#this one isn't a specific au but an analysis

[screechingsandwichhologram]

oooooooo you want to hear about my 120+ slides presentation on which dsmp (and assorted mcyt) characters are associated with which tma fear so bad ooooooo

[isabelguerra]

hi guys!

this feels a little silly to ask, if you have a spare minute and don't mind sending an ask about what you've enjoyed about wizard au so far and what you would like to continue seeing from it moving forward, i'd really appreciate feedback!

we all know it's an izjo-centric character exploration about the paranatural characters, specifically isabel, at wizard school, but is that... is that, like, what engages people? would you guys still read it if there wasn't some big overarching plot about a huge mystery at the school? is a character-driven romcom enough? is it funnier if it's a character-driven romcom that has all the weird mystery shit going on to Max The Protagonist in the background but gains little no to recognition because the narrative is about the two wizardball jocks and their inability to understand their own emotions???? help.

if you have the time, what is it that you actually like about wizard au? i'm working out the beats for the potential first fic, and I’m struggling with what to write. An idea of what my audience actually enjoys about it would really help me narrow down how i want to go about this, map out potential directions to take, and what priorities to focus on. thanks everyone!

[etoilesombre]

You know what? People shouldn't feel bad about liking things in fandom, or creating things that make them happy. I'm absolutely vagueposting, but this really isn't about one post, it's about a tone I've noticed popping up again lately from multiple people (including people I follow and generally respect!)

-"They absolutely cannot fuck! So crazy people would think about that and be into it, it would break canon! "

-"Mod AU doesn't work, they're Serious Characters they aren't gonna run a coffee shop its OOC! "

-"Actually, fun fluffy fic about them at all during a certain era doesn't work!"

I get it. I agree with a fair part of it. People post all kinds of asinine shit that I hate actually. But you know where I bitch about it? Privately in group chat.

Let people fucking have fun. I get the sense that many people come to this fandom specifically because it's Serious and Challenging and you want to Do Serious Analysis. I think a lot of folks around these parts either are in school and not having a good time about it, or wish that they had gone into better academia that doesn't really exist, and they're getting that need met here. And that's great! For real!

But you know what else is fine? People who either don't have that need, or are getting it met in other parts of their lives, and come here for stress relief and a fun free hobby.

Of course they can't fuck for real! It's not in the text, they simply don't. But the tension is obviously written in, and playing with possibilities can be fun! Also if you can't see how it could happen and still not fix shit, that's a skill issue. Fic authors aren't stupid, we don't fail to understand canon, but not everything has to be everything all the time. Sometimes you want to do all the work and try to match the level of writing in the show, and sometimes you want to have something nice and easy. The show is REALLY well written and what it needs to be, the point of transformative works is playing with what it's NOT. Some people cope with fluff, or good ending everybody lives AUs, and it might be so totally valid to look down on that, but maybe being publicly correct might be less important than being kind?

Actually, the main thing I want to say is that if YOU reading this are a person who wants to write a cute coffeeshop AU, or be horny on main about your boys kissing, it's actually fine!! At least, it historically has been fine. This is a really small fandom now and not that many people are actively creating, please don't be discouraged by this stuff, because the people who criticize on tumblr are actually not the majority. The REASON they criticize is that, if you go to AO3 and sort by kudos, much of it is this super sweet OOC stuff! It looks like that's most of what there is, because a lot of readers in the wild who watch the show and look up fic like it!

Anyway. Let people have fun, it doesn't cost you anything, and not every thought needs to be public. It actually does discourage people.

[ashysmultifandomcatdump]

another roleswap AU (because i have lost control of my life)

these things. are all i know how to make now.......

ANYWAY it's my take on a wander<-->sylvia roleswap AU!!! i didn't Properly draw sylvia here because i couldn't get her to look right, and she's basically the Same anyway. just without her saddle and with the hat tied around her neck. i don't know if i'm entirely happy with these designs (struggled with the colors for wander and i'm not sure i really like them) but they're all i could think of....and i didn't wanna just copy anyone else's. so that's how they Are for now until i think of something better! (general stuff about the AU and additional doodles under the cut)

for sylvia, i was thinking about her differences in reforming people compared to wander's. while we don't exactly see her do that in the show, she does get Somewhere with villains that wander can't/hasn't tried to do anything with: dominator and peepers. the fact that she almost got dominator to appreciate the beauty of life, someone who is Definitely irredeemable—yeah, i think she could definitely redeem someone, if she tried. how does her method differ from wander's?wander's is precise, time-tested, and based on his analysis of the other person's character; he constantly pushes their buttons to see what makes them tick. while sylvia, from what we see—it's just to mostly...treat them normally. like, relate to them: she has fun brawling with dominator, she and peepers find similarities in Their Idiots. she talks to them. basically, sylvia works from common ground and wander works from uncommon ground. if that makes sense

so, i imagine in wander's place, sylvia's just kind of. Chill! she doesn't have wander's thousands of years of experience, but she has her own down-to-earth attitude, and it's not like her less than thousands of years experience isn't valuable at all. she probably hasn't redeemed a villain before, but she's definitely helped people, and well if they cross paths grop darn it she's going to try. who knows? it could work! it worked with wander, at least. (and like, this is just a small thought that i'm not sure would apply but: mini hater and peepers swap perhaps, not in the complete roleswap way, hater's still the boss, but more like. maybe swapping who's the Main Guy to be redeemed? sylvia's way of relating to people might work more with peepers than hater...but i don't know, i could see it either way)

and speaking of wander: how's our non-violent do-gooder make it to the point of being The Fighter? what got him to abandon his carefree attitude to be The Protector? well! nothing!! he simply never had it in the first place!!! instead of learning to go with the flow and take things as they come...he kinda just Didn't. he never got the hat which to me is what allowed him to start doing that (i have a whole backstory about this but it's a bit long so i'll just move on) instead for the rest of his life continued living in a constant state of anxiety. which is, you know, Not Good for a guy, especially when this lasts thousands of years. i think he still has to help people, but he hasn't gained the courage to go above and beyond or confront villains like in canon. Wander With Survival Instincts, basically. and his main reaction to fear is to run away; but i think, over time, that might not be sustainable, or he might meet someone that convinces him to start fighting back just a bit.

yes, i am sneaking in just one other swap here: screwball and lil bits. this might seem strange and it kinda is. i'm still kinda workshopping it, like maybe screwball should swap with ryder instead...but i dunno, i've always just associated screwball and lil bits with each other. two villains specific to wander and sylvia respectively, whom the other is not able to understand as a threat throughout their debut episode. i think it would be funny. and screwball being a bounty hunter when swapping with bits just Fits, since wander eventually ends up as a bounty hunter before meeting sylvia...of course lending to the idea that they were partner bounty hunters in the past. which works really well, i think

and considering comedy and horror are two sides of the same coin, and that this wander is primarily focused on his Fear, it'd be fun if he had more of a horror theme. a really campy, goofy one. my thoughts are maybe that screwball helped guide wander to lean more towards a Fighting fear response, but eventually scared him away somehow. i don't know how yet, but i'll figure it out. here's a visualization:

and as for how wander and sylvia met, i still have to figure out some parts, but i think that sylvia would notice how anxious wander is, ask him if he's okay, and he would promptly break down, as such:

and from that moment on, wander solemnly swore that he would protect sylvia for the rest of her life, and she's been stuck with him since. (not that she's mad about that)

of course he's still energetic and hyperactive...i think his fighting would reflect that. he's a feral little creature

oh, and for sylvia's relationship with The Hat: she probably found it beat up and bruised one day, with no one around (wander not stealing the hat all those years ago meant a happy ending for No One). yet another thing i have to figure out fully is how she ended up taking it with her, but she did. i don't think she fully understands it, she hasn't realized that it gives you what you need, but she does know that it dispenses items that are sometimes useful (it's a sassy little thing to her) and might somewhat realize its sentience, so she keeps it around, though she's still building trust with it

anddddd yeah that's basically it so far :) i'm always up for questions and suggestions! i hope people like it hehe

[moonshynecybin]

context here and here... short fic (~1k words) about reporter au marc, turning over what their sepang could be... unspeakably divorced vibes to this one...

