#sports anime where the sports are the worst part is not a good look

[moonlightduelist]

people who are still hung up on yuri on ice please move on. watch other animes. if you want gay animes get into bl or something you have options nowdays. and while you’re at it admit to yourself it’s not that good and nostalgia is doing some major heavy lifting for you.

[antiling]

I'm honestly fine with reskins of existing cards that make them Godzilla or Transformers or whatever- those are purely cosmetic. I'm almost fine with brand new cards that aren't standard legal- it's like Unsets. Their fun! But they should not distract from the main game of Magic the Gathering. I am ok with an Unset and a Universe Beyond set once in a while. Maybe make all the UB sets have a Gold border and introduce new Gold Border sets- like Untournements! Those are fun! I think 2024 and to a lesser extent, 2023 we're the beginning of the end. There was a large amount of Full sets of crossover cards- the fact that there were 3 in 2024 was insane! Imagine 3 Unsets in 2024 alone! And the worst part? Their making them standard legal. It's cosmetic. It's noncanon. It's nonlegal. It's harmless fun.

Next year, you can cast Spiderman with A Buster Sword in a legal tournament of Magic the Gathering.

What has this game become? Where it's very foundations, the bricks this game is built upon, are being subbed out for shitty pop culture references and cash grab overpowered One Rings. I'm fine with Card Reskins. I'm fine with crossover tournaments. I'm ok with silly Secret Lairs. If my opponent plays a Collosal Dreadmaw cereal card, I'll laugh! But half of every single Magic the Gathering set being a crossover is absolute bullshit.

Not to mention that the Magic sets themselves don't feel like Magic. Thunder Junction, Murders at Karlov Manor, hell, even Duskmourn, my favorite set this year, their all references! Spaghetti Westerns, Racing Sports, Cyberpunk Animes, Clue Murder Mysteries, 80s Horrors, Hogwarts and Dungeons and Dragons, these are all great things! (Exept Hogwarts because Fuck JK Rowling) But when they are in the majority of Magic the Gathering sets, it's intoxicating. It's sickeningly sweet. It's too much of a good thing.

Ravnica Remastered, Crimson Vow, Phyrexia All Will Be One! These are the sets we need! These are the sets we want. As the players who really care about Magic, not just the people who buy the cards and scalp them for value, not just the people who look at the pretty characters on them, but for Magics primary audience. The ones who play Magic for Magic. That is who Wizards is Alienating. The people who play magic for the crossovers won't buy the Core Sets and the people who play for the core Sets won't by the Crossovers.

You see the problem? Half of your products won't sell. But that's all you care about. Products selling. Your selling fancy cardboard. And that's ok. But the only people who will keep buying it are the people who you should be selling too.

I would not be surprised if Magics popularity dips. It becomes the next Funko, the next Fortnite, the next Lego. Just a constant stream of "Look at this! You like this!" No one will care about Magic when all they do is release Spongebob Squarepants Spiderman Sets. No one will care about magic in 5 years if they keep going down this route.

[buunicosplaytips]

5 Easy ways to get into cosplaying

Welcome to my first official post! To start off this blog let's explore how to even get started in cosplaying.

Things you should know off the bat about the world of cosplay:

~ Anyone can cosplay no matter their race, gender, or disability, everyone should be able to get into cosplay

~ Under no circumstance should you change your race for a cosplay

~You should not feel pressured to be the "ideal" weight or body type of a character, unless you're cosplaying a monster or an alien you shouldn't feel like you need to drastically change yourself to be "perfect" in fact every cosplay is perfect! ^^

Now that we have established rules, let's learn how to cosplay!

Pick a character

Now this is easier said than done, believe me, but the best way to pick a character is to find a show, movie, or game that you completely love and find a character that you like or resonate with a lot, also dont feel like you can't cosplay a character because you feel like you can't do them justice or you dont look like them, were all here to have fun! for example when I first cosplayed Loki, I felt like i couldn't do them justice because I was short, chubby, and just didn't look like them at all, but when I did cosplay them, everyone loved it and I felt so confident in myself, so lesson of the day, cosplay whoever you want if it makes you happy.

2. Buy or Make

so you picked your character, awesome! Now you need to know whether to buy or make your cosplay, now there's kind of a debate on whether you should buy or make your cosplay and I'm here to say:

it doesn't matter! unless you are going into the masquerade or cosplay contest, buying is not the worst thing you can do, believe me, buying or making your cosplay is completely up to you, whether you don't know how to sew or you need a cosplay ASAP, buying is fine, or if you like the challenge or your character is niche sewing is the way to go.

3. Improve your makeup skills

If you want to cosplay for fun or your cosplays don't need makeup you can skip this part. Still, suppose you want a professional look or want to cosplay a character that doesn't have a normal skin tone you should listen, now depending on your character and where they're from. In that case, your makeup should make sense for them, for example, if your character is girly do a girly makeup look with soft features and pastels for the eyes and lips, if your character is edgy do. Edgy look with dark colors for the lips and eyes, you can even add accessories that you think your character would like, with makeup you can even transform your face, for example, I usually cosplay men. Still, I'm afab and have a naturally soft face, to fix this I do hard contour on my cheeks, I can do a more in-depth post about cosplay makeup if anyone requests it.

4. Prop making

Most characters whether theyre from an anime or game, most likely have a prop with them, whether its something small like a Tesseract for Loki or something huge like a Keyblade for Sora, now like with buying or making your cosplay this applies to your props too, if you want to buy a prop that's fine and if you want to make it that's fine too, it all depends on your character and your skill level, I will say personally that you should have some skills in prop making because depending on how niche your character is a prop for them will most likely be hard to come by, this also applies to the whole cosplay as well.

5. Having fun!

Now this is the most important thing you can do as a cosplayer, having fun and being a good sport, when you first cosplay you'll see people whose cosplay looks great, but it might make you feel small, but the thing is that they most likely started out like you, ill be honest, your first cosplay will not be your greatest one, but having a great cosplay doesn't equal to happiness, what does though is the fact that your cosplaying your favorite character and making friends who also are cosplaying their favorite character, with cosplay comes community and making friends and just connecting over the things we all love is the most important thing you can do

Well I hope you learned a lot from this or at least the basics, if you have any questions or just want to add more on to it my ask box is open all the time so feel free to pop in

I hope we start the new year strong with fun and amazing cosplays! ^^

[halfetirosie]

😂❤️🏝️ Pure Dumb Fun and Romcom Nonsense 🏝️❤️😂

(Exercise 07 - 09 React-os!)

1) I truly adore the running joke about Eiden's infamous naming skills 😂

Like, the second they hear an unnecessarily long, cringey name, they just know who is to blame.

2) PFFFFT! 🤣🤣🤣

Eiden over here being so horny that he forgot that Quincy built like a goddam brick wall---

3) THE EMOTION MUSIC OVER THIS PART IS SENDING MEEEEE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

"Trouble-averse ass...."

Eiden, babes. This might be an intense sports competition, but it really isn't that serious...

4) QUINCY USING THE POWER OF HUGS!!!

I'm so fuckin jealous!!!

As long as you're not barreling towards him top-speed, I bet Quincy Hugs™ are top tier. I've said it many times, and I'll say it again---I WANT TO GIVE QUINCY A HUG, I JUST KNOW HE GIVE THE BEST HUGS EVER---so Eiden better be fully appreciative!

