#they’re named after two characters from my favorite video game :]

[jellycat-pals]

Snuggled up together 🥰

[spinjitsuburst]

ramble about ur favs i wanna hear abt ur thoughts -zaptrap

HAN’S INFODUMPING ABOUT JAY... START!!!!

so like sgdkdhdkdhd I say Jay and Lloyd are my “favorites” but honestly it’s so hard to pick favorites out of this skittles squad like I love EVERY character for a variety of different reasons. I was going to also infodump about Lloyd but then I started talking about Prime Empire and then this post got. Long. So. it's just Jay I may infodump about Lloyd another day especially since I'm very Conduit Brained Rn but yea yea!

this is long so i'm putting most of it under the cut so y'all don't kill me for making a huge long post

I considered putting Zane and Sora on here as well since I’d also consider them my “favs” but like this is already gonna be. A lot of. Infodumping (also i typed THIS part before I even started and decided not to yell about Lloyd because this already got long enough). Maybe I’ll make a separate post for those two hmm hmm much to consider but for now MY (technically) FAVORITE NINJAGO CHARACTER: JAY WALKER

THE SPARKPLUG WHO INVADED MY BRAIN LIKE A PARASITE

so hey his name is a pun this makes me laugh ridiculously hard every time I remember he is named. After a misdemeanor HSKSHDKFH

Jay is such an interesting case of a character for me because I started out the show not liking him. Which is. Stares at my entire account I think my feelings have changed somewhat

Jay starts out as an asshole I don’t think anyone can disagree with me there (although honestly they’re all assholes in early ninjago they bullied a ten year old and left him dangling several feet off the ground) but over the course of the show you can see him start developing into a much more interesting character. He goes from being so insecure he's faking everything about himself to someone who knows who he is and is so genuine about it

now yea we could argue about whether his character was too uwu-ified post-season 10 but this is the FUN HAN POST SO WE'RE NOT GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT the point is you can SEE the growth that Jay has gone through and I am going to show you that growth through what I call

✨ The Skybound to Prime Empire Effect ✨

I AM SO PASSIONATE ABOUT THE IDEA THAT PRIME EMPIRE WAS WRITTEN TO BE A DIRECT PARALLEL OF SKYBOUND AND WAS CENTERED ON SHOWING HOW THE NINJA ESPECIALLY JAY HAVE GROWN THROUGHOUT THE SEASON

when season 12 rolls around we are at the point in Jay's development where he is CONFIDENT in who he is. He's a fun-loving jokester with the power of lightning and the drive to help people whenever he can. He uses jokes and humor to help alleviate tension and get people through whatever's happening. And when on his own what does he do?

BECOME AN ENTERTAINER BABEY

i like to think jay's club in prime empire was a safe haven for anyone stuck in the game who figured out hey. we Can't Leave and felt freaked about it. Also Jay would generally try and spread the word that hey something ISN'T RIGHT HERE which would lead people to want to stay with him

(totally plugging my friend's fic but this kind of thing is explored in would you like to enter prime empire by @finn-m-corvex y'all should check it out cool cool)

also the prime empire shorts which i watched all of in the midst of typing this video cuz i love them go watch them please please please jay was publically fighting the red visors which I imagine may have raised some red flags for some players

THIS SOMEHOW TURNED INTO PRIME EMPIRE INFODUMPING LMAO ANYWAYS Jay's confident! He becomes an entertainer because it's who he knows he is! And it's something that will get people hyped and having fun, which is very in-character for Jay to do! He uses those kinds of things to mask the Bad Things going on and get people remembering what's good

I've talked about this sort of thing before but that's Jay's whole philosophy as early as season 9! Which is a DIRECT contrast to how he views it in season 6, as Nadakhan puts it scarily accurately

"You make jokes to mask the fact that you're afraid"

(i was gonna grab a screenshot for that like i did with the hunted scene but netflix has bloCKED THE ABILITY TO TAKE SCREENSHOTS THE WAY I USED TO and i don't have them already and i'm too lazy to grab them from elsewhere so alas trust me he says it)

making jokes to hide your fear and using humor to remind yourself of what's good and coping with the bad are two VERY different outlooks on it

so I think this outlook is what drives him to make this glamrock persona in the first place - this is a bad situation, one he's in with other civilians, and what better way to keep him and themself safe until the others get there than throwing a big performance at a safe place!

also it's just so gender okay I want to look like Superstar Rockin' Jay so badly

it's also interesting to see his outlook on his parents change over time! In season six he finds out Ed and Edna aren't his birth parents and feels upset about it, not understanding why his birth parents would've abandoned him. In season twelve, that outlook changing is EXACTLY why Jay's able to get through to Unagami

"I was abandoned by my parents, too!... I never understood why, and I never had the chance to even ask. But I always hoped there was a good reason. What if there's a reason?"

(again curse you netflix i wanted SCREENSHOTS whatever whatever)

It's this scene that gets Unagami to calm down long enough for Milton Dyer to get there, and presumably is what stops him from just. Flattening him and Jay like a pancake.

to piggyback off of this i absolutely adore how Unagami and Jay consider each other adopted brothers in that one book I still haven't read and I hope he's in Dragons Rising at some point Unagami is my favorite "villain" (no longer a villain) in the whole show he deserves more screentime

like this is where i found out about this and it's plagued my mind ever since. i need to read. this book just for them

SO YEA OKAY Prime Empire is "Who is Jay as a Person Post-Skybound" to me also it opens up so many fascinating things about Jay. I rest my case

so backpedaling a little bit. JAY CARES SO MUCH ABOUT HIS PARENTS GUYS IT'S SO SOFT AND I'M sobs

like yea the first episode with Ed and Edna in it has Jay avoiding them like the plague but this gets explained very easily when you remember he was bullied for his home life before he became a ninja. It makes a lot more sense why he wouldn't want them around his new friends, assuming they'd react the same way. Also how was he supposed to know literally all the rest of the groups parents were either dead, presumed dead, or had a toxic relationship with their kid lmao

(Cole calling his mom kills me. Cole's mom is dead. I know they probably just didn't think that far ahead when writing the dialogue but it's so funny mans pretended to call his dead mom to get on Jay for not appreciating his parents iconic behavior)

anyways literally every episode Ed and Edna are central to (except like the one in skybound) Jay stops at nothing to protect his parents and it means the absolute world to me he's so much like them!! They raised an inventive little nerd and he will stop at nothing to make sure they're safe and it's. It's SO IMPORTANT TO ME OKAY

ALSO this is an excuse to clip my favorite piece of dialogue possibly in the entire show. Except Netflix won't let me now. So you just get the text dialogue

Jay's just fallen from the sky with a messed up eye and is incredibly distraught that all his friends are captured. And his dad just. The woRLD IS FALLING APART AND HE'S EATIN' SOUP-

Ed i love you

anyways

anways anyways this just turned into me rambling about prime empire and then Ed and Edna and a lot of disjointed other stuff but thank you for this opportunity i was going to also ramble about lloyd but i put this post in a word count and

yea i think that's enough for a tumblr post anyways! If anyone wants any like. More logically thought out and direct thoughts about characters feel free to send me asks this was fun thank u @zaptrap for this opportunity to scream about jay

[alternishicons]

percy jackson headcanons + panel edits (long post, hcs under the cut. only grover, annabeth, and percy. i use the homestuck troll quadrants to describe their relationships)

in order: annabeth, percy, grover

some notes on their designs: they all have a lot more scars, grover’s mainly being on his legs from running through forests, annabeth’s mainly being on her sides (as she gets too cocky during fights and leaves them open on accident), and percy’s mainly being on her chest. annabeth and percy look really similar, but they’re not intended to be, just how picrew works ykyk. grover wears sunglasses and really baggy clothes to hide his goat features. percy is fem as hell and would prob love skirts, but i didnt really like any of them in the picrew.

percy

🐟 if you think hes cis, straight, or white ur crazy

🐟 on that note. Trans girl who uses she/he/bite, biromantic asexual but romance repulsed attraction to men due to trauma, and she’s latino, black, and libyan

🐟 i see people headcanon her name as persephone a lot and while i do love that to me shes parand and still goes by percy!

🐟 middle kid regressor, prob 7-13. i dont think bite would change much in terms of personality, besides maybe being louder due to lack of volume control

🐟 solarpunk, afropunk, hopepunk, and underseapunk for sure. she is an ACTIVIST!!! he, his siblings, his mom, and grover go to protests together im correct

🐟 fav bands: my chemical romance, pleasure venom, fea, meet me @ the altar, the tuts, and la armada. i dont listen to pierce the veil but maybe them too?

🐟 sharkhearted, aquatickin, and oceankin!

🐟 radicalized the rest of the 7, and while bite grew up with punk beliefs (ty sally), i think thalia was the one who gave her the final push ykyk?

🐟 he is NOT skinny and he does NOT have a 6 pack!! listen. most of bites exercise comes from combat and strength training. and typically, strength training (ESPECIALLY combat) doesnt focus heavily on bodybuilding. My girl is big and has muscles and is proud

🐟 collects comic books, legos, and video games! favorite comic run is napalm lullaby, doesnt have a favorite lego set but has a small ocean animals one she bought second hand that she pulls apart and puts together again for comfort, and she doesnt have a favorite video game but the one she replays the most is is sonic adventures 2! video games are his special interest (did i mention i hc him as autistic. Well that too. bite’s audhd dyslexic)

🐟 isnt dating annabeth anymore (in my perfect world). the two broke up and both are way happier and healthier as adults. i think that annabeth needed to be away from percy to get better, and percy COULDNT be better with annabeth.

🐟 (i do think theyd have the best femme&butch solidarity as friends once they are both ready to do so! just need time for healing and all, ykyk?)

🐟 jason is her ex-moirail and her auspitice for her and annabeth! jason stops them from entering an abusive pitch relationship. used to be clarrise’s kismesis, but broke it off to take a break from relationships (reason he broke off from being jason’s moirail)

annabeth

📘 i dont have many hcs for her because to me, shes a better character concept then character

📘 my girl is butch trust meeee. “oh shes so fem and percys strong fem gf” HER? HERR?? THAT ANNABETH? OUR ANNABETH?

