#this is so fucking goofy imo but I’m having fun! so who cares

[crystalmethanie]

coloured + rendered a bit… lots more to go…

WIP… nothing to see here. just 2 friends in the desert…

[lanascurse]

: ̗̀➛ Some of my DR deets

JJK DR

Oddly enough, this is the one I tend to be most private about despite it being my main. I’d love to share soooo much but it’s all too personal. I’m part of the 2006 gang, and have a lovely s/o who I adore to death ! I scripted many things out (kenjaku dies off wayyy before 2018 lmao) so the plot is sort of similar , but I added my own tweaks to it? Also, my CT is related to crystals. I might explain it more in detail one day?? Idk if anyone cares tho but I love it sm. I’m considered a semi-special grade honestly…? It’s confusing but I’m definitely not a low grade 😋

Obey me! DR

Honestly my biggest concern about this reality was the language bc the game is meant to be in Japanese but I can’t imagine them speaking English 💀 the thing is they’re all demons living in “hell” so wouldn’t they have their own special language? Idk but I guess we’re all gonna be fluent in Japanese lmao. Anyway, there is so much chaos in the reality it’s so fucking fun. Lucifer is pissed 24/7 but I’m lowkey scared of him so I try not to slip out of line often. My S/O is Solomon because something about him hits diff 😍 I love my guys Mammon and Levi too but I don’t feel a huge connect to them in a romantical sense. MY OUTFITS TOO!! I mix the devildom and human realm fashion and it’s absolute perfection!! Also, even though there’s no sunlight in the Devildom, I will NOT be deficient in vitamin D 🥰

YouTuber DR

This is a fun one for sure. I’m basing this reality around sister squad mainly because first, iconic ass squad. Second, I eventually want Grayson Dolan as my s/o…I used to be Ethan’s lane lmao. I scripted for us to get together around 2020 since this is their “maturing” era. I have a YT squad of my own and we blew up in popularity years before we got involved with others YouTubers. I know James, Emma, and the twins personally, and quite close with them. And for fun I interact with Shane Dawson and Jeffree Star cuz why tf not? Doesn’t mean I wanna be their friend but they carried 2018 YouTube, let’s be so fr. 2018 is our prime year, my squad and I are drama free for the most part, even when people want to drag us into a scandal. Also making LA more ideal because…I think we all know why. Love this DR 😫

Waiting room

A cute cottage near the cliff-sides of Scotland where I have my bunnies, and all my cats (including the deceased ones). I chill, script, and am filled with absolute love and positivity. This is the place where time truly slows down and allows me to enjoy life. I get to watch edits of my dr’s (w me in them ofc), read goofy fanfics, and can literally summon anything or anyone I want ! It’s technically my dream life but without a career ;)

Haikyuu DR

In love with this anime/manga forever and always. My story goes deep so I won’t get into it too much but my s/o is most definitely Oikawa Tooru. I am a manager for Karasuno’s boys volleyball team and honestly might be like Hinata with how many encounters/friendships I develop 😭 I’m a second year so I’m close to Tanaka and Noya (two of the biggest doofus dingus heads ever I love them sm). My childhood best friend is Kageyama which creates an interesting dynamic around us imo. Wayyy too much to spill about this DR so imma keep it short !

Alice in Borderland DR

I was contemplating this one because it’s so creepy yet interesting. My occupation outside of the borderlands is still confusing to me because I haven’t given this DR any attention, but what I do know is Kuina will become my mf girlfriend. Have you seen that woman? Like idgaf about Chishiya, move over !!!!

Fame DR

I’m an actress with a background in musical theatre, and come from a successful family. I have some notable roles that led me to winning quite a few awards. In this DR, I have an older brother because I want to know what it’s like to have a sibling so bad. Idk why this is the reality I chose to experience that tho. I am friends with some of my fav celebs, ANDDDD one of my cousins is a K-POP idol as well!! We got them connections, y’all. NVM I don’t want a particular s/o in this reality but if I do end up with someone, I’d prefer it be a woman bcuz male celebrities do NOT hit the same :/

felt like yapping about my dr’s sorry. uh thanks if you made it all the way to the end. subscribe and like plz 🙏

[aizenat]

So like I’m trying to get an idea out about how fandoms are ruining music. One aspect of the many issues in music rn, but this is important because it’s about the artists who get blown up these days. Chappel is literally going to be like ice spice is now by this time next year because yall are fucking not paying attention to MUSIC and ARTISTRY, and you’re falling for gimmicks.

Light skint girl with curly red hair and a fat ass with goofy, stupid rhymes? You blow her up and get her working with the biggest artists in the industry despite not being anywhere near talented enough to be in the same room as those women, and then surprised her debut album was a short hot mess. She NEVER gave anything in the last year and a half to indicate she was capable of ANYTHING more than calling herself miss poopy butt, and you’re surprised she did it like five times on her album? What were you expecting?

But ice didn’t blow up for her music or talent. Be forreal in why she blew up. Be real fucking honest? She blew up because niggas wanted to fuck her. Simple. She was basic, had no real personality you’d have to worry about, no real vision or sound or creativity, just doing dr seuss rhymes to justify a music video of her shaking her ass like a stripper (not even in a bouncy, having fun way like Meg or Glo). And niggas was jerking off to it and wanted more and black girls are so male identified that they fuck with those type of girls in hopes that being cool with them will make niggas wanna fuck with them. Like they can get male approval through osmosis.

I’ve heard more about chappel and her image (gimmick), her supposed attraction to women (again, not new, and funny how much that matters when someone who doesn’t identify as a lesbian does it but yall sleep on lesbians doing that. Again—), how she’s going to “save pop” music (yall said they about Billie, Olivia, Sabrina—); literally everything other than her music. I haven’t heard anything about her lyrics (is she direct, emotional, or more sarcastic and snarky????), what style her music is (pop means nothing in this day and age because trends move so fast that this decade had yet to develop a sound and identity), and what outside of her “drag” performance I should care about (i personally don’t like or enjoy drag, so what else? Is she dancing? Being carried around in an egg a la lady gaga circa 2011? What’s she doing on stage that I should be impressed with?); NOTHING. Instead I hear she’s “intense,” and apparently so amazing that she’s going to single-handedly save the entire industry.

Yeah I can’t trust that. Because that’s the fandom talking. See what I mean? This age of music listeners, which I really learned watching the convos around the Kendrick vs Drake beef, listen to people simply because they’re popping. Now don’t get me wrong, depending on what is being said, I’ll check someone out if I see a certain type of attention. I may even like Chanel’s music if yall could be normal about it. I like seeing what’s trending to see if I can understand the hype. It’s why I listen to Taylor’s albums even though I’m ambivalent about her (though folklore and evermore were amazing and her at her peak imo; confirming to me she does have great strengths in songwriting and potential when she’s not doing whatever midnights and ttpd were). I lowkey love when artists I don’t expect to impress me do. Like okay go ahead. Part of the reason I’m being so silly about Conan Gray’s album is because how much it impressed me! Unpopular conehead opinion, but I didn’t really like Superache, and so I wasn’t sure I’d like this album either but it blew me away! Love that! Solidified me as a fan after his strong debut album! I’m in it now! I’m locked in let’s go! I’m watching bro’s entire career now.

Hell, Fletcher was only good to me for like two songs before this recent album. Like okay white girl, yes I’m buying a ticket to see you perform this shit live the fuck?! The vocals and movement in the arrangements and the lyrics? Killing me softly with this whole album rude!!!!!!

But I’m always going to stand by what I like. If an artist I like drops a project I don’t like, I just pass and patiently wait for the next one (see: lady gagas art pop, Beyonce’s renaissance, most everything Miyavi’s dropped since the others lol, etc). I am a huge Cardi fan and did not listen to her album lol (I was a fan of hers before she needed a plot line to justify her being on love and hip hop). She drop a song I don’t like, I don’t care. I hate WOP to this day despite loving both her and Megan; that’s probably why I was all over Bongos when y’all slept on it because that was a much better collab imo than wop.

But my point is I don’t like an artist and then just like anything and everything they drop because I’m a fan. If they release something I think is trash, I’m calling it trash. But fandom rules dictate that the fandom comes before the project. If you call yourself a fan, you must love everything they do. And you must pretend it is the best thing ever even if objectively YOU know it wasn’t great (like swifties gaslighting themselves into thinking reputation was a good album). Like, it’s okay to not love something your favorites do. You don’t have to love everything.

But these kids don’t get into artists because they like the music; they get into them because they’re famous. Because they’re big. Like, so many Drake fans were his fans not because they thought his music was truly transcendent or some shit: he was popular and so they listened to him. Same with ice spice and whatever other rapper trending rn. Just like Olivia. Just like Sabrina rn. Just like Channelle (I’m doing this on purpose btw; ignore it).

Because, and this is the part no one is talking about or admitting, chappell is popular rn because she’s the perfect zoomer. They want to like her because she’s vaguely “queer,” says she likes women and will never date a man again (not in a I’ve learned I’m not attracted to them at all I’m a lesbian way, but in that modern “queer” fuck boys I’ll kiss girls instead uwu #teamsapphic way), pretends she’s subverting gender like they do by being a female in heavy makeup going by they/them/he/him pronouns (the identity doesn’t make the expectation to perform in that way any less lol), and has no real talent vocally so anyone can sing along poorly to her songs (a la Taylor).

Basically chalel is who the gaylor weirdos wish Taylor swift actually was. That’s why they love her. Not because her music is that good, but because she’s the queerio they can easily project on. They can’t project onto a Fletcher or Hayley, who are exclusively same sex attracted and tend to lean tomboyish in their appearance (in that cali way; though Fletcher isn’t from California so idk what that is about with her lol). They’re “normal” looking, instead of “queer”’ in that “dramatic theater kid adult who refuses to acknowledge they’re not a theater kid anymore” way. She’s the perfect representation of the modern “queer” movement: all queer with none of the homosexuality. All about looks and aesthetics than eating another girl out.

It’s very I Kissed a Girl esque with how performative it is.

That’s why they like her. Because of what she represents. That’s also why I keep comparing her Taylor, because especially after the VMAS, Taylor became a stand-in for any suburban white girl who was mediocre but always imagined making it some day. Taylor isn’t big because of her music; I think her recent album really showed that. Taylor has potential, but she always succumbs to the spectacle she’s become, playing into that when she’s left without a proper creative muse. But Taylor is big because mediocre white girls, who are a PLENTY in the west, want her to succeed to prove they’re, idk, valuable? Capable. Talented and worth being stars? Or so they hope. Or so they dream.

Chapel in the “queer” version of that. Her music itself isn’t good. Or at least not THAT great. You genuinely relate to it, then fine. Not everyone is going to cry listening to Conan Gray’s Heather like I did because not everyone went through that. But she’s the queer “icon” they can project onto. Her sexuality is vague like theirs, she makes goofy sayings and phrases that you can put on tshirts easily, she’s hyper feminine so youre not put off by her sexuality the way you are with actual lesbian artists who often aren’t, but she calls her hyperfemininity drag which conservatives are attacking so yay drag!

And so because you want to be fans, you push her music and say it’s good. And you keep repeating it again and again, until the world buys the lie. And she’s big and her success can speak to you little queerio! You too can be successful as your queer as in weirdo self. You too can wear crazy clothes and dye your hair whatever colors and be a super star in your own world too! Because if she’s there, why not you!

And that’s also why the fandom is obsessed and entitled towards her to the point they’re mad when she says to be more normal. Because they know the truth. The “we made you” thing doesn’t work if you’re famous for your art and talent. Look at Chris brown and Drake and how those bitch asses won’t get canceled and go away. When people are here for your work, your personal shit isn’t a deterrent. You can’t say YOU made them: their music being deemed “good” and enjoyable made them. You were one part, but they were going to win regardless. I’ve been a day one Drake hater but that didn’t stop him from being labeled the biggest artist in the 2010s. My personal hate didn’t make or break Drake. It sucks realizing how powerless you are in that way (WHO YOU TELLING????), that all you can do is sit around and pray for moments like Kendrick straight bodying Drake and finally getting people to talk about all the shit I been complaining about with drake since day one. But there was no guarantee that was going to happen. Chris brown is still (unfortunately) going strong.

But the reason why fans think challenge owes them something is because they KNOW her music isn’t good enough to stand on her own. That the only reason she’s blowing up is BECAUSE they want her to. Not the music but because of what she represents. So they force themselves to stream her music again and again until they “like it,” and yet realistically, they could drop it at any time and not miss it. In their minds, they made her because of who she was and what she represented: not because of her music. They were fans of HER so they made her music relevant. And so if she doesn’t accept their weird behavior, then they can take that support back and her music would stop trending. The hype would die down. And she’ll be forgotten about aside from a few real fans like Lorde.

They’re not fans of her music, they’re fans of HER. And just like ice spice, and all the other acts getting dropped right now because everyone is realizing how untalented and boring their music is, she’ll be gone if she loses their favor. Because music fans aren’t here for the music anymore, they’re just here for the fandom. And when the fandom moves on, the artists “fall off.”

[fanfic-inator795]

Ranking my favorite animated dad characters because I can’t sleep

I realized that a lot of my favorite animated characters are dads, so fuck it. Let’s rank them both on their dad-ness and on their character overall.

7. Ansel Beauregard (Arlo the Alligator Boy/I heart Arlo): okay so, as much as I’m kinda hyperfocusing on this guy rn, he kinda HAS to get the lowest rank ‘cause like… he literally abandoned his gator baby in the sewer. Honestly the fact that he’s able to be likable at all is a damn miracle, but the movie and show pull it off surprisingly well.