Lucky bastard!!! 😤😤😤

5) I'm convinced the Devs are trying to kill us all with these visual gags---

(Side note---On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it that they only made Quincy's SSR holding a bottle in order to include this particular visual gag during the story event? :D)

6) S....STINKY FIEND....

GET DUNKED ON, DANTE!!!! 😂😈

I love it when Eiden responds to Dante's Tsundere Bullshit™ with an Uno Reverse card and they just end up arguing in the dumbest way possible! ♡♡♡

And my boi Dante is always getting stuck with the absolute worst nicknames---ala Lord Jackass---and it's just so beautiful!!! 🤣🤣🤣

It's like everyone silent agree that this guy, this lil' fucker right here, shall forever be the #1 target for teasing!!!

7) PFFFFFT!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

♡♡♡ CRINGEFAIL DORITOMAN, MY BELOVED!!! ♡♡♡

Leave it to Dante to grab Eiden's ass completely by accident!

The sudden realization tho..... It's a work of art.....

This is the most Aggressively Anime-Tropey thing I have ever seen....

(It's like that part where I guy trips and ends up grabbing a girl's boobs... Except, you know, gayer.)

8) Morvay, sweetie, you're not helping the situation....

Okay but, it's safe to assume that there's some children in the audience of this event, right? Is it okay for him to be calling attention to this "licentious" situation??? (I know that kids probably wouldn't even know what that word means, but some of the older ones could figure it out by context clues....)

9) Danteeeee, my Touch-Starved King!!!!!

He's basically an overgrown kid experiencing his first crush, not sure how to even function, and it's SO FUCKIN CUTE!!!

LOOK AT HIM!!!!

Babes is so flustered that he's pulling An Edmond and blaming his feelings on Eiden.... IT'S SO ENDEARING I, I CAN'T HANDLE IT...

10) This is not important at all, but somehow I can vividly picture Eiden absolutely dominating at high school dodgeball 😎

He's just got that scrappy energy to him---I picture him as a well-liked social butterfly that everyone knew, and had insane skills at the most random things like dodgeball....Is that too specific? Just me? Bah, whatever. It's just fun to imagine.

( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

11) I suspect that if we made a drinking game after every time some pulled A Father during this event (suddenly attempting to block someone's nudity/compromising pose), we'd all get severe alcohol poisoning..... 😅

Nah but, didn't Eiden create this swimsuits/outfits? Why the fuck did he choose a material that gets see-through when wet??? When they would be competing in front of a huge crowd?????

Seems like a severe oversight...

12) OHHHHH, okay, that makes more sense!

I'm sorry for doubting your honor, Eiden!

I guess they loaded the water balloons with a special potion that causes the transparency.

Still unsure if that was a good idea, but okay bubs.... 🤷‍♀️

13) Eiden's heroic sacrifice! 😂😂😂

Bless Garu's little heart, he's such an angel!!!! 😂😂😂 Whole-heartedly reassured Eiden over something so dumb and sillyyyy!!!!

14) Yeah.... I was rooting for my boi Dante, but I could see this coming 😅

I mean, our dude basically flashed his butt to everyone, so I suppose he deserves a win for all of that trouble 😅😅😅

15) EIDEN, YOU'RE SUCH A CHAMP!!! AN ABSOLUTE TROOPER!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

If I had a nickel for every time Eiden exposed himself to a group of people in order to spare a clan member's dignity, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

(First during Fanciful Capriccio--sparing Dante in the story of The Emperor's New Clothes--and then now. Expect, During Fanciful Caprissio they were stuck in an illusion, so technically the crowd wasn't real, but I think it still counts.)

🏝️ End of report! 🏝️

[flowery-laser-blasts]

My not so serious KP villain headcanons:

Personal headcanons that I have for the Kim Possible villains (not all of them). Long post.

Shego loves horror movies and podcasts and once scared the living hell out of Drakken after watching Ringu. She hid under the bed and once he almost drifted off to sleep, she reached from underneath to grab his hand and reveal her with hair covered face.

Shego hates cooking and rather orders take out than go through the effort of prepairing meals. The worst part is cleaning up dishes.

Shego can warm/radiate heat through her hands with her powers in a non-harmfull way. This comes in handy when massaging Dr D's stiff shoulders.

Shego's favourite chickflick is Legally Blonde. She showed it to Drakken once, he too, likes it. Now after every defeat they watch this movie while patching themselves up.

Dr Drakken loves British comedy such as Monty Python, the Mighty Boosh and Little Britain. He often quotes their jokes.

Dr Drakken has a complex bedtime skin care routine that he never skips and follows to a T. Though he only does it before bed, so if he stays awake for several days in a row, he won't do it until actually going to bed.

Dr Drakken actually plucks away stray hairs around his eyebrow to keep the look 'clean' and 'on fleek'.

Dr Drakken's shampoo smells of Lush' sugarplum fairy bodyspray.

Dr Drakken always sings the Mighty Boosh' 'Soup Song' when preparing soup. His secret ingredient to his vegetable soup with mini meatballs is tiny elbow macaroni.

Dr Drakken's 'take over the world by plants' scheme was stolen/inspired from Duff Killigan's failed attempt at turning the world into a golfcourse when the two were over at his place to discuss plans on the Tempes Simia idle and Monkey Fist was away to use the restroom.

Duff Killigan has one of those 'golf-on-your-toilet' golf sets in each restroom/bathroom.

Duff Killigan's favourite Disney movie is Brave, but more so because of the mother daughter bonding aspect of the story. He's a sucker for those kinds of movies.

Monkey Fist loves Shakespeare's works solely because of the infinite monkey theorem.

Monkey Fist has an incredible hatered towards the song "Banana Man" by Tally Hall and 'Day-O' by Harry Belafonte. It's an earworm that never leaves within a day and makes the monkey ninjas dance uncontrollably.

Monkey Fist takes extremely good care of personal hygiene and regularly cuts his nails.

Adrena Lynn's actual name is Adrien.

Adrena Lynn called out the Jackass cast for being fakes.

Adrena Lynn's favourite non extreme sport is table tennis.

Adrena Lynn started the 'girl dinner' tend.

Gill's favourite animals are sharks.

Gill bullied Ron because he wanted to look cooler in front of other camp kids. At his school, he would be the one being bullied.

Gill actually didn't dislike Ron at first but it changed when Ron grabbed an extra (and the last) chocolate pudding cup during dinner on their first day of camp.

Professor Dementor shines his helmet with a hand held waxing device, he never takes it off though.

Professor Dementor's favorite snack is caramel seasalt pretzels.

Professor Dementor wanted to become a children's book writer when growing up.

Dr Drakken, Monkey Fist and Duff Killigan play Dungeons&Dragons. Monkey Fist DMs most of the time, second is Drakken; Duff never DMs. The big bad evil guy is Kim Possible but they almost lose every campaign except for the rare occasion in which the BBEG dies due to accidental environmental circumstances out of their hands. They tried to replicate it irl but where do you find a giant dragon, three gnomes an enchanted blueberry pie and a catapult?

Motor Ed uses WD-40 for his hair instead of conditioner, seriously.