📘 she/they demi-caedromantic butch lesbian demigirl. i think a lot of pjo characters like multiple genders in theory, but due to trauma, have lost most (or all) attraction to them. to me, she used to be interested in romance, but fell off from that after everything happened

📘 does NOT get good grades. I love her and i think shes actually smart because she likes to study, but like… my girl has dyslexia and adhd. and their mom is the goddess of WISDOM, not INTELLIGENCE. theres no way theyre getting all As and Bs

📘 afropunk and anarchopunk. shes not as active in local scenes due to them bouncing around (though their heart will always be in the punk scene in LA), but if theres a protest in her general area THEYRE GOING. i also think theyre riot grrrl but only after ending her relationship with percy and getting better as a person

📘 fav bands (during relationship, im not sure what she’d listen to post-percabeth): mel bryant & the mercy makers, the muslims, pat the bunny, mischief brew, big joanie, violent femmes, boygenius. i think she was largely influenced by grover and thalia, but starts really developing her own music taste when they settle down in their own life

📘 her hair is FUCKED UP. she tries to take good care of it!! they really do!! but after years of living in a camp with not a whole lot of access to supplies for their hair type, and then living on a BOAT with even LESS access, their hair is really damaged. all the seven have fucked up hair, but theirs especially, since they were under so much stress that she didn’t care much for upkeep.

📘 was radicalized to be anarchopunk and afropunk by thalia, but became riot grrrl thanks to piper’s influence

📘 not autistic (in the books, maybe the show). i personally dont see her as having many autistic traits (though they DEF have adhd traits and its insane people dont acknowledge that a lot). but yeah i just? cant see it? idk

📘 when they were dating percy they didnt realize they didnt actually have feelings and was just comphet. this led to a really unhealthy relationship. then by the time she realized the feelings had developed to just hate and they felt bad leaving. they eventually separated and she got a lot better

📘 away from dating for a while, but has a small, unrequited pale crush on piper

grover

🫐 GROVERRRRR guys hes one of my favs unironically

🫐 mixed african american-indian guy whos a t4t bisexual trans guy and uses he/him. “oh but all satyrs are male” yeah but also this is a book series that has been inaccurate about greek mythology since the beginning so shh

🫐 carries iron supplements with him because while he’s used to relying on hay and feed for iron, he can’t exactly do that disguised as a human

🫐 his handwriting is SHIT. i think most of his handwriting comes from signing himself up for things so that means he constantly looks like he’s signing his signature. only juniper can somewhat make it out and thats because hers is just as bad

🫐 solarpunk, afropunk, and hopepunk!!!! he is literally the og solarpunk trust me.

🫐 fav bands: punk on toast, earth 2 tiffany, tell everyone we’re dead, the tuts, be steadwell, zaphyria

🫐 age regresses to rlly young with no cg! he doesnt particularly want one either? hes just doing his own thing. percy is his playmate :)

🫐 not my headcanon but my friend says hed be really tenderheaded, like as in “can barely do his own hair without it hurting”. idk how accurate this is but i agree because my friend says so

🫐 used to get roped into the stoll’s pranks. he’d help them sneak onto the strawberry trucks, steal things, etc. eventually stopped as he got more anxious, but he and the stolls are still fairly close and he’ll still help them play pranks on occasion

🫐 fruits are his ultimate safe foods! strawberries, apples, whatever! he keeps a packet of fruit on him everywhere he goes for snacks

🫐 sees thalia, annabeth, and percy as his younger siblings. i think he deserves to be their proud older brother, as a treat <3. used to see luke as the same way, but not anymore for obvious reasons

🫐 juniper is her one and only matesprit!

[nerdieforpedro]

The old switcheroo

If you could take one Pedro character and switch them into another of the characters universes, which one would it be? Let’s say, throw Dave York into The Great Wall. And what do you think that would look like? How would he do? Run with it. I even dare you to write a short dribble drabble. Well, I just wanted to write dribble drabble.

I'm unsure if my Drabble...if it can even be called that at this point 🤣 truly answers your question. I interpreted it, to mean that Dave and Pero switched places.

Our man Pero is dealing with it better than Dave, though, that could just be favoritism on my part. 👀 It's not all easy for Pero either, just different.

The question could have been any Pedro character, but I figured these two would be interesting.

I present: (I found Angela Lansbury! 💖)

Two Men out of Time

Dave York and Pero Tovar

Word Count: 1169 (I giggled - I am stuck in middle school).

Warnings: Limited understanding of Middle Ages, insults to ponytails, movie and video game references, William slander (I'm fine with this.), NAKED PERO, implied past sex work, Ogling a naked Pero, implying possible future sex work, maybe some inappropriate touching (I mean, she likely did, let's be real here), I think that's about it.

Notes: Like I said, no idea if this answered the question. This is what I wrote today after sipping two things of hot cocoa while brainstorming because you always have thought-provoking asks.

Silence can be a tool when done correctly. Honestly, it’s the best choice right now. He would close his eyes and try to picture himself back in the hotel, which he remembered falling asleep in, but he did that while he was laid out on his back near a river. 

Did not work. 

Had his face licked by a horse of all things. Dave has never had a reason to encounter a horse, and would have liked that to have been his only encounter with one, but with the horse, came three men. York tried to get up, but his clothes were much heavier than he remembered. The men called him a name he didn’t recognize and rather than correcting them, he remained quiet and nodded. They chuckled and patted him on the back after helping up, mocking him for falling off of his horse and that it was unlike him to not be able to handle his drink. Laughing with the men, Dave saw that they were all wearing armor like out of one of his daughter’s world history books. 

Which time period was this? Is he wearing armor too? Is that why it’s so hard to move? He also has weapons on his back. They’re swords, three of them. Looks to be one main and two twin swords. York was still clean shaven which appeared to confuse his comrades. They mocked him for his face, the pale one with the ponytail mocked him the most. Dave could break his neck, but he chuckled along before making a scowl. The men seem to be heading toward a village, maybe they’re in the middle ages. 

How is he going to navigate this? Is this ‘Pero’ supposed to be an ancestor of his? Wasn’t this a video game? Or that Michael Fassbender movie?

Their group arrives in a tavern where they drink some sort of barley based drink. Dave is by no means a lightweight, but five mugs in and he’s having trouble seeing straight. One of the barmaids? He assumes that’s what they're called, she helps him upstairs, but he shoos her away as she appears to want some money for certain services. Dave knows next to knowing about this time period, but he remembers hygiene not being a top priority. So in addition to not wanting to entertain that woman, the food may make him sick, he also may have rashes and expect vermin. Many of them. Maybe if he sleeps this time, he’ll wake up back in the bed with those two women he’d enjoyed the night with. Even if they weren’t there, just back the bed, in his own time would be great. Is he going to die from dysentery? Is that still a thing? Should he be concerned about a plague? “This is bullshit. When I wake up. I’m gonna smack that guy with the ponytail. I don’t look like a drowned rat. His name was William, he will pay.” Dave drifts off to sleep with anger in his heart for Will. The man in question’s ears burn while he continues to drink downstairs. 

Pero’s back felt good for once. He was on something soft, he rose out of bed too quickly. He’s naked. Unsure why and there’s two women looking at him curiously. “Dave, we don’t know where you’ve been but you can’t come here smelling like that. We got you washed and everything but we had to toss those sheets. The madam will be in to see you to talk to you about it.” For some reason, there were two women wearing undergarments he’s never seen telling him that they washed him and put him back in this bed. They were calling him Dave. He has no clue who this Dave is but apparently he is at this establishment quite a lot. Pero is familiar with this type of place. Maybe this is how the aristocrats have their brothels set up, though there are still many confusing things here. 

Moving to the edge of the bed, it doesn’t feel bad to be this clean, only odd. He wouldn’t even be scrubbed quite like this before meeting generals, lords or ladies. Cracking his neck, the door to his room opened and he was greeted by a stout woman in a silk dress. Her eyes focus between his thighs for a moment before going back to his face. She studied that as well. The two women were behind her and she closed the door on them, locking it. “You are not Dave York. A curious specimen of a man. You resemble him though, not quite in all the ways I see.” The woman moves to stand two feet away from Pero. “You can call me Ms. Magnolia. What should I call you handsome?”

“I am Pero Tovar Señora Magnolia. I do not know how I came to be here. I last remember falling off my horse. Who did you think I was?” His eyes follow her as she sits next to him on the bed and pats his shoulder. Tovar eyes her carefully, he can overpower her easily, but he knows little about what has happened. It’s best to get information first. 

“That’s no matter. You’re clearly not him. I feel that you’ll be more amenable to me supporting you as I help you navigate this strange world. You’re not from here or this time. So auspicious.”

“Are you a witch?”

“No. Just sensitive to the natural world my dear gorgeous man. If you don’t want my help, you’re more than welcome to use what money you may have on your person to pay for our services, but…” Ms. Magnolia stands and looks over her shoulder. “Given your current state, you may have trouble with that.”

“You would be correct Señora. May I have some clothes to put on so I can explore to get my bearings?” Pero placed his hands on his knees, if the madam might be swayed to help him in any fashion, he’ll need to use what he has. Tovar doesn’t see any of his weapons so his body is on deck then. 

“I don’t mind you like this Pero, but I understand you wouldn’t want to walk around like this. I can get you some clothes. There might be some things we can do to get you accustomed to things. Do not worry.” Her wide smile did in fact make him worry, but soon he was brought clothes and she ‘assisted’ him in putting them on. He next asked for food, which she did leave the room to go retrieve. Alone with his thoughts, Tovar closed his eyes. He had on what they call a t-shirt and sweatpants. They were loose, soft and comfortable. Easy to move in, but offer no protection. 

What the hell kind of mess had he gotten himself into now? Pero can’t even blame this one on William and his stupid ponytail that he never cuts off. No, Tovar will always blame that silly hair choice. 

Tagging @soft-persephone (for the drowned rat 🐀)

@604to647 @avastrasposts @tinytinymenace @morallyinept @iamskyereads (five Pero girls)

@megamindsecretlair Because she'll giggle - I know it

[skyblueartt]

❓

🎭

🐻❔

Headcanon game!

