#the other main characters are here too i guess

[candycoatedrox]

great news

i've been doing that for three months!

this is Wade. putting uhhhh. a small* ramble about them under the cut bc. i like them very much ^^ no obligation to read it tho

*it's not small anymore. oopsies

ok so, as previously mentioned, this is Wade. he/they during the events of the game. they'll eventually go by she/they/he but well. (wade voice) "i might be transfem but i have to get out of this timeloop so idrc about that rn"

her personality is actually very similar to Siffrin's already -- the main difference is that she's more lowkey. more eepy. also more anxious but don't worry about that. also she's tall

Wade is the only one with a design rn but i have ocs assigned to each of the major characters...!! except um Bonnie might have two ocs. don't ask me how that works i am trying really really hard to figure it out. long story short one of them (Ji, he/she) is literally perfect for Bonnie story-wise bc in their original story Ji already has an awkward relationship with Wade because of his injured eye... but one of my MAIN ocs (Neri, xe/they/she) has the perfect personality for Bonnie and also if i leave xem out i will be so so sad and they don't fit any of the other characters in isat... i'm. suffering. also also you can see a very rough design for Atlas (she/her) (Mirabelle's role) in that three panel doodle comic. anyway this post is about WADE. and also maybe VALENCE

"who's Valence" I'M GLAD YOU ASKED. my oc filling in Loop's role. it/its. name pronounced vay-lence (after valence electrons, or electrons in the outermost orbit of an atom). nicknamed V by Wade. already has a character arc centered around identity issues and being a clone (though IRONICALLY, in its original story it's not a clone of Wade, it's a clone of the character who takes the role of the King here!! very fun!! i like this fun fact a lot!!!!). already has an extremely sifloop-like relationship (and i mean this in most of the fucked up ways too) with Wade. does anyone wanna take a wild guess why i immediately latched onto isat so hard

anyway i have been. very excited about this au for the past several months heh. as a bonus for making it to the end of my. um. very long ramble about my beloved ocs have a VERY rough Valence design that i don't even think i like very much that i sketched out at school today. it looks way too much like Loop but i don't know how to make it look distinct enough without having to step away from the star motif which i love soooo very much. i'll just have to figure it out lol

Hey. Take my hand. You should swap an In Stars and Time character with one of your OCs whether that means an AU or outfit swap, regardless of if you'd rather focus more on the ISAT character or the OC

[sufferu]

Bravo to you for choosing not to let Rem be forgiven so easily. Honestly I've never been a big fan of Rem as a character, sometimes her endless pandering and obsession with subaru just really annoys me instead, and I've never understood people looking at her doing all that and then saying “Wow that's so hot I'm so jealous of Subaru!”

As for the ones who want her deeds to be easily forgiven by everyone, my personal guess is that they all only care about her body and the unheathy way she forces herself to act like the perfect waifu just for Subaru's sake, but subconsciously they can't stand the shit she did either, so they secretly want their favorite waifu to be a perfect being without flaws. But to me, isn't it essential to love a character and accept their flaws as well? They did wrong things, but there's no doubt THEY did them anyway, and that is part of what makes them who they are. Another thing is that forgiveness has to be earned, we're not cruel, coldhearted, or closeminded for not forgiving someone who hurts us. So I too agree with that anon who thinks WHDAA cast need to to beat some sense into Subaru on way too forgiving and tolerating the people who have hurt/killed him.

But now that you've decided to do that, beware of those rabid Rem stans coming after you and I'm worried that their harassment goes overboard and affects your personal life

I will say — I believe that Rem and Subaru’s canon dynamic is one of the most intriguing and multifaceted dynamics in the entire series. Their parallels regarding their insecurities and family members, their mutually codependent tendencies, the way they run the risk of becoming each other’s perfect enablers, the genuine sense of love and affection that runs parallel to the unintentional toxicity fostered within their relationship — it’s all really interesting stuff. In fact, exploring their dynamic through the lens of outsiders (including amnesiac!Rem) finally getting to peer under the hood is one of the main reasons I wanted to write a react fic at all.