Motor Ed is a diehard Meatloaf fan (the artist, not the food).

Motor Ed despises Meatloaf (the food, not the artist).

Frugal Lucre loves pineapple pizza with extra ham

Frugle Lucre's arch enemy is Kim's cousin Larry.

Frugal Lucre collected cuddlebuddies but his mom threw them out because "you're too old for these toys, so I gave them away to your niece Pamela for her baby room" and that's his villain origin story.

Frugal Lucre has a Dr Drakken cosplay that he sometimes wears to (Hench co.) conventions (inspired by @gothicthundra 's Halloween chapter)

DNAmy's biggest inspiration for fashion is Velma Dinkley from the Scooby Doo franchise.

DNAmy hates Tom and Jerry because it promotes 'violence'.

DNAmy actually is pretty chill and wouldn't mind Kim Possible's company as long as Kim apologises for destroying her work. Kim is a fellow cuddlebuddy collector after all.

After Monkey Fist turned into stone, DNAmy tried reviving him. It didn't work out. She eventually moved on and started dating Frugal Lucre. They're in a happy committed relationship now.

The Bebe bots have their own reality show in Japan and are content with the attention and admiration from fans. They were offered a contact as idol group but they denied it because they didn't want to collaborate with Hatsune Miku.

Señior Senior Junior became a top model and worked with the fashionistas but when they got arrested again, SSJ used his privilege to continue his career.

With the help of Bonnie, Señior Senior Junior wrote an autobiography about his life under the influence of his father. It's titled "I didn't want to be a criminal, but Daddy made me do it." And it is said to become an autobiographical movie (but once again, Junior can't star in it).

Señior Senior Junior and Bonnie got married after Bonnie graduated from college.

Señior Senior Junior loves My little Pony friendship is magic and writes wholesome fanfiction. He likes PinkPie because she likes to party. He also realises that a lot of his youth is missed out on because of his father's wealth. He is semi thankful for villainy because it introduced him to Shego and their friendship. He tried making her watch it but she didn't seem into it.

Señior Senior Senior could actually give up villainy for his future grandchildren. This was Bonnie's initiative, because she doesn't want her kids to grow up around inmates and prisoners.

That's it for now, if I've got more I'll add it here!!

[pluppsauthor]

OC Interview

Thanks to @themboty, @phoenixradiant, and @sunglasses-in-the-bentley for the tags! I'm not sure who to do this time around, we got a three part special this time. Anyway I will do... let me get a wheel Bene (Wounded Reflection), Akita, and David (both Hellfire)! (cw: swears)

Are you named after anyone?

"No. I asked my father what my name meant once. He shrugged and said it was a name. No deeper meaning." "No. Never heard of anyone with the same name as me." "Am I named after someone? ...I mean, it's a common name--not here, but just... generally. Can't really ask anyone so I don't know."

When was the last time you cried?

*deep sigh* "When my father died." "I don't know, and I don't really care. Why would I keep track of when I cry?" "Well, funny story, it was right after I almost died. When I was a given a second chance to live, I cried. But then I learned of the curse I had just taken on to be given such life. Then that joy turned to regret."

Do you have kids?

"No... although sometimes I wished I had chosen to start a family rather than fall into that pit of revenge." *Laughs* "How old do you think I am? At least you don't think I'm a kid." "Nah, not really interested in that stuff. Settling down ain't my style. I like travelling, I like doing things that having a family might... impede or make unavailable."

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

"No." "I don't think I know what that means, so... maybe." "Haha, yeah."

What’s the first thing you notice about people?

"Their aura. Not only can it inform me of their Frequency, should they posses one. But, it can gives a vague read on their strength and vitality. It's a good thing to know I think." "How easy it would be to pickpocket them. Also if I can outrun them." *sigh* "I'm not sure... I tend to assume the worst in people, so I guess I try to gauge if they have ill intentions."

What’s your eye colour?

"Brown." "I've only seen it in the reflections of broken shards of glass. It's dark, so maybe brown." "Grey. Although I SWEAR they look blue under the right light."

Scary movies or happy endings?

"Movies? I'm not sure I've heard of that. So I guess a happy ending." "What? I don't care for stories." "Oh, that's a good one. I've been somewhere where they have a theatre. Not for plays, but for reels. Honestly, I don't think their too impressive, from an enjoyment perspective. But I do like scary stories, so I'll go with that."

Any special talents?

"Excluding my Frequency, no. However, due to the effects of my Frequency I am fairly resilient against the cold. More than the average person at least." "It isn't a special talent, but people underestimate me. A real talent is I can create energy from my hands. Not a single person has expected that, scares people off of me too." "Oh, where do I begin? I have a lot of tricks I know. Sleight of hand, misdirection, illusions, that sort of thing. I'm also very lucky, or at least that's what I say. In truth, I have a sort of sixth sense of certain things. It allows me to cheat at most games of chance. Don't tell anyone that, or else I'll probably be banned from every gambling bar I visit."

Where were you born?

"Shadecross. It's a... connecting town. Brings in a lot of trade. Try not to go there much, brings back bad memories." "Redwick. Awful place. Nobody cares for you there, they beat the downcast and feed off misery." "Leeside. Shithole of a place, I'll be honest. Not worth going back."

Do you have any pets?

"No. Vesa has a cat and I was with her for some time. But I'm not any more, and I still wouldn't consider that my pet." "No, it's another mouth to feed. It's already enough to feed myself, why would I take on another creature to care for?" "No, but I kind of want one! I think I travel too much, though. Plus, it's kind of hard to find the time to care for an animal, at least for me."

What sort of sports do you play?

"I'm not the biggest fan of sports. Me, my brother, and Ollie used to play outside a lot as kids, but not really sports." "None." "I know I said Leeside's a shithole--and it is!--but the people there are great. The kids I grew up used to play a bunch of games and sports. I think all of the names were made up so I don't know what they were."

How tall are you?

"178 centimetres." "Are you making fun of me? You better not be... *sigh* ...anyway, I don't know exact numbers. a little bit under 170 centimetres I think. Maybe 167, I don't remember." "Uh, I think it was... 180?? Centimetres, of course."

What was your favourite subject in school?

"My father taught me everything, Shadecross still doesn't have a school." *chuckles* "Are you assuming I went to school? I wouldn't be scrounging for scraps if I did." "Leeside didn't have one, a school that is. But now I'm doing a lot of learning and stuff myself. I think one thing I've enjoyed to some extent was learning a language so, whatever that field is called."

What is your dream job?

"I don't have one. I think I'd either like to keep doing what I'm doing or retire and only do what I have to. I'm not one for professions like learning a craft." "Not being homeless, I know that's not a job. I survive for myself I don't care for anything like money, it only serves as a way to get what I need." "Honestly, I don't have one. I'd rather make my money gambling then work a day in my life."

Missed doing these, I want to do more about the Hellfire cast. I love those funny little gremlins so much. Anyway, onto tags!

Gently tagging (np) @mk-writes-stuff, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @kbwritesstuff, @illarian-rambling, @theeccentricraven, @tildeathiwillwrite, and open tag for anyone that wants to hop in! ❤

[hislittleraincloud]

I'm supremely tired today even though I passed out early-ish for me. (Maybe 3AM? That's early for me.) I did it without taking my full meds, so I woke up sick and had to take them anyway...and now I can't keep my eyes open. Idiopathic hypersomnia is a real fucking bitch (and I've had it most of my life; my mother also has it).

