#that's because they are also representations of me

[ventique18]

Warning: a bit of a rant and more twst worship lol

Me: *glazes twst*

Someone: "well your point is invalid because this one specific character from an obscure game dresses in socially defined feminine clothes. Therefore joseimuke games in general are just as good as twst." (<- Referring to a game where there's literally just one crossdressing character)

Well good for him! 👍 Doesn't take away from the fact that Twisted Wonderland is one of the better games out there though, considering the majority of mainstream joseimuke and otome games out there that majority of the population plays-- ARE rigid when it comes to fashion expression.

Representation is important, yes, so it's very much appreciated for one such character to be present. But the thing is, twst takes it one step further by normalizing that most men in their universe don't assign gender to clothes and just wear whatever the fuck they want. I think that's more important than having one character as "unique" while everyone else is made from the same socially conforming mold.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course. There are plenty of characters in twst that prefer to be traditional most of the time. But the good thing about that is that they will wear something outside of their usual preference when they need to. They don't find that weird.

And of course, there are also a lot of games out there as explorative as twst and that's great! Posts appreciating a game for doing something right while criticizing the genre in general just means that there're not enough titles that empower this idea. I think games are a good way to normalize the message that everyone should be allowed to wear what they want, and it's up to them, not society, to define beauty.

Men can be handsome and powerful while wearing makeup everyday; Vil and Malleus show us this. At the same time, you can be a woman who likes dresses but is stronger than anyone else, like how Maleanor presents herself. But that doesn't mean that women are required to pretty herself up; you can be a cool woman in a male dominated field, like Dylla Spade is.

Tldr while twst is not perfect, it's surprisingly excellent at breaking social norms and presenting how beautiful individual preferences are. There are other games good at this too, of course, but one look at popular games makes it obvious that we still have a long way to go. Twst being so open about this topic is a great step forward for the industry in general.

[lesbianherald]

Based Jayce take tbh….also I’m gonna confess this on anon but one of my most pretentious takes when it comes to fandom is that everything would be way easier to enjoy if ppl understood story structure a little more. Like Jayce’s arc is a negative arc. He sucked on purpose! If you had bad feelings about him that was intentional and okay (I do think Jayce hate was overblown but I also get why it existed. Like the audience was just picking up on the feelings the show was putting down). But he was definitely Like That for a reason! Usually in good writing, characters are tools for the narrative first you know…you don’t need to justify his actions to like Jayce because he’s fictional and he’s not a real person youre stanning. But also fandom is for fun so I know this take is pretentious but also it’s my truth. My story structure….my characters who are intentionally challenging my theme….my character arc….

NO NO BUT YOU ARE COOKING ON EVERY LEVEL !!!!

(Note: This randomly turned into a very hasty analysis of the shots used in the bridge scene? Because I got on a tangent about how we interpret visual storytelling as well and oops!)

Story structure is so overlooked. The role characters are supposed to play in an overarching narrative is overlooked. So much gets ignored in the way information is presented both in the story structure and visually that sometimes it frightens me and it makes me really bummed! And it's nobody's fault! Most of us live in a society that devalues art and literacy on purpose!

I don't think it's pretentious to wish people better understood the building blocks of the story or at least understood how to take in general arcs. And I think if they did as a whole most fandom spaces would be a lot more interesting and have a lot less bizarre takes/infighting.

I also think that - where arcane's writing can get weird and murky - the visual language will cover it. (Almost to an extreme.)

It makes me think of one of my favorite scenes in the whole show and how misinterpreted it gets and how quick people are to defend jayce here despite how much it is playing on the themes of the show and how clearly he is painted as in the wrong both by the writing and the shots ok fuck -

I think all the time about the imbalance of power represented by that insane low angle on Jayce. You know what fuck it. I'm going to go get it. Fuck. This is about to become a whole thing. Okay.

If I brought an angle like this into a classroom setting, I would be laughed at for it being too obvious. But its one of my favorites because its so visceral. In fact, I've shown this to a lot of friends - the reaction to this shot is usually an audible "Woah!" or even nervous laughter! Because clearly! He's supposed to be intimidating here. This is supposed to be like. Oh. He is not who he used to be. Oh. Oh no. Its so co clearly a representation of power and corruption you may as well stamp it on his forehead.

He's not only Jayce here, he's a representation of piltover as a whole - in its physical and political positions over Zaun. In a position of power over someone he's close with, who just verbally told someone he would "understand." Now we are seeing that he very likely wont. (He will! But right now, we are supposed to be with Viktor in this scene. We are supposed to become convinced he won't right with him!)

Note that the angle we get for Viktor is way less extreme. Way more eye level. And less centered. I could go on about this too. But oooh boy. Like! Clearly we are supposed to be more with him in terms of who we find rational. Clearly he's the voice of reason here. We are level with him. He is at a safe distance. We are seeing how he is looking up at jayce without looking down at him.

In this shot, he is someone we as an audience are level with, who is gathering information, making a decision. He is remaining more measured than I think the audience is supposed to be given the angle we're getting on jayce.

The only time we do get the "reverse" of that Jayce shot on Viktor is when he is quite literally standing out of the frame almost immediately. Whose furious with the position Jayce is putting him in. This is Right after Jayce says, "They're dangerous." He's gathered the information he needs. He sees Jayce for what he is. Somebody he cannot trust. And he refuses to be put in this lower position.

Jayce is not supposed to be the one we are rooting for here. He is the person we are supposed to be disappointed in. We are supposed to question him here. This isn't only dramatically spelled out in the narrative but also in the shot choicesss!

And then we have the apology -

That's why i always question why people are like. Okay but he apologized. When the apology is framed like this! We don't even get to see viktor's face because the damage is done!! JAYCE ISNT EVEN LOOKING AT HIM !!!! It doesn't matter. We don't even get full access to Jayce here! What's at the center of this shot is the barricade that Jayce has ordered!!! This makes the apology, and "I've had a lot on my plate" purposefully look ridiculous in the context of the Narrative here! It's not enough!

Viktor is DYING. And jayce is standing here all prim and proper, with the Talis symbol very visible in that fuckass suit, saying he's had a lot on his plate. We're very clearly not supposed to look at this and go awww! baby boy <3. If this apology was a meaningful moment for either of them that changed either of their minds - it would not be framed like thisssss. These words are empty in the context of it all. Jayce may be genuinely sorry, but he's accidentally revealed way too much about how he views Viktor's people. Even if he didn't mean to. Even if he didn't realize how deeply his biases ran.