Marc lays the recorder down in front of Valentino. He starts, carefully neutral:

“So. You were a little bit shaky on the braking this weekend, was there any specific reason? It looked like you were having trouble with grip?”

Vale crosses his arms, narrow posture folding.

“Marc.” He counters. Face serious.

Marc ignores him. Ignores the tornado shredding his stomach. He scribbles something in his notebook, mindlessly underlining a question he doesn’t even want to ask. He’s been trying to keep it more professional, after the last few weeks. After—

“Do you need me to repeat the question?” He says.

Vale doesn’t give an inch. “Why did you write that article?”

So he did see it. Marc flicks his eyes up from his notebook, quick. Vale’s eyes bore into him. unerring. Feline.

He shrugs a little. Sucks on his teeth.

“Did you have a problem with it?” He shouldn’t, really. Wouldn’t if it were anyone else. Marc’s just doing his job, he won’t compromise that for anyone. Journalism isn't about making people happy.

“No.” Vale says, and Marc’s asked him enough questions at this point to know what he looks like when he lies.

He fingers the end of Marc’s recorder. Long hands against shitty plastic. He switches it off.

“You didn’t tell me this was going to be off the record.” Marc says mildly, like he’s joking. He doesn’t know what Vale wants from this— apparently not an interview—and judging by the expression dragging at the corners of his face, the chances of Vale indulging the small part of Marc scaffolded on hope are slim. In fact, a picture is starting to form, uneasy and edgy, lighting the barely-dormant spark of hurt in his gut.

He can’t be serious.

Vale laughs, brittle and hard.

“So you don’t regret it?”

He is serious.

Marc puts his pen down as something in him clenches, sick and determined. Vale can’t— he shouldn’t get to do this, after the last few weeks. shouldn’t get to be mad at him for the sort of article that he wouldn’t care about if anyone else had written it. Not after how he's ignored Marc, skipping over him in press scrums. After how he implied Marc was overstepping, too familiar. Not professional. After how Marc— after they—

After.

Marc feels like an idiot. Whatever. His piece is still good, his writing stands on its own. It asks valid questions, makes the correct comparisons, and gives Jorge Lorenzo a few hard-earned compliments. It's an incisive article. Interesting. Impersonal. Entirely professional.

Just like Vale wanted.

“Why would I?”

Vale keeps studying him, and Marc thinks a muscle jumps in his jaw. He meets him head on, intense. That same chemistry that they’ve been building for the last few seasons turned sour now, crackling like a live wire. Vale’s eyes drop to Marc’s mouth, then back to his eyes. His expression sets.

Marc sees him arrive at some sort of conclusion.

It can’t be just about the article— others have said worse, gone farther. Marc was careful to stay in bounds, tame and even normal compared to some of the other journos in the paddock. No remarks about his personality or his age. Just a few observations about how Jorge is steadily gaining in the standings, and how Vale is slowly losing the lead he’s had all season. The facts, as Marc sees them. Objective.

But Marc has also never written anything like that before. Has built a name for himself on complex opinions and strategic analysis. On the experience he has as a former racer, and as someone who was supposed to be on the other side of the recorder— supposed to be answering questions instead of asking them. On interviews strengthened by the easy, genuine relationship he has with Valentino Rossi.

But it’s not like he can exactly rely on that last one anymore.

Vale tilts his head forward, eyebrows up. A wry little expression plays across his face, there for a flash, before he shakes his head and pushes back his chair.

“Eh, I guess you are right.” Vale stands, nods. He leans over the table and waves a hand in the air, face animated. Cheerful, if you don’t know him. Studied nonchalance. “Why would you? It’s your job.”

He says the last bit like it means something, extra emphasis on each syllable.

“It is my job.” Marc agrees.

“Right.” Vale says, after a moment, tension threading through them both, taught as a bow string.

He says it like it’s final. Like it’s the end of something. It's exactly the same tone of voice he used a few weeks ago in Phillip Island, when Marc had stumbled out of the cold bed in his crappy hotel room and saw Vale fully dressed, looking for his wallet. About to leave. His head had whipped up when he saw Marc awake, and the look on his face was crystal clear. Had made Marc abruptly feel like he was about to vomit, cold rising from his toes as Vale started to speak.

Too young. Too close. Too unprofessional.

Right.

“Right.” Vale says again now, confirming whatever he sees in Marc’s face, blue eyes clear and remote. The hinge of his jaw is wound tight, day-old stubble blurring his sideburns.

Marc’s chest throbs.

He doesn’t say anything, lets the silence fill the room until it’s about to burst.

Vale stares at him a minute longer before he turns and leaves, door swinging behind him.

Marc sits there, staring at his notebook for a long time.

He doesn’t end up writing anything.

[possessionisamyth]

Here's some RE Separate Ways analysis that isn't about shipping because I like Ada. I'm happy her DLC actually focuses on her, but some of the takes I'm seeing are Insufferable. Main statements in bold for ease of reading and skipping purposes.

-Wesker and Ada haven't been working together consistently for the past 6 years. This dripless bitch is calling Ada every five minutes to babysit her. I don't think that's the relationship dynamic of someone you're regularly employed under, and when it is, Ada is not the type of character to tolerate that behavior for 6 years. We know Ada is a contract worker. We can understand she's worked for Wesker on and off, but she's a freelance agent period. She must've done enough jobs for Wesker that he feels the need to check on her and have this constant reporting in to make sure she stays on task since he's clearly used to her not always following his orders. He 100% hired her for this assignment because he knew the situation and compared to the other options, she had the highest survival chances. Which, he was right. High risk, high reward.

Sometimes Wesker's babysitting works: Ada holding Luis at gunpoint when he tries to negotiate saving Leon and Ashley. Sometimes he knows when to step away: "Keep your dog." All of it is in the effort to get what he wants. Look, he let her live. He worked with S.T.A.R.S for years and wanted them all dead. If he worked with Ada regularly and she pulled this shit with the amber, he would've had that helicopter blown out of the sky. There's always some restraint with personal distance, especially with a guy who thinks so highly of himself.

-Luis is a drama queen. In the regular game, Luis acts cool and under control to the best of his abilities around Leon and Ashley. It's a part of his newly found hero-complex even though he does still know when to ask for help: "save me prince charming!" In the DLC, we see the real side of Luis. The one who's scared, and dramatic, and knows when he's not shooting with a loaded gun so to speak. When Ada tells him to leave her to fight, he does. He wants to help, but his respect for her abilities sends him fleeing like she orders him to. Also, like every scientist, he has zero self-preservation! He ran into a fire that clearly would kill him to get medicine. And the exchange afterwards? "No! Now you'll all die!" "Make some more medicine." "Oh..yeah...I can do that. I do have that ability."

The flamenco dance. "Are you mad at me???🥺 You're mad at me!😭" This man understands Ada can kill him without blinking, but still can't keep his composure around her. This is such a fun dynamic to explore in fic for expansion stories and "Luis lives" au's. The DLC gives him breaks to freak out and panic, whereas the main game holds the "cool persona" moments after Leon saves him. Even his dying words to Ada. This man is bleeding to death and still can't shut up. I love him.

Okay, that's all I gotta say about the loser men. Now for the star of the DLC. Ada. :)

-Ada "Sans Undertale go into my eyes" Wong. The methods Ada uses in the DLC are fun and appropriate. It's not invasive and in your face unlike another agent, but more subtle. She can track footprints, fingerprints, gauge the safe distance required for her grappling hook, and she knows when she needs to fight and whens he needs to run. Her practicality has always been the cleanest of the entire cast due to her being a spy, but this time we actually get to see this trait utilized through her tools.