As for why people like her — honestly, I think it’s kinda easy to guess? She’s a very cutely designed anime girl, she’s incredibly well-voiced, her insecurities are genuinely relatable, she’s got a super awesome oni power-up transformation, her morning star lends itself to some of the best choreographed action scenes in the series (or at least Season 1), she appeals to the whole “submissive maid” aesthetic that she knows Subaru finds attractive (and that also appeals to the target demographic of Re:Zero specifically, let’s be real here) — and frankly, there are so many scenes in anime where characters we’re supposed to like do fucked up shit that it’s not difficult to just…gloss over the whole “tortured the mc for several hours” part of her character. It’s understandable, especially if you’re not an insane person who spends all their time hyperanalyzing the anime they’re a fan of like I am. I don’t think it’s really that far of a leap for her to develop such a massive following, she was basically designed to be as popular an anime waifu as physically possible.

But then, that clash can become…a little uncomfortable if you’re writing a story where “Rem tortures Subaru” is a major plotpoint, and if you don’t want to reevaluate their entire relationship, it makes sense to find a way to just — get the characters to move along, much like a lot of the irl audience does.

But I really like toxic characters and angst and complicated relationships and all that fun stuff, so that’s what I’m gonna focus on. —Also Rem is WORSE in the LN. Girl starts fantasizing about whisking Subaru away while he’s practically comatose from shock (second Arc 3 loop) and then also makes a comment like “even if he had tried to assault her in her sleep, she knew she never would have resisted” like GIRL??? The idea of not tapping that insane well of potential drama is ludicrous to me lmaoo— especially because I really don’t care about maintaining the status quo ;)

(Also frankly, anyone who would start seriously harassing me over whether or not I share their opinion about a fucking anime girl is too pathetic for me to care about. I honestly don’t think I’ll get that big of a response — especially not on Tumblr “Gay Website” Dot Com — but even if I do…I don’t care, lmao.)

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi! I love your work - it's been really helpful to me, especially your lessons on horror and depictions of violence.

You mentioned that there were some forms of violence that you'd feel uncomfortable seeing used against Black characters because of their historical context. I was wondering - were there any kinds of violence that you'd be uncomfortable seeing Black characters use against others? The reason I am asking is that the main characters of a project I am working on - two of whom are Black - are morally grey in a "cartoon villain" kind of way. They use a lot of exaggerated violence, but it's usually directed against even worse villains, and it's meant to be played for laughs. (If you know the band The Mechanisms, it's pretty similar in tone to their stuff.) One of the Black characters, E., is a high-profile art thief and assassin, while the other, B., is what would be called an "eco-terrorist" (I have problems with that term but that's beside the point) who's done stuff like blowing up oil pipelines and dams. Do you know of any similarities to real-life issues that I should be careful about when writing these characters?

Thank you so much!

Your premise sounds fine.

Personally, what's old to me is the Black Girl Bully, and that form of "social" violence, I guess. It feels like the reverse never really gets addressed; particularly the social violence of White Womanhood™. But anyway, we get it, you think the angry Black girls and women are so mean to the innocent, "just want what's better for everyone" white main character who plays as the savior. 🙄 I'm so sick of that. The writing is almost never done well enough, and even when it is, by then I still hate that they have to "soften up" from "being a threat" to work with the white character. It feels like a roundabout way of saying "be more palatable or you're a problem".

Though, tbh, if there was gonna be a Black villain, I personally would like to see it go whole hog. Like if you're gonna force me to uphold whiteness as the standard, I wanna see that villain be a VILLAIN, put them THREW IT. So I can't say that there's a level of violence I won't accept, so much as how are the characters being treated in that moment. Am I here to watch the poor nonblack characters that we coddle bc they're perfect fight against the evil, wicked dark-skinned Black lady, or am I watching the protagonists fight a good villain?

But that's fighting people's beliefs, too. Writing Superman with a Black Lex Luthor is going to generate different responses, despite the story being of the same quality with the same script.

Also, just regular stereotypes in general are to be avoided. As per usual, it's all about how you write your characters.

