#the usual cast of characters
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Pocketful of Soul by Jenrose
Time-travel fix-it (mostly CQL) 60 Chapters 182k words
Mo Xuanyu flees, walking out, then running as soon as he’s clear.
He runs up the path, drawing in resentful energy as he goes to keep himself from falling, and dives into the cave, where he shoves everything he owns and the notes, everything but the child’s clothes, into qiankun bags, into his clothing. He stays in the dress, and asks the spirits where one could hide.
Flee, flee… They have all gone to Nightless City. Fly away, we will protect him, we will hide him, we’ll keep him safe until until until…
“Can you carry me out of here?” he asks. “Carry me so I don’t leave tracks? Make this place look unused? Delay them?”
A fair trade for the music…
“The music was a gift,” he says, but his feet leave the ground, and there is a rushing darkness, and he is carried on the wind, north and away.
As Pocketful of Soul begins, Mo Xuanyu arrives at Jinlintai at the age of 14. Over the next five years, we see that events play out as in canon. The personal events Mo Xuanyu experiences cover a wide range of topics, from failing attempts at cultivation to becoming a part of research projects for his father and half-brother, Jin Guangyao. As he gains more experience, he is given more to do, from learning to play the dizi to working through the collected notes of the Yiling Patriarch and captured Wen documents. After he attempts to warn his half-sister that he is her brother, he is cast out of Jinlintai, thrown down the stairs, and ends up waking in a merchant's cart on his way to Mo Manor. Banished.
With the knowledge and character of Mo Xuanyu established, we are then taken through escape, arrival in the Burial Mounds, escape, and arrival in Nightless City. It is at this point that the story really begins, as we learn why there was no body found at the foot of the cliff from which Wei Wuxian fell. A blood-spoiled talisman, whose nature is learned through Empathy with the spirit of Jiang Yanli, who has spent years gathering the scattered bits of her brother's soul. The talisman's purpose: to send the soul back in time.
Mo Xuanyu can only travel back in time to his own body. There are a handful of attempts, each time ending in some form of disaster. Eventually, there can be no more attempts. Too many times traveling, or too far back, means death through qi deviation.
At times, the story is depressing, encouraging, terrifying and hopeful.
Through it all, Mo Xuanyu becomes much more than the tortured soul willing to give up his body and reincarnation for revenge. He is a person most of the characters in the story come to admire, and love.
As author Jenrose has written in another work, in case of fire, break glass (reviewed here): "Remember, kids, time travel is very difficult and linguistically awkward and no one should do it."
Despite the "warning". Author Jenrose is very good writing about that subject. This work is clear proof of that.
#mo dao zu shi#mo xuanyu#wei wuxian#lan wangji#mdzs#mdzs fic recs#lan qiren#wen qing#wangxian#the usual cast of characters#the untamed
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This is petty fandom salt, BUT... I've been chewing on this phenomenon that I've been calling "Fandom's Darling". It is related to things like "Author's Darling" and "Mary Sue / Gary Stu" and "Protagonist Halo" and all that jazz, where one character gains a peculiar narrative weight in a story.
"Author's Darling" is when a writer has a favorite character, and the world and all other characters sort of get... warped to put the Darling in the spotlight. It's most noticeable in TV shows with multiple writers, when a character you personally like suddenly has their previous characterization destroyed to make another character look good somehow. Every other character might become weirdly incompetent. The Darling's feelings are treated as The Most Important Feelings in any given situation. The logic of the fictional world seems broken past suspension of disbelief in order to validate this one character's beliefs or skillset or some other fantasy. And so on.
"Fandom's Darling" is what I've been calling the pattern where a fandom essentially crowns a New Protagonist for their fanfiction stories (it's often a side character rather than the original protagonist, but it can also happen to protagonists). This character becomes the self-insert for all sorts of indulgent fantasies, gaining special powers or backstories, and/or becoming the focus of extreme whump, and/or hooking up with all the various hotties, starring in all sorts of tropey AUs, and so on. They're not always an obvious Mary Sue version of themselves, but the character's original personality and interpersonal relationships tend to get warped or dropped completely, and other characters tend to become a little flat around them. I call it "Fandom's Darling" because it's not just one self-indulgent fantasy fic (you do you! Have fun!) with characterization choices that I don't vibe with (I have neither the time nor the desire nor the authority to police anything, I am just venting), but rather a prolific mini-fandom of sorts revolving around this empty doll / fanon version of the chosen vessel character, so it becomes a little unavoidable.
