#that's why they are my absolute favourite iteration

[pageofheartdj]

A lil' reminder, the bros are active jerks to each other too!xD

[originalwinnerfanfish]

Well, I did it

Megatron - I love his tfp design. Probably one of the best iteration of Megs. He is huge, heavy armoured, his face covered with scars… He doesn’t looks like an ordinary military leader who is only capable of giving orders, but like real warrior who can destroy any enemy with his bare hands.

So, in the WOF version, he definitely shares some features with Princess Burn, not only because of his might, but also because of his horns shape and dirty-dark scales (that absorbed blood of his enemies)

Starscream - Boy, I hate him so much 🤣… but in the good way, trust me! In my opinion, when the show's creators make you feel such strong negative emotions towards a villain, it means they've done a great job. Also, I think that his animation in the show was absolutely incredible, because even though he's a 3D model, he still manages to move like a 2D character, which is amazing!

I feel that in my design he still looks more like a skywing, than an icewing (which is kinda logical)

Soundwave - This one was tricky. I couldn't figure out what his mask would look like, so I just made his face a really dark color. I think Soundwave has both gifts of the nightwings, and he’s equally great at telepathy and a future vision. So he doesn't really need equipment to predict enemy movements, which makes him an ideal communicator in the WOF setting. His Laserbeak is part of the armor enchanted by Shockwave, and it might also allow him to open portals (but I'm not sure with this one)

Shockwave - My favourite evil genius. He would definitely have animus magic and mind reading. I think Shockwave is the only one who has advanced the study of magic so far, precisely because he combined it with scientific knowledge and created safer methods of using it, that don't damage the mind. It's like if a Mastermind got animus magic in books.

I also like to think that he didn't heal the damaged part of his face just so that his enemies would fear him more)

Dreadwing - This man deserved better! It's really a shame that he was removed from the show so quickly due to financial problems. It would be great if his arc got a proper conclusion in season 3.

Considering that I didn't want to make him a hybrid, it was difficult to choose a suitable color palette. So let’s just say, that I tried my best😅

I don’t think that he would have any nightwing powers, but honestly it doesn’t even matter - this guy can make a bombs, what else does he need to be cool

Arachnid - Did anyone even doubt that she would be a hivewing? Damn, she even got her own “Othermind” virus. Her design was the easiest to work with - just a little poisonous ass (suspiciously similar to Maleficent).

Just like Starscream, I hate her, but in a good way. She's one of the creepiest characters in the entire series, who’s acting like a fucking heartless monster, especially with Arcee, but even so, there's always was something mesmerizing about her. I just really like strong female villains

Knockout - Wery bright and charismatic guy, definitely one of my fav cons!

I tried to draw him as handsome as possible. Worked a lot on the face shape and coloring, and as for me it turned out pretty nice (finally).

Most decepticons think Knockout is as stupid and lazy as all the other rainwings. And it's not like he completely disagrees with that. Of course he’s not stupid and lazy, but if it’s means less dirty work on the battlefield, well, he’ll continue act like a tipical rainwing

(I also believe that Megatron keeps him as an “art”)

Breakdown - Fun fact: "Operation Breakdown" was the very first thing I saw in this series. And it was an interesting experience for 8 year old me. Maybe that's why I'm so scared of eye gouging scenes in movies now…

I think that he didn't have any siblings initially due to his parents nature, and even after meeting Bulkhead, he felt uncomfortable among the other mudwings. And this is why he later chose the side of the decepticons. And maaaaybe because of one cute rainwing influence)

P.s.

I think that, being mostly nightwings and icewings, the decepticons are much more concerned about purity of their blood and rarely accept half-breeds into their ranks.

During the war, there were many animus dragons among decepticons, which is why they have so many artifacts that allowed teleportation and communication at a distance. But, honestly, I still can't imagine what Nemesis would look like in this AU

[glitter-stained]

A fun, happy dc story for a change

Look I can be very critical of Winick's writing because I'm so ambivalent about it but damn if it isn't, on a meta level, a really satisfying spite story.

At the core of this story, there is Jim Starlin. Now Starlin's writing has many flaws, not least of all the blatant racism and sexism. And if there's one thing Jim hates, it's Robin. He wants to kill that little boy so bad, oh how he hates that bright coloured child in tights that's just holding Batman back from reaching his true potential as an absolute badass... And hey, good news! Dc, in trying to bring a second Robin after the first got a new identity, has dropped the ball, and the new boy is unpopular amongst the fans who miss the previous iteration! This is his opportunity to kill Robin, definitely!

But how? People may not have voted him dead yet, but Jim is already planning, setting up plots and trying his damndest to get him killed. And the thing about Jim- the thing that makes him a good writer, you see, the thing that separates him from those losers who fail to see Batman's true potential, is that his writing is gritty. He's not afraid to write a true dark knight facing the grimdark horrors of a town laden with crime, to shy away from the real dark, gritty topic that are mature and dark like rape. And uh, sexual violence against women. And uh, serial raping and killing women. (I'm kidding, of course, I didn't forget the native american cult leader who bathes in blood to prolongate his life. Or about the kgb agent Batman straight-up kills after he tries to kill Reagan. Or about the suicides, god I haven't forgotten about that. Don't worry.) But anyway, sexual abuse in general is a big theme for Jim. It shows how serious and dark and gritty he can be. So he has an idea: why not make Robin a child sexual abuse victim and give him AIDS? That way that's a justification to write Robin unlikeable (by making him emotional when exposed to situations of sexual abuse, unable to restrain his anger when defending a prostitute...) and at the same time it's the perfect way to kill Robin! DC has been considering giving a character AIDS, it's perfect! It will show everyone how dark and gritty Jim's writing is, he can make Robin even more unlikeable on top of how people are upset about the transition between Robins, and then he can finally kill Robin! It's perfect! Jim is a genius!!!

Now, of course, we know that plan failed: first because dc rejected Starlin's idea for Jason to die of AIDS, and second because as soon as Jason (as a character, which is what DC apparently had a problem with) died, they fired Starlin as a Batman writer and introduced a new Robin, making Starlin's vehement campaign against a fictional fifteen years old completely vain.

So that's it, right? Crisis avoided, we almost had some even worst writing that what already was, everyone sigh in relief and go home?

Enter Judd Winick stage left.

Now, remember how DC wanted to give a character AIDS? In 2003, Green Arrow #43 reveals that Mia Dearden, Oliver Queen's ward and a csa survivor of underage prostitution, is HIV positive, and in #45, she takes on the mantle of the second Speedy, becoming, according to Wikipedia, the most prominent HIV-positive superhero to star in an ongoing comic book. (And also one of my favourite comics characters, but that's unrelated.) An important thing about Winick, who wrote those issues, is that he is personally invested in education about AIDS, continuing his friend Pedro Zamora's educational work after his death of AIDS-related progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. (He also wrote a graphic novel about it, called Pedro and Me: Friendship, Loss and What I've Learned). So kudos! We finally got someone who has done research and actually holds respect for HIV+ people writing HIV+ characters. And Mia is so cool, man- but not only is she a really interesting character, she is, first and foremost, a survivor. That's how she characterizes herself, sees what happened to her: she did what she had to do to survive, and now she's a fucking superhero and she's here to help others and you know what she's not gonna do? Die "of AIDS."

Yeah, I haven't forgotten Starlin's terrible writing. And, if Winick's writing is any identification, it seems like he hasn't either. The idea of making the second Speedy a parallel with the second Robin isn't groundbreaking, but it's cool that it's there (and also, incidentally, a reminder that parallels are interesting and fun and backstories are not a finite resource characters can run out of or steal from eachother.) Anyway, this includes Winick altering Mia's backstory and making her a street kid to make it more similar to Jason's, as well as Mia's on-screen murder offering a nice parallel to Jason's ambiguous murder in Starlin's Diplomat Son (a parallel I can't help but regard with vindicative snark, because that's how you handle a teenager who has just caused, directly or not, a man's death out of hopelessness in a situation that felt impossible. A little snark of See? Now this is how it's done. Yeah, Starlin's Bruce isn't winning any parenting against Winick's Ollie, that's for sure.) So there it is! Our fun spite story, Winick taking on Starlin's terrible ideas, a teen vigilante and survivor taking on a hero identity to mirror a teen vigilant's loss and death, a good old fashioned schooling. Cool? Cool!

