendship so much as they gave 'we sat next to each other in 1st grade and don't have other friends. so. I guess we're best friends, huh.'

Which is an INTERESTING and somewhat bleaker, but not unrealistic, take on them. That, sadly, summarizes a lot of friendships, especially at that age and with the sort of vacuum of suburbia on your social sphere (nevermind how a lot of society discourages boys from emotional connection with their friends; if anything, the fact that this Michael was definitely queer might suggest that Jeremy even pulled back emotionally because he didn't want to seem gay or give this Michael the wrong idea). It definitely sells Jeremy feeling lonely, even with his best friend hanging around. Two-Player Game came across a LOT better than I was prepared for - I have waxed about how it's a hard number to pull off - not in spite of, but almost because of this. Like, sure, they've played through this game a million times before, they know every beat, they love it like they love each other, right? even though they seem.....kind of bored. Or at least like they're waiting for something else to happen. College? Girlfriend? Different friends? Just wait two years. Whatever.

To get critical, I will say that this dynamic did not really help Michael in the Bathroom. The fight beforehand and the song itself did.....not really lend themselves to a not-very-emotional friendship between them. The singing was perfect, so not faulting that: it's THE big song of the show, so that's a lot of pressure and the performer had a splendid voice, but the snarky-not-caring-that-much attitude didn't quite do it for me - Michael didn't seem sad or upset so much as pissed off, but still fully keeping it together (despite the lyrics saying otherwise). Tonally, the 'wish I'd offed myself instead' just sounded sarcastic ("wow, SORRY I CARED AT ALL, could've just killed myself for all you seem to care" kind of vibes) THAT SAID, it was consistent with the rest of the characterization, so I admire it as a very specific acting choice. There were also characters on stage - presumably outside the bathroom door, listening in - that turned a good portion of MITB into a comedic number; as I have said before, not my personal take on how that should go, but the audience was laughing along with it! So that's the wonderful mutability of theater.

Strangely enough, this actually made Michael and Jeremy's relationship at the end of the story work out just fine? The SQUIP experience kind of sparked a "wow we really do care about each other, huh" realization from both of them. Again, mad respect for taking such a different approach to such a well-worn character relationship.

So, overall, I am very happy I got to see this. Love to support live theater, love to be surprised by a story that I thought I knew pretty well inside and out, came away with plenty to think and talk about. If you can, go support your local community theater!

[sheshirkat]

Euphoria, unpopular opinion and long rant :

Euphoria is accurate, it's just not a show for teenagers but for people who need to come to terms with their messed up teenagehood, or for adults in general to understand it. It is romanticised but it is in fact the way we tend to see things when we're in this cycle, this situation...we think it's so pretty and we're so cool but then we realise it's ugly as fuck. Maybe sometimes the show doesn't romanticise it, but the viewers do. Maybe some shows aren't meant for everyone. I'd love to see a show like euphoria where the last episode the aesthetic veil falls down and you see just all the disgust and despair the aesthetic covered up, as the characters starts to get it.

(Thought I lowkey defend euphoria in this (mostly I don't defend it's just expressing thoughts and opinions) I still think Sam Levinson has troubles with sexualising teenagers (all of Hollywood really) and stealing other artists' style and art)

Euphoria seems unrealistic until you grasp the concept of toxicity in your own teenage self and feel the unreadable depth of your own loneliness and guilt scratching at your back. No really, euphoria (and skins) is about fucked up kids doing fucked up shit cause they have no idea what the fuck they're doing and they're egoist and wrong and bad people but YOU'RE DOOMED TO BE FUCKING BAD WHEN NO ONE TEACHES YOU HOW TO BE GOOD AND ALL THERE IS IS HURT. Everyone hates Cassie but she's just an accurate representation of a girl trying to extermine herself just to fit in to please a boy she likes cause no man ever took care of her and her mother does the best she can but it's not enough cause she suffers too and she just feels abandonned. Attention seeking is often a call for help. Y'all just hate Cassie cause she doesn't fit into your "nice quiet sad girl" fantasy.

Same for most characters actually. Yeah they "act older than they should", especially with sexuality. But this show is about the shit we do as teenagers when we're trying to be independant and we've internalised trauma and patriarchy and so many shit comes out at this time of our lives.

Idk how to express that euphoria characters are flawed and each of them is deeply wrong in so many ways and it is precisely the point, at least in my opinion. For me, it is not a show for teenagers. It is a show for adults to understand what happened to them, or to teenagers in general, and to warn or to help come to terms with what you've been through and the shitty person you used to be in high school, the shit that happens to you, the shit you've done to others, but also to yourself...Not saying everything is forgivable, Nate's a downright abusive prick, but it's also an interesting character because it questions where morals come from : he has no other model growing up than his father. To change you have to have a shock, especially when you come from a wrong place. And school don't teach you morals, ethics, how to treat people right. You may think it's logic, and so do I, but because it has always been for us. But see further, see reality TV, history, the government, toxic masculinity, forcing kids to kiss their grandparents to "be polite"...violence has mechanism, and these mechanisms are intertwined with the way we grow up. Not saying to not blame grown ass men (and women sometimes) doing awful shit, we all got our responsabilities and abuse is not justified in any way. But the intrications of violence, to me, are something to be questioned and thought about if we want to make the world a better place, cause obviously prison and laws don't do shit about this part of society. Nate's a reflection of toxic masculinity.

