#the character designs in this show are SO fun i'm gonna have to check out the comics someday hmmmm

[kayvsworld]

why did no one tell me invincible was good......

[exaflux]

BTAS pre-production stuff/official designs and artstyle stuff

Don't mind the title, I'm a bit naff at titling things...

I'm sure people have made posts about it before, but just in case there's anyone that doesn't know, there's official documents on BTAS floating around the net. Things covering episode writing, bios, a bunch of art that animators would have used. Whole lot of stuff.

I've seen people ask questions/have discussion on things like imitating the style/character heights/other general things. These documents are all official and might be helpful so, hey, might as well share for those not in the know.

Gonna keep it short (I'll provide some links so you can check out for yourself as there's a lot I won't cover) but I'll outline some stuff that catches my eye (first bit is about pre-production and ideas they had, second bit is stuff about how they went about drawing/designing the characters)

Pre-production

In animation, it's standard to have a thing called a writer's bible, also called an animation bible. They include everything from plot synopsis, character/concept art, character bios, episode ideas, basically the whole nine yards. These are used mainly in the early stages to pitch ideas and get projects greenlit, but are also kept around as a handy shortform thing to summarise the whole project as much as possible.

As it turns out, the BTAS writer's bible has been extensively documented! There's a PDF of it actually! And if you don't want a PDF, there's a website that covers all the contents too.

As per writer's bibles, it has a ton of their ideas and direction they wanted to take with the show, from episode structure to joke writing right down to how much settings should be able to change per-episode. There's a whole lot of art too! Here's a snippet about some of the changes they wanted to make with the Dark Knight himself:

And just for fun let's also leave some info about how they approached writing Bruce Wayne:

Anyway! On a more interesting topic- some of the rogues. The bios of most of the rogues are included, as are some art of earlier designs. Riddler looks like a sleezy car salesman and Joker is kinda just missing his lips and has stripy pants is seems.

Also of note: in some alternative timeline somewhere we could have had Calendar Man and Gentleman Ghost in BTAS...

As for character heights... The height chart is sectioned into "head" height for Batman's head. The uppermost line is Batman's height, so Batman is 8 Batman heads tall. While it can be hard to make out some of the character heights due to the poses, it'd be safe to guess that you do take poses into account on the height chart. Two-Face is shorter on the chart than Harvey is for example but you'll notice that Two-Face's art shows his head tilted down slightly, so Two-Face isn't actually shorter it's just his pose.

You'll notice these characters are uncoloured. The colour palettes featured are an interesting point that deserve their own post. I'll touch on them another time.

Style Guides / Character Sheets

Style guides tell animators how to correctly draw characters. Can also be applied for things like backgrounds and props and the likes though, whatever feels needed to be noted to keep consistency even if other people are drawing the characters.

Character sheets are character sheets. 'Nuff said. These just show off a character looks from different angles. Expression sheets showing how character emote, art on full-body posing and sheets on hand poses are things that also tend to be covered in animated productions.

Can be found here and here. A lot of overlap in the art shown between the two links but they're absolutely full of character sheets and turn-arounds. There's definitely a lot more design documents I've seen about in other places, but alas, I can't track them down for the life of me.

Here's some highlights:

(When Twoface blinks only his good eye closes completely. His injured eye only partially closes)

("John Crane")