And then we have Viktor lying. Viktor knowing he has to go about this alone. And this is the shot. This is the moment of fracture. Viktor looking back at him in disgust with Jayce's barricade in the background. HES ALONE!! JAYCE HAS FAILED HIM !!! This is so critical in understanding Viktor's entire everything moving forward, and it's so so critical for Jayce as well.

People talk a lot about that moment where jayce has his hand on Viktor's lower back because yaoi but that screencap is so hard to get because that moment is almost immediately interrupted by a protestor from zaun throwing a Molotov cocktail in their direction! And the touch, that reluctant familiarity, despite the conflict, gets broken.

Something that I think gets overlooked is Jayce's face after the (Molotov?) gets thrown by a protestor. ITS ANOTHER LOW ANGLE LIKE!!! Once again. Highlighting the power he has here.

We see Jayce in season 1 act 1 really highlighted with a lot of high angles. A lot of doe-eyed wonder. He looks young. Sweet. This is not the same jayce and it is very very clear in the way he is shot. This is the point !!!!!.

There are a lot of scenes i see misinterpreted but this is the big one. And its one of my favorite scenes. Because he's so wrong here! And he doesn't really fully grasp how much so yet.

I love jayce. I love my complex man. Because here's the thing. He needed this low to reach the character highs he does later. Jayce being as loving and determined to make things right as he is in season 2 wouldn't be nearly as compelling or tragic or exciting were he not like this in season 1. It's brutal to watch him get punished by the narrative! But it's also narratively satisfying!

Anyways anon i agree wholeheartedly sorry i made it into a whole thing.

[essektheylyss]

idk I kind of feel like I'm an idiot bc I actually enjoyed cr 3 from the jump to the end but like the blogs who follow bc I feel they are definitely more articulate and insightful than me are like "the whole thing was meaningless and pointless! matt fumbled everything!" so maybe I'm wrong to have liked it all? I'm not really sure where I'm going with this sorry

I think one thing to keep in mind is that many (and in fact, I would argue, most!) people who are critiquing the story and construction have also generally enjoyed the campaign as a whole! Certainly I don't know anyone who stuck it out through the end who did not overall enjoy watching it, for various reasons; I know there are people who hate watch, which I think is an absurd and honestly really stupid waste of time, but from my experience they are normally making snide and vicious tweet-length posts rather than long considerations of what isn't working for them.

There are also a lot of levels of critique—I've greatly enjoyed a lot of moments in isolation that I simultaneously felt weakened, contradicted, or even actively undermined the structure of the story as a whole, but those moments were still really fun and interesting beats. The Arch Heart's cameo comes to mind, as does, in hindsight, some of the construction of the post-Solstice split, but there are plenty of others of higher or lower impact on the story. In the finale the Raise Dead falls into this place very strongly, so I'm going to talk about it at length for a moment, since it was an absolutely stellar moment for me personally and as such I do think it serves as very illustrative of an example where I simultaneously fucking love a moment while finding it worth significant critique. I think it also touches on the critiques you're referring to, which I would summarize overall as the idea that many of the outcomes feel influenced negatively by pulled punches on the part of the DM rather than a flaw of one player or another. (Also, I want to talk about it cuz I love it. :3) This got very long but I think that to your point, it is worth examining in this amount of depth.

First, the good: it is an absolutely phenomenal culminating point of an arc that was only really concluded in summary; I have, as noted earlier this week, written at length about how Essek is never situated as a protagonist, which is functionally fine and even good. He ends up tied very strongly to Caleb's arc, and moves in the narrative in such a way after 2x97 that allows Caleb to reach a concluding note, and strengthens that narrative. So we only really hear about the outcome of Essek's choices, his inevitable leave from the Dynasty, in the summarization of the campaign 2 epilogue. This is not inherently a problem, because he is not a protagonist. But this moment does functionally create a material representation of that denouement, and in particular the tension between the outcomes of his poor choices and the better—potentially even good!—person he is trying to be as a result of the Nein's influence, which does strengthen his arc in its own right.

This moment also, hilariously, bears out my argument from this post. That the resurrection should only work with this intervention, particularly while the Nein are involved, does follow through on the Nein's general positioning within Exandria. Essek's leave happening without a fight (and, frankly, with only one attempted Counterspell) both makes for a very well-paced moment and also maintains the overall sense of story that the Nein impart when they are on screen; I'm thinking again of how their Ruidus episodes feel, much like their campaign and their post-campaign one-shots, like an intrigue action thriller series, and this fits well in that framing.

So overall, it is a fantastic moment... for the Nein. The Nein are not the protagonists of this story. They exist in the world, and are such active agents that they do continue to develop and exert motion on the narrative into this campaign, and frankly, I think this would have been fine if the party given ownership of this story and campaign did not abdicate their responsibility for it with unfortunate frequency. They do not exert a strong control over their story, which is at odds with the fact that the Nein do, and are present and also involved by the nature of their ending. It completely overshadows Ashton's heroic moment, in that the culminating action beat of this sequence is Essek getting away, which kind of takes the wind out of the sails of the Hells' involvement in the gods' outcome. It doesn't negate it, certainly, but it does refocus the story from them to, for some reason, Essek. So in this sense, it occurs at the expense of the Hells.

I find that while the handwaving of using dunamantic intervention to push Raise Dead beyond its limits (if indeed the reason it didn't originally work was because Ashton's brain was essentially gone) fits fine and even well within the framework of the Nein's story, and an NPC being able to do so without a roll is fine, since NPCs are vehicles the DM uses to guide the story, this is a significant divergence from the overall mechanics of the world at large; even the Nein had to do a full ritual for the resurrection of their tiefling. Matt put those mechanics in place specifically to create narrative meaning behind resurrections, which can feel very unmotivated and like a get out of jail free card in D&D, and while it's been noted that this would've really strained the runtime beyond its existing length, prioritizing it at the cost of, for instance, more truncated end notes for the Nein and Vox would've bolstered the Hells' presence in an ending to their own story that even many of their fans felt was ultimately lacking.

Giving the resurrection full weight would've also given Ashton's sacrifice and the Hells' involvement more narrative weight; the reason the other parties are involved at all is because the Hells were truly running on fumes by that point, but any lack of involvement this created could've been alleviated by having them directly involved through pre-established ritual elements that are not contingent on them having any mechanical offerings. So this moment sits within the context of critique that I agree with: that it felt like a pulled punch that ultimately also served to decenter the Hells within their own narrative, when it could've been used with more deliberate narrative force.