[deeviews]

Outer Banks Season 4 – Review / Rant

‘Kill all your darlings’ is a common piece of advice given by writers. The basic premise is that sometimes you have to get rid of a storyline, or character, even if they are much loved, for the sake of your overall story. This phrase came to mind when reading an interview with the show runners of Outer Banks, as they set about justifying their decision to kill JJ. His death, they argued, was a necessary step in propelling the story towards its final conclusion because it raised the stakes for the other characters. And shows kill main characters all the time. Their deaths do power stories in exciting new ways. Except that’s not what happened here. Instead of moving the story forward, it stopped it dead. Because JJ wasn’t an unnecessary character, he was the glue of the group, and integral to the message of the show. That even the most neglected of kids can dream big. That friendships based on trust, loyalty and love can help you face down impossible odds. That there is always laughter to be had in the scariest of moments. And when chance presents itself, always go for the Gold.  Of all the characters, JJ had it the roughest, and he deserved the biggest win. His on screen death was crushing, and with it, so too, ended what we thought we were watching. 

No longer a coming of age tale but a cautionary one. And kids like JJ, well, they don’t get to win. But his death also assures that none of the other kids get to win either. Because, no matter what happens at the end of the show, no matter if they find the crown, bring Groff to justice, go back home, JJ will still be dead. There is no win that can change that outcome, and the legacy of these characters, and the show, will be forever marred by this awful creative decision. They turned what was a fun show into a bitter revenge tale. The innocent kids we first met in season one no longer exist, and there is no way to undo this damage. They didn’t need to see their childhood friend murdered to propel them into adulthood, and the audience, particularly the young audience this show was aimed at, didn’t need to see it in order to follow them there.  

The death of a character, particularly a main character, and one so loved by an audience, must be both earned, and sit within the fabric of the show. JJ’s death was neither. What we saw on screen was not the contract made with the viewer. Sure, death existed within this universe, but that was something that stalked the peripheral characters. This was made clear with the death of the sheriff. This was the expected outcome for Ward and Big John. However, this was never the expected outcome for any of the kids. While the showrunners argued it was no longer credible for them to continue to escape their escapades unscathed, the audience expected different. Because in the world of the show it did make sense. These kids fought actual mercenaries and escaped. Actual murders and escaped. They negotiated with drug dealers. They stole boats. They sailed across seas and a big ass ocean. This was never a world grounded in realism. What it was grounded in was friendship, and the love these characters shared for each other. JJ’s death shocked so much because it killed the fabric of the show.

And it simply wasn’t earned.

Season four was plagued by plot holes, odd character choices, cartoon villains and convoluted stories that offered no resolution. Most of the time the characters did not act like themselves. JJ and Kiara’s romance was a non-presence in the second half. Inexplicable considering what his character was experiencing. But mostly JJ was not himself. It never seemed right that he would blow all this friend’s money on his childhood home, or that he’d bet it all in a race. While his character was always impulsive and reckless it was only ever in relation to himself. He always put his friends first. He would not have spent their money. But I guess, the writers needed a fast route out of the cul-de-sac that they had entered last season, so they set about distorting JJ’s character. They heighted and focused on his worst impulses, and from there, we only ever got fleeting encounters with the real JJ.

However, it was only when they revealed Groff’s ridiculously contrived connection to JJ that I understood the showrunners true intention. And the kid who tied his entire self-worth to his friends was to be completely obliterated in the furtherance of their plot. Even in a story supposedly dedicated to him, this abused, neglected, sweet kid, wasn’t given the focus his character had earned and deserved. A devastating development that robbed his final journey of any meaning. Worse still, the invention of JJ’s biological father and his connection to the Genrettes was included, not to add colour to JJ’s character, but to draw Rafe into the Pogues’ circle. The abused, neglected, sweet kid was to be murdered so that Rafe, an actual murderer, could join the Pogues and earn his redemption. Stomach churning. And a terrible betrayal of the character by the writers.