I am salty about this (mildly frustrated) (imagine a soft sigh of disappointment before I just go do something else) because you are FUCKED if you actually liked the canonical version of this character and their interpersonal relationships. It's almost worse than liking an obscure character that no one cares about. There's about a thousand fics starring your fave, but maybe only about a dozen of them are actually rooted in any kind of recognisable canon.
#I didn't watch Teen Wolf but I know this happened to that Stiles character#I'm not active in any DC fandom but it looks like this happened to Tim Drake and to a lesser extent Dick and Jason#In prequels-era Star Wars it seems to be Obi-Wan; he's the spark/focus of this post here; bring back his flaws I like that he kind of sucks#sometimes a Fandom's Darling comes out of an Author's Darling! usually Fandom's are vessels to fuck the “hottest guy” available though#I will probably turn reblogs off if this spreads too far because I really don't care if people write Mary Sue fanfic; can't cast that stone#squinting at every “intersex” tag like Inigo Montoya: “I don't think that means what you think it means.”#honestly the fantasy intersex thing is a separate & more serious post; but the fandom usage is a red/yellow flag for me when searching#tossawary fandom#fandom's darling
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RotS Web Documentary #15: "Becoming Sidious"
#as usual hayden's insight on his character is beautiful#and how sheev hooked him#he's not just offering up hope for padme#it's power worthy of legend#hayden christensen#anakin skywalker#sw bts#sw cast#sw
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Hearing news that he’s confirmed romanceable (and described as intimate and sensual) got me so giddy I might just expire.
#dragon age#dragon age the veilguard#DAtV#emmrich volkarin#my art#this guy is so targeted at me just from design and what little we know of him in the written works#and I’m so mad cos I need him now#ahdidbd#lemme indulge im sorry it’s so rarely I ever get a romance with an older character who’s part of the main cast#it’s so damn rare#so I get stupidly hyper when it happens#my tastes are always stuck being npcs or unattainable cos they’re not usually conventionally attractive#so I’m so so glad for how unique they’re letting us strive for in this#grrrrr#it’s 1am in the morning how am I to sleep with this info#wtf BioWare
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My latest completed commission may have been a bit ambitious... because I went wild with it. But I certainly relished in doing so :') Combining my favorite ship with my favorite-ever Disney movie is, uh... a dangerous concoction :'D
The commissioner specifically requested for Azula as Mulan, Sokka as Shang, and Xin Long (my OC dragon from Gladiator) as Mushu. The rest of the cast was up to me to choose, and I pretty much went wild rewatching this movie and picking out some of my favorite moments to recreate them in my style, with these characters. I came up with a lot of correlating characters between both ATLA and 1998's Mulan, but I couldn't hope to draw EVERYTHING, unfortunately. Still, if you want my reasoning for the cast correlation... check out the Read More! Beyond that, feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to commission me, or if you want to join my Patreon!
The Herbalist as Mulan's grandmother might feel arbitrary but she honestly felt like the ATLA elderly lady with the most similar personality to Grandma Fa. Fickle, with a unique connection with a seemingly perfectly ordinary animal, old and sassy? Figured it fit! So for once, the Herbalist is Azula's grandma! xD strange notion, I know, Azulon/Herbalist is not a ship I ever thought I'd accidentally put out in the world but there have been wilder ships than that in this fandom...
Momo became Cri-Kee, I wasn't 100% sold on it but when I considered that Avatar features soooo many hybrid animals... I figured he could be a hybrid cricket-lemur. Weird, I know, but eh? Better than nothing xD
Aang as Chien-Po was a no-brainer. He's the only character I settled on instantly, never even considered anyone else for the role. Their personalities line up really well, and Chien-Po's tendency to be OP and resolve things that are outside of other people's reach sounded like he was prime Avatar material! So, while their dietary preferences are an obvious difference between them, I decided to go for it nonetheless considering all their other similarities!
Kino (another Gladiator OC) is Ling, and he actually did give me a ton of trouble to choose. I considered many characters for the role right up until I realized that Kino's personality actually lines up fairly well with Ling's, down to being a class clown type (who ABSOLUTELY would have cut gym class!) and breaking out in song about the hypothetical woman he'd like to fight for? Yeeeeah that's right up his alley xD but there's another reason why I picked Kino...