At the same time, I fucking love it, and watched it four times in a row yesterday, because it is so good—and it is, as I described, narratively and thematically coherent in one sense! And I think that is one issue of the campaign: many, many great moments are excellent and coherent in a certain framework but are weaker to varying degrees when considered as one piece of a larger whole. There are so many frameworks at play in this narrative, and not enough direct intervention to manage those as frameworks rather than as a single story, but at the same time, I think those frameworks are far more apparent if you're really looking for them, and that's much more difficult, if not impossible, when you're in the midst of them and telling the story.

I also don't think this means one cannot critique this; in fact, I would say this is more an issue of being a serialized narrative than an improvised one, which is often how critique of it has been pushed back against within the fandom. I was thinking about this as I'm currently in a course on, quite literally, how to critique comics, and we discussed this week how Marjane Satrapi said in an interview after making the film adaptation of Persepolis, which was first a serialized comic, that she ended up preferring the film, and I speculated that was because with a film, one has the ability to make a more cohesive narrative purely by virtue of the fact that with a serialized form, you cannot go back and make retroactive edits when new developments come to light. This is something that long-running comics must constantly navigate (as do many long TV shows), and in extreme circumstances such as decades-old comic franchises, ends up resulting in infinite timelines and hand-waving, which becomes so ridiculous that at this point it's a meme. In that scenario, though, it is not presented as a non-contradictory story, let alone a cohesive one.

Many of the critiques of campaign 3 are operating within the idea that this is presented as one overarching narrative. (And honestly, comics and other narratives that don't utilize that presentation are also still critiqued on that merit by people who greatly enjoy the texts they're critiquing anyway.) Within that context, I feel that the framing of the Raise Dead, as well as much of what would be my critique of the other pieces I referenced (the Arch Heart's cameo and some of the party-split sections) if I was to do the same kind of rundown of those, actively undermine this presentation by introducing and forefronting too many conflicting frameworks that are not interwoven well enough to create a single, cohesive overarching narrative.

This is a very long-winded way to illustrate my point, which is that I would really encourage reading critique not as a lack of enjoyment of the campaign, let alone a suggestion that no one should've enjoyed it (and if you did, then you're not smart enough to know better), but as a way to engage with the text(s) as presented within one framework or another. I think this is sometimes obscured in online fandom spaces, where we're not engaging in critique in as formal of a sense as one would in, say, an academic setting, where the norms generally dictate the framework one is using is explicitly stated if not fully delineated within the critique, but it is, more often than not, still implicitly present within the critique.

And as a final note, I would also really urge everyone reading others' opinions on something they enjoy to resist the urge to elide their own opinions from the conversation, even if you don't feel as articulate or as well-versed in critique. Critique is a trained skill, so it is certainly something one can pick up if they are inclined, and at the same time, someone doing it does not mean they are inherently right—and in fact, with all argumentative writing, it is up to the reader to consider the argument and decide whether or not they agree with it. (You can decide that you disagree with me about the Raise Dead! Just because I wrote a thousand words on it does not inherently make my interpretation truth; it's just an interpretation. You get to say whether or not you think my interpretation makes sense based on the evidence presented.) Even here I'm using the framework of some critique that others have made, but I don't delineate in full myself. In doing do I'm not presuming that you agree, but I am presuming that you've read it and know what I'm referring to. Strictly speaking it's also not even saying that I take that critique as true; it's saying that I feel the conclusions drawn are applicable as a basis for my argument. If you wanted, you could even say that you feel that my argument is irrelevant to you because you don't feel those critiques are true! But you ultimately do have to be the one to decide any of that, which does involve a balance between a confidence in the formation of your own opinions on the text and an openness to entertaining others'.

[thatruerealmwalker]

probably not related, but like for me, I have a problem with well... I think the term is Lolicon?

Characters that are depicted as child like in appearance, mentality, and mannerisms, but then someone slaps on "Actually their 50" and then that makes it 100% okay for someone to date what many people would consider a child

I actually got in a fight with a friend because of it, and while I still feel bad for doing that to them, it's still just BLEH ya know?

I've been trying to tone it down a bit, even though I think this specific situation is really messy and kinda fucked, I've been told "As long as it doesn't hurt people, it's fine" which... I hope is true, but again it still feels bleh to me

And... I think that's why people are so up in arms about shipping. Morals. Well- not fully, but I think it plays a part. Like-

Oh! My friend, same one I talked about earlier, has told me that they can't see a character be different between different... representations? Basically, they will also see one character as *always* that character. Which... is bad, because when that character acts out of line from what they believe for that character... well I'm sure they get upset

And I can see that applying to others. Someone looks at a piece of media, sees two characters, thinks their close enough to be siblings, slots that in not as "Headcanon/This is something that I made up" but as "This is my read of the character, and that's final!"

So, when someone else ships those two characters, that person will look at it, and their morals will scream "INCEST ISN'T GOOOOOOD!" and then you get a freak out from them.

But, then again, this is only my view, and I'm sure other people have evidence and world views that also apply here.

It is an interesting topic to be sure though!

man i dont want to get all "fandom elder" on people because i think its cringe when people talk about the "good old days" of shipping culture and then ignore the rampant misogyny, queerphobia and racism in those communities but i gotta say: why are people so weird about shipping now?

Like there's really bizarre things i keep seeing younger/newer people in fandoms get upset over. like the obsession with only shipping canon couples. getting upset over crackships. viewing two characters as siblings (who arent considered siblings in the narrative) and getting mad when people ship them. If you get a relationship slightly off people will right a massive thesis statement about it flat out harass you over it. people have to put "not a ship" under platonic art because shippers will blow a fuse if they read it as slightly romantic. pick me queer people getting pissed off when people ship two characters of the same gender and accusing them of "not appreciating platonic relationships" (which by the way, funny to me that this is only thrown at m/m ships and never f/f ships).

Like shipping culture is supposed to be fun, what are we doing here.

[simandy]

We're lacking just so many cultures in this game and the sad thing is that it's REALLY hard to make them work even if we try to because everything must be white usamerican suburb shaped 😒 "oh but we have cities-" I'm talking about the neighborhood framework. It's all those separated lots and you can even place walls on the last block. Why.

