#the snarky humor was funny at first but at this point it's just the only personality trait he has and it's BORING 😭

[daniclaytcn]

+

[dollishmehrayan]

WEIRD QUIRKS BATBOYS HAVE IN A RELATIONSHIP ── .✦

A/n: I can’t stop thinking about batboys who have gen z humor in relationships like please�� RELEASE ME. Like imagine these fighting crime then laughing while watching TikTok on a random Sunday?? (Tags: batboys x fem!reader weird quirks)

© dollishmehrayan — ( all rights reserved to me. These works cannot be reposted, translated, or modified. Thank you for understanding dollies! )

DICK GRAYSON ── .✦

Emotional Support Golden Retriever BF: Dick will send you a random “I love you” text with 15 heart emojis and the rainbow hearts in one line (ugh DISGUSTING 🤢) followed by “I miss you” five minutes later… even if you’re in the same room. (STUPID MILLENNIAL.)

Chaotic Selfies: He’s the type to send you selfies with the dumbest captions like, “Why am I kinda hot tho?” or “Babe, if you leave me, you’re blind.”

Random Dance Breaks: Dick will randomly break out in TikTok dances in the middle of your conversations. You’ll be arguing about what to have for dinner, and he’ll just hit this (here) saying, “Can’t be mad at this, babe.”

His Comedy Bit: Anytime you trip or stumble, Dick’s like, “Are you falling for me again?” Cue your eyeroll as he grins like he just invented comedy.

JASON TODD ── .✦

The "I Hate Everyone but You" BF: Jason sends you TikToks that scream “us” energy. Think of the “grumpy bf, sunshine gf” trope in meme form.

Trash-Talking Together: He doesn’t even pretend to like people. “He looks like wind whistles through his head,” he’ll whisper to you about someone in a coffee shop, and you’ll lose it laughing.

Petty King: He sends screenshots of your arguments back to you like, “Tell me I wasn’t right tho.” But he’ll also say, “We’re not fighting, I just think I’m funnier.”

Affection, Jason Style: If you’re cold, Jason’s like, “You should’ve brought a jacket,” then gives you his. But only after making a snarky comment like, “This makes me look good, doesn’t it?”

TIM DRAKE ── .✦

The “I Can’t Sleep” BF: Tim sends you memes at 3 a.m. with “this is us” captions. Then he sends another an hour later saying, “No fr, we need to sleep.”

Weird Intellectual Tangents: Tim will randomly look up from his laptop and ask, “Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or 100 duck-sized horses?” You’re too used to it at this point.

Social Media Detective: He likes your posts so fast it’s suspicious and always is the first comment with “❤️” . “How did you see that in two seconds?” you ask. He shrugs. “I have notifications on.”

Soft Nerd Energy: He makes playlists with names like “thinking about you in the Batcave” or “late-night snack runs with you.”

DAMIAN WAYNE ── .✦

Blunt Affection: Damian’s the type to say, “You look ridiculous,” but if anyone else says it, he’ll glare and be like, “She’s perfect.”

Random Acts of Service: He’s not into grand gestures, but suddenly your favorite snack is waiting on your desk, and he’ll just mutter, “Don’t make it a big deal.”

Reluctant Meme User: He pretends he’s too sophisticated for memes, but you’ll catch him smirking at one you sent. “It’s not that funny,” he’ll insist, but you know better.

Sass King: If you call him cute, he’ll say, “I know.” But if you ignore him for too long, he’ll sulk like, “I don’t require your attention. But also, why haven’t you looked at me in 10 minutes?”

[colleendoran]

Misunderstanding

I received a note from someone who was upset I “failed to cite Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics” in my research for my work on Neil Gaiman's Chivalry and the essays I wrote about it. 

I really appreciate that people want to make sure credit goes where it's due, and I have a lot of respect for Scott McCloud's accomplishment with his wonderful book.  

I haven't read it myself in some years, and didn't cite it in my articles because I didn't reference it. I don't even know where my copy is so I don't know what McCloud referenced, either. 

The information in my articles re: illuminated manuscripts and the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as other theories about the development of sequential art from prehistory, not only predate McCloud's work (and in fact, predate McCloud's birth,) but they are so common and so well known in comics circles that asking me to cite them seems as weird to me as asking me to cite the information that George Washington was the first President of the United States.

A part of me wonders if someone is trying to play, "Let's you and him fight." 

No.

But I’m happy to bring to your attention some reading material.

Stephen Becker in his 1959 work Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the Political Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons, and Animated Cartoons was among the first to discuss the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art. I read that book sometime in the 1980’s. I think a lot of people assume the Bayeux tapestry as comic art was McCloud’s idea, but we don’t all walk around with a reference library in our heads, so there you go. I can’t find my copy of Becker’s work to quote, but I did find an article by Arthur Asa Berger with a mention of the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art in the summer 1978 issue of The Wilson Quarterly.

My first exposure to the idea of comics as descendant of fine art was Maurice Horn’s 1976 The World Encyclopedia of Comics which was my first read re: comics history. I still have my tattered 1976 edition. 

While Horn scorned the idea that tapestries and manuscripts could be comic art (see, it was a matter of discussion way back then, so much so that authors were writing snarky asides to one another about it,) he believed the origin of sequential art was in the Renaissance sketches of Leonardo da Vinci - which I think everyone now agrees is kind of a bonkers idea.

I think Horn was just intent on elevating the comic art form by hooking up with da Vinci.

You go, boi.

Comics as descendant of art on scrolls is a very common theory, the easiest to trace being in Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Fred Schodt published in 1983 when I was still a teenager. I can't find my copy to show examples, but this text is still in print and you can go read it for yourself. 

I was introduced to manga by cartoonist Leslie Sternbergh and bought Schodt’s book at Books Kinokuniya on (I think) a trip to New York around the time of first publication of Schodt’s work. And years later took a trip to Japan with Fred Schodt and a group of cartoonists including Jeff Smith and Jules Fieffer, Nicole Hollander, and Denys Cowan as the guests of Tezuka Productions.

Here we all are.

So, I’m familiar with manga, see.

As for comics as descendant of cave paintings, hieroglyphics and ancient art in general, Will Eisner’s 1985 Comics and Sequential Art not only made all of those points, but made those points with comic art examples. Like these.

And this.

And this.

And more than a few words on this:

I find it amusing that someone is questioning why I didn’t cite McCloud when what you should probably be questioning is why more people don’t cite Eisner who produced his book eight years before McCloud published his and who is well known to have influenced McCloud.

Whatever. My book's autographed.

I also danced with Eisner. Eat your heart out.

Understanding Comics is a terrific work with huge advantages over every book (that I know of) about comics that came before: it taught comics entirely in the language of comics. 

But the discussion in it about the origins of comics and my work especially re: illuminated manuscripts/tapestries, did not originate with McCloud. I research illuminated manuscripts because it’s my hobby and it informs my art. 

I encourage everyone to read Understanding Comics because it is an outstanding work.

But it’s not the book that introduced me to the concepts of the development of comic art. It’s not even the point of origin of those concepts. So, there is no reason to cite it.

Also, shocking as it may seem, I occasionally come up with ideas on my own. While I'm younger than McCloud, I've actually been a comics pro longer than he has. So I've had plenty of opportunity to, you know, read things and toss things around, and decide for myself.