Would have more stuff to say but gotta sleep, rant over and good night!

[animentality]

I just saw some jackass on Twitter insisting that the Northman deserved every Oscar nomination over Everything Everywhere All At Once. When asked to explain, he refused to elaborate, just insisted that The Northman was true cinema.

Now let me just say this.

The Northman rubs me the wrong fucking way. For several reasons. It's simply not my genre is the biggest one, as I only like historical fiction that's post industrial revolution.

Or at the very least, character focused. Medieval ish stuff with swords is just so bleh to me.

Another one is that I can't stand revenge movies, if they're not like, John Wick levels of ridiculous. Revenge when it's grimdark and edgy and realistic is so fucking tiring.

But let me talk about the big reason this tweet pissed me off.

The Northman stans who are perpetually online tend to be fucking neo Nazis.

We all know how much Nazis love Viking culture and this fictionalized idea of vikings as rapists and plunderers of villages who did nothing but sharpen axes and cut off heads.

The northman is about a straight cis white guy on a grand quest to get revenge, fuck hot white women, murder a ton of people, and then die gloriously at the end.

That's literally the white supremacist's perfect fantasy. It relies entirely on this sensational and totally bogus concept of masculinity in the Olden Days, when men could kill indiscriminately and women were sex pets and it sure was fun.

An ahistorical viewpoint that celebrates and glorifies violence rather than actual history or culture.

It literally perfectly embodies neo Nazis' fantasy history too, this wonderful White group that once dominated the whole planet and did grand things and asserted their dominance through massacres and black people don't exist and white men only fucked white women and made perfect warrior white male babies.

You get the idea.

It's also literally certified by the fucking daily stormer, for fucks sake, that neo Nazi site run by that psychopath.

So. People who slobber over it ARE fucking suspect, especially if they're online all the fucking time.

So when I saw that tweet, I thought this guy...

Is insisting that the northman...is better than EEAAO...hm.

Perpetually online? Check.

Loves the northman and thinks it's the best thing ever? Check.

Is super fucking edgy? Check.

Thinks EEAAO isn't cinema??? Hm. Check.

This guy's definitely a fucking Nazi.

Like look at it objectively and tell me...

A male dominated story about an angry white man that tears out hearts and murders people and then dies gloriously at the end

Vs.

An older female led story about a family of Asian immigrants that emphasizes compassion over brute force and creating meaning in an inherently meaningless universe, with LGBT characters and male characters who choose kindness and family and community rather than violence or cruelty.

And you can't tell me why you'd just "connect" with the northman more than EEAAO? Right.

I know why you'd fucking connect with one over the other, you piece of shit.

God. I fucking hate Twitter.

EEAAO deserves to win every Oscar.

And I don't know any fucking person who's seen the northman or gives a fuck about it. I literally forgot it even came out this year. The only people I see still talking about are the perpetually online Nazis that wanna circlejerk over how edgelord stories about mass murdering protagonists are "peak" fiction.

Yeah, right.

Glad the fucking academy chose right, for once.

[everybody-loves-purdy]

I do kinda ship RavenXBarely (only kinda because I don't often ship characters), and I feel strongly that if either of them had been a she-cat, the Erins would have made them a canonical couple in like book 2.

That being said, the age gap is iffy (the age gap of most couples in the series is iffy tbh), made worse by the fact that Ravenpaw was vulnerable and Barely was in a position of power (able to kick Ravenpaw out of the only safe place he had at that point -- not that he would, he just could).

Anyways this is to say that as much as I like queer couples (being queer myself), I think a cute alternative that isn't talked about enough is Barely being Ravenpaw's unofficial adoptive father.

Also because so much of Ravenpaw's canon family were either outright against him or were not mentioned to be a positive light in his life at all (why tell this new guy you're friends with about the big fricken secret and not a littermate or other relative?). His one brother/littermate was a dickhead. His older brother was friends with Tigerclaw and was manipulated against him. His sister distrusted him so much that she chased him away from the nursery. Both of his parents died while he was still young.

All the adults in his life were horrible or negligent. His mentor tried to kill him and stirred rumours to get others to distrust him. His older siblings believed these rumours and turned against him. His leader didn't see how bad things were getting and even appointed Tigerclaw to deputyship, where he would have more power. The only living kin he has that isn't a dick to him is Brindleface, and I don't think she has any scenes with him.

So Ravenpaw (an adult I think since Fireheart and Graystripe earned their names soon after, but still rather young) going to someone, an adult, who DOES believe him and DOES trust him and becomes the trusted adult figure Ravenpaw needed for so long is...I don't know, an interesting concept?

--

Just to be clear, this isn't to say that I think their ship is bad or that people should stop shipping them. I love artwork of them, and I believe that they're canon now anyways (?).