You know what I want, AT THE VERY LEAST? This:

This is Cape Town. But to be really honest? I didn't know what suburbs looked like in South Africa, which is an information that simply didn't reach me until now, but this is ALSO exactly what a suburb looks like in Brazil and now I'm happy to know I'm not alone in being pissed with the usamerican way every single sims world is built.

Sorry I kinda missed the point for a second there, it was just the human connection that transcends barriers again, [clears throat] anyway! All i wanted to say is that you don't need to live in the african continent or to be black to want an Africa inspired world, and saying "Africa inspired" is the LEAST they could ever do because what even is something "Africa inspired"? It's the same thing to say "South America" inspired and shove every single stereotype in only one world- ah, yeah. It has already happened. Well! It would be the same to say "european inspired"! But that would never happen, right? Since right now we have a [unfolds list] germanic world, scandinavian world, italian world... Did I forget any?

You don't need to be oh so cultured to want more diversity in your game, to honor such a big part of your fandom with representation, since black simmers are really the BACKBONE of this community and all they get is some hairs once in a while. All you need is a bit of common sense. And good taste. But EA and their bootlickers have none of it <3

And bellow, only some of the epic african architecture. I made SURE to get those from the same article, in the FIRST link google got me. Just so you know how easy it would be for EA to make it for you, but they won't. Because it's not profitable.:

Lideta Market, Ethiopia

Hikma Complex, Niger

Kenneth Dike Library, Nigeria

Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali

[mcacomulada]

The trolls as insects (i might draw them later)

Aradia Megido - Maroon Ghost Moth (Elhamma australasiae)

Moths have been repeatedly portrayed as a sign of death. Also, their fluffiness matches the one of Aradia's hair XD. When I read this one's name it was inevitable (ghost???, maroon??, literally her oh my gooood).

Tavros Nitram - Question Mark Butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis)

Mostly based off of the Summoner and Rufioh having wings, I didn't want to make it a monarch butterfly because Tavros is in no way royalty.

Sollux Captor - Western Honey Bee (Apis mellifera)

Pretty self explanatory, Sollux always had a connection (and obsession) with bees. They also sting, which is kind of a metaphor for the psionics.

Karkat Vantas - Seven Spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata)

Ladybirds are always seen as special, even though this instance is not a mutation per se, it's special and red. Also, ladybirds are commonplace pests (which is kind of what Karkat is to HIC).

Nepeta Leijon - Pale Green Assassin Bug (Zelus luridus)

I looked up some good bug hunters and I got assassin bugs, nepeta is the mightiest of huntresses, so it fits.

Kanaya Maryam - Green Headed Ant (Rhytidoponera metallica)

I was doubting wether to make Kanaya an ant or a silk moth, but ultimately, moths are a better representation of Aradia, and ants mimic jade-blood's function in troll society better. A part from being green, this species of ant apparently has a nice bite, which is representative of Kanaya's fierceness.

Terezi Pyrope - Ebony Jewelwing (Calopteryx maculata)

I am aware that the dragonfly pictured is male, just ignore that lol, headcanon the trolls as hermaphroditic (i will post about their biological cycle hehe). Dragonflies are said to be insect's best predators, Terezi is also a vicious and precise hunter, if not of other trolls literally, of outcomes and possibilities (she is intelligent, and a Seer of Mind).

Vriska Serket - Peacock Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica)

Also pretty self explanatory, it's a blue spider, therefore Vriska Serket. Spiders in general are already a good representation of how she is percieved (with fear lol). Yea, simple explanation.

Equius Zahhak - "Pure Blue" Giant Flower Beetle (Mecynorhina torquata)

The strongest of bugs are beetles (among some types of ants, who are better described as proportionally strongest). This particular one is also pretty big and strong, and coincidentally presents this type of coloration.

Gamzee Makara - Purple-Winged Grasshopper (Titanacris albipes)

Originally was going to be a praying mantis, but the orchid mantis was just too perfect for Feferi. Locusts also have ties to religion and mythology, which was my main focus for finding Gamzee's insect (they have been, fittingly, a symbol of destruction for eons).

Eridan Ampora - Canopy Mosquito (Sabethes cyaneus)

Tbh, I based most of this decision off of the fact that Eridan is annoying (I don't hate him, it's just his personality, unfortunately). Also, mosquitos breed in water (at least that's what my parents always told me) which matches the aquatic theme.

Feferi Peixes - Orchid Mantis (Hymenopus coronatus)

Feferi is the troll I had the most trouble with. Originally I tried keeping up with the aquatic theme and had found Ranatra linearis, a stickbug that looks like a mantis and hunts little fish. I discarded the option because even though it was aquatic, the connections with Feferi kind of ended there.

I then tried to search for a bug that had "empress" in the name, and had chosen Megapomponia imperatoria, a giant as fuck cicada. It didn't convince me either though.

I chose the orchid mantis because, mantises are cutthroat, good hunters and pink as fuck. If that's not a description of the tyrian blood caste I don't know what is.

I wanted to make one of these drawing comparisons to different species of ants. There exist some cool af ants out there, I might do it.

[dreamin4smth]

Maria Robotnik VS Sonic 3

So I watched Sonic 3 last december and I can’t stop thinking abt it. Especially what they did with the Shadow and Maria story, so now Ive come here to speak my mind and go through just how GOOD of an adaption they are in the movie. Holy shit. That was wild.

Ill be comparing Game!Maria and Movie!Maria and how their characters work in the story. Im sure there are hundreds of analyzis out there of them that might be saying the same things I will. Idk I havent watched any, but these are my own thoughts Ive gathered from watching the movies and the games. So I hope they make as much sense to you as they do to me lmao.

Because, good lord, it must have been difficult for the writers to handle the question “how do you adapt the story of a hedgehog made by the blood of space alien colonizers all in favour of saving sick child from dying?“

What did the writers do? Well lets see.

To understand the difference between Movie!Maria and Game!Maria we need to understand what Maria as a character does to the story. So lets start there.

Game!Maria

Maria robotnik in the games serves a special roll that promotes her to something more than just a character. Game Maria is a symbol. Her story is set from the moment we learn of her, and her character is more there for plot reasons rather than being an independent veichle in her story. The Maria we meet is soft spoken, compassionate, a fanatic and an inspiration for Shadow. She’s dressed in blue with golden hair and with a leap in her step. There is little fault to be found in her because thats not what she’s ment to be. Maria is a representation of innocence.