-Ada is silly and quips her own jokes to get through it. Something I'm not seeing anyone talk about including the aeon people who are claiming anything they can get, is this specific humor parallel between Leon and Ada in the remake. Both of them have gone through the horrors of Raccoon City. Both of them went right back into very difficult military in function style work which always has a body count. I talked about Leon's humor coping mechanism here [X], but to hear Ada do the same thing? I feel like they went under the radar because they don't sound as stupid as Leon's quips, but they are still so stupid. "Nighty night." "Lights out." "Bring me a real challenge next time." "Now look at the mess you've made." "You think that gun will be enough?" She and Leon even share the same "Next," line!

If I had 80GB to spare on the game, I'd see just how many more I could get out of her. Like, these are dumb as hell. She's found a method to cope with the horrors she's witnessing that just so happens to coincide with Leon's. I'm not saying this as a marker of whatever romance you've tossed them in or even to diss any other romances. What I am saying is that they have a similar type of mental illness resulting from trauma, and they ended up using the exact same coping method despite never seeing each other.

Ada fans who hate Leon! This opens a door for you when it comes to character analysis and how Ada deals with her PTSD and/or depression! Run through it RIGHT NOW!

-Ada's infection pulls a lot more weight than it seems. I've seen some people say Ada's parasite should've been removed the same as Leon's and Ashley's. (Which is an extremely unsubtle argument to get them all in the same room for your shipping nonsense.) However, something I noticed with the DLC were the parallels to the troubles in RE2. The Black Robe/U-3/Pesenta monster is the first time where we get to see Ada dealing with a stalking enemy. Due to RE4 being so much more plot-lined streamed to maintain the flow of gameplay, these events were not allowed to be random, but the narrative purpose remains. Ada gets to have a stalking enemy in her DLC like Claire and Leon did in RE2 with the addition of a hubris check.

The hubris check? Well, Ada has never been infected until this DLC. In the original games, she can step back and watch people die because she doesn't know what it feels like. Now she knows what it feels like. The lack of control. The pain. The slow turning. Her job has had her flirting with death for years, but not in a way she can't fiddle with the odds. A parasite is not something a person can distract with words. The action to steal the amber is backed up via personal experience not just a morality code slapped on. The addition of Wesker's correction to "billions of causalities" means she's included in that number and just cements her incentive to flee. She's not doing this for Leon. She's not doing this for Luis. She's doing this for herself, and if it so happens to help other people then it is what it is. After being on both sides of the coin when it comes to viruses, she can no longer function as entirely impartial to the work she's doing.

-Ada doesn't ask for permission but asks for forgiveness. Don't take this phrasing literally. She doesn't ask Wesker to forgive her. What this means is that she'll do something before asking, and if it upsets people then she'll course correct. Her job is not the kind of job where she needs to take orders for every action she implements which is why Wesker calling every five minutes was annoying as hell. In the OG RE4 she kind of argues with Wesker for Leon to live for "his usefulness", but it's swiftly shut down until it's convenient to Wesker for Leon to live. This forces her to sneak around and betray Wesker multiple times to save Leon secretly, and the concept rightfully gets thrown into the garbage for the remake DLC.

The scene in the bedroom where Wesker tells Ada not to become a liability after taking her blood? Ada doesn't fight to get her shit back. Some people said this was flirting. Wrong. This is Ada seeking forgiveness after the fuck up of passing out in the middle of an active field by letting Wesker walk off with an infection sample. She then makes sure not to fuck up a second time in the same way, and she doesn't. She learns the signs of her parasite so in case she does pass out again, she'll be somewhere much less conspicuous. She listens for the changes in her environment and the feelings in her body and prepares herself for what's next.

-Ada saves Leon and Ashley for Luis' sake. I stated earlier that Ada's action to take the amber was for her own sake but ends up helping others. This is the exact situation going on when Luis talks about getting the suppressant. She needs the suppressant in order to do her job and kill the black robe so she can heal. It just so happens that Leon and Ashley need the suppressant for survival reasons too. They are an afterthought until Luis dies.

We watch Ada question Wesker and his plans all throughout this DLC, and she comes to her own conclusions after her experience working with him. She could've gotten the amber back and let the whole place blow into smithereens like Wesker intended. Who cares about the president's daughter? Who cares about another dead federal agent? Luis did. He cared so much he died for it, and just like that other clown in Raccoon City (aka her), she got emotionally attached. If there was anything she could've done for Luis to make his death mean something, it was this act.

-Ada sells Leon's jacket. This isn't analysis, but I thought this was funny as hell. ACAB! No exceptions! Freeze your tiddies off, Leon! I don't give a shit!

-Ada's new outfit is still better than her old one. It's still not the best they could've given her. I'm also not speaking from a fashion point of view when I say this. In the OG RE4 we see Leon in a jacket which is forcibly removed to show off his pecs to the ladies, but it clearly marks a colder time of year. OG RE4 Ada has arms out, legs out, and tits out because a hoe never gets cold. The sweater dress for the remake re-establishes that it's colder here because even Luis doesn't lose his jacket. Ashley doesn't lose her jacket either until they yoink it off her for ritual reasons. I still hate that the thigh high boots have that heel and would prefer the flats, but that's going to be in the complaint paragraph below.

-Capcom sexism at play once again. I don't give a shit about rigs and motion capture or whatever, her walk cycle was 2 adjustments from being full Bayonetta, and I hate it. The ass shots? Disrespectful. Her heels didn't have to be that high. Never heard of a kitten heel? They exist. The people who worked on RE3 Remake and worked on this DLC sure love to make a woman vomit don't they? Why the fuck was she so clean the entire game? She was being thrown around and tossed in the dirt a lot, but this woman's skin is shinier than a waxed apple. Either she has some wet wipes on hand, or god forbid women get filthy. Absolutely zero reason she shouldn't have been looking as rough as Leon by the time she gets on the helicopter! No reason at all!

That's all they wrote! I love Ada. I loved this DLC, and I loved the dynamics going on here even though I hated every time Wesker was on screen or opened his mouth at all.

As much as I would love to expand this post and go further into the changed Ada and Leon relationship, I frankly hate all the takes I've been seeing so much on either side of the Aeon debate. I hate the ongoing conversation around it so much that I don't know if I want to discuss this at all. The Aeon should've gotten this if not for Luis and Ashley side and the Aeon is dead side going back and forth with each other? All of you put on your clown noses! None of you are looking at this situation objectively to see where the lines cross and where they run alongside each other, and frankly I'm tired! I could clear this whole table off so both of you can get exactly what you want based on what you're not actually interpreting from this media, but I won't! Kill each other!

[bonefall]

Ask Etiquette

HELLO sorry for the intimidating post lmao, I just need something to toss up on the masterpost because I feel bad deleting asks and then people will never really have an idea of why I never answered them

I get a ton of asks (usually anywhere from 10 - 20 a day!) and I'm not able to get to them all! I try to answer as many as possible but I'm still just one guy. So with that in mind, there are some sorts of asks I will simply not answer, and some 'requests' I have for people who send them in;

Please keep your asks short PLEASE try not to send me essays if you want a response; I still love reading them! But if you send me walls of text/analysis you are asking me to write a lot in response, which I'd rather spend on actually writing or designing cats. (On that note if you send a bunch of questions at once, the likelihood I respond goes down.)

Do not send me personal questions Listen... I'm a stranger on the internet. I'm overjoyed to see when my art connects with people and helps you realize things! But don't ask me sensitive questions like how to move out of your abusive parents' house!! PLEASE learn internet safety and get less comfortable with volunteering that kind of information to people you don't know!

Do not ask me personal questions you do not need to know what i study or where i work. get less comfortable asking these sorts of questions to queer people on the internet, especially when they talk openly about having previously been abused or stalked. (not that a person should even need to be as open about that as i am)

If I don't have a good response I won't answer Especially for suggestions I don't vibe with. I try to only say "No" if I have a particularly interesting "No" to talk about, if that makes sense! If I had to write a full explanation for every veto or idea I don't vibe with, this blog would be 90% what isn't in BB.

No AUs within the AU. "What if Hawkfrost survived his impalement? What if Firestar never joined? What if Tigerstar was never born?" Listen, buddy, you're creating an exponential distraction for possible ways the story could have gone and I'm not looking to write several essays for the literal hundreds of alternative ways Clan history could have been written. It takes you 5 words to ask "What if X never died" but it takes me paragraphs to answer. (This isn't about suggestions btw, I very specifically mean ppl asking hypotheticals for fun.)