This sucks so gd much bc I have things to write. I want to write. But right now there's so much fatigue that I'm just useless atm. I couldn't even find the energy to put together my Wednesday sticker album with its stickers.

If you know me, I am a huge, huge cards and sticker collector...when my ex dumped all my stuff, I had a very extensive collection, sports and non-sports; I had a thing for Mets Mike Piazza and had a collection of his rare inserts (including a mistake print that was the only one in the world...and #001 — and a couple of #031 — inserts as well, and an early online friend was nice enough to gift me his Bowman Dodgers rookie card, which isn't worth shit now but the rare inserts and the mistake printing still sting). I mostly did non-sports, and had a bunch of TV show inserts and special sets. I didn't have any of my Paninis though, those are still back at the house in Massachusetts.

Speaking of non-sports cards, where in fuck are the Wednesday cards? Where the fuck is Cryptozoic, and why haven't they made a Wednesday set yet? I'm sure that that would make big bank...I could see the Wenclairs going insane over having a piece of the rainbow film that NC Wednesday/Ortega scraped off of her side. In fact I can think of a million different screen-used "pieces of" Season 1 that would make perfect insert cards. The rainbow film, pieces of Donovan's cork board (like the map of Jericho), a piece of one of Xavier's drawings or paintings, piece of one of the Nightshades's robes, piece of one of the Poe Cup cat suits, piece of one of Tyler's Lesbian Plaid™ shirts (😘), piece of Wednesday's novel, etc. (Ooo, piece of the Rave'N dresses, since there were multiples made.) So many opportunities for inserts there. Cryptozoic isn't terrible (they're the ones who put out the Sons of Anarchy set, through which I have Donovan's autograph). This Panini thing is pretty fucking terrible though, with the worst artwork. I love me some Panini, but I suppose they're only good for animated works rather than live action since any number of fan artists could've done a better job with the art in this. Why do companies settle for such mediocrity? This is terribly simplistic and unappealing art, looks like it was done in less than 5 minutes/with autotrace for the vectors (and the most pathetic part is that it was likely done by someone with an art degree)

Anyway. I'm so tired. And horned up because of my testosterone shot. God damn it.

ETA: Happy Birthday, Wednesday. And uh...tomorrow is technically ABW's birthday (just after midnight, LOL). She is 18 today/tonight! ...✨🫠✨

[ecargmura]

Blue Lock Episode 27 Review - He's HIMsagi

Yes, yes, the animation’s god awful, but I’m not going to spend writing an entire paragraph on the quality anymore. I’ve got better things to do and to talk about in this review. I’m sorry if you aren’t going to read about me roasting the animation because it’s getting tiresome talking about the same exact complaint all the time. It’s best to move onto talk about other things.

For the positives, this was totally an Isagi episode. He got the spotlight, showing that he can stand out even amongst those who cannot mesh together at all like Rin and Shidou. He realized that he has to take advantage of Rin and Shidou’s cacophony and make his own harmony with whatever left he has on his disposal. Fortunately, things work to his favor as Nanase is focused on assists and Hiori helps awaken the power within Isagi by giving him solid advice. At first, he was going to score a goal on his own, but made a mishap. Later on, Hiori tells him to trust his reflexes which helps awaken the egoist within him. I loved the last part where he decided to not pass to Rin or Shidou and just went straight for the goal on his own, helping his team score the final goal to beat Team B.

I do like that Isagi is a protagonist who may seem like a nice guy, but he’s no pushover. He won’t abide to be stepped on as he’s the one who will do the stepping. He’s a nice guy, but entirely not at the same time too. He will destroy others’ dreams for his own sake. I like that, honestly. Also, can I talk about his voice actor Kazuki Ura? For a rookie, he showed off some insane vocal power. I guess there’s a reason why he got the new star award for the voice actor awards. He definitely has the potential to hit big—that’s practically the fate of all big named sports anime MC voice actors.

Rin and Shidou do feel like they might collide again in a future match. They really do have the worst synchronicity of the Top 6, as Isagi pointed out. It makes sense though. Look at Karasu and Otoya. Those two work well together and even know how to trust each other for passes and what not. Meanwhile, both Rin and Shidou are selfish in that they want the goals for themselves and the thought of sharing it disgusts each other. Now that they’re going to play Team C next episode, it makes me wonder if the discord will continue—wait, will this even be shown given that Isagi’s not in the match.

Hiori is an interesting character. He’s very intelligent and was the key to help Isagi unleash his true potential. I think that he’s the MVP of this match, honestly. He’s the one who’s able to synchronize with all of his teammates and give them passes when necessary. I want to know more about him, honestly. He has history with Karasu, but also seems like an amicable guy. He’s also really cute like his beauty is on par with the biggest pretty boy in the anime, Chigiri—the two even share some frames together.

Nanase reminds me of a large, energetic dog and that’s about it from him. He seems like a nice guy who’s good with assists and friendly to his teammates. I want to know more about him too. Though, regardless of his lack of screen time, he did play a vital role on the team, so he’s cool.

Karasu was pretty much the one to beat for Isagi as he was the one who kept looking down on him the most. I do wonder how his opinion of Isagi will change now that Isagi outsmarted him and took the final goal. I think the only bad part about Team B is that other than Chigiri, Otoya and Karasu, the other two aren’t talked about as much and they had very little screen time—even less than Nanase.

The additional time was hilarious with Chigiri being all innocent in wanting to see Otoya’s ninjutsu, only to learn that it’s just seducing tactics. Otoya literally showed off hand signs and then pushed Chigiri to the wall and tried to kiss him. He then did the hand sign thing again but practically flirted with Karasu. Otoya says he’s not gay, but you are clearly in denial if you were acting that fruity towards Chigiri and Karasu.

Anyways, will the next match with Nagi and Reo be shown next episode or will that be saved for the Episode Nagi manga? Speaking of Episode Nagi, the movie is available on Crunchyroll! What are your thoughts on the episode as a whole—genuine thoughts that don’t revolve around the animation?

[tsfennec]

Thank you for the tag, @freenarnian :D

Are you named after anyone? Kind of? First name, not exactly deliberately, but after my parents announced it some relatives assumed I was named after a great-great-grandparent because it's a variation on her name. Middle name is also my mother's middle name, and my older half-sister's, and several nieces', so it's a bit of a family tradition.

When was the last time you cried? Lol, earlier today while doing book club with my dad.

Do you have kids? None of my own, much as I would love to. But I am surrounded by many of them to whom I am an aunt and honorary aunt, and I love them all dearly.

What sports do you play/have you played? I haven't ever really Done Sports in any kind of traditional way? I did archery casually, fencing briefly (very much wanted to do it longer, but lessons just weren't in a viable location) and karate for quite some time, though, if those count.

Do you use sarcasm? Yes? Though when it's regarding any actual people I'm interacting with I try to keep it very gentle and lighthearted, not biting.

What is the first thing you notice about people? Hmm, I'm really not sure how to answer that. I feel like it depends so much on the context and the person?

What's your eye color? Blue!

