#there was more to this post but it got way too serious about cartoon characters than was necessary

[bitchesgate3]

Anon should hit up my inbox if they want to talk to me so bad. 😘

Mizora tag has 3 regulars and they're angels except me. Fandom wants to kill or turn Mizora to stone, so let's be real who you're talking about.

But this submission makes me realize that people are mixing up female manipulators ™, with actual gr*omers. Which is mindboggling.

A female manipulator makes you think its a good idea to give her everything just because she wants it. This is the behavior of wrapping you around her finger. And on the flip side, you can get wrapped around her finger without her even trying. At that point, its up to her to put up boundaries, but that's another story.

In Mizora's case, yes, she deceived Wyll and took his soul. She maintains control over him through the sending stone. She turned his dad against him, and arguably uses his ties to the Duke for jockeying for power under Zariel. It's a business decision and to stroke her fragile ego. Wyll fell prey to her manipulations and got tethered to her larger machinations.

But at no point is she doing all this to make Wyll s*xually available to her at all times. In launch version, they were never intimate. And in EA, she was clearly using s*x as a tool to seduce - not because she wanted that from him.

[oc-ology]

How to OC post without being an artist (or spending money)!

As much as I yelled about OC-posting, some people said that they struggled to know what exactly they should be posting. Obviously the answer is whatever you feel like but if you’re already aimless, that answer isn’t very helpful. Additionally, not everyone knows how to draw (which I think is an obvious method of OC-posting) so I wanted to give some ideas for what people could post for their OC! This will be split up into different sections.

Creating visual representations of your OC

Disclaimer: I will not suggest nor support the usage of generative AI. OCs are about creating something yourself, not allowing a computer to do it for you.

Outside of commissioning someone else for art, it can be disappointing and frustrating to not have any visual representation for your character. An easy way to get a representation of your character is to use Picrew, Meiker and other similar sites. There’s a large number of art styles, types of fashion, species, that can all be used to make your OC and that amount only grows by the day. Many of these websites can be accessed on PC and mobile and take very little processing power.

However, this can be limiting at times since you might not find exactly what you’re looking for, especially if your OC has a unique combination of features. For something with more customisation, you can use video games with character creation to make a version of your character. I personally would recommend games like The Sims or Skyrim as both have very active modding communities. This way, if a certain type of clothing or facial feature isn’t present in the base game then you can often find someone who has created a mod that adds it in instead. This does require you to have access to a computer that can run not only the game but the mods as well.

Another option would be using a program like Vroid Studio to make your character from a base model. This has both a mobile and PC version, although I will primarily be speaking from a PC perspective. The mobile app, while able to create a character from scratch, is a lot more limited than the PC version. The great thing about Vroid is that there’s a lot of user-made content that you can often get for free through websites like Booth, as well as many tutorials for beginners to follow along with. Again, this requires a computer that is able to run it. I would recommend against using Vroid on a laptop as it will likely be too intensive for it.

My final suggestion for character visuals is to take a character from anime or cartoons and simply edit them. This was actually how I first got into making original characters! You can recolour their hair or outfits with an editing program (with some free examples being FireAlpaca, Krita or GIMP) and even edit different images together to create something more unique. Please only do this with characters from existing media and avoid using fanart for this.

Other OC visuals

Other than just what your OC looks like, there are other ways to visually put together your OC. Moodboards are the most obvious example of this, but you can also edit other things such as putting together outfits for them or finding pictures of items they would keep in their bag.

If you have multiple OCs, you can create fake text conversations between them using a number of websites. These can be as silly or as serious as you like!

Finally, you can always build them a pinterest board. I am a massive pinterest enjoyer and not only can you use pins that others have posted to pinterest, you can add your own from off the site. 

Writing

Beyond writing out your characters’ story, there are numerous other things you can write. Keeping in line with what you’ve already written, you can re-write scenes from alternative perspectives. These can add context to what is seen in the main story, as well as flesh out background or side characters and their relationship to your other OCs.

Another fun thing to write is non-canon scenes. Write a beach episode! Write about a character getting sick and someone else having to take care of them! There are countless ways to draw your OCs interacting with their world or other characters that wouldn’t necessarily ever fit into the “main” story.

Next is genre changes. If you had to categorise the genre of your OCs’ current story, what would it be? Now image what if the genre was something completely different? Romance to mystery… Slice of life to horror… Part of the challenge is figuring out what story beats remain the same and what gets changed, including character dynamics! And of course… Alternate Universes. There are too many types of AUs to list but some of my favourites are superpowers, mafia, zombies, time loops and time-travel-fix-its. These are similar to genre-changes but often include a number of AU specific tropes. If you’re struggling to figure out the staples of a certain AU or what kind of AUs exist, there’s a really good page about alternate universes on Fanlore.org!

Other ideas

These are ideas that didn’t quite fit into the other categories.

First is music playlists! There are two types of these. The first is a playlist of songs that describe a character and their story while the second is a playlist of songs that the character would listen to. Some people like to combine the two as well! There are no rules to this, simply have fun listening to music and picking out songs that remind you of your OCs.

Second is incorrect quotes. I remember these used to be beloved by fandom and now they can be beloved by you and your OCs! The concept of incorrect quotes is that well-known and funny quotes from pop culture (such as memes or movies) get written out and your characters are assigned a line of dialogue. While there’s a website that’ll generate these incorrect quotes for you, I personally find more fun in coming across quotes organically while scrolling social media and realising that they fit my OCs almost perfectly.

Finally, ask games. These typically take the form of lists of questions or prompts with emojis or numbers next to them. People can send in the relevant emoji or number and you then answer the corresponding prompt. There used to be a kind of “ask game etiquette” where if you reblogged an ask game from someone, you sent an ask from the list to them as well. This way, it allows the game to continue circulating and you can spread the joy of OC-posting with others! It can also lead you to making friends within the community.

And that’s it for my post! If you have other suggestions for kinds of OC-posting then I would love to see them!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Regarding the “Is Marinette a Stalker?” post, I want to say thank you! Because I did something like Marinette and self-doubted my younger-self’s actions. A bit of context, I’m (37 y/o, female) one of the many adults that loved MLBCN when it started airing. When I came disappointed at the show by S4, I turned to the fandom to look out for fanfics, and was surprised by the salty side.

Don’t get me wrong, I kinda get the why’s and the reasons, and even though I enjoyed a Mari-salt fic titled “The Schedule” (iirc), I… sorta felt ashamed at myself? When I was 19, I fell in love with this guy, and it seemed that he liked me too. Our university had a system only for students where we could do lots of administrative stuff, like choosing our classes. At my time, there used to be a search tool on it to look out for our classmates’ schedules; in my curiosity, I searched for his just to see if we shared free periods. (Btw, today I do feel that it was wrong that my university had that function).

At my defense, after finding my crush’s schedule, I also searched for my friends’, just so I could organize with them to set up a table for our LAN parties. At the end my feelings weren’t reciprocated, my heartbreak ocurred close the next semester’s start, so I searched his schedule one more time, but just to avoid having classes with him.

When I read that Mari having Adrien’s schedule was “stalker behavior” I was like “OMG, was I a stalker? And worse, I was legally an adult!”, but I can’t remember my friends being creeped out by me. I don’t know if it is a subject whose meaning has evolved as time went on, or maybe it can change according to our different cultural/countries’ POV. But we do crazy stuff when we are young-adults, and worse when we are adolescents, add first love/crush feelings, and well… (just look at Hey, Arnold!’s Helga, she had it bad for Arnold and went to do stuff that by today’s standards is a serious case of bullying).

If the issue is the “breach of privacy” and the “3 years”, well, the first one isn’t touched on the show, maybe Mari got the pattern by observation, or Alya helped by asking Nino, or maybe even Chloe said something loudly, or my personal fan-favorite: as Class Rep, Marinette has access to that information to make easy her duties! And as for the second issue, they are 13-14 years old, my bet is that if their school makes fixated schedules for its students, so it wouldn’t be difficult to guess Adrien’s schedule for the next 3-years, and since his father was Marinette’s favorite designer, she might have followed his seasons releases, and might been easy for her to add it to Adrien’s schedule.

I want to clarify that I’m not looking to invalidate people’s feelings about this, or saying that they are wrong. In the end, we all must remember that Marinette is just a fictional adolescent character in a cartoon show, and cartoons will exaggerate actions just for the sake of the plot. We don’t like something about the characters’ actions and/or personalities? We teach and explain to the children why is wrong; and as adults, we tell ourselves to be wary if anything about it is in our daily actions, so we don’t fall into the “hating something that is a reflection of us” projection.

I like to think that I was a good adolescent and young adult that didn’t do anything morally or ethically bad, so it really freaked me out that part of the Marinette salt fandom. So, a thousand thanks! And sorry that your friend, cousin and you had to deal with that stuff.

(Post this ask is in reference to)

Before we get started, I wanted to say that your university having that feature seems incredibly dangerous. Most people are going to use it the harmless way that you did, but boy does that have the potential for misuse. Way better to let students decide if they want to share schedules on their own.

Anyway, while I will absolutely agree that the show occasionally takes Marinette too far, leading me to understand why her behavior bothers people, I think that biggest issue in her writing is actually something you sort of brought up:

I fell in love with this guy, and it seemed that he liked me too.

It sounds like you had some sort of relationship with your crush and that makes a world of difference to how your actions are going to be perceived by others. Checking the schedule of a guy you don't know? Kinda creepy. Checking the schedule of your friends including the friend you have a crush on? Normal.

Let's look at a personal example to show you what I mean. When I was in high school, I learned parts of my crush's schedule. On my way to lunch, I would purposely walk by the area where he hung out so that I could say "hi" to him as I walked past.

This statement probably raises some questions in your mind like how did I learn that he'd be there? The answer is incredibly innocent. I learned that part of his schedule by accident because his hangout spot because was also my hangout spot during my free periods. I just happened to go by one day to see a different friend and ran into him, thereby learning a bit of his schedule. After that, I took path A to lunch instead of path B because they took the same amount of time and I liked seeing him for two seconds every day.

