#the protagonist of the serie and the other guy have SUCH chemistry

[lupiinist]

i'm watching a show called achtsam morden (murder mindfully, if i'm not wrong?) and it has SUCH a rosekiller vibe

like, let me pull it out here for ya'll:

evan rosier is a lawyer who works in a small company and mostly defends some weird people who work for the mafia. he spends most of his time working, but he also has to look after his little niece, luna, ever since she lost her father.

but his work/life balance is terrible, so he starts doing the mindfulness thing. he improves really fast, spends more time with his sister and niece, stands up to his dad, all in all, his life gets better!

until the mafia boss he works for starts to get tailed by the police, and evan is supposed to help him out of town, so he stuffs the guy inside of his trunk and just... leaves him there.

but here's where things get interesting. without the boss, evan, who speaks for him, starts to secretly get the entire operation for himself. and does that with the help of the boss' former handyman, barty. barty's father is a politician, and has no idea his son is literal mafia, so barty has access to all things they could possibly need.

when they need to get rid of a body, they get rid of it. if they need to commit crimes against the state, they do it together. they become absolutely inseparable (bonus if pandora helps them with some stuff, too)

feel it like... romcom meets dexter type of vibe. evan and barty flirting as they have a guy locked up, in the middle of blackmailing the hell out of him. evan and barty on a romantic date (they're burrying a body). evan and barty- i think you catch the drift.

[flower1622]

From what i saw people commenting about PJO, i made some different opinions from Rick and the fandom:

. "Percy is the most powerful"

Percy is still a mortal, he gets tired and also could be defeated by the gods (especially his father), Typhon (if I'm not mistaken), the cabins of Hypnos, Hecate, Zeus and Hades or maybe Dionysus too. Who knows? I think that any character/cabin with a good strategy could win from Percy.

. "Annabeth is the most intelligent"

Even though she is daughter of Athena, from what people commented, there are other characters that are or can be smarter than her many times.

. "Percabeth is the best ship"

I already made posts about this ship and I find the couple a little toxic sometimes with red flags. I like to watch the version from the series because they seem more mature and I love the way Percy cares about Annabeth. However, Annabeth can have some questionable actions towards Percy.

. "He could be saved"

I don't remember many things about Luke, but from what some people commented, I guess that Luke would have joined Kronos by the same way. He kinda seems arrogant and a little pyscho. Maybe if Thalia had survived when they were kids....I don't know.

. "Perachel, Pernico and many other ships with Percy (that are not Percabeth) are horrible"

I don't agree because everyone can ship Percy with any other character. If the fandom doesn't like when people outside it judge the fandom because they only ship Percabeth, the best way is to give voice to multishipper fans. Respect always! If someone doesn't like Pernico because of age, that's also okay. Others should respect your decision. But, Solangelo wouldn't be very different either from Pernico. Rachel is a good option for Percy. She seems to really care about him even though they don't know each other very well. I think the hate on her is totally desnecessary. In my opinion, there are better ships than Percabeth.

. "Jason is boring"

I don't know the character because I didn't read HOO, but from what people commented...he doesn't seem so bad. He seems a nice person that cares about others and tries to do what is right. So, I don't understand the hate on him either.

. "Leo and Calypso are toxic because of age"

I don't think an age difference would result in a couple being toxic. Again, I didn't read HOO. So, I don't know the characters, but if the problem is about age, I guess people wouldn't like Solangelo or a vampire romance.

. "Rick likes to kill blonde guys"

It's funny to see Rick using a blonde boy as the protagonist (who isn't blonde) in his series.

. "Solangelo and Percabeth had the best chemistry"

Although I like Solangelo a little better than Percabeth, I don't think the two ships had a great development. Sorry! Percy and Nico also had more chemistry with other characters than with their own partners.

. "Percabeth had the best enemies to lovers story"

Romeo and Juliet - We don't exist

Percy and Thalia - We don't exist

Percy and Clarisse - We don't exist

Percy and Jason - We don't exist

Percy and Luke - We don't exist

Percy and Nico - We don't exist

. " It's so cute when Percy tries to get well with Athena because of Annabeth"

Am I the only one that find this relationship boring between these two? I think Percy would have a more interesting relationship with other gods like Hades, Ares or even Zeus...

."Annabeth was only rude to Rachel because she was jealous"

Alright. So, if we ever feel jealous, it's okay to be rude to other people, even if they are being nice to us and we don't even know them.

Annabeth can be arrogant and for these kind of people, they like to have control over everything. When something happens that wasn't in their plans, they get mad. Rachel happened to be one of those things she couldn't control. Percy wasn't even Annabeth's boyfriend at that time and she already was possessive of him, but that would explain her stalking him. This usually happens when someone gets obsessed with something (like in Annabeth's case). There are people who love this, but in real life they wouldn't like to have someone too possessive of them or they are this kind of obsessed people. I have these two possibilites on my mind since some of them see themselves in Annabeth's questionable actions towards her partner. So, I really wouldn't like to know how they really are in a relationship because real life tends to be ten times worse than the fictional world. Coming back to Annabeth with Rachel...she even calls the girl "just a human" in front of Percy (her future boyfriend) who has a human mother that he loves very much, thanks! But, I got curious. Isn't Annabeth human too?

I know she can be a demigod, but without powers, she is not that different from a human. In the world, there are very intelligent humans like Annabeth. So, I don't get Annabeth's words. I got this part about Rachel with a post here on Tumblr by a page that showed many moments with Annabeth and Percy from the books.

. "Annabeth is the queen and everyone should obey and bow to her"

There are some people who think like this and my reaction is just...

I think Annabeth could be one...in neverland. The lost boys don't study. They obey Peter Pan because he has the knowledge. Annabeth has knowledge and intelligence. She would do well there teaching the kids. She even could take Percy with her. He would love the place. Both would stay young forever. Unfortunately, they don't exist in real life, so it would be pretty hard to visit them and bow, along with Peter, Percy and the lost boys to the new queen of neverland. Sorry! I wish many characters were real, with some exceptions of course.

. " If Percy can't trust Annabeth, he can't trust anyone else"

He needs help.

. "Annabeth is Percy's weakness"

Does he have a family? A best friend? A brother? Friends? 🤔

[cosmonadarovicarts]

Series/webtoons if you like Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss

Lovely hell

I'll start right away with the probably least known AND best of all - at least in terms of being similar to the universe of HH and HB-.

"Tanz, a powerful creature of pure evil, is vanished to Earth agaist her will. Weak and without a plan, she'll have to rely to Cain, a human, to guide her throught the world and figure a way back to her home: Hell."

First of all, it's a webtoon, so you can read it for free on Webtoon! Created by Tita (stage name Lorsupp), the story takes place in the present day. our protagonists are biblical characters (I won't give spoilers about who Tanz is. Cain, you guys must have already understood...).

This webtoon deserves much more recognition! the story is organic and well-paced, funny and tense when necessary. The characters are super charismatic and have chemistry, the Lore of Hell is super interesting and with a different approach from HH/HB. I love the character design - you can see the evolution of the author's traits as the chapters go by.

It's great to see other ways of approaching well-known characters -like the Jewish/Christian angels and demons-. A emphasis for Gabriel, ahhh this character hahah Anyway, this webtoon is the one I most recommend!

You can read it -> Webtoon account

When Instagram starts working again, I'll share the creator's account here!

Vilanius

This series - with just a few episodes left - is a Mexican animation released for Cartoon Network. Compared to HH's type of humor, here it is much more toned down, as it is aimed at a younger audience.

"Villainous is the story of Black Hat Org., run by Black Hat (whose name is synonymous with villain, a reference to the evil black-hatted cowboys of Western films) and his team of three less evil sidekicks. Black Hat is trying to sell various evil inventions created by Dr. Flug and is desperate to fulfill his evil aspirations. However, things often end badly for him, as brilliant innovations tend to have small and often comical flaws."

The lore has nothing related to the Hell, but it still focuses on the evil side of the story. I love the character designs, very similar to HH. It's worth checking out, even more Latin animation!

The Good Place

A series already consolidated and finished. One of my favorites on Netflix!

Even though it's not exactly Heaven and Hell, the concept is very similar. but what stands out here is the philosophical debate about what is right and wrong, how to be a good person in a world marked by individualism, competition and exploitation so that a person can have the basics to survive? -neoliberalism cough cough-.

"Eleanor Shellstrop wakes up to discover that she has died and entered the afterlife. But when she is told by her mentor Michael that she is in the "Good Place" because of her good deeds, helping to get innocent people off death row, she realizes that a mistake has been made because the people They think she is someone else with the same name."

Question about existentialism, ethics and the meaning of life debated in a fun way! A quick comparison to Bojack Horseman, a series that I love. in The Good Place, the existentialism, life and death are treated in a much more optimistic and... beautiful way, while in Bojack it is pessimistic and heavy. the debates on human existence can have lighter conclusions - this is not a criticism of Bojack, just a different approach.

Guardians of the Mansion of Horror

This recommendation won't have a personal review because... I still need to watch it! but I saw so many people recommending it, saying that it has good LGBT+ representation that I thought it would be interesting to bring it here. If anyone has already watched it and wants to say something about it...

"Guardians of the Mansion of Horror follows friends Barney and Norma as they work at a theme park during the summer. The two take the night shift and are responsible for organizing the place while it is empty. What they didn't expect is that this fun place is actually an interdimensional portal to hell. Suddenly, several supernatural creatures appear to haunt the Earth and the two friends must join forces to stop them. To do this, they receive help from the talking dog, Pugsley."

Inside Job

Here we have the biggest injustice in the history of Netflix, the cancellation of this series! I brought it here because of their type of acidic and critical humor towards society - not that this criticism is present in HH-. An adult animation, with swear words and the same irreverent touch as HH, following the shadow side of society.

"A dysfunctional team working in a hidden government department is tasked with keeping conspiracies around the secret world. From complicated attacks to secret societies, anti-social technology genius Reagan Ridley will need to work in a place full of shapeshifting reptilians and psychic mushrooms, at the same time as she must deal with an unbalanced father, in order to achieve the dream she dreams of. promotion."

