#yes basically that scene in Stardust

[jibril-thelibraryangel]

Okay but imagine THE Shadowgast confession happens with Caleb venting about his feelings to fish Essek, figuring that he’s a fish with an intelligence of 3 and doesn’t even look like he’s paying attention, so he might as well say it now in case he doesn’t get a chance later.

Then of course Essek comes back and he REMEMBERS

[kybercrystals94]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 75

2. What's your total Ao3 word count? 92,568

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently, Star Wars (mostly Bad Batch); however, I've written for a lot of TV shows over the years. (I prefer TV shows over movies simply because I can get to know the characters better and have a better feel for them when writing)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

1. Unconventionally Easy (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) - a pre-Order 66 story about a mission gone awry for the Batch. 2. I Miss You (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) - Echo finds an unexpected message from a brother. 3. Regroup (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) - Tech and Omega have to leave Hunter and Wrecker behind when a job for Cid goes sideways. 4. Just Sit With Me (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) - A Cadet Batch fic featuring young Crosshair and Tech. 5. Resilient (Star Wars: The Bad Batch) - Echo struggles with his PTSD.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! It's one of my favorite parts of writing fan fiction!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? This one is really hard since I did Whumptober and Febuwhump and Angstpril 😅 I'd have to say maybe Haunting Failures or Sick Day (although my readers would probably choose different ones).

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably the Stardust Conspiracy or Detail Work.

8. Do you get hate on fics? In other fandoms, I have...I have yet to experience hate in this fandom.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I don't read or write or watch it...not my thing.

10. Do you ever write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I haven't really written any...but I did kinda play with the idea of writing a Psych and Bones crossover 😂 I was gonna call it The Psychic in the Capital.

11. ?? (there was no question for #11...so I'll just say....nothing, I guess)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I am aware of, but that would be so cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Kind of! I wrote Where Fears Are Born & When Fears Are Faced as companion pieces of @just-here-with-my-thoughts' fic Phobia. And then @just-here-with-my-thoughts wrote a couple cute companion pieces for The Stardust Conspiracy! (Find the Stardust collection here!)

14. What's your all time favorite ship? Kanan and Hera 🥰😭

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Mmmmm...I don't know. Any WIPs I have chapters posted for I have plans to finish...the ones slowly dying in my folder, however...😅

There's a Fives Survives AU I've been writing where he's actually the one who finds and rescues Omega from Kamino that I would really like to see through.

16. What are your writing strengths? I love character studies, so I feel like that really helps my writing!

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I hate writing action scenes...and I tend to lean heavily on dialogue.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic? The only time I've used "another language" in a fic is when I have clones use Mando'a words...but they don't usually use full sentences.

19. First fandom you wrote for? When I was an early teen I wrote for the Disney show Pair of Kings. 😂 However, I think I deleted the story after a couple of days...the first fandom I stuck to for a bit of time and still have stories floating around out there was Bonanza.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Basically any story I've written with the boys as cadets. They All Fall Down is probably one of my favorites, just because it reminds me so much of growing up with siblings. I also loved writing the Stardust Conspiracy.

Thank you for tagging me, @the-little-moment! This was so fun!!

Is it possible to tag all my moots?? Because I wanna see all your answers...(**cough**cough**if you've read this far, consider yourself TAGGED)

[saturn-sends-hugs]

ok, this has been burning a hole in my notes app and i’m just gonna send it out there:

Why (i think) the Finale was Like That:

to preface, if you liked the finale, good for you!! that’s totally valid and i’m not trying to bash that. but i know a lot of people were left wanting more, and i’m one of them. anyway, to my point:

as silly as it sounds, this show is not written for us.

we’re fans. the producers already know we’re gonna watch the show. they don’t need to convince us to give them our attention, they already have it. why waste time digging into random side characters in the larger Star Wars saga when the average person doesn’t even know who that is?

their real job is to convince outsiders to watch. to get hooked. to see an element they like, probably from the main movies, and tune in, even for one episode. if they can get them hooked with fennec or ventress or hell even rex, that’s a win for them.