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings, most definitely. I can appreciate some good scary elements, but I'm much less likely to enjoy a story if it doesn't have some form of happy ending.

Any talents? I have been told public speaking. :P Not that I enjoy it. I dread it immensely, in fact. But I am good at memorizing the basics of what I'm going to say and then delivering it without extensively referring to notes, so I guess I can manage it more naturally than most who don't do it regularly? More seriously, I suppose I could say writing or art or giving feedback on others' writing, but those all feel more like... skills laboriously acquired across great time and effort rather than talents, I guess?

Where were you born? In a hospital? Though very close to being in the car on the way there, lol.

What are your hobbies? Art, writing, and reading, mostly.

Do you have any pets? Just one cat currently! I've had more at any given time for a good part of my life (birds and snakes and fish and dogs and cats and hamsters), but not currently.

How tall are you? According to my doctor's office, 5'3", but that is measuring with shoes on. :'D

Favorite subject in school? Probably history or science? Though actually, looking back, I don't particularly remember either loving or hating much in school (other than writing, which was The Actual Worst, lol). I just loved to read, mostly.

Dream job? I mean, the ultimate dream would be stay-at-home mom, really. Barring that... I guess it would be either doing what I'm doing now but making money more efficiently at it, or working in some kind of zoo/animal sanctuary (yes, fully aware that that latter involves a very high proportion of cleaning up animal mess).

Tagging: Hm, I know it's been going around, but I'm trying to remember who I've already seen do it... @atlantic-riona, @fictionadventurer, @hollyhock13. @ablatheringblatherskite, if any of you care to?

[very-grownup]

I continue to watch BROTHER, the cdrama that's a sports anime about motorbike racing in northern China, desert tourism, and me appreciating Kudusjan Anivar's eyebrows and sunshine smile.

You know it's a sports anime because Halik slaps a basket on the side of his motorbike, puts a baby goat in it, and is prepared to offer it as a gift to anyone who will teach him sick motorbike jumps.

After being rejected by the motorbike master, he gets the other lead, Lin Hao, to teach him. In theory.

Lin Hao does one of the worst things you can do in a sports anime, and has falsely promised to teach Halik. He lies about teaching the SWEET JUMPS.

He also drops this burn which is the worst thing you can do in a sports anime where you have some kind of personal tool or equipment for sport purposes.

Lin Hao's motorbike master knows what every sports anime protagonist fears when they meet a kindred spirit.

Unlike a lot of sports anime, there are several women in BROTHER, and our two leads have love interests. Halik's love interest is Celine, a young bureaucrat who has previously confiscated everyone's motorbikes due to dangerous driving through the town.

There is a music video training montage which includes young men dancing in the desert with bread.

There is my continued appreciation of this boy's smile. I would kill for him.

The first chance Halik has to demonstrate his motorbike stunts in an approved manner is at a festival to draw in tourists.

We do not see the rooster fight dance. :(

Lin Hao must look on jealously because he is not part of Halik's motorbike gang and also he was a dick who LIED ABOUT TEACHING HALIK SWEET JUMPS.

Partially because Halik does not have a proper motorbike master and also due to the fact that both our protagonists are incredibly broke, a part does fall off Halik's bike mid-stunt, which he does not see as a reason to refrain from further stunts.

Luckily a mysterious helmeted biker shows up to save the motorbike demonstration and the festival and prevent Halik from trying to jump ramps with parts falling off his bike.

It is of course Lin Hao which everyone knows because there are like fifty people in this village, but it's important to say it aloud because in addition to MOTORBIKE PASSIONS AND ASPIRATIONS, Lin Hao has a fraught relationship with a parent, which is not necessary in your sports anime but you can throw that in if you want. In this case, Lin Hao's mother couldn't handle living in a small mining town in the middle of nowhere and couldn't convince Lin Hao's father to leave the mines, so she left for the city when Lin Hao was very small and has been completely absent from his life since. It was hugely traumatic for him! She hasn't seen him since she abandoned her family! She will not speak to him at this festival after witnessing his motorbike stunts! It kind of sucks!

After the festival, Halik tries to flirt with Celine, sports anime style, which is getting her to admit that motorbikes are cool and a good use of someone's time and money.

He doesn't really get the response he wants, but he knows you shouldn't just focus on what you're interested in, so he compliments Celine's outfit. She may not understand motorbikes but she has skills! Skills completely irrelevant to motorbikes! But. Pretty. Girl pretty is very important in sports anime if you're going to have girls.

This is Porta, who is no one's romantic interest, but you should look at her because she's gorgeous. She runs the motorbike and probably other machinery repair shop in town.

Lin Hao's mother tries to explain to Lin Hao's grandfather how she has tried to parent Lin Hao from a distance. It's ... basically just this. She does not understand why it doesn't work and why her father-in-law is unimpressed by her presence.

Halik and his gang are getting paid for their performance at the festival. He fails to turn this into a successful flirting opportunity, partially because of the youngest member of his gang deciding to serenade Halik and Celine. Every group should have someone in it who will lovingly make you embarrassed about liking a girl, though.

With the festival done, it is time for the next sports anime objective - A RACE.

Meanwhile, now that his mother knows one (1) thing about Lin Hao, she is upping the 'buying his love with gifts' game.

[skwtches]

30, 17, and 25 for Maverick; 10, 7, and 2 for Nancy!

WOOOO YESS

Starting off with the worst man you've ever met Maverick here:

30. Do they smell like anything notable?

For him, I'd figure he'd smell a bit like the cigarettes/cigars he's typically seen smoking; musty with a hint of cedar. Although, I imagine him using some kind of cologne semi-regularly, perhaps one that smells of leather? Nothing that smells much like wood, he doesn't like the association most wooden-based scents have with his early life.

17. How did they spend their summers/free time as a child?

I imagine that during vacations within the long, arduous summer months, his parents never thought too much about ensuring he socialized with other kids his age, and so they'd drag him along with them to the lakeside vacation home where his father liked to spend those months away hunting for sport while his mother tried to make the most of her time away from the bustling city and her husband being occupied with matters that didn't concern her for the most part. Maverick would usually just entertain himself along the lakeshore, poking around with a stick at the various flora and fauna—usually skewering whatever he found of the latter when his mother wasn't watching.

Something Maverick also did frequently was bring a mason jar out with him to the lake, scanning around for bugs or any other creepy crawly he could pick up and encase to examine. Sometimes he'd let them go afterwards, other times he'd attempt some pseudo dissection of whatever insect he caught in his little glass prison. In some instances, he'd put two live animals in at the same time to see what would happen. Most of the time, one would end up killing and eating the other, yet it fascinated him all the same. When he wasn't terrorizing whatever small critters he stumbled upon, he'd reside to reading on his own, feeding into his ever-growing love for literature that would continue to follow into adulthood.

25. How good/bad is their hearing? What about their eyesight?

His hearing is generally okay, though probably has deteriorated a bit with age. Same deal with eyesight, and I imagine he employs the use of reading glasses from time to time.