I think much of the horror experienced in watching JJ’s death unfold was not the story itself, so badly told, but the narrative the writers weaved to justify it. He was a tragic kid, and so he met a tragic end. They envisaged nothing but darkness for him when in fact he inspired so much light. He was a rarity on screen. And he felt so real. The outpouring of grief that has swamped the various platforms since his passing is a testament to his impact as a character. That is an immense achievement for any writer, and credit must be afforded to them, and the actor that embodied him so fully. Watching the writers discard JJ so callously was painful. It felt like a betrayal too, of the show, of the audience, but mostly of JJ, and what he represented. That amongst those that have nothing, some have even less - JJ - but they too, with a little help from their friends, can still have, and are entitled to, a good life. His murder was cruel, and just so upsetting.

The world can be a difficult and dark place and escapist television offers respite and sanctuary from trauma. There is merit in this role because there is merit in optimism, in joy. Death doesn’t necessarily elevate material, nor make a show more meaningful. But what it can do, and did in the case of Outer Banks, is destroy what made this show so watchable in the first place. Comment by comment on countless posts one word appears more often than most: comfort. This was people’s comfort show, and JJ, was their comfort character, the perpetual under dog who despite his homelife was full of fun and mischief. The tragedy of this story is not so much JJ’s death but the fact that the writers fundamentally misunderstood why so many people connected with their show. They loved these kids. They wanted them to win in the end. 

And there is no winning now.

JJ should not have died.

Sometimes for stories to really live it’s best not to kill any of your darlings.

[trashisstillhere]

Now while I currently do really need and want to work on the things I want to draw, I’ll just give yall the currently uncolored, official ref of the New Ninja!

I mostly did this cuz I thought it was about time they got an actual ref. I mean, I have drawn them many times before yet never made an actual drawing of their full body. So I did it now! And since they’re officially one of my Rc9gn ocs, I kept the ‘UnNinja’ version of them that I drew for ask (it was about what NN looks like without the ninja suit on) long ago which was at first ‘unofficial’ since I basically said you could imagine them in any way all of you wanted but now, that’s how they’ll REALLY look like!

They don’t have any official colors yet, that is one of the parts that will take quite awhile..

Like I did with Serenity, here’s some info about them! (Mostly for the ones who may not be aware of New Ninja and all the posts I did about them before along with a few more stuff I haven’t really either told or shown before about them before I had completely stopped drawing them I guess(??).)

-New Ninja is…well a new ninja chosen to be Norrisville’s new protector in the future right after Randy, their story is supposed to take place (kinda) in a few years after all the events in season 1 and 2 in the show. (All the canon characters are like kinda older at this time, the other teens like 17-18 I think? Idk, I haven’t fully decided yet but basically they’re supposed to not quite be in 9th grade anymore I guess (except New Ninja of course). Randy is actually still a ninja here, still has his mask and everything even though he soon isn’t gonna quite be the main one anymore. However the Nomicon let him keep his mask for now, especially now that he’s currently helping the new Ninja. Plus he absolutely refuses to let Nomicon stop him from doing so, he refuses to just sit back and watch another random kid struggle out there as the new ninja.

-New Ninja’s real name is ?????????… yeah…. They don’t have a official name yet either, no last name, nothing. that part will also take too damn long to figure out and work on so for now, just call them ‘New Ninja’ or NN for short.

-they go by any pronouns! And by any I mean ANY. I know I wrote they/them there on the ref and I mostly use those for them right now too but still, I said before they can still be called by anything and I ain’t changing it. So go ahead, use any other pronouns for this kid if ya like. But I will still keep using they/them for them. (I totally didn’t just make them gender natural who is okay with any other pronouns cuz i had no clue what gender or whatever to make them identify as. Pfft- totally not-)

-as the new Ninja for Norrisville, you’d probably expect them to either be excited to be the new hero and/or take it seriously like a pro….but they’re not, they’re the complete opposite. Instead of them being giddy about this like Randy pretty much was, they’re scared for their life. This new job of theirs has not only already changed their whole life but put so much pressure on the poor kid, they already had struggles in their normal life and now they have gotten even MORE.