When I first read Chivalry and first begged Neil Gaiman to let me adapt it, my head full of the work of Alberto Sangorski and his art for Tennyson’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Understanding Comics hadn’t been published yet.

It's been a good twelve years since I last read McCloud's work, and I don't think I've spoken to him five times in the last three decades. But I'm pretty sure he never mentioned Sangorski.

I hope that clears everything up, and maybe introduces some of you to some works you might not be aware of.

Have a great day.

[wordy-little-witch]

Nonbinary Buggy Hours lezzgo

• Fairly early on, Buggy got the whole "I don't fit in" vibe but chalked it up to Being On A Crew Of Monsters. It's only after Oden and later Toki join that things begin piecing together - I'm dropping some cultural blending here but Wano for whatever reason has WILD mixed bag energy as far as folk tales go. Roger has some flavor of UK Energy, Rayleigh has old English vibes, etc etc. Buggy and Shanks got old seamen's tales as bedtime stories, shanties as lullabies, but the crew also would share children's stories and folk tales from THEIR youths as well. Some of them had mystical aspects as well and there were some fun stories with the fair folk or spirits and shape-shifting. Buggy loved those the most.

• Toki joining the crew led to some quick acclimation, but Buggy was hesitant - she was New and Unknown and so a Danger. But Toki was just.... so sweet about it all. Buggy went from I Don't Trust You At All to That's My Auntie within maybe a month. Complete night and day.

• Bugs' First Forray Into Makeup was via Toki. They do silly Self Care Evenings and include the babies and Oden is SO SMITTEN and Roger is DYING for a camera. ((Shanks is dying for other reasons, much to nearly everyone's amusement, poor kid)).

• Buggy's first instance of being Not A Boy was a result of a silly trick/prank done by the crew on Fishman Island. Some really fancy restaurant had a Mermaids Eat Free event going on so they decide to dress the kids up as mermaids - Shanks is down for the funnies, and is laughing and bright eyed and finding humor in it. Buggy is prickly and snarky and sassy the whole time until he saw himself in the mirror. He went... alarmingly quiet.

- Buggy was frankly stunned because the mer-species they went with was a clownfish, something he was absolutely LIVID about, but the orange complemented his skin and hair so beautifully. The orange, white and black hair pin holding his hair was a wonderful pop of color. The black eye liner made his eyes pop, the bronze-peach lip gloss was stunning and....

They felt so wonderful. So beautiful. So Free.

• Buggy wears orange a lot after that.

• when Buggy hesitantly asks Rayleigh and Roger if genders can be different in real life, Rayleigh is confused, Roger cackles- Buggy's scared for a moment until Roger point blank says "oh, it can be whatever you want it to, baby blue! We're pirates - who cares for allowance?" Then the captain gives that smile, the soft one, the one only those deemed His got to see, the one that peeled back layers of a person and saw to their cores, and asks, "Is there something you want to tell us, squirt?"

"I'm... not a boy."

"Okay. Are you a girl, then?"

"I don't think so."

"Alright! Ye' still want to go by Buggy?"

"Mmhmm."

"Alrighty then! You just let me know if anything comes up that you want to tell me, alright, baby bug?"

"Okay. Thanks, Captain!"

• yes, when Buggy leaves, Roger wails. Yes, Rayleigh gives a long suffering sigh and pays his back. And yes, Roger is crying hecausr that happy smile of Buggy's was simply "too cute, my heart! It's melting!! I'm a pirate puddle!!!"

• Buggy, with the room to experiment safely and explore, finally settles on nonbinary, neither gender really all that interesting, but pronouns don't matter either. Presentation is all about Presentation (<MegaMind Voice)

• Shanks calls Buggy his Clown Wife and Buggy refuses to admit to blushing every time it happens. He also drops lines like "I miss my clown wife" while sipping a bottle of rum and staring forlorn at the sea.

• Shanks also has The Range and will unashamedly be like "I don't understand people who say their wife is a bitch and they hate them.... my wife is a bitch and I like him SO MUCH!!!!"

• Luffy and Buggy: Enby to enby communication. Autism to autism antagonist.

• Buggy's crew BTW knows that their captain is simply Their Captain, pronouns your/majesty (/j), and nobody cares beyond the mild worry that a femme presenting Buggy will accidentally seduce another high ranked naval officer because somehow that ALWAYS HAPPENS. And the Navy is the MILDER concern. They're so stressed.

• lowkey considered clowncore meets punk bc I feel like Buggy would be. Scrumptious. Like that. Colors and patterns and leather and lace and studs and smiles and just - hhhhhhhh niche interest leave me aloooone-

• speaking of niche, I really love the idea of the Buggy pirates all having a passing knowledge of both circus acts and management, leading to random bouts of.... really smart insight. Like. Some outsider or newcomer is like "damn this right here is a Problem" and some average joe lookin ass in harlequin diamond patterned tights somersaults over, drops a nugget of wisdom and fucking absconds. Let The Circus Bastards Be Weird, I Love Them They Deserve It.

• also the crew drinks Respect Women Juice no I don't make the rules but I DO enforce them. They drink Respect Everyone Juice but women are simply the biggest of the recipients of the regard. Sex, color, religion, abled-ness, gender, sexuality - none of that matters. Everyone us equal. The buggy pirates support equal rights and equals lefts.

• Crocodile and Mihawk did NOT receive the memo at the beginning which led to some very wild miscommunications but it was resolved when it was revealed that Mihawk is just Like That To Everyone and Crocodile didn't even realize Kimi-san from the marketing department was a girl when he went off on her. Mihawk, when asked about his treatment of others, just owl blinked and made a vaguely threatening comment on how women, men, he didn't care, they all get cut the same. Crocodile just took a puff of his cigar with a monumental 'what the fuck' face. "I would say the same things to a man, a person, a woman, both, neither, I literally could not be paid to care about someone's crotch configuration or identity what the hell."

• Buggy wears a dress for the first time in Cross Guild's creation, and Crocodile breaks a fountain pen while Mihawk carefully sets his wine glass down hopes nobody notices the hairline fractures. Buggy is oblivious, as they tend to be.

• after some awkward half assed roundabout questioning, Mihawk and Crocodile just..... casually drop some dresses into Buggy's care or room, wordless and embarrassed but also lowkey threatening. Buggy is terrified until he realizes that some math isn't mathing and just asks. He's pretty decent at reading between the lines (#weaponizing-the-anxiety), and the first conclusion is wayyyyy off but the second conclusion causes clown.exe to crash HARD, to Alvida's delight and Galdino's suffering, but at least the nail polish is dry and the wine is good.

• it becomes a bit of a THING once the polycule is running, a subtle display of possessiveness. Collars don't really Work on Buggy, though he lowkey wishes they did, so this is a very good followup alternative

• Crocodile really likes putting Buggy in coordinated colors with his outfit or crisscross patterns both because Possessive and Claim but also because Buggy looks mouthwatering in it. Mihawk has much the same response for deep jewel tones, black and lace. Buggy adores the attention and the heated gazes, the little minx.

• there's precious little that really irks Buggy all in all, and she really does play the "am I man,am I a woman? No I'm a PYROMANIAC BURN BABY BURNNN-" card very well, good for them.