Basically from the moment he finally accepts Arlo into his life, he’s trying his best to make amends - though admittedly he still doesn’t always go about it the best way, lol. Growing up bullied then isolated and then becoming crazy rich at a young age has definitely made him more than a little oblivious, out of touch and self-centered (though these parts of his personality are still funny/endearing instead of being annoying imo) but he still genuinely cares (even when he was unwilling to face his truth, he still gave Arlo advice that he at least thought was in Arlo’s best interest based on what worked for him) and I really do love the interactions he has with Arlo. I also love the whole bird-man aspect of him both as a character design and fun quirk, and his VA work and singing is also phenomenal. (Seriously, I’ve been listening to “Better Life” multiple times per day, someone pls I need help asdfghjkl)

6. Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas & Ferb): So, back when I was a kid, Doof was definitely my favorite character, and while I’ve kiiiiiinda grown out of him in some aspects (his over-exposure in things like MML didn’t exactly help), I can still enjoy him for being a really funny and really enjoyable character.

Can he sometimes be annoying, slightly obnoxious and take up too much screentime in the latter seasons? Sure, totally. But like- I’m never gonna NOT love the ‘evil villain who has a huge soft spot for their child’ trope, it’s a classic for a reason. Doof is a dork and can be overbearing, but he’s also really sweet and will do anything for his daughter, including get himself stung by dozens of bees. It also can’t be denied just how many of his lines and moments can still get laughs out of me even after all these years. We Stan a petty ADHD-king and (not-so-)evil scientist dad.

5. Hamato Yoshi/Lou Jitsu/Splinter (ROTTMNT): oh hey, another dad with trauma - only instead of being bullied and forced to hide himself or having a nonsensical tragic backstory, he had to deal with generational trauma, being forced into fighting/killing for sport, and finally getting mutated which led to years of on/off depression. …yeahhhhh.

This is another character I really admire for just how well they’re written, even if he wasn’t always the best dad (though for the record, he wasn’t nearly as neglectful as some fans want to claim…) I think most Rise fans would agree that Splinter absolutely has the best arc in the series, going from a strictly comedy relief couch potato to a loving father/tragic figure who manages to rise above everything for the sake of his kids. He’s willing to let the world burn for the sake of his sons and I respect the hell out of him for it regardless of whether or not it’s the ‘moral’ choice. But he’s also still really funny and really cool when he wants to be, and for as much as I’ve drifted away from Rise, Splinter and his story is still one of the few aspects I adore and appreciate about this show.

4. Pete McGee (The Ghost and Molly McGee): Pete is just a super endearing character to me even if he arguably has the least going on of all the TGAMM characters. He’s a very typical goofy sitcom dad both in terms of design (which, ngl… Pete is kinda really cute? Am I the only one who sees it?) and attitude, usually only being used for comedy while Sharon is the one who gets to be the slightly more serious one and have the heart-to-hearts with/give advice to Molly.

But that’s fine because even if he’s not the deepest dad on this list, he’s still incredibly endearing imo. He’s a 100% Wife Guy, he struggles to stand up for himself but still always tries to stand up for his family, he inspired Molly to be heavily interested in community service, and he’s a dancer! Which is just a really fun quirk, hence why I really love both the Ice Princess episode and the Dance Dad episode (asdfghjkl I remember when Tess and I were watching the latter, she was cringing at all the TikTok dances while I was sitting next to her enjoying the song and just being like yeahhhhh get it Pete! Lol). While I do wish we could have gotten a bit of deeper character stuff with Pete, he’s still pretty solid and very enjoyable to watch.

3. Bob Belcher (Bob’s Burgers): we love our autistic Burger King babeyyyyy! Seriously though, while I’ve grown to love all the Belchers, there’s definitely a reason why I gravitated towards Bob first. He’s a mess of a guy who’s just trying his best to deal with all the chaos that life and his family throw at him, and we love him for it.

I love that even while being the most grounded character in the show, he’s not afraid of being a little unhinged and just fucking going off on someone or something. He’s also often the one who’s always trying to help others, even when it’s usually by accident given how much of an introvert he is. He loves his wife, his kids and his burgers with all his heart, and even when he’s at his worst (which is a rarity), you still are rooting for the best for him and want everything to work out. His heart-to-hearts with his kids (and with other characters) really are some of my favorite moments from the show. Furthermore, much like literally all the other characters on this list, his VA’s delivery just adds SO much to his character as well. I really do just love H. Jon Benjamin, he’s so hilarious and needs to voice more characters.

2. Rodolfo Rivera/White Pantera (El Tigre): Ah yes, my first favorite animated dad character, even before Doof. As such, I’m always gonna have a soft spot for this guy. Like I’ve said before, I love how he’s able to be both a goofy and super soft-hearted character but can also be a total badass at times, sometimes without even trying.

He just wants to protect his city and help his son grow up right, and I love him for it! He’s easily one of the funniest characters in the show, but I appreciate that he’s allowed to still be cool and still have a win occasionally. He also manages to be stern without ever becoming unlikable or unreasonable, given that he’ll still always be there for his son and father even when they’re doing things he doesn’t approve of, and I think it’s that overall balance that really endeared me to him, plus his great design+voice (if I had a nickel for every time I gravitated to an Eric Bauza-voiced dad, I’d have two-). His little catchphrase quirks like “okay be good!” and saying Manny’s full name live in my head rent-free, ngl.

1. Bill Green (Big City Greens) let me make this clear… I! LOVE! BILL! GREEN! He’s just… SO great. He’s wholesome, he’s funny and goofy, he’s sweet, he’s a loving father, he’s stern but still reasonable, he’s a hard worker, he’s super relatable, he’s a secret badass, he’s a huge dork, he sings about his truck and is super attached to his wood carvings - he really is just everything and I mean that in the best possible way.

While Cricket and Tilly are obviously the stars of the show, I really do love how much energy the show puts into making Bill this incredibly well-rounded and likable character who you just can’t help but sympathize with and root for when it comes to his farm stuff. I can’t say that he’s perfect, he’s definitely made a couple pretty poor decisions here and there, but overall I think he’s everything I want out of a great animated dad character (probably because he honestly reminds me a lot of my own dad - or at least, the positive parts of my dad). He’s not the only thing I love about BCG, far from it, but he’s definitely one of my biggest favorite things about it.

BONUS HONORABLE MENTION DADS:

- Vasquez (BCG): bodyguards/surrogate dads absolutely count. So happy that Vasquez has become much more prominent and fleshed-out as the show’s gone on, he’s just so great. Thank you Danny Trejo for voicing him, can’t wait for that s4 ep where Vasquez apparently goes to therapy

- Lego Batman (Lego Batman Movie): ah yes, the kick-starter to the Batman/Bat-fam phase I had in college. Fits right alongside characters like Ansel and Splinter for being obviously flawed dads (bro literally called his new son ‘expendable’ wtf Bruce) who still care a lot/grow to become better people over time through the influence of their kid. Will Arnett is still absolutely hilarious as this character, I love how he immediately goes into dad-mode when Robin gets slammed into the windshield, and that bit at the end where he finally tells Robin the truth about his ‘dads’ still gets me a bit teary-eyed

- Wild Knuckles (The Rise of Gru): technically a grand-dad but whatever. Like I said, I love my villains with a soft-side for their kid, and it makes me sad that the Rise of Gru fandom essentially ignored this guy in favor of hot young Dr. Nefario. Like- I don’t care if the arc between him and baby Gru was somewhat rushed, dude literally got himself burned alive by a huge dragon for his surrogate grandkid, he deserves better

If you’ve made it this far, let me know if you like any of these dad characters + what your favorites are ^v^

[mangora]

I feel like my Disventure Camp tier list that I posted recently didn’t properly represent my feelings about the characters so here’s my full list of character opinions:

Gen 1:

Miriam: AUGH I love Miriam so much. Watching her learn to open up and love life again was fantastic, she deserved to win so much. I love how lively and sassy she still is, best written old lady character ever I’m so serious.

Fiore: Evil child, iconic as fuck. Her gimmick is so unique and weirdly genius, like I haven’t really seen a character like her before. I also love how she clearly has a bit of a soft side but doesn’t want to, like the episode where she voted out Alec and so clearly felt regret but just pushed it down? Aughh she cares abt him so much he’s literally her dad. I can’t wait to see the writers explore her more sympathetic character traits.

Ellie: ELLIE!! Hot take I love Ellie, she’s such a realistic antagonist. Great representation of how capitalism causes people to betray their morals. Ik she got mean but honestly I get it, she was under a lot of stress and now feels like she can’t back down again or else things will go back to how they were.

Alec: He’s sooo awesome, great addition from the S1 beta, he’s so funny and I just love smart characters and his relationship with his son & ex-wife makes me so sad. Like he’s a villain but his motive in S1 at least was good-natured even if it shows how much knowledge he lacks when it comes to relationships and how underprepared he was to have a family.

Jake: Ik everyone finds him annoying but Jake is my favorite, no contest. He’s just so tragic to me, he’s clearly trying to control his impulses but it’s so hard, he just loves so deeply and keeps losing because of it. He’s like trapped in a cycle of love and loss it’s awesome. Also pathetic men on top. Can’t wait for him to get worse.

Tom: S1 Tom was so awesome, he was so like sweet. He was just trying his best to come out of his shell and kept losing things because of it. It’s about the ever-present theme of loss pervading Disventure Camp season one. In S3 though he’s kinda…eh so far. Idk I don’t like how avoidant and snippy he’s being with Jake, even though Jake did kind of screw him over. Feel like all he’s done is be annoyed. Also WHY IS HE A COP that was so tragic I can’t believe they did that to him.

Grett: I like Grett in theory but in canon her arc felt weirdly rushed? I wish we’d seen her more human traits earlier in there season and I wish she’d come to terms with her family’s lack of love for her more gradually. She’s not bad I just feel like her arc played out oddly. Can’t wait to see more of her in S3 though.

Gabby: Gabby’s fun but I feel like she’s kind of just there to work into other characters’ stories, like Ellie’s and Tom’s. I hope we get to see her being more independent and that we learn more about her past. Also the portrayal of her mental health issues in S1 was kinda iffy imo? But I’m not psychotic or bipolar so I don’t think my opinion on it is super relevant. I did like her standing up to Grett and her brief friendship with Dan though.

Dan: Dan’s okay, I don’t think he has much going on but he was a good straight-man for the group. I’m still sad about his and Gabby’s falling out. Also asexual realness.

Ashley: Ashley’s a bit goofy but she’s fun and she’s cute and her friendship with Jake is really awesome. I love how much she cares for her friends and family.

Lill: LILL omg she deserved so much better. Idk what it is about her I just love her a lot, she’s so patient and kind and I’m a sucker for characters who care about children. She just wanted to keep the peace but peace was not an option. Wish she’d gone feral.

Nick: I don’t get the appeal of Nick. Annoying rich white boy, I know like 100 of those, you’re not special. He’s such an asshole and not in an endearing way. Idk there’s just nothing I really like about him, boring and rude without a cause, he sucks.

Drew: He’s okay, cute little fella, I felt bad for him when he went home. He’s not that intriguing to me but I like him.

Will: Basically the same as Drew. He was sweet and I felt bad for him but didn’t care much for him. Maybe it would be fun if he came back and we saw him overcome his fears a bit and make friends, I think he had potential but overall wasn’t very important to the story.

Trevor: He’s so silly dude I can’t with him. Poor little meow meow

Derek: Idgaf he’s like kinda funny I guess. Watching him with Trevor makes me feel like I’m hanging out with a friend and their annoying boyfriend came along and I have to tolerate him.

Jensen: Not much of a character tbh. He’s okay. Never really think about him.

Gen 2:

James: JAMES James James James I love James dude he’s so awesome. His arc was so fun to watch, I love characters who start selfish and learn over time to care for others. Perfectly paced, also he’s kinda funny. Perfect morally gray character; he wasn’t malicious like Yul but did what he did to get by. Also his arc paralleled with Riya’s corruption arc? Perfect. Easy one of my faves from Gen 2. Also hot take but I really like his voice it fits him so well.

Riya: Riya is such a good villain, I never expected her to be an antagonist but I loved it. Watching her desperately trying to hold on to friendships but ultimately losing everything in her pursuit of fame and adoration? Augh. Tragedy. And she’s not evil deep down it’s just, yk, girlhood, she needs to feel appreciated and loved after being ignored her whole life. She’s so awesome.

Aiden: Aiden’s okay, he’s nice, but honestly I don’t think he has much of a character by himself. He was kind of just an accessory to James imo and people like him because his design is cool. Is that too mean. Idk but I hope they do more with him in S3, if his arc is becoming more independent then I guess they set up his dependence issues well in S2? I like that he’s trans, that’s neat. I just find him a bit boring.

Hunter: Hunter’s also kind of boring imo, his interactions with Tess in S2 made me mildly uncomfortable and I think he floated a lot and the way he acts in S3 lowkey pisses me off a lot like why are you so mean for no reason. But I think he could be good. His love of games and strategy could’ve been expressed better but it’s a cool concept. He’s honestly a mid character in canon but something about him draws me in and I don’t even know what. Secret version of him in my brain that I can’t even describe.

Rosa María: ROSA she’s so cute and sweet and I love how much she loves her daughter and her friends, she even helps Riya after she got her out. Usually I gravitate towards more flawed or tragic characters but she’s just so awesome, she’s someone who’s overcome a lot of hardship with a good attitude and that’s just so lovely and refreshing. I wish she’d been in All Stars, miss that woman.

Ally: Ally’s another character who’s just kind of okay. She’s like packet ramen to me: has a lot of good elements (sad backstory, anger/jealousy issues, close gal pal, chicken bullion packet) and overall delightful but you’d probably pick something else to eat if you could afford it or if you had the energy/time. I hope they do more with her in later S3 episodes because rn she’d kinda just Hunter’s girlfriend who deserves better. I miss her and Tess’ friendship/relationship.