AND NOW Nancy, everyone's fav sad girl muppet moth xoxo

10. If they wear jewelry, what kind? Do they prefer silver or gold? Do they have a favorite gem?

Nancy isn't the type to accessorize a bunch, though I'd like to think she'll sometimes wear jewelry whenever she's gifted with any. For instance, during college, Felicity gave her a gold necklace for her birthday that had a lil ruby pendant—Nancy's birthstone. In turn, Nancy ended up wearing it almost everyday up until around the time she and Felicity started to gradually drift apart and Nancy's initial insecurities surrounding her own future and success in comparison to her friend's shifted towards envy.

7. Favorite Animal? Why?

Had the sudden thought of Nancy really, really liking opossums for whatever reason and I just think that's very characteristic of her to love what would be considered an unorthodox animal to find cute by most. Like when she was really little, she’d look around her father’s old shed, and once came across this full grown opossum that she then proceeded to take and bring inside, much to Elena’s eventual horror.

Little Nancy when her mother comes home and, completely astonished, asks her why on God’s EARTH she thought to bring in a possibly rabies-infested animal as the latter stumbles upon her running a bath for it:

2. What sort of music would they like? Have you thought about what genres or bands do they lean towards? Do they have a favorite song?

In canon, Nancy would have a preference for softer, orchestral music—a record she can put on while she's on her own, either writing or even during a lowkey read if she's feeling particularly antsy. I can see her really liking music by Leo Reisman and his orchestra, particularly stuff ranging from the late 1920s to the early 40s. In terms of singers, she'd probably be a fan of Elizabeth Welch, especially for her song "The Girl I Knew" (1935).

If this were the 21st century, Nancy would 1000% be a Mitski and even Crane Wives fan for Reasons.

[nebulaleaf]

hmmm. K, N & U :3 Oh this sounds like im gearing up to say knuckles. Punches you

I was like "omg you're kung pow penising me???" i cant, spel .l anyuway K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc? Uhhh fuck. shit. suddenly ive forgotten everything. uhh umm. you didnt pick a fandom so I can do whatever I want rapid fire: Sojiro Sakura p5. his arc regarding the protag and being a guardian is very good. Makoto Niijima and Sophia p5 are also great arcs in the main story. im not looking at makoto's confidant. nope. no. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu from SDR2 also has one of the best arcs in the entire series i think? very good. OH FUCK. AND WOLFWOOD D. NICHOLAS FROM TRIGUN. Honourable mentions goes to: edgeworth. N - Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom. respect to women. less shippy content. more horror/gore content hee hee hee. uhh not really sure what else to add U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites not answering from p5 its CHEATING. Claude Von Riegan (Fire Emblem Three Houses) - oh you KNOW i love the mischief makers. on my first go of fe3h i was so sure i'd pick dimitri and fall in love with him, but all it took claude was a single piece of dialogue from byleth ("He's smiling, but it doesn't reach his eyes.") and i swapped sides and im SO glad for it. he's a funny character. he's a serious character. he's a schemer and actually really fucking intelligent and just. so so so cool. I love archers. i love guys obsessed with sniffing out secrets. i love guys who know they can't save everyone, but know they have to try. (at least for his own men) the worst part about him is his fire emblem warriors version. jesus fuck thats a mimic who stole his skin and is walking upright. Miles Edgeworth (Ace Attorney) - pretentious fucker. he's so uptight in a comical way that you can't help but find him amusing, even when he's being REALLY REALLY ANNOYING as a game antagonist. he's funny... he's charming.... AND HE HAS A TRAGIC BACKSTORY ?! its a W for me. Vash the Stampede (Trigun, but not Trigun Stampede fuck that vash.) - ogh. where do i begin. literally the worlds soggiest meow meow but such a good sport about it. he loves humanity. hes the sharpest shooter this side of the south. he just wants a pizza. he refuses to kill any humans. he misses his mom. he's funny. he has like. fucked up clothing that goes hard. he could be your devil or yuor angle but leaning hard into one of those (not saying which). i love him and i really cant express why without saying GO READ THE TRIGUN MANGA OR WATCH THE 1998 ANIME. you could. also watch the newer one ig but ughhhhhhhhhhhh. its really not the same. Stampede (the anime) capitalizes on his Muh Sadboy Anime Twink aspects and like. fuckign nothing else. it just doesnt feel right SORRY ANYWAY. WOLFWOOD IS ALSO A HONOURABLE MENTION HERE BCOS.??? HES SO FUCKING GOOD. AND ALSO SAD. AND FUNNY. AND-

[songsforthepierce]

Odd Tracks: We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel & Fall Out Boy Cover

So...uh I legit don't know how to start this. Okay, look, we all know the only reason I am doing this is because of the whole Fall Out Boy's quite not so good cover of it. But before I can actually talk about the cover itself we have to start with the original.

You know, as I listen to this I realized I had actually never listened to the full version of the song before. I would always hear the chorus but nothing else. This is not to say I had NEVER heard of the song before. It was that when people would use it in Anime Hell AMVs to Abridged series they would only play the chorus. Which I get why, it's the most memorable part of the song that and in my opinion the strongest part of the song.

So what is the significance of the song? Well the reason it exists in the first place was because at the time Joel just turned 40 and while he met Sean Lennon's friend who just turned 21 in the recording studio. Supposedly they had a conversation where said 21 year old talked about how it was a terrible time to turn 21 and Billy said,

"Yeah, I remember when I was 21 – I thought it was an awful time and we had Vietnam, and y'know, drug problems, and civil rights problems and everything seemed to be awful".

The young adult replied back with,

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's different for you. You were a kid in the fifties and everybody knows that nothing happened in the fifties".

This took Billy aback and retorted with, "Wait a minute, didn't you hear of the Korean War or the Suez Canal Crisis?"

The main dismissal from the young adult would be the main inspiration for the creation of the song while the two headlines would be the main framework of the song. I do find it weirdly funny he mentions the Suez Canal crisis at the time when in 2021 the canal would be blocked leading to another historical event. Within the song there are 118 brief references to significant political, cultural, scientific, and sport events between the birth year of Billy Joel, 1949, to 1989. These would be listed in predominantly chronological order which makes the song feel very concise and easy to follow. That and it has a very clear intention, the world has always had chaotic events and always will. I do feel like here Billy's intent is from a genuine place of telling people of the era and even before that major historical events be it good or bad have always been a constant. That it is not new nor are the events that happened in the past any less significant than the issues in the current era.

So one of the main talking points sprouted from the recent cover is people debating whether or not the song is a low tier Billy Joel song or not. Well for me, it is in the middle. I do not think it is his best song but I do not think it is his worst. It gets the job done. But how does Billy see this song? Well in the 1993 film, Billy Joel: Shades of Grey, he talked about how he felt about the song on the more musical end with documentary director David Horn. Joel would compare the more melodic content in a more unfavorable light to his song, The Longest Time,

"Take a song like 'We Didn't Start the Fire.' It's really not much of a song … If you take the melody by itself, terrible. Like a dentist drill."

Then on chapter 14 of the book, In their Own Words by Bill DeMain, he interviewed Billy about the song and he states,

"I started doing that as a mental exercise. I had turned forty. It was 1989, and I said, “Okay, what’s happened in my life? I wrote down the year 1949… It was kind of a mind game. [It’s] one of the few times I’ve written the lyrics first, which should be obvious to why I usually prefer to write the music first, because the melody is horrendous. It’s like a mosquito droning. It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written. I kind of like the lyric though."