Incorrect quotes time

Alvida: as the crew's lady-

Buggy: hAH-

Alvida: I said lady, Buggy, ladies have CLASS, smth you LACK-

Buggy: oh okay fair carry on.

<><><><>

Boa: why are you not STONE?!

Buggy: I mean... you're cute but I really don't do girls, miss ma'am.

Boa: what

Buggy: also any aesthetic appreciation is drowned by the gender envy

Boa: wHaT?

<><><><><>

Buggy: I'm gay

Mohji: oh em gee what a shocker

Buggy: >:o0 rude!!!!!

Mohji: how is that rude, it's an astute observation-!!!!

<><><><><>

Rando: what are you

Buggy: I'm captain Buggy

Rano: no, what are you

Buggy: oh uh the flashy fool, genius jester, Buggy the Clown-

Rando: ugh, no, I mean what's in your pants!!

Buggy: Ohhh! Knives.

Rando: wha- OHGOD-!

Buggy, now holding bloodied knives: :3 teehee

<><><><><><>

Mihawk: stop calling me transphobic, I just told you to brush your teeth before I kissed you.

Crocodile, incredibly, blackout, shitfaced drunk: sad reptile sounds

Buggy, across the room, removing her makeup: I dunno, Hawky, sounds pretty transphobic to me~

Mihawk: I'm going to kill everyone in this room and then myself.

<><><><><><>

Buggy: I identify as a THREAT.

Croc, patting his lap without looking up, settling his hook around Buggy's waist when he settles on his lap obediently, smirks: a threat to my peace, absolutely.

<><><><><><>

Buggy: sometimes I wish I was a big tittied goth girlfriend, you know?

Mihawk, holding the remains of his garden sheers that he just crushed bare handed: do you ever think before you speak

Buggy: no why

<><><><><><>

Iva: you want me to what

Buggy: put the gender juice in the jars so I can take em like shots.

Iva:

Buggy:

Iva: genius idea, darling, I like your style

<><><><><><><>

Rouge: Buggy, sweetie, quick question.

Buggy: what's up, mama?

Rouge, hand on her swollen belly: do you wanna be Buggy-nii, Buggy-nee, or something else?

Buggy:

Rouge:

Buggy:

Rouge: oh don't cry-

[tokiwarcube]

Could I request general dating headcanons for skwisgaar and/or pickles? (What they're like in a relationship, ect) I'm literally so in love with them it's not even funny (Especially Skwisgaar)

Absolutely!! <3 Skwisgaar below the cut, with Pickles to follow sometime this week <3 enjoy!

Nathan HERE ; Pickles HERE ; Toki HERE ; Murderface HERE ; Charles HERE

I feel like Skwisgaar is a little guarded at first, but beneath it all he really craves love and affection. Some of it comes from a difficulty to express himself; part of it comes from a deep-rooted fear of rejection; and yet another part of it comes from a disbelief in the concept of love itself. It’s tricky.

This is all to say that does indeed fall first, but he won’t actually realize that himself until he’s in too deep to get out.

There’s these little things that you do that just send his brain haywire, and for a while, he just can’t wrap his head around it all. Like how reach for his hand beyond the purview of flashing cameras; how you press fleeting kisses against his temple over afternoon coffee; how you laugh so openly at his jokes; how you compliment him on things other than his guitar skills or prowess in bed… it absolutely boggles his mind, and he can’t get enough of it.

Once he’s really and truly comfortable though, he settles back into his suave and flirty self. If you disregard the general headassery, that is.

He really does have a fantastic sense of humor. Whenever he cracks a joke his eyes will dart over to you to take in your reaction. He also likes to murmur jokes against your lips when you kiss, just to feel you smile and laugh under your breath.

He also likes to lean down to murmur things in your ear at the fancier, obligatory parties. Sometimes its jokes, sometimes its snarky remarks about the venue and attendees, sometimes it’s flirts about how damn hot you look, and how the two of you should bail.

He loves to press smiling kisses to your wrist, and will take almost any excuse to touch you. Straightening your clothes, brushing away stray eyelashes, etc. He also very much enjoys having you in his lap, and will pull you into him at any opportunity. Yes, he can play like that.

He also just likes being near you. He can and will tell people to move so he can sit next to you, and he’ll contort himself through crowds to stand at your side when out on the town. It’s not an uncommon sight for reporters to catch you two in public, with his hand on the small of your back, or around your shoulders.

Skwisgaar is a total fucking diva as well, if that wasn’t obvious. He takes immaculate, and I mean immaculate, care of his hair. Do not take up his offers for shower sex, because there will never be enough hot water for him to do his hair routine afterwards. He says that he’s “not affecteds by the colds,” but it’s a complete lie, and he will be complaining about it afterwards.

In that same vein though… he loves having his hair played with. He’ll never admit it — especially not in front of anyone but you — but it’s one of his favorite things. You can tell in the way that his shoulders droop, eyes fluttering as he leans into you. How he’ll grab your hand and put it back if you stop. At some point or another the two of you form this habit, where he’ll lay his head in your lap at night so you can run your fingers through his locks. There’s very few times where Skwisgaar isn’t stressing himself out over his skills or an upcoming album, and this? This is one of those moments of reprieve. It also helps a lot with the insomnia that stems from all the stressors in his life.

(He has, however, woken up with a few braids in his hair that go unnoticed… until one of the boys points it out and makes fun of him. He still crawls into your lap at the end of the night, anyways.)

You’re the only one he’ll let do his corpsepaint before shows. If you ask he’ll always tell you something to the effect of how “these dildos amns’t know what they’re doings,” and that he “can’t risk injurings his hands” before he goes on stage, but you know he just likes having your undivided attention. You might have to kiss him a few times to get him to stop talking, though.

(No, he does not tell you when the paint smears onto your lips. Yes, he does grin when he sees paparazzi photos of you two at the after-party, paint still clinging to your lips. No, he will not apologize. Yes, it will happen again.)

He is indeed a jealous man, and it takes a lot of reassurance to sate him. It stems from that aforementioned fear of rejection, and subsequent abandonment. It’s not that he doesn’t trust you, it’s was just such a trend growing up with his mother that it’s hard to push it to the side. And unfortunately, for the few few months — if not years— he… doesn’t really want to talk about it. He will vehemently deny any jealousy the moment it’s even implied, but his angsty huffs and rapid sweep picking gives him away. Instead, show him how much you love him. He gets better about it with time, but for now, this is enough to put him back on the level.

Similarly, Skwisgaar tends to beat himself up pretty bad about his performance at shows. If a single note was flubbed, regardless of whether or not anyone caught it, he will be beating himself up about it for the rest of the night. Please reassure him, and do not let him get drunk at the afterparty. He will be the saddest drunk you’ve ever seen in your life, and carrying such a tall man back into bed is no easy feat, even if he does weigh 5lbs soaking wet.

On a happier note…

He’s usually a very clingy drunk. He’s already a bit handsy as is, but under the influence? He’s a limp noodle, slurring words of adoration between upturned lips.

He remembers all of your favorites, and the way you take your drinks. He always brings a matching mug over to you when he gets himself a new cup of coffee in the afternoon morning, and always seems to know exactly what you want whenever you’re hungry.