Emphasis to the animation itself and the character design. When it comes to other species, we have unique designs, they even resemble the design of demons in HH.

irreverent, intelligent and humorous. 🤌

Good Omens

It's almost a rule, if you watched Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss, you also watched Good Omens!

For those who have never given the series a chance, here are some reasons to watch it now: Inspired by Neil Gaiman's work - and approved by him! -!. It is focused entirely on this universe of Jewish/Christian characters - and it is possible to see how well they are studied! There are references that only those who have studied demology or the sacred writings of these religions will understand-

The first season has a wonderful rhythm with captivating characters - the second lacks this a little. The angel and devil couple are super charismatic and you root for them.

Watching some of the biblical events from the point of view of the questioning and sinister demon Crowley and the good lamb Aziraphale is wonderful!

[ganondoodle]

i kinda want to read books again, i havent read any in .. more years than i know to remember but idk how to find anything i like, especially these days (i dont read fanfiction either .. , i tried a few times but it never really caught me q-q)

even when i was young i was somewhat picky (though there are plenty books im sure i finished but just .. dont remember) the last series i think i read was skullduggery pleasant (as i said, its been many years) but dropped it after it got a little 'weird' (in like .. i guess the shonen powerscaling problem, at least thats how it felt back then) and the annoying love interest boy that was seemingly only introduced so protag girl could do what normal girls do tm (i know theres many more books in the series so idk if hes actually more than that but eugh)

funnily enough i only seem to remember the books i loved so much i kept rereading them (the bartimäus trio, though i loved the forth prequel more than the others .. still sad i lost my copy of it in school) or the ones i stopped reading bc something completely threw me out of it-

there was one i literally only remember it was a protagonist (teen?) girl (is that a general common thing for the fantasy genre?) and she was travelling via a ship in that scene, idk if it was a flying one but something was different magical tm i think; and left it or ran away or so and sought shelter from the rain at some point and annoying boy caught up to her and they uuh .. started making out of nowhere?? (im sorry i literally only remember i felt rly uncomfortable and awkward, didnt like the boy, thought they had zero chemistry/felt forced AND i did NOT see it coming, like at all, maybe its my aro/ace/autism .. ness (that i wasnt aware of except being def different for most of my life, haha fun.) but i rememebr feeling like i got flashbanged by what i read, the only actual sentence i (think i) remember was "she felt the weight of his hips shifting onto hers" bc it weirded me out so much and i might just have stopped reading it at that point and never looked back lmao)

another one was one with a setting of having dragons and they were used like horses, also feathered! (though the cover picture, i think, was a big dragon eye surrounded by scales, pretty sure it annoyed me constantly but i might missremember, again its been so long and i went through things my brain wishes it could unlive) and the protagonist worked at a stable or soemthing (also girl? idk), last thing i remember was that all dragons started to go mad and kill themselves .. idk if i read any further

(honorable mention to uuh .. dämonenzeit (demon time), was a demon protagonist and it was a little brutal for my taste but when do you get a demon as the main guy, apparently there were two entries and i only read the first one, also lost that copy- Xarors (an OC of mine) first designs were based on the cover of that book and the thing the band 'disturbed' tended to use (the hooded guy with red glowing eyes) i was very original)

maybe all those were super well known ones and i just never knew (grew up without/extremely limited internet and tech in general after all.... the only one i knew was popular and also read all of it and had all parts .. was a certain bad wizard series that should not still be so popular *watches in horror as my niece gets into it and wants nothing but merch for it*) or really bad peepoo baby books, im possibly confusing or mixing some things bc i read quite a few ones with dragons and similar themes, but thats just what i remember/remember feeling like

(maybe i should see if i still have them somewhere and see how much is true of any of this .... though a part of me also doesnt want to)

[deinemuddalutscht]

Dark Rise Book recommendations 

Just finished Dark Heir again. Do you guys have any book suggestions for books with similar themes? I love the protagonist being the villain or villain reborn trope. Here a few of my recommendations: (Warning! Spoilers!)

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

The female protagonist is an Isekai character who ends up as the villain in a fantasy world. While she isn’t truly evil, she doesn’t see the other characters as real people, allowing her to manipulate their emotions without guilt. Her love interest is a delightfully unhinged psychopath. The book also features a male, bisexual Isekai character playing a villainous role. He falls for one of the hero characters, who has one of the most suppressed sexualities I’ve ever seen. Without giving away too much, what’s great about their dynamic is that the male villain is actually a "good" guy pretending to be evil, while the hero is the truly unhinged murderer. The female and male protagonists pretend to be a couple for a while but have fantastic platonic chemistry. The premise revolves around two Isekai characters being trapped in a grim, "Song of Ice and Fire"-style fantasy book, surviving by playing the villains. The two of them have essentially to retell the origin story of the cruel God Emperor who later becomes the Antagonist of the book world in which they are trapped in.

Time Master Universe Series by Louise Cooper

The male protagonist is the reincarnated god of chaos. In this world, gods of order and chaos are locked in eternal battle. There’s a heterosexual romance, but some aspects of it haven’t aged well.

The Sundering by Jacqueline Carey

This series explores the war between light and dark from the perspective of the Dark Lord and his loyal generals. Imagine if Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman were misunderstood figures with morally gray motivations, making them more relatable than the "light side." While there’s no queer romance, the story includes queer themes: for instance, the Saruman-like character is an evil bisexual, and the Morgoth-like character was once the god responsible for sex and reproduction. Funnily enough that started to conflict between him and his purist brother and elves. Despite parallels to Tolkien, this series introduces its own ideas and world-building, far from being a mere retelling. It's a dark and tragic narrative, though not overly graphic in terms of violence or sex. While there is a hint of romance, it’s far less prominent than the book description suggests. The series is brilliant but also deeply tragic

The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington

One male character is the "reborn" villain who tries to stop his past self's evil plans. The world-building is excellent, but the romance feels lackluster, largely due to the author’s weak portrayal of female characters. There's a female villain whose entire goal is to seduce the villain by pretending to be one of his lovers three separate times and somehow he falls for her act every time.

Tales from the Flat Earth by Tanith Lee

A rich fantasy world with an exotic writing style, though not everyone’s cup of tea. The books consist of interconnected short stories, with Azhrarn, "Night's Master" and "Prince of Demons," as the recurring character. Azhrarn is the ruler of the Underworld and the most powerful of the Lords of Darkness, embodying pure wickedness. Azhrarn and most of the other chactars are bisexual.The romances in the series haven’t aged well, but Azhrarns unpredictable cruelty and power make for an intriguing mix of protagonist and antagonist.

Witch King by Martha Wells

The main male character is a gay, shapeshifting demon prince. The world-building is expansive but requires close attention to follow.

Magisterium by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

A reimagining of Harry Potter, but from the perspective of the sidekick of the prophesied hero—who happens to be the villain reborn. Though aimed at younger readers, the first book is surprisingly dark, especially the prologue, where the villain kills a baby to take over its body. The series lacks world-building and dramatically declines after the third book. The finale, The Golden Tower, is one of the worst conclusions I’ve ever read, with a protagonist who never faces real consequences for being the reincarnated villain.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

Set in a world where three elder gods (light, darkness, and twilight) exist alongside their many incestuous godlings. The god of light kills the goddess of twilight out of jealousy after the God of Dark falls on love with her, sparking a divine war—aka a chaotic custody battle. The god of darkness and the children who remained loyal to him are defeated and imprisoned in mortal bodies as playthings for the human race. The protagonist is the reincarnation of the goddess of twilight, and the story features a messy, toxic polyamorous love triangle that's utterly captivating.

A Chorus of Dragons Series by Jenn Lyons

The male protagonist is reborn and bisexual, eventually ending up in a polyamorous relationship.

Empires of Dust by Anna Smith Spark

One of the main protagonists is a reborn villain and an overall despicable human being. I couldn’t warm up to him at all. He’s bisexual but ends up with an equally detestable female character. The series is dark and graphic, so be prepared.

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

The story revolves around two prophesied queens—one of light and one of darkness—separated by centuries. Both are point-of-view characters. The Blood Queen has a villainous love interest but comes across as a frustrating, indecisive character. She betrays her family, husband, and kingdom, all for her attraction to the villain. She’s bisexual, but the character lacks agency, making her deeply unlikable. It wasn't for me, but others may enjoy it.

Master of Sorrows by Justin Travis Call

The male protagonist is believed to be the prophesied hero but is actually the Dark Lord/God reborn. No queer themes here. It's pretty dark but not graphic. disabledMC grows up in an ableist religious cult, so potential trigger warning here

I also really love Keos's youngest sibling's energy: Can we please talk about the fact that his villain origin story is being pissed about not getting what he wished for Christmas. I love petty gods lol. Still better than cutting your brothers hand off and declaring him the enemy of all humankind just because he did not like your shitty Christmas present

[goopi-ctures]

Bac(terra) In(cognita)

Usually I am not an OC person, but I do have these guys, which are near and dear to my heart. I've been working on them since 2015-16-ish, and, while initially it all started as an imagined reboot for a super obscure animated mini-series from 2000's, by now the whole thing evolved into an entirely independent project of big personal importance. I've been cagey about them mostly because I really want to make something significant out of them, maybe like a comic or a children's book, all with a major focus on edutainment, but have been stuck on the topic for years.

The overall premise goes as follows: one day, an empty Petri dish rolled under the sink in a microbio lab, never to be found again by any human working there. However, it quickly became a home to a vibrant community of all sorts of microorganisms, who, as it turns out, are not that different from the humankind. They even have schools!

Main cast:

Eccoli (based on E. coli): he's the protagonist. A smart, but thouroughly burned out kid who skips classes to go eavesdropping on the lessons taking place in a rival school. This is how he stumbles upon the other three guys and reluctantly befriends them. He's very anxious and secretive by nature, but blossoms whenever he gets a chance to talk about his special interest in viruses. Also, being a bacteria, he is by far the tiniest of the main quartet - yes, not all microorganisms are equally small.