She’s a sick child who wishes for everyone on earth to be happy, and all of this is ment to lead you to the horrors of her then being killed. But the point is, Maria in the games is stagnant. She represents the life that Shadow had on the ARK, but more importantly, she represents SHADOWS innocence. Maria as a character is not her own story but rather a subpart of Shadows, and that is where we find the biggest difference with the Games and the movie. Dont even get me started on the almost religious imagery that follows her around. I mean, her names MARIA. Her roll is to be the center of love in Shadow’s life. Shes a sister, a best friend and even motherly at times. And while Shadow generations definetly gives us more of a laid back version of her, we can still see her maintain that untouchable rightousness that makes her character almost age-less. In a sense. She’s a child to highlight her innocence, yet in all other terms she really isn’t. Game Maria is an idea.

So what does the movies do then?

Movie!Maria

Sonic 3 saw all this and decided to do smth a bit different. To introduce such a compex narrative in a movie for children would definetly have been... Difficult, so instead they tone down the version a bit and make it their own thing. Who does Maria become? She becomes a CHARACTER.

Movie Maria is a child who is going to be living at a base filled with adults and scientists. She walks into the first scene with caution and nervousness, and yet as she meets Shadow, she finds a kin. And who we meet is a Maria that is goofy, mischevous, gleeful and daring. She’s a child here. She builds blanket forts, throws pop-corn at her brother, makes him driver her around on roller-skates and plays the guitar. Movie Maria is not ment to represent more than what she is, and still, it works. Movie Maria is innocent but she’s not the definition of it. She’s a person that shadow lost rather than an idea that he lost. The Maria we meet in the movie is a moving character that was abruptly stopped by external forces. She was always ment to have a future and a story, and yet she lost that. Movie Maria’s tragedy lies in her lost potential while Game Maria’s tragedy lies in her inevitable outcome. This also creates a difference in what they do to Shadows own personal journey, which ill get into more later.

So before that one more thing I love that they do with Movie Maria is that they still let her keep that inspirational part. She’s the one to inteoduce the line “the light shines even though the star is gone“ to Shadow and unknowingly ends up helping Shadow in his grief. While Game Maria is activly trying to bring positive change to Shadow’s life, Movie Maria uninentionally does that simply by showing kindness and love. She is still Shadows sister who was always there for him and loved him, just in a different light. She is still his moral compass. Shadow can be a good person because of her impact on his life, and in my opinion, as long as she fits the afformentioned categories then Maria can be whatever the writers want her to be.

So last but not least, lets talk abt her sickness.

Maria’s Sickness

Game Maria is deathly sick. Her days are numbered until a cure can be found, and the only hope left for her is Shadow. This creates a dependency between the two because suddenly, Shadow’s life isnt his own. He is alive for and because of Maria. She’s a part of his identity, so what happens when he loses that part of himself? This internal conflict directly influences Shadow’s self worth. Shadow is as much angry for losing her as he’s angry for losing himself. The very reason to why he says “goodbye shadow the hedgehog“ in Shadow 05 is because he can no longer be the same person after losing Maria. His goals and his dreams are haltered when the ARK gets invaded, ans it all leads back to Maria’s sickness.

Which is why... Well... The fact that the movie removes this part of Maria sure is... A choice.

And while I understand that showing a sick child who is then killed by the military would probbaly raise a few eyebrows from adults, that still doesnt change the fact that a very unique and important part of Shadows story was removed.

Movie Maria is there more or less on her own ackord. She has a future ahead of her. Her and Shadows relationship isn’t built on mutual depenency but rather as a circumstantional one. Which still works, dont get me wrong, but it does make the story just a tad more generic. Shadow is no longer angry for losing such a big part of his identity, he’s just doing the former part now. Grieving the most important person in his life, as well as his home.

This hardly ruins the story ofc, its just a different take on the story that, in all fairness, fits the vibe of the movie better. Bringing in terminal illness and conversations around that would definetly be a tough one. And because of them making Maria more of a character now it still works. She’s already an innocent and tragic character. She’s not ment to be innocence and tragedy incarnate like she is in the games. You get the point.

All in all. Almost perfect adaption of Maria in my opinion. I love movie Maria and it was such a clever way to go with the character. She and Shadow will always have a special place in my heart.

Hope you liked my little thought essay. I can talk abt Sonic characters all damn day 🫶

[manyu-ten]

Calé here! My specific community does consider Gypsy a slur (moreso with younger generations) but other communities have reclaimed the term—it is what it is. Some are okay with it, some aren't. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't singing God Help the Outcasts or Hellfire with the term involved (bad rep aside—it was also the only rep I had as a little kid watching Disney movies 😭).

DC Rebirth is pushing the idea that Mary is Dick's Romani parent and that she is from France. Given this, I think its okay to assume she was probably Manouche or Calé! I like to think she was Calé, of course and for that reason, when I write or make headcanons for Dick, I always like to think that'd he'd be a very passionate Flamenco dancer 😌.

As for languages, I think many of us like to think that Dick wasn't actually born in the USA and eventually immigrated here as a performer with Haly's Circus. Obviously, there are many parts of DC's convoluted canon that objects to this—but it's not as though DC has done a good job with Romani representation, historically.

If we go with him being American—then yeah, he was probably speaking American-English just fine. If he was born somewhere in Europe, it would be alright to assume his first language was something else, though he would probably be taught from a very young age not to speak Romani with outsiders.

He would understand Jason intrinsically and it is odd to me that it is at all debated that he wouldn't understand the banes of classism and racism. When I was a kid, I never told anyone I met I was Romani. It was safer for me to identify solely by another part of my ethnic identity, because I was more comfortable dealing with that type of racism (its silly now, but was a really real fear I had growing up).

Also, the thing about learning to defend yourself from payos—yeah, I feel you on that one 100% 😭😭. Learned that the hard way. Payos of my own family will happily call me a thief or accuse me of 'black magic'. I remember once when I was younger and had told an older woman I was Calé, she had assumed one of my parents must have stolen my sibling because they are much lighter and less "exotic" looking than me.

Let my guy Dick sing Naci en Alamo (NOT THE LEVY VERSION, MIND Y'ALL) passionately! Let him make hearty stews! Let him make all the cabbage and meat dishes available to him. Let him Flamenco till his shoes are worn out. Let him be Roma, please.