Thanks for the ask!!! Just prefacing this saying that I’m a relatively very new FNAF (the videos games, I don’t know much of anything about the book universe) fan! These are just random ideas I have :)

🐻❔Mrs. Emily- Ohh boy this is a character I honestly don’t have a ton of headcanons for yet! I didn’t even think of a name for girly. BUT I once saw somebody use the name ‘Hazel’ for Mrs. Emily and I like that one a lot!! Hmm I can’t explain why, but I totally headcanon Henry as gay LOL right, so my HC is that…he’s in denial for some time about this, gets with a woman, and said woman ends up getting pregnant. Because of this, getting married feels like an obligation to them, I guess. But I HC that the two separated a few years later because Henry was very unhappy and he knew that he wasn’t making his wife happy either. I TOTALLY HC that leading up to the divorce, he’d tell his wife (I guess I’m calling her Hazel now!) that he’d “be at work late” when in reality he was at the bar drinking with William after work and venting about how nervous and unhappy he was…ummmmmmmmm Mr. Emilyyyyy lying like that is not good !!! :( he did not feel good about it tho. Honestly I feel like she got the vibe that he didn’t like the ladies. I HC that after the divorce they’re not on bad terms, it’s just a little awkward. Idk! My headcanon is that Henry loved Charlie more than anything in the world, and hey, Hazel was happy that he was a very loving father to her. There’s that at least lmaooo

❓Sammy Emily: AHHhhhh I’m gonna be so real with you, I got nothin :( I’m so sorry Sammy I’m sure you’re a wonderful kiddo- but I’m like, a person who knows absolutely nothing about the books 😅 when I was like formulating my own interpretation/understanding of fnaf’s lore and characters from the video games I totally didn’t know that Sammy existed so to lowkey just. Retconned him unknowingly so ahh SORRY, SAMMY :’0

🎭Charlie Emily: CHARLIEEE ohhh I love her! I randomly headcanon that she was about 7-ish when she died, but honest to god that is just the first random age that popped into my head. I feel like she’s a rough-n-tough little kid, like a little tomboy. She LOVES being outside, she looooves exploring, she loves being independent and doesn’t understand why she can’t just go exploring alone all the time!! (We later see what happens when she um. Wanted to explore alone at night one time. I’m so sad ). Type of kid to collect rocks and bugs and enjoys playing in the mud and. Man I feel like she either played baseball or soccer. Idk, I just feel like she would

I LOVE to think that she’s fascinated by her dad’s robots! Whenever she gets to go to the workshop with him, she’s fuckin trilled. She peaks her head up over the big desk and just watches with stars in her eyes :’) Henry picking her up and letting her get a closer look at the animatronics-

“Pretty cool, huh kiddo?”

“Uhh YEAHH!!!”

Charlie loves to make people laugh, especially her dad! She loves both of her parents, of course, but she’s a daddy’s girl at heart. Her dad is cool because he lets her eat pizza for breakfast and they stay up late watching movies on the weekends.

I feel like she’s besties with Elizabeth, I just am obsessed with this idea. She likes Evan but they don’t talk a lot, since I feel like Evan was a pretty quiet kiddo. She really likes Mike tho, she views him like her cool older “cousin” :)

Her favorite color in the whole wide world of GREEN. She probably begs her dad to paint her bedroom green. Since I feel like she’s such an outdoorsy kid, maybe green reminds her of nature!

AhhhHh mannnnn. I need a good timeline AU because I love this kiddo. Charlie you’re a real one, sorry your dad’s best friend was a freak

[twistedtummies2]

Top 10 Looney Tunes Characters

This year is truly an auspicious one indeed. It marks the centenary of not one, but TWO of the greatest film and animation studios that have ever been. One of them, as many are doubtless aware by now, is Disney, and I do have some things planned for later this year to celebrate that. However, another studio that’s been getting less attention than I think it deserves for its own 100th Anniversary is Warner Bros.! WB started the same year as the Disney studio, and they’re still going strong. When one thinks of WB Animation, chances are good the first characters and cartoons that come to mind are the Looney Tunes. These cartoon classics were a staple of theatrical animation from the 1930s all the way into the early 1960s…and since those days, the characters have continued to pop up in all sorts of places. Movies, TV shows, video games, comics…you name it, the Looney Tunes have been there. These toons are some of the most recognizable characters in the history of animation, more than on par with Mickey Mouse and his allies, and I’ve always loved them. So, I decided it was time to pay them proper tribute! With that said, what better way than to talk about some of my personal favorites? That’s what we’re here to do today. So let’s waste no more time! Mind you don’t slip on any banana peels or similar slapstick cliches: here are My Top 10 Looney Tunes Characters!

10. Speedy Gonzales.

Speedy is one of a few Looney Tunes characters who has sort of faced some controversy over his career (I refer you to Pepe Le Pew, for example). Some people have complained he’s a negative stereotype, but thankfully, the majority of people seem to really love the character. I think the reason why so many love him is because Speedy is one of the most positive and genuinely good characters in the Looney Tunes canon: he’s a character whose able to be heroic while also genuinely being really funny and interesting to watch. The self-proclaimed Fastest Mouse in All Mexico loves to race, loves to play, and isn’t afraid to shoot down the absurdity of some of his more bonkers co-stars, just as he isn’t afraid to outrun and outsmart any cat that tries to harm him or his friends. He’s a lot of fun himself, and he loves to have fun, and that’s probably the best type of cartoon hero there can be.

9. Sylvester the Cat.

Sylvester is one of several characters on this list notable for his sheer versatility. Most of his cartoons do focus on the same basic setup, mind you: Sylvester is hungry, and trying to catch something to eat…but inevitably gets foiled at every turn. Sometimes his prey is the aforementioned Speedy, who - in Coyote-and-Road-Runner-esque fashion - Sylvester is just never quick enough to slow down. He’s also occasionally gone after a kangaroo named Hippety Hopper, whom Sylvester somehow keeps mistaking for an oversized rat. (My comments on him “not being quick” stand here, too.) Most famously, of course, he’s the “Bad Ol’ Puddy Tat” constantly trying to gobble up Tweety Bird…who you will NOT be seeing on this countdown. (I’ve never actually liked Tweety, save for a few appearances. I WANT that super-cutesy little PSYCHOPATH to be cat food someday, and I don’t care how heartless that makes me sound.) While all of these did follow some similar patterns and formulas, each of these opponents offered a different kind of conflict for Sylvester to overcome, and therefore a different set of gags that could be utilized, and a lot of different scenarios to allow for comedy to happen. He also popped up in a few cartoons with Porky Pig, which brought a new dimension to the character: in these appearances, a mute Sylvester is depicted as Porky’s pet cat, who constantly has to save his oblivious master from all sorts of dangerous situations. Whether he’s a well-meaning scaredy cat or a greedy predator, he’s always fun to watch.

8. Yosemite Sam.

One of the most renowned villains in the Looney Tunes catalogue. I like to think of this loudmouthed little cowpuncher as the WB equivalent to Disney’s Pete. Both are characters who are versatile in how they have been fitted into just about every sort of time period and setting imaginable, with just about every antagonistic role you can think of. He’s most famous as being a Wild West outlaw, naturally, but Sam has also played a Black Knight, a Hessian Soldier, a Space Invader, a Crooked Politician, a Pirate, a Prison Guard, and many, MANY other things. Each time, his personality is the same: wild, hysterical, ornery, scheming yet somehow gullible, and eternally frustrated, usually due to the efforts of “that lowdown, long-eared, carrot-eatin’ varmint,” Bugs Bunny. Sam’s personality is just such an easy one to handle, and so fun to play with, you can put him into just about any type of situation, and without needing to change him much, he can work just as easily. I actually feel really bad placing him so low on the list, but hopefully those above him won’t disappoint.

7. Elmer Fudd.

Elmer is another character, sort of like Sylvester, who can play either protagonist or antagonist just as easily as the other. In fact, he’s been both more often than Sylvester has! We know him best, of course, for his many attempts to hunt down Bugs Bunny (and Daffy Duck), and these stories already have plenty of fun reinventions, twists, and overall moments. Everything from putting Elmer in different time periods (like the Stone Age), throwing him into different settings (like chasing Bugs into an opera house), or just changing up his role in some crazy way (like making him a viking with a magic helmet). No matter what you do, these always end the same for Elmer: either he never gets Bugs, or he THINKS he does, and then immediately regrets it because he’s just too softhearted and slow-witted for his own good. However, Elmer’s played other parts as well: sometimes he’s not even hunting Bugs, he’s just the victim of that “Wascawwy Wabbit’s” cruel pranks. Sometimes he’s just trying to get by, and Daffy Duck starts causing chaos for him. Poor Elmer just can’t catch a break, and that’s kind of why we like him: even when he IS the bad guy, he’s far from the WORST guy. Add to that his iconic voice and mannerisms, and it’s no wonder he remains one of the most recognizable characters in this group.

6. Porky Pig.

Believe it or not, Porky was the first real superstar character in the Looney Tunes library. That’s one of the reasons the classic ending line we all know and love was given to him (it’s also why Bugs would later take it over a couple of times, when HE became a star). Much like Yosemite Sam, Porky is one of the most versatile characters on the team, but in a different way: while Sam is a versatile antagonist, Porky is a versatile protagonist. Porky is essentially the straight man to all the other totally bonkers toons around him. He’s sort of the Kermit the Frog of this universe: a guy constantly trying to keep his cool and be civil, but forever aggravated and tormented by the world around him. With that said, the way he bounces off different characters already has a lot of different ways of working: his most famous co-star is probably Daffy Duck, and even just with that one character, they’ve had a relationship that has gone in just about every direction it can go. Sometimes Porky is Daffy’s sidekick, who always proves to be more competent and level-headed than the vain and over-the-top Daffy could ever hope to be. Other times, Daffy is actually HIS sidekick, forever frustrating Porky with his goofy antics. And still other times, there’s no “sidekicking” involved, Daffy just…kind of shows up to totally ANNOY the pig until Porky inevitably snaps and goes berserk. Even Porky cartoons that don’t involve Daffy (and there are plenty of those) usually follow one of these three patterns: Porky is eternally an Alice in the Wonderland of the Looney Tunes…you know, if Alice had a stutter. And was a pig. And was no longer female-okay, that analogy didn’t work, but you get the idea.