Karol: I adore Karol she’s so good. Ik she was bitchy but honestly I get her. She trusted someone for once and was betrayed by them and all she wants is to get revenge and hang out with her animals. I wish we got to see more of her and see her actually form a friendship with someone. I think about the potential of Karolill every day guys; Karol gets better and Lill gets worse and they live in somewhat-gray nature-loving 40-year-old lesbian bliss.

Lake: Watching Lake break away from her parents was so comforting and fantastic, seeing her gain confidence and make friends was wonderful. Another great arc, she was wonderful and deserved to make the final three imo.

Tess: Tess started kind of rough but I grew to like her a lot, I’m glad she found happiness and started recovering and pursuing her dreams. She’s just pleasant, her friendship with Ally especially was awesome. Watching her realize that she wasn’t unwanted or a burden was heartwarming as fuck. She just wants friends guys. Buddies even.

Yul: I’m sorry, ik Yul is very popular, but I cannot stand him. The racism is bad first of all, ik it’s meant to show how much of an asshole he is but I just think it was unnecessary and not treated with enough brevity. He has no interesting relationships. His motive being pure selfishness is boring and infuriating. He’s ridiculously cruel and unfunny while doing it, there’s nothing about him that I find interesting or entertaining. I usually love villain characters but he’s just so lacking. Imo the best villain characters don’t need to be redeemable, but they need to either have some understandable human qualities or need to be fun to watch, and Yul’s neither to me. He just doesn’t fit with the rest of the antagonists either, who do bad things but are shades of gray. You can like him and I’m glad he’s at least being portrayed as a villain rather than a redeemed-without-redemption-arc character (ex: Snape from the transphobic wizard books) but I just do not enjoy him whatsoever and if I were to rewrite him to my own tastes I’d be essentially overhauling his entire character. Some villains should be hatable as people but he’s hatable as a character to me.

Maggy: Maggy standing up for herself was awesome and I’m glad she found happiness but I don’t think about her much. She’s okay.

Connor: Connor’s another delightful person, his arc was succinct but well-executed, and I love seeing him be so optimistic with people even when they don’t deserve it. Truly a saint. Lovely man.

Kai: Kaiii I wish they’d done more with him. He’s so chill and funny, and even though him snapping at Yul was goofy and could’ve had better lead-up I think it’s good that it happened eventually. I wish we’d seen him stay slightly longer and become more assertive. Awesome little man.

Oliver: Oliver’s…okay. His “ah, natives!!” comment still pisses me off and idk why the writers did that since he’s not meant to be a shitty person like Yul is? Aside from that though I think it was nice seeing him learn to stand up for himself and sort of befriend Kristal.

Kristal: Kristal’s so interesting to me, she’s really funny too. Seeing her become crueler and crueler and then desperately trying to change herself to not be like her father was pretty fun. I think it’s pretty realistic, you don’t see many redemption(?) arcs where the character struggles this hard to combat their negative qualities and I like that about her.

Marcus: He’s…fine. Not much to him. I like his design.

Nina: She’s kinda annoying ngl but she’s a little funny, her playing Jigsaw in that one episode was great. She and Fiore should start a podcast.

Other:

Emily: Not many thoughts about her yet. She’s slaying. Kinda Blaineley adjacent.

Jared (S1 Beta): Fuck ass haircut.

[wildfernflower]

I think Sam is gay

His personal life is devoid of women completely seriously..

I guess this is your conclusion after you have watched the WWHL show. I'm convinced nothing what Sam said can be taken seriously. He did it for fun, laugh and promo, to sell and promote himself, the shows he’s acting in, his ventures, whatever …  He adjusted his answers to the low format of this sleazy talk show as well as to the low tastes and same expectations of the coarse audience. No way he would openly reveal any “spicy details" as we know he never says a word about his private life.

The questions were strictly sexual, provocative and intrusive, for me unacceptable. I think nobody being asked these type of questions would give true answers and everybody would deflect – what might be difficult, however, since the way the questions are structured and the interviewer himself require fast and direct answers, no room for hesitation, what surely makes the guests feel uncomfortable and under pressure. Moreover, whatever the answer is, one may feel publicly exposed unless they are thick-skinned and resistive to public humiliation. Perhaps Sam regrets accepting the invitation to this talk show: he had to force himself to play someone he is not and he overestimated his “survival skills”. However, he’s not innocent either, he knew the interviewer and his nosiness, knew approximately what awaited him in the show, he could have tried to handle the questions better but he chose otherwise. I’m sorry to say but obviously he doesn’t care that this (false) gross image of an attractive, frivolous eternal “fuck boy” deprives him of dignity and so much contradicts the image he aspires to: a serious actor and businessman. His goal was to entertain and please the audience, and gain more popularity, and this image surely appeals the best to the average, not demanding fans. If Sam’s goal was to distract from what his real life really is by purposedly creating a totally opposite image, the option he has chosen is risky. It may permanently put many people off. He should be more careful, once he crosses a line there’s no way back.

I think with his controversial answer to the question “Are you single?” Sam alluded to the interviewer’s sexual orientation and played a spontaneous joke on it. But it may turn against him. Sam was dispelling the gay gossip some time ago, and now, because of one ill-considered answer and so to speak - on his own request, unwanted rumors will be revived.

Sam’s elevated mood was feigned imo (or he was drunk, as some say), he responded with exaggerated gaiety and excessive frivolity. Was this his way of getting through to the end of this cringe worthy show and shallow questions? Or did he have in front of his eyes the image of a stereotypical American actor/celebrity, who achieves popularity and success by selling their fabricated or souped up privacy to the talk shows and tabloids, who is considered cool when - in a goofy way - gives away fabricated spicy secrets about his dating habits? Anyway, Sam did his best to follow that cliché.

And what a contrast! He’s promoting a rom com, has said he’s romantic, likes flowers (no matter if true or not) and today he openly plays a womanizer card: ghosting after one date, sex on first date, sending nudes to your partner, staying close to your ex when in new relationship … or even implying he might be gay … I felt disgusted.

I don’t know what is happening to Sam, he has lost his way, where is that happy, spontaneous, charming man he was 10 years ago? Does he still recognize himself?

I am having hard time to deal with that all.

[phoenixyfriend]

I’ve been trying to figure out the best obi wan ship. They all have one slightly problematic thing this way or that. I’ve landed on the idea of obi wan and an equal is pretty top tier. But then I saw a picture of Coran from voltron. Coran and Obiwan might be a disaster but also both are dad shaped, both are bad ass, both are ginger, both have an accent. I think it could work. But another part of me is like Coran is just obi and jarjar mashed together. At the very least they hooked up.

Hey I just had restaurant ramen and Starbucks and actually feel like a human being so let's do something unnecessary but funny. I'm taking this as a challenge, anon.

Also IMO Coran has more in common with C3P0 than with JarJar

So obviously, both of these happen in Big Space, but the difference appears to be density. We see about the same complexity of culture and species interactions, but Voltron covers more galaxies. It's vaguely implied that Earth, at least, is the only planet with sapient life in the Milky Way.

I think the way I want to play this out, culturally, is that the Voltron area of the universe covers a much wider, but much more sparsely populated area, while the SW-verse is just the one very densely populated (in part because apparently humans just went Literally Everywhere) galaxy, where they didn't necessarily bother with developing the tech to go to other galaxies (except Rishi, which only sort of counts) because they haven't really even charted out their own yet. It was never contacted by the Voltron side of things because [checks notecards full of excuses] it's really far away from Altea and all that, and the Force shielded the galaxy from Galra interests because Reasons.

All this to say that the two franchises didn't interact until after the Voltron plotline was already over. We'll say it went mostly canon, except Allura survived because uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh fuck that.

We'll say that this is mid-TCW, you know, before Obi-Wan is a bundle of repressed traumas and bad coping mechanisms that's lost almost everyone he's ever loved to the dark side through death or corruption. He's still (mostly) okay! Anakin's not dark (or at least, not as dark as he could be; Obi-Wan doesn't know about the Tuskens), and Ahsoka's still in good standing and most people are alive and--and okay the army is a massive ethical violation he hates with his very soul and he misses Qui-Gon and Anakin's keeping secrets and pulling away from him every day but He's Fine, Guys.

He's Fine.

In comes a ship from not Wild Space, but beyond that. Intergalactic visitors, from the direction of the deeply concerning Force bullshit they felt a few years ago. Translation tech is decent enough on both sides that they get to talking pretty quickly. The explorer is actually a member of the Blade of Marmora, who gets the absolute most basic info (approximately this many inhabited planets, approximately this many trillions of sapients in the recorded galaxy, basic structure of the government for the past however many years, most recent conflict, etc.)

BoM person is like "cool, okay so you guys are really well set-up so I'm just gonna head back and kick this up a few rungs of the coalition ladder because this is way above my paygrade, I'll make sure you get some diplomats who can maybe help out with the whole galactic civil war situation as neutral parties."

The Voltron Coalition does send a diplomat! They, uh, also send Coran, who isn't technically a diplomat, but he's high-level.

The thing is, okay, that Coran is mostly just... passably competent at things. He's a jack of all trades, master of none type. He knows a lot of things, actually, but his practical knowledge in high pressure situations tends to be up in the air. He knows how to fix the Castle Ship and various technologies, but all of that info is ten thousand years out of date. He was a competent fighter at one point but these days his back gives out. He's very knowledgeable regarding intergalactic politics but, again, that information is ten thousand years out of date. He's also a little prone to social gaffs in dicey situations (e.g. the inciting incident in the Voltron Show episode where he misses the single day with clear skies), but puts in so much goddamn effort to make things happen.

In this manner, he's like a warped mirror of what Obi-Wan is and could be.

THAT SAID

Coran is actually really good with teenagers, and specifically with training them.

And Obi-Wan... isn't.

Obi-Wan's snarky and snippy and sassy, and he's decent enough at teaching and he's great at being a jokey friend and all, but he's not necessarily very good at emotions. And unfortunately for Obi-Wan, the teenagers he spends the most time with are Really Full Of Emotions. He tries, bless him, but he's just... he doesn't respond well to emotional conversations at the best of times.

His son-figure saying "You're like a father to me" leads to a response of... radio silence. Guys. That's not the mark of a man who knows how to talk about his feelings with the people he cares about.

In swans Coran with the various other diplomatic envoys of the visiting extragalactic community. The entire situation is really leading to a lull in the war because nobody wants to risk pissing off this clearly well-funded, well-powered third party. As a result, many of the High Generals can interact with the envoys, even if they spend quite a bit of time eyeing the Separatist representatives on the other side of the room, because clearly Everyone Needs A Seat At This Table.

It's a very tense situation.

Obviously, Coran is exactly the weird uncle that goes around telling plausibly-exaggerated stories about Weblums and Yalmors and Balmeras. I'm going to say at least one former Paladin is there, maybe Hunk. Hunk's fun, and also very willing to help Coran make friends and seem Amicable instead of Distant by correcting some of the exaggerations. There's a nice, calm atmosphere in a bubble around Coran and his nonsense, and it's a weird situation but arguably just... you know. It's good. He's good at making people feel safe around him.

Cue the hissed argument between Skywalker and Kenobi. The actual cause of said argument isn't important, just the fact that, in a dark corner where they're less likely to cause a PR issue, Anakin and Obi-Wan are having it out. Anakin's maybe twenty, still a lanky ragebaby, all that fun stuff. Obi-Wan is a the endpoint of every too-young brotherdad. He's thirty-six but feels like he's sixty-three. He's tired, but trying so damn hard to still connect with Anakin and just--just--

Obi-Wan gives himself a few minutes to calm down before following Anakin. He doesn't even remember what they were arguing about, really, but he has to mend the bridge before it frays even more than it already has. If Anakin goes to Palpatine for advice again, he's going to... do something. Obi-Wan isn't sure what, but he just has to fix this.

What he finds is... well, Anakin did end up going to vent to a man of an earlier generation who acts like a slightly eccentric older relative, but it's not Palpatine for once.

The goofy, slightly abrasive but mostly charming, brightly-colored representative of the Voltron Coalition is standing in the little balcony that Anakin's made it to, listening as Obi-Wan's recently-knighted padawan vents. The man nods and makes noises at the appropriate times, and then asks questions that are... maybe a little too accurate.

"You said that you view him as a father, that he raised you after you left your mother."

"Well, yeah, but he doesn't think I'm ready, or--"

"No parent ever does."

"...my mom thought I was ready to become a Jedi."

"I can't speak for your mother," the representative says, "but the princess of my people, Allura... I half-raised that girl from the beginning, and after the destruction of Altea, we were all the other had left. I watched her lead battles and bring life to planets, trying to rebuild a universe out of the ashes of what we'd left behind... I saw the evidence with my own eyes, and I still, every time, I worried for her."

"Why?"

"I worried that she'd be hurt, that she wasn't ready, that she'd make a decision she regretted. Often, she did, and I had to help her back up, and while she's always come back, stronger than before... she is the closest thing I have ever had to a daughter, and I will always worry for her. Every parent does. Do you think, perhaps, that your own Jedi Master, that you consider a father, may worry because he looks at you like a son? That it's not that he doesn't trust you, but that he doesn't trust the world around you?"

Obi-Wan feels his heart in his throat.

The conversation continues in that vein. While Obi-Wan can't say he likes the fact that this stranger is putting words in his mouth, if only as hypotheticals, he can't deny that there's a part of him that relaxes as Anakin does, as every frustrated fresh-knight question gets a measured elderly-steward response that's angled to consider the interpretation that favors Anakin and Obi-Wan in equal measure. Every word encourages Anakin to talk things out and lay boundaries and express his frustrations to Obi-Wan in the plainest words possible.