... And that is my likely unexpected choice for Yao:
ZUKO.
ZUKO IS YAO.
YES.
I'M NOT EVEN SORRY.
(For the uninitiated, Aang, Zuko and Kino are best friends in Gladiator, very often together, and they make a really good team, so that's the extra reason why Kino became the obvious choice for Ling aside from having really similar personalities, definitely closer personalities than, say, Jet, for instance.)
People have likened Zuko to Shang a LOT since ATLA aired. This is the main reason why I'm even making this huge note! I suspect it's primarily because of the aesthetic, let's be real here, and because he becomes Aang's teacher, but people have exaggerated Zuko's alleged similarities with Shang, or taken them out of proportion, in many ways. I actually remember an AMV ages ago with "Be a Man" and it was Zuko "training the Gaang"?? It... didn't feel right to me. Obviously, someone might rebuff with "well, how does Sokka make MORE sense than that, though?" And believe it or not, I have arguments for that... (when do I not...?)
Not only is this what the commissioner specifically requested (and it obviously lines up with the ship we love!), but let's examine the actual reasons why Sokka as Shang adds up:
Sokka actually had to train a bunch of toddlers who weren't paying any attention to him. You know. Kind of how Shang had to train the unruly soldiers who weren't getting anything right. Sokka has a positive relationship with his dad (Zuko, ofc, does not). Shang also has a positive relationship with his dad! And not only this, but there's a military component to both relationships, specifically with Shang wanting to follow on his father's footsteps and aid him in the war... so much like someone else I know, who jumped at every opportunity to rejoin his father in the war, even wishing to join him as a child until Hakoda tasked him with protecting their Tribe instead (kinda like Shang is tasked with training soldiers rather than joining a battlefield).
And the final cherry-on-top that I'd loooove to hear Zuko fans try to argue against... is sexism :') didn't Sokka get characterized as a sexist guy for four episodes, which made people decide that this was his main character trait even if it went away that quickly? Um, yes, that happened. Shang literally sings the memorable song that's a crazy ode to masculinity, including the rather sexist line of "did they send me daughters when I asked for sons". Shang outright abandons Mulan once they discover that she was a woman all along (while, admittedly, choosing to abandon her rather than KILL HER, which as we saw from Chi-Fu, he was NOT supposed to spare her!)...
So, is this REALLY what Zuko fans, who willfully believe their boy is a feminist king (... why? beats me...) are trying to compare their unproblematic blorbo to? :'D Me? I have no problem linking Sokka with Shang due to Sokka's beginnings and due to the fact that both Shang and Sokka have similar growth when it comes to accepting femininity is as valid as masculinity, and as they both learn to respect women as fighters and potential heroes! (I simply do not believe Sokka's ENTIRE tenure in ATLA was about that, though, and that's what I continue to clash with the fandom over...) So... all this is why I've reasoned that Sokka is a VERY solid choice for Shang, in fact, better than Zuko could hope to be.
... but this isn't all.
Maybe some might accept my arguments for Sokka-Shang. And then, they might ask:
WHY ZUKO AS YAO, THO??
... And the truth is it took me long to see it, myself, but HOLY SHIT, DOES IT FIT!
What is the primary thing we remember about Yao in Mulan? This guy is constantly itching for a fight, to prove himself, surely riddled with insecurities that he exteriorizes through overcompensation of masculinity. He's funny as fuck, but he's taking himself 100% seriously as a manly man all the time, and he's always ready for violence. But there's one more thing...
He treats Mulan as his RIVAL.
And more often than not? SHE SCREWS HIM OVER. Intentionally or not.
What does that sound like? Why, yes, it sounds a LOT like Azula and Zuko's sibling relationship!
The fact that Yao is a temperamental dude who lashes out easily at things (oh, something he has in common with Zuko!), that he specifically resents Mulan (in this case, Azula, just as Zuko does!) and is either constantly looking to defeat her and prove his superiority over her (... wait, just as Zuko with Azula??), that he has a black eye perpetually across the movie, and it's his LEFT EYE (just as Zuko's scar is on his left eye! :'D), that he's friends with a pacifist he has basically nothing in common with, personality-wise (just like Zuko and Aang!), and that he pretty much has a REDEMPTION ARC in which he goes from a bitter, asshole rival to Mulan to treating her as a friend and ally, to the point where he was disappointed to leave her behind and THEN joined her at once when she says she has a plan? :') I have always been critical of Zuko's redemption arc, goes without saying. But if ANY of these characters redeemed himself in any significant way, it certainly seems to be Yao to me, and with people gushing NON-STOP about Zuko's redemption? Why, he ought to be the character who goes from bitter rival to loyal friend, right?