It's also worth noting that we had the same hangout spot because we had a mutual friend group! We were in the same small club and spent a lot of time together. We even hung out together outside of school and club activities. We eventually dates for several years because he asked me out! So when I said, "hi" to him every day, it didn't shock anyone or creep him out because I wasn't some random girl. I was a friend taking a moment to acknowledge his existence before going about the rest of my day.

An additional mitigating detail is the fact that I could have told you details about several platonic friends' schedules because that's just what happens when you know people and pay attention to their lives. We all know random crap about the people we care about. Crushes simply enhance your attention, making you way more aware of everything you do, say, or think about this person. That heightened attention might make you feel creepy at times, but that feeling doesn't automatically make you creepy. It's more complicated than that. The details of the situation matter because there's a ton of nuance around this topic. Nuance that actually makes it hard to give examples because this stuff can be incredibly personal. What person A find cute and charming is a hard no for person B.

That nuances goes beyond crushes on people you're close with. For example, you don't need to stop going to your favorite coffee shop because the new barista is cute! You are not stalking them by maintaining your usual habits! You're not a bad person for experiencing attraction toward a person who is working! It only gets weird if you start crossing social boundaries like if you start asking them on a date every time you see them even though they are very clearly uninterested and you've never actually talked to them beyond simple pleasantries.

This is where we circle back to Miraculous.

While the early seasons of Miraculous gave Adrien and Marinette a few moments of friendship like playing games together in Gamer, those moments quickly stopped. By season three, they barely interacted. This happened for an obvious reasons. Miraculous is an episodic formula show in almost the purest sense of those terms. The writers have made it clear that the episodes are designed so that they can be watched in any order leading to all sorts of weird moments like Felix telling Marinette that Gabriel is Monarch only for her to act like this is new information in the next episode. This was explicitly done so that people who missed the first reveal didn't feel left out:

Talking about previous episodes, [the writers] then say that... the 5 last episodes of season 5 (Collusion - Revolution - Representation - Conformation - Recreation) go together and there is a direct continuation between them. (However, one of their rules as Miraculous writers is that these episodes can also be watched and understood independently.)

This ridiculous rule* means that the on-screen relationships can't develop and grow as that makes the show feel too serialized. This limitation meant that Adrien and Marinette could NOT become functional friends with a developing relationship as that would require a certain viewing order. The same was true for Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship. They could not become stronger over time. They had to stay stagnant.

Without those friendships, Adrienette was reduced to being all about Marinette being unable to function around Adrien and Ladynoir was reduced to being all about Chat Noir flirting relentlessly while Ladybug constantly shot him down. The only side of the square that was allowed to be a true friendship was Marichat because they could interact without it leading to a romance since they weren't in love, which is a major problem since Adrienette is what became canon in spite of it having the substance of unset jello. How are we supposed to ship a couple that never knowingly interacted???

This inability to have developing relationships is why the writers wrote Marinette more like a fangirl than a friend with a crush. But fangirl behavior only plays well when there's a level of separation between the fan and the object of their affections. The fan can't actually know their crush because that makes the fan feel creepy and weird. This is Marinette's main problem. The thing that understandably turns a lot of viewers off. The way her crush is written simply doesn't fit the story canon is going with.

If Marinette and Adrien had been written as true friends and were allowed to have more of those early show moments where they did non-romantic things together, then Marinette would come across light-years more relatable than she does in canon even if her actions didn't change.

It's not that Marinette never has questionable moments, she absolutely does! It's just that a lot of those moments are only questionable because of the nature of her relationship with Adrien. They would all feel wildly different if Adrien was her close friend or boyfriend.

To see what I mean, think about how much less creepy it would have been if Marinette claimed to have Adrien's schedule after she and Adrien started dating. Your instant assumption becomes that he gave it to her! You also have the addition of Gabriel's controlling nature to mitigate the way Marinette's rickshaw date plan comes across. It goes from awkwardly over-the-top to sweet because she's just trying to find a way to spend a few minutes with her boyfriend whose life is too controlled to allow for proper dates. Same exact episode setup, wildly different read because context matters.

It really is sad how much the writing failed Marinette because it's normal to be a little weird around your crush. Wanting to get to know them better and spend time with them is completely understandable and common behavior! But the writers didn't just decide to keep Marinette and Adrien from being good friends. They also decided to give Marinette an active running gag of trying and failing to confess. This gag requires her crush to be extremely active while the show's formulaic nature meant that the crush could never have true progress. This lead to the show constantly putting Marinette in awkward positions and questionable situations. It's a terrible call if your goal is to actually tell a romance. They would have been way better off to make Marinette shy and afraid to confess as a contrast to Chat Noir's bold flirting. The most I'd do in that setup is to let her have the occasional secrete admirer thing where she leaves Adrien a gift or sends him a note like we saw in The Bubbler. That way a much stronger way to play Marinette's crush.

*Quick note: status quo rules are fine in shows that don't have overarching plots, but Miraculous is a romance with an overarching plot. Both of those elements require you to have some level of serialization to your story. I recently used ABC's Castle as an example of this. Almost every episode it a unique murder mystery, but the characters' relationships progress over time. There are also several plot lines that run through the show, leading to a handful of episodes that do need to be watched in order. Notably, all of the major status quo changes happen in that handful of serialized episodes. This is the type of show that Miraculous needed to be for its main story lines to work.

[yourhighness6]

NATLA Episode 2 Debrief (by yours truly)

Hi again! Here's episode 1 if anyone is interested. This is going to be another outrageously long post, just a tw

I absolutely loved the ominous start and then it's just:

They really captured the Zuko/Iroh dynamic the cartoon had in this scene. I hope they keep this sort of thing throughout the show. Also, side note, but for whatever reason Zuko seems a LOT more violent in this version. This child needs some serious therapy.

I guess this is their version of the map joke, huh? Low-key disappointed but not as mad as I thought I would be.

I'm not sure how I feel about the writers prolonging some of the conflicts that were resolved back in the SWT into this episode. I guess it makes sense that they would have to extend the drama, but I'm a little disappointed these thoughts didn't make it into the first episode. I'm glad they're included, but I think at this point team avatar had started to feel like family already in the cartoon, so it's kind of annoying and misses the mark a bit.

Yes I'm so glad they put GranGran's blessing back in! I was really mad when they took it out, but this honestly feels more meaningful than it did in the cartoon. It's a precious cultural artifact rather than just a couple of blankets. This is similar to what I was mad about with extending SWT conflicts, but I don't have nearly as much of a problem with it, as it seems like they're carrying a little piece of home with them rather than just extra drama.

The burial scene was very sweet and sad. It gave us a bit more insight into Air Nomad culture, and a sense of closure the cartoon didn't really give us. A+ for Gordon's acting as well (he is perfect for this part, even if he does still need some more acting experience)

Zuko has officially mastered the "my uncle dragged me here and I'm an agnsty teenager" face. A+ to Dallas for this entire scene. I am absolutely LOVING the Iroh and Zuko dynamic. Never change (jk I wish you a wonderful redemption arc)

Suki looks just as beautiful as she did in the trailer. Unfortunately can't say the same for the Kyoshi statue (I wish it had been made out of wood), but there is something to be said for the little shrines to the avatars instead of a few big ones. I actually kind of like that they changed that element, and I hope they explore it more in future episodes, because I assume some of the spiritualism surrounding them would have to be changed. Side note: but I've seen nothing of the spirit world so far and I'm getting a little nervous. I guess I wouldn't mind if they decided it was some long-lost avatar trick or is introduced in the NWT, but if they get rid of it altogether I'm gonna be pissed.

I'm glad they decided to make Kyoshi Island a matriarchal society instead of having a male leader. It just makes sense based on the lore and I like to see more strong adult women than in the cartoon. Also Suki got a mom! Maybe she'll get some development too!

This Aang speech was very in-your-face storytelling, but I feel like the whole show is gonna be like that so I'm just accepting it at this point. I think it stayed true to his character while getting the point across, and it also kind of helped his character compared to the cartoon. He's very emotionally open and has a charming nativity about him, but he's clearly trying to help. Loved it.

He's so awkward I love it. This whole interaction was really cool, because it expanded on their relationship in a cool way. They're both struggling between doing what their parents expect of them to help their respective villages, but are being faced with a pull to the outside world, Suki with her "big heart" and Sokka with his need to protect Katara. Thishonestly gives more depth to their relationship and I don't mind the writers dragging out first episode conflicts if this is how they're choosing to explore them.

Aww look at these cute little siblings. I like that the writers are giving them more time to progress from strangers to besties. Their interactions seem more natural, and Aang's grief more realistic. It's also great to once again see Katara growing more confident and powerful in her abilities. I love the smell of some good character development in the making.

Look at her face! She's like,"I'm so good at flirting. Mother would be proud." Meanwhile Sokka's scared of her. Anyway I'm living for their scenes and they're making me giggle. (Despite Sokka's sexism being toned down it still exists to a lesser level and I love to see her beating his ass while he tries to flex)

I love the new subplot! I love that flashback! I love this conflict! It gives more credence to his fears as a prodigy. Whatever writer came up with this deserves a hug.

AHH the ship is sailing! I love Sokka learning to be more open minded! I love Suki learning to be more open-hearted! I love when characters in romantic relationships learn from each other! This is giving Suki and Sokka development in ways the cartoon did not without trying to play Sokka's sexism off as a joke and also giving us more screentime and when I say I love it I mean I am doing a happy dance right now!

Okay, so just a quick word on shipping besides Sukka because as Zutara trash I am legally required to do this:

It seems like they are keeping the zutara hope parallel intact, with Katara and Zuko both finding hope in the avatar but in different ways. However, I don't think this really changes anything. So far, there's beven nothing to suggest they're going with ZK instead of KA, and I'm a little worried that they're trying to parallel Sukka and KA wwith the way they're setting up both girls as kind of a "teacher" to the boys in a way and giving both ships a huge amount of screentime in the same episode. Also, and I hate to say this, they might be attempting to fix KA by toning down Katara's anger and her "dark side". She didn't get angry to break the iceberg and they're eliminating her entire waterbending scroll plotline. They're trying to make them a better match for each other by watering her down and therefore increasing her connection with Aang and decreasing the chance of a future connection with Zuko over their anger and shared trauma. It's sad news that I didn't want to deliver, and I've seen spoilers that there is another ZK moment later down the line, but at this point, I think KA is a lot more plausible than ZK. *cries*

In slightly less depressing news, they're inserting the avatar state plotline a lot earlier. This makes sense with the condensed timeline, and I think I like the way they're going with it so far. I hope they keep the concept of avatar guide intact, though, and I'm worried that they're going to play into more of a connection to all of his past lives instead of just Roku. I kind of hate Roku but I do think that's a major concept I don't want them to get rid of, and his inaction during a time of adversity mirror's Aang's own challenges with confrontation. Their dynamic is a good one, and I wouldn't be opposed to changed but I really hope they don't entirely throw it out.