And then, in 2005, Winick buries Starlin's last remaining impact on DC by bringing back Jason Todd, in a move so audacious in the back-then landscape it would be kinda akin to bringing Ben Parker back to life in Spiderman's life as a villain (please don't tell me this happens in the comics I don't read Marvel and if someone wrote that I would honestly prefer not to know). Now, of course, the impact of Jason's death on the narrative can't and shouldn't be undone by that move, but that's not important, because that's not what Starlin wanted when killing Jason - he wanted to kill Jason/Robin, not give everyone grief-induced hallucinations where Jason/Robin had an incredibly salient place in the narrative, so he didn't get what he wanted anyway.

Personally, my view on Winick's writing of Jason is contrasted (and the fact that there are some elements of Starlin's characterization of Jason that I prefer to Winick's deeply amazes me, incredibly ironic situation. Which only serves to point that even Starlin' goal of making us hate his version of robin failed drastically, as me and my jaybin fan mutuals can attest. Sucks to suck!). But as much as some of the decisions frustrate me, do you understand how much of a power move it is to take this child, this victim who has been victim-blamed for years, and bring him back to life with a vengeance and a demand that his life mattered, that his death was a bad thing that shouldn't be tolerated? Do you know how good that story feels, especially to victims when reading it and see that indignation validated, that rebellion against the status quo and victim-blaming, how good it feels to see a "bad victim" that refuses to stay down ? And in the context of Starlin's intent to write Jason a CSA victim, Winick writing Mia, the HIV+ plot for them both- do you understand the genuine and violent glee I feel, that it's Winick that wrote Jason coming back to life and hunting down the narrative with a machine gun?

So yeah. This is the context in which I talk about acknowledging the csa subtext in Green Arrow: Seeing Red, but this post isn't about lecturing you to accept it as canon or imply that you're bad for not sharing that interpretation. It's about spite -towards Jim Starlin specifically. And it's about that interpretation, but the context in which it was written in general, is not just a victory against Starlin, that guy lost long ago, but the narrative equivalent of that Green Arrow meme about taking a funny selfie over a gravestone. In Seeing Red (specifically in the line that's discussed when questioning the csa headcanon), Jason tells Mia they are similar because of what they had to do to survive, framing the sexual trauma on Mia's part (and thus allegedly also on Jason's) again firmly on the side of survival rather than victimhood. Whether it's by becoming a villain or a hero, there's this rebellion against being an object to the violence, which is at the core of Starlin's treatment of sexual violence. This is fun. We're having fun. I'm repeating myself, but do you understand how satisfying, electrifying it is? I'm filled with unreasonable amounts of glee. You don't always need the context in which a story was written to enjoy it but in this case, doesn't this make it so much more enjoyable? (And on top of that, kudos to Winick for killing Captain Nazi, I hope it was as satisfying to write as it looked.) Anyway, Mia Dearden and Jason Todd, the characters that you are. I love them so much.

[angelmichelangelo]

Any thoughts/opinions on TMNT 2007, either in comparison to other iterations or about the characters/relationships in general?

oh boy have i got some thoughts on TMNT 2007 !

straight off the bat i’d say it feels so set apart from all of the other ninja turtles movies we had/have at that point. they’re a little older (i can’t remember the canon ages but wasn’t it pretty much fanon for a long time that they were at least early 20s?) and starts their story off kinda at their end.

2007 was also supposedly a continuation of the 1990s movies. whether you want that to be solid canon or not (personally i don’t) but either way, they’re kind of in “retirement” stage of their lives with everything with shredder already happened and this is kind of just the aftermath of that.

the relationships in this movie !!!!! oh my GOD it’s just near to absolute perfection. i usually don’t always super love the classic raph/leo tension just because sometimes it feels a little overdone and can really take away the shine from other aspects of the movie, but i really do like how different it feels here.

raph is so obviously not coping with having so much of his family dynamics changed. and i think that’s why the whole aspect of the movie being set after all of their biggest most heroic adventures works well, because in a way, this movie just highlights how much their lifestyle has impacted them. imo raph struggles with having leo so far from home. he’s going through a little bit of separation anxiety, can’t regulate his emotions properly and lashes out bad.

leo obviously takes this all the wrong ways. he’s going through something too so he’s blind-sighted to the fact that raph isn’t intentionally trying to piss him off. they’re back butting heads maybe because it feels most familiar in a way that hasn’t been since leo left.

b-team in this movie is just. chefs kiss. so much to unpack here, too.

donnie who is finally being highlighted for how much he does for his family behind the scenes, normally quietly bumbling along, now here he is, trying to keep a sense of normality and feeling under appreciated!! which rightly so!! he kind of just gets this shit load of responsibility thrusted onto him when leo leaves and raph distances himself. he’s treading water in the deep end, barely afloat but rarely does he really lash out because he wants to do good, and keep peace (mostly for mikey’s sake, I would argue)

and mikey. oh mikey. easily one of my favourite interpretations of mikey in this movie. he’s kind of mellowing out and maturing in a way that i think hits leo with full force when he comes home from south america. all because he’s had to grow up and pick up the pieces left behind in the wake of their family kind of slowly crumbling apart.

they’re all hurting in this movie but mikey’s hurt is so painfully obvious and so masked when he’s putting up with a job he really hates, barely seeing much of either brother he has left because of their schedules and feels cooped up. he trips over himself with just pure glee when he sees that leo is finally home. he’s still that kid at heart, despite everything, that truly believes that his big brother can mend this. it’s a really bittersweet thing to think of him just hoping his life would fall back into place again after it being so out of sorts for so long.

TMNT 2007 isn’t a perfect movie by any means. whilst i adore the way the turtles have been written, is still falls into the trap of making don + mike background characters towards the last half, giving leo + raph the limelight once again, and sometimes leo does act a little out of sorts but i could just pin that down to him having some sort of PTSD, so it remains high in my ranks regardless.

it’s not perfect but it’s still really really good. the animation holds up pretty well. it paved the way for 2012 in regards to CGI turtles. the voice acting is something i don’t see hyped up enough. nolan north as raphael?!!! i feel like as a fandom we definitely sleep on that fact way too hard

the plot is original and fresh and it’s clear that this wasn’t just a cash grab, but a real love letter to the franchise and to the fans:) the people that made this cared for these characters and this world and it shows :)

the fight scenes are really fun and easy to follow. the leo raph rooftop scene is just incredibly done. whoever wrote that.. please always be involved in tmnt wherever you are.. honestly pure fire some of those lines

nobody feels like a caricature of themselves here, which often happens with tmnt when a new universe is introduced, just to establish their character roles. i really love the thought of them in the wake of the fight and after the dust settles and they’re trying to cope with their feelings and problems separately because they don’t know what else to do. they need a million hugs, please, i would love to see more of this that isn’t just the last ronin. show me the turtles in their 30s trying to adjust to their lives changing drastically as they’re getting older and recognising their trauma, finally. i would eat that up!

in anyone hasn’t seen TMNT 2007 (which, i’d assume most of my followers probably has) then i would absolutely recommend it !!

forever mourning the mikey centric sequel we were supposed to get before the studio shut down and forever sending wishes up that there’s someone out there with enough money and a dream to bring it to life in some way shape or form (i’ll take a comic. a mini series. anything lmao)

TMNT 2007 will always have a special place in my heart :)

[witchofthemidlands]

this isn't a criticism at all because they're all ultimately derived of the same source materials, this is something i want to say in the hopes i can nudge someone towards a special interest of mine that invaded my brain & will never leave.