So. I'm not even sorry. Zuko is Yao. And I'd dare say that he should be flattered by the comparison, even, because Yao ends up being cool as FUCK!
I don't really talk about this much nowadays, but Mulan was my favorite Disney movie growing up, it ABSOLUTELY had a formative influence on me as a little girl, and Mulan was my favorite female character for a looooong time. Thus, any excuse to rewatch this movie makes me happy as heck. With the wisdom of age I know, of course, that it's not perfect, it's not what China wants, it's not the most thoughtful depiction of Chinese culture or the most faithful adaptation of Mulan's poem (... but I'd also dare bring up that the 2009 Chinese adaptation ISN'T all that faithful either...), but it has a kind of magic in it, a solid storytelling flow, so many memorable moments one after the next, that I could hardly choose which scenes to depict... Disney has never again seen the storytelling heights it reached with Mulan in 1998. I don't even care if that's a controversial opinion in any way... this is their best animated feature for me, and nobody can change my mind.
So... depicting Azula, my beloved, in all these scenarios as this character I adored and idolized as a child, was so damn fulfilling for me. While some might think that, personality-wise, these two ladies don't have much in common, the fact that Mulan is sent to a matchmaker who basically tells her she looks good but is going to be the worst wife ever...? Our girl Azula, with all those insecurities about being unloveable and a monster, probably would relate big time to that.
Mulan is also an INTELLIGENT soldier rather than a brawny one, which is how she starts to make progress in the army, it's how she manages to overcome the huns with that avalanche... and Azula's primary difference with most other antagonists in ATLA is that she's smart as fuck. She is very strong, no doubt, but a LOT of that strength comes from her intelligence, from assessing situations in unique ways, from planning and strategizing. The way Mulan finds the most unexpected solutions that still pay off reminds me a lot of how Azula achieves unexpected feats through rather unorthodox means, capable of taking over a city with basically no bloodshed while her nation has spent 100 years trying and failing to do so through major army incursions and who knows how much senseless violence. Obviously, I'm not saying what Azula did is GOOD and it's kind of dumb that we always have to point that out... I'm merely comparing the magnitude of the feats, and the fact that they both come from ladies who use strategy and intelligence to achieve their goals rather than muscle and physical power.
And while anyone would rage at me for the comparison between Fa Zhou (her dad) and Ozai, the truth is the dynamic between them CAN be compared, if loosely: Mulan literally goes to war to keep her father safe. Azula goes to war under her father's orders. Hell, she makes herself BAIT in the Eclipse to make sure the Gaang won't get to her dad?? While it's very much possible to say that both characters have different personalities and attitudes in life... I'd also bring up that their contexts are evidently completely different. I wouldn't say for certain that Azula, had she been raised outside a Royal Family, would be EXACTLY like Mulan... but they might have more similar traits than one might expect. Ultimately, though... I love them both. And this opportunity to swap their places was pretty much a dream come true!
Alright, that was plenty of rambling xD ultimately, I had a blast doing this commission, as I'm sure is obvious by now. So! If anyone wants to commission me, feel free to check out my prices right here and hit me up if you're interested!
#sokkla#sokka#azula#mulan au#xin long#zuko#aang#kino#the herbalist#momo#if you squint he's there okay he is just too damn complicated as a hybrid cricket-lemur alright#Xin Long is scale-less because he was too small and it was gonna look weird so for once he was a little less tricky :'D#I wish I could've had MORE epic scenes really this movie is a goddamn GEM#goldmine of glorious moments#it's just wonderful#I usually get sick of things as I work too much with them...#... Sokkla and Mulan are clearly a glorious exception to that rule#I wish I could've put in scenes with other correlating characters#Combustion Man was gonna be Shan-Yu#Chi-Fu was gonna be Long Feng#I can't remember who I had in mind for the emperor anymore#wasn't Kuei because he had to be old but welp#and yes it's too bad it's too sad there are not enough female characters here for the rest of the ATLA female cast...#but while I BRIEFLY considered making Toph one of the trio (Yao ofc)#the naked scene convinced me of the opposite quickly#... Toph would not succeed at convincing anyone that she was born a man she would straight up not even try#she'd just beat everyone up and scare them into shutting up#and while I'd LOVE to see that... it absolutely takes out the stakes from Azula being discovered as a woman pretending to be a man :'D#how tf would you kick one girl out while keeping the other one in the army#when the other one should be bold enough to stand on a rock in her birthday suit showing herself off in front of everyone
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hey guys look what i found in my drafts. from a few days ago .