Penny Cilly (based on the penicillium mold): a diligent and energetic girl with a short temper and an over-achiever.mindset. May not be able to grasp some topics from the get-go, but makes up for it with lots and lots of hard work. Her family wants her to make a career in antibiotic production, but she's more interested in looking for the alternatives, as antibiotic resistance is on the rise.

Muchor (based on the mucor mold): despite being Penny's childhood friend, he couldn't be more different from her. A born genius, he never struggles in class, grasping even the most complex of concepts on the fly, but having to sit down and do homework will make him crumble. His intellectual prowess also led him to developing a self-centered and condescending attitude, but under all that he's actually a pretty chill and pleasant guy. Has a knack for dangerous experiments and stupid pranks.

Ameeba (based on amoebas): the token nerd of the group. Shy and timid, but very observant and analytical - she definitely rivals even Muchor in that regard, which he openly admits. She has a wide range of interests, but mostly they revolve around art, anime and fashion. She has a very eclectic taste and changes outfits constantly. Also, she can shapeshift! Usually it's confined to her hair, but changing the whole body is definitely possible. It's a very handy ability, as amoebas are significantly larger than most microorganisms (some are even visible with the naked eye), and not many places in Ameeba's life accomodate for that.

Here are the size comparisons (the left one is super old and has an outdated Ameeba design, but it's the best that I have):

Here are their humanizations:

And here's their classroom:

Side characters:

Vol'ka (based on the volvox algae): he's a little younger than the main cast and goes to a different school, but often gets himself involved in their shenanigans. Just as smart as everyone on the team, but his main love is math, maybe also chemistry, while the protags mostly gravitate towards biology. Also, he's the fabled single mom teenager boy: every little cell that makes up his poofy hair is actually one of his little sisters, and he has no choice but to babysit them.

The teachers! The one on the left is Mrs. Inforia (based on Paramecium caudatum), who teaches the main gang and is niceys; the one on the right is Ms. Aurora (based on Staphylococcus aureus), who is Eccoli's teacher and is horrible. Honestly, they're both kind of placeholder-ish, I definitely need to work on the adults of this setting more.

Eulene (based on the euglenas, who are... technically not algae? It's complicated): she's also a teacher working part-time at both Vol'ka's school and the main school, but she's significantly younger than the other two teachers - so much so that she was only in her senior year when Ameeba, Penny and Muchor started middle school. So she's in that awkward position of both being their close friend, but also an authority. Honestly, I love this dymanic, it's very true to some of my experiences.

[zzthekaiju]

Best of the Reptiles in Media - 02 - Heart

Here we are again taking a look at some of my favorite scaly heroes. And this time, we go to the realm of animation. That golden frontier where anything is possible.

A lot of people have asked me what my favorite animated film is. And ever since 2016, I've had the definitive answer. It's a film from Japan staring who might be one of my favorite animated protagonists of all time. One that I wish was recognized by way more people than just the cult following his movie got.

You could say that this character...has a special place in my Heart.

And yes, that is his name. You'll learn to appreciate it.

Omae Umasou da na (You are Umasou) (2010) is an anime adaptation of a series of children's books revolving around a belligerent Tyrannosaurus Rex who ends up adopting a baby Ankylosaurus, with all the mishaps that implies. I'll admit, when I heard about this film for the first time, I wasn't sure what to think. Surely, this free film uploaded to Youtube wouldn't possibly--

It proceeded to rewrite my brain chemistry forever. It really is a great film. It's beautiful to look at, the animation is really action-packed and cute at the same time, it's got a gripping story (which I'll get into), and above all, it's main character is a martial arts-practicing Godzilla-looking T-Rex who engages in interspecies adoption. WHAT MORE COULD I HAVE ASKED FOR?!

But enough beating around the bush, why is Heart so compelling to me?

Let's start with an introduction. Heart is a Tyrannosaurus Rex from a prehistoric world whose lost egg winds up found and adopted by a kindly Maiasaura. Unfortunately, a carefree life of fun and peace with his mom and half-brother Light is brought to an end when he discovers his true nature as a "Big Jaw" (as in, carnivore). After running away out of fear of what he might do to his family, he grows up hardening both his soul and his combat skills so that he may survive the unforgiving badlands outside of the forest he grew up in (complete with training montage).

Then, as if life wasn't done throwing him curve balls, Heart is imprinted upon by a little baby Ankylosaurus he was just about to eat (complete with calling him the Japanese word for delicious, hence the name). Soon, Heart is caught between going with his true nature or taking a few cues from his own adoptive mother...

Design-wise, Heart isn't winning any accuracy contests, but then again, no creature here is. And it hardly matters, either. This dino manages to find a great balance between looking like the kind of character I'd want a plushie of (seriously, why haven't we gotten on to that) and one that conveys great ferocity and coolness. A major part of how that's conveyed is his expressions. This guy is a GOLDMINE of reaction faces for almost every occasion. So much so that, long ago on my Instagram page, I posted a compilation of faces that either cracked me up or just showed his facial range in general.

What's your favorite? Let me know in the notes/reblogs!

Anyway, then there's when he fights. And MAN, does it go hard! Heart doesn't exactly wear kiddie gloves when he's put in a combat situation, utilizing heavy kicks and deceptive agility as his opponents barely keep pace. We see him go up against sauropods and other Big Jaws, and really, I just need to show you these GIFs to sum up what it's like.

But that's not where Heart truly shines. It's his role in the narrative. You see, in most dino media aimed towards younger audiences, the big mean carnivore is the villain. This was most prevalent in works like The Land Before Time with Sharptooth, and the Carnotaurs from Disney's Dinosaur (both of which were the stuff of nightmares for little dino nerds like me). Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. Giant theropod dinosaurs are indeed scary, so of course they make for good villains. But then you consider that most of these predators aren't hunting our adorable plant-munching protags because they're evil. It's just in their nature as predators. What are they gonna do? Go vegan?

And that's the troublesome crossroads Heart finds himself at. You could say this film offers a deconstruction of the "vicious meat-eating dinosaur" archetype. The Anti-Sharptooth, if you will. We're obviously meant to root for him because he's the protagonist and an altogether pleasant guy, but at the same time, both herbivore and carnivore are fully-sapient beings here, and Heart must feed.

The film does NOT restrain from showing him hunt down his prey, but it has the intelligence to show that this is not malice or even pleasure, it's simple survival instinct. He is a huge shade of grey in what would otherwise be a very black-and-white scenario in any other film. And it gets even harder for Heart when Umasou enters the picture.

For the record, almost all of Heart and Umasou's interactions are the definition of adorable. Little Umasou is such a little ball of sunshine both inside and out, and poor Heart just doesn't have the...well, heart...to either eat or abandon him. Seeing his exasperation while keeping him safe while also training him in the ways of fighting like an anime protagonist (complete with training montage) is all kinds of endearing and a testament to Heart's strength of character. Of course, it leads to the inevitable point where he has to let him go...but unlike the source material, it doesn't take. Umasou knows that he and his adoptive dad are as different as can be, but he doesn't care. He's his family, and vice versa, something Heart comes to accept whole-heartedly (I did it again, didn't I).

And with that, the ending to this amazing nature vs. nurture story is very bittersweet, starting with Heart and Umasou reuniting with the former's mom.

Actually, before I keep going, I just want you to know that this scene in which they finally see each other again made me go from "wow, great movie, ten out of ten" to "I NEED TO TALK TO MY MOM!!!" in less than a minute. Seriously, if you're looking to strengthen your maternal bonds, watch this movie and watch the magic happen.

Aaaaanyway, after a heated battle between Heart and the one implied to be his real dad, the truth remains that he can't stay. He's resigned himself to a life as an outcast, never being compatible with his parent and brother's kind while at the same time being shunned by his fellow Big Jaw for adopting food. Nevertheless, he leaves in high spirits, having mended what had for the longest time been a broken bond. That, and he doesn't have to be a straggler alone, anyhow.

Really, Heart is everything I love about a lot of protags in one big package. He's a reptile (a dinosaur no less), he's a badass, he's a nice guy, he rages against what he is in order to be WHO he wants to be, and he's undoubtedly dad of the year. I hope more people come to recognize and appreciate him as much as I do.

Also, he's heavily implied to be in a steady relationship with an adorable Elasmosaurus, so he's got that "interspecies romance" trope possibly going for him too! C'mon, fellow You are Umasou fans old and hopefully new, you can't tell me you don't see it too!

[fatcatlittlebox]

I see so much discourse on X about Celeborn and as a multi shipper it's quite annoying. I don't think people realize that Haladriel isn't going anywhere. In fact, when you compare all the established canon couple fanworks against all the protagonist/antagonist (even anti-heros) fanworks in ALL SERIES/BOOKS/SHOWS/ETC TO EVER EXIST, there will always be more of the latter simply because of 2 reasons: the what if's to be explored and the forbidden aspect of it. I wish ppl would calm down. I also find it silly when I see my own mutuals dunk on Haladriel over the 'toxic' aspects and it bothers me too since I like both ships. Unlike Celedriel, you guys can take a Sauron & Galadriel relationship (in all sense of the word, not just in a pairing context) and take it in ANY direction you want, with enough creativity. You can write them as friends in an AU, or even before they became known by their names (like her meeting Mairon before he became Sauron). You can write S1 and S2 (even 3-5) divergence fics, redemption arcs, dystopia fics, crack fics, dead doves, or even fluff (like off-stage AU where they're not enemies off screen). Heck, since you guys got the mind palace thing, and with her growth over the ages, you can even find ways to make non-AU fluff/hurt&comfort (maybe when they're both tired of this endless fight of the ages because it's a stalemate and he wants to repent but he can't due to Morgoth's corruption and he knows it?). Haladriel has a cosmic connection, and I think this implies that even if one of them dies, it will still exist somehow even when they pass into the Undying lands. Haladriels don't understand how much advantage they have with being portrayed by actors with amazing chemistry, an established and growing fanbase, an entire season without any kind of background conflict that takes the focus away from them as their relationship was explored and developed, having it all: UST, 'acquaintances fighting alongside each other to become friends' and the 'friends-to almost?-to enemies' aspect, and there are even Tolkien's writings that confirm he is capable of redemption. I've even seen well-written fan theories on ways that he can redeem himself too. It's like star-crossed lovers baked into every kind of trope that ppl like to explore. Really, I don't understand how it's not obvious enough. Yes, she ends up with Celeborn, and they are happily married and their relationship is secure and comfy. I know that may sound boring to some, but that's why I like Haladriel too, because their relationship isn't confined to only one narrative, unlike Tolkien's works. Yes, you can argue that Haladriel has a doomship narrative because they don't end up together, but the appeal of doomships is that you can DO so much with it in fanon, even completely reverse it (as I've seen in fanfics already). If you tried to do something similar with an established canon ship where they are supposed to be happily married, it doesn't make much sense, unless it's for angst. Celeborn is just a humble normal elf and he doesn't have any that. He just trying to vibe, support Galadriel, and not piss anyone off lol. And I say all of that as a pro-Celeborn fan lol. Sorry for this long rant, I just wish they would leave my poor silver clam alone ;_; and for fans to stop fighting.