Some early character art:

~~~

If you made it this far then congrats here's some Batmen for your troubles

[a-suspicious-number-of-ducks]

Hermit-a-Day May, Day 15: FalseSymmetry. Today's style/medium is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power! My thought process for this matchup wasn't particularly profound--I knew I wanted to do someone in She-Ra style, because I adore the show, and the queen of hearts, heads, and body parts seemed fitting for a series about a bunch of strong, terrifying women, one of whom wields a frick-off giant magic sword. Details and references under the read more!

So... I don't really have specific references I can point to, because I just turned on season 1 of She-Ra and watched almost to the end of season 3 by the time I was done with the drawing. Any time I needed to check a style thing, I would just...let the current episode play until I saw an example of the way the animators drew that specific thing. That being said, False's face was primarily referenced from Adora, her knees from Glimmer, and her hands from Entrapta because Entrapta was the first person to have a good shot of their hands while I was looking. Here's a couple pictures of the general style, if you want to judge for yourself how I did at emulating it:

Additional references include False's Minecraft skin (of course) and several pictures of myself doing the pose, complete with sword.

She-Ra's style is very smooth and relatively simple, with broad stretches of plain colors. Shading is rare and usually only for temporary lighting effects, so I left my drawing unshaded. Everything is just so clean, because...it's an animated show and animating fiddly details sucks. I really enjoy She-Ra's character design and art style, so it was a ton of fun to get to try it out for myself.

I had to pay extra attention to the eyes and ears, two of the most distinctive She-Ra style hallmarks in my opinion--as well as the iconic solid shaded blush across the cheeks and nose, but that part was easy. I also had to use a smoother inking brush than my normal toothy ink pen, which meant that inking/lining took forever. That is why this is nearly two hours late. Don't look at me.

Fun fact if you read this far: Catra is around 72% of the reason I finally realized/admitted I was bi at the tender age of like.... 17. She was just too pretty for me to stay in denial.

I feel like I'm forgetting something but it's 3am so I'm just gonna hit post. Cheers!

[iaf]

General thoughts about Jentry Chau vs the Underworld

I finished the series like a day ago and let me just tell y'all that its good. I recommend anyone intrested in watching something new to give it a shot. Personally, I checked it out for the animation but ended up sticking around for the characters/plot. It's very colorful from the backgrounds, character designs, and effects. It's clear to me that the people who worked this put a lot of care and detail. I kinda want to say, animation-wise, its a combination between SheRa and Glitch Techs?? What I'm getting at it's that it's a really beautiful show that deserves recognition.

Oh, and this is one of those shows where the MC has a new outfit almost every episode!! That's one of my favorite things ever!! Like, how often do we see that? Anyways, Jentry is awesome. She's headstrong, caring, and smart. All her actions are completely understandable and rational to me. Gugu was interesting. She's deceitful but believes it's for the best for everyone involved. I like that the narrative frowns upon this aspect of her but she's not "evil". Ed was... well you see I didn't really like him at first. Idk what it was but I just didn't care too much about him but somewhere after ep 6 I came around. I enjoy his friendship with Jentry <3

As for the other characters, they just needed more screentime. I think that overall, just for the sake of this season, what Stella, Michael, and Kit have is alright. I would love for Stella and Jentry to become better friends. I feel like more could have been done with Michael and his powers. Kit was great but I would have preferred a different resolution to his character. Like I said, I don't have any real issue about the side characters being underdeveloped. As for the love triangle and romance stuff, I'm still mulling it over.

Moving on to the story, had a lot of fun watching it all play out. I really like Jentry as a main character. I like that the story focuses not only on her powers but also her family struggles and the agency she's constantly denied. The plot is always advancing with each episode, nothing drags out but I would have liked to linger on some revelations or characters.

Lastly, REALLY GREAT MUSIC!!! Genuinely really good. I'm gonna be listening to the soundtrack repeatedly.

Good show, beautiful animation, lovely characters, and enjoyable story. Would love a season 2 but also this holds up well just as it is. So, those are my general thoughts. Just wanted to get this out before I dive back in for a full rewatch.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay, I've been sitting on that bit by @tumblingxelian with Zoe meeting Chloe at her new boarding school because a) it was awesome and b) there was a bit that really struck me.

Almost nothing about Chloe in the show is original. It's all pulled from the various bad adults in her life.

And it caused me to really think and examine what it is that I think screams "Chloe" that can't be attributed to Audrey, Andre, or someone else.

Almost all of it is derived from fanfiction: she's a weeb. She's brutally honest. (canon!Chloe has no issues lying, even if she's bad at it a lot). She's into girls and mad about it. She's at least a bit of a jock, despite her assertions about sports and physical work being gross and sweaty and beneath her.

But there is one thing my brain LASERED in on from canon: Her blue eyeshadow. This isn't something that comes from Audrey. As a matter of fact, it's not something that appears on ANY other character in the show. It's a bit of design uniqueness to make Chloe stand out.

And it does make her stand out. It shows off her bright bright bright blue eyes and shows off how bold she is. No other characters regularly wear visible colored eye shadow as part of their regular look, although a few have it for akuma costumes (no miraculous users have it, I checked). And even though it doesn't remain in her queen bee look, the way the black and yellow on her mask splits does still look like eye shadow in a way that isn't seen on anyone else, including Vesperia.

I think this is all significant. Like, I'm gonna put on my clown shoes and read too deep into it for a moment, but this is probably why I associate Chloe, especially a post redemption Chloe with a sky blue color. Not royal blue like the peacock, but sky blue. Yellow is still present and more dominant, but the blue is there. It makes me think that a Chloe who has some more time to grow a personality outside the context of her abuse would embrace a lot of very fun very "tacky" very bold and colorful makeup. I think she'd be one of those people who looks like a very visibly queer femme. I can soooooo easily picture Chloe with glittery dyed hair and multicolored nails and body art.

It makes me wonder where Chloe discovered that style of makeup and what made her choose to pursue it, and why she'd risk Audrey's scorn with it when every other part of her outfit is so clearly DESIGNED to cater to Audrey's personal tastes. Just some thoughts or fanfic fuel or something.

See now just feel bad for switching up her makeup pallet in my aus.

[littlebloomclan]

Hello! Been following BloomClan for a while as part of the silent majority and I’m loving it so far! The characters and designs are so interesting, and the art is beautiful ^^

I have some questions though on the process of running this blog though :0

1) How do you go about taking notes? Do you write everything down or only what you want/what you think is important

2) How do you avoid burn out from drawing or playing the game too long?

thank you thank you!! I'm having lots of fun with this so I'm glad others like it too

1 - I take a bunch of screenshots each moon and decide what I'll show or work with. I go in order from events, check each cat, and then patrols. I dont usually screencap relationship stuff unless I think its important for me to remember. usually things I note are high negative/high positive. or I just think its cute/funny/can make a character moment of it

2- Let yourself take breaks! I have other hobbies (video games mainly, and I foster tiny kittens) so I don't draw every day. I only draw when I feel like it, since it is 100% a hobby for me. I dont really do coms or anything cause I just want it to be fun. Also to avoid burn out dont be afraid to change things up. I change how I do little details on characters a lot (like the eyes change constantly lol) I'm gonna play with some different brushes. Dont commit to things too hard. the more rigid you are I think the more it starts feeling like a chore instead of a fun project, at least for me. plus the community aspect helps! Having people also excited for your project, and reading others comics and stories, is so inspiring

In the end tho I'm just here fora good time. I'm an adult woman who likes to draw cats and tell lil stories, if people like it, then that's even more cool