#sorry i think its my fault that this happened#still unsure if The News is actually real or not tbh since no official sources have said anything about it as far as i know#and i hear the hollywood reporter is usually right about this stuff but idk#the fact that there are no actual sources or evidence for any of this other than ''just trust me bro'' is a bit suspicious to me#+ the fact that theyve been keeping the development of sonic 3 very quiet and secret#yet shadows voice actor. which is one of the biggest topics of discussion surrounding the movie. just. happened to leak somehow ?#but . the timing on this is kinda funny . and very tragic. if it is real#i said it already but i dont get why so many people are celebrating this. from what ive heard he doesnt fit ....#and it feels like another case of casting a random celebrity over an actual voice actor just to have a big name attached to the project#regardless of if theyre really the best choice.#which i thought everyone agreed was a shitty and annoying practice especially if its some iconic video game/comic/whatever character ?#but maybe i just havent heard the right specific voice clips that make people think its a good choice i dont know .
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the thing about kamelion is that in-universe? he's the cursed robot that causes problems. but out of universe? he's the cursed robot that causes problems.
#cdw#dw#classic who#doctor who#fifth doctor era#kamelion#lavender thoughts#i mean the contrast is immense!#....guys guys this isn't a hate post i just think it's funny that there's a nonhuman sci fi character who#is the exact same both in and out of universe bc that's usually reserved for type casted actors#i mean it's fine if you hate him 😭
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Also on the topic of Chuuya's mischaracterization - do yall also get annoyed when ppl keep saying he has extreme anger issues and reduce his personality to an angry Chihuahua 😭😭
Like i dont think that liking to fight = anger issues, not in his case. Also being grumpy doesn't equal anger issues either (and he isn't always annoyed or frustrated either). He's only really angry when something big happens and stresses him out (like when he was supposed to play the pm leader's role when Mori was out in the Cannibalism arc) (and tbh who wouldn't get angry/stressed in similar situations) or when Dazai is around (welp. Dazai just has this effect on people)(and in recent chapters we can see that's not always the case, either).
The only time where i see Chuuya having problems managing his anger is in storm bringer, where he actually beats the living sht out of people if they ask him a simple question like "where were you born". But these r the only cases he's actually harmful to people i think??? Most of the time his anger in the book is (imo) justified and understandable. And when he gets angry and realizes that maybe he shouldn't, he will stop himself too (i would say his conversation with Adam at the Flag's funeral is a good example) (tho imo who wouldn't get angry in that situation)))
Anger is a normal emotion humans experience. That anger is needed for one's survival at times. Anger issues become a problem when a person can't manage their anger and fo stuff they may regret later or cause harm. And I don't think Chuuya is an angry gremlin the fandom makes him out to be
#sab yapping#idk what i was talking about#anyway#do i even make sense or am i going in circles#harukawa literally says “usually he's a thoughtful and calm character”#also how asagiri and character designers agreed this man would treat women properly#like sorry i wouldn't think that outta the whole cast they would say this about a man who's 'only personality is being angry'#so anyway if chuuya had problems with keeping his temper then i swear so much sht would've happened differently#guys do u agree or am i going crazy instead of sleeping#like aughh if i went thru so much i would also react to these things with anger at dome points
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Alright last post about it. But the problem with AvA 11 isn’t that Mitsi didn’t need to exist, or her personality, or whatever. Mitsi is great!! She’s thoughtful and curious and doesn’t take a backseat to Victim’s life! Awesome female-coded character!
The problem is that the only time AvA introduces female-coded characters, which are basically just Pink and Mitsi, it’s to kill them off for the sake of the plot of a non-female coded lead. In AvA, women are disposable, and only serve to make “bad guys” sympathetic.