This is just a little fun alternative to think about!

Or maybe there could be a 'de-aged Barley' AU or replace Barely with another old cat and have that cat have a son around Ravenpaw's age that is the actual Barely.

I will say I do massively ship RavenBarley lol

I don’t think the age gap is that bad, even if you exclude his appearance in Yellowfang’s secret since the mistakes in that book are just huge. In the same scene where Barley is introduced in that book Brambleberry’s apprentice is a bright eyed young Mudpaw and Hawkheart’s apprentice is Barkpaw… when Talltail has been a warrior for moons and moons at this point, and even Runningnose has got his full name. But at this point in the book that Barley appears even if you do consider it accurate it is just before Raggedstar dies, Raggedstar dies literally the next chapter. Honestly Barley may the most accurate piece of timeline in that chapter. Man Yellowfang’s secret is a mess, proof that the Erins have absolutely no series bible, at least at that point.

With RavenBarley I think people assume the two got together basically the moment Ravenpaw got to the barn which yeah is very iffy but I don’t think that’s the case personally. I think they got together at the end of the Ravenpaw manga series, up until that point they just seem a lot less close than what they are later on. And I personally don’t interpret them as having a power dynamic since Barley doesn’t have a proper claim for the barn.

Anyway back on track but I do also like your idea for an AU there if Barley became a father figure instead of a partner, it would have been nice if Ravenpaw got some kind of parental figure, especially since his died when he was so young and he went through so much.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

"All we need is a cause to fight for. And for me, that cause is you."

As I’ve been reading a lot about the Crusades recently, it seemed a natural progression to try playing Assassin’s Creed for the first time since the franchise began a decade and a half ago.

It was quite the effort for me to force myself to take a break before starting Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood after finishing AC2. I wanted to know what happens next so very badly - and my first thought on starting ACB was: this doesn't disappoint.

While the mechanics remain largely the same, the graphics have once again gotten an upgrade - all of sequence 1 had me going holy shit, this is cinematic as well as wow, they're really pulling out all the hero stops. And if that somehow fails to impress, the first present day sequence had me thinking these characters have personalities for the first time since the series began. Desmond was a blank, passive slate in AC1 and only just starting to show signs of being otherwise in AC2, but here Desmond is - finally - an independent actor with just the right level of snark to make me go yeah, I actually like this guy. Lucy too seems something like other than an obvious Templar plant - a like she's actually struggling with her inevitable betrayal - and Rebecca and Shawn are more than just snark.

There's much I love about ACB: the main plot is interesting but oddly short. There are about a thousand side quests, so it's not exactly a short game, but I can't help but think incorporating at least some of them into the main storyline would have made a bit more sense. The Borgia Towers offer an interesting set of challenges, and recruiting the brotherhood is a concept I'd like to have seen more of in more detail (training missions with the Mentor? Ezio spreading his influence more slowly across Europe instead of suddenly being able to send his trainees across the world? the recruits themselves having personalities and backgrounds and motivations?) Even renovating Rome doesn't start to feel gimmicky until you're buying the Coliseum.

And yet I don't love it quite as much as AC2 - and I think it largely comes down to the fact that all of Ezio's personal grown happened in the former, with little room left in ACB for any positive, meaningful growth. We don't see Ezio struggle with the fact that his choice to leave Rodrigo alive in the Vatican lead to the destruction of his home for a second time. We don't see him struggle to be a leader to his burgeoning brotherhood, he already is one. We have peak narrative symmetry starting with a siege and ending with a siege, and yet only the first stirs the emotions - Cesare has lasted this long because he's always conveniently in the wrong place, not because he's a satisfying or interesting boss.

In short, I love older Ezio (who somehow manages to be at peak attractiveness throughout the game, going so far as to complain when someone says he should slow down because he's older; that will never not be hilarious). I just wish he had a bit more meat to work with in ACB.

It's not all unicorns and rainbows though. The number of times I accidentally called a horse instead of flicking on eagle vision or speaking to a merchant is in the thousands. The number of debilitating gut wounds Ezio has recovered from is starting to verge on comically unrealistic. The number of plot points that are touched on - why was La Volpe so willing to assume Machiavelli was the traitor with comparatively scant evidence? How does one build a brotherhood of assassins? How did Claudia learn to wield a knife in the first place? - but quickly glossed over is frustrating. I could have done with a smaller Rome and more fleshed out plot. And the bits where you have to use the apple at the end simply failed to satisfy.

Yet I love it. Not in the way I think I'll always love AC2, but it's a solid game. Short, but solid. I enjoyed playing it and would loved to have seen more, but I'm not disappointed with what we got.

(Though I was shocked by Lucy's death. Yes, she was an obvious Templar plant, but I'd like to have seen her explain herself before we reached Redemption Equals Death. I'm eager to see the fallout in ACR... but not eager enough to continue forgoing errands and chores that I've been putting off for AC2 and ACB before beginning.)

4.5 of 5 stars - definite replay value, but not the head-exploding awesome of AC2.