-New Ninja isn’t really confident, brave, social, just nothing like the out going kids out there. They’re insecure, a coward and pretty anti social. They get stressed and overwhelmed easily when they’re the center of attention, they often have bad thoughts when they think they’re not doing good enough and worry too much about not being ‘perfect’ enough. This is exactly how they were at first, before and after becoming the next chosen one. But now with Randy being there for them as support, they’re slowly starting to work on themselves to overcome their fears. Will it easily get rid of all of their problems? No. But will it help a lot? Yes!

-Randy calls New Ninja ‘Kid’ quite a lot, it was mostly just a little nickname for them at first during his time trying to help them that just came out but now he can’t help but keep calling them that every time they are together, even acting like a brother/father figure to them! New Ninja is an only child so they never knew how it felt to have any siblings of any kind. (Found family trope my beloved)

-New Ninja gets easily flustered by all sorts of praise such as compliments, affections, etc. they aren’t really used to have so much love and support from other people, not even used to have many fans yet (even though they know that the ninja always had fans for years to begin with-). Now with Randy pretty much doing this, the kid feels like some random kid being embarrassed by their parent or something.

-New Ninja hasn’t ever really gotten to have any sort of fun times and memories during their life, they don’t even know how to play video games at Greg’s Gamehole! Poor kid. But thankfully with Randy’s and Howard’s (yes, even him,) help, they’re learning.

-and uh yeah, they do know Howard too. At first they didn’t, to them he was this random guy that Randy seemed to talk a lot to so much and couldn’t help but be curious by their relationship. After some little investigation and all that crap, they’re more aware of the chubby guy now. How? That’s another part I still haven’t worked on yet.

-because of Randy pretty much being their mentor, New Ninja can’t help but mostly cling onto them. They often feel helpless without him, always asking him for help. They do learn to not always ask him for help later on during their development, yet there are times where the kid still can’t help but feel safer around him. Not just because he is the one who gives him tons of help with ninja stuff, but also cuz they really trust him and may or may not start to feel attached to him.

And that’s pretty much all I’m gonna say for now! Because if I wrote even more, it would take WAY too damn long and this would never get to be posted here. So yeah. Sorry if there will end up being some misspelled words or grammar mistakes, I’m too lazy to read all this again to check for them.

Will a colored version of this ref be done soon? Who tf knows!

[twigs-sprigs]

yooo hey twog !!! i had some questions ab ur tfjago au !!!

Is Gene just Like That or is empurata a canon idea to ur au ? if so what did he Do .

Are the TF characters also here ? like does Snapdragon gotta report to OptimusPprime and all that ? do they interact , or is Optimus like Far off fighting the main decepticon fighters?

If the main TF guys are here, do they have any specific dynamics that matter w/ each other ? Like would Snapdragon love someone like, say, Jazz?

How many of the ninja are Cybertronian and how many get to stay human?

hi sorry this took a sec to answer

i just wanna mention before i go on this au isnt fully developed yet , so a lot of this is subject to change in the future

yes, empurata is a thing, even though i havent been thinking about the guy too much yet, i fancied the idea that he put himself through the process in hopes to erase his feelings about bassdrop (sally) , but he actually erased way more of himself than he wanted, but he doesnt care now

2. yes, they are! i like to think the au kinda somewhat takes place in the same universe as TFP (its my fave version of transformers lmao), but it's also a bit different than the show for obv reasons, the squad of bots we follow in the au is kind of centered in japan, but they do interact with the tfp group of bots from time to time, like "special episodes" and yes, snapdragon does report to optimus prime when he's needed

3. snapdragon is kind of a lone bot, despite having an impulsive nature he GREATLY respects any authority figure and always plays by the rules, so i guess he'd admire someone like ultra magnus!! scalpel would definitely like shockwave and soundwave, ofc, and i think bassdrop would love jazz flytrap hasn't spoken to any bot in many many cycles

4. i have a few iterations in my head of this au, but the one i'm mostly going on about is one where all the four darkley's kids are bots and all the ninja are human

[rakesh-kapoor]