Scratch whatever the fuck I said before. I'm back on my shipping bullshit I can't believe we got a BONUS FIGHT! Also kudos to whoever decided Zhao should burn the village instead of Zuko. I was always so pissed at him whenever I rewatched this episode and now I can sleep easy knowing it was that military dipshit instead of him

I love Kyoshi to an unhealthy extent but I kind of wish Katara had been the one to go off on him. It would have seriously fixed things.

COUPLES THAT FIGHT TOGETHER ARE THE BEST COUPLES CHANGE MY MIND

Also, side note, but I love the hair these in fight scenes:

Most action movies hairspray the shit out of them but these actors are allowed to look a little disheveled while they kick ass. Huge thank you to whoever decided that more natural hair is superior cuz they are 100% correct

THE BONUS FIGHT SCENE IS NO LONGER COOL I REPEAT THE BONUS FIGHT SCENE IS NO LONGER COOL

I think this was the perfect conclusion to Sukka (for now)! Sokka learned something so much more valuable and impactful than in the cartoon, in my opinion. His masculinity is handled very well in my opinion, and even if I would have liked to see him wear the warrior outfit, there's something really great about the way he continues to embrace protectiveness, a masculine trait, while having rid himself of toxic masculinity, such as not being able to learn from others. He's leaving a more open minded and humble person and I love the way they portrayed it.

Okay the speech was a little on the nose but I liked it. One of the best things about ATLA was the way they executed Aang's childishness ending up beneficial for the world. I think the new conflict is expanding on that nicely while staying true to its roots. *pats writers on the head*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IS THIS REAL I LOVE IT SO MUCH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

IM TRYING SO HARD NOT TO THINK ABOUT THIS LINE AND HOW IT COULD BE ANOTHER PARALLEL TO K/A I HATE IT BUT I LOVE IT AT THE SAME TIME LETS JUST FOCUS ON SUKI SAYING SOKKA HELPED HER AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Also the fan was so cute. That last scene on Appa really wrapped everything up nicely. I like the way they tied in the conflicts between the siblings while engineering growth for Sokka.

Daniel Kim delivered in his two seconds of screentime. Zhao was such a bitch but idk what else I expected. Can't wait to see more of these two bastards in future!

Anyway, to recap:, things I did like:

Aang's new conflicts

Sokka's mini arc

SUKKA

Expanding on Katara's PTSD

Zhao burning the town instead of Zuko

Zuko and Iroh's dynamic

Things I didn't like:

Katara's characterization

Lack of Aang's actual avatar guide

K/A hints and lack of zutara implications

Postponing the Zhao and Zuko agni Kai

Overall, I have to say I think that they're playing into the core themes very well while expanding on the characters. If it weren't for the whole Katara debacle this would be a 9/10 episode, but with the Katara debacle imma give it a 7/10. Still, I can at least understand why the writers made their crappy decisions, even if I don't agree with them. Hopefully certain things are fixed in future episodes, but as it stands I think I'll live (barely)

[overdressedcarp]

Aventurine, Dr. Ratio, and Ruan Mei for the character ask! (Love ur Aventio fic btw).

Thank you for the ask! I had fun doing these. (Also I'm glad you're enjoying the fic! I am sitting in my authorial hobbit hole with a big smile on my face.)

Aventurine

Clarifications (yellow boxes):

I don't see as many bad Aventurine takes as I do for Ratio, but I do think his rough edges often get watered down in a way that either justifies or ignores his canonical flaws. So "they got done dirty by fans" and "wow! they are a horrible person" both get soft nods because I think his character deserves to be both sympathetic and kind of an ass sometimes. (The other issue I see is people acting like he's vulnerable and helpless, which is just. fundamentally not true? He's not as secure in himself as he pretends to be, but he is a ruthlessly competent strategist, and he knows how to read people and give them what they want to see. He's a member of the Ten Stonehearts for a reason.)

"If they were real I would be afraid of them" alright let me explain. The 2.1 story did a masterful job of humanizing Aventurine, but his first impressions in 2.0 were fine-tuned to be unnerving, and it was really effective for me as a player. For a while I couldn't articulate why it made me uncomfortable, but @starcurtain did a great analysis on female influence in Aventurine's life, which touched on how his early interactions with the Trailblazer are designed to be intimidating and off-putting in a way that channels the sort of masculine dominance Aventurine has historically experienced at the hands of other men. Suffice to say: if it served his plans for me to be afraid of him, he knows how to do it, and it would work.

Also I forgot to mark "why do they look like that" on the bingo but I do think Hoyo should have given him more melanin considering how deeply Romani-coded his culture is. Everything else about his design slaps though.

Ratio

Clarifications:

"Wasted potential" is subjective because I've loved every moment we've gotten of Ratio onscreen, but damn do I want the game to delve deeper into his backstory and his dynamics with other characters (I'm still sad that so far Aventurine is the only character that has a voice line about him).

"Deeper than they seem" and "not as deep as they seem" exist in a paradoxical state for me because I do think some folks stop at the surface reading of "arrogant asshole" when he's got way more going on in his character stories and his actions in canon... but I also think some people err on the side of taking him too seriously, in a way that likewise takes something away from his character. Like, this is the guy who plays chess with himself and trash-talks from both sides of the table like a goddamn cartoon character. He owns at least one rubber duck and takes a bath with it every day. He likes all of Aventurine's social media posts and replies "Heh." to anything he finds vaguely amusing. This is not a serious man.

"Why do they look like that" okay I need to clarify that this is not a criticism. I love Ratio's design. The neoclassical vibes are impeccable. But it's also extra in a way that I feel morally obligated to call out, considering how much he rags on Aventurine for dressing like a peacock. Sir, you walk around in robes and sandals with an alabaster bust on your head; you have no room to talk about subtle fashion choices.

Ruan Mei

Clarifications:

Ruan Mei gets both "they are so cool looking" and "why do they look like that" because I love the theory behind her design (the DNA elements, the embroidery and floral imagery, the qipao paired with the pearl necklace) but she also has the unfortunate distinction of being a female character in a Hoyoverse game, so the more unique details fall prey to the homogenizing force of the male gaze.

Another case of "they got done dirty by fans" and "wow! they are a terrible person" existing in tandem, but in Ruan Mei's case I think some people reduce her down to her worst qualities without acknowledging the more complex aspects of her character. Her unchecked pursuit of knowledge leads to her doing Objectively Bad Things, but I don't think it's a fair (or particularly interesting) reading to portray her as heartless.

I thought about marking "wasted potential" because imo 1.6 wasn't nearly enough to delve into Everything Going on with This Woman, but it seems like they're setting up something for a future patch, so I'm content to wait and see what the writers have planned. I'm really excited to find out what she's doing with those leviathan fossils and Tingyun's wrecked ship.

Link to the character bingo template

[lieutenantselnia]

So I binged The Long Long Holiday last week and I kid you not I shed a few tears at pretty much every episode. It's really always series primarily targeted at children that make me the most emotional😅 I'd totally recommend it though! It's a historical series about two children experiencing the French occupation during WW2, told from the perspective of the younger sister. The specific characters and places are fictional, but of course based on real events. I don't think I've ever watched a children's show before that addressed this topic so directly, but I think it's absolutely worth watching as an adult as well, because you'll also understand the perspective of the adult characters and get nuances that might not be as obvious to young kids (of course education and knowledge of history plays into that as well). In fact I think it makes some moments even more heart-wrenching if you have more background knowledge.

Aside from the story I also thought the art style was really cute! It is a 3d animated show, but with a really simple (yet expressive) cartoon style that tries to imitate a 2d look, and I think it worked out pretty good for them. When I first saw just pictures of the show I actually thought it was a 2d cartoon because in still frames it looks totally convincing, only in the animation itself you kind of notice from the way the characters move that they are 3d models. I actually wish I had discovered this show before I wrote my thesis, it could have been a good inspiration and maybe I would've even gotten to mention it😅 Just lookit them they're all so precious🥹

Also it had so many lovable characters, I think one of my favourites was Jeanne and her stubbornness and "take no shit" attitude (especially towards Hans, he deserved it lol), but also her relationship with Otto was so cute🥺😭 Otto himself too, despite being part of the occupying forces he was always so nice to the kids and even protective of them (and especially the Morteau family of course). The grandparents of the main characters were so sweet as well (and probably one of the reasons I cried the most, it really shows how much they care about their grandkids and would be ready to sacrifice pretty much anything if it means just that they are safe). And the teacher too, he was always so supportive of all of his students and interested in their well-being. Not gonna lie there were a lot of characters who were really good parental figures😭

I also liked how they still balanced serious with more light-hearted moments. Oberst von Krieger getting more upset about his flowers being stolen than any actual sabotage was hilarious😂😂 I only watched the German dub for now, but I'm considering rewatching it in English too, since one downside is of course that the languages differences, which are otherwise prominent, get lost if everyone's just speaking German. I'd love to watch the original as well since it's probably the most authentic, but unfortunately I don't speak a word of French😅 Okay this got very long so I'll stop now. There are already some other historical movies and series on my mind that I want to watch (at this point I should maybe make a list lol), so maybe I will write some more recommendation posts like this, even if maybe not many people care. But I just love talking about media and topics that interest me :D

[erinelliotc]

Talking about "Ed, Edd n Eddy" outside of Tumblr with (probably) heterosexual cisgender neurotypical men is just... frustrating. I feel like I'm talking to a door. The guy got mad just for stating the simple fact that what the Kankers do to the Eds is sexual harassment. I mean, how can anyone deny that? I thought it was, like, obvious to everyone lol. I made it very clear that it's my favorite cartoon and that admitting that what the Kankers do is sexual harassment doesn't mean it's bad or that it should've been canceled, and the guy just said he wouldn't read my text. It's ridiculous.