He does indeed write songs for you, and you catch little glimpses of them in progress when he’s “practicing.” Scales and string skips give rise to quiet melodies, changing just a fraction with each run through. When he finally plays the whole song for you, there’s no words, but the emotion in the chords say more than lyrics — more than an endless novel — ever could. Every song that follows the first is just as meaningful, too. But when the lights are low and you’re resting in each-others hold those same notes always come to the forefront of your mind, plucking I love you from the strings.

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

What Digital Circus Does What Helluvaverse Fails To Do: Make Me Invested In The Characters

Seriously, I think one thing that Digital circus does over Helluaverse is make you care about the characters. With Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss you at first could care about them, but that later gets diluted with poor writing decisions and focusing on certain screen hogs (*cough* Alastor and Stol-ass*cough). However, what I think it does well is give screen time as much as possible to all their characters and most of all don't clutter with new characters each time they get.

There is also a sense of sincere kindness that is lacking in both shows. I think as time as went on there really has been an emphasis on the meanspirited humor and lack of warmth from the characters. You have the narrative say the characters can care deep down but the episodes say otherwise at times. And again it sticks to focusing on characters of the day like Helluva Boss used to do before it turned into the Stolas show so you keep yourself rooted to the main cast while not losing focus.

And again another thing it reminds us what the main cast is and not fall into focusing on side characters who get more development than some of the main casts (*cough* Millie and Loona*cough*). And the focus on the NPC characters are great as well like Gummi who help flesh out the main characters and become truly endearing to others. The side characters in Hazbin/Helluva can be hit or miss because of the fact that often times the writing does little to fully give a reason to like them due to overcrowding everything. There is not time to breathe and no time to dwell on them. Also those who were hyped up for years become a nothing burger in the grand scheme of things which ends up being weak sauce. Another point for the circus.

And finally I think one thing it has over the Vivziepop's characters is that it's not a case full of jerkasses. The casts can have their rough edges but so far they are kind of nicer than many other people in many other adult animated series. They don't go away out to be assholes except Jax but in series it shows that has consequences in itself. And it shows that being a jerkass and trying to top it the next time doesn't make a character funny people begin to hate them more and more. So, as a result we would hate the characters in Digital Circus if they all acted like Jax but thankfully they don't and it helps. The characters in Vivziepop are just so card copies because they repeat the same snarky jerkass formula which becomes less creative. Jax being the only one makes him stand out and again makes the other characters as well when they show their kinder sides in contrast with him. As a result, it makes them more endearing as well.

[chamomiletealeaf]

hello! I’m writing for TF141 and I especially want to write for Gaz. However for some reason I keep just lumping him with the same personality as Soap. Tips ;-;??

Hi! I'm so flattered you asked me for advice omg :) Well, from what I've noticed in the game, I personally think Gaz is very intuitive. I think he watches from afar and knows what's gonna happen before it actually does, but doesn't give his opinion unless asked. Part of that I think is one, like I said before, his intuition, but also his training and guidance from Price. I personally think Gaz has had the best character development of all the Task Force since the MW reboot, because he goes from this frustrated recruit not knowing what is too much for him and how to handle it when it is too much, to someone so in control of himself that he's gained phenomenal intuition and self control. He's quiet, calm, an observer like Simon, but he actually is quite snarky (hence his cocky little jokes to Laswell and Price in the MW2 campaign). In the first MW reboot campaign I believe it was, where Gaz had to lead the doctor around the mercs from the security cameras I think showed exceptional intuition and self control since he was so sure she was getting out of there alive and what routes to take. I think that also had to do with just him being a good soldier, but he was very confident (even if it was a playable scene and not a cinematic one, we played as Gaz.) Gaz is always calm when he just knows a situation will turn out alright, and if he visibly panics? You better panic too lol. Soap also led Ghost around mercs in I believe the second campaign? Might have been the third but I believe Soap is just handy with tech due to his demolitions training. Both scenes are very similar, but I feel like Gaz works under pressure more efficiently than Soap mostly because of Soap's temper (Like the scene were Soap almost killed Makarov.)

Anyway, that's just me rambling about my pookie Gaz lol, but I would say the main similarities and differences between Soap and Gaz are:

Differences

Soap is impulsive, hot headed, loud, while Gaz is quiet, a man who thinks before he acts and makes sure everyone's on board with a plan before he jumps into action, intuitive, only gives his two cents when asked, a great advice giver and listener (that last one is just from what vibes I personally get from him rather than from observation throughout the campaigns.) And I think he handles pressure and his temper better.

Similarities

Both Gaz and Soap are both witty and silly. They both are able to find that childlike joy despite the horrors they witness. However, they both know when to be serious even if Soap is a bit more out of pocket than Gaz.

I love both so much, and I'm not saying Gaz is a better soldier than Soap by any means, but that they're different, and handle situations differently.

So when it comes to writing Gaz, I would take all of this into consideration such as: How would a calm approach to this situation be?/ How would observing this situation rather than engaging in it affect the characters?/ What advice could be given to other characters from a well thought out point of view (Gaz's pov)?

I feel like Gaz really thinks before he acts unlike Soap.

And if you wanna get more fun with it, I would ask myself: How would two knuckleheads (Gaz and Soap) observe and react to a funny or shocking situation while staying in character?/ How do clashing personalities bond? In this case, their humor is the same, so writing situations where the two of them are together and giggling at something silently in front of whoever they're laughing at I think is the perfect balance between observing and acting on impulse/lack of self control, thus blending their personalities together.

Sorry if that was a lot, I had a lot to say. I love talking about character personalities and actually evaluated Soap's personality for a college psychology of personality final lol (Got an A).

I hope all of my yapping helps at least a little bit!

[lover-of-mine]

Your points on the dry humor argument are spot on, I feel like even the delivery of his dry jokes are SO DRY that they don't even come across as humorous. Eddie can a little snide and snarky "But his wedding is about you?" "Can't imagine why?" the difference is Eddie knows Buck, and knows when and how to build him up, and when it's okay to mess with him and crack a joke. Like you can say dry humor all day long but if what you're saying doesn't come across as funny but just comes across as negative or dismissive, it doesn't matter that it's your style of humor and you thought it funny. It reminds me of people who say mean things and then say "I'm not being mean I'm being honest"

Yeah, the whole argument feels a lot like "I'm not being mean I'm just being honest" but I think a lot of the comparison with Eddie falls flat because Buck and Eddie have an emotional connection and the timing of the delivery of the Eddie ones, I think the first one I can think of (and the only one I think can be seen as even remotely equivalent because even ignoring the shipping aspect of buddie, they are best friends and comparing the kink joke to the wedding one for instance doesn't work because Buck has know T for what? A few weeks? But Buck and Eddie have a close relationship for years, Buck knows Eddie is messing with him the same way the audience knows it because we have been witnessing it for a while, so we need to pick something that happens in s2) is during the earthquake when Buck is rambling facts about security measures implemented to keep kids safe during a quake and Eddie does his little "I thought that was a high rise" because, yes, Eddie is throwing a dry joke into an otherwise serious situation and it could be painted as dismissive in the wrong circumstances, but we saw Buck and Eddie having a conversation before that clued us into Eddie's state of mind and Eddie is doing that by saying a stat Buck has mentioned before but not specifically to Eddie, so it also gives the context that while Eddie is, by all intents and purposes, making fun of Buck, he's doing so by showing he pays attention to what Buck says, enough of it that he's actually retaining it. And that's the thing the delivery of the kink joke fails in. Since we were not shown a lot of emotional understanding between Buck and T, it is hard to look at the way it happened and not interpret it as dismissive. It changed the tone of the scene in a very weird way and we don't have enough on bt to understand that as part of the way they communicate because we haven't seen them communicate at all, so we don't have a baseline, so it feels weird to have that established as the baseline instead.