[ofmdrecaps]

07/12/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Samba Schutte; Vico Ortiz; Rachel House; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; Minnie Driver; Gypsy Taylor; Nathan Foad; You Bear Fine Thing Well; Articles; Non Binary Awareness Week; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika

== Rhys Darby ==

A LIVE Cryptid Factor show has been announced at ther Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023! August 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th! Unfortunately it looks like they sold out within the first few hours. Hopefully we'll see some more lives soon! Grats boys on the quick sellout!

Source: Rhys Darby's Instagram

Rhys also posted multiple tiktok videos today regarding a new character I assume? "Brief Moments of Genius: The Doug Thandwich Pamphlet"

Source: Rhys Darby's Tiktok

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba made it safely to Florida Supercon! Annnnd apparently the hotel didn't think about his height when getting him set up in the deluxe rainfall shower!

Source: Samba Schutte's Instagram

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico also made it to Florida Supercon safely (with Jack!)! Are you going to be seeing them this weekend?

Source: Vico's Instagram Stories

ALSO -- more OFMD S2 BTS (as well as exclusive other BTS from their other shows, etc) from Vico on their Patreon! Check out the new video here!

Source: Vico Ortiz' Patreon

== Rachel House ==

Rachel was out at a showing of &Juliet getting to meet one of her heroes, Keala Settle!

Source: Rachel House's Instagram

== Kristian Nairn ==

As mentioned before - Signed copies of Kristian's book are on pre-sale now! Apparently some of the signing is happening now because Kristian posted a video of some signatures happening! They've also hit the Barnes & Nobles Best Sellers list!

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

REMINDER: Adopt Our Crew was kind enough to put together his list of where you can buy Kristian's Book! Reminder-- bookshop is great if you want to support your local bookstores!

Barnes & Noble

Amazon US

Amazon UK 

Bookshop.com

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Twitter

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan once again out with friends <3. I'm so happy we're getting to see him have so much fun this summer!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram

== Minnie Driver ==

Our fabulous Anne Bonny, Minnie Driver is playing Elizabeth I in Serpent Queen Season 2! Which just so happens to premier today on Starz!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Min. (@driverminnie)

Source: Minnie Driver's Instagram

== Gypsy Taylor ==

Our darling costume designer for s2 - Gypsy Taylor has received a special gift from one of our fan crews-- Our Flag Means Daddy! She received a special jacket with the name Sea Gypsy embroidered on it! Congrats Gypsy and thank you Our Flag Means Daddy crew for continuing to bring joy and recognition to our dear OFMD Cast & Crew!

Source: Gypsy Taylor's Instagram

== You Bear Fine Things Well ==

Today was the final day for #YouBearFineThingsWell! @adoptourcrew asked fans to share their favorite bear puns Rhys came up with for the Hungry Games! I have to say mine was "We asked Cassanova if he had any types... he said brunettes".

Source: @adoptourcrew's Twitter

== Articles ==

A few more mentions of OFMD this week!

Source: Collider Article

And thank you to @adoptourcrew for bringing this screenrant article to our attention!

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Non Binary Awareness Week ==

Another article from Pink News -- this time recommending 11 Must Watch Films/TV Shows Starring Non-Binary Actors! I already know several I'll be seeing once they're available. Check them out!

Source: Pink News Article

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Happy start to the weekend! I truly hope you've had fun this week in some capacity. There's been something for everyone and hopefully we continue to see some hype coming up in the up coming weeks.

Today I wanted to remind you of something that I know you've heard before, but like anything in this life, repetition helps to solidify things so I'm gonna say some of it again. You don't need to prove to anyone your worth. You don't need to beg for anyone to love you and you certainly don't need to be someone you're not for someone else's sake. We all have demands from outside forces every day-- work, school, etc, and a lot of those demands are things we have to cope with in order to function in and be a part of society. Those demands aren't always in our best interest, but for the most part they're at least somewhat reasonable. However, there are going to be times that others have demands on you that are completely unreasonable. Maybe someone expects you to fall into a pretty little category. Maybe someone expects you to understand them when they aren't being clear. Maybe someone expects you to bend over backwards and change for their benefit, but not provide you with the same courtesy.

Whatever unreasonable demands you're dealing with, I just want to send you a reminder that you are allowed to say no. You are allowed to set up boundaries to help minimise that kind of behavior. You are allowed to just be you, and to continue to shine being you. Nothing is black and white, so it may not be easy, and may not be viable, or safe for some people-- I absolutely get that, and you should always keep your safety and security top of mind. But if you have the wiggle room, and you can set up those boundaries, remember there's nothing wrong with wanting to continue to be you, the way you are and defending that you.

You are wonderful lovelies, and we all have things in life we can improve on, but you being your beautiful, unique, authentic self is a right, and you have every right to protect the parts of you you hold dear. You don't have to prove to anyone that you are worthy of love just being yourself-- because you already ARE worthy of love, and light, and good things.

You don't have to fit into a neat little box to be loved, or valid. You are already both of those things, and sometimes it's hard to see it in ourselves-- so this reminder is from me to you, from the crew, to you, that you are wonderful just the way you are. Rest well and be kind to yourselves lovelies, you deserve it.

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is shades on a couple of cool dudes! Gifs courtesy of two of the most fabulous and talented gif makers on the internet - @ofmd-ann and @bizarrelittlemew!

[pinky-the-bunny]

My thoughts/reactions to the underevent 2024 fan game showcases.

Bleeding hearts - WOW! this looks gorgeous! I might check this one out. I really like how the characters look and how beautifully animated they are. I can't wait for this one.

deltarune alternate chapter 3 - it looks like fun! All the new characters designs look official but also really unique. I can't wait to see how they do with toriel in this one.

DeltaFALL - (I thought it was gonna be a 3d game for a second lol.) The new fighting gameplay looks really good and overall the trailer makes it look VERY promising.

Deltamon - deltarune but with pokemon! Sure, why not?

deltarune missing souls - a fan made origin game with dess and asriel? Cool! I really like how the other characters look in this one too. Can't wait to see how this goes.

Deltarune hypothesis - (A lot of deltarune fan games here) A mystery fangame! All i'm going to say is that sans is shrek in this one, so obviously its gonna be a 10/10 game.

Undercards - might be a fun game for people who like card games.

Undertale CALL OF THE VOID Placek's take - this looks very, very interesting...(also GREEN SANS MENTION!!!)

The pre-show undertale green - An undertale game with mostly humans is new.

Undertale build project - Undertale in mincraft! But in all seriousness the amount of detail in this map is crazy!

Dusttale TD - a duststale fangame. I've seen a bit of a review on this one and so far I think it looks good.

Undertale soul's link - An AU where asriel joins frisk in the underground is very interesting. I can't wait for it to come out so I can read it to see how different the story will be.

Undertale plus - What fun choices. I can only imagine how chaotic it will get with the multiplayer gameplay.

Underswap echoed - I was about to say how this one reminded me of ts! Underswap lol

Desktoptale - YES!

Dusttale reimagined - Another dusttale fangame, Looks like flowey is the killer in this one.

Undertale together next soul - more multiplayer!

DEPPER JAR the test experience - OFF!?!? (This looks like a funny game)

Deltaruined - Oh my god...

Undercreator - Oh, this is the big one. The possibilities are endless!

Sonic 3 X deltarune alternate chapter 3 - pretty interesting.

NOSTOPHOBIA under verse animatic - OOOOOOOOOOHHHHH FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!

Undertale red and yellow - cute! I love to see the interactions with both clover and chara.

Edezetale - WOW THIS LOOKS SO COOL!!! Definitely seeing this one.

underswap S the reckoning 2 - blue isn't FUCKING AROUND ANYMORE!!!!

The UPPERHAND - erm, what the sigma?

Nightfell - this is like a mashup of every indie rpg all together, I love it!