People outside of Tumblr are so lazy and this scares and saddens me because I love writing and I can hardly summarize my thoughts. I mean, it's okay if you don't want to read it, but then at least keep quiet and don't give your opinion on something you don't know about or assume what the other person said. People simply leave discussions with a simple "I won't read it" and feel victorious for it, even if the person in question is agreeing with them, agreeing more than disagreeing, or only partially disagreeing. They treat "writing too much" as having already lost the argument itself and that doesn't make any sense. The worst part for me is that being lazy to read and having the inability to formulate a counterargument has already been widely normalized on the internet as winning an argument, and it totally pisses me off.

Why are people so lazy to... think, discuss and reflect? To use their fucking brains!? They just want to attack people for no reason and be right at all costs! They act stupid and others agree with them! Ugh, I should just stay on Tumblr. I've already accepted that this is the only nice and safe (or at least the nicest and safest) place for neurodivergent / autistic people.

Anyway, about what happened:

It was in this Instagram post:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Millennial & 90's Content (@paraeden90s)

Comments started here:

I replied emir.d95 with this text:

I mean, it is sexual harassment. Admitting this isn't the same as saying that the cartoon is bad or that it should've been canceled (far from it, it's literally my favorite cartoon of all time), it's just stating a fact. It's like denying that Ed has an intellectual disability and is bullied because of it, or that Kevin is a bully (at least in the initial seasons), these are things that aren't explicitly said in the show, but are obvious and don't make it bad (furthermore, it was the 90s/2000s, it was a cartoon within what was considered normal for the time). Problematic things and complications happen, they are part of life, showing them in a cartoon isn't the same as agreeing with them. It was very clear that the Kankers were a bother to everyone and nobody liked them. Danny Antonucci said the Kankers were based on a group of girls he knew during his 7th grade school year. In his words "they're based on a pair of Grade 7 girls who true to form were always on the lookout for potential boyfriends. They frightened us with their intensity and attitude yet they always wanted to play the innocent with the older guys whom they wanted to date". They were based on real girls who were actually scary, cynical and a nuisance to Danny and others. The Kankers are supposed to be creepy, problematic, a pain in the ass, and disgusting. One of the biggest features of this show is the gross things, disgusting the viewers, and the Kankers and them abusing the Eds and sometimes others is one of those gross things. And before anyone says something like "It's just a cartoon, it's not that deep bro", we're talking about "Ed, Edd n Eddy", a show that literally addresses domestic violence, shows the main character's redemption arc and how his brother's abuse influenced him to act the way he did, and consequently teaches about friendship, forgiveness and acceptance. It's not just a silly cartoon, it also touches on serious subjects when necessary, sometimes in a more shallow, light and humorous way, or in a more explicit and profound way, like in the movie. The Kankers are abusers, just like Eddy's brother, and his punishment in the end is precisely being abused by them. Like it or not, "Ed, Edd n Eddy" teaches us, even if unconsciously and subtly, that girls can also be abusers and boys can be victims of sexual abuse. It's a great show for a laugh, but also for learning some valuable lessons every now and then. The movie was supposed to have even more serious and touching scenes, but unfortunately they didn't fit into the available time and budget.

Then I got these:

So, yeah... The lesson is: Don't expect a healthy in-depth dialogue about "Ed, Edd n Eddy" with people outside of Tumblr xD

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Kelby Vera at HuffPost:

Vivek Ramaswamy got quite a strong reaction from conservatives when he tried to explain hiring trends across the tech sector in a culturally-charged social media post on Thursday. In an extended post shared on X, the tech entrepreneur wrote about how “top companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over ‘native’ Americans,” claiming the imbalance “isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation)” but rather because of differences on the societal level. “A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture,” Ramaswamy continued, before telling readers, “Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH.” The CEO-turned-politician’s assessment? That “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.” Ramaswamy suggested that entertainment has had an outsized impact on shaping mainstream American values “at least since the 90s and likely longer.”

“A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers,” he claimed. Comparing and contrasting characters from several popular ’90s sitcoms, Ramaswamy went on to say, “A culture that venerates Cory from ‘Boy Meets World,’ or Zach & Slater over Screech in ‘Saved by the Bell,’ or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters,’ will not produce the best engineers.” His solution? “More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less ‘chillin.’ More extracurriculars, less ‘hanging out at the mall.’” While Ramaswamy’s point about pop culture seemed reasonable enough, the entrepreneur’s diagnosis veered into problematic overgeneralizations when he claimed the difference boiled down to families’ cultural and geographic backgrounds. “Most normal American parents look skeptically at ‘those kinds of parents,’” he wrote. “More normal American kids view such ‘those kinds of kids’ with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.”

[...] Ramaswamy then tried to rally readers to help shift the status quo by envisioning a future where America “once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.” While he pinned demographic disparities across the tech world on supposed cultural differences, the imbalance is more likely about dollars and cents. In 2020, a study by the Economic Policy Institute found that employers that rely on America’s H-1B visa program to recruit temporary employees with “highly specialized” skills and technical education often pay those workers well below the market wages. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Walmart, Google, Apple and Facebook have all made robust use of the program to fill job shortages. With President-elect Donald Trump preparing to implement a draconian deportation strategy when he assumes office next month, conservatives still seem to be at odds over how to approach the labor shortages troubling many of America’s biggest and most profitable businesses. Though Tesla CEO Elon Musk, like Ramaswamy, has vowed to be behind Trump’s harsh immigration policies, on Wednesday he posted that “the number of people who are super talented engineers AND super motivated in the USA is far too low,” and the country needs “to recruit top talent wherever they may be.”

DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy helped spark MAGA-on-MAGA violence over his X post on cultural differences on work expectations between native-born and foreign-born Americans.

[marshallpupfan]

What do you like the most out of Paw Patrol? What are your favorite moments from the TV series?

Well, I dare say everyone know what I like the most about PAW Patrol! But if I were to point out other things...

Right off the bat, it's certainly the fact it's about a bunch of pups. I've got a big love for dogs, so a cartoon like this is right up my alley. I guess this is why I often don't mind it when they add more canines to the cast, since in some ways, the more pups, the merrier!

In fact, despite my issues with the modern seasons, they gave us two more pups that quickly became very memorable, imo. It's my hope we see them both again, and outside of their respective subseries, too.

I grew up watching a lot of Looney Tunes, so I'm really big on physical humor and such. Marshall's obviously a good example of this, which is one of the many reasons why he's my favorite. Say what you will, but I love his clumsy antics, and I always look forward to his "Ryder needs us" wipeouts that happen in each episode (sure, the newer ones aren't as good as they were in the older seasons, but honestly, I still enjoy them nonetheless).

"I'm good!"

And I'm often glad when the other pups get involved in this stuff, such as this part with Rocky, which is still one of my favorite moments of his to this day. That look on his face is perfect. lol

And given that Chase is my second favorite, it's especially great when he finds himself caught up in moments like this, especially given he often tries to (or used to) be the most serious of the group.

"Now I know how Marshall feels!" "It's kind of fun, isn't it!"

Beyond all that, the cartoon just has so many cute/fun moments that I just really enjoy. In fact, many of these become favorite moments of mine. Seeing Marshall dress up as a sheep to help solve a mystery at Al's farm is one that comes to mind right away. And given my love of wolves, seeing him become pack leader is another that really stands out. Ah, I could no doubt list so many of my other favorite moments involving him, but I don't want to make this post too long.

And while I could list some for the other pups, I'd like to take a moment to point out some favorites of mine from other characters. Take this moment in season 5, involving the Kitten Catastrophe Crew. This is the kind of humor I wish we could see more often, and it's something I saw early on that convinced me to keep watching.

Even Mayor Humdinger, himself has given me a good laugh from time-to-time, which is why he's still my favorite of the human villains. Kidnapping those royal kittens and dressing them up to look like Everest and Tracker so his crew would match the PAW Patrol's numbers (at the time) instantly made me a fan of him.

I'll wrap this up before this post gets any longer. Suffice to say, there's a whole lot to the cartoon that appeals to me. Again, despite my grievances with the modern seasons, I still consider myself a fan, and there's still a whole lot I enjoy about PAW Patrol, which is why I stick with it. And as you can imagine, I'm still just as crazy about Marshall as ever, so there's that, too. :)

[theseawillbringdarkness]

I rarely write reviews for things, because honestly, I’m just a regular person with no experience or knowledge on the details of game development, and I get anxious that I may misunderstand something due to being unaware of how certain mechanics work or subtle aspects of storywriting, but I decided to give «Cryptid Crush» a more detailed overview than just a little post full of me gushing over this project that I made originally (spoiler alert: this review actually is just one giant post of me gushing over all the things I love about the game, because I just wanted to note down everything that caught my attention). I’m putting it under the «read more», so folks that didn’t play it can avoid spoilers. And also because I got a bit into oversharing\infodumping mode (aka, a LOT of text), and there is a lot of images too. Buckle up for a ride and let’s-a go!

All screenshots are from the game “Cryptid Crush” by Drowsy Drake Studios.

This is a big read. Seriously. 3378 words. Don’t ask me how it happened, I was in the zone.

Spoilers!!

I say “review”, but it’s just my personal opinion, not entirely written in a serious manner, because I by no means intend it as some serious and professional writing.

TL;DR: play «Cryptid Crush», support it’s creators ( @cryptidcrushvn, @squidinu​ ) and check their website!

I actually stumbled over this game by accident, because one evening I was in especially sour mood and decided to lose myself in one of dating simulators or visual novels, so I was browsing Itchio to see if anything catches my eye. «Cryptid Crush» instantly did just that, because I’m absolutely in love with monstrous characters and I loved what I saw on the game’s main page. Normally, due to whatever weird neurodivergent way my brain works, I can hardly make myself play new games\watch new shows\movies\cartoons, because that requires certain mental preparation from me (aka «the stars must allign in a specific way, or else I’ll stare at the game icon forever, unmoved like a statue»). No idea why it works like this! I have whole lists of things I want to play\watch, but I always have to catch myself in a mental state that is perfectly accepting of getting invested in a new story, even if I know there is 90% chance I will like it. And let me tell you, I’m very glad that I gave «Cryptid Crush» a go. Actually, this is now my comfort story, and there is a lot I want to praise the creators of this game for.