I agree 💯 with all of this. That’s why I can happily digest all forms of haladriel. Modern AU, canon divergence, coffee shop fluff, Sauron redemption arc, socially awkward Mairon. All of it. And thank peanut butter and bagels the fanfic writers in this fandom are bar none some of the best fucking writers I have ever read. We are so lucky.

[descendintorantness]

so a while ago i saw this post basically saying that evie was a bad friend to mal. and of course, i wrote out a few pages defending my girl. i can’t find the og post but i do have some quotes from it, and i wanted to share what i wrote in defense of evie.

I can’t even begin to describe how sad it makes me that people blame Mal’s victims for her volatile mental and emotional state throughout the series. Usually, Ben takes the brunt of it, but I’m unfortunately not surprised that poor Evie catches flack for it too.

“I’ve been thinking about about how Evie sort of exhibits the darker side of the team mom personality trope.”

I agree. Evie is treated like garbage by Mal and is still expected to drop everything and be there for the person who traumatized, bullied, assaulted, and attempted to physically torture and curse her. Evie and her story show how easy it is for characters (especially women of color) who are shoved into the “mom friend” category to have unrealistic expectations forced upon them (both in canon and by the fandom), and thus be exploited by an (often racist) narrative to cater to their psuedo “child” (usually the white protagonist).

“Everyone thinks she’s a Mrs Weasley. But sometimes she can come off more like a well intentioned mother gothel.”

I KNOW you did not just compare Evie to Mother freaking Gothel- a woman who kidnapped and imprisoned an infant and went on to emotionally manipulate that child to completely control her in order to further her selfish goal of staying young and beautiful forever. On what plane of existence are you living on my guy??? (And, no, adding “can come off more like” and “well-intentioned” does not negate that you just compared an emotionally abused, traumatized teenager who did not choose or ask to be Mal’s emotional support punching bag, to an emotionally manipulative, neglectful, narcissistic full-grown woman who both chose to raise a child and used that child for her own selfish gain. To clarify, Evie is not any of these things, nor has she ever done anything on par with the crimes Mother Gothel has committed.)

“And Mal suffers from it most often.”

How??? Where??? When does Mal suffer by Evie’s hand in the series at a point where the real issue was not caused by external factors, or by Mal herself? Evie does the best that she can. She is not a therapist, nor is she actually Mal’s mother, and she cannot possibly solve every single one of Mal’s problems. However, that does not stop her from trying. The fact that Evie does so much and gets no credit from Mal stans simply because she cannot stop Mal from having negative emotions really frustrates me. Even from a story-telling standpoint, the only possible way for Evie to save Mal from any pain whatsoever was if she was more powerful than Mal and/or she was the main protagonist instead of her. And I’m pretty sure that neither you nor other Mal fans would like that too much.

“But a lot of the fandom have their bloody shipping goggles on so they think Evie being Mal’s beloved smother is romantic chemistry instead of fully unhealthy.”

YES ^^^^^ THIS!!!!!! I fully agree with everything you just said here. Hit the nail right on the head, my friend.

“At least once in each movie she doesn’t really think of what Mal herself wants before she acts.”

Oh. My. Goodness. You. Are so right. Evie doesn’t put Mal's needs over everything in her own life, or considers the needs/safety of a group over the emotional needs of an individual (Mal) at least once in every movie. I don't know how I didn't see it before, she's a horrible friend. -_- /sar dude seriously what are you on? (can i get some???)

“Film one. Tried to put make up on her when she’s plotting”

Okay, I usually hate it when people say this, but in this case: I don’t think it’s that deep. (with all due respect, sounds like you pulled this one straight out of your ass). The VKs are all obviously on edge, and I think Evie is just trying to calm herself down by doing something that’s familiar to her as well as comfort Mal in a way that isn’t explicitly touchy-feely, seeing as that isn’t really allowed on the Isle. We see that Mal was simply glowering off into space before Evie does this, something that is very characteristic that Mal would do all the time. Maybe Evie could have been a bit more considerate of Mal’s personal space, but it’s not like she knew that Mal was “plotting”. I think she was genuinely trying to help/make the situation better, and that this really doesn’t count as a “failure in friendship” on her part.

“Film two. The entirety of their talk after she pulled her away from Ben after the paps got thrown out”

Again, I truly don’t think that Evie had selfish intentions. We know that Mal tried to spell Ben with no reservations, hesitations, etc later in the movie, so I assume that she has done so consistently before. Therefore, I believe that Evie pulling Mal away from Ben was genuine concern for him on her part, as she could see that Mal was stressed and might have been about to cast a spell, likely on Ben. As for what you will agree with me about, Evie knows that Mal is stressed, and she’s stressed too. Evie probably hopes that knocking at least one thing off the list as soon as possible will help both of them.

As for their “talk”: While Mal seems a bit more vulnerable in this scene rather than the one with Carlos, mainly she's just whining to Evie about how she doesn't like being a "princess" (something that she inflicted upon herself, by the way). What Evie basically says is, "You should take responsibility, stop using magic, and appreciate what you have. All you have to do is read, it's not that hard." From Evie's reaction to Mal using the spell book, it’s easy to tell that Mal has used magic before, probably a lot. Many people try to argue that Evie was controlling and dismissive of Mal's problems in this scene, but it's pretty clear that she and Mal have been through this before. They only show us the one time that Evie is tired of listening to Mal's bullshit and trying to be empathetic. With all that said, none of it negates the fact that Evie was still coddling Mal. Their whole conversation was still framed to make Mal the victim and undeserving of the consequences of her actions. Everything Evie says in the scene is phrased so that Mal doesn’t have to take any blame for her actions. Evie says the line, “Haven't you and Ben had enough secrets between you?”, implying that both Mal and Ben have been mutually keeping secrets, when the truth is the only one who ever has been deceitful in their relationship is Mal. (Not to mention that she is continuing to deceive him.) After Evie doesn’t immediately give Mal validation of her victim mindset and assure her that she's completely in the right, she uses Evie’s trauma from the Isle against her. She "asks" Evie about being evil again after Evie confronts her about using magic. Evie experienced so much trauma at the hands of “being evil,” a lot of it inflicted by Mal herself. Using this against Evie to avoid blame is beyond cruel, and I don't care how overwhelmed or upset she was, it wasn’t okay.

“Film three. Accidental guilt trip after she got manipulated by the in laws.”

Oh no no no no no don’t you EVEN GO THERE. FIRST of all, FIRST of all, Mal was not manipulated by anyone. She made the decision to close the barrier completely on her own and in fact had to corner Ben into agreeing with her. She did that all by choice and with no prompting or even external suggestion from anyone else. SECONDLY, what Evie did was not a “guilt trip”. Evie was genuinely worried for the safety and well-being of CHILDREN on the Isle that Mal was threatening (not that Evie knew that part, since Mal went on to LIE ABOUT IT TO HER FACE).

“I love Evie. She’s my seventh favorite after Mal and before their cousin.”

Not to be rude, but it doesn’t actually sound like you like her all that much.

“But the fact remains. She isn’t as in tune with other people’s feelings as many would like to believe. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a very realistic flaw given who her mother is.”

I agree. However, I think that you and others are holding her to unrealistic expectations, despite many aspects of her character that would make it even more impossible for her to meet those expectations. So, yes, this is a realistic “flaw” for Evie to have, but I think that even in this context, that “flaw” is being blown out of proportion simply because it does some minor disservice to Mal.

“However, treating her like the ultimate example of a care bear isn’t really doing her justice

^^^ Yes, absolutely.

“Because like I keep pointing out. If you don’t acknowledge the flaws of the characters you like then you’re not liking every aspect of them.”

You make some good points about how harmful it is to reduce Evie to nothing but the “mom friend.” It's demeaning to her very complex character and forces her (a character of color) to be nothing but an accessory and a “make-friend-happy machine” to the main white protagonist. However: you seem to think that the reason Evie shouldn’t be reduced to “mom friend” is because she's bad at it. And that she’s bad at it specifically with Mal. First of all: she’s a teenager. She shouldn’t have to be good at parenting anyone, especially not her friends who are her age and (should be at) her general level of maturity. Second: what has she done wrong? Especially in her relationship with Mal? She’s always there for Mal no matter how much trauma/distress that it causes for her during the entire series. Even just being around Mal probably stirs up trauma for Evie, who was exiled for ten years because of, and then ruthlessly tormented, harassed, and even physically assaulted by Mal. The fact that she is still Mal’s friend is most likely due to fear on Evie’s part (fear of Mal hurting her again, fear of losing other friends by cutting off Mal, etc). Although that’s obviously not healthy for either of them, it’s disproportionately worse for Evie, who is basically trapped in endless uncomfortable situations where she is forced to interact with, constantly cater to the emotions of, and coddle her abuser. Basically, Mal has never made amends or even bothered to stop emotionally abusing/using Evie, at least not in any substantial way. The reason that Evie is sometimes subpar at her very, very demanding role in this toxic, abusive relationship that she was forced into is not her fault in any way shape or form, nor is it due to any character or personality “flaw” of hers. Evie is not comfortable around Mal, and probably never will be. Mal does not treat Evie as an equal or a friend, she treats her like a mother or a servant. They have never had a healthy relationship, and they probably never will, and that is not due to any mistakes or shortcomings on Evie’s part. It is due to the fact that Mal was a bully to Evie only to eventually force her into a toxic friendship from which she benefits and Evie suffers.