It’s cheap, lazy writing and it’s. dare i say. misogynistic. I love AvA, I love the fandom it has inspired, and I hope the team can put more effort into the stories they tell in the future.
#ava critical#they could write better! they CAN write better!#kinda pissed me off to see Alan and DJ laughing about fridging Mitsi#‘fridging’ is not another term for killing a character off#it refers to the trope of female characters being killed as a plot device for male leads#usually with no thought for them once they’re gone#not the best joke to make about your all male series (judging by the pronouns they use for the main cast)#i would love a stick that reads as feminine. who doesn’t get blown up within 3 minutes of being introduced
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Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.
It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.
Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.
The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.
This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.
Actors are not the same as voice actors.
And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.
I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.
People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.
Voice Actors ≠ Actors.
#(i am incredibly passionate about this)#(and seeing celebrity voice actors in what should be a voice actor's role completely burns my buns it doesn't matter WHO it is)#(hemsworth as optimus? someone tell me one good reason why they couldn't get a good v/a to replace mr. cullen properly for the future)#(ben shwartz as sonic? dude literally isn't even a good voice actor OR actor anyways-)#(- A N D jason griffith AND my boy roger craig smith are still RIGHT HERE)#(jason griffith IN PARTICULAR would have pulled back SO many sonic fans that went to watch the film anyways. if not /more/.)#(and on top of that he has the same tonality and energy they tried to force this moshmo to try and emulate anyways so GET THE REAL THING)#(chris pratt as mario? i can at least defend /him/ and say that barring his failure to do a NY accent consistently he wasn't terrible)#(but mario's new voice actor could've been used instead and people would've clearly appreciated that WAY more)#(vanessa hudgens as sunny starscout in mlp g5's pilot movie? literally why. they replace her and hitch's va in the show.)#(don't even get me started on the concept of hiring celebrity singers to do musical theatre roles or not letting musical theatre singers-)#(-dub the celebrity voice actors you just HAD to hire for your film bc you're so worried about not getting enough clout to get ppl in seats#(that you're putting it all in this (1) big name hire bc turns out that you have no faith in your writing ability much less-)#(-animation as a medium.)#(and no before anyone says anything : no this is not me saying that ALL celebrity voice castings are bad.)#(there are some that aren't that bad and others that are actually pretty good.)#(i especially appreciate it when actors are damn well aware they aren't voice actors and try to LEARN from voice coaches-)#(-and/or their va predecessors if applicable.)#(that does not change the fact that the celebrity shouldn't have been hired just because the film wanted to have bragging clout-)#(-oh look at this FAMOUS PERSON we were able to hire — yeah ok. sure wendy. i want to know if this film is quality or not.)#(and 9/10 times the SECOND there is money spent on a non voice actor to voice the main character especially)#(that usually means somewhere along the way animation IS going to get shafted. if not w the animators themselves then in the way of-)#(-the actual animation itself and ESPECIALLY the screenwriting because it's especially been so dogshit lately even before the strike.)#(a celebrity being hired to fill a voice actor's role is such an immediate red flag to me and it is VERY rare that i get to be proven wrong
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So the final character turns out to be based on Ryugen, but it feels kinda weird how there is also one based on Zangetsu and they aren't brothers
Or what if plot reveals they are brothers and he was actually adopted or stollen
I CAN'T BELIEVE HE'S ACTUALLY RYUUGEN?! I made a joke about it when Toten got revealed but I didn't actually expect... (I'm counting it as a win though, which means I guessed three out of sixteen! ...given how wacky some of these got, I'm actually pretty proud of that.)
he seems very sweet though! I hope he and his secret hamsters are very happy together. 🐹
(also:
THIS WAS MY EXACT TRAIN OF THOUGHT TOO! either this is an incredible bit of meta foreshadowing, or an incredible bit of Takahashi trolling, and I -- I honestly don't know which is more likely)
#art#ride kamens#(sorry this is rougher than usual...the art is not cooperating today) (i still have so much i want to draw. sob.)#and so the final boy is revealed...#i appreciate that the grape dragon boy has purple dragonball hair. i accept this as meta commentary.#(also given how gung-ho 'thank you niisan :) i love you niisan :)' he is i am leaning towards a very dramatic mid-story twist) (moohaha >:)#i am liking the cast overall! some odd pulls but all good ones imo#i knew fourze wasn't gonna happen but i had kind of hoped for one or both of the hoppers...#ah well. if it does well they might start adding more characters#and my very specific dreams of anime riders with beautiful flowing locks of hair may continue to be realized#now we wait for launch i guess!#maybe we'll get another pv or something to tide us over in the meantime?#i'm interested in what the gameplay will actually be like#i hope we get to decorate our cafes! i want to have the cutest secret superhero base in all the land
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I'll preface this by saying that I don't by any means begrudge anyone their own personal headcanons or interpretations, but I kinda have to get it off my chest that I'm personally not very comfortable with significant deviations from canon character design on CR, and I really tend to side-eye people who have declared their fanart to be "better".