Mechanics

Click to progress the story, which means I can drink tea\coffee AND enjoy a good story. That’s already a win in my books, especially if you’re looking to settle down for a cozy, relaxing evening. Ability to simply scroll back in case you accidentally skipped a dialogue line or want to read it again can really come in handy. Actually, while I’m at it, I have to say BIG THANKS for such detailed menu when it comes to picking where exactly you want to start after you played both chapters. Rather than having to play from the beginning, you can pick a scene to start from, which is especially great for when you want to replay certain moments or conversations in the game.

TTRPG mechanics: at first, I was a bit intimidated, because I always have troubles absorbing technical information about how certain things work (which often looks like an overwhelming cluster of information for my brain), and while I make sure to read through everything, it takes some poking around or even winging from me to get a hold of how something in the game works. However, here it wasn’t so bad at all. I love how «throw a dice to determine success or failure of selected action» here is both used in battle mode AND at a few points in the story, to see if you can get additional information from the characters or get away with a small lie.

When it comes to fights, I enjoyed them more than I expected - said TTRPG mechanic wasn’t so hard to understand after all, and little comments and dialogue lines made the process even more lively and enjoyable. I greatly appreciate the way tutorial was smoothly integrated into gameplay and for a chance to pick difficulty when it comes to fights. I’m a simple person, I play on «easy» majority of the time, so it worked perfectly for me.

Character customization: while the look of the main character, Robyn, is pretty much «set», there are still details you can change, like picking a different color for the coat, hair length, etc. And you can choose whatever first and second name you want (so, like usual, I just used the name of my main OC). Also appreciate the ability to pick pronouns, because I didn’t think too long before picking «they\them». Am I having some sort of self-discovery? I don’t know, but I always appreciate having that option for some reason.

Artwork

The visual part is stunning! The art style is so beautiful and cozy! I love the thicker lines on the outline (no pun intended) of characters, the soft colors, the creativity of monstrous designs. Love how big hands some of characters have (like August in werewolf mode, Oz, Jamie, Mike, etc.)!! My absolutely favorite part, as usual, is facial expressions, of course. Backgrounds also have each their own atmosphere (like cozy one at Robyn’s place, or creepy haunted one at the Elkhorn radio station. Actually, this bit has tons of details - a nice example of «environmental storytelling») and vary in level of detail, allowing some scenes to have more focus on the characters. This pencil-painting style looks great, by the way!

Story

The story in «Cryptid Crush» is very intriguing and allows you an easy integration in it’s world, being a good mix between supernatural and something familiar to all of us. Like dealing with mysterious curse, living in a town full of various cryptids and all the shenanigans that come with it, while at the same time being a relatively regular person, who is just trying to navigate the chaos of their life and worrying about groceries. There is a main story of searching for answers about said curse, but plenty of other storylines that entwine with it, enriching the story and making it feel so full of life. The world here truly feels alive, and there is one part that I love so much.

Despite characters facing hardships and things being rather scary at times (like Robyn’s trip to the void, their first nightmare and what Mike had to face while dealing with Mr.Walker), the story is so. Very. Wholesome. It’s in everything, in the way characters communicate between each other, and especially in their relationships. I’m a big fan of the «found family trope», it always moves me, and I truly believe that sometimes a family can be just a bunch of dysfunctional adults that love each other and try to get along, and seeing those little details or these heartfelt talks that characters share (like the talk between August and Atlas, for example) - they warm my heart so much. My own life may be a mess at the moment, but somehow, this story gives me reassurance that it will work out. Things can be tough sometimes, but they don’t stay tough.

On that note, I absolutely have to mention the amazing writing. Different people obviously gravitate towards different writing styles, but this one is great in so many ways. The descriptions are dosaged perfectly - they’re not dry or, on the contrary, stretch so much that it significantly slows down the story. They’re perfect in giving you enough information to imagine the scene and atmosphere well, without turning into cluster of words (I enjoy big descriptions, but sometimes they may be more fitting for an actual book, rather than a story with a certain flow). And when you’re given lore at the library, it’s also written very interestingly (and the illustrations are so great!!), giving you a better outlook on the world of cryptids. I love the way that size and type of the font (or little details, like «shaking» letters) is used to better convey emotions. All characters feel so alive, they each have their own very different personalities and little quirks. I also absolutely have to applaud the sense of humor that comes into writing and makes it such an easy and comfortable read! I don’t have enough words to describe properly how much I love the writing, okay.

Characters

Usually, I always have a few favorite characters when it comes to stories (I’m personally very fond of Oz, for instance), while I’m rather neutral towards the others, sometimes warming up to them as the story progresses and I get to know them better. «Cryptid Crush» is an exception, though, because I actually love all characters that were introduced to us so far?? So allow me to spam a little with silly little commentaries for each of them. Also, I may mention it about dozens of times, so let me say it here: all voice actors are doing spectacular job! I’m legit in awe of the talent and range, and it’s clear they’re doing their best and having fun in the process too.

«Mothman»

Not gonna lie, I keep asking him for «dad advice» just for fun (I can’t believe his sound effect is straight up «hi Hungry, I’m dad»). The answers are simultaneously the worst and the best.

«Robyn»

I’m fairly certain they’re a mom friend at heart, being a voice of reason on different occassions. Probably unsuspecting that they’re in need of the «found family», but also I hope that it certainly awaits them. Absolutely love it how they’re just trying to ignore all the weird things that are happening in their life currently. I mean, sure, there is a ghostly cat and also now another ghost that haunts your phone. Doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about breakfast.

«Taro»

She is a little goblin of a cat, and I love her. I mean, I’m aware she is a cat, but at the same time she is so... CAT. If you know what I mean. Waking you up by putting a paw on your face (or through your face in this case), demanding food and attention. Love her, and the voice is absolutely perfect for this type of personality! And her monstrous form looks awesome!

«Atlas»

The quote that comes to mind right away is «I only had them for an hour and a half, but if something happened to them, I’d kill everyone in the room and then myself». Many bits of his personality feel so relatable, especially the urge to infodump\overshare (like what I’m doing right now, whoops). Side note, but in Chapter 1 «Leviathan Waltz», during the phone talk before bed, I always got the picture of Atlas chilling in the attic, identical to the one at the intro of the chapter. An alternative, creepier version was unexpected, but that was a really cool surprise! In any case, I love Atlas dearly, and his enthusiasm towards things is very contagious. I’d absolutely watch a trilogy marathon with him (if there are subtitles, or I’m gonna miss 40-50% of information).

«Jamie»

I didn’t know what to expect at first, but with all the «Let the crimes commence» and casual trashing of the haunted radio station, I did not expect how gentle they are (not with Mike, for obvious reasons, but you know). I adore the manner in which they wrote the message to Robyn the next day after the trip to Elkhorn radio station, almost sounding like what one would write in a full on letter, as well as their overall manner of speech and also being a voice of reason, taking care of their friends. Also, they have a skull-face, which automatically makes me love their design. And bright blue details go so well with the rest of their palette! Also also, I was really thrilled to see a character that goes by «they\them» (okay, yeah, maybe I am going through some self-discovery here).

«Mike Madhouse»

I have to note right off the bat: Mike’s voice actor really be WILDIN’. The absolute charisma that drips off every voiced dialogue line, the unrestrained enthusiasm and madness?? Absolutely amazing. I’m not the person to genuinely laugh that easily, but sound effects for Robyn’s haunted phone crack me up every time. As much as various facial expressions Mike makes (I swear, you guys cranked it up to 200% and I’m loving the result). I’m looking forward to seeing him getting some character growth, and I was happy when he didn’t turn out to simply be defeated and leave the scene for good. He is a complex character, not easily showing his true emotions, which only makes these moments hit even harder (like the sad face he makes at the mention of Atlas, when they’re about to leave for Edith’s shop). «MeAt GrInDeR!!!» moment is definitely one of my favorite ones. (Also, different variations of sprites during the fight, like Atlas Madhouse and demonic looking Madhouse, look epic!)

«August»

He is friend-shaped. That’s it, I don’t have anything more to say, I bet he gives the best hugs. Well, of course not, I do have more things to say. For instance, how adorable he is when he gets flustered after being called, well, adorable. Actually, I only recently noticed the blushing sprite that flashes for a second when he turns around to jump through the window right afterwards. I mean, he wanted to get out of the clinic anyway, but that was a smooth escape. Also, I adore the «I was already a wreck» pun when Robyn apologies for hitting him with a car (I actually love puns, and sometimes I make it other people’s problem, pfft). The enraged snarling August makes upon realizing Atlas forgot to turn off the oven was both terrifying and hillarious in the context. (Lowkey, love all of his sprites and the fact that he has these different «stages» of his werewolf form too.)

«Oz»

I said this already, but when seeing Oz in Chapter 0, I thought he will only make a fleeting appearance and that’s it, which made me a bit sad, because he instantly caught my eye. So I was absolutely delighted to see so much more of him in the next chapter! I love how chill he seems to be, looking intimidating, but at the same time giving impression of a gentle giant who wouldn’t hurt someone without a good reason. It might be a bit challenging with a character who doesn’t speak majority of the time, but it also allows a lot of creativity with the way he communicates and expresses his feelings, and it makes it entertaining to see his facial expressions change at various comments the other characters make. The very rare «pleased» expression he makes honestly warms my heart. But also he gives a strong feeling of a «this bad boy can store so much PAIN inside-», which makes me want to give him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. I’m looking forward to see more of him in the future, his appearance in the dream sequence alone was very surprising (especially having him actually speak here). Also I loved the moment when he and August were in the middle of an argument, and Gus waited politely and patiently while Oz was writing down what he had to say. ALSO have to note that I absolutely love his color palette, which makes yellow eyes stand out even more on top of various shades of grey, black and white.

«Thursday»

Beloved goblin: Bird Edition! Thursday’s pleased expression is one of my favorite sprites. I’m losing it at the contrast between their «crow mode» and very sudden «deep-voiced man, enunciating perfectly clear what they got to say», the first time it took me by surprise.