[theamityelf]

What do you think of Naematsu (Makoto/Kaede)? Two optimistic and hopeful protagonists who are generally nonviolent but won't hesitate to throw hands if the situation requires it. They have a lot of chemistry, I'd think!

I can definitely see it! I think the main reason I don't usually pair them is because my approach to thinking about ships is usually to start with the ways that they're different, and the differences between Makoto and Kaede are ones that can be exaggerated to get to an easier ship. (I will explain that bizarre sentence in a second.)

To be clear, what I'm about to describe is a series of ways in which Naematsu is harder than some other ships, not how it's worse. It's a good ship; there are just pragmatic reasons one might not arrive at it. Like, Kaede is more energetic and socially playful than Makoto is, which is a fun dynamic to explore, but if that's the dynamic one wants to explore, it's easier to put him with Hina and get a more extreme version of the same thing. On the flipside, Makoto being a little quieter and less into teasing than Kaede can be put through a similar distortion, and you'd arrive at Saimatsu. Basically, a lot of what you can play with when shipping Naematsu is stuff you can get to more easily by shipping Makoto with Hina or Sayaka, or shipping Kaede with Shuichi, Tsumugi, or Rantaro.

All of that said, one special thing about Naematsu is that they would definitely be the couple that everyone likes. A lot of my Makoto ships invoke a sense of befuddlement from the other characters, like "What is Makoto doing with Izuru Kamukura? What is Makoto doing with Byakuya?" None of that, for this one. This one tracks for everyone.

They would legit get away with everything. They get to be insufferably cute, and everyone just accepts it because it's Makoto and Kaede and it makes sense. None of their friends can even go "He's not good enough for her," "She's not good enough for him," because both of their reputations are so good. The most anyone can do is some halfhearted discourse about a talented pianist going for a luckster, but that sentiment doesn't make it far because they take one look at Makoto and go "Oh, adoring trophy husband, I see. Carry on."

Kaede is the girl who will give you firm but heartfelt advice about your problems, Makoto is the guy who you call when you run out of gas at three in the morning and need help getting home. Kaede will help you hide a body, Makoto will have dinner ready when you get back and won't ask too many follow-up questions about why you have a shovel. They are the couple whose guest room you want to stay in.

[dapper-lil-arts]

Small question, what you opinions of wallflower x sunset as a ship?

Beacuse its one of my favoritos

You asked me at the right time, because a week ago I woulda had no thoughts on this ship, but recently I've actually gotten kinda into it! There's a few caveats regarding it, I imagine very few people dislike it it because Wallflower is such a personal antagonist, like, she hurt Sunset so personally, a lot of watchers probs would never get into it bc of it.

But! its only because Sunset hurt her first. the whole reason wallflower became an antagonist is because of eye for an eye. And the new Sunset, kinder and forgiving, would end that constant 'ruin me, i ruin you' cycle, and her newfound kindness and care for wallflower could lead to a very interesting and warm relationship. Big punk girl and soft small gardener is a wonderful dynamic, heh. Sunset's redeemed kinder nature would make her for a wonderful partner, and she would prove to wallflower every day that she has changed and is better. Through kisses.

But I will admit my favorite aspect of it is the tragedy. Because Wallflower could easily think that Sunset is only into her because she 'feels she needs to', because she pities wallflower. Especially because Sunset could be with any other character (She has so much chemistry with so many gals, including Twilight, another hero just like Sunset of who they're super close.) I imagined Wallflower, on a fit of self loathing, could use the memory stone to make Sunset forget her just so she doesn't 'get in the way' of Sunsets life, and goes back to being just friends, from square one. Tragedy!!

It's a fun meta narrative that uses plenty of the story structures against the characters, heheh. After all, a former bad guy, side character? She doesn't get to have a happy ending with the protagonist! Forgotten friendship isn't perfect, but its damn fuckin close to, and its my favorite piece of media on MLP, and its on no short order because of Wallflower, my second favorite antagonist in the whole series heheh (first is chrysalis by volume)

[winvyre]

OC-tober But I Have No Prompts And Just Do Whatever I Want: Day 16

SUPER LONG POST!!!!

Originally my version of a Glitter Force series (that show altered my brain chemistry), a combination of three total generations and various artistic outputs of general magical girl brainrot has produced [Magical Girl Show].

From left to right (Name/Alias): Elodie/Peony, Adita/Cirque, Megha/Sukha, Imani/Lemondrop.

Each girl's design is based on her insecurities and interests (it goes with the whole "magic comes from the heart lore). All the good stuff is under the cut!

Protagonists:

Elodie had to grow up too fast and she likes gardening so her theme is flower. She was placed in a caregiver role when she was pretty young because her mother fell ill, her father isn't very paternal (he's always away on business, only ever dropping in occassionally to buy back his kids' affection with gifts or mailing in a check to cover expenses. He also cheated on his wife after she got sick and has a secret second family he prefers), and she has two younger siblings who need to be taken care of. The outfit also takes inspiration from classic ballerinas because she used to love ballet but had to quit to have more time so she started gardening as a close-to-home way of coping. Elodie chooses the name Peony because her mom had a prized peony bush in the front yard that sparked her love for gardening.

At first Elodie only participates because Adita begged her (Adita was once one of Elodie's bullies) but she realizes she feels empowered being a magical girl and a genuine friendship starts blossoming between them (but beware the lingering resentment). Her weapon is a rake that she uses like a combat staff and flies on like a witch would with a broom.

-=+=-

Megha was always the happy-go-lucky, bubbly, optimist type. When her parents divorced and she had to move away from her community, she kept a smile on her face even as she was consumed by depression and crippling loneliness. The more she overcompensates the worse she feels but she can't face her darkness or she'll fall apart. She'll pop like a bubble (her theme!) Megha chooses the name Sukha as a nod to her Hindu culture and as a wish to feel all right again.

Being a magical girl distracts Megha from her bad thoughts and gives her a friend group to hang out with. She may be on good terms with pretty much everyone but she isn't really close with anyone until she bonds with her team but then we get to have "are we really friends or do we just hang out because we're forced to" angst. She does gain a girlfriend in Elodie by the end. Her weapon is a giant bubble wand that summons giant bubbles for capture/containment or she can sit/stand and float on them (only Megha can touch them without becoming trapped).

-=+=-

Shamefully, Imani is not as developed as the other characters. I can't even seem to get her transformed design right. Here's what I do have: Imani has self worth issues and struggles with feelings of envy. She's "sour," like her theme of lemon, after living in her older sister's shadow. She was Adita's best friend when they were little. Her reason for accepting magical girl duty? Partially Imani wants to reconnect and partially being told she's special makes her feel good. Her weapon is the soda cans attached to the belt on her dress which she can pull the tab off of and throw and they'll explode like a grenade but it's more like a shockwave than fire and death. The tabs can then be used as throwing stars.

-=+=-

Adita is the main character.

Groundbreaker (the mallet) chooses Adita to carry on Blanc's legacy then won't let her discard it, reappearing nearby every time she tries to get rid of it. The bad guys won't leave Dita alone because she has Groundbreaker. Unless she's chill with dying, she kinda has to fight back. Even though she's resistant at first, eventually, being the "chosen one" goes to her head so she gets unchosen until she stops being a jerk.

Adita feels the need to perform for others so her theme is circus/carnival. She has to do well in school and activities and act strong through her chronic pain so she doesn't bother anyone with her "neediness." Her parents put a lot of pressure on her and they don't understand yet that her pain just won't go away. It's constant.

"But who is Blanc?"

I'm glad you asked! But first, the magic system and other internal logic because I'm an info-dumping fiend!

Setting & Magic System:

Transformations are done via sticker.

In the original pilot, this is only used on the Demises (bad guys' monster of the week that replaced Bafoons. They were inanimate objects turned evil and when they activated they created an arena with invisible walls to hide the destruction from onlookers and a magic time loop to reset the damage when that arena disappeared) and the magical girl transformation is done via Glitter Pact (because I was writing a Glitter Force series).

In [Magical Girl Show], the Demises work a bit differently and the sticker catalyst applies to everyone.

-=+=-

In the unnamed Magical Girl Realm, technology was developed that allowed people to enhance their magical abilities with a sticker stuck over their heart. Because magic comes from the heart.

The sticker merely collects the magic in the world to a single spot where it can be drawn upon. The manifestation is based on the user's personality and the normally gray circle sticker changes its appearance to reflect that.

Without this sticker, magic is limited in the MG Realm and impossible on Earth.

The unnamed Big Bad modifies and abuses this technology to channel magic into unwilling participants and thus create the Demises. This kind of exploitation is why only a chosen few in the MG Realm get to be magical warriors.

-=+=-

At first, the magical warriors were general law enforcement, emergency responders, etcetera. When BBEG started manufacturing his own stickers and dishing them out to his followers (like the goons who are in a perma-transformed state) and started his takeover, they became actual warriors who fought the darkness. The war was long and destructive but Blanc was able to defeat the BBEG and seal the darkness away using Groundbreaker.

When, centuries later, the war restarted and the MG Realm fell to the BBEG, some of the people fled to Earth which is how three stickers ended up there. The immigrants settled down, started families, and now, fifty years later, they must pass on their knowledge to a new generation of magical girls so that their stickers can be used to end the war once and for all.