Don't be rude. I feel like this should go without saying but please mind the parasocial gap. Especially if you're on anon, I don't know you, your backstory, or your cadence.

No "Fight Baiting" You're free to ask me to speak about fandom trends, or for my opinions on general ideas, character discussions, and popular arguments! But it crosses a line if you're linking someone's posts with their uncropped usernames, sharing unsolicited google docs, youtube videos, etc, with the intention of getting me to attack a third party. We can talk about ideas without making it a PVP battle.

And, lastly, CLANMEW ASKS!!

I make a hard effort to get to everyone!! Those are published on Clanmew Day (WHICH IS NOW JUST GOING TO BE THE 30TH OF EVERY MONTH SO THAT IT'S LESS CONFUSING) but PLEASE understand I get a ton of them.

As I write this I have more than 26 tabs open of unanswered Clanmew asks, a lot more in my inbox, and 9 already in the queue. So that you understand the sheer volume of asks I have there.

If I didn't get to you that month, chances are that I'll get to you on the next, but please understand why I ask for folks to not re-send asks

So here's Clanmew-specific requests;

PLEASE just try a translation on your own first! Don't just send me raw lists of OCs to translate, give it a go first using the Lexicon, just so I can see you tried. I will happily and gladly make more specific words for you when I see you try!

When you send OCs you've translated, ask me for a new word at the end if you didn't already in your list. Just in case I can't think of a witty comment or a word suggestion, you will help me a lot

Please try to format with lists like this one Folks will send me double or triple-indented lists and it will take up my entire screen when they've only sent like, 5 names. Remember that posts you send to me go on people's dashes, be considerate please You can open a list like this by starting a new paragraph, typing -, and then an immediate space. Hold Shift + Enter to indent without adding another bullet.

If you could put "Clanmew" somewhere in your ask, like even if you open up with "Clanmew: Here is my question blah blah," it would help immensely I physically can't get to every ask I receive on Clanmew Day, so if you have "Clanmew" in your ask somewhere, it makes it a lot easier for me to find it when I can finally answer! I really wish Tumblr had ways to sort asks, but currently, I've just gotta make due with Cntrl + F.

[perpetualexistence]

It Takes Three to Tango On a Train: An Alenoaheather Fake Dating AU Song Analysis

Yeah you read that right, I'm back with an Alenoaheather Fake Dating idea WOOO-

Again, coming from the most unlikely of places given that the last one came from a Veggietales song. But don't worry, this one isn't a Veggietales song.

It's a Thomas the Tank Engine instrumental remix that perfectly encapsulates Alenoaheather scheming in this specific AU.

Hear me out. I've got mental imagery for how their dance works.

I'm not an expert on music theory or recognizing instruments, but I'll try my best with explaining my thought process. And if you do know things about music and want to correct me, please do.

The song as a whole is the theme of a sinister schemer slithering their way along. Which can basically describe the three of them at their worst, but there's more nuance within the song.

It starts with Noah. He's the steady bass throughline of the whole song. He's got the tambourine and the same three bass notes playing over and over again. Throughout the song he's unchanging and unyielding. He does the least amount of work relatively speaking, but still helps to move the song (and the scheming) forward by providing a steady rhythm.

Noah has his own 'dance' as he goes along. He's lazy at heart, but the rhythm is still encouraging him to move. He's nodding his head along to the steady three beats. He snaps each time the tambourine hits. He's standing in place because he refuses to move. The only movement coming out of him is nods and snaps.

Then comes Heather with the wind instrument at 0:15. She immediately comes slithering in to offer Noah the deal of an alliance. She's using a snake charmer's music because she knows it's something that would work on her. She recognizes like, and wants to snap at the opportunity to have him dance to her tune.

Heather's dance is a ballet. It's a dance she's known since she was young based on the canon of season one. It looks elegant and beautiful, and is one of the most difficult dances to learn. It takes a considerable amount of work to do well, and even more to make it look as effortless as Heather makes it. For Noah, she pirouettes inwards. She wants to draw him in, and knows she doesn't have to move too much in order to do it.

Noah's still unchanging in his tune, despite Heather's best efforts. But they're harmonizing, because this is a good deal for both of them.

Then along comes Alejandro with a rival wind instrument at 0:31. (I want to say a pan flute? Again, I can't recognize instruments by sound.) He's offering the same kind of deal as Heather, but in a slightly different flavor. Hence his instrument being in the same family as Heather's. He wants Noah dancing to the beat of his rhythm instead, but Noah remains unyielding.

Alejandro is still convinced that the deal is made, which leads to the introduction of the brass at 0:46. Now that Heather and Alejandro are convinced they have their own alliances with Noah, they can focus on going after each other. The brass is them fighting each other.

The two circle around each other. Not touching, because they know what the other is capable of. Heather continues her ballet. It's a solo act, and other people should be grateful that they can witness it. She uses the same manipulation tactics in every situation. She's not changing for anyone, either. She's performs the pas de chat, the step of the cat, as she moves. It allows her more distance to stalk her prey.

Alejandro's dance is cumbia (stop at 1:46). It's a dance where the dance partners spend more time apart than they do together. The focus is on the footwork, the machinations of planning. The hands are often on the hips or behind their back. The hips are swaying and showing off. It's a dance that allows Alejandro to preen himself while giving Heather a chance to do the same.

Meanwhile Noah is still snapping and nodding. He's outside of their circle, watching them size each other up. He knows that getting in the middle of their fight would be the death of him. So instead, he keeps an eye on where they're heading, and adjusts himself when they get too close or too far.

There's a five note musical sting that starts at 0:51. This represents the people who get caught in their machinations. It happens twice in rapid succession: first when it appears, then immediately after it gets subsumed and muted into the brass that is their fighting.

Anyone else who gets close to them, or who they set their sights on, has to deal with the combined threat they pose. When a person gets close to Noah, he doesn't outright attack them. Rather, he bares his teeth at them, daring them to come too close. His snapping turns to a subtle way for him to use his thumb to point the threat towards Heather and Alejandro to have them deal with it. He knows what he's sending them to, and it's not his problem.

When a contestant is caught in the middle of Alejandro and Heather's dance, they have to deal with whoever decides to approach them first. With Heather, she dances closer and closer to them. Until, suddenly, she performs a grand battement. She turns something elegant into a high kick directly into the face. It sends whoever she wants reeling, if not completely out. When she's done, she simply carries on back to circling with Alejandro.

With Alejandro, he switches from cumbia to merengue. He grabs his victim by the hands and starts twirling them around. He pulls them close to have them let their guard down. He makes them think they're the only one that he cares about. Then, once they trust him, he twirls them away never to be a bother again. He won't hesitate to knock them down with the sway of his hips if he feels it necessary.

Things switch up again at 1:16 with the introduction of strings and castanets. Because at this point, Alejandro and Heather have noticed that Noah has been outside of the circle this time, gaining from the fruits of their labor. So they start dancing around Noah. He's caught in the eye of their storm.

He's expecting them to immediately go for the kill, but neither do. They're dancing around him and they're watching. They are threatening to drown him out, and his instruments do go a bit quieter. But they continue. He keeps his steady pace of nodding and snapping.

He's been watching them, too. He knows he can't beat them in a fight. That doesn't mean he can't survive them. To anyone else, Heather and Alejandro would be a deadly duo. But he knows them now, as they know him.

He waits for the right moment as they circle around him. And then, he spots the gap between their circle. He rushes for it before it can close, and turns so that he never has his back to them. He's part of their circle now.

All the while, the musical sting is still playing. They're still eliminating others. And they're fully realizing how amazing they are together. They create a vortex of death for all who oppose them.

They take a step towards one another to tighten their circle. Then another. Each of them knows what the other two are capable of. They're all enjoying this dance, and all of them can tell. They will get rid of anyone else that gets in their way, but never each other. They don't want this dance to end, and want to get even close to each other.