[enbyleighlines]

FE Twitter has been sharing their Hot Takes regarding all the possible paired endings in Radiant Dawn, so I thought I’d do that, too. I’ll go top to bottom, left to right, and rank each pairing out of 5.

Micaiah/Sothe: 4.5/5

Controversial opinion, but I like this pairing! I know it’s Problematic™️ because of the pseudo-incest, but as far as I’m concerned, this pairing is downright tame according to Fire Emblem standards. Plus I just like their interactions. I like that Sothe is like the only person that Micaiah gets all snarky with. I like that Micaiah gets so irrationally jealous over Sothe interacting with or mentioning anyone who isn’t her. Usually Micaiah is just the picture perfect heroine: virtuous, soft-spoken, self-sacrificial, compassionate. But with Sothe, Micaiah allows herself to be jealous and petty, and I love that.

Ike/Ranulf: 4.5/5

Wonderful pairing! Honestly, I only deducted points because, if you choose to go for the Ike/Ranulf paired ending, it locks the player out of some really cool content in the final chapters. I really wish Ike was allowed to have both paired endings. As much as I love Ike/Soren, I also adore how fun and flirtatious Ike and Ranulf’s interactions can be. Ike is usually such a serious person, but Ranulf helps to bring out Ike’s sense of humor, showing us a side of Ike we don’t see otherwise. The chemistry between the two of them is so good.

Ike/Soren: 5/5

The OTP. Perfection in every way. Some people complain that they’re too co-dependent, but damn, isn’t that the appeal? They’re literally the definition of soulmates. And it’s not one-sided, Ike needs Soren as much as Soren needs Ike. They’re a powerful duo, sharing similar values while also complementing one another. Ike is action-oriented and thinks of the big picture, forever striving towards what he wants to achieve. Soren is detail-oriented, and carefully considers every option. The trust between them is so strong. And even then, their relationship isn’t perfect. The arc they go through together, especially in PoR, is so bittersweet. Grief, past trauma, and new revelations put a strain on their friendship, causing Soren to become distant, and Ike frequently mentions it to anyone who will listen. In fact, if you don’t do all three Ike/Soren support conversations, then that plot thread just seemingly resolves itself off-screen, which I have always found funny. Even the game wants you to pair them together.

Jill/Haar: 0/5

The worst paired ending in Tellius. Haar is like twice her age and also long-time friends with Jill’s dad. Haar probably knew Jill when she was in diapers. Moving on…

Astrid/Makalov: 0.5/5

If their paired ending didn’t explicitly state that Makalov never changed his ways, then this pairing might not be so bad. I can sort of understand the appeal of a couple where one person is hated by everyone and the other is the one person who believes in them, but… as it is, it just serves to paint Astrid as a moron for consistently putting up with Makalov’s crap.

Leanne/Naesala: 4.5/5

Very cute pairing! I love that they were childhood friends, and I love that Naesala has a soft spot for her. I love that Leanne is the only person who can see how much Naesala is suffering. And I love that, for all her sweet and naive nature, Leanne has a weakness for bad boys. It’s not too surprising, once you translate all her dialogue. Leanne can be very sassy! Reyson isn’t the only royal heron with a rebellious streak. Just a great pairing all around.

Mist/Boyd: 5/5

I’ll admit, I am a big fan of this pairing. I just love the three brothers, and their role in the Greil Mercs, and that includes the unique dynamic between Mist and Boyd! It’s established from the first chapter of PoR that Boyd’s love language is dunking on people. He’s the perfect encapsulation of 2000’s teens, just constantly trying to bond with people through sick burns. It’s a good thing that Boyd is surrounded by people who are excellent at throwing shade right back at him. But no one is as good at it as Mist. Mist dunks on Boyd like she’s getting paid to do it. Their constant back-and-forth is so fun. And yet, even with all their bickering, it’s still made clear that Boyd and Mist care a lot about one another. I love them so much.

Elincia/Geoffrey: 3.5/5

I honestly don’t have strong feelings about this pairing, but it is perfectly wholesome and cute. I like that Geoffrey is normally pretty calm and capable, but he becomes a worrywart when it comes to Elincia’s safety. He does have some good malewife potential, ngl. And so yeah, Geoffrey is kinda boring, but he makes Elincia happy, and Elincia deserves to be happy.

Lucia/Bastian: 1.5/5

Now, I do like that their relationship isn’t explicitly romantic. Their paired ending specifically mentions Lucia having a continuous “affair” with Bastian, which suggests a more friends with benefits situation. However, I’m still not a fan, especially with the way their dynamic in-game seems to be Bastian just trying to wear Lucia down like a self-proclaimed nice guy who complains about being friendzoned. I mean, he’s more classy about it, but still. Lucia deserves better.

So yeah! That’s my final ranking on every paired ending in Radiant Dawn. To end this post, I’m just gonna list some ships that I think should have gotten a paired ending:

Tibarn/Reyson

Nailah/Rafiel

Oscar/Kieran

Sigrun/Tanith

Micaiah/Pelleas

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

[penna-nomen]

9 Favorite Books

Thanks for the tag @cultofsappho!

It was a pleasure to think about favorites, and it was a challenge. What can I say? English major who devours books, with 36 books marked as comfort reads in the Libby app! My favorites change at least monthly… So I went with some that are favorites because of the memories attached / impact on my life, and some that are favorite examples of a theme I enjoy.

Harold and the Purple Crayon series by Crockett Johnson - These are the first books I remember my Mom reading to me, and they're associated with my first memories of visiting a library. A couple of years ago I picked them up again to see if they were as delightful as I remembered, and they were! The themes of creativity wrapped themselves around my heart.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen - This was the book that shook my world my first year in college, when I'd decided that "literature" meant depressing. It was a shock to realize the book really was SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY. This and books inspired by it are frequent re-reads for me. Runner up is If On a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino, which I read my senior year.

The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett - My best friend in college recommended this when I mentioned that I was only reading class assignments and I'd gotten out of the habit of pleasure reading. The Discworld series pulled me back into reading for fun, and it inspired me to write again, so it will always have a place in my heart. Plus, Pratchett's style and sense of humor are truly amazing. And in case you're wondering, yes, I love Good Omens, too.

Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz - This represents my post-college romance phase. I picked this one because of the humor, the hints of sci-fi elements, and the fact that JAK's Seattle settings were one of the things that convinced me I'd like living in the Pacific Northwest. Runner up from my romance phase is Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie. I just this summer heard that she has new books out, and I really hope the new ones live up to my memories of snarky humor.

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li - Now we're moving on to themes and tropes I love. As a writer in the White Collar fandom, it's not a big surprise that I love a good heist story, and this one had excellent twists. Runner up is Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, which has a fantasy/fairy tale setting.

Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble by Alexis Hall - This represents my love of stories about cooking and baking. Extra ingredients include romance, humor, and a well-balanced story about mental health. I've enjoyed several books by Alexis Hall, and I'm looking forward to reading more.

The Twelve Points of Caleb Canto by copperbadge on AO3 - Music, musicians, singers -- love, love love these elements. Plus a sweet love story for a neurodiverse character. Runner up is the Tinkered Starsong series by Gail Carriger -- so far I've read the first two books in the trilogy, and it's a fun combo of pop singers and sci-fi.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - I adore the whole Murderbot series, but if I had to pick a favorite, this would be it. This fills my need for sci-fi and snarky narrators, and sometimes it's nice to take a break from romances with an aroace lead character. And the audiobooks narrated by Kevin R Free perfectly capture the distinctive voice of Murderbot. These books got me through the time last year when I needed to escape from a toxic job and needed an escape from the pressures of job interviews. And I keep listening to the audiobooks now that I’m in a great job, because they're such perfection.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune - This fills my need for gentle stories with limited conflict, the kind of stories that teachers used to tell me weren't valid. I have so many favorites in this category! Runners up include: A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Legends & Lattes, and Sal & Gabi Break the Universe.

Such a pleasure to think about books I love!

I'll gently tag @edupunkn00b and @silbrith and @thesymphonytrue if you want to participate

[old-danmei-fan]

Just finished volume 3 of Heaven Official's Blessing and even though the first half was a little hard to read for me, I Ioved it. There's such a great mix of humor, trauma, fighting, and love.

I'm going to post my notes/ all the random shit that popped into my head as I read from volume 3 below the cut so don't read below if you don't want spoilers.

Also, before my notes, I know who Jun Wu is and more or less his roll in XL's journey so I make references to him in my notes when I shouldn't know what's going on with him at this point.

I would try to block out the whole your country dying and literally nothing you do helps thing too XL

Xianle state preceptor really got to the point with the whole you "ascended too soon because all your people are still alive" bit. I get it where he's coming from, but damn that was a lil harsh.

I love that XL is of the mind set of "what the fuck is the point of being a god if I don't help my people?" I was kinda wondering the same thing my dude.

This is the first series where I am having to put the book down and walk away after every 10 pages. Poor XL is making every possible bad decision he can even with everyone screaming at him not to.

JFC the land of tenders was NOT what I was expecting 😬

I understand why HC is such a snarky prick to FX and MQ lol they were always such assholes to the poor lil guy. He just wanted to make heart eye and protect his crown prince.

Ok so Lang Ying is obviously working with white no face (jun wu), but he's obviously gotta be someone in present day right? I feel like he's too prominent at the moment to not come back in the present.

I'm fucking stupid lol Lang Ying -> Lang Qingqiu. Lang Ying is obviously going to be the first king of Yong'an

Lil soldier kinda disappeared?

Man body horror is gonna be an ongoing theme throughout this huh?

XL is really too pure for this world.

Damnit Qi rong. You and your big mouth

FX - "that brat will definitely grow up to be a good man" bro aren't you the one that kicked him out of the army lol

Oh it's because he's just happy not everyone hates XL 🤣

Hoo boy. 1st half of volume 3 is a doozy. Everyone is getting a big ol helping of trauma and suffering. Hong'er/ Lil soldier breaks my heart when he's telling XL he won't forget him.

Lmfao XL threatening QR with siccing HC on him

I do not like Shi Wudu 😡

Lmfao HC being so extra for his man at the festival he wrote a play and sent up 3k lanterns. Pei ming being all I told you guys HC didn't take XL to be mean 😏

Pei Ming is like that himbo that everyone doesn't like cause he's fucks around, but then you talk to him and he's kinda funny.

Hahahahahaha HC and XLs "first kiss" is killing me. XL pretty much saying he'd stab anyone who did that to him but HC and he's confused about why. Hmm I wonder why XL?

Oh this poor boy lol getting so flustered he's trying to run away only to be caught because he's bleeding from his foot. Poor guy is panicking over his cursed shackle on his ankle isn't he 🥺

I'm so glad the second half of volume 3 is not quite as traumatic as the first.

Dying at everyone thinking that ghost baby is Pei Ming's

I don't like Jun Wu's sword. That's icky

☹️

And then on the flip side, Rouye and E-Ming fighting for XLs attention is adorable lol

Poor Qi Rong being subjected to the torture of watching XL and HC flirt. Maybe if they laid it on a little thicker they could get him to leave the body he's in.

[inordinaries]

( choi wooshik, thirty4, cismale, he/him ) ☼ i know it’s a small town, but i run into JORDAN CHO every time i go to THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD. it’s like they practically live there and not CINDERSAP FOREST for A YEAR. it must be because they’re HEADSTRONG and CURIOUS. come to think of it, that’s probably why they’re an ADVENTURER too. but i did hear they want to DISCOVER A NEW SPECIES ON GINGER ISLAND, and sometimes they like to MAKE SEASHELL ART. rumor has it they also like CINDERCLOWN SHOES, but dislike HORSERADISH. what do you think? —— STATS, PINTEREST.

i. history.

jordan was born april 2, 1990 in stardew valley, where he spent a good chunk of his early life. he has an older sister and a younger brother, making him the lucky middle child <3

didn't necessarily have a bad upbringing, but didn't necessarily have a good one, either -- from a young age, his main goals were to be a really good husband and a really good father someday; basically take care of his family in a way that his own parents didn't. up until his mid-teens, he was quiet, but very reliable & "wise beyond his years". was often a voice of reason for his mom and siblings when they needed to vent.

his own wants and needs went unanswered a lot, not necessarily intentionally, but just b/c he was never the type the express what he needed or wanted; his priority was making sure other people were taken care of.

however, he kind of started to view himself as a victim -- didn't exactly realize he was perpetuating the way he was treated, and as he got a little older, he became angry with the people around him. started being kind of shitty, half hormones and half suppressed emotions; kind of hot and cold, still wanted to support his family but wld be snarky a lot and hurt feelings, and then just "make up for it" through acts of service or something along those lines instead of apologizing, which caused his relationships to start to deteriorate. which resulted in MORE anger and frustration because idt he fully realized the harm he was causing, and consequently also didn't understand why ppl seemed more cautious/distant around him.

he moved to zuzu city for college @ 19, where he majored in ecology. being in a new environment / around new people caused him to do a lot of self-revelation, and he realized he didn't exactly like who he was; what does this mean for him? self-reinvention!

started coping thru humor; trained himself not exactly to find silver linings, but to at least find something funny in the mundane & to say 'yes' if there's no real reason to say 'no', so he had a good time in college and ultimately met his (now ex) wife there. she viewed him as someone funny, but smart & determined.

they got married in 2012 and had their first/only child in 2013, a girl named stella. for a while, things were really good!!!!!!! the family stayed in zuzu city, but as time passed by, jordan traveled more & more often, spending an increasing amt of time away from home in the name of "work" (re: adventuring) which his wife was doubtful of because he never seemed to bring much money home, and age wasn't making him any more serious or responsible. tldr the reasons that she fell in love with him became reasons for her to be irritated by him, and he rly wasn't providing financially or emotionally for his family with how often he was gone and how little he had to show for it - was not realizing his aforementioned dreams of being a good husband and good father.