One of the things which really annoys me about Dick Grayson’s characterisation by both DC and the fandom is how they treat his being Romani (I say this as a gypsy from the circus myself) also before people cancel me for saying gypsy - I am not American and it’s not a slur where I am from. I am a gypsy myself so please don’t freak out about my using this term which feels comfortable and accurate to me

I know this is a common complaint, but being a gypsy or Romani is such a niche ethnic identity, and so often I see people treat it almost like a nationality. For example, the idea that Dick Grayson grew up not knowing English is so bizarre to me… of course he knew English, he may be Romani and speak it, but he is also American. The shopkeeper who he is buying food from doesn’t speak Romani, nor do the local authorities whose permission we need to even put on a circus/fair, so it makes sense that he’d speak English to them. He works in the circus: his family’s livelihood depended on his being able to draw a crowd - if he can’t interact with the people he’s taking the money from, how does he expect to make it in what is essentially a customer service job (I speak from experience here). Also, historically, by the late 18th century, the vast majority of Romani-speaking gypsies also spoke another language as a first language, and by the 20th century, I could argue that this is about 99.99999% of us, if not all.

The other thing I often see is how Dick Grayson is portrayed as being the Bristol-raised kid who doesn’t understand Jason’s Crime Alley upbringing. And yeah, whilst Dick lived with Bruce from a young age, and might (even based on his personality) have a better chance of mixing with the rich kids, let’s not act like Dick didn’t know struggle as a kid. Even if his parents were fairly comfortable economically, he spent at least half the year living in a trailer/vardo, which people associate with being working class. All gypsy kids are taught to fight from a very young age because whenever we pull on somewhere to open (aka put on the show), we expect a hell of a lot of racism from the locals, which often included getting jumped, often by multiple older gadja/gorja/non-gypsy children - and hell, even adults! As well as knowing how to defend ourselves, this also leads to a lot us developing a bit of a defence mechanism wherein we can talk ourselves out of a situation, or endear ourselves to people quickly in the first place so we don’t get fighting (keeping us safe, and keeping us in the good graces of the locals so we can continue earning a living there) - perhaps this could be explored as part of the reasoning behind the famous Dick Grayson charm? Anyway, all this to say, Dick would fully understand what it’s like to be the poor outsider who has to fight at every corner just to exist, and justifying his existence to others who view themselves as his ‘superiors’.

My final complaint is a small one: every single gypsy I know grows up absolutely BELTING Cher’s ‘Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves’ and the fact that I’ve not seen Dick pouring his heart into that song, screaming the words ‘I was born in the wagon of a travelling show’ is honestly a hate crime which must be fixed immediately.

[aprilblossomgirl]

i feel like i'm hurting so much for faifa in this episode. he doesn't deserve to hear that many hurtful words. before i continue, i think i need to say this first: as an asian myself, i will always understand why most (asian) shows choose forgiveness when dealing with bad parents/parenting, no matter how unforgivable they might be seen by the rest of the audience. and that, i believe, is not of any agenda by the showmaker. of course, to not generalize it, few medias didn't go through that route because of a different preference or goal in the storytelling. however, understanding forgiveness doesn't necessarily mean i believe it is always the 'right' way of wrapping up an arc.

thinking about the upcoming faifawine's story starting next week, i feel like some dialogues in this episode, no matter how they really felt off to me, are intentionally right there as a further backstory for faifa. and especially if the directing choice of faifa's expression changes through that scene with the whole family is anything to go by.

when yotha called fai, he said this first: "Tell me honestly. Don’t be scared of hurting anyone." as if yotha knows that fai always keeps his feelings to himself to avoid hurting anyone else.

fai trying to come up with a reasoning, "I was probably just angry with her, but I think everyone was hurt by what happened— Dad, Newton, and Mom." as if to avoid answering yotha's question, "Do you hate her?" with his real answer.

"If Mom really wanted to abandon us, why would she have taken me with her?" shows that fai was not being optimistic (as yotha implied) but somehow trusted the mom. only to be shattered later, "I thought if I brought Faifa who loves being with his Dad and brothers, at least he would ask me to bring him back to visit everyone often and we’d all see each other sometimes. On the other hand, if I’d brought you, Yotha, we might have been so happy that we wouldn’t have wanted to come back and see anyone here again..." (what nonsense! i cannot understand any logic behind this one.) in a way implying that she might haven't been that happy with fai, which somehow validate what he and yotha had been talking about before: "I don’t know why she took me with her even though you were the one who wanted to go." / "Because she loves you more than me." / "That’s definitely not the reason." oh, i was right. mom doesn't love me. but she's hurting. but...

imagine being faifa, hearing all of those hurtful excuses, but his immediate response was trying to justify why mom did what she did instead of trying to validate the real feeling he himself was having. and i say this with my whole being: that's a pretty accurate representation of how we, asian kids, mostly were nurtured. the scene just stabbed me right in the heart.

faifa might haven't said anything, but his face didn't lie. you could very clearly see how his face instantly dropped once mom told her reason for taking him instead of yotha at that time. and i still cannot forget the face he made a few episodes back when mom gave him something he was allergic to. the level of gaslighting here is too suffocating to witness. the emotional neglect just hits too hard. i cannot even begin to break it further into fai's loneliness.

all these made me wonder how the upcoming third arc will 'deal' with fai's inner wound. i hope the show won't brush it off because i think it would add more depth to the romance part, how he navigates his feelings once someone finally enters his life, as it has been implied that wine was also dealing with heartbreak.

[northlight14]

A PSA to non asexual arcane fans!

Ok with the recent announcement that Viktor is asexual, as an asexual myself who has Viktor as their favourite character, I wanna get some shit out the way. There’s a good chance I’m gonna stop interacting with the arcane fandom because of this announcement because every time I’ve seen a character be confirmed asexual there’s always just this influx of acephobia and misinformation which makes it impossible for me to even interact with the fandom and feel safe. So throwing this at y’all and then we’ll see what happens. However, I do not speak for the whole of the asexual community so some aces may disagree with me and that’s ok, as long as y’all aren’t rude we can have a discussion (or you can just scroll or block me, whatevs🤷)

Asexual and aromantic are not the same thing. This is something the creator clearly doesn’t know since he used Viktor’s asexuality as a rebuttal against Jayvik which makes zero fucking sense but sure. So asexuals can still date and aromantics and still have sex. Some like myself are both but that’s not always the case

“Asexuality is a spectrum! Some asexuals still have sex!” is not the good excuse you think it is to depict asexuals in sexually explicit situations. Every time I see this paired with this excuse, the character is very obviously just made to be allosexual in the fanwork. Either stick to sexualising the allosexual characters or do your research on sex neutral/favourable asexuals and represent them properly. Otherwise what you’re doing is no different to writing a fic where a canonically lesbian character has sex with a man