They step closer and closer until they're almost touching. The music fades as they are eye to eye with one another. Just as Noah started the song, he finishes it off.

And the three start talking about what to do next.

[versegm]

This is only my personal opinion, but I think an important thing to keep in mind when reading fandom posts is what was the lens used to write this post?

Is it a post about themes & symbolisms? Then bringing up deeplore powerlevels is irrelevant. If someone say "blorbo managed to beat glup shitto through the power of love and friendship," replying "actually blorbo #2 could have also totally taken glup shitto through the power of guns and violence" is irrelevant because the original statement isn't about who could have beaten glup shitto, it's about what it means that glup shitto was beaten in this way by this character.

Is it a post about deeplore and in-universe reasons for things? Then bringing up the irl reasons for that choice is irrelevant. If someone makes an entire essay showing that wearing a maid dress consistently increase someone's powerlevels in a serie, and you reply "no it's just that the author has a maid fetish and wants an excuse to put his faves in a maid outfit," that is irrelevant because the original statement isn't about asking why the characters are always in a maid outfit, it's about figuring out the in-universe rules of fights.

Is it a post about the irl reasons that lead to an artistic decision? Then both deeplore and themes & symbolisms would be irrelevant. If someone says "sucks that female dwarves in this story don't have beards," answering "well you see it is culturally a dwarf thing to shave as stated in book two chapter twenty-" would be irrelevant, because the original post isn't actually about dwarves with beards it's about what it means that a flesh and blood human in our world would consciously choose to give this trait to their fictional world.

I could go on and on, there are countless different lenses people use when making blorbo posts. Is it a post meant to analyse canon? Is it a headcanon, an au, or otherwise something they made up for fun? Is it a joke or something meant to be read in a comedic light? Is it a personal opinion or sentiment?

None of these lenses is inherently superior to the others. They can all lead to some really fun and/or interesting discussions. But if you're actually talking to someone (even moreso if it's a random tumblr user you've never spoken to before!) you should probably keep using the same lenses they're using, else you might completely miss the point the person was trying to make in the first place, and you might end up sounding like "mh your reading is WRONG and mine is RIGHT" when really the both of you have a point.

And if a post made with one specific lens made you think of something cool through another lens- go ahead and make your own post! If an analysis of canon made you think of a cool au, if a study of the deeplore made you want to go in depth on the irl implications of this or that worldbuilding choice, go for it! Hit create and make your own post! It's quick, it's easy, it's free! :D

[transformersbrainrot]

MegOp is making me crazy as usual, but now I have some new, specific inspiration!

So it started with @that-fanperson-meg saying this under a post I made about the Transformers account posting a TFO MegOp edit.

I recognized the name of the song but had never actually listened to it, and hooooo boy, it activated something in the part of my brain that thinks about MegOp... So, I'm listening to this song, and I have the clearest vision that it's about Megatron's mindset/thoughts during his mental health's lowest point in the worst depths of the war. (fair warning, my analysis/brainrot is based on my own personal continuity/au, so there are some minor references to that, but it's all fairly standard, and I explain it a bit, so just go with it, and you shouldn't be confused.) Ok, preamble over. Time for the lyrical analysis:

I hope that our few remaining friends Give up on trying to save us I hope we come up with a failsafe plot To piss off the dumb few that forgave us I hope the fences we mended Fall down beneath their own weight And I hope we hang on past the last exit I hope it's already too late

Megatron assumes that Optimus is in just as bad of a place as he is. He's wrong, of course, OP certainly isn't enjoying himself, but he has an actual support system that he feels comfortable leaning on. On the other hand, Soundwave as the only thing even approaching a friend for Megatron (and he is waaay too closed off at this point to say so). Starscream is a backstabbing, power-hungry sycophant with his own heap of baggage (I really gotta make a post about my version of all that sometime); Shockwave is purely logic-driven as usual, only interested in advancing the Cybertronian race via the Decepticon cause. By this time, Megatron feels like both sides are too deep into the war to even consider peace. He honestly can't fathom it.

And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here Someday burns down And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away And I never come back to this town again in my life

Megatron has always wanted to escape the path that was decided for him. But now, after losing what he and Orion had and the resulting fallout, he won't go quietly into the night, not before causing some irreparable damage first. And the war will do just that. He hopes the destruction the great war causes keeps pushing him forward, even out beyond Cybertron. At least then, he won't ever need to face the past and who he used to be. He couldn't recognize himself now if he tried, so he doesn't.

I hope I lie And tell everyone you were a good wife And I hope you die I hope we both die

Even though he thinks it's clear they hate each other and are not good for each other, Megatron still has some form of loyalty to what he and Orion had. If somehow, someday, someone were to ask him about them, he wouldn’t tell them about all their problems, but instead that they were good together. Maybe if this hypothetical future version of Megatron doesn't mention all the pain their split caused, then maybe it was a little less real. He knows that as long as Optimus is around, he won't be able to stop fighting; he's just too hurt and angry. He wishes Optimus would just die, that they both would.

I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow I hope it bleeds all day long Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises We're pretty sure they're all wrong I hope it stays dark forever I hope the worst isn't over And I hope you blink before I do And I hope I never get sober

Soundwave, the only even semi-positive influence on him right now, is the one telling Megatron it's darkest before the sun rises. Soundwave is a true believer in the original cause of the Decepticons, probably the last one in High Command; everyone else is either using the cause as a means to take out their pain (Megatron and Starscream) or as a means to an end (Shockwave). Megatron is finding it harder and harder to believe Soundwave with each passing day, and yet again assumes Optimus is doing the same. He's starting to hope it never ends. He's comfortable with it now; the war fills the hole that his old life left in him. All he really knows is that he can't bring himself to yield to Optimus and doesn't think he ever will. If he did, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

And I hope when you think of me years down the line You can't find one good thing to say And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out You'd stay the hell out of my way

Megatron is hoping that Optimus is suffering too, since he is, and doesn’t want him to feel anything positive through this since he cannot. But at the same time, he’s trying so hard to be a bastard so that it won’t hurt as much. He does still want to speak well of their past if he gets the chance, so some loyalty or fondness remains deep down. If there were good times to look back on, there would be sadness that those times are over. If Optimus has nothing good to say about him, all he would feel is relief that that part of their lives is over.

I am drowning There is no sign of land You are coming down with me Hand in unlovable hand And I hope you die I hope we both die

Megatron can't see any way out of where he's gotten them. To him, there's no path to peace anymore. The only solace Megatron can find is the hope that Optimus falls with him. Even now, the two of their fates must be interlocked, as if it were a universal constant to him - simple common sense. He just wants it to be over, even as he can't bring himself to stop.

[thecoolerliauditore]

What Martyn take on Pearl in a short answer is Pearl isn't done with double life and needs to heal more

Or longer answer. Basically in Martyn au of the life series in between sessions the watchers feed on their negative (and positive) emotions and the life series players slowly heal, so by in the next season all the life series players just feel neutral towards eachother. The issue though is Pearl (and Cleo) needed more time to heal since double life was so traumatizing for her. This is why in limited life Lizzie subbed in for Pear so she could take much more of a break (the listeners did this not the watchers). I argue Cleo take was bad because Cleo was gone because they were traumatized for being far into the game than any other season.

Unless Martyn did another take on pearl that was his take

oh is that all. I knew about that I just heard second hand that he said smth else dumb about scarlet pearl. not sure eitherway but yeah this is the one I've heard of.

using this as an excuse to yap about my thoughts on this

first off within my worldview this all makes so much sense for martyn (the character) to believe like ah yes I have nooooo lingering feelings about my past alliances whatsoever that's how this. Works. this is how the game works. im so smart and not vulnerable and have it together don't look at me. also everyone else feels the same way so I don't have to feel weird.