the plot lines wrap up in such an unsatisfying way because honestly? they cant waste time focusing more on these characters than they have to. the people writing and designing the show might love them and want to include more meaningful resolutions, but that takes too long and costs too much money. you know what’s cheaper and will satisfy the average viewer? kill the mystery clones, cut off the “trauma hand”, and wrap it all up in a nice little “look, she’s joining the rebellion, guys!” moment because the more bland and broad the ending, the more people will understand it.

i mean, remember the Fives mention? Echo didn’t react, he didn’t even stutter, he literally moved the conversation along like they were talking about where to go for dinner like HELLO. we already know they cannot be bothered to show real important emotional scenes because that would take too much spotlight away from the whole star wars politics plot or whatever were supposed to care about. (honestly, who is watching bad batch for the og trilogy implications? woah tarkin and a couple other empire dudes are talking about project stardust definitely gimme more of that and not any meaningful connection between these characters i love)

it’s scummy, it sucks, it especially kills me that the story is basically lost to corporate greed but let’s be honest, this is Disney’s Star Wars. i could literally just leave it there. meaningful moments will always be sacrificed for shock value and character cameos because the random guy seeing an ad is only gonna watch the show if he thinks “oh cool, tarkin, i didn’t know he was in that show, maybe i should see what that’s about.”

and yes, i know, there absolutely is a ton of love and care poured into this show. i appreciate the effort that went into it. i’m just sad they didn’t have full creative freedom under Disney to give us the story we wanted.

but you know who won’t sacrifice story for money? you know who’s guaranteed to have the fans’ interests in mind? you know who does have full creative freedom and is equally pissed about bad show moments and want to do them better? FANFIC AUTHORS. Fan artists, theorists, even roleplay accounts and every other type of dedicated fandom blog is here for that shit and will reshape things however they want a million different ways because that’s the point. the show simply cannot give us what we want, but we can make it ourselves.

your support, your creativity, and your determination to give these characters what they deserve is how we can solve the problem.

i didn’t really mean to turn all “we’re all in this together” here lol but yknow what i really do mean that. i think supporting the community around you is the best option we have for truly enjoying all of this show’s potential.

tagging a few people cause i value your input!! and let’s be honest i’m probably leaving a few things out that you might be able to expand on: @the-bi-space-ace @inkstainedhandswithrings @phantom-of-the-501st

[roman-roy-apologist]

I feel like ive seen you mention Beard being imploed/canonically queer and I would LOVE to hear about it i am 100% here for it but I have not noticed it for myself!

AHDJSJDJ ok yes ofc i’d love to talk about this and i’m also going to use this as an excuse to talk about the show’s (previously) hidden queerness

a large part of beard’s persona is he dates a lot and is a sort of sexual deviant whatever that means. like when he mentioned being paid to bite people. him fucking/dating men would be the most boring thing about his sex life

he danced in a bar called ‘man city’ in college. i think that speaks for itself

idk if you’ve seen the latest episode yet so if you haven’t umm spoilers ahead but at the end he gets out of a car with a bunch of dutch guys dressed fully as david bowie full makeup ziggy stardust outfit and all. as i’m sure you know bowie’s a major queer icon, implying beard’s queerness

and now for my thoughts about how queerness was always a part of this show but they only explicitly included it this season

keeley’s comments about wanting to fuck rebecca but especially the line ‘dip my toe back into the lady pool’ specifically using the word ‘back’

colin’s grindr comment and keeley’s reaction to it. firstly, his comment was clearly setting up queerness specifically for queer audiences. many straight viewers would just shrug the scene off as a joke even if they did know what grindr was but queer people are always aware of small displays of queerness with ties into keeley’s reaction to the scene looking slightly confused and then almost like she had a realization tying their queerness together

trent in the bg with a guy in the bar in s2 ep7 right before he asks for a comment from ted. the way he talks to the man and touches his arm even if only for a few seconds looks like they are ‘more than friends,’ which again is something only queer people would pick up on which (and here’s where it gets speculative) mirrors in some ways the scene with colin and keeley, as in queer people recognize others queerness and he is around ted who i believe to be bisexual basically for no other reason than i think it would be neat but i still believe that trent likes ted romantically for a number of reasons that i’m not going to get into but i could make a separate post if you’re interested in that