While one could see his views on the more musical side of his song as mean I do get where he is coming from. As he stated, he prefers to write the music first then the lyrics second. When you write the melody first then you can figure out how the lyrics go but for some writing the lyrics first makes it so you have to figure out "Okay, what is the music going to sound like?" So while he may not really care for how the song sounds, it is clear he liked what he wrote. My own view of the song itself is in the middle I genuinely respect the intent behind it. The concept of showing that every era has it's negatives and positives historically is a good one. A reminder to anyone from the past and to the future. While I was listening to the song I saw these comments beneath the video,

Censoring the usernames because I don't want people to bother these people. But seeing these comments are from 1-2 years ago is funny. A forty year anniversary remake of the song would be a good idea. A lot has happened since 1989 and having an updated version of the song going from then to 2023 would be a neat expansion on the original's intent and a reminder to people about how while the era we live in now does suck in a lot of ways so too does the past.

Wait...we got that. The monkey's paw oh so curled...

Okay so let's start with a positive, the instrumental is fine. Not great but serviceable. But again, the original melody is not hard to screw up. But my main critique of the cover is the verses. The list of events are not in chronological order which makes the song feel like a mess of words. In the original the order is important, it emphasizes all the major events in a way to show the broad scope of what has happened throughout time. That and the events are in phrases. While that is true here it is bizarre to have "Michael Jackson dies" but then just have "Kurt Cobain" Like Michael Jackson dying is the only notable event of Michael Jackson's significance in the pop world while Kurt Cobain's existence lets the listener make the informed thought of BOTH his life and death are important.

You know what this cover makes me think? It really reads like a first draft. Like the band got together and went "Hey, what were the major things that happened from 1989 to 2023?" and just started shouting out what they remembered in no particular order. Then when they were done went "Yeah, that's good enough. Lets record" because I notice certain historical events are not mentioned like Occupy Wall Street, Kony 2012, Gamergate, Ferguson, Flint Michigan water crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Covid-19, and many more. It just feels so incomplete and emphasizes that his cover is such a big miss opportunity. While I don't want to assume no effort was put into this cover it does come off like the effort to passion wasn't really there. It makes whatever got intention they had get so muddy. Though the lyric change that stood out to me was in the chorus,

We didn't start the fire It was always burning since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No, we didn't light it but we're trying to fight it

This is the strongest part of the whole cover. The intention of that while all this shit has been happening that we are trying to change things for the better. But the fact this is just a tiny nugget within a mess pile just makes said pile look more disorganized than before.

I know this is like the only to first time I have really made a review on something one would consider relevant I only did so because I am just baffled by it all.

[iguessitsjustme]

8 Shows to Get to Know Me

The rules seem pretty simple, just to list 8 shows to get to know me. Some people have explanations and some don’t so we’ll see.

I was tagged by anonymously

Hello my dear anon! Thanks for the tag even anonymously! Now I have to pick 8 shows? I know a lot of people struggled because there's just so many but I move on from shows pretty quickly. I'm not sure if any BL is actually going to end up on this list because if it's shows to get to know me...well there's very few shows that I hold near and dear to my heart like that and can help explain the person I am.

Psych - This has been my favorite show for forever. This show was there for me when I was losing friends left and right and I was left alone. Watching the friendships in this show (not just Shawn and Gus though obviously they're the best) really helped me through some dark times. Some bits of this show have not aged well at all, but this show grows and progresses and every time a new movie gets announced, I make sure I am able to watch that movie as soon as it's available.

Haikyuu!! - This will most likely not be the only anime on this list because though I don't really post about anime, these shows are and always will be a large part of my life. I love this show so much because of the friendships and relationships built not just within the team but also with the rival teams. Plus, I actually like sports but not real sports. I like fictional competition where the result has already been decided. Plus best sunshine x tsundere ever. They're both volleyball idiots and I love them both so much.

One Piece - This show is the reason for one of my friendships with one of my best friends in the entire world. They sat me down in college and made me watch and here I am, 1000+ episodes later and still in love with it. I like there is no romance. I love the crew. I love the story. I love the humor. I do not love that the women characters look like they keep all of their internal organs in their boobs though.

Merlin - There seems to be a theme for these shows. I love the friendships and the story and the interpretation of the King Arthur legend. Also Morgana's journey from genuinely good person to brainwashed villain is so incredibly good. I love a good villain and she was the best.

Vincenzo - Sometimes I just need to watch our main character constantly winning. It's very satisfying. It's very violent but the kind of violence that I enjoy. The side characters really make the show though. I also hold the villain in this show as my gold standard for villains. If they aren't as unhinged as him, I don't want them.

Galavant - Someone took my sense of humor and my love of musicals and medieval literature and put it into a show. Also I will watch anything and everything with Timothy Omundson.

Yuri on Ice - I watched this show on repeat 3 times on the worst day of my life. If it wasn't for this show, I truly don't know what would have happened. I love all of the characters (Phichit is the best fight me).

Ouran High School Host Club - This was the first show I ever saw that had a character that didn't care what gender they are perceived as and it was...enlightening. It was the first time I even thought about gender. Plus it's just damn hilarious.

I did it! I thought of 8 shows. I have no idea if y'all have done this, but I'm going to tag you cause I want to see your shows @heretherebedork @pose4photoml No pressure though!

[paragonrobits]

so in my main original setting, one idea i keep drifting towards concerns roughly three groups of characters who are each their own faction, with a specific territory (either areas they generally like or a specific territory, or both if you get into weird self-contained worlds within a given region premise), certain agendas they pursue and a huge cast of followers, soldiers and allies. the initial idea was that teams of adventurers like them can be rivals or allies depending purely on context, and these ones in particular are friendly but over time, its started to feel more like

they're one big group. story ideas have focused on them all eventually forming an alliance of the Good Guy groups by the standards of the story, similar to the Shield of Civilization mechanic in Total War Warhammer where the factions that value the world's survival and are not worst than True Neutral in alignment terms (including the Lizardmen, the High Elves, Grand Cathay, the Empire, Brettonia, the Dwarfen Kingdoms, and Kislev) but as a long term and permanent alliance of nations that cooperates and comes into conflict with big villain groups

functionally, still adventuring teams but on a huge scale, allowing for things such as military actions, wide-scale campaigns against monsters and political intrigue without getting into iffy stuff like questions of imperialism (long story short but due to the world being deeply magical and procedurally generated as you go out, there's very little reason to conquer except for power because you can get more territory just by wandering outwards)

so in practice, they, and others who might pop up, are all part of the same big meta-group. There's an upcoming fighting game called Knock Off, I think and the general aesthetic of the characters maps to the ideas i might have in mind here:

they all have a science fantasy look with magitech and a use of modifying their bodies and spirits to gain new abilities, with a focus on a vaguely transhumanist concept of 'turning yourself into a walking tank is just so GODDAMN COOL', with such technologies being both biological and cyborg-ish, drawing on a mix of big bulky and squarish mechanical designs (huge wires and cables that clip on, cartridges instead of discs or chips, a mix of cassette futurism and more) and strangely biological-emulating mechanisms

the three factions figured out so far include:

The OC Squad: the main characters of the setting in my stories, and so far do not have a canonical team name (I'm thinking something like... Gremlins, drawing on their themes of alchemic refinement and chaotic mutation, maybe with themes of rot or decay played positively??). A chaotic and bizarre band of punk rock heroes causing problems on purpose, challenging tyrants and undergoing adventure. they make heavy use of necromancy and powers that draw upon soul energy and bargains with the natural spirits. Their powers have a focus on transformation, defense and whimsical/wacky powers that are generally pretty weird.