And sure, some of that is because i'm a cranky old bastard. But some of that is that I also have an animation degree and have studied character design. Creators generally give artists a fair amount of input as to how they want their designs to connote the characters' personalities—not just in terms of clothing or hairstyle, but in the overall shape of the silhouettes and body structures. And in the case of CR in particular, that's coming from a place of much closer familiarity with the characters because the creator is actually going to be embodying them for a fairly long period of time, so when the fan response is heavy deviation from that, I think it can feed into some unhealthy fanon perceptions and projections.
Like, for example, it's not so much that I think fanartists are "disrespecting the creators" or whatever when they keep giving Imogen a sweet little round face and big hips/breasts and cute circular glasses, but I've also studied shape language in art. You're communicating something when you design her this way; if a character's silhouette has a lot of circles, visually that connotes being friendly, sweet, and cute. The person who first suggested drawing her with glasses explicitly said they thought it would look cute—and no shade to them! They can like whatever they want!
But canonically, Imogen is a woman in her 20s who's been dealing with unanswered questions, abandonment, loneliness, and sheer exhaustion from trying to hold back and control powers that she never asked for—and who simultaneously uses those powers even when it isn't necessary if she thinks it'll help her achieve a goal or prove a point. She isn't unfriendly, and she wants to do the right thing, but she's also someone who's consciously chosen to keep to herself for most of her life, and yet simultaneously she's quite adept at persuading and deceiving people. I think we're meant to pick up that sense of world-weariness and cynicism from her angular facial features and thin frame. That's...kind of just how character design works.
I think the trend of disregarding the official art and giving her softer features has had an impact on the perception of Imogen as a character. I see a lot of views of her that really remove a lot of her agency, treating her like she's only ever been a victim of circumstance who's never put a foot wrong. Some fans got pushback for pointing out that it really wasn't cool for Imogen to openly contemplate whether or not the Ruby Vanguard might be right in front of three people who were killed by Otohan, insisting that imogen was just dealing with a lot right then. And yes, she was, but that doesn't mean that the way she was dealing with it doesn't say something about her as a character. I don't know if I'd call it coddling, necessarily (even though perhaps there are some very coddling takes I just haven't seen), but there seems to be some resistance, in some circles, to the idea that Imogen isn't a put-upon martyr. And in those same circles, round friendly-looking glasses-wearing Imogen abounds, to the point of editing the official art itself to "fix it".
Truth be told I'd be willing to bet that the rounder cuter Imogen actually came about because of the initial impression of her, given how much fanon at the start of c3 revolved around poor baby Imogen with her scary nightmares needing the wiser, worldlier Laudna to comfort her and kiss it better, but those visuals also proliferated rather quickly and well beyond past the point where that fanon was feasible anymore, and I think both aspects of that fanon ended up informing each other. It's not lost on me that the rounder and cuter-looking Imogen performs the literal function of sanding down her harder edges.
And like I said, I'm not here to be needlessly negative toward what other people want to do. If you want to draw the characters differently to their official art, I don't think either the cast or the artist are especially offended by it. But I personally dislike it, in part because I think some of these trends are a way for fans to claim a certain amount of ownership over the characters, whether they intend it or not. And the ultimate outcome of that is that when creators inevitably assert their ownership over a deeply personal story in a way that fans don't like, the backlash is much stronger than it reasonably should be, which is something I think the CR fandom has seen often enough not to continue doing as often as it does.
#cr meta#critical role#cr discourse#cr wank#i think chubby jester vs skinny jester also falls into this#and don't get me wrong i 100% support representation of body types and the cast does too#but there's a certain amount of overlap between chubby jester and weird fanwanky c2 stans#it's. usually the folks who cling to fanon art interpretations who get the most angry at the cast when things don't go their way#like i don't have StatsTM or whatever to prove it but i've noticed some trends#also it's always the female characters and particularly laura bailey's characters who get hit with this attitude the most#like! just say you don't like a call laura made! i promise you no one's gonna call 911!