A warrior can relinquish their sticker and set it back to a neutral state wherein it is no longer connected to their heart (after being activated for the first time, the stickers are connected to the user no matter how far apart they are as long as that user has magical girl potential).

Blanc never relinquished her sticker, so it never went back to neutral. This is why Adita cannot transform for most of the story. (Blanc is not wholly dead either and death counts as a form of relinquishment)

A part of Blanc's soul is in Groundbreaker, which is how a mallet can choose a holder, so Adita is using Blanc's magic when she fights. This is until some milestone happens and Blanc is finally put to rest (you can stop trying to please everyone now, sweetie) and Groundbreaker changes appearance to coincide with Adita's new alias as Cirque. (The hammer becomes the sticker because the transformation is no longer active but the hammer comes back once Adita transforms because the reason why she was chosen in the first place is because of how similar she and Blanc are.)

And now we can get into who Blanc is!

Blanc:

Blanc was one of the first of the ancient magical girls who were a part of the warrior generation. And she was by far the most powerful. She was the one who sealed away the BBEG with Groundbreaker which is why the goons want it: because they think the only weapon that can free their master is the same one that defeated him.

Blanc's costume takes more inspiration from old French mimes rather than Cirque's colorful Carnival vibe. This ties the two together through a common theme as well as distinguishes them. Blanc is more of the strong, silent type, whereas Cirque is a bit more flashy.

Blanc's signature move was called "Cirque du Blanc." This is the origin of Adita's magical girl alias name. The move involved a mass duplication of Blanc, the copies of which would run about doing acrobatics. But not just for show, the copies would also work to take down the enemy. It symbolizes Blanc's feelings of wishing for assistance but not trusting anyone except herself to do the job.

Adita hears Blanc's voice in her head or hallucinates her ghost occassionally as she guides her down the path she wants for her. We get to play around with the chosen one trope, too! Blanc choses Adita but Adita doesn't want to be chosen, then Adita choses herself but Blanc unchoses her, how will it end? Does being "chosen" really matter? What does that even mean? Find out next time on Dragon-

Plot:

Adita goes over to Emily (her best friend)'s place for a sleepover. Emily's grandmother owns an antique store. The girls sneak into the shop at midnight and Adita finds a black and white strongman mallet. Picking it up, she hears a disembodied laugh and decides that's a problem for someone else to deal with.

The next day the two go to the park and are ambushed by a goon who summons a Demise. People die, property is destroyed, and two women in sparkly dresses kick down the proverbial door to evacuate the civilians and curb stomp the Demise. Adita runs back to the antique shop to grab the mallet because the spooky laugh is making her ears ring.

The sparkly fighters instruct Adita on how to defeat the Demise and she does. They then pull her off to the side to exposition dump just enough for the audience to follow what happened and to spur on the next plot point of collecting teammates with the three remaining transformation stickers. Once alone, Adita rejects the magical girl responsibility and abandons the mallet but when she makes it home it's in her bedroom. This continues all weekend.

Fed up but realizing there's no escape, Adita tells Emily everything and Emily immediately begs to be a teammate. Unfortunately, she does not have magical girl potential, just like the sparkly women who helped them at the park. Still, one willing participant is better than no one even if they're comically weak. But Emily's enthusiasm and Adita's avoidance spark tension between them that will only continue to grow despite their attempts to be healthy communicators.

The next day at school, Adita thinks she finds the perfect candidates for the team so when the next attack comes she bestows two of the stickers upon them. But they were secretly goons in disguise! Adita just lost two stickers!

She demands Emily give back the sticker she lent her for safe keeping and emergencies right after Emily helped her defeat the Demise and calmed her down after her mistake. Adita says he needs a "real teammate." Emily is upset but complies.

The only other person Blanc sensed had potential was Elodie. But they don't exactly have the... best... relationship. Adita begs Elodie to join her when she uses Groundbreaker to bust open a portal to the MG Realm to get the stickers back and Elodie agrees on the basis of "I was in the park that day and if this stops the end of the world I guess I'll come along."

They steal the stickers back and Elodie asks to keep hers when they return to Earth which Adita is more than fine with but when Emily finds out she's super salty. She still hangs out with Dita though.

Megha is the new girl and people really seem to like her. They keep calling her "Megan" which she doesn't appreciate but it's whatever. Adita has been trying to figure out how to tell her that she's one of the few people capable of saving the world but that's a weird way to introduce yourself.

-=+=-

That's all I've got for now. I have some plot points that need to happen as well as a few reveals under my belt but [MGS] is still incomplete. It'd be great if I could make this into a visual novel (an animated series is likely impossible but that would be so cool) someday. Oh well. Back into the box you go, [MGS].

I once again apologize for my long, disordered, possibly crucially unfinished infodump. My need to share the stories that won't leave my brain possesses me and I am but a vessel for its yapping.

[xviistrings]

if you had to punt exactly one playable persona character into the sun, who would it be and why?

i have to pick just one? aww...

well, i classify my urge to punt someone as how much i hate and despise and fucking loathe them. but my reasoning behind hating a character is based on multiple factors;

do they have/learn good skills/abilities?

are they well written in the story?

are they well written in their social link?

writing aside, do i like them as a person?

now, the only games i have played out of the persona series are 4 & 5(NOT ROYAL). i read the p1 manga and am only watching playthroughs of the game, so i am not at all in any place to cast judgement on those guys, nor do one of those factors even apply to them... so that already narrows it down a whole bunch. i would never punt a single p1 character. they're all great (except maybe kei just for the 4th one) (but he's great. i love him. i think about him and get sad)

and i'm also eliminating the protagonists for obvious reasons, so we've already disqualified 11 characters. and with that out of the way, we can officially begin...

PERSONA'S PERILOUS PLAY OF PUNTING POTENTIAL!!!! (contains spoilers)

every character will be able to score out of 3 in each factor, and the one with the least amount of points wins the game as the Most Puntable. it's kind of like golf, which is funny, because i also want to punt golf players into the sun.

our first contestant is YOSUKE HANAMURAAAA

now, i was going to grab a fun little image of him to provide this post with visuals but i always forget that 90% of his search results on google are. uh. hm.

well, this is our situation. can i give him a pity point for that?

for number one, i can say...... 3/3. he was ALWAYS on my team during the whole game and i built him up well. like i was raising a son... sniffle... they grow up so fast...

i have to admit, it was a little annoying when he kept missing crits on the golden hand but is that his fault? no-hohohoooooo, it's merely a turn of fate... (and his fault. fuckyouyosukefuckyoufuckyougaaaah)

for number 2, i rate it 2. he's an ooooookay character in the main story, a lot of his harassment of the girls and kanji really tick me off and there's literally no good explanation as for why he does that other than just being an asshole, but. i guess being an asshole is just part of his personality.........?

EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THERE SHOULD BE GREATER CONSEQUENCES FOR HIS ACTIONS BECAUSE COMMUNICATING THE IDEA THAT BAD PEOPLE GET OFF SCOT-FREE IS TERRIBLE FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS. i don't give 2 shits about fanservice as a whole (in regards to harassing the girls, not the homophobia, that's just annoying) but can we stop making the grounds for it being sexual harassment

number 3 gets a 3! his social link is AMAZING and i CRIED and hes GAY and LOVES HIS FRIENDS!!!!!! if i wanted to do a character analysis on him then i would write a different post, but this is me trying to figure out who i would punt into the sun. so. moving on

number 4......... 1/3. for the previous points in number 2, he is an absolute dickhead and no amount of people-pleasing habits and homoerotic chemistry will make me like him. every person who is mean to him is right.

oh boy, just yosuke's section was reaaaaaaaaaally long... i'll try and shorten it for you, okay?

up next is chie satonaka, my personal favourite persona 4 girl if that sets the baseline for anything.

look at her :] she's so silly :]

for number one, i'm sadly going to have to rate her below 3... like. 1.5? is that allowed? i'll say it is.

she's the party member equivalent of a burner phone. unlike yosuke who's by my side forever and ever, chie is only good until teddie gets a persona and then she's so publicly humiliated that she accidentally misses every single hit. galactic punt YOURSELF MOTHERFUUUUUUUUUCK

number 2, 3/3. no explanation needed, literally just her shadow boss fight and the beauty pageant and her friendship with yukiko and her everything.

number 3... also 3/3. a lot of people give her flack for deciding she wants to be a cop, which i get because acab fuck yeah, but where adachi is a cop just to get attention and a gun, she actually intends to protect people. chie learns to help herself so she can help others... augh... AUGH CHIE I LOVE YOUUUUUU

ahem. number 4, 2/3. she's definitely a sweetheart and she seems fun to be around but i have to admit she's definitely a little annoying sometimes.

and now it's time for chie's bestest friend ever, yukiko amagi!!

she gets a pity point for being a lesbian... not just a lesbian but one having a crush on a straight girl. we've all been there hunny bun. let's watch romcoms and eat ice cream together while crying ok?

number 1..... 3/3 fuck yeah my main healer always coming in clutch!!! after a certain point she stops being the main fire user and the player is supposed to take that role but then she has KICKASS HEALING ABILITIES!! support characters are always my favourites (which might foreshadow my rating for haru.......)

1/3 for number 2. that might sound harsh, but! but but but!

they kind of sucked the life out of her after her dungeon. the only real defining personality traits she has are in her social link, which is unfortunate because so many people hate it!

i don't hate yukiko. never

3 gets a 3. it's a good story actually, and like i said it helps me see yukiko as. like. a person. and a lot of people say it's bad writing that her story ends with her deciding she wants to manage the inn, but let me put a lot of emphasis on 'deciding'. she chose that path for herself after being told she was allowed to do what she likes, and y'know what? i don't think that's bad!

nobody likes being forced to do something. i know i struggled a lot with doing homework because i always felt trapped in those deadlines and expectations, but i didn't just give up on school. improving my grades was my own choice, and i realized that i had potential to change myself despite my situation and succeed! that's what yukiko's social link is about. not giving in to other people's expectations, but thriving in the environment you're given...

i just said i wanted to shorten everything and now i'm ranting. always number 4 is a 3/3 she's literally just a girl and her laughing thing is cute idgaf.