Kinda rude!! Your birthday is great. Best of all of the birthdays. It's a little weird how she knows, though... you don't tell many people about it outside of your friends-- oh, wait!! The school announces birthdays over the loudspeaker each morning, right. But school hasn't started yet- did someone else tell her? You stop thinking about it and cough to fill the silence. "Whatcha workin' on?" She shrugs. "No point in hiding it, I guess. You won't remember anyways. It's supposed to be a book about a timeloop. It won't be published, since I can't do that. It's more like... a journal for the main character, or something? I don't know. I don't think it'll ever get finished." Book... writing... you do that... yeah... it looks like she's having trouble. Why not volunteer to help? Like. Beta-reading or co-writing or whatever. You don't have much to do right now, other than study. "I could help with it. If you want. For fun." You "flutter your eyelashes" to enhance your chances, though it just looks like a bug flew into your eye. One probably did.

She blanks for a second at your words, mouth hanging open but no words coming out-- almost a pained look...? Did you do something wrong? Was it something you said? Do you look too stupid? Is this a personal project? Ah, did you mess up???

Finally, words come. "No thanks. It's kinda personal." Darn. Okay, okay, okay, alright- at least she isn't mad at you on her first day back from who knows where!! Yay!!!! You nod a lot to show you understand. She speaks again, a few moments later just as you're about to slip "Actually- screw that. Do you want to pre-read the newest thing? It's a little... incoherent, but it's good enough." "Alright! Where do I start reading?"

She looks over the pages, flipping past a few and settling on a really specific one in the middle.

"Here," she says, handing it to you and pointing it to the right. Your eyes can't help but avert to the left side first (hopefully, she won't mind you reading it!!)

Loop 247 please

i just want to go home to someone real i just want to talk to something tangible i just want the pain to mean something

i just want this to be over The next page is similar.

You close your eyes to rest, thoughts of the lucid dreaming techniques rushing through your head. Today, it'll work. You're sure. You open your eyes, and in a blink, the morning's come. Weird- no dream at all? Huh. Sunlight seeps through the windows, as always. Your alarm goes off with the little "rrring! rrring! BEEEPPP!!!" it always does, and you turn to shut it off. Nothing's changed, but the world feels a little... brighter? That's the best way you can describe it, at least. Maybe it's because of how special today is, fintip~! Your 17th birthday, right? Just one more year to go, and then full blown adulthood. Isn't that fun?? You could pay taxes... maybe even vote! Oh, decisions, decisions...!! Wait- isn't it.. Saturday...? You swear up and down that you just lived through a Friday- weird... maybe it was Thursday? The calendar says it's Friday today, so you must've just slipped up. Oops.

Doing your morning routine, you make yourself look presentable, as always. Slipping on casual, comfortable clothes (though nice looking ones, in case your mom decides to take impromptu candids), you grab your bag and head out the front door without much more than a light "goodbye" and "thank you" to your mom, and she wishes you a 'happy birthday'!! Yay!! It's great to be appreciated, fintip~!!! Your bag feels a little heavier than usual. Opening it, a camera you were gifted for christmas a few years ago by your friend lays inside. When'd that get there? Eh. It'll be useful today, at least!

[gideonisms]

I become 300% more of both a lover and a hater when I'm on my period. just a time of the month when I have strong opinions I would say

[moeblob]

Look, I just think it's VERY funny and on brand that I thought of an entire premise of colorful characters for half the cast and immediately drew the only one void of color.

[cherealta]

I've gone back into an huge high school story hyperfix for No apparent reason for this past month and half so i decide to make a new tumblr! it's been a while since i've been in an fandom space so i decide to stick to an more niche(? i guess) fandom with not so many people still here as it's not as overwhelming for me.

these girls have been with me since 2013 and 2014 respectively with many many different changes! however their core characteristics have stayed the same.