It's also kinda tragic lol like pearl was hurt SO BAD during DL even the evil gods who run the game couldn't zap the trauma out of her and Martyn (one of the ppl responsible for said trauma) is like oh. well that sucks. not my problem.

on the cc side of things I've always had a massive pet peeve with this specific bit of his lore and when people take it as canon because it's. a bit nonsensical? Like you mentioned Cleo having to be taken out of the games from her soul being too damaged or whatever is just kinda dumb since she was pretty much chilling. It's obviously lore born as an excuse to explain out of game circumstances rather than to aid the story itself so it ends up feeling really weird.

This is also the very, very, whisper-level lowkey misogyny-covered Martyn take I was vaguing awhile back since it implies every female member of the series (minus Gem who wasn't in the series yet technically) were too "weak" to mentally withstand the games while all the men (minus mumbo) were just kinda vibing. This isn't me calling irl cc Martyn a misogynist FYI but I do think it reflects on a larger scope the way female CCs are not prioritized both by the fanbase and the creators which leads to stuff like this.

c!martyn on the other hand is 100% a massive womanhater so whatever it makes the character analysis go brrr

[banishmentplanet]

The Empire never cared about Earth.

But they found one use for it- a dumping ground. A place to send their very own that they didn't kill but simultaneously never wanted to see again. To be sent to Earth was to be abandoned, discarded. An Irken exiled to Earth would never be heard from again.

They were far from dead, though.

⭒ Welcome to Banishment Planet! ⭒

This is my big headcanon heavy Invader Zim AU. It is a two parter technically, which I'll explain below! For easy access, here are the main tags of this blog:

#alaart : For all art, including things not related to any story.

#artist support : For reblogged IZ art.

#banplanau : For all posts regarding the main AU, not necessarily specific to either half of the timeline.

#tow : For the Zim and Dib focus precursor story, 'Treading Open Water'.

#banishmentplanet : For the second part of the timeline and the story involving my original characters, Navic and Itsuki.

#ao3 : To easily find AO3 links and excerpts I post here.

#scpiz : My side AU for funsies, explorations of various SCPs with these two nerds as the leads.

#boarderiz : Another side AU, focusing on deep space adventures between a Zim and Dib who meet for the first time as adults in space.

What is Banishment Planet?

Banishment Planet is both the name of the AU and, depending on the context, a specific part of the overall timeline. It is preceded by 'Treading Open Water', the story arc focusing on Zim and Dib's own character growth. 'Banishment Planet' takes place a few years later, featuring both them and original characters. Namely, an exile by the name of Navic and a home-planet Irken named Itsuki.

Headcanons? What are those?

By the nature of the IZ universe (cough cough, Jhonen has given us so little), headcanons are a huge thing for us. It's my favourite part of this fandom, seeing how differently these same characters and setting can be expanded upon and interpreted. And because of that there will always be headcanons you don't like as much as others. If my angsty mushy interpretation of these idiots isn't your flavour, just trot off and leave me to it :]

That being said, this fandom, for twenty years, has been rife with some of the stupidest discourse surrounding the vagueness of the canon. Here are my hard rules:

1: Don't even start- Zim and Dib are the same age. Show material calls them both children multiple times and any comment on age by creators is inconsistent. So over two actual decades the lot of us have just decided on what we like better. I think it's funnier if they're the same age.

2: Here, they are queerplatonic. In short, this refers to people who are close and affectionate in ways western culture wouldn't consider just friends, so hush.

What about the cool stuff?

In terms of the world, I wanna keep that up to natural reveal! To lay it all out in a text post most people won't read is boring and doesn't exercise media analysis and creative thinking skills. Read the stuff, look at the art, find things out for yourself!

[capyvan]

A very unnecessary and long post on why "Mortal Kombat: Legacy" has my favorite version of Sub-Zero Bi-Han.

(English isn't my first language so I'm sorry if i repeat myself a lot)

I've been planning on starting to make posts about this show since there is SO much to say, and I feel like it's not appreciated enough.

No. It is not perfect MK media, but it does embark on some very awesome concepts and ideas I've taken myself for AUs so I feel the need to spread the word.

That's why before you read this I recommend you check out the show itself! Is free on YouTube to watch, though I should warn y'all it ends on a cliffhanger that makes me wanna cry knowing it was canceled but i say it's still worth the watch.

For today’s post, i wanna talk about a character that while isn't one of my personal favorites, it surely has become one in this show.

Also i wouldn't call this a serious character analysis this is just me rambling about a dead man 😭.

. . .

For starters, Sub-Zero Bi-Han was never a character that caught my attention. My first introduction to him was MK1 and I'll be honest. 

It is my least favorite version of him atm, so I was relieved to see that he had been done better justice in the older sagas of the franchise… sort of.

I thought "MK: Mythologies Sub-Zero" was gonna be the only version of him I would be invested in, but then I decided to start watching "MK Legacy" and my perspective changed completely. 

I will be more so specifically talking about episodes 7-8 of season 2 since that's where we look at his lore more in depth, but season 1 is absolutely worth mentioning. 

Then after summarizing those, I'll give some closing thoughts.

. . .

In episodes 7-8 of season 1, we get introduced to Hanzo’s backstory and how he became Scorpion (my favorite version of it as a HUGE Hanzo fan.) 

I adored watching this interpretation of Harumi and Satoshi (called Jubei here) and how they interacted with Hanzo, and as always, the tragedy of it all. But this is still about Bi-Han.

Getting tricked into leaving his village earlier than expected, Hanzo encounters “Bi-Han” on his way to the Kumamoto Castle. You can already imagine what happened to his family and clan while he was away. 

After defeating “Bi-Han”, Hanzo runs back to his village only to find that everyone had been slaughtered (this scene actually almost made me start crying.) 

Before he even gets time to process the death of his wife and son, he is backstabbed (quite literally) by “Bi-Han”. 

It is revealed, like usual, that this entire time it was Quan Chi disguised as Bi-Han and was also helped by Shang Tsung to perform this attack on the Shirai Ryu. He quickly converts Hanzo into the vengeful specter he is so he will participate in the Mortal Kombat tournament and in exchange, he will be able to get his “revenge”. 

Now none of this is really news. Yes there are changes there and then but what if i told you this is a lot more tragic than you think?

Not only did Hanzo lose his family and clan, he died thinking he was betrayed by his childhood friend, who had sworn to agree to peace between their clans. 

That's what finally leads us to season 2 ^_^ 

. . .

In season 2, they take a very interesting spin on the Sub-Zero and Scorpion rivalry. Like I mentioned earlier, Hanzo and Bi-Han were actually childhood friends.

They would meet up at the hayfield outside their villages to play and train together, which I believe might be one of my favorite takes on their relationship. I think making them childhood friends makes their relationship a lot more deeper and interesting than it is presented in the games. 

While they sparred however, Kuai Liang appears and tries warning his brother of their father and his guys coming over to stop them but Bi-Han doesn't listen, which ends up with both him and Hanzo getting in trouble whenever the Shirai Ryu member's father shows up as well. 

As Hanzo is taken by his respective father, Bi-Han’s reminds him of the rivalry between the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu. 

“Why do you keep playing with that boy?”

“Because he is my friend.”

“He is not your friend.”

“But why?”

“His clan aren't to be trusted.”

“But why?”

“It's the way it's been since before your grandfather was born.”

Bi-Han still doesn't understand it, but his father dismisses him. 

They nailed the childlike curiosity and confusion in this. Maybe it's just because I love these types of tropes, but it was a delight to see just tiny Bi-Han and Hanzo be friends and play together despite their differences. 

20 years later, we get reintroduced to Hanzo, taking a walk with Harumi and Jubei.

Jubei separates from his parents as he runs deeper into the road, and ends up encountering Kuai Liang and two of his goons, who hold him captive as Hanzo has to intervene to help his son. 

Kuai Liang talks about how Hanzo and his family are intruding in Lin Kuei territory, so Hanzo argues that the road is neutral, decreed by the shogun.

Hanzo then threatens to tell Bi-Han about this intrusion which leads to a confrontation between the two. 

It ends up with something I found EXTREMELY unexpected, that being the death of Kuai Liang.