if you liked nosferatu (2024) wow, do i have the show for you! with the same content warnings as you'd receive for nosferatu may i offer upon you all: penny dreadful (2014-2016)

filled with some of the best ever adaptations of the characters from dracula, frankenstein, jekyll & hyde, the wolf man & the picture of dorian grey is (in my personal opinion) the most phenomenal gothic series i have ever seen in all my years of being a gothic literature fan, i have a degree in literature, a segment of it being in gothic literature, i have read these stories over & over again, dracula is my second favourite novel of all time, frankenstein is also in my top teen novels of all time & i love jekyll & hyde & i don’t think i have ever seen a loosely based adaptation get these characters so well. do you vibe with nosferatu's ellen hutter? let me tell you about the beautiful, the love of my life, vanessa ives! played by the ethereal eva green! vanessa is tragic, beautiful & literally possessed by a demon. she is brave & brilliant, not to be a lesbian but oh my god, i rarely cry at pieces of media but i have shed so many tears over her & been in awe of her existence, she is derivative of both lucy westenra & mina harker, the calibre of acting from eva green is like nothing i have ever seen, her possession moments is just a masterclass in acting & the pain & desperation… oh vanessa will ruin your life. harry treadaway must have been touched by some acting deity & i cannot believe he isn't a massive name in television & film because he is the best version of victor frankenstein i have ever seen in any adaptation of frankenstein & this isn't even about just the frankenstein story. harrytreadaway!victor is an absolute cringefail pathetic wet cat of a man (affectionate) who sits there looking like he's on ten different substances whilst sometimes going off on side quests with his best friend vanessa & often judges the rest of the squad nobody is matching his freak. he is THE version of victor frankenstein of all time. if there is anything else that man has done that anyone recommends send it my way because that is an actor. rory kinnear gives the emotionl performance of a lifetime as frankenstein's creature & explores so many aspects of that character in ways i have never seen before in all my years of watching adaptations of frankenstein. josh hartnett as ethan chandler… that man's story is a RIDE, he is a disaster & a gentleman. he is also openly bisexual & for no reasons why & in no way beneficial to the plot, has sexual relations with dorian gray & speaking of dorian gray. i have never liked that book, that story has never been for me but that beautiful singer reeve carney made me see so many different aspects of a character i have never liked & is just brilliant because his character is just there to have sexual relations & not really benefit the overall plot that much at all. there are new iterations of mina murray, her father malcolm murray, a grumpy old man played the same bloke who portrayed niles caulder from doom patrol & basically plays the same character, van helsing, a charmingly sinister iteration of dracula & an otherworldly brilliantly acted version of dr. henry jekyll who seems like he had a situationship with frankenstein.

ultimately vanessa, sembene, malcolm murray, ethan & frankenstein are forced found family, they are strays, they are disasters, they are frenemies, they're forced found family bound together, in the most dysfunctional manner, the only one with a braincell is sembene who's too good for their shit & of course my love, the brilliant & the gorgeous billie piper plays a phenomenal iteration of the bride of frankenstein in the most raw performance i have seen from her. i am absolutely in love with her, she is so beautiful & so talented & did something to my brain chemistry. there is heartbreak, humour, adventure, the gothic, the weird & the tragic. this series is something else & that's not even the half of it.

also broadway legend patti lupone plays a genderbent dr. seward from dracula & i want her to do unspeakable things to me.

[deadlysoupy]

if tf one did anything for me, it 1) made me really passionate about optimus and megatron's relationship and made me re-think the entirety of just how tragic the transformers civil war is

and 2) that i adore optimus and bumblebee's relationship even more now

the first one is pretty self-explanatory and i feel like everyone came out of that movie (who is a tf fan i mean) feeling absolutely baddy and insane

but the second one. my favourite iteration is earthspark, so my constant thought is now, compared to "oh my gosh orion and bee are adorable together i can totally see their dynamic" of tf one, is "holy shit tfe optimus and bumblebee are so dysfunctional why are they like this" and i'm just having so many thoughts about them right now

i would make a separate post but i kinda don't want to so here are my general thoughts (not very coherent i just need them out of me)

it feels very disjointed to be honest. it really seems like they wanted to give them a mentor/mentee dynamic but didn't go through with it

optimus keeps sort of kind of worrying about bumblebee without explicitly stating it, they have a lot of awkward moments (especially in early season 1 i noticed), but i can't tell if it's writers not wanting to commit or it's intentional

there are two episodes bothering me. one: episode 23, right in the beginning, when optimus sends bee to find the hidden ghost facility. they have this interesting almost silent communication, optimus only has to say "bumblebee, what's in that room?" and bee immediately knows what to do. the most important bit here, though, is where bee, after optimus warns him about potentially getting caught or killed, says very methodically "i must disavow any knowledge of your actions". and then he drives away, with optimus looking almost solemnly at him

a similar conversation already probably happened, since bee knew what to say to sort of calm optimus down, but at the same time... was optimus worried there? would he have said this had he NOT been worried?

and then there's season 3 (season 2b?). the hate plague. i'm not going to focus much on bee's perspective (that earns another post), but on optimus' instead. he tries to calm bee down, tries to reach him, tries to reason with him, and what gets me here is that he actually cares. remember, this is probably only a few days or so after the whole breakdown fiasco, and bumblebee is obviously still thinking about it. so optimus doesn't get him to track down the cybertronian ship - he's afraid bee might hurt even more. he says "i knew you would be emotionally compromised going into decepticon territory". which only leads me to the same thought: if you untangle all his diplomatic wording, he says he cares. he cares that bumblebee got hurt and that he didn't want him to relive that betrayal again

they are so awful at communicating with each other they can't even tell if they care about one another. which is odd, right? we can tell optimus can tell megatron his feelings, but he can't do that with bee

and i'm just. what happened between them? is optimus emotionally distant from bee or is bumblebee reluctant to include him? why are they like this??? they drive me crazy istg

[neilanuruodo]

Ohoho! An opportunity to listen about my favorite guys! And from a great guy too!

1) what is your absolute favorite ship? (+ additionally from me - what draws you to them, why are they so entertaining to you?)

2) rate Blurg x Dror from 1-10 and explain why + is there anything you find compelling about them?

3) What song(s) remind you of Andrek x Dror?

Extra question from me personally - favourite/most fun HC for all three ships

If you're feeling like it, would love if you'd go in depth for these questions ❤️ and talk to your heart's content, I'd love to know how you feel about them

yesss let's get this thing started!

1) this is honestly a hard one just because there are so many I like! On the face of it (and going by the pairings in my Ao3 work) I'm tempted to say Elidibus and the Warrior of Light from Final Fantasy XIV, but I hesitate simply because I really liked a previous iteration of the character. XIV is an mmo so they regularly release more story and I don't like how they developed my man in a suddenly different direction lol. So I think my final answer would be The Red Prince/Sebille. (Dror Ragzlin/Tav is an incredibly close second to that. Both have very few works on Ao3, it's just that the Red Prince swaps effortlessly between being a complete gentleman and being a terrible brute. He's just got this fantastic style and I love it LOL)

2) I would rate Dror Ragzlin/Blurg as 8.5/10. Probably the same as I'd rate Omeluum/Blurg, actually, they're both really good but they're really different. I really like Dror/Blurg for how they represent acceptance and rejection of hobgoblin society, norms, and expectations. It introduces a really interesting tension to their relationship, something they have to work around (and eventually work through). They also have a little of the grumpy/sunshine trope; I don't know if Blurg is exactly sunshine but he's curious, easily excitable, and (I headcanon) optimistic so I think it counts!

I headcanon Blurg as a good bit older than Dror, so there's also this tension between "respect your elders" and "for fuck's sake man you're a scientist, not even a fighter!" Putting Dror in a situation where he's conflicted between what he's been taught and raised in and what he can see (not just the value of Blurg's resource, how food and medicine gathered locally can supplement supply chains and boost an army but the way he comes alive, the passion and fervor with which he talks about mushrooms. Makes him crazy. I headcanon that Blurg has to learn not to info-dump if there isn't a bed or other comfortable place to fuck nearby because his back and knees aren't what they used to be LOL.)