There's a story in there, more than one. The representative tends to go off on tangents, ones that Anakin sometimes finds interesting and sometimes just resigns himself to. Mostly, though, it goes well, and Obi-Wan... well, he's always been 'a nosy little bastard,' according to quite a few people.

(In his defense, the terms they'd used about Quinlan's 'investigative personality' had been quite a bit stronger.)

He eavesdrops to the end, and Anakin doesn't notice at all. Obi-Wan's not sure if he should try to address Anakin's lack of awareness of the world around him. He's not technically Anakin's master anymore. The comment may be taken as a criticism of his worth and capability, rather than a sincere desire to see his padawan not die.

He approaches the representative instead. He intends to introduce himself. Instead, the first words that tumble out of his mouth are:

"How do you do it?"

The man--older than he looks from a distance, more wrinkles than the bright hair would suggest, but not quite elderly yet--turns and lifts a brow. "Hm?"

"I'm sorry, I'm--" Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The young man you were just talking to is my former padawan, er, my former apprentice. I've been finding it harder and harder to speak with him over the past few years, and it seems that every interaction we have leads to an argument. How do you... manage that? I can't get him to listen to me at all."

"Ah, teenagers," the man sighs.

"He's twenty."

The representative pauses, and turns to him. "Are you the one he says raised him? The father?"

"Well... yes, I suppose that's one way to phrase it," Obi-Wan says, eyes darting to the side. He doesn't know how to explain the whole attachment situation to someone who barely knows what a Jedi is. He has even less of an idea of how to explain his own broken ability to speak of emotion, the parts of his mind that Bant clucks over and attributes to his own complicated relationship with Qui-Gon. "I had custody as his primary guardian from ages nine to nineteen and was the primary individual for handling his schooling, health, and general upbringing."

"That sounds to me like a very convoluted way of saying you were his father in all but name."

Obi-Wan grimaces. "I'm not exactly old enough to be his father, and I wasn't exactly the person he was supposed to learn from; I was the... back-up option."

"It seems he cares for you very much."

"He didn't have much of a choice," Obi-Wan says, with the kind of helpless smile and awkward shrug he's long gotten used to sharing with people when they ask. "And I assure you he'd have been happier with the man that was meant to teach him."

"I'd say that the 'would have' in this situation is much less important than what is," the representative says. Obi-Wan probably should have paid more attention to his name. "I wasn't in a position to define my relation to Allura or her father in the way that truly suited our situation, by... oh, tradition, social norms, public relations, take your pick. I was a very well-regarded official, of course, but I wasn't royalty, not even nobility, and I certainly wasn't wasn't legally or publicly part of the family. But for all the limitations there, I was still able to find ways to tell her and her family what they meant to me, and they in return. Your apprentice cares for you very much, and I'm sure you care back, but I'd hazard quite the guess that you've no idea how to tell him that."

"I... I shouldn't," Obi-Wan says. "I'm fond of him, of course, but I've no wish to smother him, and to simply say it would be undignified. I imagine he'd laugh in my face."

The representative raises one eyebrow and takes a sip of his drink.

"Master Kenobi," he says carefully. "Might I suggest you go find your young man, tell him you love him, and perhaps give him a hug?"

Obi-Wan's face flares red. It's been years since anyone short of Yoda has spoken to him like that.

"I'm not a child," he sniffs, trying to angle enough away that the blush isn't as noticeable. He's damnably prone to such things. "You're not that much older than me."

The man laughs, and Obi-Wan lifts his glass to his lips in a futile attempt to hid the embarrassment a little more. "Oh, not counting the stasis, I've well reached the age of six hundred and twenty-four, my boy!"

Obi-Wan chokes on his drink.

The man laughs a little more, but thumps him on the back until he's breathing normally again.

"Yes, most of the humans I've told have had quite the reaction!" the representative assures him. "But yes, even with the times adjusted to what any given local year is, I am significantly longer-lived than most species."

"No kidding," Obi-Wan manages. He wipes at his mouth with the back of his hand and looks over at the representative. He takes in the wrinkles and bright eyes, and says, "Well, I must say you look very well for a near-human of such an age. I can only name one person in that category that has managed better, and I haven't seen her since I was a child."

"I shall take that as the compliment it's intended to be," the representative says, twisting the edge of his mustache and beaming.

The man is... well, goofy, really, and quite a bit older than Obi-Wan had thought, but he's quite the charmer. Obi-Wan faintly compares him to a few different people in the back of his mind, but nothing quite fits. For all that the man is quite the jokester and--going by some things he'd seen from the corner of his eye in the main party--a master of physical comedy, the representative is actually more competent than he looks, and for all his visible age, not bad to look at. He is also, seemingly, an expert in dealing with teenagers and young adults, something Obi-Wan himself is... decidedly not.

He really should go speak with Anakin.

And there's a war to fight.

He doesn't really have much time, even with the recent lull.

He's in no place to be looking at the clean-shaven jaw and wondering what it would feel like under his lips, or to let himself consider whether this man would be the kind to have an hours-long discussion as to the narrative forms common in other galaxies, and whether they have anything paralleled to those in Obi-Wan's own, or if this man would show the same enthusiasm over teas that he'd shown over the hors d'oeuvres inside.

He should... really go find Anakin.

"I suppose it's time to find my padawan," he says, more to fill the air than anything. "Er... thank you, both for speaking with him, and for speaking with me."

"Not a problem at all, Master Kenobi!" the representative says, and Obi-Wan realizes that there's one last thing he may have... forgotten.

"This is terribly embarrassing, but I don't believe I caught your name?" Obi-Wan says.

"Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, at your service!" the man says, with a sweeping bow. "As you can imagine, most simply call me Coran."

"Then I insist you call me Obi-Wan," he says, and before he can stop himself, "Might I bother you with an invitation to a shared tea time? You seem a knowledgeable fellow, and I'd appreciate the chance to... eh, pick your brain, shall we say."

It's not the smoothest come on he's ever put out there, or the most easily interpreted, but... well. Perhaps it's for the best. He's rather often found his tastes going in irresponsible directions, and it'll be much easier to brush this off without diplomatic incident if there's room for Coran to politely ignore the less platonic options.

Obi-Wan hopes he doesn't.

It's very selfish of him, but a dalliance with an older gentleman... well. He does, perhaps, make such irresponsible decisions, even now.

"I do believe I'd enjoy such a thing!" Coran enthuses, grabbing Obi-Wan's hand and shaking it in large, effusive movements.

Oh, this is a terrible idea, Obi-Wan thinks, even as he exchanges comm numbers and says goodbye.

Still.

He likes the idea of having at least a little fun, sedate or less so, while they have some time to themselves.

[wonderworldwonderings]

MAJOR ENDING SPOILER ASK/ DISCUSSION AND PICS UNDER THE CUT

Okay, so to preface this, before I read the novel (I have now and I'll be writing a big ole post about it) I have to say I was kind of heartbroken how things ended up for Lance. This ending just felt... Completely off centre from what the storyline was preaching the entire time. You come to the Balance theatre, where two characters combined make BALANCE, and in the end the negative one just gets yeeted, squashed out so positivity only remains?? I understand it could be a metaphor of the idea that negativity can and WILL drag you down if you don't be careful with it, but Balan didn't even try to save Lance?? Balan was built up as this character that completely and absolutely gives himself to other people to help them and be in their lives, yet there was nothing for Lance?? I'm not going to claim I know more about the character than the directors, but to me it just... Didn't feel in character at all. Balan should have reached out to save Lance, done SOMETHING to save them in the end.

I feel that Lance should have been saved. I understand that redemption for villains means they do have a lot of work cut out for them to repair the damages they've done, but fuck man, they didn't even give Lance a CHANCE. There's potential for a sequel if you finagle some things around, and fuck I might even write it myself where they make efforts to save Lance from wherever they went (because they're obv not DEAD, they just got pulled into some weird vortex). And especially to have them saved, RIGHT BEFORE they get killed off? That’s like... not even a victory. It’s just not fun.

The Tim drops being apparent tears is one thing, but I think they're more a creation of intense, positive emotions. Of course Balan crying means they'd create some Tim drops, he was experiencing such love in that moment! I wonder if the colours correspond to specific emotions? The drop looked blue in that cutscene (probably only because the background was a blue tint), but blue Tim drops have shown to give Tim's the ability to destroy obstacles... And Balan in that moment had witnessed Emma and Leo overcome a huge obstacle themselves. So it makes sense!

(This was super cool to hear because I had NO idea there were a lot of rules that go into being bonafide clowns! I’m gonna research it more after this)

And don't even get me started on Balan's 'canon' look under the hat. I DO NOT SEE IT. It's a fine design and all but it's not... Balan, imo. The look he has with the hat suits his personality so much more, this goofy, quirky and kind of weird and mysterious entity that is having a lot of fun with all his interactions. And without the hat he's just... Plain. BUT, talking to a friend who has a lot of info about how the Clown industry works, they actually provided me with a lot of really cool tips! 

- “Balan is most likely wearing traditional Whiteface makeup. Whiteface clowns are generally the leaders of a giggle of clowns, and traditionally all skin must be covered. So YES he and Lance are white, but it's likely just makeup! Especially since there's facial markings around the eyes on top of the white, AND that they're wearing gloves + are fully covered!”

Regardless, I’m also going to play around with some fan designs for both Balan and Lance that make them a better mix of their original designs. Because they should have both been alive in the end, both as a mix of each other to show the balance between negativity and positivity, heck, ANYTHING to show balance that the ending didn't provide (the novel KIND of explains this, but it’s still unfortunately LACKING in explanation and leaves the whole ending feeling kinda... hollow). I WISH Balan had of tried to save them, reached out, ANYTHING true to his selfless and caring nature. The ending dance number was something I called would happen all along, but I thought LANCE WOULD BE WITH THEM. 

On another note, the ending with the Inhabitants and Balan? Holy, fucking shit. That was (despite the disappointment with Lance), GORGEOUS, WONDERFUL, HEALING. I loved it A LOT. It was interesting to have the confirmation that they're trapped hearts too! I know the novel goes into way more detail about the actual inhabitants which is really fun too. But good lord, the way Balan interacted with them at the end, it was so fucking sweet. He loves them, he loves them so much. You can Tell IMMEDIATELY when Jose goes over to thank Balan that he’s not at ALL used to receiving praise or thanks for what he does. 

LOOK AT HIM, HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO FOR A MOMENT. HE’S SO TAKEN ABACK.

I should wrap this up before it gets too long. I will say, as a footnote, I've since read the novel after having written this all out, to which I’ll upload a separate post abt it before this one gets too long. Reading the novel NOW, it’s put way more into perspective and although I wish they had of done some key things differently in the game, I’m more settled on it. AND, I love this game so, SO much more!

[kitkatopinions]

There's no comparing RWBY 'weapons are part of our souls' to LOTR 'I love not the sword for its sharpness, the arrow for its swiftness or the warrior for his glory, I love only that which they defend'. Ruby fetishizes weaponry so much it's practically a meta gag, while Faramir and Sam long to set their swords aside for gardening trowels. Rwby simps can eternally BTFO making comparisons between them

If RWBY was still back in season three, I'd say comparing it to something like LOTR just isn't fair, that just because there was a lot more big, significant moments in season three didn't mean it was suddenly meant to be taken that seriously. It'd feel like comparing Steven Universe and Phineas and Ferb, because Steven Universe is meant to be an emotional, story-based show with a lot of depth despite it's comedy and goofiness, and Phineas and Ferb is meant to be an episodic show based on comedy and goofiness that still manages to have moments that lean towards being more emotional. Incomparable, really. Steven Universe obviously beats out Phineas and Ferb in terms of character development, emotional beats, story beats, plot consistency, etc, but it's because Phineas and Ferb was never in that ballpark, they were playing in the ballpark in the mall across town with Spongebob and Hey Arnold.

RWBY back in volumes 1-3 had it's incredibly messy things that screwed up the flow and narrative (like for instance the White Fang arc, which was horrible for a number of reasons and always a major blight on the show.) But it was still essentially a school-based, anime inspired, funny web cartoon with great designs and combat choreography that was the highlight of the show, while the plot was there to hold it up. But volume three heralded in a big change in the show (which don't get me, isn't inherently bad, just badly handled imo.) All of a sudden, RWBY as a show was asking to be taken really seriously in volume four. All of our main characters were traumatized, separated, suffering, in over their heads in a world they no longer understood and dealing with deeply personal problems like abusive home lives, PTSD, and self-hatred causing them to push away loved ones. It reminds me in a way of the Harry Potter books changing from 'fun and whimsical adventures in a magic school with writing and style choices a bit reminiscent of Roald Dahl that also has some darker background tones' into 'Harry is fucking traumatized and keeps getting more traumatized, everyone keeps dying around him, the person he once was at eleven now felt like a little brother that had died long ago, his pet owl has been murdered.'

But while they introduced darker themes, it's like they had no idea how to handle them. They started out okay with it, but instead of giving these important topics any depth and world building and moral messages and the focus they deserved, they either sloppily tied up 'resolutions' that were unsatisfying or have just piled on more and more stuff they don't seem to want to deal with. A good example of this is Penny. Her death was hugely significant in volume three, and yet Ruby's grief took a backseat for the majority of season four. After a mentioning in season five, Ruby doesn't mention her again. Then when Penny returns, Ruby doesn't give much reaction, there's no emotional depth, it feels like she barely even cares that Penny's back from the dead. She then decides for Penny that she's going to get a flesh body (I don't wanna hear anyone say that isn't what happened,) while acting totally confident and unaffected by it. She watches Penny's robotic body die while looking like it's reaching out for help while that Penny's eyes do the exact same thing her original body did before the Fall of Beacon, and Ruby doesn't react to that and just goes about her business. (Those scenes are literally triggering for people and I myself don't fully know why, but it's hard for me to even type about it, and the show treated it like just another Tuesday.) Then, Penny chooses to die and frames it like the only choice she's ever made (ignoring all previous content,) and is murdered by a character she's barely spoken to 'for the Greater Good,' while Ruby has no freaking clue about any of it because she already had been removed from the story.