«Edith»

I was wondering if she is a normal human, right until that one «it’s the charm that protects you-» sprite that made me go «grandma, why are your teeth so big-». At the same time, I felt for Edith in this moment, because I felt exactly the same on multiple occassions, whenever I had to explain something obvious to a customer. Looking forward to seeing more of her, but it’s obvious she is very caring.

«Hazel»

She is sassy, and she clearly had enough of whatever shit she has to put up with. But she still loves her brother, even if she seems annoyed.

«June»

Literally the most adorable ball of energy! I wish I had at least half of her energy.

«Goatma’am»

Her coat! Horns! And overall colors!! She is so pretty, and so nice and helpful! I love the way she is voiced, and I really enjoy listening to this specific kind of speech\voice for some reason. «Parsnip» bit made me snort, though.

«Robbie»

It’s actually very refreshing to see a Cryptid who is just as bewildered at many things about Longhope as any «regular» person likely would be. Lowkey, I loved that wobbling sprite of his when he was telling Robyn what people call cryptids where he is from. He seems to be up to some shenanigans, as well as being determined to find the «goddess sleeping at the river», so I’m hoping he will eventually succeed in his quest.

«Tessie»

She is a mysterious lady (and so beautiful too!), and I’m curious to learn more about her!

«Mr. Walker»

Despite looking rather simple, he’s got an eye-catching design (which I liked even more, because I love shadow-like monsters), and the fight had a lot of creativity put into it! It was a nice twist with Mr.Walker looking like a bigger threat and with smaller HP than the Lantern, seeming like the most reasonable target to take down first, only to swiftly come back into fight after being defeated. And the «Lantern cuts the lights» move was also nice. All in all, Mr.Walker makes easily a very disturbing and terrifying enemy, making the encounter at the graveyard so intense.

Music

Last, but not the least, is music (and it’s nice that you can see the name of the current soundtrack playing in the menu in the lower part of the screen). First of all, the soundtrack in «Cryptid Crush» is straight up enchanting. It always fits the mood perfectly, and I certainly got a few favorites. I kept «Dirt Nap Dreams» on while working a little while ago, and it was soothing and nice for concentration. The track itself is rather chill and a bit somber. «Thaumaturgy Thursdays» makes a perfect soundtrack for Edith, Oz and Thursday trio, having a bit of this «something wicked» energy to it. «Midway to Nowhere» appears to be rather chill, but has this very unsettling mood that is so great for certain scenes and places. And, of course, one of my most favorite ones - «Urgently Jammin’», both remixed version and the original! I swear I listened to this for days. But I also love «Supernatural Foe» for a nice beat and «Old Gods» for how dramatic it is and how it makes you really feel how high stakes are during fight with Mr.Walker.

Second of all, I just have to mention how well sound design is used in the game and how many details go into it. My favorite examples: 1) when Atlas tells Robyn he wants to show them something, and then suddenly «Urgently Jammin» breaks off instead of «Loosen Up Longhope», when he makes a big reveal of still being possessed; 2) «casual» soundtrack breaking off into intense and terrifying «The UNWELCOME Visitor» with Oz seemingly about to get Taro on Edith’s orders, only for everything to abruptly go silent as she goes «I’m joking» and slip back into «Thaumaturgy Thursdays» as the mood changes from threatening back to casual; 3) when Hazel and Oz are having an argument, «Elkhorn Radio Intro» plays out (which is associated at this point with the fight sequence beginning), only for things to suddenly cut back to normal when Robyn and Atlas enter the scene.

All in all, I just want to say that the attention to detail is insane here (another example I didn’t mention above is when Robyn is searching for Mike, and before you see the actual sprites of August and Oz fighting in the background, you see their icons and damage). It’s obvious how much hard work and love is being poured into this project, and I just want to say big «THANK YOU» to Drowsy Drake Studios for creating such amazing story with so many lovable characters. You’re doing amazing work, and we all appreciate it!

Again, I strongly advice to also check out their website for more information:

https://cryptidcrush.com/

P.S. Apologies if I forgot or misunderstood something, it was a bit hard to properly gather my thoughts, but I did my best! If you actually managed to read all of it, you’re a champ.

[businesscasualart]

i luv ur work, can I see a smal snippet of any fanfic ur working on👉👈 here’s a treat as payment🧁

AWWWW THANK YOU SM! I've posted so little work, I didn't expect anyone would care too much for my work, art or fanfic, as opposed to just like, my affinity for providing content for obscure characters and ships. <3 You are SO sweet, I'm crying TvT I'd love to share, it'd be an honor, treat or no treat as payment! Thank you for the treat tho XD

Okay, so, context: I've been in fandomless hell for a few months now. I can rely on the fact that I'll be bouncing back to and around the DC fandom every few months, but I'm absolutely directionless rn. The last thing I got working on is yet another Young Justice, Psimon/Devastation fic as always. I DO intend to write something else eventually, but I love Devapsimon <3

A friend requested this one RIGHT before I fell out of the YJ fandom into this period of nothingness. Now...you see...they don't watch YJ, they dislike superhero cartoons. They do know I love YJ tho.

I...don't...like...Omegaverse...BUT YOU SEE, MY FRIEND uh...got pretty big into it...in the Normalest way they could...If you don't know what it is, don't Google it.

My good, dear friend...requested of me...that the third fic I ever write...be a lil Psimon/Devastation Omegaverse fic for them and they PROMISE they'll pay me...somehow...presumably with a fic they'll write bc I KNOW they don't have money. SO FOR LIKE, three months, between fandomless hell, writing what I don't know, and KEEPING THIS THING PG-14...I've been writing that!

Maybe I'll convert it into a sickfic before posting it to Ao3! Bc I am so unsure about writing omegaverse and my abilities doing so. AND IT IS PRETTY MUCH A SICKFIC, I'm taking a very mild-hurt/comfort, mostly nesting, sickfic approach with it! I hope it's still enjoyable despite my long breaks writing it. I have to do some serious editing but rn I'm just trying to get it done! Wish me luck!

So uh

WIP Devapsimon Fic Snippet!

CW: uh, nothing really! There's not even much Omegaverse mention in this part...um...I don't know how to format a fic on Tumblr...there's an abundance of description of RV bunk beds...I can't find a good place to cut off the snippet...THIS IS ALSO VERY LONG FOR A SNIPPET, but this is my longest fic yet.... so uh...long preview! As a treat!

“D…Devastation?” He whispered hesitantly, torn between announcing his presence and not disturbing her rest.

Upon getting no response tried to gently, quietly push past the curtains but the metal curtain rings slowly drug against the metal bar making a screech that resounded in his ears and made him wince. 

He peered into the bunk section. It was darker than the rest of the RV, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust. 

It was honestly shocking how everyone could fit in here, it was a cramped ‘room’. If Baran or Tommy were to walk down the room, both of their shoulders would rub against the bunks lining either wall. Thankfully, the bunks themselves were of a decent size. 

They were built into the wall, like a shelf or cubby. They could hold a thin twin XL size ‘mattress’...well…really more so a foam pad than a mattress. However, the bottom bunk cubbies were decently tall, the larger Onslaught members still can’t really fit lying on their backs or sitting up, but they could fit just fine lying on their sides.

There were exactly six bunks, two on each side of the three-walled room. Additionally, hanging in the middle of the walkway between the two top bunks on the left and the right of the room, was a hammock. Cameron generously set it up when they got the Terror Twins on the team and claimed it for himself. He claims it was to win Tuppence’s favor but Psimon is almost certain it was just regular generosity and self-sacrifice. 

Each bunk had different privacy curtains shielding the inside of the bunks; some decorative, some blackout, some sheer; but a few were left open. 

One such bunk had its curtains open. Thankfully, it was the one with the only small window in the room, on the wall inside the top bunk across from the entrance. It didn’t provide much light, especially since the dusty blinds as well as small curtains on it were drawn. 

There were also string lights lining the room, courtesy of Selinda, to provide a gentle light but they were left off during the day. 

It was relatively clear whose bed was whose. Everyone had a relatively distinct sense of style, or lack thereof. 

Selinda’s was a simple bed with everything in some shade of black and purple. Tuppences lined her walls and ceiling with decor like photos, stickers, and posters. The other mens’ bunks generally looked like the beds had been abandoned for eight years, but Tommy decorated his similarly to Tuppence’s, only simpler; Mammoth’s bed had a king-sized comforter shoved in there and the walls were scratched up; and Cameron’s...well, he had a hammock.

Psimon’s bunk was by far the most organized one but it doesn’t stand out. All neutral colors, made up neatly. He had two pillows, but only really used one. He, like a few others, had small organizers hanging on the walls. He never had many personal, sentimental items to bring on these missions, so he mostly kept business related papers, pens, a tablet for work, and the like up there.

Each set of twins shared the bunks on two walls and Cameron...had a hammock…so Devastation slept in the bunk under Psimon’s.

Her bed was also simple and mostly neutral tones, but messier…usually. She had two or three more blankets and pillows than usual, all strewn about, along with a couple clothing items. It was notably more crowded.

Psimon had no idea how Devastation would be comfortable in that mess, and perhaps she wasn’t, because she wasn’t even in her bed. 

She sat on the filthy, old carpeted floor next to her bed, leaning halfway into the bunk, her face buried in her arms. 

“Devastation!” Psimon gasped, dropping to his knees next to her, nearly dropping the bowl in the process. He set it on the floor next to him, placing a hand on her back and the other on an arm.

Her hair was taken down but not brushed, left messy and tangled. She had also changed into her nightwear, striped shorts and a sleeveless top. They seemed to have been a lavender-type color, but they’ve lightened and grayed out over time, as well as developed a couple of small holes in seams here and there. 

“Oh, Devastation…” Psimon, voice quiet and full of concern, never finished his sentence.

He struggled to pull Devastation upright by her shoulders, pulling her to rest against him so he could see her face. Once he managed it, her weight nearly knocked him back onto the floor but she seemed to regain enough awareness to somewhat support her own weight and not throw it all on him at once.

Her eyes were glazed and distant when they fluttered open. She furrowed her brow and her eyes slowly moved to look at Psimon, in an attempt to figure out what was happening but before she could, he laid his hand over her face. 