Undertale kindred spirits - YEAH BABY! THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR! THIS IS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!

Dusttrust - OOOOOOHHH, PRETTY ANIMATION!!! this one seems quite unigue compared to the other dust games!

Insomnia - i...I have no words....THAT GENUINELY GAVE ME CHILLS!!! OHMYGOOOOOO- (MULTIMEDIA!? Bitch is this an ARG!?!?)

WOW! Okay so those are my thoughts on the recent under event. These all seemed pretty cool and i LOVE to see some of these.

[featheredenby]

Being Yourself Again

✨Once again I don’t know what to put here so yeah, tomorrow the epilogue comes out! I’m also working on doing newer versions of each characters’ design.✨

Written by: FeatheredEnby

Word Count: 1,487

Part Seventeen of: Show Your Fangs

A Superhero AU of Hermitcraft/The Life Series/Empires SMP

Read On Ao3

Pearl wakes up after having been magically knocked out and feels that something is missing, she feels the best she has recently but still something’s not right. She opens her eyes, she’s in a cell. It’s a nice one, but it’s a cell nonetheless. Sitting outside is Gem. Why is her roommate there? On top of that, why is she even in a cell?

Gem lifts her head, she looks half asleep, “Hi Pearl… what do you remember?”

“About what?”

“About your time as the villain the Red Witch.”

“I- I… I don’t really remember things… I know that I used to have some sort of power… but I don’t remember ever using it.” Pearl looks down at herself and sees that her moth features are on display. “That is… except for hiding my mutant traits.”

Gem nods, “You- you did a lot of bad stuff… including but not limited to making a mushroom spell which possessed Cuteguy, injuring multiple people while running around with the Red King and Red Hand, and taking over the city with mushrooms.”

“Huh…”

“Yeah, it was not fun.” She sighs, “Shelby ended up using a very large spell to knock you out, destroy the mushroom possessing Cuteguy, and kill the mushrooms that had sprouted around the city.” Gem stands up and walks over to the glass between the two of them. “Whatever so-called magic you were using corrupted you. Given the fact that you can’t remember any of it I’m gonna guess that it sort of became its own… thing. I’m going to let you go free and help you get your memories back but you have to promise not to do something like that again.”

Pearl nods, “I promise.”

“Good.” Gem swipes a key card and the door to the cell opens. “And just to make sure,” she snaps her fingers and in a flash of purple a bubble with swirling red particles contained in it appears in her hand, “This is your magic. As I said, at this point it’s almost its own entity. I'm going to destroy it. I’ve done stuff like this before, so I can confidently say you’ll be fine. I’m also going to help you get your memories back. Sound good?”

Pearl nods and stands up, “What’s gonna happen with the heroes and stuff though?”

“I’ve appointed myself the new director of the GFHA!” Gem says happily, “We’re gonna turn the building into a museum about heroes, vigilantes, and villains. Plus Joel and Grian are gonna do all of the news reports, if I can convince them to do it that is… and Lizzie’s going to be the legal advisor!”

“Sounds like a good plan. Also, what about jobs for the people who were working as heroes?”

“They’re being hired to work at the museum once it’s built and specifically Katherine is helping recreate the various costumes.”

“Gem… are you going to reveal people’s identities?”

“Only the heroes and vigilantes, even then it’s up to them.”

Pearl nods, “Good.”

-

Grian’s himself again, he opens his eyes in a choice to stop floating in the void of sleep. He twists his head around and sees Scar peacefully resting next to him, they’re in a decently sized room that a few other people are scattered around. Simply to check if he still has his powers after the possession. He closes his eyes and opens his incorporeal ones. He decides to look around some.

The first thing that he looks for is something to tell him where they are. Soon he sees that they are in fact in the basement of the GFHA headquarters. Outside of it a few vigilantes and heroes are cleaning up giant mushrooms and helping civilians to the building to get first aid and other medical care. Grian decides to check the building’s cells, no one is in them. So Ren and Martyn must have escaped, but then what happened to them and the other villains that run around the cities. It doesn’t make sense.

Someone taps Grian’s shoulder and he’s pulled back to his body, he looks up and sees the Mayor holding a bowl of stew. “I’m making stew for everyone here!” She happily declares, “I’m also revealing my identity to everyone here, or well on this level of the building. Only other people with alter egos are down here.”

Grian nods slowly, “How exactly does that work?” He takes his bowl of stew, “You don’t wear a mask.”

“Not while I’m a vigilante but while I’m a civilian I do.” She pulls a mask out of her bag and puts it on, “Ta da! It is I, the one and only Lizzie!”

“I can’t even find it in me to be surprised at this point. Scar’s a hero, Cleo’s a vigilante, Ren and Martyn are villains, and I’m somehow two vigilantes and a world famous pop star.”

“Really? Which one?” Lizzie puts her mask away and pulls out her phone, “I want to find your music profile.”

Grian sighs, “Do I have to tell you right now?”

“Yes. I must see which of us makes better music.”

“Ariana Griande. Also since when do you make music?”

“Since a while ago, also Ariana Goate is better than you.”

“We’re siblings, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“No. Anyways, I have to keep handing out stew.” With that the cat mutant walks away and back to a stove. Grian goes back to looking around.

He looks closer at the people helping outside and sees that he was wrong about all of them being vigilantes and heroes because he realizes that Ren and Martyn are helping to clean up the mess and still half dressed in their costumes. He chooses to temporarily ignore this fact and look at the people in the room with him. There’s not many people but the few he knows.

First his eyes catch the fact that in one of the corners Shelby is seemingly having a conversation with a small cluster of mushrooms in a jar. It’s not the weirdest thing he’s ever seen but it is pushing it. Then he looks at the five other people in the room, not including himself and Scar. Lizzie is no longer making stew but instead trying to get Cleo to let her help them reattach their left arm. Jimmy is pacing back and forth while looking at a piece of paper in his hands. Then Grian sees the last two people in the room.

Sitting in the corner, having a perfectly normal conversation are Gem and the Red Witch, who has her hood down and mask off and is very clearly his other sister. Pearl. He doesn’t know how to feel about this. The person who’s been the bane of his existence and given him so many issues to deal with, his own family member. One again someone taps him which stops him from spiraling for the time being.

Grian looks to his side and sees Scar smiling at him. Before either of them can say anything, Grian simply hugs Scar. He doesn’t know what else to do, so many things have happened to the two of them in and out of costume and despite not truly knowing it they dealt with it together. Scar hugs him back, “Hi there G.”

He pulls back from the hug to look at Scar in the eyes, “Scar…” so many thoughts flood through Grian’s mind. So many things have happened he’s not sure what to say, even if he wasn’t thinking about Scar he’s a slight mess after the possession and now learning so many things in a short span of time he just can’t think anymore. So all he says is the first thing he can think of, “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

The other man gives him a confused look, “What are you apologizing for? You already apologized for the first time you got possessed. You don’t have to apologize for it happening a second time. It’s not your fault.” He pulls Grian into another hug.

“Thanks I guess… also, why is the Red Witch here?”

“Right… I wasn’t paying much attention but apparently something to do with the way she used her magic sorta corrupted her.” Scar shrugs, “I think she said something about not using it properly but then when Shelby did a big spell at the end of their battle it kinda got rid of her powers. Now she’s back to normal but with a significant amount of amnesia and a higher chance of threatening people.”

“Huh…”

Scar nods, “You can say that again, anyways Gem mentioned setting up a group therapy session for some of the people involved in this whole situation. So at least we can all start working through stuff.”

Grian nods and leans into the other man while leans into him in return. “Hey Scar?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Scar smiles, “Thank you to G.”

[chronic-shinposter]

who the fuck is this guy?? (daima speculation post)

Because I am desperately clawing at information and checking the news every 10 seconds compulsively, I thought I'd put my energy into speculating what Dragon Ball Daima is going to bring us because oh my god i'm so excited So my object of my interest is this person, who is very clearly the same species as the Supreme Kais. Here are my very cool, totally high quality screenshots (they are not)