“Asexuality is a spectrum! People can be demisexual or greysexual!” If the character was demisexual or greysexual, the creator would have said. But they didn’t. They said they were asexual. You changing the label doesn’t make you inclusive, it makes you acephobic

Viktor being announced as asexual only after the show was released and it being in rebuttal to a gay ship where the writer clearly doesn’t know what it actually means to be asexual isn’t the win for ace representation some might first think. Asexuals deserve explicit representation by people who bother to learn how to represent us properly

Having the only asexual character also be the character who’s storyline focuses on disability, something that people already infantalise also isn’t the win people might try and make it out to be. Disabled people are frequently denied sexuality and it is part of the way they are infantalised in western society. So having Viktor be disabled and also be the only asexual character feels a bit iffy to me. Obviously there are disabled people who are ace and I don’t want to diminish that experience either. And there would be ways to explore that in a more nuanced way but that’s not what happened. And frankly it would be so easy to avoid this by just having more than one ace character so it doesn’t feel like a trait exclusive to disabled people but sure go off I guess

A lot of you only give a shit about QPR’s (queer platonic relationships) so that you have an excuse to ship aromantic characters. Granted, I’m so in favour of QPR Jayvik because their relationship explicitly goes beyond what we consider standard for a platonic relationship, even if it’s canonically not romantic. But I’m bringing this up anyway because a lot of the time in fandom and society in general, QPR’s are seen as a way to make the aromantic character more “palatable” to the allo’s and shippers. And as someone in a QPR, that idea honestly feels both insulting but is also so damaging to the aro community as a whole. Loveless aromantics exist, some aromantics who do feel other forms of love still don’t want a QPR. Some like myself were/are indifferent and some like my partner really want/ed one. Not all of us are the same

Might’ve missed some stuff but yeah. Any acephobia will be deleted but I’m happy to have civil conversations and answer questions. Ultimately I just want a fandom to actually listen to ace people for once but I know that won’t happen. Still, I wanted to at least say my peace

[runespoor7]

Finally finished my quilt inspired by the Sadal Suud island from Baten Kaitos! It was a pain and a half to quilt on my small domestic machine but i wuv it very very much.

Sadal Suud has a very cosy, homey feel to me, and that's what I tried to evoke with the palette choice. I could have gone with a simpler pattern to fit that tone, probably squares, but I really wanted to make these big striped hexagons, so I did, and I'll just say that it fits Sadal Suud because Sadal Suud is of course more sophisticated than the Empire believes. Its capital is nicknamed "the Jewel of the East", after all!

the quilt was mostly inspired by the starting village of Cebalrai, the farming hamlet, and the first dungeon, Moonguile Forest.

I chose lots of forest-y fabrics, as well as fabrics that contain reminders of what I think of when I think of Sadal Suud, like Cebalrai's famous mountain apples, the lovely greens of the forest and warm colors of the harvest.

The upper-left fabric features red apple trees for apples of Cebalrai and their game inspiration - the mountain apples once added to your inventory

the right-most, dark blue fabric, with its tiny stars and moons, is here both for the "Moon" in Moonguilt, and because a project about an island from Baten Kaitos wouldn't be complete without a reference to stars! also it's a good fit for the constellation magnus, on the right, the first of which you find in Moonguile.

There's a lot more to Sadal Suud and what happens there than what I chose to focus on, but I wanted to keep the representation of the starting island simple, fitting its reputation. I wanted to find a fabric featuring the blue birds as a nod to their place in the quests, but couldn't find any that I liked and that fit the rest of the project, so I left it out (and also didn't put anything for the Nunkirantula, or really any of the water, which is more of a Diadem thing for me!).

I am in fact incredibly pleased with how it turned out, despite it being ✨very badly sewn indeed ✨.

[girl4music]

“She’s not burning just one paper, she has an entire fire going.”

What an analogy!

A+ meta on Vi OP.

Girl hasn’t even had chance the catch up with herself.

Let alone anyone else.

And yet she constantly puts others before herself. You’d think someone that closed off would be a little selfish.

Nope. She’s the last person to “me” the narrative.

And we love her for it but at the same time…

We just want her to get a break.

And she does in the end.

“Anti-climatic” or not… this was appropriate for her.

And if people can’t deal with that, then they don’t care about the character and her wants and needs at all.

And do you know what’s upsetting but also admirable?

Vi would be fine with that. I think it’s nice seeing the badass warrior woman be the selfless one for once.

It subverts the trope that tormented warriors aren’t capable of feeling empathy or having compassion.

Because at the end of the day the reason why they fight so hard and so much is because they’re deeply experienced in and sensitive to loss and grief and pain.

That’s what makes them true warriors and heroes.

JINX: “Vi was strong because she was afraid. Her fear of losing us is what made her fight so hard.”

I find it fascinating all the different interpretations (some of them way off when it comes to characterization BUT nevertheless entertaining) on Arcane. Sometimes it seems like people aren’t actually SEEING what they’re watching. HEARING what they’re listening to. FEELING what they’re touched by.

It’s almost like they’re the actual closed off ones.

They’ve got the entire experience right in front of them and yet… it’s not reaching them. Not getting through.

It’s mad. Sometimes I have to ask myself: “Am I just unusually perceptive and receptive?”

I don’t think so. 🫤

I mean there’s no reason why I would be.

I think the problem is on their end because the creators did all they could to illustrate the complexity of Arcane.

If people aren’t picking that up, there’s a problem there.

And I think it’s the difference between driving the vehicle and riding shotgun. Entirely different intake.

When you’re not in it, you don’t easily understand it.

But if you’ve been there, you sort of filter it that way.

And the result is what is cultivating the divisiveness.

But hey, that’s the key to exceptional storytelling and representation if you can get so many different intakes.

I find it fascinating. I am as equally entertained and fulfilled in watching the reactions over Arcane as I am watching Arcane itself. I think it’s one hell of a show.

I don’t say much. I just sit in the backseat observing.

And what I’ve experienced from doing that has been enlightening to say the least. But that’s just how I roll.

Vi’s ending is so important to me actually

Her life isn’t better without Jinx. That misconception drives me insane. Losing her sister is just adding more grief to the mountain she already has. But it is better that shes been allowed to just sit for once. She was an object in motion for basically the entire show, she was losing people constantly, she grew up in jail for fucks sake- shes never been allowed to just rest.