I'm also very keen on the "Dror was injured and nursed to health by Blurg" angle so with his being vulnerable physically I headcanon he would be afraid to be vulnerable emotionally (at least until he heals some physically and trust develops between them). Blurg can be gentle and open enough for both of them (lucky Dror) but if he didn't understand the fear beneath his growls and gruffness, the concern of losing face or worse, it would never work out. Dror needs either someone as casually violent and ambitious as he is or the opposite, a complement like Blurg.

(I'm realizing that Dror would likely get on very well with Urdnot Wrex. And that I forgot to add Mass Effect characters to my ship list. Oops lol)

I also love the idea of, at some point when Dror is as healed as he'll ever be, something going wrong or some attack targeting Blurg. And how Blurg would feel to see Dror without a single thought (as usual...) throw himself between danger and Blurg. It would redouble his appreciation (and worry!) to see Dror in action, and specifically in a protective role rather than as an aggressor. Blurg tenderly caring for the scratches and bruises he gets in that situation. Dror protesting he's fine, he doesn't need a nursemaid (but secretly loving the attention). The lovemaking afterward. GAH! It's just so good lol.

3) The first song that comes to mind for Dror Ragzlin/Andrek is Liar Liar (Wasteland Monarchy) by Kamelot.

Notable lyrics:

Would you pray if I said you were dying? Would you be a little stronger? Or fall down on your knees Would you stay with me If you knew that I was lying? Would you walk away Or turn the other cheek?

I tremble where I stand My wish is your command The nature of a truly desperate heart Give me something real That I can truly feel Liar, liar on the wall

Also! Honorable mention to Heartkiller by HIM which I remembered when looking for Liar Liar. I feel like it fits for after they head out on their own and begin falling in love as themselves instead of their situations. Basically the moment when they realize they like what they have together and neither of them has to go back to the situations they used to be in. Dror doesn't have to go back to the goblins if he doesn't want to, Andrek doesn't have to go back to his former master. Especially now that he's learning necromancy (and other spells ofc) just fine on his own :3 (For clarity it's "master" in the sense of master and apprentice, this is the guy who took him in as an orphan. Not the best guy and not just because he's a necromancer, but not an actual slaver.)

Farewell heartless world I'll send you a postcard burnt in the flames You've tried so hard to extinguish with the fear of failing I'll write down everything I have learned, And edit it down to a single word: "Love" For you I'm waiting, anticipating

Extra credit:

For the Red Prince/Sebille, I think she's one of the few people who could convince him to give up his throne entirely. Not just convince him that he might fail at trying to take it back (and we all know in the game of thrones, you win or you die lol), but to give up on wanting it. As someone who suffered at the hands of his kin it already had to take a lot for them to forge a true bond and relationship. He couldn't ever win her heart without renouncing his people's (and especially his House's) reliance on and treatment of slaves. Once he's that far it doesn't seem that much further to accept that anything he does to reclaim his throne by force will only end up reinforcing the status quo. He won't be in a solid enough position to rock the boat that much. So why not chuck it all? They can explore the world - and I headcanon that after being sequestered in the Forbidden City up until his exile he would have a hunger to travel more. There's a lot more to Rivellon than his teachers bothered to tell him, and he wants to see it. And if anyone recognizes him there's an opportunity to start changing minds and attitudes from the ground up, to see he's bonded to an elf with a slave scar. (And of course depending on the ending, one of them might be the Divine, which is even more fun. Probably Sebille, if he's managed to recognize his biases and shortcomings enough to form a true bond with her.)

For Dror/Blurg, I headcanon that Blurg would find ways to include Dror in his work. At first probably just "oh my hands are full, could you move that for me?" but slowly progressing to things like grabbing readings or watching for something to bloom or wither. Always framed as assisting Blurg so Dror doesn't even realize he's doing science until he's been doing it for years lol. Though I also think if Blurg tries to get him to make a hypothesis or conclusions from those observations he'd just get snarly. (Whether he could answer it or not, of course. It's just a little too much science for him!)

For Dror/Andrek I like the idea that their association ends up helping Dror to actually be glad he got severed from the Absolute. (Certainly by the time they destroy her, but even before.) Originally he was all-fired to be her right hand man, but once he realizes she's not just a squiddie but basically the head squiddie he finds himself kind of adrift. Andrek ends up being his anchor then, and slowly he gets over the idea of being the leader of a warband and starts considering career choices that make it easier to keep Andrek at his side. And if Andrek had to throw in with goblins to stay with Dror he probably would, but he wouldn't particularly enjoy it. (Plus I headcanon Dror starts to really appreciate having more privacy lol.) They'd make a great pair of mercenaries, perhaps, or even just regular adventurers. Fewer scruples than most, admittedly, but Andrek being able to raise the star witness of murder cases and Dror being his protection detail in essence means they'd have options for sure. And I headcanon that in the end Dror finds himself actually happy. Having fun, doing what he wants to instead of just what's expected of him. And getting some good ass too of course.

Thanks so much for the ask! I had a lot of fun diving into this. Hoping this rekindles some of my inspiration!

[gigglesandfreckles-hp]

i was rereading we suffer in silence and it reads so much like it could be a flashback from one more time now ! (minus the rob thing? or not even) what with the canons thingy you mentioned in this flashback and the complete lack of possibility of james doing anything other than work for the order and james getting mad at lily for not knowing that about him. and lily is sO sweet in that fic (it's one of my favourites too!)

this makes me so happy because i absolutely included the cannon mention as an ode to we suffer in silence! that's actually my all-time favourite fic i've written. no idea why! it's the only one i can actually reread and not tear apart with criticism. ha!

i do think that version of jily are very similar to my omtnwf jily for the reason you've mentioned! more than anything, it's probably just the limits of my own imagination reinventing a conversation i already wrote in a different context 😆

but i do think that idea of "to fight or not to fight" would have been a big conversation for any iteration of canon compliant jily. not because lily is genuinely surprised to hear james wants to fight but because, at a certain point, she has to face the reality of what that means. james has already had his reckoning by that point, having to watch lily be discriminated against, attacked, and all around treated like rubbish while they were at school. so it's lily that i think has to have the moment of "oh my god, we're actually doing this, we're actually putting ourselves on the front lines." and i think part of that, too, comes not with an ignorance to reality or cowardice...but almost a prolonged innocence that maybe she would be able to get a job out of school (we know that her studies were important to her to some degree from slughorn, etc.).

i mean, i can't help but think about eighteen-year-old lily evans who is in love and the stars have finally seemed to align for something for her and she has this Boy who is magnificent and kind and loves her so much and they're happy and then she's forced to face the fact that the minute they walk out of hogwarts, they're walking into a war zone. there's no interim of escape or sanctuary. they don't get a second to breathe. that's terrifying. she's lost so much. what if she loses him? what if she could hold him close instead? what if she could keep him to herself and just be in love?

of course, though, that's not who lily is and it's not who james is, either. it's a thought i believe she tried to entertain, though, even if only for a moment. unfortunately—she and james are both too good and brave.

(for what it's worth, omtnwf specifically plays off this belief of mine and explores what would have happened if that Moment of fear could have timed out just right to lead to regrettable action. obviously, we know, in canon, they both chose to fight! and they chose to be together! one more time now explores what would happen if that's not the choice they made, even if everything about themselves and their character stays the same. even if thye still love each other just as much and are just as brave and good! if that tiny moment of human hesitation and very-natural fear could have led to a domino effect that takes jily (and thus...the wizarding world) away from the canon timeline!)

[auspicioustidings]

I can just see the 141 brining Maze and Alex into to convince bad girl that they were coming for her all along and it just going horribly wrong.

Using them as evidence that they were helping her but it backfires and she thinks that the 141 were trying to make her into an attack dog and once that was proven (with her breakout) they want her back.

I want a version of a happy ending for bad girl but I just keep thinking of all these horrible things! Someone get her therapy and lots of cuddles!