5. Taz.

Taz, a.k.a. The Tasmanian Devil, is a rare example of a character whose star has risen over time since his initial appearances in the Golden Age of the Looney Tunes. Back then, Taz only showed up in five cartoons, between 1954 and 1964; the twilight decade, many would say, of these great cartoon stars. No one would have likely guessed that Taz would take off to become one of the most iconic and popular characters in the Looney library, with tons of merchandise, a TV show with him as the main protagonist, several major video game and film appearances, and so on. For some reason, however, this wild, ravenous, spinning-and-slobbering devil just kept being used, and the public kept eating him up just as fast as he ate…well…EVERYTHING up. He went from a pure villain who would devour anyone in sight, to suddenly becoming a slightly more heroic, albeit not always terribly bright, character. He can, could, would, and WILL just as easily play the role of an ally to characters like Bugs and Daffy, as much as their adversary. It’s hard to say exactly why Taz caught on, but I’m certainly not complaining about it, since he’s a ton of fun to watch every time. And again, that’s really all a great cartoon star needs to be. (Also, for anybody who may be curious...I do have a mild crush on this guy. I’m weird, shush.)

4. Wile E. Coyote.

It was actually really hard for me to choose between Taz and the Coyote, and I’m not honestly entirely sure if I made the right choice. It was essentially a tie between the two characters; on any given day, my mind could change. But, in the moment of making this list, I felt Wile E. deserved slightly higher placement, and thus here we are. (Also, yes, much like Taz, I do have a mild crush on the Coyote. Again, I’m weird, shush.) Having said all that, I imagine this self-proclaimed Super-Genius hardly needs an introduction. Much like Sylvester, Wile E. mostly spends his time trying to get something to eat. Usually, he’s found chasing the Road Runner and trying to trap him, but on a couple of occasions he’s bedeviled Bugs Bunny, and once in a blue moon he’ll have encounters with other characters. In most of Wile E.’s appearances, he’s a silent character, communicating solely through body language, facial expressions, and the occasional random sign he pulls out of nowhere. Whenever he DOES speak, he speaks in a smooth, slick, uppercrust English or Mid-Atlantic dialect. Whether silent or speaking, this Coyote’s basic trouble is always the same: despite his own confidence in his supposed superior intellect, a combination of clumsiness, shortsightedness, and his bizarre obsession with relying almost entirely on the ACME Corporation’s clearly faulty products always leads to him getting bamboozled. Over time, animators, writers, and directors have found new ways to spin off of Coyote’s usual formula, with stories like him taking the Road Runner to court, or turning into a fat slob due to an over-reliance on his own inventions. It’s the bizarre blend of brilliance and determination against poor planning and overconfidence that makes him such a fun character to see in action. He may never win…but I think a lot of us wish he could.

3. Daffy Duck.

While Porky was the first superstar character among the Looney Tunes (and Merrie Melodies), Daffy was really the first breakthrough character that was TRULY befitting of the title “looney.” In the early days, Daffy was a wisecracking, wild character, zipping about and causing trouble; a constant trickster who was a bundle of energy, causing mayhem for various hapless boobs. Most of the characters who followed suit on this idea - including his future rival, Bugs Bunny - essentially took their cues from Daffy’s book. Over time, the character crystalized into the mad mallard we know today. Daffy is still zany, but what he’s most known for today is his ego. Daffy is practically a narcissist, selfish in just about every way, as well as frequently quite greedy. Everything he does is for either the spotlight, cash, or both. He’s yet another character who has been the villain just as often as he’s been the hero…but even when in a more protagonistic role, he’s ALWAYS a flawed character, whose self-serving attitude leads to disaster for himself, and usually for many others. Just like Yosemite Sam, he’s also a character who has played many roles: any time the Looney Tunes want to parody a particular genre, it seems like Daffy is always the character who gets chosen. Whether he’s imitating Robin Hood or Sherlock Holmes, or going on high-flying escapades as the incompetent space hero called Duck Dodgers, you can go on a lot of different adventures with him. He’s been partnered up and pitted against nearly every character on the crew, and each and every alliance, rivalry, and so on is fun to see in action.

2. Bugs Bunny.

Just as it was hard to choose between Taz and Wile E. Coyote, it was also hard to choose between Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. In the end though…maybe it’s too predictable, but I ultimately did feel I preferred Bugs SLIGHTLY over Daffy. What’s interesting is that, in the early days, Bugs was pretty similar to Daffy: in a lot of his earliest appearances, they’re almost the same character. Both were madcap tricksters who seemed to exist just to drive other characters completely insane for the sheer sake of it, and both had big egos that needed to be satisfied. (In Bugs’ case, this was most evident in encounters he had with the character Cecil Tortoise, who might be the only character in all of Looney Tunes to truly outmatch Bugs on the cartoon battlefield, over and over again.) Over time, however - mostly thanks to Friz Freleng and Chuck Jones - Bugs began to evolve. While still a trickster with a wild sense of humor, the character became more laid back, casual, collected. He was someone who went into situations with the confidence that he could come out okay, if he just thought fast and didn’t let it all faze him. And while he could be downright cruel in the ways he would trick and toy with people, the attacks became unprovoked less often: it was usually a case of others doing something wrong to Bugs, and he would finally lose patience and declare, “Of course you realize THIS means war.” That’s essentially the Bugs Bunny we know today: he still faces conflict and such, but it’s his approach and the way he reacts to situations that makes him such fun to watch. Once again, it also makes him quite versatile, as he can be anywhere and play just about any role, from the star of the show to more of a narrator or similarly peripheral character. He can be the everyman, the superman, and as long as it always sticks to the traits he started out with, it will always work. In fact, the only real question about his placement on this list is…why isn’t he number one?

1. Marvin the Martian.

I don’t know WHY Marvin is my favorite Looney Tunes character, but he is, and really always has been. He’s not by any means the funniest of the Looney Tunes, but there’s something about this little world-destroying gremlin I find endlessly endearing. Much like Taz, Marvin started out as a small fish in a big cartoon pond; in fact, just like the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian (originally called “Commander X2,” and later “Antwerp”) only showed up in five cartoons during the Golden Age of the Looney Tunes. He fought Bugs Bunny in four of them, and Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in another. And while he hasn’t become the merchandising mammoth that Taz has, he’s still got a very loyal fanbase and following, and has remained a mainstay among the Looney Tunes ever since. Just like Taz, creators just kept using him, and fans kept asking for more; somehow, this little martian never faded away. What I love about Marvin is that he’s essentially another straight man, much in the way Porky is…but now, he’s a straight man on the opposite side of the fence. He’s usually the bad guy, while Porky is almost always the protagonist: whether Marvin’s trying to abduct people, conquer worlds, or blow up the Earth (because it obstructs his view of Venus), he’s always an obstacle the other characters have to overcome. Yet he’s depicted as so loveable and so mild-mannered, it’s hard to be scared of him or dislike him. It also means the moments where his inner rage gets the better of him, and his temper flares, become all the more hilarious: seeing that pomposity and stiff-upper-lip nature get blown apart at the seams is always a ton of fun. It’s difficult to describe my reasoning, but regardless, Marvin the Martian will always be My Favorite Looney Tunes Character.

HONORABLE MENTIONS INCLUDE…

Foghorn Leghorn.

Michigan J. Frog.

Rocky & Mugsy.

Road Runner.

Lola Bunny.

Gossamer. “Th-The-The E-THAT’S ALL FOLKS!”

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Hi I got more questions about the starburst duo!

1: what’s their favorite video games?

2: what is their favorite anime and/or cartoons?

3: Chris has a brotherly/uncle relationship with Kon-El/Conner, what’s Jake’s relationship like with Kon-el?

4: you know how in some movies and tv shows a pair of best friends would get into a fight and act like: “your not my best friend anymore!” And towards the end they get back together, has that happen before between the two of them?

5: what’s the rouge galley for the both of them?

Silly question :p

6: on a scale of 1-10, how likely are they gonna aim for the crotch against a dude villain/goon? Speaking of that what’s their reaction seeing that stuff in movies like how in the first kung fu panda movie Po got hit in the tenders?

(Cracks Fingers while grinning wildly)

Back for more I see, my friend? Very well then…

1) In no particular order, they’d like (in spite of Dick and Lois having some second thoughts in allowing them for playing M Rated titles)

Mortal Kombat

Blitz The League

Cuphead

Dark Souls

Asura’s Wrath,

and perhaps their all time favorite,

The Rockband series (out of them, The Beatles Rockband being their top one. Chris can do both Vocals and Bass while Jake does Drums and Harmonies)

2) Dragon Ball…basically all of Dragon Ball. Whether it’s The OG, Kai, GT, or the upcoming Daima, they’ll be lined up in their best shirts that are either patterned after Piccolo’s outfit or have the Z Fighters on it with their snacks by their side on the couch and engage with an all night marathon of episodes and films. Their favorite character is unanimously Son Gohan

3) Those two get along as good friends though from Jake hears about Conner courtesy of his Uncle Tim and ‘Aunite’ Cassie, whenever Conner inevitably screws up with trying to win a girlfriend off the streets with his egotistical charms and attitude, Jake gleefully takes the chance for snarking about that screw up, much to Conner’s conniption.

Aside from that though, the two make it a sworn oath on working together for making sure Chris is safe and secure from the threats even he’s too great to handle, whether externally or especially his own internal ones including tendencies of low self esteem and fears of abandonment. Conner and Jake are there for him no matter what

4) Much to even their own surprise, not exactly. Yes, there have been moments the two have gone separately from each other before reuniting in full but the thing is, they never had said to each other that they’re no longer friends. They’re never actively taking pot shots or any sort of bad mouth each other even during their lowest points in their friendship.

In fact, it’s because of their close friendship, it’s how they’re able to communicate the message of “Hey Man, I really like to hang out with you but I don’t if it’s the right time right now. Maybe a little later? Still love ya as a friend btw” with little to no words whether it’s face to face or via phone texts. They have mutual respect and understanding of those moments and take their time.

Once they have a chance though, like say in the middle of a crisis or few, they’ll rush to each other’s aid and make up for it once it’s all said and done. Even in a hypothetical Civil War between all the superheroes which has the two in opposite sides would have a similar pattern between them.

5) I once answered this in a earlier ask but I feel like it’s the perfect time for a sort of expansion to that list. Some names here would be old classics while maybe one or two would be OCs of mine for villains.