I could talk more about this, but it's running on in length and I want to get to the next point.

Which is that RWBY's attempts at featuring war, loss, trauma, etc while under the banner of hopepunk and presenting itself as serious invites comparison to stories that are more serious like Lord of the Rings. And if not that, than at the very least it invites comparisons to other hopeful but serious story based cartoons like Steven Universe and Avatar the Last Airbender. But the problem is that when comparing them, RWBY does not hold up! Like, at all!

That's what drives me nuts with seeing people compare RWBY to Avatar and Lord of the freaking Rings, because they clearly missed something important when they say that RWBY holds a candle to these things that are both held up as great examples of good writing and world building, two areas that RWBY really falls short in. It's so out of left field, so outrageous. RWBY has always operated under writers that flew by the seat of their pants, brushed off sloppiness, retconned at will, dropped plots, added in things last minute, struggled to make their characters interact in meaningful ways... To compare that to well thought out and beautiful stories like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, or even Steven Universe (the last season rushed against Rebecca Sugar's wishes,) and say that RWBY is in the same league is so weird.

Which like, if people like RWBY just as much as these other shows, that's great for them! If they love RWBY even more, that's also great for them! There's plenty of things I will love and treasure that just aren't as good as other things in the same category. I'm not trying to crap on people who just love RWBY, just... Commenting on the whole 'compare RWBY to Lord of the Rings' thing. One of these stories was prepared to portray serious, real world topics like trauma and the effects of war, and another story... Should have stayed in the lane it was willing to explore. Those are my thoughts on it, at least.

[roguish-gallery]

Did you ever make that joker tier list, I always like seeing what people think of all the different ones. Though if they put Romero last I can no longer respect them.

LMAO I DID! I think I’ve made it kind of obvious in this blog but I... don’t... particularly... care... for... the joker.... unless he’s, y’know, fun to watch. Cause he’s a clown, and clowns are supposed to be entertaining. But since you politely brought it up, and and because I have a deep respect for mutual Romero-lovers, I guess this would be a good time to explain my rankings and just discuss my general thoughts on each clown:

General Thoughts:

For the most part, I don’t really care for the Joker. This is hardly an uncommon opinion here on tumblr, but I definitely fall on the side of the fandom that feels that he gets too much attention from DC. I get WHY they use him so often for films and comics, and I don’t have anything against *most* folks who consider them their favorite Batman villain, but at this point he’s used more for shock value and as a crutch instead of anything interesting. Like, instead of giving attention to the other Rogues, writers (at least for the comics) will try and make up some bullshit story that they can shoehorn the Joker into, ‘cause it sells. It’s tiring, and I feel like the character has lost his meaning; I can only read so many stories about the Joker, I don’t fucking know, wearing a suit made from dead babies and Jason Todd’s flayed corpse before I get sick of it.

I’m at the point where I’ll like any Joker who’s just fun to watch. I genuinely respect those who prefer darker interpretations of the character, but that isn’t me; I vastly prefer the lighthearted takes on him, because... at this point... writers who use the “cleaner” version of him tend to be more creative, since they actually have to write a Joker story that doesn’t rely on gore/torture porn.

TIER ONE:

Joker Baby: Self explanatory. Joker Baby is thematic, thoughtful, and intense. Everytime I watch this video, I shiver with fear and pleasure; something primal in me awakens whenever Joker Baby runs his fingers through his spray-on dyed hair, and ends up smearing green paint on his forehead- it represents the inner turmoil, the chaos, that resides within the disturbed body that is Joker Baby. Nothing can ever hope to top the artistic and cultural impact Joker Baby has had on society.

TIER TWO:

Batman Ninja: I genuinely believe that Batman Ninja is one of the most fun, organic, and creative things to come out from the Batman side of DC comics in like... hmmm... a decade, maybe (I could talk for hours about how much I love this movie but that’s something for a future post). This Joker is easily, and unironically my favorite interpretation of the character, period. I love his energy, his design, everything. This is the most fun I’ve ever had watching a Joker on-screen, and for that I’ve gotta give the film credit where it is due.

Batman ‘66: I looooove Caesar Romero. Batman ‘66 in general is one of my favorite pieces of Batman media, and I absolutely adore this Joker. The show is pure, genuine fun, and it’s nice to turn my brain off and watch a show where the entire cast was allowed to goof around. This Joker is just a cute, goofy little clown-man who likes to commit crimes, go surfing, turn Gotham’s water reserve into gelatin, and have wild orgies with Penguin, Catwoman, and the Riddler. I massively appreciate the hustle. I love his little mustache and his facial expressions. I’d give him a chaste little kiss on the cheek if I could.

The Batman: EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL TAKE BUT. I think TB!Joker is better than what people will give him credit for. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been to be the first Batman cartoon to follow BTAS and the writers for this show knew they were gonna be fucked no matter what they did with the Joker, so they just decided to try something completely different with him. Personally, I appreciate the new direction- he has a fun, unhinged energy. I’ve placed him higher than BTAS/BTNA!Joker simply because The Batman was the show that got me into the Rogues in the first place, and I’m just a bit closer to this Joker because of it. Also his vampire form was cool as FUCK in Batman Vs. Dracula and the scene where he gets drenched in blood at a blood bank is fucking awesome.

Batman the Animated Series/The New Adventures: Everyone loves BTAS’s Joker, and I’m no exception. Mark Hamill is fucking great, and the writers clearly knew the character well enough to create a version of him that can be fun and threatening. As an aside, I unironically like his redesign in BTNA- I remember Hamill mentioning somewhere that he thought it was neat that this Joker looked more like a shark (I’ll see if I can find a source on that... I think he said it in an interview with Kevin Smith?) and I kinda agree with him. the redesigns in the final season are hit or miss, but I didn’t get why so many people bitched about the Joker’s new look.

Batman Unlimited: Hear me out... Hear me out... Clown... funny... and cute... He wears a little crown and gives Solomon Grundy a little smooch on the cheek and it is as delightful as it sounds. Yes the Batman Unlimited films literally only exist to sell toys but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them on some ironic level.

TIER THREE:

Lego Batman: He’s a gay icon. He has the range. Enough said.

White Knight: This is just a genuinely good, original take on the character, and the art in White Knight is absolutely gorgeous. 

Arkham: My friends and I joke that this Joker is basically a more unhinged version of BTAS! Joker and... yeah. I’m glad Hamill and Paul Dini got to fuck around with the character more, but I never really dwelled on the Joker parts of the games like I might have for other characters. I definitely liked him the most in Arkham Asylum, as he was more fun to watch. Arkham City was fiiiiine, but I think I replayed the game so much that I kinda got fatigued with everything about it. Genuinely hated his part in Origins, and I was pissed that he stole the attention from Black Mask and Bane (who’s the best fucking part of Origins IMO). I’ll admit that I... Haven’t... played... Knight yet (I have it on PC but my laptop is too wimpy to run it) but like... He’s dead at that point, so I’d assume he isn’t the main point of that game anyway. I love Mark Hamill and the fact I can personally beat the shit out of this Joker, so he’s ranked up pretty high for those reasons.

TIER FOUR:

Batman ‘89: TBH this Joker should be a rank higher, but I’m too lazy to hop onto PicsArt to change it. NIcholson was an excellent choice, and I apprecaite how this Joker makes use of the playful and unhinged aspects of the character. Also, his outfits are cute, and I love the museum scene.

Brave and the Bold: Technically this Joker SHOULD be ranked higher since he’s literally based on the more lighthearted comics in the 60′s but... ehhh... I haven’t really watched BATB so I don’t have any strong opinions on the show and how it handles the character. he’s ranked this high through beause I appreciate what they were going for.

Golden Age: The quality of comics are always subjective, based on the creative team behind them. Some I’ll like more, others less so, It’s kind of hard to rank the pre-52 comic version of the Joker because of this.

TIER FIVE:

Killing Joke: Read it, didn’t care for it. I acknowledge how massive the impact this comic had on... everything, but just because I recognize how important this graphic novel is, doesn’t mean I have to like it.

The Dark Knight: Ledger did an excellent job with the role, but uhh... I’m kind of sick of the alt-right chuds who are out there sucking this Joker’s dick. The fanbase definitely ruined the character for me.

TIER SIX:

99′: Eh

Endgame: No

Suicide Squad: NO

Death of the Family: Hate him. Despise him. Lame stupid dumb little edgy bitch.

Gotham (Jeremiah): I don’t particulary care for Gotham in general, but the only reason I ranked this Joker over Jerome is beause I thought it was kinda funny to see that they made him a little rat-man, and I liked watching all the fujoshi on here cry and complain that they can’t ship this version of the joker with the pre-pubescent Bruce Wayne in the show bc he’s too ugly.

Gotham (Jerome): stop shippping this freak (who is fucking eighteen years old) with a literal twelve year old child. what the FUCK is wrong with yall.

UNRANKED:

The Joker (2019): I don’t plan on watching this film, nor will I ever. I know this is ironic, coming from someone who runs a Rogue blog, but stuff that focuses primarily on a character’s deteriorating mental health makes me reaaaaallllllyyyyy anxious (it’s kind of a phobia) and considering that I don’t particularly the Joker, I have no reason to watch something I know will only give my dumb ADHD-ass intrusive throughts.

[koganeirou]

me before playing blue lions: haha I’m not like ~other girls~ I don’t like Dimitri and I think he’s boring and basic.

me after playing blue lions: I will die for Dimitri.

I finally finished Azure Moon!! Can’t believe it took me 4 damn months to finish this route. Just like with Crimson Flower, I decided to do a very long write up of my thoughts of this route after letting my thoughts marinate for a bit. There will be spoilers for both Azure Moon and Crimson Flower. Also disclaimer: these are just my personal opinions.

Tldr: this route was so fucking good!!!! I jumped ship from being team Edie/BE to team Dimitri/BL faster than Sylvain jumps girlfriends because I enjoyed this route more than Crimson Flower in almost every way possible. The Blue Lions are my KIDS and I will die for each and every one of them. Blue Lions may not be my first route/house, but this is where my heart rightfully lies. 

I guess the first thing I should get out of the way are the negatives. While this isn’t really a complaint about AM specifically and more so the narrative over the entire game... the conflict between Edelgard and Dimitri seems really stupid and contrived. In other games, war happens because the villain is evil. In this game, war happens because the villain is fucking stupid. Basically, I still ain’t convinced that Edelgard’s war was ever necessary LMAO. She straight up nuked the church’s authority and relevancy out of orbit the chapter before the time skip, so she technically already accomplished her goal; why she still feels the need to go on a savage conquest alludes me. 

Speaking of nuking the church’s relevancy out of orbit, that’s exactly what happened to Rhea LOL. Despite all the church goons clamoring every .5 seconds about how they gotta save Rhea, we literally never see her again at all after the time skip, even at the end of the game. It makes no sense why Edelgard would keep Rhea imprisoned and not kill her, especially when Rhea seemingly served no greater purpose to Edelgard and became completely irrelevant in the war phase.

Edie says some mumbo jumbo of “I weighed the victims of this war against the victims of the world and I deem that there will be less victims of war” like bitch, how??? How do you tangibly quantify “victims of this world”. If she means “people who had a shitty life because of shitty society”, then those people are always going to exist because every society has its flaws. Even if you change society, you aren’t decreasing that number because you’re only solving problems by creating new ones (Edelgard’s specialty). Also the mental gymnastics you have to do to be tortured by an evil organization only to team up with said evil organization to take down another organization that, unless I missed something, isn’t even directly responsible for the death of all your siblings??? In both CF and AM, Edelgard comes off as incredibly thoughtless and illogical in her actions and I can’t help but feel that if she had been just a little bit more diplomatic, then maybe, just maybe, she could have found a better solution without starting a bloody war.

This brings me to the god forsaken chat between Edelgard and Dimitri. Dimitri demanding to know why Edelgard started the war only for her to go “it was the only way” has about the same narrative weight as “Riku why did you become one with the darkness?!” “Because I’m the worst”. Instead of bitching about whose ~ideals~ are better, how about y’all sit down and actually discuss what each person wants to accomplish and maybe figure out a way to accomplish these goals without murdering each other over it? Not that I think Edelgard would accept anything BUT murder, but jesus, this is why you don’t leave diplomatic matters to actual children.

Speaking of why you don’t leave diplomatic matters to children, god that Gronder battle. I get that it’s supposed to be an epic showdown between the three houses that mirrored the mock battle pre time skip but... the Kingdom had literally NO reason to fight the Alliance!!! The reasons they provided to justify why the Kingdom and Alliance couldn’t team up at Gronder was so fucking dumb, especially when two chapters down the line, Claude is knocking at our door begging for help. I will say tho, I never knew how much I appreciated himbo in distress Claude until now lmao.

Rodrigue's death was also really poorly done imo. As much as I liked having Dimitri’s father figure be the one to snap him out of his insanity, (I love found father/son relationships...) how on earth are you guys so fucking incompetent that you let this tiny little girl kill Rodrigue??? It doesn’t help that the exact same thing happened with Jeralt and Monica. This... just ain’t it, chief. 

I think the biggest bone I have to pick at AM specifically is... so what the fuck is the truth behind the Tragedy of Duscur LMAO??? They literally blue balled me by dropping the bomb of “Dimitri’s step mom may have conspired in it” ONLY TO NOT DO ANYTHING WITH IT. I assume that the full truth behind the Duscur tragedy will probably be revealed in VW (I hope) because it involves the slithers but it’s highkey ridiculous that the BL goons... never actually find out what really happened, and why. And I get that the story is about them moving on from their trauma and the past, but they should have at least figured out the actual truth behind it so they can get the closure they deserve???