God they are so stupid 😩

This absolutely sounds like something they would do. Like look! Mace helped you! (oh he was your pet once? So he helped you, nothing to do with me). Alex was undercover the whole time! (ah, so when it was just me there that wasn't a good enough reason to break cover, but he broke it for good boy). No, you don't understand, even Nikto wanted you out and he's a complete headcase! (you know Nikto. You know him so that's what this was, sending me to him for training.)

It's so frustrating because I know in my heart they are also doing things that bring you around without realising.

Soap spends weeks learning to make the perfect iteration of your favourite meal. When he first met you, he loved the healthy layers of fat he got to sink his fingers into. Now you are so much smaller and it makes him so sad because he knows if they had never taken you then you wouldn't be. He first off spent a lot of time coaxing good boy into telling him. Good boy has retreated back into pet mode, he's miserable but unlike you he is openly desperate for love and adoration from them all and they give it in spades. It means getting a human answer from him was tricky, but Soap did it. Then he went travelling all over the place to get only the best ingredients, did a ton of research on it. Nearly burned the kitchen down twice. Every person in that house is sick of this meal because they have all had to taste test every iteration of it until it was actually good. Except for good boy of course.

That's why the gesture maybe got to you a bit. Good boy is allergic to things in this meal. At first when Soap brought it to you, you tackled him and tried to go for his throat because is he crazy? Good boy is allergic! But he tells you not to worry, he knows that. It's difficult for you to wrap your head around. This was not for good boy. Good boy could get no enjoyment out of this. This was just for you. He tried so hard just for you.

Ghost keeps bringing you books even though you destroy them. He never yells at you for it, never even acknowledges it. It isn't like him and it puts you on edge. It terrifies you the day you crawl into a corner and actual start reading one because he doesn't react to that either, doesn't try to praise you or encourage it, just brings you some tea and a little plate of snacks and sets them by your side. It's Lady Grey tea. The only people that know it's your favourite are Mace and Roze because anytime you were in recovery they gave you different teas to see which you liked best.

Price and Ale persevere. You don't want them close. You bite at them and scratch at them and scream at them. You try and push them to hit you. You want them to punish you, to call you bad girl. But they don't, they just hold you and refuse to let go no matter how much you struggle. It's the only time you sleep well, when you are safe between them, settled into their arms.

Gaz and Rudy don't trust themselves. They've both fucked up already, made things so much worse for you when they thought they were making them better. So this time they consider actually asking for help from someone who will always put you first. It's terrifying. Kate is not like them. If you went to her and said you never wanted to wear a collar or be a pet or see them ever again, she would make that happen. They talk to Alex about it. How did he feel when Kate took Farah? Is he bitter because he doesn't see her anymore?

But he does. They never knew that. It took years, but one day he answered his phone to Kate and it was Farah on the other end. His Farah, the one who he fucked up with beyond believe. The one who wound up in the pound because of his mistakes. He does see her now and he smiles when he talks about her because she's bold and brilliant again. He says he met her for coffee and she laughed at him because he immediately burst into tears seeing her so vibrant and healthy. They're working on it because there is still so much pain in their past, but he's so willing to take whatever he gives her because he loves her. And despite his reservations, he actually loves that Kate loves her because she deserves the world from whoever can give it to her.

It's a tense discussion. They are selfish men. The 141 let you go once and it is difficult to face the idea of doing it again. So what it comes down to is do they throw their all into training you again? Do they break you back down to a pet, force you to be brainless and happy with them if it's the last thing they do? Or do they sacrifice their ownership of you for the slim chance that one day you come back to them on your own? Knowing that you probably won't. Knowing that losing you means losing the version of good boy that is happy. Maybe losing the version of them that is happy too.

[diviningrodtv]

Oh yeah, NSH Time.

I've been holding this post back for like a week😅

I absolutely love how NSH came out and I think he's currently my favourite rain world model that I've done! (Sorry Pebbles, I'm going to upgrade you later anyway :]

I also made his scarf easily removable so you can see how the stripes aren't just on his head! The stripes and his irises also glow, but a bit brighter than the areas on Five Rotten Pebbles.

His antennae are pretty similar to how I did Sliver's, especially considering I did his first! XD They're separated from his head a bit.

Also if you've noticed in my art that his eyes are the exact same as in the model here, that's because they are! I tried finding a way to draw them how I usually might, but I just couldn't get the same vibe! So I said, "Fuck it!" and I've been drawing over his model ever since XD

NSH is also who I used to make the "umbilical arm" model! So if you saw those posts, that's why the textures are all messed up!

And here it is in all it's glory!

It's mostly made of ball joints with a flexible joint attached to the back. The last segment also twists just like your forearm bones!

Also..... lore shit below cause I have, plans™ so-

If you don't want to know why NSH is acting strange on my blog yet, read no further!

(there's also some downpour spoilers, and some other disturbing things)

*slaps top of can* This bad boy can fit so much fucking insanity in him. (cw: self-harm yeah you heard me)

If you haven't figured it out already (I did drop hints :) NSH's structure is damaged! His legs are giving out because a group of scavengers thought it would be funny to transport all of their explosives at once.

So he's in a bit of a pickle!

This is when Looks to the Moon and Five Pebbles' communication tower is repaired! During their first conversation in a very long time, NSH finds out about good ol' Hunter long legs, and is rightfully distraught! He feels like a total failure, that he wasn't experienced enough to properly create his messenger.

That's what this whole post was about!

But, experience is something that can be gained.

NSH figured if Five Pebbles was able to leave his can, then he should be able to as well, but that requires solving the three problems I mentioned in the Five Rotten Pebbles post:

The self-genome modification barrier,

A general lack of puppet central brain matter, and

No material processing within the puppet.

I'll talk about my umbilical lore for this AU here since it's relevant.

Either the "cord" or the "arm" can be disconnected, but not both. This is for ease of repair by administrators. Disconnecting them both would leave the unfortunate Iterator fully functional. Although, they would be blind in the visible spectrum (apart from overseers), unable to speak directly to someone in their chamber, and would otherwise have their workflow be severely impaired. They would effectively be trapped in their own head.

NSH realised that even if the barriers existed, they could still have the intentions, to break them. So what would happen, if he broke one? Not by writing it out of his system, Five Pebbles already proved how risky that method was, but instead by setting his actions in motion faster than any barrier could stop them? This was something to test, and wasn't that what Iterators were built to do anyway?

Umbilicals can only be disconnected by administrators, but what if he were to do it anyway? He needed to leave his can after all, it wouldn't be much of a loss if he was stuck on the floor of his chamber or floating aimlessly in zero gravity for a while.....

So what if he just ran fast enough to rip himself off?

What if he moved his arm back at the last second, could he gain enough inertia to pull it out of his back? Even if it took a few tries?

What other choices does he have? Perfect Five Pebbles' method until he collapses and continue even then? He had time, but not enough for that, and The Hunter certainly did not have any time for waiting around. NSH had to fix his mistake, he had to.

So this bastard goes and does exactly that, and short-circuits his entire system.

Not just breaking the umbilical maintenance barrier, but every other one in the process.

And it all hurts like hell.

But that's the first problem solved, and now he can help keep himself afloat longer. So that now, he can figure out how to solve the other two problems with precision.

Of course, the others won't like any of these plans, but, after what Five Pebbles did, they wouldn't dare disturb him if he stopped responding, right?

And maybe, he could even hijack their communications array, to look for help.