General Dru Zod (Chris’ birth father and somewhat arch nemesis due to his….very tough love approach to put it very very mildly think of their relationship akin to say Omni Man and Invincible)

Mr Victor Zsasz (Jake’s own Gotham based arch enemy due to a particular case involving street orphans and urchins forcibly fighting a gladiator style tournament to the death and Jake facing Zsasz face to face at the climax of said case, a duel involving a rather brutal beat down since Jake’s powers were shut down briefly that includes a sharp blade and that old damned crowbar)

The Gordanians (Since Jake’s mother is Kory aka Starfire, it should be pretty self explanatory and easy to understand his dislike for these particular aliens)

Deathstroke the Terminator (Similar enough reason to the Gordanians only in this case it’s via what he done to Dick throughout the years as a Titan, whether it includes the forced apprenticeship or other misdeeds)

The Court of Owls (not only due to both Mar’i and Jake being offsprings of the ‘Gray Son’ but they also can sense Chris somehow being a unique sort that distinguishes him from the other Kryptonians (I.e. his unique physiology courtesy of his birth in the Phantom Zone and being a host for the Nightwing entity) that they can claim for themselves, an evolutionary step in their arsenal of Talons)

Cinderblock (The big dumb concrete lug frequently challenges Chris and Jake for a challenge in Bludhaven’s streets which they’re all too happy to take. He’s fun for them to take on)

Xa Du, The Phantom King (As the main ruler of the Phantom Zone himself, he naturally sees Chris as an obstacle to his own path of universal domination)

(And time for some OCs I have in mind)

NKVDemon (an ex-Spetznaz and apprentice of the KGBeast though his goals and methods are far more grand and widespread in comparison than his mercenary teacher’s. While not a cyborg like KGBeast or enhanced like Deathstroke, he’s dangerously intelligent, at peak human condition and utterly ruthless to the core)

Lion Master (a constantly bullied street orphan who ran to join a traveling circus where became the apprentice of an old kindly lion tamer, it all truly went downhill during one performance at Ivy Town when due to a simple mistake on his part, the kid ended up causing the old tamer’s unfortunate demise in front of the crowds, leading to him being kicked out of the circus he called home and the lions ordered in being out down. Not willing to see the felines he can call his friends meet their ends, the orphan frees the four big cats. Now with nothing left to lose and returning to the streets once more, the old tanner’s apprentice turns to a life of petty crime with his four kings of the jungle by his side and at his beckon command; competing his transformation into the Lion Master. Has a beef yet also somewhat a bond with Skybird due to their own connections to the circus yet Skybird and Nightwing ‘Phantom’ always foil his crimes)

La Llorona (‘The Weeping Woman’ herself; the Duo once encountered her during a vacation their families were taking in Mexico. A one time antagonist who they actually were able to communicate with in order to help her find peace with them but certainly a memorable one)

The monkeys and undead guardians of El Dorado (Ling story incredibly short, Time Travel shenanigans had Chris and Jake land in the a time lopping ancient city of gold with these monkeys and zombified warriors attacking the intruders almost every step of their way within their adventure to escape)

Vla-Bol (A Kryptonian juvenile delinquent who led an equivalent of a street gang doing all sorts of petty crimes and ruled their city streets/Hallways with an iron fist. At first, The Kryptonian High Coucil had Vla drafted into basically boot camp under the command of an ancestor of a certain Kryptonian General, Grand Admiral Gro-Zod. Unfortunately for Vla, despite or maybe because of taking the Admiral’s teachings and philosophy to heart, he went on committing plenty of bad conduct and failed to hold back his fury during war time as a Private. For this misconduct, Vla-Bol was banished to the Phantom Zone at the age of only 14 years, swearing vengeance on the House of Zod for this indignity. It just centuries later and once he finally is able to leave the Zone and find planet Earth, there happens on being a descendent of the old Admiral, Lor Zod aka Chris. Vla-Bol is an utter show off and Grade A jerk who flaunts his powers without any hesitation or second thought. Powers that are surprisingly deviant from standard Kryptonian ones as while yes he can fly, lift extremely heavy objects and exhibit super human speeds, for one he relies on Moonlight to fuel them. Also, in place of heat vision and x ray vision, Vla-Bol instead can make copies of himself composed of shadows and summon dark energy from the Zone itself, capable of leveling entire city blocks at the palm of his hands)

(*Phew* I think that should do it lol)

6) Chris: 3, Clark taught him well enough to not resort to dirty tricks in fighting his opponents

Jake: 10, Being raised in Bludhaven by Nightwing and having Red Hood as an Uncle….it’s pretty obvious he would fight dirty like they can lol

As for their reactions, both of them would giggling at those moments.

Okey Dokey, I’m pretty sure that’s a plenty for my answers, Anon

If there’s any suggestions to add or constructive criticisms, please Reblog/Reply. It’ll be very appreciated ;-)

[clarktooncrossing]

DUDELZ of the Damned | Pokétober

HEY THERE PEOPLE OF TODAY AND ROBOTS OF TOMORROW! IT'S ME, CLARK!

A chill is in the air. You can feel it can't you? Perhaps you even recognize it. That same chill arrives every year right on the dot. With it comes a frightful howl in the moonlight, the only other sound to be heard. Otherwise there is a strange calmness settling around you, like the point of ease before the storm. By now the howling has stopped. It has been replaced by a different sound. Footsteps. Big, heavy, dragging, as if the figure didn't quite know how to use their legs. Perhaps it's a random passerby. Perhaps it's a rotting, frightful feature freshly risen from the grave. Perhaps it's some other, unspeakable horror waiting to pounce! Whatever it is, you're not waiting around to find out! Yet no matter how far you run, it can't be escaped. The chill in the air, the howling of the wind, the heavy footsteps, it all leads back to one thing: October is here! And with it comes the return of the DUDELZ of the Damned!

Yes weirdos, like last year, my approximation of Sketchtober has returned. I call it an proxy because there was no list of prompts. Nah, that'd be too limiting. This is yet another case where I compiled my own list of ideas, sketched them out, then used one color per picture. With all that said, let's see what spoopy scribblings await us today!

Whatever changes may come, some things remain the same. Sue the Game Genie has figured this out for herself while exploring the modern world of gaming. Despite the decrease in competitors, the race for console supremacy still rages on. People are still obsessed with VR for some reason. At least now it’s in full color instead of simply red and black. Mobile gaming has especially come a long way. Her trusty Game Buddy never insisted she pay another two bucks to advance in the game. It can all become so overwhelming for a program who hasn’t been active since the late 90s. Luckily one thing remains the same: she wants to be the very best! That no one ever was! So what if there’s over 150 of them now? That just makes it more of a challenge. Gotta catch’m all! Gonna catch’m all! And nobody better get in her way…

Trust me, I speak from my experience. My spotted butt still has grill marks where she sicced Charizard on me. Speaking of the big iguana, those of you who have been around awhile know my rule regarding fan art and DUDELZ. Basically I can draw my characters in settings and outfits similar to those seen in other media, but drawing characters from said media is a big no no. Not unless said character is from an online creator. The reason is simple: my even thinking of drawing Donald Duck would result in the happiest lawsuit on Earth from Disney. Whereas drawing Queen Monova wouldn’t result in the same happening from SIM-N. Dem’s the rules. Luckily, being the giraffe who wrote them, I can dictate when to break’m. This was a decision made after watching tons of North of the Border videos. After years of joking about it with Sue’s co-creator The Bargain Bin Hobo, it was finally decided to show Sue catching Pokémon. Or at least as many as I could fit onto the page. Was gonna include her friend Freeze Frame and boyfriend Action Replay, but they’re currently undergoing design tweaking. Instead, enjoy my Game Genie with her favorite pocket monsters. Oh, and unlike Most Gen 1 fans, Sue gave these creatures names:

Charizard = Smokey

Squirtle = Caravaggio

Digletts = Larry, Curly, and Fred

Muk = Labrea

Pikachu = Pikachu (why mess with a classic?)

Arbok = Irwin

Headcheese = Avidan (props to anybody who gets this reference)

Gardevoir = Mindfreak

Mew = Mewone

No doubt all you Poképurists are grinding your teeth right now at Sue’s audacity. Either way, I hope you all enjoy this DUDEL as much as I enjoyed drawing it! And remember: ff you’re gonna enslave tiny creatures to have them battle one another, the last you can do is name’m.

BONUS QUESTION: Which Pokémon is your favorite?

MAY THE GLASSES BE WITH YOU!

[cannibalistic-cucumber]

Okay so

For various reasons, Sonic Adventure (SA1) is among my dead favorite games. The two relevant to this rant are the characters and the gorgeous soundtrack (in fact, I might go on a tangent about individual songs at the end of this).

My favorite character in the game is E-102 “Gamma” (btw if you derail this post about Omega, you die), a robot built by Eggman, who runs on animal power, as Eggman’s robots usually do. However, Gamma contains a very special animal - it’s a surprise tool the will help us later. Five minutes into being born (and after training, ofc), he is forced to shoot his brother, E-101 “Beta”. Following this, he board’s Eggman’s ship (the Egg Carrier) and is tasked with catching the tailed frog. Upon collecting the frog, he is transported to the past, where he experiences childlike wonder at the chao. Back on the Egg Carrier, the rest of his siblings are cast out because of their failure to get the frog. After that, Gamma is sent to execute a prisoner. On the way, he makes a wrong turn and ends up in the machining room, where he experiences eldritch horror at the sight of his brother being disassembled and reassembled. In the prison, he finds Amy Rose, who has a blue bird flying around with her looking for its parents. She convinces him not to kill her a la Mindy Animaniacs, and protects Sonic out on the deck of the ship, further confusing Gamma. He leaves the crashing ship, now convinced to “rescue” his disowned brothers. After successfully disposing of them, he is ambushed on the Egg Carrier by Beta Mk II, who feigns death in order to shoot Gamma in the back, and they both die as a result. Lo and behold, Gamma and Beta contained the parents of the bird. Reunited, they fly off into the sunset.

TLDR: Gamma is Eggman robot who experiences eldritch horror and compassion and forsakes his master as a result. He “rescues” his siblings before dying himself, and the animal inside him reunites with its family.