The safe assumption is that this is a Makaioshin, a Demon Supreme Kai, which I think is likely true and likely the route they're gonna go. All fingers point to Goku and Shin's adventure taking them to the demon realm, and the demon realm is also a topic we've seen Shin have a ton of knowledge in (some reasons unfortunate)

BUT WHO IS THIS??????

So okay I have 4 theories, some I believe a bit more than others. insert my very cool art that I spent several hours on (i did not) ---

1.) The person in the trailer is Shin's twin or sibling and poses as his natural opposite. This is one of the simpler theories and also my favorite. It would be a lot of fun for the narrative, because it brings a lot of personal weight as to why Shin would want to be a part of this journey and also possibly give some insight as to why the majin/folks from the demon realm seem to have it out for the Supreme Kais so badly anyway. We know that this person likely holds a grudge from the Buu Saga ordeal, but the contempt for the Supreme Kais seemed to predate Bibidi and Buu invading the Sacred Land of the Kais. It would be interesting if there is family drama and jealousy is a factor, maybe this person was meant to be a Supreme Kai's apprentice anyway but Shin got it instead. It could be Shin's fault that they're in the demon realm at all. The possibilities are endless! (Also I would really love on-screen lore about their species)

I also really like this theory because Beerus also has a twin brother and the design differences I find very amusing. Also it would track that Beerus's twin hates Beerus because one time he ate a cake or whatever, but Shin's twin wants to eradicate everything Shin knows and loves because he looked at him wrong or something ---

2.) There's some interdimensional timeline bullshit happening and the person on the screen is actually a Shin fusion. I feel like there'd have to be a lot of plot shenanigans for this to work, but the idea that this person is actually a fusion has been thrown around some and I think it's neat. Most notable to me is that they look VERY SIMILAR to Shin but with some key differences, mostly that he's tall and has a different nose. Eye shape and hair are pretty similar and I also found it interesting that the coat is very similar to Shin's palette in Super, though with sleeves/pants/boots matching Shin's Daima palette. It is totally possible this is just a coincidence, especially since Kibito has pretty much the same palette as Shin in Daima but they're not connected at all

So, narratively, what would this do? The timeline placement for Daima is a big point of debate because we're given conflicting information: the two biggest points people point to is Shin and Kibito being defused which only happens around Battle of Gods, and Chi-Chi and Bulma's hairstyles which we only see after Buu Saga in DBZ. It is extremely likely that Daima is canon especially because Akira Toriyama was heavily involved in the story and characters, but how it ties in to the canon right now is a big question mark. It's totally possible that a very huge fuckup happened to cause a "fall from grace" that couldn't be fixed with dragon balls, maybe even the very same adventure that Goku and Shin are on at that point in the anime, and the character we see here is trying to prevent it while working in the demon realm. It's possible he's not actually a villain either and has multiple motives. He shows contempt after seeing Shin on screen, possibly lamenting past actions. I don't really think this theory is that likely (I think a lot of the similarities can just be explained with someone who knows Shin), but it goes down a thread that I think is pretty cool. ---

3.) Entirely new character with no connection to Shin other than mirrored occupations. I think this is the most boring option and probably also the most likely one. I'm down for new characters but I just find them having a more personal connection would be way more fun. Still, he seems to hate Shin (and it's likely that Shin knows him) so it'll be interesting to see what's going on there!

Even if this theory is the one that's the most likely, I still think it'll be a great time and I think would still open an avenue for us to learn a lot more about the Supreme Kais, the canon Demon Supreme Kais, and the demon realm as a whole. I really hope they can deal with this in a great way that doesn't cause any imbalance with the God of Creation/God of Destruction stuff ---

4.) Shin and this character are LITERALLY two halves of the same person who changed in their environments, kind of like Kami and Demon King Piccolo. I feel like this isn't the most likely route either because it would kind of dampen Kami and Piccolo's whole thing AND it would make no sense because Zamasu is an evil little bastard and their species is shown to have their own morals/values on a spectrum of good/evil, but I think this opens up an interesting can of worms that maybe the Supreme Kai's species can split themselves in order to fulfill certain roles for the universe (considering they can also split entire planets/duplicate life)

No one I know of has talked about this and it's driving me crazy but I think there's going to be a subplot about Demon King Piccolo for specifically for two reasons: 1.) BLUE DRAGON BALLS 2.) This screenshot

WHO THE FUCK IS THIS DUDE????? THAT LOOKS LIKE A NAMEKIAN TO ME Also he's DEMON KING Piccolo, he was the demon king (I assume) before Dabura, who our mystery character likely served as well. However, it's also totally possible I'm speaking out of my ass and Demon King(tm) is just a nickname for Kami's other half pre-our Piccolo, but I think that would be kind of lame so I like to think he was an actual demon king.

This is to say, maybe Kami learned how to expel all the evil from himself by seeking guidance of the other gods, and it's something that the Supreme Kais have done before and kind of need to do to keep tabs on the demon realm. OR this is just Namekian stuff and I desperately want to combine lore. You decide!

It is certainly fun to think about though! I think even if this route is possible, it doesn't mean that Supreme Kais are always going to be inherently good; their experiences shape them, and we also see this happen with Kami's evil half in the newly reborn Piccolo. Characters born to be evil do not necessarily stay evil, and characters born to be good do not necessarily stay good. Even so, I think this route would kind of fuck a lot of balance that the story tries to establish already so I think the Namekian stuff will probably be separate from who this character is. Still, I wanted to throw this out there

---

IN CONCLUSION... I dunno I still think the twin route is the most fun but I think there are really interesting plot threads that could happen. I feel like Daima will be lore heavy even though it's framed as a lighthearted adventure, so I hope to learn a lot. I'm trying to keep my expectations in check, but when news is scarce I can't help but speculate the shit out of what we have. Feel free to let me know what y'all think!

[mistress-of-vos]

Okay, you convinced me of JeanTim, I see the vision. Do you have any recommendations for comics to get into Azrael other than Knightfall? I don't really know him as a character other than what I saw in your short fics on here in the past week or so (which were all fabulous, I'm thoroughly enjoying your stay on my timeline)

Thank you in advance!

Hello!!! So glad I have succeeded at my life mission of spreading JeanTim across the masses ❤️

Well, I guess you can divide Azrael's reading into three sections:

New Earth (Pre N52)

Batman: Sword of Azrael (1992): !!! This is JP's origin, a relatively short comic that takes place a little before Knightfall, and sets what Azrael is and how he becomes what he is.

Knightfall (followed by Knightquest and, if you wish to, Prodigal): This is probably the longest story inside the batfam that JP has. I personally like reading compiled versions, including the prelude to Knightfall (starting on Batman #480, which has Jean-Paul meeting Tim, AND JP dressing up as Batman before Bruce's back getting hurt). Jean-Paul stops appearing once Dick takes over the Batman mantle.

Azrael and Azrael Agent of the Bat: Basically 100 issues of Jean-Paul going through the horrors. However, around the last 5-10 issues are of dubious canon as per Rebirth (but this series is good to know JP's particular canon such as his dad, the order, Lilhy, etc)

No Man's Land: Technically this goes inside the Azrael solo? Tbh I'd also look for a compiled version, preferably including Contagion, and if you want, you can check out the very beginning of the story in Batman Legacy: Progeny of the demon (tho this one only has Tim + Ra's on it)

Extras: There are less known appearances of JP in comics such as: Batman: The Chalice ; Batman: Shadow of the Bat ; Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight ; Batman: Gotham Knighs and a very funny cameo in Nightwing (1996) #10

New 52

Batman & Robin Eternal: JP's re-introduction arc starts at #9 and I'm afraid I don't remember well where it ended, but he does transition into the batfam alongside Cass, Luke & Harper.

Detective comics: He started appearing as supporting character after 930ish issue, I believe. I'm gonna be honest, I only read JP's N52 stuff once and didn't like it much besides him being friends with Luke & Kate, plus the famous panel in #958 where Kate says she needs to taught them (JP & Luke) the art of seduction.