He kept moving his hand around her face, to both of her cheeks and to her forehead as if they’d yield different results, but the results were clear. Devastation’s skin was impossibly hot, hotter than before, even in the short time that had passed. It was wet with sweat and flushed all over from her own body temperature. 

Her glassy eyes finally found Psimon’s face, despite his hand’s frantic search for a more reassuring result. Her mouth hung open slightly, as if to speak, but she only took in short, ragged breaths. 

“Oh…Oh Devastation…”

[yzafre]

Thought that I'm posting (because I want to get it out), but not tagging (because I am trying not to insert myself loudly in the Discourse): The thing about Rise Leo in context of other Leo's is like. Hm how do I put this.

It depends on how you think about the context of other Leos?

Like. Okay, if you think about "Leo"s like this:

Sort of... springing up simultaneously like flower petals around a central point. Then he does seem like a big outlier, and I can understand people's frustrations and even some people's opinion that he's not really a Leo at all. I would disagree, but I get it.

I think this is very much a, like.... "why did people who watched the series pre-Rise tend to get attached to Leo as their favorite". And it's fair to say that maybe his slightly more serious demeanor and active sense of responsibility were part of that! So not having those traits you like/relate to would be disappointing.

But I, maybe because of the way I'm watching TMNT (didn't watch it growing up, have been binge-watching each cartoon series in reverse-chronological order) am looking at the context of Leo like this:

And like. If you do this it starts tracking really well. (shhh the comics and movies should also be present as they would affect the evolution of the character, this is just a vague representation).

Like. I mentioned this in my "nobel vs trickster hero archetype" post but. Going straight from Rise to 2012, looking at '12 Leo in season one I was just like "yeah, this tracks". I see the traits that are being brought forward from the previous version, and then affected by the environmental changes of the iteration they're in, and... I see how they got from one to the next clearly.

This is definitely more of a, like... meta approach? Looking at how the writing developed, how as different aspects were highlighted, or character relationships changed, things evolved over time. What the writers might have been seeing that they wanted to try playing with differently, what themes they were messing with.

There's deeper discussions to be had like "even if the changes do track do you think the active sense of Responsibility should always remain anyways, because that's why people historically got attached to Leo" or "there are actually a lot of other traits the Leos share they're just presented differently let's talk about them" or "okay saying Rise Leo is just another Mikey is too reductive but ALSO yeah there's a lot of similarities with 2003 Mikey specifically".

But overall I think there's a big aspect of like.... how/in what mind-set do we think about the character. It's interesting!

[ckret2]

saw your recent reblog about feedback and, though I’ve been occasionally gushing in tags, you deserve to hear what I tell my friends! In general, your writing style is perfect at capturing the timing and delivery of the show itself. I’ve never read a fic i’ve been able to visualize more clearly than this one. You write each character so well that between chapters it feels like i’m right back where i used to be, waiting for new episodes again. I do think you haven’t *quite* solved your side-character-ification (applejackification?) of Dipper problem yet, but other than that you’re doing an astounding job at balancing all the characters and their interactions with each other and with bill in a way that feels natural (plus with these more recent chapters i’m seeing lots of good dipper stuff so you’re definitely getting there with him too! besides, it is nice to see Mabel get the spotlight after all these years anyway. healing, even.) You know exactly how to control an audience’s emotions, you know when to drag something out and when to shut it down, you know when to cut off a conversation and when bring up the fact it was cut off later. Little foreshadowings like the loose tooth are well-planted and plot beats like lucid dreaming are dropped and picked back up delicately and with precision, like pressing piano keys. i don’t doubt for a second it’s all a part of some grand instrument, though i wouldn’t be surprised if you told me most of it was improvised - another way you’re just like the show was. you’ve done the episodic-and-serialized thing better than at least half of all silver-age cartoons that have attempted to do so! I adore the way you show kindness to all characters in your scenes, from gideon’s characterless mother to the little freak himself. It truly feels as though you pick no favorites, and that’s something you do better than the show did tbh. Not that TBOB needed to hook me in with a marketing campaign, but hypothetically, in a universe where I didn’t own a hand-sewn bill cipher throw-pillow and yet somehow still found this fic, I would definitely be excited for it after reading! you’re gifted, and i hope this does numbers on AO3. I truly cannot stand hazbin hotel, but I may go back and read your other works once this one’s over, just to hear your narrative voice. it’s a voice worth hearing, and may it be forever amplified.

oh WOW thank you so much??? 😭 this is SUCH a sweet comment and it means so much to me that you took the time to write all this!!

APPLEJACKIFICATION... that made me laugh. Dipper will get some serious development before the end of the eclipse plot and he's key in the next plot, so I think that'll help him make some progress. But yeah—he's not gonna be as important as Mabel, but I do want to make sure he has a plot that stands on its own, smaller though it may be.

It's 2/3 planned, 1/3 improvised. 😁 I've got a lead time of about 15 chapters between what I've posted and what I've written, so I can do stuff like write the poppet chapter, write the tooth fairy arc, edit the poppet chapter, realize that as long as I'm giving him a bloody lip maybe I can loosen his tooth, edit the tooth fairy arc, have him mention that that tooth was loose. And many chapters I haven't written or outlined yet I have loosely planned in my head so I know how to aim toward them.

Wanting to show kindness to all the characters and wanting to give as many of them an internal life as possible is so important to me, and I'm so glad that's showing through so far!

And honestly I think "I hate [xyz] but I'll read it if you're writing it" is the highest compliment. 😂 All my hazbin fics were written pre-season 1 when all we had was the pilot, a couple comics, creator comments, and some Helluva to go by; but idk maybe you'd consider that a plus lol. (If you're interested, on ao3 I've also written Transformers, Godzilla, some Pokémon, and a smattering of other things.)

Thanks again for sending such a nice message!

[detectivereads]

Batman/Elmer Fudd Special #1 by Tom King

5/5

This post is for fan entertainment, I am not being paid.

I went to my local comic shop recently to get some of the Batman Day comics that they had. I got a bunch. I was really happy to see some of the Long Halloween comics that were there. But this one the owner recommended it. At first I didn’t really know what to think, I know Loony Toons and Batman had some collaborations but when I saw the cover one this one I was not too sure I would like, so this was one of the first ones I read cover to cover, I am happy to say I love this, granted Elmer Fudd is not one of my favorite Loony Toons characters, after reading this I hope there is more in the series.

The comic shop had two variants the colored version and the noir version, I got the noir version.

Once I started reading this I started laughing, the way Elmer talks is iconic and the monologue that is shown within the first page. You have this super serious gritty scene. Gotham City at night it's raining down buckets and figure is seen trudging through the waterlog streets. Streets lights are dimly lit casting what little light they can, and you read the dialogue boxes and there is Elmer Fudd giving the token noir speech, heading to his regular bar: Porky’s.

Again, the sign for Porky’s, I like to see it as a nod towards the ending title cards after the cartoons.

Once Elmer is the bar, we as the reader see multitude of people, humanoid version of our favorite Loony Toon’s character. You got Bugs, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Taz and so on.

At one point when were saw all the bar patrons I had a hard time telling who one was, I want to say its Marvin the Martian.

Elmer is looking for Bugs, in this universe Bugs is a hired hit man and he was tasked to take out a woman that Elmer loved. So, Elmer has come to return the favor. Bugs barters for his life, giving the name of the man who hired him: Bruce Wayne.

With some calls and favors pulled Elmer gets into the party that Bruce is hosting, he finds Bruce and shoots him. Fleeing the scene after the deed has been done, Elmer heads home. However, he is not alone.

This comic was a riot, I really didn’t see the ending coming, but since this was noir type comic, I should have seen it coming.

The only issue that I did have with comic is that sometimes I couldn’t really understand what Elmer was saying, I had to re-read it a few times to understand it better.

I had my doubts about this comic, but I am happy to say this is a gold star in my book, I got noir-type mystery, I got Loony Toons and Batman. I was happy to be proven wrong. I hope there is going to be more Batman/Loony Toons mysteries.

[mostlikelytofangirl]

Honestly one of my favourite things about ruoyao is how unhinged a ship it is! Like okay WRH and MY are fundamentally different people but they fit together very nicely! WRH is very capricious and MY knows how to deal with capricious people, WRH seems to be one of the few people in the entire novel to elevate people purely on merit (see: MY, WZL, WQ) and thag drives me nuts!

Like are you serious??? The unhinged megalomaniac is better at recognising and rewarding talent than everyone here??? Says a lot about the jianghu. In the same vein, he seems like the one person that would 100% respect his mom, without being awkward about it because he doesn't give two craps about social conventions or propriety

The same way I don't think MY's kindness is a facade, I don't think his cruelty in WRH's court is one either! MY can be very unhinged and cruel himself when he's pushed to it! (see: JGS's death)

There's also the fact WRH treated him better than anyone until that point (except for LXC) and like, obviously MY was playing a role in Qinshang, but it wasn't a role necessarily antithetical to his character!

It's really fun to explore the whirlwind of emotion MY was dealing with at that point! The power, the rush of WRH's respect and care, so on!

I've read every ruoyao dynamic under the sun (wen-gongzi, wen-furen, codependency, sexy torture times, etc.) And they drive me crazy!!!! Have you seen manhua WRH's reaction to being killed? He doesn't look like he's angry and wants to rage and kill! He looks confused and devastated like he doesn't understand why his talented Yao'er would do this!

It's about the potential. Like yeah WRH is basically a cartoon villain in the books but he's so fun to toy with with the little info we have! One thing that I like to believe about him is that he 100% adores his family! Hurt WX or WC or MY? He'll skin you. He was probably about to shatter baxia and have MY skin NMJ when he died

AAAAHHHH You get me!!!

YES! They are different ppl but they align so well with each other! As you said WRH is the kind to do whatever the hell he wants, and one thing MY is great at is accommodating, and he has no issues with that so long as his own needs are met too, and woULD YOU LOOK AT HOW HE ACTUALLY GOT RECOGNIZED!