Now, a little more background before we get to the main point. SEGA Sound Team popped off for this game. Each character has a theme song that plays during their respective recaps and end credits (each one has an entire storyline with slight variations on who does what (it’s all happening at once)). Side note: I’m like 70% sure SA1 is the origin of Knuckles jazz. It should also be noted that I have a youtube playlist of songs on queue for downloading, and when I run out of ideas I scroll through the recommended additions section.

E-102’s theme is in my top three favorite songs from SA1. You’ll never guess what it’s called! Theme of E-102γ. And that’s my first talking point. I was reading the comments on one of the music videos, and one of them made a connection that his theme doesn’t get a proper name because he’s just another cog in the machine. Even Big the Cat has a greater role in the main story than him. And yet, doomed by the narrative as he is, he gets his own story. As another comment pointed out, each story has its own (literary) theme: Sonic is Adventure, Tails is Independence, Knuckles is Recollection (I’m kinda iffy on that one), Amy is Protection, Big is Friendship, and Gamma? Gamma is heart and soul. Compassion. Morality, something that shouldn’t be possible, and definitely isn’t comprehensible for a robot, especially one of Eggman’s creation.

As a side tangent here, I’ve been putting rescued in quotes when it comes to Gamma and his brothers, but I realized something between the time I started writing this and now. The animals that drop from the E-series robots are birds. They’re all his brothers, inside and out. I had always assumed that Gamma had meant rescue only in the liberation sense. I never realized that he meant it both ways. I just… I’m need a moment.

As a side side tangent, I think this is one of the biggest differences between E-100 ZERO and the rest. To my knowledge, he didn’t have any animals, much less another bird, and that was what led him to the brutish oafishness that we see displayed by him.

Back to the main points, I think that all of this is reflected in the song. It starts out with all of the synth, vague vocals, electro, etc. that would be expected from the theme of a robot, and then you’ve got… PIANO. Oh my god the piano. Piano Man has its harmonica, and this song has its piano. In the midst of the circuits, the wires, the computers, there’s life, a heartbeat, a soul. And with the soul comes that twinge of sadness. Sure he freed the animals, but to do so, he had to kill his brothers with his own two (?)(does the gun count?) hands. Due to this and the cumulation of everything else, hearing the song (or the variation of it) during his final cutscene hits and hits hard.

THE REPRISE OF THE MAIN THEME PIANO AS HE DIES IN OBSCURITY. THE OTHER BIRDS ARE LIKELY THE ONLY ONES THAT END UP KNOWING ABOUT HIS DEATH

It’s okay I’m okay I’m so normal about this

Now that the main rant is over, it’s time for me to hoot about the other songs

Be Cool, Be Wild, Be Groovy …for Ice Cap

I get that it’s a snowboarding section, but still. THEY BOTHERED TO USE GUITAR IN A SNOW LEVEL. NAME ONE OTHER INSTANCE OF THAT THAT ISN’T LITTLE BIG PLANET’S THE WILDERNESS’S SITAR.

Limestone Cave …for Ice Cap

Ambience plain and simple. Good for falling asleep to

Snowy Mountain …for Ice Cap

Another ambience piece, this time with another guitar (no this doesn’t count for the challenge I posed above). Love the mix of electric and acoustic

Welcome To Station Square

“The train headed for the Mystic Ruins will be departing soon.” Came for the guitar, stayed for the trumpet.

Red Barrage Area …for Hot Shelter

SAX (shout outs to the rest of Hot Shelter’s music btw)

Militant Missionary … Boss Egg Walker & Egg Viper

Hopelessness, despair, DRAMA. Things may not have gone to plan, but Eggman is surely still the one in control.

And finally, shoutouts to Bad Taste Aquarium, Pleasure Castle, and Dilapidated Way for going full throttle right out the gate.

@green-mountain-goose @greetings-inferiors @cue-jay @kimu-dem

[artzychic27]

What do you think about Nino, Nathaniel, Kim, Max, Rose and Marc having same-sex parents? The fact that Max has a mother, I know about it. I'm just curious. If so, can you describe: gender, work, character, hobbies, etc. And can you write how they had children?

Nino: Two Moms

They're actually his aunts because in my Trans!Nino au, his parents suck and gave up all parental rights to them

Chris is his cousin, but they see each other as brothers

His aunts/moms names are Anais and LaBrea

They both go by she/her pronouns, are cisgender, Anais is a lesbian and LaBrea is bisexual

They had Chris through a sperm donor so Anais could have Chris

Anais is a seamstress and LaBrea is an event planner. For Sweet 16s, Quinceañeras, weddings, etc, LaBrea will give Anais business cards. She gets more business, they take in more cash

Nathaniel: Two dads, one mom

Maison is demisexual with no preferences toward gender. He had been married to a man named Alois for five years, and Aya was the surrogate

But, Maison and Aloïs broke it off on good terms when Nathaniel was three. Later, Maison began dating Aya when he found out they had more in common, and they got married

Aloïs is gay and cis, Maison is Demisexual, and a demiman and Aya is pansexual and cis. When Maison isn't around, Aya and Aloïs like to simp over him

Aloïs works as a history teacher, Maison is a vet with his own practice, and Aya owns a diner

Nathaniel still calls Aloïs ‘dad’

Kim: Two dads, one mom

Kim’s dad, Teo Lê is in a romantic relationship with Éliott Ature and a platonic relationship with Khuyen Nguyên

Éliott and Khuyen kept their names and just combined them with Teo’s (Also, reading the wiki, and apparently, Chiên is Kim’s middle name…)

Éliott is out of the country most of the time for work, and Kim is often left with Teo and Khuyen while he sees Éliott mostly through video calls

Khuyen is aromantic, Teo is omnisexual, and Éliott is gay. They’re all cis

Khuyen is a trainer at the gym, Teo owns a cafe, and Éliott does some sort of business overseas, I don’t know

Rose: Two Dads

Her dads are Elliot and Emmet, and she was born through in vitro fertilization

They’re both gay, Emmet is nonbinary and fine with masculine titles, but doesn’t mind gender neutral ones, and Elliot is also cis

They co-own a small bookstore/tea shop with a cottagecore theme

Elliot is more eccentric a excitable like Rose while Emmet is more down to earth. They balance each other out. Also, they both like knitting and crocheting

Max: Two Moms

Claudia and Nubia married each other after they finished university

They had Max naturally because one of them is a trans woman, I won’t say who

Claudia is a lesbian, Nubia is polysexual, and they both use she/her pronouns

Claudia works as a conductor and is training to be an astronaut while Nubia works as a crime scene investigator

They liked trivia games until Max kept beating them every time, so they switched to Uno… Which he also beat them in

Their favorite past time is teasing Max about his crush on Kim

Marc: Two Moms

Marc’s a test tube baby

His moms are Penelope and Alyssa

Alyssa was originally from Greece, and Penelope is half Latina (Colombian)

They’re both cis, Alyssa is a lesbian and Penelope is BiRomantic, and they use she/her pronouns

Penny is an interior designer and Alyssa is a middle school teacher

Usually on weekends when Alyssa is done grading papers, they go out clubbing. Other times they stay in and pry any information about Nathaniel they can out of Marc

[jcdedmemories]

Welcome to New York {AUGUST LOVERSON} !! They are a {31} year old {CIS MAN} who uses {HE/HIM} pronouns. They’re a {FLORIST} who has been in town for {30 YEARS} living in {THE BRONX}. When looking at {AUGUST} you automatically think of {FLOWERS, COLD BREWS WITH COLD FOAM, DOG HAIR} but that probably makes sense since they also remind you of {RAFAEL SILVA}. You can always hear {NEW RULES} by {DUA LIPA} coming from their place. Who knows what kind of trouble they’re going to get themselves into.

CHARACTER INFORMATION:

full name: august loverson

nickname(s): auggie, gus

pronouns & gender: he/him, cis man

sexuality: homosexual

age: twenty-eight

relationship status: single

birth date: october 31, 1995

birth place: beaufort, south carolina

time in town: since february 2022

occupation: florist @ dahlia & daffodils

parents: dillon & maria loverson

siblings: dillon loverson jr, gabriella loverson, jacqueline loverson

personality: obsessive, energetic, impulsive, & creative

pet: none at the moment

APPEARANCE:

celebrity doppelgänger: rafael silva

height: 6'0"

hair color: black

eye color: brown

FAVORITES:

color: orange

non-alcoholic beverage: celsius 

alcoholic beverage: high noon watermelon

season: autumn

candle scent: macintosh apple

book: perks of being a wallflower

video game: spyro; save the last dragon

tv show: rupaul’s drag race

animated tv show: bob’s burgers

movie: anything marvel

animated movie: the iron giant

holiday movie: the grinch who stole christmas

disney movie: frozen 2

pixar movie: toy story 2

disney original movie: halloween town

candy: twizzlers

chocolate candy: snickers

Fruit: pineapple 😉

Vegetable: garlicky green beans

cuisine to eat: jambalaya

cuisine to make: anything on the grill

genre of music: country

artist: luke combs

song: beer never broke my heart by luke combs

Biography:

Being the southern golden boy is always something that August will be known for. He was the miracle child that Dillon and Maria were never expecting. After their first three children which all happened to be daughters, the two didn’t plan on having anymore and they didn’t even think that they would be able to. But for Christmas 1994, Maria had surprised her husband and children with the fact that she was going to be having another child. They were ecstatic that they were going to have one more and once they found out that it was a boy, they were even happier because they were going to have the son that they always wanted. 

Once August was born, it was like all the attention was on him because he was the son that they longed for. And even though August tried his best to get along with all his sisters, some of them didn’t really care for the attention that he pulled from the others. At the same time, Dillon and Maria were leaving the girls to babysit August whenever they wanted to go do things, which was always. The Loverson’s were not well off by any means but they didn’t live poorly either. And whenever August wanted something, they would try their hardest to ensure that he got it while his parents would tell their daughters that they needed to work for it. 

From a young age, August was always obsessed with flowers and he was always bringing them home and ripping them apart to make things like crowns, jewelry, and other things that most boys weren’t worried about. He liked to make things look pretty and sometimes that got him bullied in school but he never let it get to him. Speaking of school, August was your average student who slid by with some B’s and some C’s and didn’t care about graduating at the top of his class. He didn’t even care about going to college at all. 