Despite the gripes I have with some of the writing, unless VW or SS is mind blowingly amazing, this route will easily stand as the best route for me, because.... it is kind of is mind blowingly amazing. I wholeheartedly love character driven stories, and this route absolutely delivers in that respect-- the character writing is amazing and is essentially the heart of this story. To think Dimitri and the Blue Lions were the lord/house I was least interested in at first. Even after hearing people talk about what the BL goons and Dimitri’s character arc was roughly about, I was still blown away by just how damn fucking good it was, and this route exceeded my expectations in every way possible. 

When playing CF, I struggled to connect with a lot of the beagles; I didn’t have that problem at all with the BL goons and the route does a phenomenal job at making me actually give a shit about these characters and their problems. Childhood friend squad (+Marianne and Ashe) are easily my favourite characters in this game by a landslide, and the dynamic between not only the childhood friend squad, but all the BL goons, was just so, so amazing. Watching these characters that are seemingly joined by a single tragedy, rise above all their suffering as they grow, heal, and overcome hardship together is just so... MY KIDS... MY HEART..... I really got the sense of not only their shared pain, but also shared intimacy, care, and friendship. Their support conversations with each other had everything; from goofy and fun, to soothing and nurturing, to painful and harrowing. 

The connections that the BL goons have to the pre time skip missions gave part 1 story so much more meaning, and it only gets better after the time skip. I really appreciate that the BL bean boys actually feel relevant to the main story, and that their input and opinions actually mattered. The cast’s struggle to come to a consensus on the best course of action during the war phase made them feel like actual people with opinions, unlike in CF, where everyone was just a mindless passenger to Edie’s not so merry joyride. This also made Dimitri’s arc way more impactful because the narrative actually holds him accountable for the consequences that his behavior/poor decisions had on others. What I also really liked about the war phase is that you could just feel how war torn the kingdom was and how much everything went to shit after the time skip. I felt really strongly to the characters’ sense of hopelessness at fighting a losing battle as they struggled to keep their home land in tact while everything just kept spiraling out of control and deteriorating further. 

So to see the BL goon beans slowly, one battle at a time, turn the tide of the war and push back against the corner they were backed in, was SO fulfilling and rewarding. The battle of Fhirdiad is probably my favourite battle in the entire game because it felt like all the suffering and toiling that the BL goons went through was finally worth it, and just watching the kingdom slowly heal after being liberated was just such a good feeling. This kind of payoff is something I think CF sorely lacked, since tbh, I struggled to celebrate Edie’s victories with her. Though I do appreciate how Edie’s a much more threatening antagonistic force than either Dimitri or Rhea were in CF too bad Edelgard’s boss battle was pathetically easy and Dimitri shredded through her armor like swiss cheese... at least Rhea put up a slightly challenging fight.

I could gush about the characters all day, but Dimitri? He makes this game, 100%. This truly felt like his story and he was the star of this route. On a superficial level, I’m a basic bitch as well as a slut for angsty boys who have trouble talking about their trauma because I want them to rail me. I fucking loved his feral personality it was just so fun to watch and interact with LMAO 10/10 would let him use me until the flesh falls from my bones. His dialogue in this state is just so demeaning, belittling and raw that it somehow comes a full circle and becomes charming I promise I’m not a sick masochist.

I’m also a degenerate and dimileth is my otp. The way the relationship between Dimitri and Byleth develops over the game truly felt like a bond forged over time. The way Dimitri admits that he couldn’t trust Byleth at first because he was put off by the way they could “kill without batting an eye”, to being so elated when he sees them smile for the first time that he’s completely mesmerized when they starts expressing emotion... oof, talk about otp material. I think what really sold me is the way he’s their anchor after Jeralt’s death; their emotional support both in a traditional sense, but also in a darker sense when he declares he will kill anyone so they desire it because their enemies are his enemies. Character A declaring they’d die for character B? Soft shit. Character A declaring they’d kill for character B? A+ romance right there, boys. 

On a non superficial level, Dimitri’s character arc of his fall from grace and subsequent redemption was absolutely phenomenal. Just seeing how far he sinks, how far he goes, only to see how far he climbs his way back up after hitting rock bottom, was such a roller coaster and I loved every minute of it. I also probably like revenge stories more than I care to admit. Dimitri has everything; blood lust, cruelty, obsession, but also empathy and compassion so extreme that it’s his very own innate kindness that drives him into insanity, which is what makes him such a compelling character in my eyes. The extremity of his psychosis was absolutely heart breaking, but despite everything, him making the conscious decision to change for the better and rise up to fulfill his role as king was just astounding to watch. 

I will say though... maybe I have a screwed up moral compass but tbh Dimitri brutally killing imperial soldires didn’t really upset me because... this is war??? That he didn’t even start?? Everyone is killing everyone??? Even if he never went feral, he’d still be killing because his bloody kingdom is being invaded?????? But I digress.

While I think just how damn avoidable everything was kind of detracts from the tragedy of his relationship with Edelgard, I still really loved how steadfast and unconditional his love for her was (after he stops going feral), and you can tell just how much she meant to him every time he spoke of her. I also love how the dagger kind of becomes a symbolic motif throughout the story, and Edie throwing the dagger at him in the final cutscene as a sign of her wholehearted rejection of him was just fucking depressing, but also very fitting of her character. 

I adore the whole overarching narrative and themes surrounding grief and death, befitting of a war game. How, as tempting as it is to constantly keep the memory of the dead alive, there comes a point where you have to move on and not let your life be ruled by those no longer around. The way that the characters react to the death of loved ones and grieve so differently was a huge highlight of the BL squad’s characterizations, which just makes them feel more alive and human. Honestly, no words can really describe just how incredible of an experience Azure Moon was.

Anyway my order from favourite to least favourite BL goon bean boys are: Dimitri > Ashe >/= Sylvain >/= Felix > Ingrid > Mercedes > Annette > Dedue. (I love Ashe/Sylvain/Felix almost equally LOL)

tldr my experience with Azure Moon:

tfw my second best girl is childhood friends with all the best boys in the entIRE GAME and she settles for a guy with a dead wife, daughter, and most likely triple her age :|.

I’ll be finally playing Golden Deer next, which I’m gonna do on NG+ Maddening so.... hope that goes well!!

[bloodwynes]

OOC Q’s!

1.     What do you want to get out of playing this character(s)?

I mean, I get enjoyment out of playing any of my chars, so that’s probably my main motivation.

2.     Describe your character(s) with three words.

Protective, troubled, tired

3.     What made you decide to write this muse?

I’ve been writing her since I was 16 and I adore her, she’s a dumbass, she’s dealing with a whole lot of shit, and I kinda relate to her in some aspects. There’s different versions of her, and I really like this one I’m writing here in TI.

4.     If you could change one event in your muse’s life (in their main or canon verse), what would you change?

The disastrous relationship that she now has with her daughter. If Booker had managed to kill the witch that cursed Philippa, the girl never would’ve become bitter and dangerous. Booker feels terrible because she believes it is her fault that her daughter turned out to be a monster, but in other universes they have a real good relationship, with Booker being a queen and Philippa as the spymaster of the court. I miss them being okay with each other, they were an unstoppable team (and Zara was alive too!)

5.     If you could tell your muse one thing, what would you tell them?

“I adore you and I feel bad for all the terrible, terrible shit I’ve put you through, but holy fucking shit woman, you always get away with everything. I’m surprised you haven’t been punched in the face more often. You’ve done stuff here that makes me damn mad, pls learn to be better.”

6.     If you could give your muse one gift, what would you give them?

A kitten. Crazy cat lady can always have more cats around.

7.     If you had to take one positive thing away from your muse, what would you take away?

Her protectiveness. What would Booker be without her desire to keep others safe? Just a selfish, angry drunk. If she lost that aspect of her personality she’d be lost, she’d be nothing.

8.     If you could “borrow” one aspect of your muse and apply it to yourself or your own life, what would you borrow?

Gimme those mma skills plz omfg. How AWESOME would it be to have those fighting skills!? They could be so useful.

9.     Do you genuinely want your muse to be happy? What do you think would make them most happy in life?

I want this idiot to be happy, she’s an ass sometimes but she deserves happiness. I know she will probably never admit it, because she wants to believe she doesn’t need anyone else in order to be happy, but boy is she lying hard to herself. She’s pretty traditional in some senses, and honestly? All she wants is a family, even if she keeps saying that she does NOT want kids. She wants a house in the woods or the beach, a wife, kids and a whole lotta pets. It’s not super exciting, but that’s the whole point! With how rough and crazy her life has been, she craves nothing more than a little stability and just a very simple life.

10. Do you enjoy putting your muse through angst? What do you think would break their heart the most?

I do enjoy it sometimes cause a little angst is always necessary to make things fun imo, but I don’t want her character to always revolve around angst, or constantly be part of super angsty situations, I like to mix things up. Being unable to protect others is the one thing that will definitely break her heart, mostly because her being unable to protect others in the past has cost lives and her daughter’s well-being. She feels it’s her duty to keep her loved ones safe no matter what, and if she is unable to protect them she feels as if she’s failed them, creating a feeling of worthlessness. It’s kinda what happened to her when she lost her eye, she became unable to fight, so she had no idea what to do, how to help others or keep going so she just… pushed everyone away and vanished. Was it right? Nope, she fucked up big time. Is she ever going to admit she did something bad and hurt lots of people she cared about? Also no, she’s tired and done but she’s still goddamn stubborn.

11. What do you love about your muse?

How goofy she can be, despite everything she’s been through. Yeah, she can be grumpy and mean as hell sometimes, but she still has a side of her that’s super sweet and fun and sooooo loving.

12. What do you hate about your muse?

She needs to stop being so stubborn. This woman will never admit she is wrong and will ALWAYS play the victim. Sometimes I feel like she really needs to grow up.

13. What about your muse amuses you?

The amount of shit she’s been through. Her poor body doesn’t have more space for scars, and yet she keeps on being an angry hothead that seeks fights, despite being tired and super done with everything. I’m surprised she’s been able to go on this long. Right now the fire that made her fight for important things has waned and died out, so now she mostly just gets into senseless bar fights.

14. What about your muse makes you sad?

Her own family hates her guts, except for Lys, and she lost the one person who loved her the most. Her mother treated her like shit all her life, and when Booker finally ran off and found someone who truly loved her, who made her feel like she belonged, this person died. She has lost way too many people, and she grew up hearing how terrible she is and how she doesn’t deserve her wings. She’s excellent at hiding it but BOY IS THIS WOMAN’S SELF ESTEEM LOW.

15. How would you describe your muse to someone about to meet them, in person, for the first time?

“You are gonna recognize her immediately. Tall, with a thick accent, and a mane of red hair. Seriously, it’s like she got pulled out of a Vikings episode or something. Don’t mind her humor, she’s a bit awkward but she’s fun to have around.”

16. Would you like your muse as a person if you met them in real life?

I think I’d have a crush on her if I’m being completely honest. Now, if I got to know her better? Idk, she’s intense and I’m way too lazy, but I’d think she’s cool.

17. In what ways are you better than your muse? In what ways are they better than you?

Im not a hothead like her, or egotistical and violent, so I guess I could say I’m better at handling my emotions than her. Booker is wild, a bit unpredictable and super volatile, I’m glad to be the opposite most of the time lol. Now, she’s better than me in the aspects that she can fight really damn well and I’m barely a yellow/white belt in karate, she can also cook really well while I’m here burning boiled water, among a LOT of other things, because this woman has been around for 400 years and knows how to do many things.

18. Why do you think you connect to your muse?

Well, unfortunately we share something that I definitely wouldn’t have added if I knew it was gonna happen to me too later on, cause it brings back a lot of pain. We recently lost a family member at the hands of someone violent and dangerous. We have to live on with that loss, knowing that the person who killed our family member is still out there, living. It hits way too close to home, and I don’t think I’d ever be able to explain the level of anger and pain I feel with words, so I get how Booker feels, I get why she is angry, why she is drunk, why she feels helpless and has zero fucks to give now. It is something so deeply personal, so wild to people who haven’t experienced something like it, and like… it hurts, a lot, but here we are, still existing, still going on, and trying to make damn sure we keep the memory of those we lost alive.

19. What aspect of your muse’s personality is most important to you? What aspect of your muse’s personality do you think is most important to them? Is it the same? Why or why not?

I think the most important aspect of her personality is her protectiveness, and she’d probably say the same. Booker lives to protect others, in the other places I wrote her she was a Queen, and a really good one might I add, because she was fiercely protective of her people and her family. Booker is a guardian, that’s her whole thing.

20. Has your character(s) changed over the time that you have been playing them? How have they changed?

I actually started writing the accent™️ now, so that’s new. Other things that have changed is her personality in general, she’s a bit shyer than before, overall the things I’ve changed are just small details that probably aren’t very recognizable, with the exception of a few bigger details. She’s also drinking a bit more, it’s starting to become a problem. She’s not doing great, but she’s good at hiding it (kinda?). She’s also a little more aware of what she wants in life right now, her views on some things have changed. For example, before she left, she just craved adventure and an exciting life, I decided to change this, now she wants simplicity, she wants a family. She is not the same person she was before I took a break from TI, and the changes will begin to seep out slowly.

[nedflames]

Danny and Criticism: An Essay/Rant?

Since I’m on desktop I can finally put this under a read more thank god and also jesus

it’s very long…and I didn’t edit it so some of it might not make any sense because I type too fast for my thoughts sometimes

I’ve been thinking about Danny, big surprise, and the way he executes criticism. Since I started watching Eddy, I’ve noticed that Danny rarely has an overt/expose criticism when he is talking about other creators, unlike Eddy and Drew.