KANJI TATSUMIIIIIIIII

subtracting a point for those shoes. get out.

number 1 is a 2/3. he was cool, but nobody ever compares to yosuke. i mainly used him for his physical skills rather than magic because yu took that role very easily, and when paired with teddie or yukiko he's just a boss. but he's not my favourite party member in the world

number 2, i'll be blunt, 1/3. WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY DO TO YOU MAN. we all saw how yosuke and everyone else and the whole damn story treated him. we all saw the line where he asked naoto to be femme so they could "make him a man". shut the fuck upppppp

number 3 is his saving grace. i know some people don't like that they never elaborated on the sexuality thing (or the... sexism..??) and i get that, having a character who's canonically mspec but only vaguely mentions it once and never again is really annoying and a half-assed attempt at representation. though i interpret his reconciliation with his sewing hobby, an aspect of him that everyone thinks is unmanly and should be shamed, as a metaphor for his own sexuality. similar to daisuke and soccer being a stand-in for his anxiety around romance and girls. in that case, it's a 3/3.

(plus there's the line "it's so cute it'll give you diabetes" and... kanji... *facepalm*)

number 4. he's cutie. a little weird, but cutie. 2/3

and now, a girl who needs no introduction.

god my feelings for her are as mixed as my auntie's desert lasagna. ("let's mix it up," she says...)

i don't have anything against the navigators. they're pretty good. i say 3/3.

however i hate rise's writing. -4/3. negative numbers are cheating? I DON'T CARE!!

her dungeon is a STRONG start to her character, like with everyone else. i love rise reconciling with the fact that there is no "real me" and everyone has different sides of themselves that they need to make it through life... and the fact that it ties in with teddie's conflict of feeling hollow, like an alien or an impostor only pretending to be alive........ oh my god! hiiiiii!!!!! love it!

and then rise's main bit in the story is crushing on the protagonist.......... sigh.

i really really REALLY hate that about her actually. i really hate forced romances. and before you go calling me a hypocrite for liking souyo and not yurise even though souyo has the exact same amount of flirty moments between them, that's because those two are really subtle with each other and have a really good initial friendship to back it up and also ties in with their actual personalities.......???? (we can debate forever and ever if yu has a personality but i say he does. he's consistently portrayed in other adaptations and spinoffs. he's got so much in common with yosuke)

but rise just kind of sees yu and goes "hey handsome. killing shadows all by yourself?" and it's like eeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhh.... 90% of the time she's on screen it's to flirt with yu and the other 10% is serious moments or when she's with anyone but yu. there's no moments where she gets to be casual and friendly with HIM, where we get to see DEPTH to their relationship, it's just purely flirting. and i hate that. so much. is this a one-night stand? no? then give me some actual fucking chemistry

and i feel like all of that smushing-dolls-together time takes away from a lot of genuine scenes with rise where she....... yk.... shows off her personality?

the hot springs and the trip to tatsumi port island are held dearly in my heart because rise DOES SHIT. she's silly and goofy and playful and maybe she says some stuff that's a little perverted but it's not to the yosuke degree. i like the idea that rise flirts with ALL of her friends, not just yu; it makes her feel like she's really part of the friend group, which is the investigation team's strongest suit.

rise and yukiko both have any personality ripped from them in favour of dumb bits that aren't even funny and that post of mine analyzing their dynamic during the school field trip is so everything guys they're so great as a duo i need to see more of them pleapelpslepalpelspes.......

...whoops. i ranted.

number 3 gets a 2/3. it's kind of just a rehash of what she learned in the main story, which is fine, but not ideal.

rise as a person is 3/3. absolute silliness all around. love her

KUMA KUMA KUMAAAAA

look at this fucking guy. ridiculous. i hate him. he's so annoying and dumb and he sucks

3/3 on party member he's totally goated

3/3 on main story he makes me feel the whole spectrum of emotions and then some

his social link is automated so technically thats a 3/3 too

3/3 person he might be an annoying little shit but i have 2 younger cousins. i understand yosuke. it's endearing to me

teddie is peak. i would never punt him.

now............to.

entirely honest, i'm on my second persona 4 playthrough to complete the social links i never finished and... naoto is one of those. so i will be unable to determine the rating for one of the factors. but luckily i'm not shit at math so it'll work out in the end

for 1...... honestly they're a good party member as well, but because i didn't get very far in their social link, i didn't unlock that ability where she's able to withstand a deadly blow meaning he would just be constantly dying. like. constantly.

but that's kind of the only thing i like about naoto. i have to rate their main storyline a 1/3. it's absolutely shit and the gender plottwist (ughh) is so badly done. i'm personally thinking up a rewrite for his character because i think they were onto something with the message about misogyny in the workplace but she's so SHITTILY executed that it's just muddied

naoto as a person is..... ok. 2/3. i don't find many things about her that exceptional or fun. i don't think about them often. if this were my rewrite of him it'd be waaaay deep down in the negatives because they are an ASSHOLE but i love them way more :3

and next is ryu.............uh........ actually, this is way too long. much too long than you probably anticipated... um... maybe i'll cut it short, make a part 2 later.

until next time........ on PERSONA'S PERILOUS PLAY OF PUNTING POTENTIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

[slutisnotabadword]

My Possible Unpopular TVD Opinions

DISCLAIMER: This is MY fucking opinions, lets be for real. If you don’t agree, then good. If you do, then great.

This fandom doesn’t realize everyone’s horrible. One thing I’ve noticed about this fanodm is that people really like to pick and choose who’s the worst or the ‘least worse’ character. Idk, I just find it weird that someone favors Klaus Mikaelson, but HATES Damon Salvatore. As if Klaus isn’t terribly worse. Almost every single character in this series has done a multidue of horrible things, especially the vampires, so it doesn’t make sense to people do that. I understand if it was based on personalities, but the way people express their likings, it doesn’t seem like it is. For example, the whole Damon versus Stefan debate. Some people hate Damon because what he’s done, but turn around and love Stefan even though he’s done the same shit, and even worse.

Damon didn’t need to be labeled as the ‘better man’. Look, Damon is my FAVORITE character. I love that man with all of my heart, but truthfully, I don’t think he should’ve been the “better man”. All Damon’s life he has been coming second to Stefan. With their parents, Katherine, Elena, and damn near everyone else. And honestly, I think it got worse with Elena because deep down, she wanted him to be “Damon with Stefan-like qualities”. But he’ll never be Stefan. And that’s okay. I think Damon’s arc should’ve concluded with him accepting the fact that he’ll never be the better man, and him being okay with being imperfect. Not everyone has to be the hero.

Bamon should’ve fucking happened! If Bamon has one fan, it’s me. If Bamon has no fans, I’m no longer on Earth. I just really, REALLY, love this ship, I don’t think you guys understand. Honestly, it might’ve been better than Delena. Damon and Bonnie have some underrated chemistry and tension since day one. And they had a great set up. Damon sworn to protect the Bennet bloodline and now he has this girl who pushes his buttons alot, while he’s constantly pushing her buttons—UGH, I love it. True enemies to friends to lovers. They should’ve ended up together, atleast once. But we all know why it didn’t happen *cough* julie *cough*.

Caroline’s such a fucking hypocrite. I love Caroline, but she also annoys the fuck outta me. And I think it’s just her natural personality. She’s just so judgemental that it drives me crazy, and personally, I can never be friends with someone who always has ann opinion on the shit I do. What really bothered me about her is her drilling down on Elena during the first part of season 4 about Damon. Which I would’ve understood considering her abusive past with Damon, however, she never mentioned or brought up that as a reason why she hates Damon or why Elena shouldn’t love him. Instead, she came off really fucking hypocritcial because not even five second after basically calling Elena an idiot for picking Damon, she’s LAUGHING WITH KLAUS?!?!? Aka the most evil mf in the entire series, like let’s be so fucking fr. Klaus is ten times worse than Damon and this bitch is laughing it up with him over champagne. And not to mention she sleeps with him later on.

Bonnie would’ve made a better protagonist. Bonnie’s storyline had so much potential to be stretched out. Like she came from a very powerful coven that dated back to the first creation of an immortal being AND the other side. Her ancestoral history with the Salvatore brothers. The way she became one of the most powerful witches—like she fucking stopped hell fire, bffr. And Bonnie’s fine asf, she’s that girl. I think her character arc is good, and would’ve been great if racism didn’t occur with Kat Graham.

Elena is not as bad as y’all say she is. Can she a be a little self-centered? Yeah. But it’s not hard to understand why. During the first few seasons, EVERYONE made everything about Elena—especially Damon and Stefan. Like Bonnie was about to die for her during season 2. Everyone has risked everything for her. Shit, if people treated me like that, I would think everything’s about me, too! And no, Elena’s not a crybaby. If I was going through everything she was going through, I would cry every day and night. Girl lost two sets of parents, her brother at one point, and both of her guardians (Jenna and Alaric). And at one point, lost the love of her life (Damon in S6). Not to mention, someone was always trying to kill her, and then she had to deal with an evil doppleganger. Shehas every reason to cry. And the weird thing about that is, everyone calls Elena a crybaby but not Klaus? Every damn picture I see of that man, he’s crying his eyes out. It’s always that same damn crying face too. I love Klaus but y’all really be pickin and choosin who to pick on.

Damon and Stefan’s background should’ve been talked about more. I still don’t know why the producers, or whoever, changed their origins from the books (as far as I know they were from the 1500s in Italy) but I think changing it was so unnecessary. I don’t know why people have such an obsession with 1800s, but it’s WEIRD how we collectively decided to treat that time as an aesthetic while this country was treating people like animals, but hey, that’s just me. ANYWAYS, I think they should’ve brought up the brothers’ history and background earlier in the series, instead of waiting till the end where the rest of the story was falling flat. Because if we’re being honest, in the early seasons, we don’t know much about them. Hell, I don’t even think we know their birthdays. Like we’re aware of their troubled past, but we don’t know their family backgrounds, and I feel like knowing someone’s familia backgrounds helps understanding their core.