Although he wasn’t worried about school, he did pay attention in some business and art classes to ensure that he was being the brightest when it came to opening up a business of his own one day and learning different era’s of art to come off knowledgable to a wider range of age groups. August was no dummy and if he cared about something enough then he was willing to put in the work. He did the best that he could in his hometown to try and create a business for himself and he was doing great at first but then business seemed to slow down that he turned to TikTok and was able to sell some things quite fast.

While selling things online were nice, he felt like he could do more if he went somewhere that was bigger. He decided that in the beginning of 2022 that he was going to be moving to New York to appeal to a different clientele (well that and there were many many more gay boys like him). While his business in New York was trying to grow, he wasn’t making enough on TikTok to live so that’s when he found a flower shop called Dahlia & Daffodils were hiring florists and he decided to do that along with his business on the side.

August has begun to make a name for himself and he has started to rake in some money that he never thought was possible. He has been able to send money back home to his parents for helping him get to where he was. He feels like some of his sisters are still judging him for being so close with their parents and he tries not to hold it personally as he wished he had more of a relationship with them because regardless of what they think of him he has always loved them. 

[pekasairroc]

Tagged by @sinfulauthor

1. Were you named after anyone?

My mom used to have a friend named Holly who remarked how she always loved her name. I have been repeatedly assured I was not named after Big Hol.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Christmas Day when Ed’s parrot Azul died :(

3. Do you have kids?

Nah

4. What sports do you play/have you played?

As a kiddy kid I did a lot of sports for a season or two (soccer, basketball) or several summers (softball) but I fenced foil for a few years and later on did some cross country. I would like to get back into fencing but would need to find a casual club that’s a good fit and change from a French grip to a Pistol grip due to hand hurty

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Often, but I prefer deadpan understatements.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Currently it’s whether they have a flu shot badge at work and then if they’re masking (mandatory if they don’t have the shot, highly encouraged regardless). I have had to do so many audits and trying not to STARE at people’s badges and lower faces due to exposures at work.

7. What's your eye color?

Blueish gray green. Aka blue.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

9. Any talents?

I can make myself and others stop hiccuping on command.

10. Where were you born?

Chicago suburbs

11. What are your hobbies?

Lots of art, writing, sewing, and crafting is what I usually tell people without getting into the details.

12. Do you have any pets?

No, but once I figure out the petsitting situation I would love to get two rats. I am not actively figuring out the petsitting situation.

Look, it’s one thing to ask a big group if someone could watch a cat for a weekend and it’s easy af to find a dog sitter but it’s hard to ask people to feed and clean up for two rats. It just is.

13. How tall are you?

5’8”

14. Favorite subject in school?

Latin. Languages in general.

15. Dream job?

I sit as the creative head of a production company. Is it animation? Is it comics? Video games? Doesn’t matter. I explain to the group in the room ideas for stories and they wait with bated breath to the finish. They applaud. Standing ovation is implied. They set to work on making my visions and stories and characters a reality with far more technical artistic skill than I personally have but 100% under my 100% perfect creative direction. The story is an international hit. Millions adore these stories and characters and are impacted in their life in a positive way, always remembering these little tales and being so normal about them. I live a quiet life in a cute little house drawing silly doodles when I’m not drafting the next story— and let’s be real, I don’t need to draft since it’s perfect and easy from the start— and give Q&As where no one asks dumb questions and everyone perfectly understands and respects my vision and desire to not tell certain details but listens spellbound for every tangent I go on about the history of one line or a part I thought was funny. Everyone leaves me alone but radiates in my storytelling prowess and is inspired in turn. Me and my characters are forever remembered in the realms of history.

That's not what you meant by “dream job?” Well, I actually like my infection control job and the parts I dislike are the parts that suck for all regulatory jobs. Love 2 tell people to wash their hands.

[decent0distraction]

Does anyone else watch those teacher skit videos on TikTok by SquireHaligast I think his name is?

Well, if you do, here’s my head canons on the characters, if you care. I might add drawings later if I’m feeling brave, but we’ll see.

To begin, we have Ethan.

Ethan is male, he/him. He has an average group of friends who do average teen things. I wouldn’t say he’s really in any clubs or sports, since he canonically is jaded and apathetic. He slacked off a bit his first two years of high school. Now a junior taking a senior class (which is canon), he wants to be done with school but he isn’t sure where he wants to go with his life.

During the conversation he and Haligast have in the theme episode (the one where Ethan is bored and can’t focus and the assignment is to read a short paragraph and identify the theme), Ethan mocks Haligast by looking through the classifieds. Haligast suggests he should be an English teacher, telling him that he’ll have be able to identify theme though. This gets Ethan to focus.

Based on that, my headcanon is that Ethan considers becoming a teacher but instead goes on to be a high school counselor instead. He understands what’s it like to be a lost kid, laughing at everything until you wake up one morning and you don’t get the joke anymore. Or maybe you just can’t, because you’re too tired; too bored.

Next up is Sam. I wasn’t sure about their gender at first, but someone said they sound like Brennan Lee Mulligan and after rewatching the “New assigned seats game” episode and the episode where Sam is “upset” about being in Haligast’s class again, here’s what I came up with.

Sam, they/him, chronically intelligent to the point that they don’t see the point in not being in control, because if it were up to these idiots he would never admit he loved, everything would go down like a lead balloon. In the episode where Sam helps Ethan figure out what score he needs on the next assignment, Sam uses language and vocab associated with Dungeons and Dragons. A big part of my headcanon is that Sam not only hosts DND games with his friends, but he convinced Haligast to host the DnD club at the school when he was only a freshman.

Sam seems to have a love/hate relationship with Ethan. Ethan isn’t nearly as smart as Sam, but Ethan is much more flexible. Like Ethan, Sam is a junior taking a senior class. But while Ethan had to request the harder class and make up in summer school for skipping Junior Lit, Sam got placed in class due to exceptional grades. I like think that they were friends maybe in the 8th grade or at some point, but as Sam became more and more ahead of the curb, Ethan was further left behind. As juniors, they still hang out in class, but they don’t sit together at lunch and you’ll never catch Ethan in DnD club or Sam at whatever sports game Ethan is pretending to care about.

John! My favorite character, honestly. He/him, John has always been quiet. Everyone is used to it. They don’t expect him to speak, so when he finally does (like in the pep assembly episode), they’re taken aback.

But John knows who he is and he cares about his friends and his grades. When he gets a taste of being the teacher, of being someone that important, he realizes that he wants to be seen. He just needed the right stage. He goes on to be a teacher (an English teacher obviously)

The kid in the t shirt. We don’t know their name. We just know that they’re usually the mediator between Sam and Ethan. In the transfer from 3rd period episode, they come off as petty and almost resentful of the kids named from 3rd period, eyeing Alex when they come in.

Until we have a name, my headcanon is that this is the first official girl of the group. I’ve been calling her Emily in my notes, I don’t know why.

But Emily, she/her, doesn’t get involved unless it directly concerns her. In the “Stalemate, Almost” episode where the kids argue over a game, movie, or talking, she tries to direct them to one thing, which prompts Sam to ask if she’ll be boring forever or if she’ll get a personality for Christmas.

Emily is intelligent, but she can disengage unlike Sam. She’s relaxed like Ethan, but she can go toe to toe with Sam. I don’t think we’ve seen her interact with John, but we get two filler characters in “Stalemate, Almost”. One is wearing a long sleeved black shirt and the other is in a grey t shirt. Ethan bargains with the kid in the long sleeved black shirt, and Emily backs him up. Grey t shirt kid counter argues and Emily keeps it up, defending her stance with the other movie people.

Overall, Emily is a chameleon, but she’s not afraid to stand by her friends and her opinions. I definitely think she and Sam are academic rivals.

Alex, the transfer kid, they/her. I choose to believe that she and John are friends, given how they immediately sit next to him and talk about how they’re excited to be in the class.

Alex is from 3rd period, which is described as calmer by their own teacher. I think that means that Alex is hardworking, friendly, and keeps to herself. She’s polite to the others when she walks in, but she directly speaks to John. She greets Sam, who doesn’t actually say hi to her. My headcanon is that she was invited to Sam’s dnd club by a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend and Sam is simply threatened by her.

Alex plays themself off to not be as intelligent as she actually is, claiming she doesn’t know what the counselor meant when they said they had to “even things out”. She comes off as fidgety and nervous, but she’s better at conversation and settling in than John is.

That’s all I have so far. I think it’s kind of weird that I’m making headcanons for these videos, but it’s my comfort show (I know it’s not a show, shut up). Don’t overthink any of this. It’s just for fun.

[constantvigilante]

15 questions, however many people

Tagged by @scarvenartist, thank you very much! :)

1. are you named after anyone? I am not! Most of my brothers have a middle name after one of my uncles, and my sister shares one with my mom, but my given names come from nowhere as far as I can tell. Very appropriate for a middle child who needed desperately to be unique.

2. when was the last time you cried? I’m pretty sure I cried last week over taking Bun to the vet to be neutered, as I found out late in the game that it was a risky surgery for a rabbit and was really stressed and upset.

3. do you have kids? I do not! I went from assuming I’d have them to worrying I’d have them to kinda wanting them to being satisfied with my lot, which is always the healthiest way to end up. I like kids a lot, though, and always look forward to seeing my niblings.

4. do you use sarcasm? Sometimes, for sure, but I’ve found that I can’t indulge too much - like a lot of things, I can get really carried away with it (major personality flaw). I do enjoy it when it’s well-timed and clever and people aren’t just using it to be jerks, though.

5. what’s the first thing you notice about people? I wouldn’t say there’s just one thing. I’m good with faces, and I pay attention to general appearance, and whatever’s unique or interesting about someone. When I do write, I like appearance to show something about a character, so I guess I’m looking for people’s personality in/through their appearance. It’s not everything, but it is there.

6. what’s your eye color? Blue.

7. scary movies or happy endings? Happy, I’m not into the scary. 

8. any special talents? Apart from getting completely overwhelmed? ...maybe singing. Maybe baking. I haven’t been doing a lot of either lately. I think I’m a fairly good editor, too.

9. where were you born? California, for my sins. (I love it. I miss it. I struggle to leave, and yet!)