Her ending up in a safe home with someone who loves her and the time to finally process all the grief she’s been holding onto? She hasn’t had the chance to deal with the loss of anyone since Felicia and Connel. Her parents were the last people she had the chance to grieve in a safe environment.

She’s not burning just one paper, she has an entire fire going. That’s significant. Her getting to just sit for once, with no urgency, and watch the fire is so significant. It would be better if she had her sister there, and since it’s been confirmed that Jinx is alive I hope they reconnect bc they both deserve it, but just. Fuck. Healing is so bittersweet and I’m glad they allowed her that.

[utilitycaster]

something so funny and also so sad about seeing people on twitter say "watch campaign 3 for imodna, the sapphic ship in media that has more screentime than any other!" but without any actual reasons why it's a good ship or a good campaign or like. any reason other than "two women are together on screen for a long time." okay. cool. not a useful recommendation. reminds me of those book recs that just list the pieces of representation it includes without telling you anything about the plot or genre

so this was the topic my really mean draft post was about and frankly I lack the rancor to post it in full because I kind of just feel sorry for these people. but it really is like...have we considered that most of the 30+ year old wlw in the fandom who are old enough to remember The Bad Days when your options were like. Xena, The L Word, those two lesbians on Queer as Folk (US), Samantha on Sex and the City sometimes maybe, or getting super into anime before it was cool are like. anyway. And have we considered that the main defense of this ship is "it's onscreen for a period of time that is greater than some other ships that have been onscreen," and not like, connection, or romance. Like, most people's orgasms are shorter than their dentist visits (though hopefully more frequent) but one of these things is more enjoyable, you know?

Anyway happy Big Game, please enjoy a more satisfying sapphic arc, on the house:

[ender-cloud]

The Mind Scape is so fascinating to me:0

Tgs Spoilers Under cut

Hydes Anxiety is very valid, one of the most common fears, or cause of fears, is the fear of the unknown. This fear of the unknown is seen with fears of the future, sometimes the fear of the dark, and death.

He dosen’t know how far down Jekyll is, he dosent know what happened to him, and he dosent know how far gone Jekyll is Mentally.

Hyde should think about his actions, while he knows that he might save Jekyll this way, he dosent know what will happen to him or if he will even be able to succeed.

Hyde knows that he needs to at least try, but he shouldn’t just discount his worries, they are what makes him human and is something apart of him.

If Hyde goes down theres not a guarantee that he will be fine or that he will find Jekyll, but he will try, and its up to him on what to do after that

The white out faces are back chattttt!!

Mind Lanyon is a representation of self doubt, it always has been what Jekyll wanted to be but couldn’t, it’s always been a representation of his self doubt and self hatred.

Now mind Lanyon is a representative of Hydes self doubt as well, once again showing Hyde and Jekylls connection. They both want to prove themselves and sometimes Hearing the doubt of the one they love really breaks them.

“You’re nothing but a mistake” something that Jekyll had told Lanyon, that Hyde was a mistake, that Hyde should never have existed and how he hates that part of him, mind Lanyon us showing that too.

Hyde seems less affected by it but it definitely still stung.

Frakenstine is the other side of Jekylls self doubt; his ability as a scientist. While mind Lanyon represents who he wants to be as a person, Frankenstine represents who he wants to be as a scientist, a type of role model who does affect him more than he wants to let on.

What Frankenstine says hints that they her and Lanyon dont know which side of Jekyll their talking to, perhaps these sayings are pushing Jekyll further and Further down the mind scape, further into the unknown (Frozen ref 👀/j)

I didn’t bring it up earlier but mind Lanyon also says “you’ll never be fit for polite society” They arent talking to Hyde, they are talking to Jekyll because their a representation of Jekylls self doubt and fears

They are pushing him down into the mindscape more than anything, because they are the representation of his thoughts.

[tres-pistolas]

I have noticed that you draw Luke a little…different than most of the dinluke fandom 😅 Is there a particular reason?

Maybe I'm the greatest freak out there and that’s why I'm in disharmony ? Mostly I work with the impression that I get of his character in the Mandalorian, movies and books (except for my crack comics, that is OOC, its crack guys) I think the dinluke fandom clearly prefers his new hope personality than his mandalorian personality but pairing him off with Din in the former gives me serious DiCaprio vibes so I'm just like naaah. I'm also fascinated by his metamorphosis from new hope to the character that he is in the mandalorian because that's HUGE change, and to let him remain static doesn't seem appealing to me personally.

Now Luke was always supposed to be a different kind of hero. One that valued kindness and compassion before violence, a different way to represent masculinity that the typical macho of the 70's (And not in everything because he did A LOT of contradicting shit in the movies) but it seems like the dinluke fandom took those exact traits to say yes, indeed, having those traits instead of the ones like, say, Din Djarin (one that fits these within those traits better) makes you less of a man, less of a hero and thats why his representation in the fandom is mostly, well, of a person that cannot take care of himself much less of other people, among other things.

Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into this and it's just a byproduct of Pedro Pascal being a very attractive man and the author's or fanartist's desperate need to bend Luke's personality to make him more relatable to the author's own so that it can fit the fantasy better. Makes sense I mean wiseass cosmic wizard is not exactly relatable. But I want to believe this is not true because it saddens me deeply the implication that to make someone relatable to oneself is to take away their drive, their powers, their self esteem and capabilities and in turn, to elevate their love interest (Din djarin) so that he's powerful, a king, rich and sexual driven.

Or maybe like I said I'm just full of shit and I'm the freak that can't see the bigger picture. Maybe I'm the fackin Jacqes Audiard from Emilia Perez!! Please understand that I'm stating my opinion and reasoning because I'm being specifically ASKED about it. Mostly I just sit down silently and do mediocre drawings, that's my specialty. Also I'm no social knight I believe in freedom of speech and that everybody is free to write and draw whatever they want, even if controversial or whatever (including criticism and satire).

[circusballoon]

Yep!! :D

They compare themself to a ghost and the tree to their grave, and there's the whole .. exploding into a star deal (+ the overall prevalent death themes in the game). It makes me really enjoy when Loop is portrayed like an undead type creature. Something formerly human but now changed, withered, and other, a representation of death, undeath, and change

And then also bonus angel wings because. I mean. starburst heads are a common angel depiction, and a being made to serve the Universe to help another... it feels right.

(I also just really like undead critters and wings xD)

I hadn't drawn enough weird, undead-looking Loops in my time. So have a weird Loop.