Eddy and Drew usually criticize creators that are actively doing something ethically wrong. Their content is more essay-like and research-based than Danny’s; So, Eddy and Drew’s commentary is more satirical while Danny’s is more purely comedic. 

The thing is, Danny has been overtly critical in past videos and, for a while, it bothered me that he has backed away from it. It still does kind of bother me, to be honest, because he’s an intelligent dude who has some hot takes on important topics. I think now more than ever he could execute harsher criticism and keep it entertaining; “Bag Tho” is an excellent example of that and so was his criticism on the pedophile theory for Yummy on his second channel.

But it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to because I realized something the last time I was focusing on this issue; I’ve learned more from Danny about criticism and comedy than I have from Eddy and Drew. He has influenced the way I approach a text in more ways than any other comedian has (except maybe Bo Burnham…they’re tied). This doesn’t mean that Eddy and Drew don’t have influence over my critical thinking skills, but, for me, their content is the result of practiced critique; I don’t learn how to approach a text, but I learn about the text; it’s like discussing a subject with my peers instead of learning it from a professor; in college, both of those practices helped me learn and exercise my critical thinking so, in no way do I think this makes any of them superior to the others.

Danny’s main goal is to make people laugh; he’s said it in his main videos; he’s said it on podcasts; and he’s said it on his second channel, too. In his interview with Anthony Padilla he said that he treats his videos like stand-up. (I’d fucking love to see his live stand up. I’d give every cent in my savings account to see that.) Danny is a comedian, first and foremost, and YouTube is his platform. You could tell from his vine career just how hard he was trying to pursue comedy as a career, to be noticed as a comedian. He comes by it honestly and has said some of his vines weren’t funny and were just attempts at going viral. The dude is worried about his brand to a fault, imo, but he’s got talent and confidence to back it up. So, of course his content is going to reflect that more than Eddy’s or Drew’s. 

Eddy and Drew are also comedians who want to make people laugh but Eddy has said recently on the Gus & Eddy podcast that he wants his commentary to be about people who are actually doing something wrong instead of clowning on cringe content like Danny does. (Yes, he specifically listed Danny as an example. At first I was on the defense and felt like Eddy was kinda shaming Danny for not pursuing a more “noble” style of commentary. But, after calming down and listening to the episode again, I realized he was just saying that their content does different things which I totally agree with…still don’t agree that Danny “just clowns” on people but more on that later.) Eddy still wants his content to be funny, and still has commentary videos that don’t have an overt critical agenda, but you can tell that satirical comedy is a main motivator for him.

I feel like Drew is right in between Danny and Eddy on the criticism scale. He has his more comedic videos and he has his more serious ones. But, in my opinion, his serious videos are just a little bit better. It’s honestly hard to tell what the driving motivation behind his commentary is because he hasn’t fully spoken up about it, as far as I know, but I would say he leans more toward satirical comedy. 

Since I started studying comedy in college I’ve had a sort of thesis building in my head: humor is a comfortable way to approach uncomfortable things; it’s a way to battle cognitive dissonance. Laughing at something wrong is an effective way to sneakily change someone’s mind; ridicule and shame are powerful tools; that’s why I love satire. (I will also add since humor is amoral it can also be used negatively, but that does not mean we should jump to the conclusion that all ridicule/satire is naturally wrong.)

So what does that have to do with Danny’s style of commentary? Sure, he’s a comedian trying to make people laugh and sure he avoids addressing more serious topics, but he does provide important criticism even if it’s not in the same area as Drew or Eddy. In that interview with Anthony Padilla, Danny said he wants to prove that content on YouTube can be as good as traditional media. His goal isn’t to expose people for doing bad things, though he is still doing that but not as critically as the other two, but to show his audience how to be critical of popular media; a main criticism in his videos overall is about low-effort and formulaic content because that’s something he very clearly cares about. His goal isn’t to call out people for being toxic; it’s to call out their content for not being as good or well-though-out as it could be. The problem with low-effort content, especially from bigger creators, is that it’s there to make money and nothing else; it’s content that has no substance; it’s manipulative. Even content that has a high-production value needs to have substance, creativity, and originality. 

Danny pointed out in his “how i make a video” video that he doesn’t want to make fun people who are just inexperienced; he wants to make fun of people who know exactly what they’re doing and still don’t put in the effort to make their content good. 

Another one of his critiques, usually with Badads, is about dishonesty; his badads videos are mostly goofy but they all have the same criticism about their manipulative nature. In fact, his whole experiment with badads was about pointing out the manipulative tactics and valuing honesty (even if his honest ad didn’t get a higher CTR.)

I think his critiques are capable of teaching people to be more critical of the media they consume without making them feel like they’re wrong for enjoying it. 

Another thing I think Danny approaches well is misogyny. (Again, his badads videos are prime examples because so many ads sexualize women.) But the way he does it IS IMPORTANT and, in my opinion, a better method than other commentary channels. Returning to my theory about ridicule being an effective tool to sneakily change someone’s perspective, Danny isn’t overt about his criticisms toward misogyny. He doesn’t say shit like “sexism is bad and women are great and I worship women and blah blah blah” but he does ridicule misogyny often. His methods aren’t preachy or forceful but he does normalize the ridicule and shaming of misogynistic behavior. By laughing at the behavior and treating it like it’s outlandish and ridiculous he normalizes respect for women. This is why you will never see me saying some shit like “Danny drinks his respect women juice ohmygod he’s my heeerrrooo” because it’s not heroic behavior and he doesn’t fucking treat it that way. If we over-worship this stuff we set the bar hella low. It should not be seen as the highest possible standard for men; it should be seen as the normal standard for men. I definitely praise him for this approach, but not for just…acting like a dude should act. 

All that being said

Do I think his general audience walks away from his content with these criticisms in mind? From my experience in the fandom, and from just scrolling through the comments in his videos, I don’t think it effects everyone like it effects me. This is mostly fine because I don’t think his full intent is to get people to learn how to think critically about the content they consume; I firmly believe him when he says he mostly wants to make people laugh. But I’m hopeful that they are more critical of things even if they aren’t conscious of it.

The biggest I problem I have with Danny is that he avoids confrontation with his fans. As I said before, he’s a little too worried about his brand. I don’t think he’s as bad about it as some of his contemporaries, who have co-dependent relationships with their fans (which I distrust because I find that manipulative and dishonest); I hate when he feels like he has to do damage control with his stans on twitter (the Reddit AMA thing) but I don’t think he panders either. 

BUT what bothers me The Most is that he doesn’t make the point to call out fans who harass the creators he covers. He’s done it once or twice but I feel like all commentary YouTubers should make an effort to specify the difference between comedy/commentary/criticism and bullying/harassment. Most people swarm to commentary content because they want the drama, because they love to hate and, sadly, they think that harassment is justified even if a creator isn’t doing something horribly wrong. Hell, even if they’re doing something horribly wrong, they’re still getting undeserved attention and harassment. doesn’t. communicate. criticism. 

This is a reason why I’d wish he’d be more overt with this criticism because it doesn’t always translate…especially for his younger fans. 

What’s the point of all this? I guess I just wanted to get my inner-monologue about this out in the fresh air but I also wanted to point out that Danny’s content is still critical and it’s been effectively critical for me. He makes me appreciate comedy and criticism more but I still wish he’d be more overt about some things.

[mrmallardsmobileposts]

My Star Wars Shipping Hot Takes

THERE WILL BE UNMARKED SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SEQUEL TRILOGY IN THIS POST

TAG "#TRoS Spoilers" IF YOU WANT TO WIPE THIS POST FROM YOUR DASH COMPLETELY

THIS HAS BEEN MY SPOILER WARNING, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ABOUT STAR WARS SPOILERS

Finn/Rey should have been endgame, or at least brought up by Finn instead of the BS non-committal "I've got something to tell you" line they play with for the rest of the movie. Bring it into text and acknowledge it fully instead of using it for a few cheap gags and leaving it hanging.

They had great chemistry in TFA. They bonded really easily and got along really well, it seemed like Finn was chatting her up a little at times and by the end of the movie they're incredibly close. Finn puts his life on the line and gets fucked up by a lightsaber to defend her. John Boyega and Daisy Ridley played off each other really well, they had really good chemistry. I really ship it.

The only hitch, imo, is the total lack of screentime they have together in TLJ. Finn's plot just kinda went nowhere and he got a rehash of his "running away" arc in TFA, and I think the Rose Tico kiss was really lame and forced. While I can appreciate their eventual reunion, and within the scope of the movie it's not unreasonable for them to not meet again until the end, I really don't dig how much time they spend apart in TLJ from a shipping perspective and I don't think the Finn/Rose pairing is very good.

To address the elephant in the room, I'm not the most positive person about Rose Tico, but I'm chill with her and I think her character would have been fine with better material than she had in TLJ. Not trying to chud things up, here. The most extreme thing I have to say about Rose Tico, within the scope of this post I'm making, is that I didn't think the actors had that much chemistry to justify a romance, the kiss was goofy with the laser going off behind them, and while I don't disagree that Kelly Marie Tran got screwed over in TRoS, I'm ultimately glad that her and Finn are good buddies in that movie instead of partners. I'm not saying her reduced role is fine, just saying I'm glad that this pairing doesn't seem to be canon. I'm glad they're still close, though. Finn is definitely the heart of the group, pulling everyone together.

The thing about Finn/Rey in TRoS is that while the chemistry isn't there on the same level as TFA - partially due to the hatchet-job editing of the first half where people are barely able to vocalise a single coherent thought before the plot ushers them along to the next point - I felt like it still existed for a while. They teased it with the "I've got something I need to tell you" line from Finn, and then they never bring it up again. Like what the fuck, wrap up the plot point instead of dragging it out for the most painful humor of the movie and failing to resolve it.

This brings me into the Reylo portion of my post.

While I don't ship it, I refuse to hate Reylo. I've got a great write-up of my Reylo opinion on my main blog which explains why, if you search for "reylo". Basic point is that a lot of the initial backlash was predicated on assumptions that people were adamant would be proven true in the next movies, and those assumptions turned out to not be the case 4 years later in 2019, so I refuse to treat it like the pariah it was in 2015 for those reasons.

I'll admit that I really enjoyed the ending with Ben Solo. Adam Driver sells the difference between Ben Solo and Kylo Ren so well, and while I understand that he did a lot of bad shit and wiped out planets and committed space genocide and stuff - Darth Vader also committed space genocide and killed hundreds of people, and his body count continues to rise in supplemental materials. And yet he was redeemed by Luke, and was able to return as a force ghost despite the genocides and mass murders he committed as Darth Vader. There is a precedent for people redeeming themselves just before they die in the Star Wars universe, even when they do some really heinous shit. As such, I am not against this happening for Kylo Ren. Star Wars is just that kind of series, for better or worse.

My opinion of Reylo is that it's kind of like fanfic mode a lot of the time. It got really wacky in TLJ, and it got way more pronounced in TRoS. That's not necessarily a detriment, but it was what it was. I don't buy Kylo Ren and Rey as romantic interests necessarily, especially when I think their relationship is really, really odd and reminiscent of fanfiction cliches, but there's enough subtext for people to read into it and I don't really care if people like it or not.

If Reylo is the endgame ship, then that's fine. I don't necessarily like it, even as I acknowledge that problematic ships will always have their audience. A ship can be used as a force for good, as long as it isn't being used to actively promote abusive tendencies or like really gross shit.

Some ships are off limits, straight up. Reylo is dicey, but I don't think it's worse than a lot of villain shipping is - there's been room for edgy villain shipping before, and I think Reylo occupies that space now and has every right to. As long as people aren't encouraging people to engage in abusive practices through their storywriting, or pushing alt-right talking points and fucked up things like that through their writing, Reylo has enough wiggle room to be a perfectly ordinary pairing in the fanfiction community.

Saying that, though - here's why I prefer Finn/Rey.

He's a close, friendly and positive force in Rey's life, they shared the start of their journeys and they helped each other grow into the heroes they became. Poe spent most of TFA missing in action, and he only meets Rey at the end of the movie. Rey and Finn spend the bulk of their character moments together, and it's the character development from these interactions - spurred along by Han and Chewie, of course - that fuels their ascent into hero figures at the end of the movie.

Why don't I like Reylo more? Because the Kylo Ren stuff seemed like essential backstory stuff, whereas Finn and Rey's characters naturally got along like a house on fire. Kylo Ren also spends most of the time getting rain on his gloves through inter-force touching in a bunch of weird, forced, fanfic-tier scenes, whereas Finn and Rey hug and celebrate and bond through conversation, not trite, rigid backstory.

I can buy Rey kissing Ben Solo at the end of TRoS. I can buy her feeling love for Ben Solo, and finding it frustrating that she can't break through Kylo Ren to get to him. Fuck, in that ending scene where Kylo is explicitly Ben Solo again, Rey and Ben have actual, honest to god chemistry, and it's cute as fuck. But that moment took a lot of catching up to get to, and before her and Kylo showed any hint of affection together, Finn was her comrade in arms, someone who shared her victories and helped to further her growth, and vice versa.

Reylo has a pretty solid conclusion, I will certainly give it that. But I feel like the Reylo conclusion is steeped in that classic "I can redeem the bad guy through love" trope like the original Star Wars, except with a romantic angle this time. Ben's redemption didn't have to be with a kiss - it could still happen without the romance angle, but the romance is added in to distinguish it from the other Star Wars examples.

Ultimately, I think having Ben's redemption spurred by romantic love is broke, whereas Rey finding a buddy in Finn, having their ups and downs together, shielding each other from harm and becoming close through mutual shared experiences and proximity is woke.