Rebirth

Detective Comics: House of Gotham: This includes a short retelling of Knightfall, showing a bit more of JP and Tim in their days as the dynamic duo. It's very small but it reintroduced knightfall to canon.

Justice League Odyssey: Look, LOOK, this isn't a masterpiece but it has a very sexy JP design. This arc was, to my undertanding, changed many times during publication, and the artist even shared full pages that ended up deleted. This is a very ooc Jean-Paul most of the time (my working theory is that they wanted Jason, as Victor & Kory seem too familiar with JP, which makes no sense) but it's a fun reading and it is currently canon.

Sword of Azrael (2022): This is THE current Azrael story of DC. It wraps up all of the previous stories plus setting where JP is right now in terms of power, mind and morals. It's short, but it's wonderful and lovely written. The art goes slightly towards manga style, which I think suits JP. I don't want to spoil anything on this one, if you have little time to read, read this one. It's all you need to know of JP.

Detective comics: The Ram V arc: I'm unsure where Ram V's arc covers in Detective Comics but if you want to know where JP is currently, it's here. He hasn't appeared as today that I'm replying. It is a bit ooc and has some weird dialogues (and ngl Ram V isn't exactly my fav take on Batman) but it's good, I'd give it a 7/10 and it located JP in Gotham again so it did its job.

Extras (elseworlds):

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman Knightfall: A very dark turning of what Knightfall could have been. Sadly there's no Tim here, but it's worth a read if you want to see a feral JP!

Batman: Curse of the White Knight: Part of a complete AU of Batman that plays with ages, settings and relationships, JP has a brand new interpretation. The only spoiler I will give you is: DILF

Batman: The Adventures Continue #7-#9: Takes place on the Batman animated series by Bruce Timm, tho sadly he doesn't run into Robin!Tim despite taking place right before the JJ events. A short, interesting take on JP. Somehow, the spoiler here shall also be DILF

And that would be all! Wow, I thought I wasn't gonna make it. Also, I apologize for the late reply. I started drafting my answer and forgot to finish it. My bad! P.S. If you want some links for more info feel free to DM me!

[tategaminu]

12 Days of TDP #1

What TDP means to me

I just noticed I never did this one so now that S7 is out it's a good time! I'm gonna talk about TDP and the fandom here since they are so important to me. Ignore this if you don't care at all about my little venting lmao:

A bit of story, I found out about TDP back when it was announced with the cool first poster, I didn't get into the series because I was busy with studies but when the show launched the second season my friend told me "hey this series is super good and there's a great ship" I knew right away the ship was rayllum lmao. I had to wait four or five months for S3 and I spoiled myself about the finale because it stressed me haha. When TTM came out I spoiled myself on instagram and had the worst week ever, no therapy will ever make that book okay.

I checked weekly about the date announcement while I got hyperfixated in another series from 2020 to 2022 just when S4 was going to air! I didn't check social media much so I wasn't updated about new info or content like BMH until the announcement of the launching date, the trailer, new designs, etc. I really enjoyed S4 and was excited for more! I missed the characters so much and I was so excited about the next seasons, I found out that there was actual good content on tumblr some weeks after S4, YouTube was the only place I was looking for stuff and that wasn't doing very well for me, I was a bit scared of tumblr over past experiences in fandom but oh wow the TDP fandom was actually cool!?

I found out about all the antics from the hiatus and the ideas and headcanons were so interesting! I got interested in reading or writing fics for the first time of my life so I got entertained while waiting for new content. I stalked posts but I only posted some art and didn't start really posting until a bit before S5 was out and oh well I and couldn't stop.

I have to say that this has been the most enjoyable fandom and fandom time I have ever been in. I have made online friends and have had so much fun, on top of that my art has improved a lot drawing TDP, the support it gets fills me with joy.

TDP is such a good series and it makes me so happy (I say this as I actually get emo over every season), rayllum is my absolutely fav romance ever and just writing or drawing or just talking about them makes my day. I love these characters and it has been so cool seeing them grow, I can't wait to see more about them.

Now with the sad part, I'm... scared? of things changing. Maybe my hyperfixation going away, to think about not liking rayllum or tdp as much in the future or the concept of them not bringing me joy. I highly doubt it because I have loved this series for 5 years now, my hyperfixation peaked with S4 and it hasn't waned ever since, not even with the one year hiatus from S4 to S5 I'm also very excited to see what the people come up in the big hiatus between S7 and S8, it will be so fun, I wasn't in the hiatus the first time and I regret it.

But at the same time, it makes me sad people leaving. Scared of me standing here alone with other one or two people, maybe even the mutuals or people I'm following disappearing or moving on. I know this is something that happens to fandoms all the time, and even if a series ends you are the one choosing to keep it alive or not but it's still concerning. I know it sound silly to get so emotional over this but as someone with high probabilities of autism, I have a hard time with social relationships or overall just living. But TDP and the fandom content makes me happy, the feeling of not fitting in is not as strong here with you all and having all of that taken away makes me sad. I haven't found another series that has caught my interest as much and I doubt I will anytime soon since TDP and Rayllum have everything I love, fandoms are also not as cool out there. I'm happy that I'm confident I will be here for a long time but at the same time is... scary. Change is scary and I have been feeling uneasy and irritated for a while now, even before S7 aired.

I'm gonna be here for a while, I'm gonna be here when Arc 3 and I can't wait to share with all of you. I'm sorry if this got too personal but I needed to vent.

Let's fight for Arc 3 and keep keeping amazing content together!

Finishing with shocked Rayla for the soul!

[indie-ttrpg-of-the-week]

Animon Stories

When am I gonna get my digivolution into Indie TTRPG of the Month?

Genre: Shonen, Mon Catcher (kinda)

Touchstones: Digimon, their new expansion seems to be pokemon themed

What is this game?: Animon Stories is about kids and their monsters exploring a strange and mysterious world

How's the gameplay?: Animon works on a system where players have to roll multiple D6 and count how many results of 4 or more they've rolled, then check the amount of 4+s they rolled against the task's difficulty, the amount of D6s is based on Traits and Talents, Talents are the abstract terms that represent specialized knowledges like academics, sports skills, juggling, etc, while Traits are less abstract numeric abilities, specifically Reflex (Physical aptitude), Logic (smarts), and Spirit (Willpower and Charisma), Kids are defined by their playbooks which show which role they'll take in the story, a brainiac, a jock, an older kid, a rich kid, etc, kids also get Bonds (which represent how close they are to their critter), and a Virtue (a positive quality they embody, think the crests from Digimon Adventure). Meanwhile, Animons are a different story, creating an animon is a whole thing, but the main things are Classification (what their design most resembles, demons are Infernal class, ghosts are Nightmare class, flowers are Plant class, etc), a Type (there's 3 individual type advantage triangles that don't interact at all, they're pretty simple to memorize), Nature (their personality, always has an upside and a downside), Base Stats (self explanatory), Qualities (physical traits that give them advantages), and a Signature Attack, Animons will also evolve throughout the campaign gaining new qualities, so don't sweat your first quality too much!

What's the setting (If any) like?: The setting isn't hard-set, but there's 3 universal constants: 1: Animon are intelligent and can speak to humans just fine 2: Animon can evolve into stronger (but temporary) forms with the power of friendship 3: Animon are not from this world, but an interdimensional other otherwise, everything is for the players and GM to decide!

What's the tone?: Well, its digimon, its cute, kid friendly, hopeful fun! That's not to say darker stories aren't possible, those who have played Digimon Survivors know that Digimon stories can get quite dark! but overall, its fun all around

Session length: Animon is not a particularly complex game, so 1-2 hours is realistic

Number of Players: 4-6 is recommended