eventually divorced in 2023, and very shortly after moved back to stardew valley, where he now resides in a cabin in cindersap forest. has not been coping with the divorce very well; has consequently thrown himself pretty much completely into his work. at this point, he has a number of sponsorships, so he gets by pretty alright.

he gets his daughter on her school breaks & for holidays and spends the entire time trying to impress her, as she is unfortunately getting to the age where she's critical & sarcastic. gets his feelings hurt a lot. considers it karmic retribution.

when he doesn't have his daughter, he's usually alone. despite being (physically) closer to his family again, he still hasn't exactly repaired his relationships with them & lacks the consistency to maintain friendships. copes with humor now more than ever; is a very goofy guy & strives to make people laugh, as he feels there's not much else he can offer. but he doesn't write or visit his friends often, so most of his connections kind of fizzle out and all he's left with is shallow, base-level stuff.

likes to stay busy so he doesn't have to face the increasingly obvious matter at hand: he chases away all the people who give a shit about him. likes anything creative and/or silly; if he's not working (which, mind you, he's currently set on discovering a new species on ginger island, as he's convinced he saw something yet to be identified a few months back) he's probably making seashell art (which his daughter HATES), sketching the birds and misc other critters he sees, laying in the grass and repeating affirmations to himself, laughing at his own jokes, or playing the spoons. is not serious AT ALL & romanticizes that fact for himself whilst his family begs and pleads for him to grow up, recalling the reliable guy he used to be.

[sunnyartsstudio]

Invincible is pretty great.

So, I recently finished Invincible and I really enjoyed it. Most of the characters and character dynamics were fun and well-written. The Greysons are very believable as a family so that everything that transpires between them feels more natural and impactful. The dramatic moments work really well, and I appreciate this show actually delving into the more traumatic aspects that would naturally come with superheroing. Most elements brought into the show also have satisfying payoff and reincorporations, so most of the things that feel like they’re happening just to happen actually do have a purpose in the overall narrative. The humor is far more hit than miss. The performances are fantastic, and the animation is decent. This is also the only time I’ve ever agreed with Prime’s 18+ rating. Believe me when I say this show is NOT for kids.

There aren’t too many cons I have here except:

1) Amber. Is insufferable. 2) While the violence typically serves a purpose, there are times where, the point has been gotten across and it becomes a bit unnecessary and overbearing.  3) William’s personality is basically just T H E G A Y F R I E N D. His very first interaction with Mark establishes this very clearly and it’s just kind of sad. He gets a tiny bit more personality as he gets more screentime, but this is still what he boils down to. His grief when Rick gets kidnapped is hard to believe when the only traits he liked about Rick that he listed beforehand are all physical. (Go ahead and pretend he’s straight and describing a girl and you’ll see why I find it so gross, if you don’t already.) I’m actually not even sure why he and Mark are friends. They have zero common interests (at least none that we see during any of the eight episodes) and half of William’s dialogue when he’s with Mark is talking about how hot guys are while the other half is being sassy/snarky (mostly towards Mark). He’s not exactly toxic, but I don’t understand why he chooses to hang out with Mark and vice versa when they have no common ground. It feels like he’s there solely to give Mark a “funny/snarky best friend” instead of having any actual thought put into their friendship or William’s character.   4) The pop songs are VERY hit or miss. I won’t be getting the soundtrack any time soon. 

I hope season 2 brings the same quality to the table and maybe even improves William’s character and makes Amber tolerable.

[chasingpj]

HEYY OMG CONGRATS ON 1K <333

can i have a **bow and arrow emoji** please? she/her, cabin 6 (athena cabin), no powers but preferred weapons are throwing knives. uhh idk what else to say, ig im pretty intelligent and very, very sarcastic?? ive also been told that im funny, and in terms of mbti im an estp, enneagram type 8, and a capricorn if any of that helps lol. tysm, and congrats again!! oh yeah and i have adhd, which is one of the reasons why i love pjo sm loll <3 tysm!!

HEYYY! Thank you so much!

okay first of all, you being a capricorn and then reading your personality type matches up so well lmao anyways, i hope you enjoy this!

Cabin/Friends

i can see the athena cabin is a very tight knit group because you guys can truly regard each other as like-minded individuals

with that being said, i think your closest friendships are with your siblings

judging from your personality though, i think you and annabeth would be pretty close! 

annabeth is the one who does your orientation and sets you up with everything you need 

at first the two of you were very neutral to each other as you settled in 

the beginning of your friendship started in mythology class when Chiron asked about a myth you really enjoyed

you raised your hand at the same time as annabeth did and chiron took a moment to decide who he was going to pick 

he picked you

it only felt right since this was your first time in class... 

annabeth had already spoken plenty this year

you shared some details and answered his question flawlessly

but annabeth, of course, had to chime in

suddenly, you were in this back and forth with her. a silent competition on who knew more about the topic 

you won, obvs...

and annabeth is a sore loser

from then on, you and your sister had started your friendly, but not so friendly competition and slowly, it did bring you closer to her

Finding your Niche

you found your preferred weapon from your competition with annabeth as well 

even though you just arrived, you confidently sparred with her after some lessons 

you got beat up a few times

actually, a lot 

but it only motivated you to get better

at some point, you kinda felt turned off by the whole sword fighting thing

it didn't feel right and when you told annabeth, she suggested maybe you should try archery

you had some impressive aim

the apollo kids were quick to claim you as their surrogate sister

with some training, you were doing well with a bow and arrow but after a while, it didn’t feel right either

it wasn’t until you took it upon yourself to head to the armory

you figured that maybe looking at the many options would help since the first few times you were in there, you had quickly decided on a sword or the bow and arrows 

nyssa saw you at the displays of weapons  

as time passed and you were still there, she decided maybe she could help you

you say it was fate because in her hands was a sling that was designed to hold four small daggers across your chest 

something in your brain just clicked and she was more than willing to give it to you, happy you were so excited for something she made

It was history from then on, you picked your daggers with care and soon you were flinging them at bullseyes with precision 

Reputation at Camp

everyone knows you and Annabeth are best friends

at some point, in your early years at camp, there wasn’t a time where someone saw you two apart

as you flourish into your own person however, i think you’d be recognize for your leadership skills, and your humor

i think the Stoll's would have a good time around you

the banter would be unmatched and your snarky, witty remarks definitely keep them entertained

with the younger campers, you’ve volunteered enough for programs and events at camp so they all know you 

a lot of them look up to you, hoping they’d be as confident and as good as a fighter as you

especially during SOM when the borders where down, you played a big role  

capture the flag was hard for you to participate at first because you can’t really throw knives without impaling people

beckendorf gave you a solution though and made you replicas of your daggers but they’re completely plastic and blunt

so you’re also known at the girl who throws plastic daggers at people during capture the flag lmao

the best part is that some of the campers will make a scene as if they’ve actually been impaled and throw themselves on the floor

it’s always fun 

still training in the archery fields, you’ve established yourself with the apollo campers pretty well 

they’re always a fun crowd to hang out 

they make you participate in karaoke, always 

also reprimand you when you’ve been up studying, or reading all night 

fletcher makes a comment on your eyebags, literally all the time, even if you’ve had a good night's rest

overall, you’d be well acquainted with everybody

being close with annabeth means you took on many projects together and it helped setting your reputation 

Quest

your first quest would be a few years into camp 

unlike annabeth, you weren’t as eager but a part of you knew you were ready

you were strong and capable in your weaponry and fought plenty of monsters at this point 

you fought annabeth pretty often and recently, you’ve been kicking her ass so you were definitely a lot more confident 

the quest was to retrieve Athena’s aegis breastplate 

It was a pretty big deal 

Especially since you were specifically chosen for it 

Annabeth was excited for you, willing to go but she was caught up with Percy’s stuff

Chiron told you to choose wisely about who would come with you but you already had two in mind

Bringing your brother, Malcolm was a no brainer 

After you and Annabeth he was the best fighter in the cabin and being older, he had a lot of knowledge that could be useful 

Your second? 