>:]

yeah so NSH is not sane

[dysfunctional-doodle]

now i WOULD go rest after the whole ypi business HOWEVER. is there any way to convince you to watch it because OH MY GODDDDDDDD THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SERIES EVER!!!!!!!!!!! it’s certainly not the best written tmnt series out there (ESPECIALLY with the romance…. shudders)

HOWEVERRRRRRR there are a lot of awesome things about it i really like….. i think one thing i like the most about this iteration (besides the very obvious obsession about sunset duo) is THE VOICEACTING. in a tmnt voiceacting teirlist i would put almost every rise character in s tier and yet STILL, despite the fact i put donnie in b, 2012 IS MY FAVOURITE VOICE ACTED SERIES. the original ask includes the giant navy battleship line and. yeah. sean astin’s delivery makes it a kajillion times funnier to me. IDK MAN THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT SPLINTER’S VOICE THAT IS SO SATISFYING TO ME. AND THE WAY SHINIGAMI LAUGHS???????????????? HRGHHHHH

also a big fan of the dynamics between the turtles…… the absolute brothers of all time. sobs (again it’s very obvious which duo is my favourite hfhdbsjbsdj)

also this might be a slightlyyyy controversial take but mikey’s adhd is written really really REALLY well in my opinion. like ok donnie said he hasn’t matured since age six and infantilisation is a big problem with neurodivergent people HOWEVER. a big part of mikey’s character is that he doesn’t like being underestimated and wants to prove he is capable but also. as a person with adhd. YEAH I TOO FEEL LIKE THE PERSON IN MY BRAIN IS A SMALL CHILD. the reason i peaked in primary school is because, back then, i was only slightly less mature than my peers. now as i’m in secondary school i realise i am like a TWO YEAR OLD compared to these people. when i was in s1 i would call myself the twelve year old toddler because that was essentially how mature i felt i was. SO THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. maybe there are times he feels slightly stereotypical but hey, everyone has their stereotype moments, right??? (as cliche as it is i feel like everyone has had a “hey, look, squirrel!” moment in their life). yeah i just relate to 2012 mikey on a spiritual level. like every time he’s on screen he does something and i think WOW. that is LITERALLY me (which is why i’m surprised that one poll i have more people think i’m like sonic than mikey?? but i’m not complaining, sonic is super cool)

the 3d animation is cool (the increase in skill is very obvious as you progress further through the series) and the fight scenes are just. MWAH. SO satisfying.

also SOME of the romance is pretty ok! raph and mona lisa are great. also arguably raph and casey (but we’re not ready for that conversation i think).

i have a full disc set of all five seasons that included a list of all the episodes and whenever i finished an episode i REALLYYYY REALLY enjoyed i would highlight the name in pink sharpie… here are all the episodes i marked :3 (i might need to rewatch some of these)

the pulveriser

cockroach terminator

parasitica

the good, the bad, and casey jones

plan 10

a foot too big (i’m actually not too sure about this one right now, might need to rewatch it)

journey to the center of mikey’s mind

revenge of the triceratons (this one is only half highlighted for some reason)

bat in the belfry

tokka vs the world

requiem (sobs. sobs so so hard.)

end times

when worlds collide: part 2 (i think this one is where the giant navy battleship line comes from)

it’s ok if you don’t want to watch it or you’re not able to watch it but if you can and you don’t end up liking it THAT’S OK I TOTALLY GET IT THERE ARE A LOT OF PARTS THAT SUCK

erm anyways that was my strange ramble. sorry for invading your ask box 👍🏼

(oh yeah, the comics are pretty cool too)

(guess who michalina’s favourite character + duo is challenge (impossible))

Ok I will say oddly enough I’ve read the comics for 2012. Weird, but I pirated found them and enjoyed reading them, they were fun.

I have watched a few episodes - I did like the speed demon episode (I love the dynamic of 2012 donnie and Casey mirroring the 90s movies even down the name insulting scene where they are going through the alphabet) and I like parasitica a lot. I have watched others like journey to centre of Mikey’s mind, Buried Secrets, and the usagi episodes, and also the final episodes of the Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (? I cannot remember the name, but the one with the insect guy as the villain who’s name I can’t spell and can’t be bothered to Google lol), that one where Donnie becomes dumb, the vampire ones, but that’s it.

What puts me off is the romance and the (in my opinion) partial butchered character Donnie has due to it. He’s genuinely creepy and it makes watching it uncomfortable and wildly out of character compared to what I’m used to. I’ve never been a fan of romance, and I expect ally despise the whole “main character has a crush on someone else but is so nerdy they don’t know how to approach them” trope. The whole love triangle and the poorly written “love at first sight” which most the romances in the show are just put me off completely. I genuinely have tried other episodes but I cringe every time the Donnie/April romance happens. It’s a shame because when they let Donnie move on from April or not be simping after her I really like his slightly sarcastic, blunt yet sensitive nature.

I’ve heard they kind of throw away the romance at season 3 but it’s having to watch this until then tbh. Maybe one day I will give it a go if people really say it’s worth the suffering of my least favourite trope. You seem to like it a lot so maybe :)

[dragonsandphoenix]

The Scene from the My Stand In Novel That Should Have Stayed

I'll be honest My Stand In is increasingly losing me as a viewer, and so I went back to the novel and the audio drama to find out why. After revisiting some scenes I've come to the tentative conclusion that MSI feels like a surface level interpretation of the novel, speaking as a novel fan.

MSI spoilers in all its iterations (drama, novel & audio drama):

What confuses me about MSI is that in terms of plot and broad character arcs, it's pretty faithful to the novel itself. And while Professional Body Double isn't my favourite Shui Qian Cheng novel I liked it for what it was and even thought the audio drama adaptation elevated its source material. And to be fair, I liked the first 6 episodes of MSI a lot, like scrolling through the tag in tumblr everyday a lot. To me, MSI shines when it feels like watching a 188 novel come to life.

But for the past few weeks, that investment has waned. Something's missing. Maybe it's the way that characters being shallower versions of themselves have caught up to me, maybe it's the way the show gets bogged down in plot mechanics when the characters' inner thoughts and feelings are meant to be what drives the narrative, and I just don't feel as invested in these characters.

This scene from the audio drama is what led me to read the novel in the first place. Its absence from the drama is emblematic of my issues with MSI. It happens right after Joe (Zhou Xiang) meets Ming's (Yan Mingxiu) brother. Instead of leaving the house he goes upstairs and goes to sleep. Then Ming stumbles into the room drunk and we get this melancholic moment.

My absolute favourite thing about this scene is the complexity of it. We get to the heart of MingJoe's relationship, and its fundamental issue: in spite of their passionate and (imo) genuine feelings for one another, they can never be on the same page. They love each other, but they're so deeply broken to the point of being destructive to themselves and each other.

The point is this is a character and emotionally-driven story.

It is especially Joe's story, he's our main POV character and he is so clearheaded about his feelings actually. He does acknowledge that if Ming showed him an ounce of care in his past life he'd accept him. But now they're way past that. He's disillusioned, and that feeling of lost love is captured so well here that isn't often captured in BL.

I honestly feel the story becomes incoherent if we don't have a good handle on his and to a lesser extent Ming and some important side characters' inner worlds.

One my main issues with MSI is that it seems to be constantly missing the Point. Part of that is due to the differing characterizations but it also stems from the scriptwriters losing sight of the heart of the story and the need to present the plot as clearly as possible with little ambiguity. Most recently, Ming spends a significant chunk of episode 8 trying to figure out if Joe 2.0 is Joe 1.0 and then concocting different ways to test if they're the same person. In a way it's pretty faithful to the novel, these are things that happen in there too. The drama adapts these plot elements, adds obvious visual cues (the egg, the sneeze), adds additional scenes of Ming consulting the blind shaman on finding Joe and place dramatic weight to them in a way that we as the audience should be really invested on whether Ming will solve this Great Mystery.

But it doesn't matter. It matters very little to Joe, he's just trying to move on with his life and it doesn't even matter to Ming, this obsession of his is just another form of his grief and denial ("I found someone else but it isn't you", "I feel so ridiculous now"). This emphasis on what ultimately doesn't matter comes at the cost of character depth. Scenes jump from one to the next with no room for characters to reflect or even react to what just happened to them. Relationships and characters get stripped down to their bare bones (the brotherhood between Joe and Wut will always be something I cherish) and I just think this is all a shame.

I'll ultimately be happy if My Stand In succeeds and does well, as it might open up doors for more challenging BL projects. I just hope that comes with more nuanced and complex narratives as well.

[immeasurablesaladagere]

i absolutely LOVE your house agere fics/headcannons but have yet to see any lockwood and co ones even though it is in your pinned post and would love your headcannons when you get a chance! though i know you have a lot of requests in queue so no pressure!