Malleability: Animon's lack of setting mean that as long as you're willing to abide by the baseline rules it has, you can run any number of stories in it, the focus on child characters might also be restrictive but honestly the only thing aging up the cast would do is make two of the playbooks feel a bit weird

Resources: Foundry VTT has an add-on for Animon, so i'm sure you could find a sheet on Roll20, there's also form fillable sheets and a book coming out that focuses more on catching multiple animon instead of just one

the vibes of Digimon are usually less popular than Pokemon, since Pokemon is by far the more popular franchise, but if you're willing to go outside your comfort zone for a little bit, Animon is a great game to replicate the vibes of early Digimon, even if it falls short in a few places

[pstelwitchcraft]

It's safe to say I am losing my mind over the new animated intro. There's something so satisfying abt seeing these characters I love so much animated in such a truly beautiful way and all the little moments had me gushing over them even more.

That being said i just HAD to make a little scene by scene 'review' of everything on 0.25 speed.

(I didn't want to go over tumblr's stupid number of images rule and there was so much I know i've missed some stuff so you're welcome to reblog with your favorite moments if i missed them, I tried to narrow it down as much as i could and even then this is still gonna have 2-3 parts for sure.)

My Scene-by-Scene of the new intro (part 1)

- We start off with the legend himself, had to put this in bc I love seeing how they honor matt in things like this and it's always fun to find his little cameos + we get to have a look at some of his amazing npcs

- starting off with some allies, Xandis and Ira, who both look just as cool as I imagined

- i love NK's whole design, he looks real svelte + his little shark teeth freak me out which is great

- Xandis is real hot surprising no one... i want them back 🥺

- We get into the villains now with Otohan, Lilliana and Ludy boy

- I love that lud gets like, half a second screentime, he'd be APALLED

- otohan and lilliana!!!!! (Kinda want them to step on me but be nice to bells hells pls)

- writing this i sort of realize that i'm 1000% more scared of otohan than lulu which is kind of funny but also totally justified since the last time we saw her it was like- the worst day of my life

- this made me tear up!!

- get all your tissues girlies we're crying in the club

- ITS WILL 😢😢 and DERRIG!!! 😭😭😭

- god liam why do u do thissss to meee

- All of our lost friends standing in the red storm 🥺

- the lumas twins, bertrand and eshteross...

- hot daddy orc come back to me 😭 I miss your cookies 😩

- love that we get this little nod to the silver sun and the *checks notes* FIFTY NINE times they were flung off of it in the very short time they owned it

- also... watcha doing there fearne? Stop stealing from ashton! (Or maybe dont its kinda hot)

- the girlfriends falling in each other's arms 🥺

- they are honestly so so cute i would die for these sapphic witches

- the ammount of little nods to them was also really really sweet, they're c3's fav ship and it shows

- we won besties 😭

(part 2)

[scope-dogg]

What mecha shows did you enjoy but would not recommend to people (flawed personal favourites, shows with high entry barrier, etc.)?

Several come to mind.

Blue SPT Layzner: TV run got shitcanned prematurely and has probably the mast slapdash ending of any mecha show save maybe the TV run of Ideon. OVA adaptation opens with rushed compilation of first half of TV series that's dull to watch and not especially coherent on its own before it gets to the altered and much improved ending. Feels like there's no right way to watch it, you have to do both and piece it together in your head. Definitely one to check out after you've seen Takahashi's better work like Votoms and Dougram, though it's infuriating because the series has banger music and mecha design, and the hypothetical ideal version of the plot that you don't have to basically kitbash together in your head is really good.

Dancouga: Production values are amazing in first episodes and then turn to complete dogshit shortly thereafter, like they literally spent their whole budget up front and then had to pay their animators in loose change and leftover fast food. Very strange pacing. However I've always really liked the main protagonist Shinobu Fujiwara whose voice actor honestly carries the show on his back, and I've had a soft spot for Dancouga the mecha itself for a long time - but it doesn't actually show up until half way in. Yet somehow I can't deny the charm of the show despite how slapdash it is thanks to its interesting approach to the super robot formula, and it leads into Requiem for Victims which is the true ending for the TV plot and a followup called God Bless Dancouga, both of which are banger OVAs (and then another kinda shitty one after that but who cares.) Unfortunately they all make no sense without watching the TV run. It's a franchise for hardcore mecha fans only, though IIRC the 2000s sequel Dancouga Nova is basically disconnected and stands on its own, for better or worse. I've yet to watch it.

Tryder G7: 80s super robot show that's kind of like a part slice-of-life anime, honestly ahead of its time in a lot of ways. Would be my go-to recommendation for 80s super robot shows if there was a decent fansub. The one that exists is a Russian translation of the official Italian subs that then got translated into English and it's as disastrous as you might expect. Not only is it incoherent but even as a non-Japanese speaker I can tell it's often inaccurate. Frustrating because I can tell it's a good show that deserves a proper English sub for fans.

Cross Ange: Notorious show by the Gundam Seed creators. The concept and lore of this show is batshit insane, the mecha are cool, the main character turns out to be interesting and likable despite very negative first impressions, however there's no denying that it's buried under a thick vaneer of shallow coombait and it runs itself off the rails with zany plot at points. Honestly better than its reputation suggests but hard to recommend without looking like a pervert.

Shinkon Gattai Godannar: Basically the same thing, coombait super robot series, fun action, not a bad story. At the same time if you've ever seen a gif of absurd breast physics in anime from the 2000s there's a decent chance it's from Godannar. Good show at the end of the day, better than it has a right to be, artstyle is gonna be a big turnoff for many people and I don't necessarily blame them.

Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise: Probably the weirdest of the build series, also IMO the best. Downside: you have to suffer through the profoundly mediocre original Build Divers to get the most out of it and I'm not sure that price is worth it.

Probably more that I could add. Honourable mention has to go Gundam Seed Stargazer because you have to suffer through Gundam Seed Destiny to get to it, but I hear that the new Gundam Seed movie that's also set after Destiny is good so perhaps the cost-to-benefit ratio of suffering through Destiny has changed.

[saelterlude]

Gushing About Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao in The City of Musicals S2

The City of Musicals (S2, at least) is kinda like The Voice. 24 musical actors, 3 troupes, covering musical numbers, elimination every episode. Season 2 focuses on young/fresh talents.

I was on a Zhu Hanbin(LG musical actor) binge and got really into this show once I found out his frequent CXS counterpart, Jing Yanqiao, is there as well. Now seems like the right time to make this post since JYQ's birthday is soon (April 13th!) and everyone barely knows him so, to begin here's a cute interaction they had on weibo after what I can only assume is a Link Click rehearsal.

You can access the full episodes here. But I'm going to discuss and link each performances under the cut.

Oh yeah, before I start. I have notes of the context of some performances (not including them bcs I only researched some and not all), so if you like any of them and would like to dive deeper or just wants the context in general just ask and I'll share what I have. (That said, the 10th is Ied so I might be busy and took a while to answer)

Scouting stage (Ep.1-2)

They are sorted into groups of three and perform together as the same character.

For Forever from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Sun Tiecheng, Zhu Hanbin, and Wang Haoran. I love ZHB's expression in this performance, it's very innocent and hopeful but also with a hint of hurt? It fits the vibe of the song. It's a really nice, soft and hopeful performance. ZHB's expression really paid off since he got scouted into 2 troupes. Funfact, ZHB and Wang Haoran are classmates lol, they didn't know the other auditioned on this show before they got sorted together. Their third teammate felt very awkward lol.

Dans Le Noir Je Vois Rouge from Le Rouge et Le Noir

Roughly translated to "In the dark, I see red" performed by Alladin, Jing Yangqiao and Tian Ye. It's very good, dark and angry vibes. It's from a French rock musical so yea I really like it. I know I wanted to highlight JYQ but the original rap that Tian Ye (right) arranged is definitely the best part of this performance. The three of them worked really well together. Also, Jing Yanqiao was asked if he felt pressured performing with his seniors (he's still in school) and he answered yes, but most importantly he was intimidated by their heights. so cute lmao. Don't worry JYQ, you're still taller than ZHB. This is also 1 of the only 2 groups where all three performers get scouted.