(more info under the cut!)

i was planning on drawing them about a week ago buuut my drawing tablet has decided to die on me and my only drawings of them are from <2022. which isn't ideal. then i remembered a few days ago i can just create them on sims, so for the time being i'll use ts4 as a way to visualize them until i get a new tablet!

a little brief introduction to them -

vivienne is my high school story prime mc and she transfers over to berry high in her sophomore year. bc of this the timeline is a bit different to the canon one (especially since the choices games are canon to the original timeline) as in my tl hss prime takes course from her sophomore to senior year (there's NO way all the stuff that happens in hssp happens in one year!!! pixelberry u can not convince me otherwises!!!). side confession but despite hss/hwu being an defining part of me i've never touched choices... which means i've just never considered were those games would fit into my timeline. so i guess i'd consider my tl an au.

agnieszka or angel is my hollywood u mc who i miss dearly and i'll forever be torn up by the fact that hwu is unplayable now. she's vivienne half sister (vivi is a product of affair. there's A LOT of lore that i'll hopefully go into in later posts) and the two aren't aware of eachothers existence until around 2010. despite this angel loves the fact she has an younger sister, even in unconventional circumstances, and wishes to grow closer to her. vivienne is hesitant at first but by 2018ish they have a very good relationship!! sure it takes a while but the two had to overcome a lot when it comes to their family.

for the years vivienne starts berry high in 2013 and agnieszka starts hwu in 2014 (basically when the games came out). they don't start having an consistent relationship until about mid-to-late 2015.

also this is my first time doing character sheets that aren't heavily drawn so hopefully they aren't too hard to read/understand. this is all i'll say for now as i don't want this post to get too long! i'll drop more info abt them as this month goes by.

[notmoreflippingelves]

So in the middle of my rewatch, I suddenly got really distracted by Francisco's black-with-gold-accents "formal" court attire, specifically in regards to the leaf accents on the sleeves. And I could help but think of the *other* black-with-gold-leaf accents look that we see on a Flores family member--Esteban's in "Elena and the Secret of Avalor." Although the designs between the two suits are distinctly different, there is enough of a similarity to make me want to think about them as a set and how the differences actually reflect the differences in the characters/their roles as well.

Although the silhouettes are similar overall, I would go far as to say that Francisco's look creates more of the classic "storybook prince" vibe than his grandson's. His costume is ornate and grand without seeming ostentatious. Think of how Prince Charming is costumed in pretty much any Cinderella adaptation. He must look striking and appropriately heroic--but specifically in a way that enhances our heroine without overshadowing her. And in nearly every adaptation, Prince Charming is more than okay with this, and the same is true of Francisco. He is at some level aware that he is on a show called "Elena of Avalor"--not "Francisco Flores of Avalor" and has no desire to pull the spotlight away from where it rightfully must be. In fact, he is far prouder to be the grandfather of Elena (and of Esteban and Isabel as well) than he would hypothetically be as the protagonist of his own story.

(Esteban meanwhile exudes "main character energy" and I mean that in both the complimentary and derogatory sense. In his mind, he is on a show titled "Chancellor Esteban of Avalor and His 41-Year-Old Guilt Complex That Not Even Tres Leches Cake Can Heal." But like if I had four decades of trauma to process and no one else seemed to notice, I would probably feel uncomfortable when we are not about me as well. And fittingly, his black-and-gold outfit is much more attention-grabbing than Francisco's, but much more on that later).

Two big parts of what leads to the "fairy tale hero" look in Francisco's outfit (and also to his "default" blue version) are: 1) the two medals pinned to his chest and 2) the epaulettes at the shoulder (I believe this is still the correct term even if they lack the tassels we normally associate w/the term, but like fashion historians can feel free to correct me).

Either epaulettes or medals of honor --or both-- are often seen on characters of his type. (Pick any Disney prince and you have a 50% chance of seeing one of these. Heck, King Roland's main outfit in SoA has both as well). A large part of what leads us to associate these particular sartorial touches as "hero-coded" are their association as part of typical military dress uniforms throughout history. (And yes, I recognize the problematic nature of such a trope, but just bear with me and accept it for now).

By including these as part of Francisco's costume (and its original blue equivalent), the animators are implying that he has a long, proud of history of serving his country and that at least some of this service came as a soldier and/or commander on the battlefield. And that he won honor--military and practical alike--in doing so.