Connor Stoll

It was only right 

Who would understand a thief more than a thief himself?

Connor was also so hype to get on a quest

Overall, it was pretty smooth 

If you ignore the few hours you were trapped a cell 

Which could have been completely avoidable if Connor had noticed the bobby pins in your hair sooner 

By the end of the quest, Malcolm was sick of you two 

Between you and Connor feeding off each other’s energy causing you two to be absolute menaces and then bickering on top of that? He was so ready to get this done

After a long journey out west and then a long journey back to NYC, you had returned the shield 

Athena had thanked you and a few days later, you were gifted a breastplate that was identical to the one you retrieved for her 

Annabeth was a little jealous 

But couldn’t help and geek out with you about how cool it was

Legacy

Your quest really set you on the map

I mean, you have a really bad ass piece of armor that you wore all the time 

The face of aegis right on the front of your body, it’s intimidating 

You helped lead in the wars as well 

In the Battle of Manhattan, you were leading the chunk of CHB on the other side of the city and wiped out plenty of monsters

All in all, you have the reputation of being a great leader and soldier 

The younger campers in your cabin and even the campers that will come years later will know your name along with Annabeth 

Plenty of them strive to be recognized by your mother and hope to receive such an honorable gift such as your breastplate 

When you leave for New Rome and retire from the demigod life, you can be proud of the reputation you left behind 

[aanteater-nose]

Here I go. So about the new Velma series. Not only was I very excited to see Glenn Howerton in a voice acting role, but the concept for an adult animated scooby doo was actually pretty appealing to me. The show would’ve been ripe for the now-adult audience who grew up in the golden age of Scooby Doo TV (not to mention it’s kinda timeless). When I first saw the poster art for Velma I actually really liked it. The art style and animation is cool and the colors are vibrant, giving a very “spooky” vibe to the show nothing short of the mystery gang aesthetic. Really, an adult scooby doo could’ve been so fun; shaggy and scooby get the munchies and end up driving to a taco bell late at night only to find it’s haunted or some shit like that. But of course, as soon as I saw that we were race-swapping every character (not only that but Velma is literally just Mindy Khaling cosplaying as Velma) I knew to have my doubts about what this series would be trying to accomplish. Was I gonna get a good show with interesting concepts and humorous writing...or some “look how diverse we are, give us your money” bullshit. Yeah it’s pretty clear which one. 

I think we can all agree that comedy is subjective but holy shit. the humor and writing for Velma is just terrible. The show concerns itself so much with appearing edgy, witty, and (hate the use of the word but “woke”). It’s like if you sent a research team to twitter and had it come back with a script. Not to mention Mindy Khaling herself is uh, how you say, not funny? I honestly don’t know what I expected from her when I heard she’d be a big part in the Velma series, literally every show she’s ever helped produce or act in, she’s playing a self-insert of herself and her own life events. All. the time. There’s this self-pitying, snarky attitude that follows her wherever she goes, and unfortunately, that means the character Velma will be subjected to this misery as well. 

Once again, it’s just the writing that is the worst part of this project. As a big fan of shows like Arrested Development and It’s Always Sunny, I love watching characters who are just awful people committing awful acts. However, in order for those characters to be loved, the writing has to actually be good. Watching the small clips of Velma I’ve seen, I feel like I’m constantly being lectured by that one kid in class who tries to one-up every joke ever told. The show (and mostly Mindy) tries to show off how “smart” and comically sarcastic they are. As for the race-swapping of every character but Fred (who conveniently stays white so that the gang can make fun of his heterosexual, small dick, male whiteness) Mindy claims it’s because she identified so much with Velma that she felt race did not need to be tied into the character at all...which is contradicting because if that were so, why not leave the character as is? Regardless, for a show that claims to care so little about race, there are a lot of race jokes. (they couldn’t even make those funny either). 

I ofc cannot fail to mention the fake gay representation of Daphne and Velma. Anyone who’s ever watched scooby doo has had their own theories about velma and daphne, one of which being they were gay, so yeah that’s not a new concept. However, it’s so clear to see this show just lazily throwing shit in because it’s trendy. Not to mention anyone who attacks a show so full of minority “representation” will be attacked online and the creators know this. Essentially, all the inclusivity Velma parades is an obvious attempt to rack up brownie points, please do not accept this as real representation of any kind. 

So yeah anyways in conclusion, the race-swapping and queer baiting is a cash grab, the writing is atrocious, and the main character is an asshole with no redeemable qualities doubling as a self-insert of Mindy. The fact that they already got renewed for a S2 despite the overwhelming backlash just shows that it expects to survive on hatewatching alone. 

[elshells]

Happy Storyteller Saturday, and by the way, thanks for giving me a follow!

What are your favorite characters in your current WIP? Do you have a type of scene you like the most to write and another that you like the least? What are your character's most unique quirks in their personality and how they affect their relationships, if they do?

Happy Storyteller Saturday! And right back at you with the follow, I really appreciate it 💕

What are your favorite characters in your current WIP?

I love them all for different reasons. Here's what I have to say about the main cast of Agent Ace <3 Sophia: She's such a badass, and she refuses to give up. No matter how many times she gets knocked down, she always gets back up. Janus: He's snarky, sarcastic, and honestly the most funny, which makes him one one of my favorite characters to write into any given scene. Harley: She's just an ordinary kid who keeps ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but she still wants to help make things right. Jade: She's a sweetheart who only thinks the best of people. All I want is to make her happy because she deserves the world. Max: He's awkward and blunt but also down-to-earth—out of all of these characters I think she's the most like me.

2. Do you have a type of scene you like the most to write and another that you like the least?

I love dialogue, so be prepared to read lot of it!! Also most kinds of action or fight scenes are soooo much fun to write—I find that it's the best time to engage with all five senses, which I also enjoy sprinkling into my work. Meanwhile, I always dread writing those mundane scenes that act as the 'buildup' to a bigger scene. The calm before the storm, if you will. They're usually less solid in my head, and sometimes it can feel like an obstacle in my path that keeps me from writing the juicy parts.

3. What are your character's most unique quirks in their personality and how they affect their relationships, if they do?

Sophia: She's not overly touchy-feeling, but she's deeply protective of others, to the point of endangering herself. Janus: He's extremely perceptive of other people, which means he knows exactly how to get under anyone's skin. Harley: She has poor impulse control, and her fight-or-flight response is 'fuck around and find out.' Jade: She has a strong sense of justice, which means she tends to put her friends needs first and has to be reminded to take care of herself. Max: He takes himself way too seriously and has a dry sense of humor, but anytime he's funny, it's almost never on purpose.