Sidenote: I found the original song and I've been translating it to practice my French lol. In fact, I found a recording of the whole original musical.

Round 1 (Ep.3-4)

Each troupe prepares 2 Duo performance and 1 solo performance.

No Longer Human from No Longer Human

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, as in the Osamu Dazai novel. ZHB played Yezang (Oba Yozo) the protagonist of the novel and Sun Sankai played Osamu Dazai the author. So this is an existential conversation between author and his character. That's probably why this set design is creepy, but in a good way! An amazing duet, very powerful vocals from both of them, a very nice listen. But damn those hands are wobbly and every time I watch them climb up it, I worry if its gonna fall. Also, camerawork feels like something out of a 2nd Gen K-pop music show lol. And ZHB is barefoot for some reason... If I caught it properly it's bcs he's scared of falling off the hand? I need to double check but understandable.

Therapy from Tick, Tick..., Boom!

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei I couldn't find the cut version of this performance so you would have to do with the timestamped link of the full episode. This is such an adorable and fun performance. I love the cutee original phoneline choreography they have and how their voices work together. Also, JYQ and Feng Difei playing couples and going on a date bcs the coach tells them it would help their chemistry. Why are they lowkey kinda cute though. The post-performance interview of this reads like a blind date interview istg. The interview keep asking questions like what JYQ got her for her BDay and if they have made each other mad like the characters in the musical, etc.

Round 2 (Ep.5-6)

There are 2 troupe duo performances, and 2 cross-troupe trio performances.

The Other Side from The Greatest Showman

Performed by Sun Sankai and Zhu Hanbin. This one is so good, soooo good. I already liked the song before but their voices fit this song really well. Then you get to see, ZHB can dance y'all. I like how energetic this performance is, they really ran around the stage and walk across the table. Special mention to Sun Sankai who practiced that hat kicking trick to perfection, he got to a streak of 100 successes during practice. And to the bartender too, I love his expressions.

In A Crowd of Thousands from Anastasia

Performed by Jing Yangqiao and Feng Difei Yes, it's these two again, playing a couple again lol. Yes, they also went on a date again to prepare for this performance. (In fact, they're paired in a new musical "Love Myth" airing next month) Truly giving off a romantic, magical, and almost fairy tale-like feels. I love how sweet it is. The mini-them also did a good job with their performance. Fun fact about this one, JYQ played in Anastasia musical before this show and is still currently playing in Anastasia, both as Dmitri, just like he did in this performance.

It's Not Me It's You from uhh pretty sure it's an original rap based on disney villains. So it's from Disney, I guess.

Performed by Jing Yanqiao, Zhao Qianlong, and Zhou Mohan. I can't take this performance seriously, not with those outfits LMAO. JYQ as Gaston looking like Winnie the Pooh instead, I can't. That said, the rap is really good, I like the flow, I like the beat, it's great. I jusst, those outfits lmao. Even JYQ posted on his weibo how the outfit simply wasn't it. I can add the photo he took in the rb but pls just watch the performance.

Round 3 (Ep.7-8)

Each troupe prepares 2 duo performances again.

Disappear from Dear Evan Hansen

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Zhu Hanbin. Yes, they both performed together in this one! I couldn't find the cut version again, sorry. IDK why, maybe it's copyright? For now, timestamped link. I can't explain why, I really like this performance and I really like their dynamic. Their voices also goes nice together but I know that already from watching them together in the LC musical. So yea, this is good. Though, ZHB being projected as JYQ/Evan's hallucination of Connor is kinda goofy looking. Also, so far ZHB has been kind of type-casted as the innocent boy or bright-eyed young man in need of guidance type so to see him playing a more aggressive/leading character (though not by much) is nice.

(JYQ doesn't have that problem, literally he was scouted by the troupe bcs they feel 'he's young and thus can be molded into anything'. ZHB did have to help him perfect the anxious boy act for this performance.)

Quarterfinals (Ep.9)

A trio performance from each troupe, along with a single cross-troupe performance.

Believe in Miracles from Ultraman (yes, the superhero show)

Performed by Sun Sankai, Zhu Hanbin, and Jing Yangqiao. Original skit. Both JYQ and ZHB act as students to Sun Sankai's teacher. The song sounds vaguely familiar to me, maybe that's why I like it so much. It's very fun, rock vibes. JYQ intentional voice crack in the beginning cracks me up. It's a very energetic song too, makes me want to pick up a guitar and jam along. (No, IDK how to play the guitar beyond the basics lol). It honestly looks like they were an idol group or something. (LC Idol AU anyone?)

Goodbye Cassini from Cassini

Performed by Zhao Qianlong, Zhu Hanbin, and Tian. I'll be honest, not a big fan of the skit, it is better enjoyed as just a goodbye song to a beloved space probe, but I am a huge fan of the song (Original ver. here with subbed lyrics, it a got more opera? vibe to it. both ver. are very good though.). I've been randomly humming 'Goodbye, my Cassini~' for days. I am so tempted to make a fic based on this song. Tian (the girl) really carried this performance with her angelic vocals, it's so great and heartbreaking. Her heartbreak at having to leave her friends behind and knowing full well they're never going to meet again. If you're watching this one, I highly recommend you wear your headphones. Trust me, it will cleanse your ears. And if you want to skip straight to the song? 5 minute mark.

Semifinals and Finals (Ep.10)

The semifinals are duo performances of an original musical number. The finals are a solo performance from the top 2. They are available on spotify and youtube music.

The Greatest Show from The Greatest Showman

Performed by the top 4 contestants: Zhu Hanbin, Miao Mengqing, Jing Yanqiao, and Zhou Mohan. I don't have a lot to say about this one. Really nice performance, a bonus to a great episode. Yeaay, both of our LC boys got into the top 4!

Assassin

Performed by Jing Yanqiao and Miao Mengqing To be honest, not the biggest fan but maybe that's just me not being a fan of historical drama in any form. JYQ used a fake facial hair, so that's something too I guess. That said, it's pretty nice to listen to and the dance/sword fight choreography is really cool. (Though as someone who used to do choreographed fights, I feel kinda dissapointed it's more sworddance rather than swordfight.) Miao Mengqing's voice is really powerful, just listen to her. Unfortunately JYQ was eliminated here, but he reached the top 4! I'm proud of him. He also learned the choreo and to play the uhhh (it's 1am, lookup instrument nme later) in only a week. So that's cool.

Don't Believe him

Performed by Zhu Hanbin and Zhou Mohan. This one I highly recommend. This song is an emotional banger and I've been listening to this on loop for days. The choreo and staging is good too, although there's one part that I think is a bit goofy (thankfully it's not too distracting). The fight/struggle choreo they did here have more power than Assassin so I really like it. Really cool, makes you wanna punch a bully, I love it. ZHB played a bullied kid and Zhou Mohan plays ZHB's 'perfect' dream self who wants to keep him in this dream world and away from the hurtful reality. This song (as well as Assassin) is available on spotify and yt music, but the live version is 10x better because it captures the emotion better. You can hear ZHB's desperation and sadness as well as Zhou Mohan's anger and frustration, it's great.

Lonely Mountaintop from The Devotion of Suspect X

Performed by Zhu Hanbin. It's good, I enjoy it. Though as a final song I do kinda wish he picked a song with more power? IDK. It's still good though, it's emotional, I love the build up, the set design is pretty, and the song fit his voice really well. ZHB won 2nd place with this song. Congrats on your hard work!

Miao Mengqing won first place and honestly? She deserved it, she's so good. But this post is focusing on our LC actors ZHB and JYQ so uhh. Please watch her final performance singing "I Have Nothing" here, it's so great, she's great, I love her voice so much.

Fun fact, JYQ did not vote for ZHB in the finals lol, he did it right in front of ZHB too and I'm pretty sure at that point they were already announced as cast in the LC musical. (Sorry ZHB, but I too would vote for Miao Mengqing there)

Last bonus (which I'm not gonna link) before we end this post. In the 3rd episode, around 20minutes in Zhu Hanbin and Jing Yanqiao did an advertisement for their water sponsor together and they're very awkward, it's funny to me.