Esteban's ensemble, obviously lacks the military touches (the epaulettes and medals) of his grandfather's. Because for all that he too served Avalor for decades, his service was of the bureaucratic rather than the military variety. (Shuriki obviously won't let Esteban wear a sword with his uniform--even he wanted to. Hardly surprising considering the whole "I killed your aunt and uncle. Doesn't that make you want to go apeshit?" thing they've got going.) But I digress.

The arms (esp the shoulders) and trousers of Esteban's ensemble are also much more form-fitted than Francisco's,as befitting a younger, more athletic man who wants to better show off his physique. (The real "secret of Avalor" is how Esteban singlehandedly managed a country for 41 years and somehow did so without skipping "Leg Day"--am I right, folks?")

Compared to Francisco's much plainer jacket, the design of Esteban's coat is also more ornate (the leaf accents are larger and more detailed) and colorful with the red collar, cuffs, and lining. This makes sense given that Esteban is established as much vainer and more flamboyant than his grandfather and that he has as mentioned, a much stronger need to grab attention.

However, the elaborateness of Esteban's jacket makes even more sense we consider it in the context of his role in Shuriki's court. He is a skilled diplomat, yes, and a capable administrator. But like every courtier, his primary function is to be ornamental first and everything else second. His looks, his charm, his attentions are expected to always be in service to the Queen first and foremost--not even in service to his duty or his country but specifically to the Queen herself. Certainly not (!) in service to his own will. (And damn, that must sting extra hard for someone who has only ever wanted to be seen and listened to and valued for himself.)

As such, Esteban is treated as an extension of the Queen--yet another pretty-if-powerful tool in her Almighty hands and fundamentally little different from her pretty crystal wand.

And yet, we see little tiny little hints in Esteban's SoA costume that he remains more than just Shuriki's shiny little Avaloran ornament. Let's go back to the red accents--shall we? Obviously, the show as a whole establishes red as Esteban's "signature color"--an honor he shares with Elena (and Mateo..but like he's less relevant tbh). Moreover, red, along with yellow/gold (and blue but again less relevant here), is one of the official colors of Avalor. Indeed the jaquins on the royal flag are red against a gold backdrop. So we can see an subtle wardrobe-related foreshadowing of where Esteban's loyalties truly lie and of the decision that he will make at the end of the episode.

And finally, as the artists among you will attest, red's complementary opposite on the color wheel is green. As in Shuriki's signature color, and this is reflected in nearly everything about her--from her eyes and eyeshadow to her dress and earrings to her green magical smoke, to her Emerald City-core dressing room to the teal background on her little silhouetted flag redesign. And complementary colors are often paired together so that the unique, striking shade of each is shown off to its full potential--and such is the case here. (Often, the effect is even achieved by using the "opposite" color as a key part of adding "shading" to the object).

A string of red lights wrapped around a Christmas tree may be overshadowed at first by the massive green boughs that it is entangled around. But nevertheless, it is because of the contrasting green that we are fully able to grasp just how bright and red those lights are able to glisten in the light. And so it is with Esteban's red collar shining forth like a beacon through Shuriki's haze of green smoke.

But when it comes down to it, red is still green's perfect, natural opposite. Red is a primary color, a true chromatic original unlike the artificially-created secondary shade of green. Moreover, red is Avalor, red is Esteban. The little dab of invading, interloping Shuriki green that has been added to the red paint only serves to heighten its fiery, crimson hue all the more.

[villainvillain]

oop ALREADY seeing cold takes that are just "i thought the finale was good so if you didnt you are clearly just watching the show wrong and you missed the point of everything ever" like ok can we just accept that the world is more nuanced than that and doesnt always revolve around ur thoughts and opinions

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

In case it's hard to read/understand: "If I had a nickel for every time I had a story with a blonde girl named after a plant, who has a German father and a French mother but absolutely hates said mom, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."

weird, extremely-specific tropes in my stories: pt 1

[jiisoooo]

not really even excited for the last few chapters of jjk….bummer

[chibishortdeath]

I just put on a playthrough of CV1 as background noise for drawing and I have realized that I can tell exactly where this guy is in each level by sound effects alone. He just missed a secret chest.