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chinese guzhuang fashion
#young actress and actors are cornering the guzhuang market#that's why the industry is becoming more and more competitive#when it comes to guzhuang idol dramas/guouju古偶剧 with fantasy elements(like xianxia dramas)#cnetizens are bored with the same old faces#media has found that young actress and actors (20-27 years old) especially new pretty faces are more appealing to viewers#cnetizens can actually be mean to actress and actors (over 33 years old) cast as lead characters in guzhuang idol dramas#reasons is that lead characters are usually portrayed as teenagers or really young people#and the audience find it very weird to have middle-aged people cast such characters#especially scripts are usually adapted based on fictions#so fans of the novels would be furious about such casting#besides cnetizens want to see normal aging faces#but these shows always use excessive filters and PS#causing the midle-aged faces to be fake and weird#i once saw really mean comments on douyin for xianxia dramas casting middle-aged actress getting over one hundred thousand likes#actress and actors in zhengju正剧 guzhuang dramas or luodi落地 guzhuang dramas are not affected by this#like telling a realistic down-to-earth story or story inspired by real history or related to folks#and there is no fantasy or xianxia elements#china#fashion#chinese fashion#guzhuang#cdramas
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idk if it’s just me but the whole “which atla kid in the gaang is the most mature” debates can get redundant and kind of exhausting at times. they’re kids. they’re multifaceted characters. they’re mature in some departments and immature in others. they have their strengths and weaknesses. also they’re kids lol.
#listen this is a probably a nothing burger lmao I’m just deep in my thoughts about what it means to be mature#because when talking about the cast what type of maturity are we focusing on yknow?#is it emotional maturity? spiritual maturity? social? maturity when taking up certain roles such as leadership?#and everyone has a different idea of what it means to be mature even in personality#take a comedic relief/goofy character for example#some may say this character is immature because of their goofy behavior#others might point out that being a jokester and taking the role of comedic relief doesn’t mean said character is immature#maybe my frustration just stems from people trying to assign parental roles to these tweens/teens lol#which I feel like can be an interesting conversation if we’re discussing#the traumas of losing a parent(s) at a young age and being forced to take up so much responsibility due to circumstances#but idk usually I see a lot of these conversations go sideways I guess#my conclusion#they’re just kids man they shouldn’t be fighting a war#they should be at the after school program#get aang to the computer lab now and make him a webkinz account#atla#text
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not to throw blasphemous accusations at those crumbs of trans representation we have but im lowkey getting tired of how many non-binary gender identities are portrayed by shapeshifters, aliens, ancient gods, robots and all other explicitly non-human characters
#and them not being a human is usually used as a way to explain and justify their “unconventional” gender identity#idk idk overthinking it. underthinking it. front back and left to right thinking it#also im not really talking about character codding atm where things like that are a metaphor for trans identity#but like when out of the entire cast of characters the only explicitly trans one is like that#it just feels like some sort of “buffer” so all the dudebros could go “well ofc theyre transgender bc they can change their entire body lol#heard a guy say that about mystique being genderfluid and started seeing red. like im genderfluid and i can say thats not how that works
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in which ann takamaki is there
#joker p5#ann takamaki#goro akechi#shuann#shuake#morgana#persona 5#my art#i probably dont have to tag the supporting cast right...?#sorry for 5 comics(slash images) at once...i considered spliting into posts but theyre the same theme.at least#(the theme is ann <3 shes my second favorite p5 character. by the way)#make sure to click to expand!! or youre missing like. whole comics. lol#did all this in one session now my arm hurts X.X but well. persona 5 is a video game <3#ALSO I REALIZE THESE R SLIGHTLY MORE NICHE EVEN COMPARED TO MY USUAL. SO. ENJOY THAT! LOL!#welcome to my twisted mind.#also sorry for the blatant sentimentality in this gomicpost. i wish i could say it wont happen again. but well. sigh.#also im prettyyy sure one of these is partially inspired by a convo i had with my bro? so uh. credit to him i guess! heart emoji.#also. sorry that i keep saying this but thanks for all the love in the tags of my gomics. it kind of makes my day so incredibly hard. <3.#ok bye#comics
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