“When I kill someone, they’re supposed to stay dead!”. Alaric should’ve stayed dead. Jeremy should’ve stayed dead. End of story.

Kai’s actions are not justified. This fandom and hundreds of others have a tendecy of babying these grown ass people. So what Kai’s family treated him differently. That literally happens to damn near everyone in this world. It does not give you anexcuse to kill your entire family, INCLUDING CHILDREN?? Bitch you deserve to get locked up. They should’ve killed his ass but that’s just me. But Kai’s fun, I suppose. I just don’t like it when people baby him trying to justify him killing innocent children just because his father didn’t love him enough. Who cares? Go to fucking therapy like the rest of us. And then y’all tried to ship him with BONNIE?? OUR PRECIOUS BONNIE?? It’s like y’all forgot how he made her life a living hell in that prison world, which led her to almost killing herself. Bonkai could burn, don’t ever bring up that garbage ass shit ever again in my presence.

Might do a part two

[bonaesperanza]

7 and 17 for the ask game!

7. I'm gonna be honest and say that this happens very rarely to me because if there's one virtue I have (and I have very few of them) it's the capacity to attribute blame correctly. So if fandom is weird about a character I usually start hating the fandom and withdrawing from at least that part of it rather than letting it influence my opinion about the character. Alternately, I'll perhaps review the canon and realize that the fandom is right and I had skipped some key details about the character or how they were presented, which will make me change my opinion about the canon character or the canon's framework overall, but I don't think that's what the question is asking.

BUT there is one notable exception, and that's Dara from the Daevabad trilogy. Which is barely a fandom LOL, like the entire series gets 2 Tumblr posts every six months, but I do love those books and I do get livid about the way the fans treat this particular character to the point that each time I see fanart of him I recoil in disgust.

I put in a cut because this turned out longer and angrier than I expected lol but I guess that is the spirit of the poll?

Basically you know the age-old debate about whether Kylo Ren fans are racist towards Finn and whether Kylo is a better or worse character than Finn and whether people just like him more because he's white etc. etc.? I generally think that's a stupid thing to hoist onto the sequel fans when it's the canon itself that encourages a superficial reading of Kylo as tragic and dramatic and of Finn as a plucky comic relief guy whose emotions shouldn't be taken seriously. But Dara and Ali from Daevabad are the perfect examples of the trend the people who complain about it are trying to highlight and I reeeaaally wish those books were more famous in wider fandom circles because we would be Having so many Discussions about them.

Dara and Ali are basically the two angles of what's a lowkey love triangle with the series' (awesome!) protagonist, Nahri. In my eyes, Dara and Nahri have so little chemistry that I nearly quit the first book 30% in because I thought it would all be about them, but YMMV I guess. Then I saw Nahri and Ali interact once, thought "man, I wish these two were being set up for a grand romance instead" and was then thrilled to discover that actually they were and the author was clearly phoning in the Dara/Nahri parts because they were there to make a point rather than to be romantic or appealing.

Dara is an asshole, but in canon, he's a well-written asshole and there's a point to his characterization. He's an extremely talented Proud Warrior Guy who is really patriotic and cares about his family and his country and about making them proud. He's also arrogant and short-tempered, but so is Ali. The thing is, Dara's superiors send him to commit genocide, and Dara does so to mixed success. Then the people he's tried to genocide come for his own people to exact revenge and brutally kill his family. This all sparks a massive civil war, in the middle of which Dara ends up trapped in a Fate Worse Than Death kind of situation for thousands of years, until he is somehow saved and joins the protagonist. He feels anguished and vengeful about his family dying but is also still chauvinistic AF and never examines his own role in all of this. He still believes that blindly following authority and being loyal to people of his religion and ethnicity is his highest moral duty. This makes him commit even more war crimes, end up in another fate worse than death situation, and only manage to get out of it by sheer luck and through the other characters being kinder towards him than he would have been in their shoes. He also always thinks he knows better than anyone else and routinely overrides Nahri's wishes because he thinks he knows what's good for her.

Now, he also has positive traits, like he's a kind and patient teacher and has a code of honor etc. etc. but his narrative is clearly about radicalization and cycles of revenge and, well, toxic masculinity. There honestly isn't much else to him.

Ali is also stubborn and arrogant, quick to judge people who are different than him, and prone to foot-in-mouth incidents. He's more of a warrior poet type, equally badass but also bookish. BUT he's also Black and a practicing Muslim, which I guess puts some people off of him. The thing is, Ali is a wayyy more complex character than Dara, he has a whole-ass family and his relationship with every one of its members is lovingly and intricately drawn by the author, and he also has nuanced and complex thoughts about his code of ethics, the system of governance of his country, his religion, and many, many other things. He is put into a lot of interesting situations and forced to make many difficult choices and is just overall a more complex and interesting character.

And still! STILL! Like 80% of fanart and fan content for this series is all about Dara, a frankly quite unsympathetic character if you think about it for more than 0.2 seconds and the flattest one of the main three to boot. I would have been content to read Dara's canon story and recognize it for the well-crafted story it is and even empathize with him (he was quite young when all that happened to him) but the amount of passionate insistence by the fans that he is the poorest meow meow and so much hotter and more interesting than Ali makes me have an irrational and visceral negative reaction whenever I see him.

17. Superficial answer?

We need more Padmé Amidala/Asajj Ventress content. For some reason I really like the idea of the two of them together and there are like 4 fics with them on Ao3 of which 3 are orgy fics with 10 different characters. The reason I like the idea of the two of them together is totally not because they represent the two types of women I tend to develop crushes on and I'm just mashing my dolls together.

Deeper answer?

I really really love those posts where people apply whichever discipline they're working in or are passionate about to fandom works? Like that biologist who made up a theory according to which Wookies and Caminoans have a common ancestor?

I can never get enough of that and wish I could see it more often. I want more biologists squinting at the weird plants in the back of scifi series. I want political theorists to try to make sense of the politics in Vorkosigan. I want art historians to try to develop a theory of how art and fashion changed between Hot and GOT.

Make me a bastard child of your fandom special interest and your professional special interest. I will eat it up, I promise.

[transman-badass]

WIP Questionnaire

Tagged by @bee-barnes-author, thank you!

Gently tagging: @slenders1ckn3ss @kmlaney @bardicbeetle @astras-rambles @meerawrites @musingsbycaitlin @andromedaexists @dyrewrites and an open tag! Blank questions below the cut

For "Farewell Vesperos":

1. What is the first part of your WIP that you created? For the Runner Owen series as a whole, it was all spawned by a single image of a gothic city floating in the sky. It's changed a lot since then, over five years ago I think. I don't remember the first part I came up with for Farewell Vesperos itself, but it was probably the Vesperos family it's named after.

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be? For Runner Owen? Instrumental, for sure. Owen, my protagonist, walking through the foggy, crystal-lit streets of Theris. Being watched by people in brighter windows, or following him in the darkness. He turns around and lifts his lantern to see... Cut to the title screen.

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why? I adore Owen and his two enemies/LIs, Aurum and the Scarred Man. Explaining why is hard, but they and their chemistry just make me happy. There's also Locke and Nora, who are dear to my heart - I think some people I've talked about this with like Locke a little too much, but I don't blame them. For Farewell Vesperos in particular, GOD, I am loving how Lawrence Rhyne is shaping up. He's such a charming fuck.

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share? Kind of a confusing question. But uh, I've been told [combining the comments of different people] that Farewell Vesperos reads like Jane Eyre with an Agatha Christie type plot, so if you like either of that, you might like Farewell Vesperos. People who like darker fiction - hell, maybe even dark romance specifically! - might enjoy the dynamics between Owen and his two LIs. We'll see how that shapes up though.

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP? Settling on the plot. This is the third edition of this story I'm writing and if it evolves on me again I might just scrap the whole fucking thing.

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them! Not at this point, but the vampires in it can turn into animals. The Scarred Man in particular can become a raven.

7. How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.) There are trains, powered by crystals, a la Victorian steam trains. Most people get around with the draconics that humans have allied with, those being small dragons that cooperate with humans for their own reasons. They function like horses, except some of them can fly.

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now? Right now, I'm trying to figure out the villain's motivations. I have a terrible habit of imagining awesome things happening and then going 'but wait - I know this character would do this, but why?' Kind of annoying at this point.

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in? Well, there's the murder mystery! Lost heirs, arranged marriages, malicious vampires with dreams of conquest, wicked vampire hunters led by callous royalty who will do whatever ruthlessness needed protect humanity, enemies to lovers extreme slow burn [I'm talking over several books], spooky Victorian houses, lots of racially diverse characters, a transmasc protagonist navigating a society with specific gender roles for trans people... And just. Gothic fantasy in general.

10. What are your hopes for your WIP? I don't expect to get a lot of money writing this lmao, but I'm not writing it just for the money. I'm writing it because I know there's guys like me out there who want and need to see themselves as wanted - both as men, and as romantic and sexual partners. I want transmascs like me to feel desired. And I want people that aren't transmasc to really get that we are desirable, and attractive, as any other person. Ultimately though? I just hope people enjoy reading the damn thing and don't rip it to shreds over some stupid plot hole I missed pffft

1. What is the first part of your WIP that you created?

2. If your story was a TV show, what would the theme song/intro be?

3. What are your favorite characters that you made? Why?

4. What other pieces of media do you think your fan base would share?

5. What has been your biggest struggle with your WIP?

6. Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them!

7. How do your characters get around? (Ex. Trains, horses, cars, dragons, etc.)

8. What part of your WIP are you working on right now?

9. What aspects (tropes, maybe) of your WIP do you think will draw people in?

10. What are your hopes for your WIP?