What about Finn/Poe? Ship it if you want, it's all good. I understand why this ship was initially so popular, and while I don't ship it, I'm not the shipping police and I get the premise behind it. Poe/CrimeGirl? This was shoehorned tf in, but if you think it's neato, it's neato. Poe/Rey? I think they would make a terrible couple, but whatever. Poe/Finn/Rey? Everyone wins. Add Kylo Ren anywhere into the mix and you can have yourself a party, depending on your stance on the character. Make any of the characters gay, bi, pan, ace - literally whatever, outside of a few significant parameters just about every ship is valid. I'm not a hard-ass, shipping is fun and outside of some really bad shit I'm generally down for people having a good time. I just like Finn/Rey the most.

Also, Maz Kanata is really neat and I hope she gets more screen time. If her lifespan makes it squicky to ship her with the younger characters, that's your business and I understand and respect that, but frankly I would write a romance story about Maz Kanata falling in love in a heartbeat - I just don't know who. I've written Doctor Who fanfic where a 2000 year old alien woman dates a 21 year old policewoman from Sheffield, so as long as the right boundaries are respected, I think a Maz Kanata story could be pretty fun and non-problematic like with a Doctor Who story.

Anyway that's my Hot Takes post

byeeeeee

[anniebattiebats]

hi im annie and today i’ll be gushing over the greatest game ever made

sonic adventure 2

THE CHARACTERS! OH MY GOD THE CHARACTERS!

everyone was so in-character in this game! Sonic was himself, and was perfectly cocky in this game. In later games, he says the most unnecessary shit nsjsnjdn but this Sonic feels genuinely witty and cocky.

Tails is bettering himself to become stronger and braver than before, which is BETTER THAN WHAT THE MAIN GAMES DO (COUGHCOUGHSONICFORCES) even Sonic Adventure did a better job at this!

Knuckles is all about the Master Emerald - THANK GOD - which is what I prefer instead of him leaving his island to do God knows what. And he sounds more level-headed and calm here, which I prefer too.

Rouge is amazing and I love how smooth she is and Shadow is so relatable when it comes to forgiving others. Not only that, he was brooding, but not too much. He was melodramatic and energetic, which is something I love about him. He just felt more lively than what we have now.

And Eggman. Omfg Eggman. I love Eggman in this game SO! MUCH! He has the perfect menacing voice and he has his mind of offing Sonic and the world. He held Amy at gun point TWICE! And, for once, he didn’t bring out some otherworldly entity on purpose this time. The Biolizard was an accident.

wait, Amy? She was just there, I’m not gonna lie. But she did help Shadow accept how good humans can be.

THE STORY

It’s straight ass :> but I love it so much. It’s so wild and energetic. It’s meme worthy. It really grabbed my attention as goofy and broken as it was. Eggman blew up a fucking MOON! And there was so much at stake besides that! The ARK was gonna crash into the Earth! A FUCKING ISLAND BLEW UP! it’s like michael bay directed it but it’s actually entertaining. to me at least.

i feel like the whole story focuses on forgiveness and learning from your mistakes, since shadow is the central character of this game. he grows from being a vengeful, hellbent hedgehog to an understanding, noble one, risking his life to protect humans, the one species he hated.

at the same time the way they tell this story is like sonic pointing a gun at you and going “live and learn, bitch” because shadow (supposedly) DIES after he stopped the ARK from crashing. it’s basically saying “learn from your mistakes or die”

or if I have to use it, die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain

it was worth it.

THE GAMEPLAY

it’s annoying as fuck BUT once you get used to it, things are alright... i guess. the game’s hard imo. i was STRUGGLING with the last story of this game. i keep getting an E on Final Rush! Crazy Gadget called me a slur!! MAD SPACE MADE ME DEAD INSIDE! Aside from that, I enjoy the way the characters work. You take your time as Tails, you quickly find emerald pieces by maneuvering around the map as Knuckles, and you have a high speed track to go through as Sonic. I enjoy all gameplay styles, I’m just not used to the difficulty curve the game puts you through. But, I did find the game surprisingly easier to play than something like Sonic Heroes. The characters are super slippery in that game.

There’s also this thing where each stage has it’s own gimmick. Metal Harbor’s gimmick for difficulty and challenge was beating the clock to get to the tip of the rocket. I pulled it off plenty of times and I was relaxed enough to do it, and it makes me wonder why someone would have a hard time with it. I GET WHY BECAUSE I DID TOO, but I practiced enough to understand how to maneuver Sonic around to get to the rocket. I know, I’m amazing uvu (Final Rush can kiss my ass though). The gimmicks kept me on my toes and I honestly appreciate that. it made each stage feel different, which is a really good thing!

OH YEAH, you can PLAY as Eggman this time. LEGENDARY! AND his stages are more relaxing to go through than Tails’... which makes no sense. Imo the hero story should be the easy mode while dark is the hard mode, but Eggman’s stages say otherwise. Oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ At least they’re fun. And the music is GREAT in his stages. I love Lost Colony’s music so much!

OH EYAH ABOUT THAT

THE MUSIC

I FUCKING LOVE ROCK! Besides some rap, I enjoy rock a LOT! While there may be TOO much rock in this game compared to Adventure where you had all kinds of genres fitting each setting, I enjoy every piece of music here. I sing to City Escape when I play it because it’s that much of a rush and it’s so catchy! And it matches the stage so well!

Knuckles’ SA2 version of his song is amazing because it sounds like hip hop, and the lyrics dive deeper into his character. I wish the other themes did this but sadly, they didn’t.

Is this the way? The path I chose? Then why am I living with my heart so cold?

Hunnid P just. Gets it.

At least Eggman’s theme is a MANIACAL BANGER!

VOICE ACTING

While some characters sound like they’re reading off a damn script (looking at you Tails and Amy) I prefer these voices over the other ones in later games. Mainly because, the way I see it, since the Sonic characters never age, their voices don’t need to change.

Ryan Drummond makes Sonic sound so young, free, and energetic! I like that about Sonic! And while he’s also the type to relax, his speed along with his wit just matches with his energetic side so well.

Jennifer’s voice (if I ignore that she sounds like she’s reading from a script) is actually pretty nice.

And I ADMIRE Scott Dreier’s work for Knuckles in this game SO MUCH! He still sounds like a teen yet he sounds mature and level-headed, it’s amazing!

Eggman’s voice by Deem Bristow is AMAZING. Every line oozes with creepy and unsettling! He’s EVIL, he’s SET ON RULING THE WORLD. Why shouldn’t he have this voice?

David Humphrey’s work for Shadow is too good for my ears and fits him so well. He was the perfect choice to capture Shadow’s melodramatic nature.

Rouge’s voice is surprisingly sweet to listen to. It makes her older voice in later games sound... exaggerated? Like they exaggerate how SMOOTH she is. Idk. This voice has a perfect balance of smooth and immature, and trust me, Rouge really is immature.

THE CHAO GARDEN

Y’all know this was coming. The chao garden instantly makes the game better. It just does. It’s a nice relaxing mode people can go to since the rest of the game is so CRAZY. Ever since I played SA2, I appreciate the chao so much and I think about them often. It cheers me up ;v; and it’s rewarding to be cuddled by the chao after you take care of them so much.

I will never get the “Hiiii” out of my head, not even if I died.

IN CONCLUSION

SEGA is ass for not making an Adventure 3 where these guys are playable again, but at least we have Adventure 2 to fall back on. The game really is dated, but I have so much fun with it, genuinely! It solidified my reason on why I’m a Sonic fan. SA2 keeps that Sonic charm that other games lack. It’s cool! It’s edgy! It’s energetic and wild! That’s how Sonic games should be imo, even if a game has multiple plot holes.

I used to talk shit about this game. And this was around the time I never even played it, and just watched some youtuber rant about it. Now? I can enjoy it despite someone who can’t. I KNOW I can get to the tip of the rocket in Metal Harbor! I KNOW I can hit King Boom Boo twice! I KNOW I can get through Eternal Engine without dying (but I haven’t... DON”T JUDGE ME) the game makes me wanna do better (kind of, one time I tried to get an A rank ona a stage and died then gave up, I had enough. I’m tired. I’M TIRED-) to get A ranks across the board. Since Knuckles’ gameplay is my favorite, getting A’s in his stages is super easy.

I can’t gush about this game enough. I love everything about it, even if some parts frustrate me to no end. I’m really happy I have a game to fall back on and appreciate whenever I play it. It’ll always mean a lot to me.

That being said, the game’s $9.99 on PC, Xbox One, and PS3 so feel free to try it out if you can! If you can’t enjoy it, I can’t blame you. There are many more sonic games to fall back on for you :>

if you read all of this... thank you??? omfg im surprised someone cared enough to finish this. why??? why did you finish this??? DO BETTER! jk, thank you ; v;

[kimseunghoney]

10 biases tag!

i was tagged by my lovelies @moonxlika 💛 @yeetdam 💛 @ggoncafe 💛 to do the worst tag in the world 🙃 so here we go (p.s. i love y’all uwu)

1. seunghun 🍯

2. taeyang 👑

3. mino 🔥

4. hyunsuk ⚡️

5. nam taehyun 🌹

6. bobby 🌊

7. byounggon 👅

8. chaerin 💋

9. woong ☀️

10. jennie 💄

[lika im stealing your emoji idea bc it was really cute. this is in no particular order!]

cue the long ass explanation nobody asked for:

listen y’all.. gdragon & jonghyun are my ult biases, but i just felt they weren’t quite suitable for this tag(?) also i wanted to show taeyang some love bc although he isn’t my bigbang bias, he’s easily one of my top five favourite idols. as for silver boys.. i didn’t know what to do ok? at first i wanted to cheat and make it an ot11 sb party. then i realised this wouldn’t work, so i decided to include only seunghun since apparently he’s my bias. then i was like no?? so here we have the holy trinity & woong (lika i’m not as brave as you, i’m keeping jihoon out of this). there are SO many people missing from this list i just really want. to. CRY. picking the biases was harder than the tag. ok bye. oh wait, i also wanna say that i genuinely bias everyone in 2ne1, i just miss queen cl especially rn ok

1. BETWEEN 1&4: WHO WOULD YOU RATHER KISS?

seunghun or hyunsuk?? fuck no. what is this. i’d kiss both plsjdjd. at least seunghun is taller than me tho i’m going with him :) also y e s his lips byeye i’m done

2. BETWEEN 2&7: WHO WOULD BE YOUR BEST FRIEND?

taeyang or byounggon.. this tag is hell. ok i feel like i’m quite similar to gon so idk.. we’d either get along really well or not at all? i’ve said i’m similar to taeyang too, but in a different way - our humour’s just very similar. so i’ll choose taeyang. i think we’ll have a lot of fun together just laughing at stupid shit and annoying each other. also he’s more extroverted and would bring me out of my shell (lowkey wish this question asked about hyunsuk, i’d choose him)

3. BETWEEN 5&10: WHO HAS THE BETTER VOICE?

nam taehyun! this was the easiest so far. look i LOVE jennie’s timbre SO much but namtae is one of my favourite kpop vocalists (yes, he’s not kpop anymore but whatever). there are only like two people that could be against him in this question that would make me budge (one of them is taeyang so thank god it didn’t ask me about 2&5..we’d be here all day)

4. BETWEEN 1&8: WHO IS THE FUNNIEST?

i’ll give it to seunghun! he’s really goofy. chaerin is more on the serious side (i don’t mean this in a bad way, don’t even think about it, i admire her so much) but she’s more of a person i’d rely on / lean on yaknow?

5. BETWEEN 6&9: WHO WOULD YOU DATE?

welp.. it’s getting inch resting. bobby is more bf material while woong is more husband material? but ngl bobby would be the most annoying bf ever, i’m going with woong. we going ✈️ serious relationship hours

6. BETWEEN 9&10: WHO WOULD YOU DO A COLLABORATION WITH?

woong or jennie?? i wanna pop off with my gf in a hard hitting song BUT an r&b duet with woong??? oh lord. listen r&b / soul is my shit and nothing tops that for me

7. BETWEEN 4&8: WHO IS THE BEST DANCER?

so.. two main rappers who can easily be main dancers?? why? i love them both, WHY? imma choose hyunsuk just to shit on yg for not choosing him during the ‘lie’ performance 🙃 the petty jumped out and idgaf

8. BETWEEN 3&5: WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKELY MARRY?

mino or namtae LMFAO i don’t wanna marry either of them. where’s woong when you need him. look.. i love namtae like my son. he is my son. i genuinely just purely love him so much, i can’t even tell you. but also he’d be so D I F F I C U L T, idk if i can handle him (although i like difficult so hmm).. ig im stuck with mino.. BUT namtae would be the better husband imo

9. BETWEEN 1&7: WHO WOULD YOU NURSE WHEN THEY ARE SICK?

GONHUN HUH?? i feel like in this situation gon would be more independent(?) idk man.. can i take care of both of them?? i feel like seunghun will be highkey annoying tho 🙃 he’d take advantage of the situation to be a little brat. i pick gon

10. BETWEEN 2&3: WHO HAS A BETTER SMILE?

taeyang has the prettiest eye smile :( but i think i’ll go with mino bc his whole face just transforms when he smiles and i love that with people *cough*simon dominic*cough*

11. BETWEEN 6&8: WHO WOULD YOU VACATION WITH?

bobby would annoy me i just know it. but then again he’d make it very fun and memorable. he’s more adventurous and mayhaps i need someone like that on vacation with me. but.. a n n o y i n g. chaerin and i have very similar interests so i think we’ll vibe a bit better on vacation? like we would agree on what we want to do so it’d be easier. it’d feel like quality time with your older sister & i miss my older sister so.. chaerin! also i like being comfortable and she gives me comfy and homely vibes?

i feel like everybody has already done this / is already tagged, so whoever wants to do it, just say i tagged you 💛