Inspirations include Brutal Legend (Ironheade, specifically), superheros settings, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Final Fantasy 6/7/10, the Borderlands series (Vault Hunters and Psychos, generally), X-Men and the Doom Patrol, and Warcraft's Horde (under Thrall).

Generally prefer swamps, wetlands and similar environments. Large populations of reptille beastfolk (turtles, alligators), cat beastfolk, sapient robots, mutated animals and anamalous beings in general. Goblins, pig-beast folk, and others. Chaotic Good by default.

The Cutie Squad: A group of charming, non-threatening and helpful characters generally inspired by toyetic cartoons and series such as magical girls, monster trainer series, game/sport manga and anime. They tend to have very niche powers focused on their particular expertise, or emulating magical power sets they like with technology and magical tricks out of sheer fondness for the vibe, and using clever techniques to outperform stronger but less flexible opponents.

they tend to favor forests, riversides, and grasslands. Their populations include bird folk (generally small insectivores and hummingbirds), MLP-inspired pony beastfolk, cutesy robots that were originally made as living toys, ACTUAL living toys, imaginary friends that became their own entity, talking pets and animate ink-blob things.

The Power Metal Kings: A power metal-inspired team of heroes focused on long term empire-building and restoring order, and generally care more about helping people, defeating warlords and ambitious tyrants, forming the core of this alliance. They're mostly based on toyetic action series of the 80s and other series; inspirations include Transformers, He-Man, Netflix She-Ra, Thundercats and others, Warcraft's Alliance as well as high fantasy in general. Later inspirations in the future could include Warhammer's Grand Cathay, the Tau and others. High fantasy inspirations include dwarves and elves (generally dark elves).

They tend to favor mountains and nearby regions to them. (This might mean I should look at cultures that historically lived in such places for inspiration and character concepts.) Their populations often include small but growing populations of surviving humans, eagle-folk, wolf beastfolk, unusual dwarf and elf-inspired concepts, fox beastfolk, freed sapient robots, snake beastfolk, and monster boys/girls/nonbinary of many different kinds.

Ghoul Crew: a new faction recently devised as the founders of a nation of a Hammer Horror/Universal Horror themed land of monsters; imagine a place ruled by vampires, councils of werewolves, with populations of respected Frankenstein-ish cyborg homunculi and Creature from the Black Lagoon fishmen as common people, and you get the idea. They're among the more noble on an organizational level, happening to have a spooky vibe. This particular group is lead by a currently unfinished vampire lady and the other members would also serve as representaives of their respective peoples, building a place they can all call home.

They favor forested mountains, colder climates in general and lots of fog and rain. Their populations include vampires, werebeasts, homunculi, fishfolk and creatures often associated with darkness, scavenging and are considered Bad despite just being animals. Flies, bats, vultures and worms are common beastfolk, for instance. Necromancy is very common here, and mad scienst wonders are almost ubiquotious, and associated with higher status.

[grayson-winters]

[ Rafael Silva | 30 | cis man | he/him ] Hey, look! It’s [GRAYSON WINTERS] at [SNOWCAPS KARAOKE BAR]. Did you know they [WORK] there as a [OWNER]? I guess they’re from [BOSTON, MA] and have been in town for [6 MONTHS], living in [MOUNT ASTON]. I also heard they’re a little [OBSESSIVE], but also very [COMPASSIONATE] which definitely makes sense.

Name: Grayson Winters Age: Thirty  Date Of Birth: June 4, 1992 Occupation: Owner of Snowcaps Karaoke Bar Childhood Home: Boston, Massachusetts Current Home: Mount Aston, East Haven, Vermont + Personality Traits: Creative & Passionate & Quick Paced - Personality Traits: Secretive & Easily Discouraged & Closed-Off Aesthetics: Iced Coffee, Airpods, Ripped Skinny Jeans, Apple Products, Band T-Shirts, Hair Gel, Versace Cologne, & Plaid Height: 6’2" Eye Color: Blue Hair Color: Dirty Blond Relationship Status: Single Sexuality: Bisexual Parents: Hannah & Delilah Winters Siblings:  Shea Winters, Logan Winters, Spencer Winters, Skylar Winters, Coraline Winters, & Sam Winters Favorite Candy: Sweet Tarts Favorite Chocolate: Reeses Favorite Fruit: Pineapple Favorite Vegetable: Broccoli Favorite Dish: Spaghetti & Meatballs Favorite Drink: Bubly Blueberry Pomegranate Seltzer Favorite Alcoholic Beverage: Tequila Seltzer With A Splash Of Cranberry Favorite Movie: 10 Things I Hate About You Favorite TV Show: The Masked Singer Favorite Animated Show: Bobs Burgers Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin Favorite Pixar Movie: Toy Story 2 Favorite Jewel: Diamonds Favorite Animal: Penguins Favorite Band: Falling In Reverse Favorite Artist: Dua Lipa

Biography: tw; death, tw; cancer

Hannah and Delilah were loving mothers and they loved all of their children equally. They didn’t care whether they were blood related or adopted, it was all the same to them. They were known for fostering kids and then ending up adopting them. Of course they fostered and let some go because they aged out of the system and there was no point or they even went back to their blood families. The two didn’t care what happened, they were just happy to be a part of the journey. 

Grayson was birthed into the family. They got a donor and they were able to do it all on their own. He didn’t know which mom was his blood mom but that didn’t matter. They were both his moms regardless. He was happy to have two parents that cared for him. There were lots of siblings running around the Winters’ house and sometimes it could be considered crazy but at the end of the day they were all family. Grayson was the oldest of all the kids so he didn’t mind taking on the responsibility of the big brother. 

While sports were incredibly important to him, being home and helping his moms out was just as important. If he wasn’t practicing, he was home. He also began to find the love for singing and that’s when he decided to join the choir. And he was good at it too. Him and his one mom, Hannah definitely shared the love of music. Not that Delilah ever got jealous because they could see the two had a bond with one another that was undeniable. However though, some of his siblings became a little jealous of the closeness. 

While Grayson was an athletic kid, and a singer, he was also quite intellectual and he managed to get himself a full scholarship to college for business administration. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but business covered enough that he figured it was a safe major for him. 

Grayson decided to move to East haven to start his own life and that's where he met Kodiak. He was the man of Grayson's dreams and he thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with him. Unfortunately Kodi became distant and their relationship started to fail so he moved back to Boston to be with his parents.

One day though the family received the worst news in the world, Hannah was sick and there was no treatment for it. It had been too long for them to do anything and it felt like Grayson’s heart was breaking into two. He couldn’t believe the news and it killed him on the inside. She passed not too long after and Grayson remained home so that he could help his mom out but eventually she knew she needed to be on her own and so she told him to go live his life. That’s when Grayson found East Haven and decided to come there and they had a karaoke bar for sale and he thought it would be the perfect homage to his mom. He decided to buy it and he’s been happy about it since.