Now I can't say I like this version of him at all, but it is interesting seeing a version of Kuai that not only doesn't survive, but also seems egotistical and ambitious. As kind of lame as his death was imo I still thought he was.. something. They had to sacrifice him for the better Bi-Han. Fly high 🕊🕊🕊

Later on, Hanzo and Bi-Han reunite at the same place they played as children to settle things about Kuai’s death.

Bi-Han believes Hanzo when he tells him he wasn't the aggressor in the situation and grieves about how Kuai Liang had always felt underappreciated. He still apologizes on his behalf, and he and Hanzo agree to never have the clans clash with each other again as they shake hands like good friends do!

Tweaking trying not to mention Bihanzo this entire time tbh. But point is:

There is something extremely charming about this version of Bi-Han and Hanzo trying to settle the differences between their clans. It makes what comes next so much worse, but also a lot more fascinating like how the Hell did they not make this canon in any of the games. 

But yeah at this point you know this won't have a happy ending.

Next scene shows us Bi-Han being awakened from bed, being given the horrible news. 

Hanzo, his family and clan, were all gone. Brutally murdered by his men. 

He snaps, and I just have to share the dialogue in this because it drives me insane.

“Hanzo and I had a truce. This was to be a new era. An end to the senseless violence. Then why do I wake from my bed to find you, who I entrusted my men to-.. Hanzo? His whole family? His entire clan? Slaughtered. He who I had promised to end this violence.”

This alone says a LOT about Bi-Han's character. 

He never wanted this to keep going. He just wanted to have peace between the clans, to have an alliance with his friend who had trusted him. His friend who is now gone. He didn't wanna walk into his father’s footsteps and this makes Quan Chi even more of a fucking asshole than in the games and DAMN IM ALL HERE FOR IT.

As he is about to go off, he is interrupted by a mystic of the Lin Kuei, offering to show him the truth of what had happened. 

In between this they throw a flashback of Hanzo to remind us that he died thinking Bi-Han killed his family just to add salt on the wound i guessssss. 

We then cut back to the mystic and Bi-Han, who shows him what truly happened and the participation of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung. 

Having Bi-Han find out who Quan Chi is from the beginning is another interesting idea from this series (not counting mythologies here) and I like the fact Bi-Han mainly joined the tournament to make amends with his old friend. 

But I also sit down and think about how horrific it must have been for him, seeing Hanzo being stabbed and told lies by someone pretending to be him. Just seeing his dead friend and family must have sent shivers down his spine (no pun intended).

In the end, it cuts back to the present, the fight between Sub-Zero and Scorpion. 

The fight ends as you would expect, Hanzo wins and murders Bi-Han, finally getting “revenge”. But if everything that I've told you so far doesn't make his death tragic enough, then maybe his last words will. 

“No- Hanzo! I gave no such order! You’ve been deceived! Please Hanzo don't do this-”

Gets decapitated without a chance.

. . .

Now to explain why i dig this verison of Bi-Han so fucking much.

I believe that MK Legacy gave so much more to his relationship with Hanzo, as well as actually making me feel awful for his death.

A pretty recurring theme in the MK franchise is to have Bi-Han Sub-Zero be quickly killed off and replaced by Kuai Liang, just to later turn into Noob Saibot. So not only was it refreshing to see something different that actually made me upset he was unfairly killed, it was also nice to see a “what if”.

What if he and Hanzo were childhood friends? How much would that change their rivalry in the games?

What if Kuai Liang had just died or never turned into Sub-Zero so early? How different would events turn out if Bi-Han had only time to shine longer?

What if he did find out about Quan Chi impersonating him early? Would he also go on a quest to hunt him down scorpion style for slandering his honor? Or would he care at all?

While this series answers these questions (in a way) they have so much goddamn potential to be a plotline in an actual mortal kombat game LIKE IT'S INSANE. 

I personally have the belief that MK1 could have even improved by borrowing some of these concepts. 

Have Hanzo be their childhood friend instead of Harumi. I would have loved to see a rivalry like this between Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu in the new era, but guess NRS just loves crushing everyone’s dreams (I refuse to blame Lulu for this.) 

Overall, all these new concepts and the way they were delivered is why this is my favorite version of Bi-Han ever created.

It makes Noob Saibot a lot more tragic than he already was, and it lets me explore who Bi-Han was as Sub-Zero before that transformation. 

PLEAAAAAASE someone has to see the vision (and the Bihanzo one too if interested wink wink) (i also like Kuaihanzo btw) 

[two-braincells-in-total]

Materlist

A little guide to my posts (the ones that don't have a link are things that I'm still working on and will be posted eventually)

Shatter me

Fanfics

A Coffee Tale (coffee shop AU; mainly warnette with side ships; not finished yet, but updated every once in a while)

Never forget that there's a 'he' in 'cheat' (ACT's backstory; featuring the drama with Leila, Kate and Anderson; will be out when I finish ACT)

Promise for forever (happens during ACT, but it's one-shots of Emmaline x Haider; will be out after I finish ACT, similar to Bonus Chapter 2 from ACT)

ACT Bloopers (not really a fanfic, but the notes I'm using to write ACT, because I'm convinced I'm funny I'm not, but I like attention)

Christmas miracles (warnette Christmas office au, will be a start of a seasonal warnette collection, will be out some time in December)

Character/plot point analysis

Juliette Ferrars (kinda sucks, might rewrite eventually)

Adam Kent (will be out at some point, not sure when)

Emmaline and Ella's names

Kenji and Juliette's friendship and it's contribution to their character developments

Adam and Juliette's relationship and it's contribution to their character developments

Nazeera Ibrahim

Emmaline Sommers (still not sure if I'll ever write it, but putting it here as a reminder for myself)

Headcanons

Nazeera, Kenji, Warner and Juliette as a friend group post-war (will be out eventually)

See me

If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's a wattpad next-gen Shatter me fanfic by jackssfox, I really recommend checking it out

Character/plot point analysis

Kai Kishimoto (coming soon)

Emmaline Leila Warner (coming soon)

Theories about what happens next (tho they might be VERY far from what's actually gonna happen lol) (hopefully coming soon?)

Incorrect quotes

Day 1

Day 2 #1 #2

Day 3 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

Apparently I missed day 4, but I was spamming day 3, so it's okay

Day 5

Day 6 #1 #2

Day 7 #1 #2 #3 #4 #5

Day 8

Day 9 #1 #2

Day 10 #1 #2

Day 11 #1 #2 #3

Day 12 #1 #2 #3

Day 13 #1 #2 #3

Day 14 #1 #2 #3

The Inheritance Games

Fanfics

Wedding plans with Jameson Hawthorne (Avery and Jameson planning their wedding; idea from @xo-zozo; coming soon)

Meant to be (next-gen fanfic; idk if I'll write it 'cause I got the idea before TBH came out, so idk if it's even possible for this to happen, considering the series isn't finished yet, and it was supposed to be AveryJameson's daughter with Eve's son, but idk if it's kinda like incest because of Toby? Please comment if you want to see it)

New memories (Nash and Libby Valentaine's day)

Behind the speaker (Avery, Jameson, Nash and Xander watching the players in tgg; coming soon)

The one to hold him (Jameson is sick and Avery is taking care of him; requested)

On the sand (Avery x Jameson beach date)

Character/plot point analysis

TGG review

Brady Daniels (hardly analysis, more like a rant lol)

The kiss scenes (with one reblog from me to add some stuff)

Gigi Grayson (currently working on it)

Savannah Grayson

Avery Grambs (idc that she's not a mc anymore, she's still my favourite and CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED)

Jameson Hawthorne

Headcanons

Rohavannah headcanons

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

Fanfics

As if you never left (Bell and Ash reunion)

What it should've been (Reachel, Bell and Carter just chilling)

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Character/plot point analysis

Andie and Pip paralles

The stuff at the end of Part 1 of AGAD and how it affected Pip

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is it for now, things from potential requests will be added. The fandoms that I'm in are listed in my intro post.