AHHH Lockwood and Co! Hcs are my break between longer stuff lol, so coming right up!

Littles Lucy and Lockwood for sure. George is CG (but perhaps flip? I could see it)

Both Lucy and Lockwood call George "Mum", he just goes with it. He has never, not once, been any iteration of dad or older brother.

Both Lucy and Lockwood regress to similar ranges, like 5-9.

Lucy regresses almost entirely voluntarily as a way to get her childhood back. She didn't recognize it as anything special until she moved in with Lockwood and George, all she knew was that having a stuffy or reading a children's book made her feel really calm and a bit blurry. She thought it was like nostalgia but like x10.

Lockwood's regression is pretty much always involuntary, and something he doesn't like but has learned to live with. A bad nightmare, a migraine, a flashback, a panic attack, are all things that can nudge his brain over the edge and boom, he's a kid again. One of his worst nightmares would be regressing on a job and putting his team at risk because of it. He's worked very hard to prevent it at all costs.

While he's little, Lockwood's regression is all over the place. Sometimes he's content, sometimes (rarely) he's bubbly and happy, and sometimes he's completely inconsolable. It's a roll of the dice depending on what caused the slip, but even then there's some variation.

He doesn't always remember what happened to his family, he just knows they aren't there.

I have a very vivid scene in my head on how Lucy found out that Lockwood regresses, and it goes like this: It's Lockwood and George's routine that if Lockwood is feeling small late at night (the kid never sleeps anyway), he can come find George and he'll read him a bedtime story. Lockwood's feeling small not long after Lucy's moved in, so he sneaks very quietly downstairs to the library and asks George to read to him. Lucy, in search of water or something, sees that someone's still up and goes to chat, and walks in on Lockwood basically cuddled on top of George while he's reading to him, and Lockwood freezes for a second, then gets up and basically sprints to his room and locks himself in there. George half-explains, but says it would be better if Lockwood had the choice to tell her.

The discovery of Lucy's was far less dramatic. Lockwood eventually explained everything to her and she was just like "Oh, so that's what that is... Me too then, I guess".

Soft and squishy little!Lockwood, energetic and happy little!Lucy.

Tired mother George.

They play ghost-hunters with their toys sometimes, and the heroes always win very, very easily. Nothing ever goes wrong, and George kinda has an idea as to why that is, so he's never mentioned it.

If Lucy and Lockwood are both regressed together, Lockwood tends to drift younger than Lucy is no matter where they started. If they were both feeling 8, a few hours later Lockwood might be down to 5 or 6.

Lucy loves fruit, dude. It's her favourite thing. George will offer her a biscuit and she's like "But I want an apple :("

[creepercraftguy]

My Thoughts on OMNI-MAN VS BARDOCK

Death Battle made its triumphant return today, and I've decided I'm gonna start posting short reviews of each new episode that comes out.

This isn't gonna be a long-winded review, just me sharing my basic thoughts.

And I'll be putting all of my stuff under the cut so that I don't spoil it for anybody. Please, make sure, if you're interested, that you watch the episode first, and don't read on so that you don't get spoiled.

To start off with, the matchup itself did really interest me. I remember around the time that Omni-Man vs Homelander came out that people were trying to come up with ideas for who would be a better opponent for Nolan, because frankly, Homelander was an absolute piece of piss for him.

And everyone, including the companies that own both Invincible and The Boys, knew that going in. So it wasn't really a hyped episode for who would win or not, but more so what was actually going to happen during the fight itself. Creating a spectacle was more important than creating a fight.

Not that Omni-Man Vs Homelander was bad. It is actually one of my favourite DB's from its execution, but the fact was it was not a difficult fight for Omni-Man AT ALL.

So when people started to think of who would be a much fairer fight for him, and one that had a lot of connections, Bardock was a big one, and it wasn't hard to see why:

Both are powerful alien warriors who are known for...kind of being dicks. Nolan is a Viltrumite, a race of highly advanced, powerful beings who conquer and dominate other planets. His mission on Earth is initially hidden but later revealed to be part of this expansionist agenda. Bardock is a Saiyan warrior, a race known for their battle prowess and ability to get stronger after every fight. The Saiyans, under Frieza's rule, conquer planets, wiping out their inhabitants for Frieza’s empire.

Both are the blood-related fathers of their series protagonists, Mark, AKA Invincible, and Kakarot, AKA Son Goku, respectively.

Both characters suffered conflict with their own people. Omni-Man's conflict comes from the fact that he is torn between his Viltrumite duties and the love he develops for his family and Earth, and eventually, he decides to defy the Viltrumite empire to some extent after being confronted by Mark’s humanity. Bardock becomes disillusioned with Frieza and attempts to fight back after learning about Frieza's plan to annihilate the Saiyan race. While his resistance is ultimately futile, he still stands against his ruler in an effort to protect his people.

Both characters are initially presented as being ruthless, unforgiving, and bloodthirsty, but this changes over time (across multiple iterations in Bardock's case) Initially, Omni-Man is ruthless in his mission, killing thousands to assert Viltrumite dominance, showing little regard for human life. However, as he develops a bond with his family, especially Mark, he begins to reconsider his values.And while Bardock begins as a battle-hardened warrior who cares little for the planets he conquers, he undergoes a transformation when he learns of Frieza’s betrayal and seeks to protect his home and his son.

And a few more on top of that, but I'm not sure I need to go through all the connections myself.

So, I start this off with the analysis portions of the episode, and I immediately noticed something when I went through Nolan's analysis.

I know this probably has to do with Death Battle trying to preserve their budget and keep their independence up, but unfortunately, it seems that we no longer have any cutaway scenes showing Wiz and Boomstick. They host the show as always, but we don't actually physically see them at all, not even during the post-analysis.

This is kind of a shame because, while yeah, the cutaways are normally hit or miss, the jokes they try to make land a lot better with them.

But on the other hand, it does make retaining the information a lot better. And to the credit, the analysis really made it clear where each characters strengths lay.

Going into this, I was under the impression that Bardock held an advantage, because I know the Dragon Ball scaling goes way above the scaling of Invincible. However, when I actually saw some of the feats Nolan achieves in the comics, compared to Bardock's...honestly kind of messy timeline, I started to change my tune.

I still held out for hope for Bardock, but when the fight ended and Omni-Man took the win...I understood why.

So yeah, the analysis and post-analysis were good because it really made me understand how the fight went the way it did.

With that being said, this was, to no one's surprise, a much harder fight for Nolan than Homelander was. Saiyan's just ARE stupid powerful aliens, and Omni-Man would actually have to put in the work for a win as opposed to completely stunting on the guy.

Okay, so now for the fight. If I had to rank it on a scale of 1 to 10, I think I'd give it a solid 7.

That's no fault of DevilArtimis, or Death Battle themselves though. Unfortunately, with the respective abilities these guys are known for, there's a severe limit to what you can have them do in the span of a 5 or so minute fight.

Besides Bardock's ki blasts, neither really have any powers of their own that don't just involve beating the shit out of people, tearing them apart, and just sheer brutality, so ultimately, what you are left with is a battle that just shows these two evil daddies pounding each other.

And no, I'm not taking back my phrasing there.

However, while that does limit my enjoyment of the fight, it doesn't do so severely. There's still a lot to love about the clash.

I always like to talk about my thoughts on the voice acting, and in this case, Omni-Man was reprised by Tom Schalk (also previously voicing Kool-Aid Man, Dio, Spongebob, and Megatron) and Bardock was voiced by Kamran Nikhad (previously having voiced Sephiroth, Mario, Boba Fett, Black Adam, and Martian Manhunter)

Schalk is one of the best voice actors that Death Battle have in their cast. He killed it as a sinister, condescending, and stern Omni-Man in Omni-Man Vs Homelander, and though he doesn't speak nearly as much in this one, he does equally well as a despaired, enraged, protective Omni-Man too. He killed it once again. As for Nikhad, he was fine, but definitely not the same sort of inflections that Sonny Strait gives Bardock that make his voice so iconic. Just a minor complaint.