10. what are your hobbies? I read, I play D&D and video games (especially farming sims, but I also love a good story). I used to write a lot, but that was through roleplaying and it’s dried up considerably.

11. do you have any pets? So many, and though I don’t claim them all, they’re all underfoot occasionally. Currently living with two dogs, seven cats and a rabbit. Only one dog is truly mine, but a cat and the rabbit have adopted me. None of the animals were my idea. None of this is my fault.

I do like them all, but one cat in particular has turned bully to the cat that likes me most, so he’s on thin ice with me lately.

12. what sports do you play/have played? I’m not really sporty. I joined a softball team in elementary school once, but only went to one practice because I thought the other girls didn’t like me. They probably didn’t do anything in particular, I was just painfully self-conscious. 

13. how tall are you? 5′8/5′9

14. favorite subject in school? Anything literature related was my jam, and in college I took Shakespeare twice, from two different professors. And a Romanticism class, and a speculative fiction class. I took so many English classes I wound up making it my minor, to make them useful.

15. dream job? Part-time employee at a bookstore with a cafe next door that has great sandwiches and non-caffeinated drinks, and buys pastries from a local bakery. All I want is a little work to help give my week structure.

Tagging @magnetocerebro, @melliabee and @frenetically, whenever she has time to come on here. :)

[tiredassmage]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Thank you for the tag @captainderyn!

1. Are you named after anyone?

Possibly a great, great(?) grandmother I never had the chance to meet, via middle name, though it’s been... probably at least a decade since I heard that tatter and I’m not sure how correct it is, lol. I’m... not particularly close to a vast majority of the family, tbh, given Drama(TM). Mom picked by meanings though. I know that was very important to her.

2. When was the last time you cried?

I... think I cried a little about a week and a half ago in one of my classes. Not because the class, I promise, lol. We watched the pilot episode of a show called Station Eleven in class and that was a gut puncher.

3. Do you have kids?

No, thank you. My pets and my OCs are all I need, lol. Very ace. Not my personal cup of tea.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Mmmm. I wouldn’t say regularly. It has its moments and I’m sure I was a bit more brutal with it when I was a kid, but its purpose isn’t generally helpful in areas where I need to communicate. I think most of the things I say sarcastically now are probably in regards to fictional characters. xD

5. Favorite time of day?

Late evening, in that like seven - ten pm range. Generally evenings. I’m absolutely not a morning person. If I’m up rather early, I’m tired later in the day. Evening tends to host “me” time.

6. Eye color?

Good ol’ reliable brown. (I need more brown eyed ocs, tbh?) Fun fact: eyes are kind of what enchants me, irl and I probably tend to be a bit invested in fictional character eye colors, too, lol. They’re beautiful. I have no other explanation. That said, I’m very shy about eye contact until I feel more comfortable with people/get to know them better.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Happy endings, if I’m picking between them and scary. I don’t do horror, I am baby. I can be enraptured by a decent thriller and loved a good crime drama TV show. I can kind of do paranormal stuff sometimes, but I can scare myself just thinking a little too hard about it, so very hesitant.

8. Any special talents?

Mmmm... nothing nontraditional, I suppose. I had a few music teachers tell me when I was younger that I have hands that would’ve been great for piano, but I wasn’t super interested in pursuing musical interests outside of, like, basic school requirements. I did chorus for a while, but was kinda eh. I did enjoy acoustic guitar, but, again, not exactly enough that I ended up doing anything with it.

9. Where were you born?

Rural northeastern US of A. I miss having a fall season, but decidedly not enough to give up the warmth of living much farther south.

10. What are your hobbies?

Largely video games, lol, if it was hard to tell. I’d like to do more drawing and get into digital art. I am majoring in Digital Media Design, after all. One of my hopes is to properly play around with a tablet I bought myself over the summer while I take a break from courses. I desire to draw my blorbos, haha!

11. Do you have any pets?

Two ball pythons, the loves and amusing occasional nuisances of my life! They made a brief appearance on my main here. There’s also two dogs in the house, James and Cooper. Cooper is definitively my mom’s dog, however, and, jokingly, my little brother. (He’s her favorite. We all know this.) Cooper is... ??? We think a Collie mix. And James is a Basset-Lab, both adopted about a year or two apart, if I remember right.

12. What sports do you/have you played?

Oh, actual eons ago, I briefly played soccer (probably not very well) when I was very, very small. I have ridden horses (I miss them, Brent), but primarily only in schooling shows and I did participate for a few years in my barn’s summer gaming series just at Walk/Trot. I used to ride low-level jumping courses. Competitive sports haven’t ever really been my thing, particularly to participate in. I would’ve called riding one of my hobbies while I did. It’s an expensive one though and a bit of a tricky one to get back into when balancing college and part-time retail work. My mom and I try to stick to our developed tradition of selecting a local trail riding venture to attend every year for my birthday though that keeps that connection outside of whatever I vicariously pick up through games, lol.

13. How tall are you?

5′5ish. A smidgen shy, but that’s what they put on my license.

14. Favorite subject in school?

Histories and sciences. If I wasn’t so averse to writing research papers and math, I have genuinely considered majoring in either area. Unfortunately, my university doesn’t have a program for meteorology (weather and natural events are a somewhat more recent interest of mine) and video games evidently have some staying power as my interests, so that’s how I ended up in DMD.

15. Dream job?

I’m honestly not sure anyone has a really solid answer to this question, lol. I certainly don’t. I... went into DMD partially because it was interesting enough and I genuinely felt college would benefit me somehow. While I like my pet store job, it’s not exactly where I’d like to spend the next twenty years, even if I am a creature of habit that balks at change, lol.

So, theoretically, I’m studying DMD and entertaining the idea of a minor in creative writing because characters have always been one of the most important aspect of games to me. The idea is to maybe pursue a focus on character or scenario writing, but I... really don’t know, lol. I’m still largely clearing prerequisites and other structural graduation requirements, so I haven’t really dug into the focus areas of my degree yet and I definitely still doubt that I know what I’m doing or if it’ll genuinely be something I can pursue.

It’s definitely scary and I absolutely struggle with that uncertainty, but it’s also a process of just trying to remind myself that it’s a skill and therefore it is something I can develop if I put the work in - that’s the whole purpose of taking classes, after all. It’s something I’m trying to be more conscious of because I have found it very easy to slip into the student mindset of doing things just for class, so I’m still not sure what all I have as far as presentable skills or how to showcase them. But that is... off the base question, I suppose, lol.

So, work in progress!

Uhhhhmmm, this one’s sort of a mix idk who to tag for, lol, so I think I’ll leave this one open? Muts/followers, feel free to say you’ve been tagged if you’d like to do this one!

[nancywheeeler]

happy new year! for all that 2022 has been well, 2022, at least it has also been a year of reading great literature and i wanted to take one last opportunity to hard-sell everyone on my favorite books of the year.

top five books of the year:

1. Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

yesterday, my grandmother called this the book of the decade and while she might be a little early, she’s also not wrong! i sometimes find modern literary fiction to be intimidatingly bleak and deeply cynical, especially regarding its characters, which is one of the many reasons i’m so in love with lincoln highway. the characters are fascinating and nuanced, but towles approaches them with empathy rather than judgement. i think fondly back on the characters in this novel—central, secondary, tertiary and the bit players—like they’re all my old friends. it’s a novel that has a in-point for everyone (it’s a road trip! it’s recent history! it’s a story of blood brothers and complicated found family! it’s funny! it’s heartbreaking!) and i cannot recommend it highly enough. i don’t know how any books of 2023 are going to top it either.

2. This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

as i was starting to write this post, my best friend, who i gifted this book to for her birthday, texted me she was on chapter 41 and “my god, it’s SO good.” my god, it is that good! for anyone whose hard limit for sci-fi is back to the future, this is the absolute perfect book. it’s a really grounded take on time travel that digs into one of the most compelling father/daughter relationships i’ve ever read. like lincoln highway, it’s also funny and empathetic and straub has a way of phrasing truths of life that make you go “yes, of course! of course!!” i’ll leave this with one of my favorite quotes from the book: “Why was it so hard to see that, how close generations were? That children and their parents were companions through life.“

3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

as with my other favorites of the year, this book has so many facets to it and any one of them is a great reason to pick it up. if you want two complicated love stories for the price of one, look no further. if you want to read a time in history not as often explored in fiction (1940s spain in the aftermath of their civil war), here it is. if you’re like me and you’ll read any book that’s about loving books, oh boy has carlos ruiz zafon got you. it’s the perfect blend of history and thriller, shot through with a dark streak of magical realism, and i will sing its praises for the rest of time.

4. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

doerr has already written one of my favorite books of all time, so completely unsurprising his latest epic is also a gorgeous masterpiece! truly awe-inspiring how he weaves such seemingly different eras of time (and space, honestly) and turns it into a gorgeous tapestry narrative that argues not only for the preservation of our planet and the stories we tell while we’re on it but how our stories, even the small and often forgotten ones, are what connects us to people who lived hundreds of years before us and will live hundreds of years after. tl;dr: fund libraries!

5. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

i read this book alongside another best friend and we both got emotionally wrecked. such a great book of friendship and genius and the difficulties inherent when the two mix and decide to start a company together, especially one based in art. i know nothing about video game design and i probably still don’t know much, but i loved reading about this fictional video game company through the decades and was endlessly enamored by the partnership at its center.

so, this post became long and unwieldy; honorable mentions under the cut!

honorable mentions (fiction): Crossings by Alex Landragin (for lovers of time-bending fantasy and experimental structure), The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (for lovers of history and monk detectives), The Searcher and Faithful Place by Tana French (for lovers of literary mystery and sad crusty old men), The Nickel Boys and Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (for lovers of great prose and emotional devastation), Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (for lovers of intimate epics and kimchi)

honorable mentions (non-fiction): Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke (#girlbosses in the sky), Going Clear by Lawrence Wright (join the anti-tom cruise agenda), The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown (do you want to cry over crew boats transitioning from hand-carved wood to metal? because you will), Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (+ crying alone in your room while reading this), All the President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (85k irritating coworkers to friends to taking down the nixon administration to lo—[gunshot]), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (getta load of this cast of characters), Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson (don’t let the title fool you: you’re also going to learn a lot about woodrow wilson’s sex life)