As you can see, there's a lot of stuff that I have in plan that I haven't written yet, but all of this takes time, I need at least a day for each of these things. Some of those things will take quite a while to post, so I'm asking for your patience <3

If anything here caught your attention, follow me so that you can see the progress of it. If you want to be tagged in my posts about a fandom or a specific thing, reply here and I'll tag you when the time comes.

I have random posts about some of these fandoms that are not included here and I'm kinda random (and I think I'm funny), so you can check them out, too.

I'm kinda unserious, so don't expect the character analysises (is that a word?) or fanfics to be profesional

Bye for now <3

[charmikarma]

charmikarma's homestuck fanwork rec list

will be updated as i work my way through more things i like :) check under da cut

notes: parentheses indicate the focus(es) of each work, and works with explicit content are marked [E]. gen means there's no specific ship or character focus.

Canon Compliant or Canon-Adjacent Works

Karkat Goes To A Convention, Act 1 by Cole (gen)

i have two pitches for kgtac. here they are:

if you ever find yourself missing homestuck in the old days before postcanon, or even just the old days of homestuck fandom, you should read karkat goes to a convention immediately.

this is the most homestuck thing i have read since homestuck.

act 1 of kgtac is completed, and is the main draw here. act 2 is currently ongoing and is pretty much completely unrelated to act 1. i think it's alright. but act 1 is absolutely a must-read.

Detective Pony by sonnetstuck (dirk)

do i even need to explain this one? it's detective pony. it's a great character study of dirk. i'm sure you've all heard of it. if you haven't read it, go do that now. please.

Jade Route by SPICYYETI (jade)

jade route is a post-epilogues comic following meat!jade who is trapped in a body controlled by calliope. it's a take on the "ending" that the epilogues don't offer. i think it's pretty clever - it does a great job of using the medium. also, it's about jade :) may or may not have had an impact of some size on how i personally read jade.

AU Fics

Crossfire by HappiKatt (gen; dave)

ok, this series only contains one fic (for now). it's called "the calm is terrifying when the storm is all you've known." ok i literally could not put this fic down. it has the best hook i've ever seen. a proper fucking novel. and some of the best character writing i have EVER seen for the whole strilonde family. augh it's so good. and the art is really good too (YES IT'S ILLUSTRATED).

The Eurydice Suite by callmearcturus [E] (gen; davekat)

inception au. some of the coolest action and plot stuff with an ensemble cast i've ever read followed by the best davekat fic i've ever read. really cool stuff.

Catacombs by oxfordRoulette [E] (jadekat; dirkjohn)

another series. it's a d&d-like au. very tongue in cheek about this fact at times. the real draw here is the third fic in the series, Vanitas Vanitatum, which has stellar dirk and john writing. you could read it on its own, but the first two fics are also QUITE good, are about jadekat, and the second one sets up vanitas beautifully, so... you should read all three??? :3c

Miscellaneous

Homestuck Made This World by Ranged Touch (analysis)

hsmtw is a readthrough/analysis podcast whose goal is not to analyze homestuck on its own terms, but to challenge it and put it back into its historical context. it's not the easiest to listen to as a homestuck fan - the hosts are very critical at times, and i don't always agree with their opinions on things that happen in homestuck - but i think the analysis about what homestuck does, tries to do, and is responding to is very important, especially for people who weren't there for homestuck's original run. which... includes me! i read homestuck in 2014. i missed most of the most important homestuck historical moments. in any case, hsmtw changed the way i look at homestuck and other media. highly recommend, at the very least for understanding homestuck's historical context

Sugoi Quest for Kokoro by death420 (gen)

well well well well well well. well. 🤔 well. if it isn't ratchet and fuckin CLANK

DORITOS & FRITOS by bb-panzu (davejade)

good video. has davejade. i'm not an artist or anything but i think there's some kind of artistic genius happening here. it scratches my brain just right.

[jourke-rourke]

alright let's go

all knockouts in SyFy's Dark Matter (2015): an analysis

Characters were operationally defined as knocked out if one of the following occurred: (a) they were visibly unconscious, (b) they were stated to be unconscious, (c) they were knocked to the ground and remained silent and unmoving for an extended period of time while the scene continued around them, or (d) they temporarily died.

The term 'knockout event' is used for any instance when a character is knocked out. If two or more characters were knocked out by the same source within a few seconds of each other, this counts as a single event.

Under this definition, there were a total of 84 knockouts occurring across 62 separate events, for an overall average of 2.15 knockouts per episode.

Here's a (corrected) line graph showing the knockouts per episode. The vertical gridlines divide the show into the three seasons. S1E13 (season 1 finale) and S2E4 (time loop episode) are tied for total knockouts at 8 apiece, but S2E4 takes the cake for most knockout events.

As you can see, S1E1 is quite violent, but the remainder of S1 is relatively calm up until the season finale, when everybody was clearly trying to get their last hits in before the clock ran out.

Here's the table showing the overall causes in descending order of frequency. It's important to note that 'Fist' here for violence is a catch-all for 'blunt force trauma inflicted by hand', not necessarily an actual punch. If you want more details on the specific categorization, look under the cut at the end.

Here's a heatmap showing how often each character gets knocked out by each cause- as you can see, Three certainly wins in terms of number of knockouts. My man gets punched out so many times I actually had to change the default value mapping so that the other squares would still be distinguishable from each other.

alternate way to visualize character KOs. Hats off to Nyx for getting knocked out half as much as One despite being on the show for similar lengths of time. icon.

Unfortunately, most of the knockouts are by one-time opponents, so there isn't much meaningful analysis to be performed in the way of them knocking each other out. Out of the main crew:

Two deals four knockouts (One, One, Three, Three)

Nyx gets one knockout (Three)

Ryo gets one knockout (Two)

and Three and Six each knock themselves out once, which I suppose counts.

Honorable mention of course goes to Solara, the most frequent concussion dealer to the main cast, who takes out Three five times in one episode.

god help them all. their brains cannot be faring well. No wonder Three is always the last to wake up after getting knocked unconscious- he's accumulated So many concussions and I can say from experience those things rack up.

honestly maybe three used to be way smarter and more level-headed and then it just got bonked out of him.

some more details & link to download the dataset under the cut

For the purposes of analysis, Nyx was counted as a crew member due to her presence for an entire season. Devon, Arax, and Solara were not due to their much shorter stays on board.

Neural imprint Portia, Boone, and Ryo were counted as instances of Two, Three, and Four, but AU Portia & Boone were not.

Internal is a catch-all for when the primary cause of unconsciousness is internal to a character. This catches things like seizures, memory issues, and anything regarding nanites.

Environmental covers events when a character was knocked unconscious by an environmental issue that was not deliberately orchestrated for that purpose.

External covers events when a character was deliberately knocked unconscious, but not through violence or injury. This mostly covers area stunners (like electric traps, knockout gas, and AU Truffault's flasher).

Violence covers events when one character deliberately knocks another character unconscious through violent injury. Blunt force trauma from unarmed strikes or handheld items are grouped together into 'fist.'

Notable edge cases:

Two smashing One in the head with her gun in S1E13 is classified as a knockout because he went down, did not seem to move or react for a few seconds, and was visibly disoriented and unable to walk unassisted afterwards. However, he was out of frame, so it's unclear if he was actually knocked unconscious.

The electricity burst that knocked Two unconscious in S2E10 after the evil android sim disabled power regulation was classified as environmental (electricity), but an argument could be made for an AOE stunner classification

The stun blasts that take out Three and Four in S2E7 are classified as a single event, because they occur within a few seconds from identical weapons wielded by the same group of opponents. However, they were technically two different assailants.

Three getting thrashed by the Ferrous goons in S2E13 is classified as Violence (Fist), although they did use metal pipes as well.

Ash choking out Three in S3E4 is classified as a knockout by Violence (Fist), although it's not entirely clear if Three was knocked unconscious or if Adrian knocking Ash unconscious reset the loop and Three would otherwise have been fine.

Link to download dataset if you want to do anything with it yourself:

if you do happen to download it and spot any errors, let me know!! also if that link doesn't work or if you want it in a different file format, I can figure out a different way to share it.