Another minor complaint I have is Bardock's model looks a little weird, at least the mouth movements do, especially when shown from the side, and Nolan's model is kind of uncanny because it's weird seeing Omni-Man in 3D. Sure, he's 3D in Mortal Kombat, but that's also a realistic art style that would have clashed with Bardock, so I'm glad they didn't go that route. Still cool though.

And props to DevilArtemis for doing what he could to keep you engaged with this fight, and capturing both characters behavior, transformations, attacks, and inflections really well with the movements.

Considering, as I already mentioned, this fight would not go as easily as the fight with Homelander did, Omni-Man's attacks feel a lot more damaging, and ferocious than they did in his previous episode. My favourite part of the fight is when he grabs Bardock's tail, brutally tears it off, and then just whip slaps him with it. Definitely in line with the Viltrumites knack for tearing people to bloody chunks.

And for Bardock, considering he's an early Dragon Ball guy, it's really good to see some more recent recontextualization and coverage for classic feats. Also, for some reason, this is the first time we're ever seeing an Oozaru in Death Battle.

If I have any complaints for the fight, Bardock's Death was...kind of flat. It was brutal, but I didn't expect it, nor want it, to be so graceful. But that's all I really have to say about it. The sequence itself was really solid.

And in case I didn't make it clear, while I DO like Bardock more than Nolan as a character, the result did not dissatisfy me because, like I said, it was explained very thoroughly, and very well, in a way that made me understand.

Also, two little side notes, I want to address my take on a few arguments that I kept on seeing in the build up to this episode, and when the episode dropped. The first being whether or not Bardock should have been allowed Super Saiyan, and how it was kind of unfair for Bardock to be given a composite version of his character. To that, I say this.

First of all, if Bardock wasn't given all of his abilities across his iterations, this fight wouldn't have been nearly as cool. If you have the choice between seeing Bardock go Super Saiyan, or not seeing Bardock power up and go gold, why would you ever choose the latter? Death Battle tried to justify their decision, but for me at least, they didn't really need to.

What I wanted to know, in regards to Super Saiyan's conclusion, is this: Would Bardock having Super Saiyan be the edge he needs to win the fight? And would he lose if he didn't have it?

If the answer is yes, then I take issue. Because I don't like it when characters in this series win all because of one minor feat they have, especially if that feat is only semi-canon, like Super Saiyan Bardock is. However, in this case, the answer is no.

Super Saiyan definitely gave Bardock a boost that put Nolan on the ropes, but it wasn't enough to net him a win. So there's no real issue because having Super Saiyan ultimately didn't affect the results, so I'm fine with it.

The second argument I keep seeing is that Omni-Man wouldn't have been able to take down that giant planet without the 2 other characters that were with him. In the comics, he needed the assistance of those two, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to do it.

However, I want to note that the point that DB were trying to make was that Nolan, even if he was a third of the power required to take down that planet, is still VERY CAPABLE of wiping out entire planets on his own, and far more efficiently than Bardock would be. Bardock's own planet-busting feats weren't even his; he was scaled off of King Vegeta, so that's honestly more of a loose connection than Nolan smashing the planet.

And it's not as if that feat alone is what gave Nolan the edge in the fight. He still had all the other stuff like smart atoms on his side.

I will quickly remind everyone that this was not a stomp for Omni-Man. Death Battles usually aren't stomps, and they show off what both characters are capable of by pushing them to the brink. The aforementioned Omni-Man Vs Homelander is only one of few examples of unfair stomp fights.

And the last thing I want to talk about is the music track, though I don't have much to say on it. I know that Brandon kind of struggled with this track, but he did a great job, as he always does. With that being said, I still like Diabolical Invincible Me more than Solid State Invincible, not because SSI is a bad track, but because DIM is just...SOOO good, by a large margin. In fact, SSI even takes lyrics and beats from DIM.

So that's about it...A REALLY solid comeback for Death Battle. Not one of my top fights, but definitely a super strong opener.

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...Although I feel like I'm forgetting something...There was one other thing that I really liked but I can't quite remember-

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AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

[lordoftheringsmusical]

Hi. I need your opinions on the lotr musical cause I feel just a little crazy about this musicals iteration of Sam (in a good way I promise)

Ooo please tell me more about Sam! He's my favourite!!

Okay. My LotR Musical opinions:

(Please remember that this blog is not connected to the show and not sponsored by the creators haha)

"Now and For Always (Reprise)" should have been included in the final West End version or at least brought back for the Watermill production. It's so beautiful and heartbreaking.

Laura Michelle Kelly changed Galadriel's lines in the Lothlórien scene, and these changes provide much needed context and improve the flow of the dialogue massively.

Actually, lots of lines are extremely clunky. I'm surprised that the script and the Elvish bits weren't updated for the revival. Kudos to the Watermill actors for making the book work surprisingly well, good job!!

Making Pippin a girl was a wonderful idea - there aren't that many female Tolkien characters, so why not simply change that? It's a lovely continuation of this show's tendency to create more roles for women: Gildor > Elránien, and Glorfindel being played by a woman. And also: "The Road Goes On" sounds absolutely gorgeous with Amelia as Pippin!

It's extremely annoying that the original productions are remembered first and foremost as financial flops. The show ran for 20 months in total and was nominated for five Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical. It was expensive, yes, but also incredibly innovative. The sheer scale of it, the massive ensemble, the rotating stage with more than a dozen lifts, the circus skills involved (silks, stilts, etc), there has never been anything like it on a theatre stage. It's unfair that this show is reduced to its lack of financial and critical success while other flops that had shorter runs are treated with respect. LotR has always been special.

I'll keep this very short, but most people have no idea how adaptations work. A stage adaptation needs to change and exclude plot points, it can never put a book on stage. The LotR Musical draws in audiences who aren't too familiar with theatre, and the worst takes on this show come from those who've never spared a thought on stage adaptations before.

Happy to talk more about these ✨️

[purplegalaxy273]

Tell me non-binary goblin, what is your favourite OC and why

explain to me in great detail

Ok well I don’t have a favorite favorite but here’s a list of my absolute favorites in destabilizing my fellow nonbinary goblin 1. Galaxy galaxy is a oc I made all the way back in like 2017 and is my first oc (and is also partially the reason I go by galaxy lol) I don’t have images of them but I can describe them they were a gray shiny eevee where the neckfluf/mane took the colors of purple with star patrerns along with the tail pattern as well They also had wings because why the fuck not although this was replaced with a cloaca with a ever changing pattern of the cosmos unfortunettly I had to scrap their story but they now run the library of creations (aka where I store my oc‘s story’s, Aus, and ideas lol) originally they had a story where they were chosen by arceus themself to host some powers along with their friendship then she had to overthrow them due to corruption and becoming a god in the process but then I slowly fell out of the Pokémon fandom due to the games sucking but now they just chill and take care of the worlds of my mind 2. King King is my first rain world oc and my first persona I made them a little over a year ago but I still love them and they were the first oc for their lore to be finalized and I’m glad that king can be recognized by others now :D 3. bloodlust bloodlust is my favorite out of the 7 (soon to be 8 because of watcher) pups her lore was the First one I was certain of even though she is a cannibal she is still my favorite little cannibal and also the reason I hosted the butchers vanity map!

4. nimbus MOTH SCUG MOTH SCUG MOTH SCU- Im just kidding I love nimbus because he is just fun for me I allowed myself to go ALL OUT on the iterator abuse and furthered the lore for the other iterators and king respectively and I loved coming up with the aqua ancients in order to explain why sunset over shores is just in the water lol but nimbus is still one of my favorites and I will make a plushie of them some day 5.Flossie AUUGHSJSH

I FUCKING LOVE THEM!!!!! flossie if you have read any of my wonders of the world posts: is the main character of the show and amusement park but I honestly loved her and I’m proud of her design even though she started out as a dandy’s world oc and I had to pull her out of there but still I kinda see her as like my child or something???? Idk I’m just really attached to her and love her design, story and that one au I made of her but still I will kill for her Also happy 500th post!