And WZL! I forgot about him, but YES, that dude not only got accepted in the sect, he even was given the Wen name! LIKE PLS WRH was going around collecting talented rejects :')

Oh, I totally agree with your assessment of MY. I believe he was an inherently good person, but he was more than capable of cruelty. He probably had to exaggerate a bit in Qishan, but he definitely had what it took already, that cold blood is just something you can't fake, no matter how good an actor. And you know, that's what I love about Wen Yao, that he could be fully himself like that, he didn't have to hide his "dark" side nor pretend to be better to not hurt others' sensibilities bc, as good as he may have been at his core, he was not all about pure righteousness. He understood nuance and the need for harsh measures, and only with the Wen was it properly appreciated (but not exploited and abused like JGS did)

There are so many flavors to the ship indeed! I mean, you are still not going to get the healthiest pairing out of ruoyao lol, but you can get some wonderful codependence or the ever so delicious "I'm horrible to everybody but never to you" dynamics :'D

Ahhh the manhua!! I made this post some time ago PRECISELY bc I was going insane over how crushed WRH was when he discovered his Yao'er betraying him! He wasn't angry, he just couldn't understand why T-T

Lol he's a wonderful cartoon villain XD. It's about his potential as well, how we can have fun with the bits and pieces of info bc those are actually telling. And I do agree that he cared about his family, even if he wasn't aware of how he came off to them (aka that one donghua scene with WC kneeling), bc we would have been told otherwise since this is the Horrible Fathers novel :P. Also iirc, the whole "torture of NMJ right in front of him" thing was bc he killed WX, sooooo...

[acacia-may]

Hiya Acacia! For the ask game; may I ask for 4, 7, 31, and 46 please 🥰?

Hi there, Lyra! Thank you for the ask, friend!! 💜 These replies got really long so I've put them under the cut.

4. What is the plot bunny you’ve been carrying for the longest? optional bonus question: do you ever wonder why you haven’t written it yet and experience deep existential dread?

Since I have way too much WIPS, I am going to take a very narrow focus for this question and make myself choose from plot bunnies I have never written anything for (rather than including any existing wips). In which case, I've got to go with my Langris x Finesse Beauty and Beast AU where the Golden Dawn is all turned into the palace furniture (It's based off the Disney movie (loosely) and Alecdora Sandler made an excellent uptight clock, William was a candlestick, and David is particularly hilarious as a wine glass). I wanted to write this one so badly but just never could figure out how to make it into an actual story rather than vignettes of scenes and shenanigans, so it never came to life. 😭

And yes, I feel deep existential dread when I think about all of my wips and the stories I will (probably) never get to write... 🙈

7. Tell us about the plot of the first fanfic you ever wrote

I think I was "writing" fanfiction pretty much my whole life. When I played make-believe as a little kid, it was always continuations of my favorite stories or putting my favorite characters into AUs. I remember writing some short stories about my favorite book and cartoon characters too, but I'm not sure what my very first one was about. I want to say it was Star Wars because my friend and I wrote this whole series when I was about 9 called "The Adventures of Space Cat" (which was my friend's Star Wars OC: a talking cat who was basically adopted by Luke, Han, and Leia and brought on all their adventures after the end of the original trilogy).

When I was in middle school, I wrote what was essentially Ben 10 Alien Force fanfiction for an epic poetry school project and just changed all of the names and some of the more specific details. This absolute gem (I say with total sarcasm) is unfortunately lost to time but my sister swears she vividly remembers this one particular line that was basically, "Character A paused during the battle because of his trauma and confidence issues" (which I think probably says a lot about me & the kinds of characters that compel me even back then...).

I don't think I got serious about writing fanfiction until high school though when I wrote my big, long Secret Garden epic which was 46 chapters and 176,134 words long (and was going to be a duology so was technically never finished even though book 1 has a complete first draft...) The plot was pretty basic. It was a sequel to my favorite book of all time, The Secret Garden, and (believe it or not) a period romance that took place when all the characters were adults mostly during World War 1. It was split perspective and had OCs as major characters too, so it was, honestly, a really ambitious project.

I made so many changes to it after I had a complete draft so I'm honestly very relieved I never posted it anywhere and just shared it with my friends and family irl. They seemed to like it well enough but...it's a bit of an embarrassment for me tbh as I feel my writing has gotten so much better since then. A friend I met in college wanted to read it but I had made so many changes to the draft & had never finished the 2nd draft so it was basically unreadable (i.e. the beginning no longer matched the ending, random plotlines were taken out and added ect.) so I wrote Secrets and Sugar Mice for her as a little taste of my overall ideas and also to introduce her to one of my OCs (and I actually did post that to AO3 (linked here) if you are at all curious).

Writing that story helped me grow so much as a writer, character creator, and storyteller and I'm so grateful for the experience, but I'm not sure I will ever actually resurrect this project, especially since I'm not sure this particular 100+ year old book has much of a fandom.😅

31. Tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

I've answered this here (about one of my OCs) and here (about Black Clover canon characters I enjoy writing), but since we're doing blast from the past here a little, I will give a shout out to very first real OC, Julia, who taught me so much about how to create a character and fit them into an existing world (and as an eventual love interest for an existing character). Some of the most fun I have ever had as a writer was writing her and Colin's quick-witted rivals to friends to lovers plotline. They're both highly intelligent people, strong-willed, and stubborn as heck, and their plotline took place in a hospital (mostly during the war) where he's a doctor and she's a nurse and they are just butting heads about how best to run things at every possible turn. They end up playing up their rivalry because neither wants to admit defeat or that they actually have a lot of respect & admiration for each other and want to be friends. (Secrets and Sugar Mice is about that specifically if you're at all interested).

Here is a short excerpt if I can be completely self-indulgent (just a short little exchange between her and her dad (who technically is a canon character but we know next to nothing about him so he's basically an OC too lol):

Julia stopped abruptly, staring at the medical supply cabinet. It was exactly as she had left it with supplies organized for practical use—bandages next to gauze as they would often be taken together and so on. It only made sense after all—at least to Julia anyway. Some people were of the opinion that it would be better if the supplies were arranged alphabetically.

“Dr. Craven didn’t rearrange the cabinet today,” said a voice from behind her. She turned and found her father, Dr. Louis Cartwright, dressed in his white coat with files in hand. He smiled slightly at her.

 “So I see.”

“He was very busy,” her father explained. “It’s alright if you’re a bit disappointed.”

Her cheeks flushed, but she frowned. “Why would I be disappointed?”

Her father sighed and smiled knowingly at her. “I think you enjoy your little squabble over it.”

Julia could feel a deep blush rising in her cheeks, but she huffed indignantly. She most certainly did not enjoy arguing over the cabinet. It was bad enough that Dr. Colin Craven had somehow convinced her father to move them across the country to work in his hospital, but to then refuse to organize said hospital in a practical manner was even worse. Well, perhaps the rest of the hospital was alright, but this blasted cabinet simply wasn’t practical. She had reorganized it almost immediately, and he had rearranged it right back stubbornly insisting he couldn’t find anything unless the supplies were organized in alphabetical order. She insisted that putting frequently grouped items together saved time and rearranged it again. Then he reorganized it alphabetically again. And so on and so on. This had gone on for months now. It was a matter of pride not something she enjoyed—or at least not something she’d ever admit to enjoying no matter what her father said.

“It’s a matter of principle only, and if this is a sign that Dr. Craven has finally conceded, I would be glad of it.”

Her father laughed—his dark eyes sparkling. “I think it’s more of a sign that he was busy and had lots of patients today. I suppose, we’ll see tomorrow. Unless of course you want to ask him. He hasn’t left yet.”

Julia blinked. As much as she relished the idea of him admitting she was right about the cabinet, she was fairly certain that, as her father had said, this spoke more to Dr. Craven’s workload than to him conceding to her.

“I think I’ll just wait to see. Plus, I think this is a new record for my organization system.”

Her father chuckled quietly to himself but shook his head. “Don’t you think this cabinet squabble has gone on long enough?”

“We haven’t reached a resolution yet.”

“I don’t think you’ll ever reach a resolution this way.” Her father sighed. “I don’t understand why you won’t just admit you want to be friends and find something else to talk about.”

Julia’s cheeks grew hot, but she huffed and shook her head. “I don’t want to be friends.”

Her father raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly at her. Julia fidgeted. He could always tell when she was lying. The truth was she wouldn’t mind being friends. In fact, maybe a part of her did want to be friends—but at the same time she barely knew the man, and the little she did know of him was not particularly flattering. Still, she couldn’t help but concede that he was at least intriguing—this heir to a grand estate who spent his time as a doctor in a country hospital—or at least he would be if he was actually sociable from time to time and wasn’t so stubborn.

Julia huffed again. “It’s beside the point. Even if I did want to be friends, he clearly has no interest in making friends with me.” She sighed. “And besides, even if we did try to make friends, I doubt we would even get on—we so often disagree.”

“I think you’d get on extremely well if you got to know each other a little better. You have lots of common interests.”

“Which he never talks about,” Julia protested.

“He’s just shy and…”—Her father paused as if thinking of the right word—“awkward.”

“He’s very opinionated for someone who’s shy,” she countered her brow furrowing. 

Julia’s father laughed, but he smiled kindly. “He is a bit of an odd duck, but he’s a kind person at heart and very generous.”

“Why don’t you make friends with him then?” Julia teased with a chuckle.

Her father laughed. “I already am friends with him, and it’s quite pleasant.”

Julia wrinkled her nose, but her mouth turned up in the corners in spite of herself. She sighed. “I know that you’re very fond of him, Papá, and I can tell that he admires and looks up to you, but he has been nothing but cold and standoffish to me. Arguing about that cabinet and occasionally discussing work related issues is the full extent of our interaction. It’s not nearly enough to build a friendship.”

“I haven’t seen you try to talk to him about anything else, either,” her father countered pointedly before his face softened. “I know he wants to be friends, but I don’t think he knows how to strike up a conversation with you especially since you’re so set on disliking him.”

Julia sighed. “I’m not set on disliking him, but it is difficult to like someone who is so often disagreeable.”

46. what time are you the most productive when it comes to writing?

First thing in the morning or the middle of the night. But I think it changes based on my health and how busy I am. I am a very slow writer in general so it takes me a lot of time in the drafting/outlining stages before I actually sit down to start writing.