[27-royal-teas]

hiii do you wanna talk about any of your WIPs? your writing is really good, I'd love to hear what you've been thinking about lately if you want to share

YES OMG. currently im immersed in working on a fanfic of @/silvernyxa’s pjofob au— its one of my FAVORITE THINGS EVER and she has so much lore for it, every time i see it it makes me so happy— it’s basically fob but percy jackson ified. it’ll be great. currently im not writing it on a linear timeline like i normally do im writing it in scene bursts that im interested in that way ill (hopefully) keep up the motivation to actually yk, finish it. it’ll be multichaptered, with slash, but the ships definitely aren’t the main part of the story— it’ll be more gen than anything. im not gonna spoil it bc. yeah. but once i get enough to have abt half the fic written ill start posting it!!! in the meantime go check out nyxa’s pjofob tag, all her stuff is so so good.

other than that— I’m a bit one-track-mind rn— ive been working on my red thread au, which im definitely not gonna finish, but it’s still fun; the reincarnation au, which im still figuring out the logistics of, and an analysis essay of how Folie and Stardust are sister albums and also rock operas, which I work on whenever I’m bored and focused. ive been pretty busy lately, and since I switched semesters I don’t get as much classtime to write anymore (very sad) and my schedule is only gonna pick up, so probably no new fics for a bit :(( I’m so so so glad and honored you liked my writing enough to ask me about it, though!!! it makes me so happy that you decided to pop into my inbox :33

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

Trigger Warning: Implied suicide attempt I came up with a scenario on how my Jojo OC Medea King meets DIO and gets tempted by him... I mean, what do you expect? He does this every time there's a Stand user nearby. This took me all day and night to come up with this so forgive me if this is late. Anyways, The story here takes place in December 1987, a year before the events of Stardust Crusaders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Medea King and her now ex-boyfriend Jason Lennon had a very nasty breakup because of the latter's actions, which resulted in her loosing self-control and beating him to an inch of his life with her Stand Flogging Molly(which at the time she believed was a Irish faerie and didn't have a name), he survived but had to be taken to the hospital for his injuries.

The resulting fallout caused Medea to get expelled from her dream collage and had to be sent to live with her maternal Grandparents in Cork, Ireland to protect her from the media and Jason's family. Losing her childhood sweetheart and chances of ever getting a degree in Archaeology had sent Medea into a very bitter depression. 2 weeks later, it was nighttime and Medea runs off to Blarney Castle to be alone, there she contemplated on throwing herself off the castle roof much to Flogging Molly's horror.

When she tried to climb the walls though, she finds herself back on the castle roof, she tried again only to end up back on the roof again, this surprised her and her Stand greatly when she heard a voice behind her asking why is she doing something so reckless, that's where DIO makes the scene. Thrown off by his beautiful appearance at first, she asks if he's going to kill her, he refuses, saying that she had a wonderful gift that she should share with him and that killing her would be a waste. 

Medea tells him to screw off and that she just wants to be left alone, he steps forward instead and she tries punching him, only for him to "disappear" and whisper behind her, this went on for a minute before Flogging Molly starts punching out in frustration, he catches that fist and tells her that he's amused but her Stand could've done better. She asks what a Stand was and he reveals Flogging Molly's real identity of being one and how it came to be, as well as there being more Stand users in the world besides both of them. 

He promises to show her his Stand if she agreed to join him on his conquests, she refuses to be apart of his plans, especially because he's a guy. He asks if it was because of her fallout with Jason, this surprised her because she never told him her ex's name and asks how he knew... That's when DIO seized the moment to use his manipulation tactics on her: He tells her that he's been watching her ever since she first arrived in Ireland and knew of her past before presenting her a crystal ball, she takes the ball and he activates it using "the Passion".

The crystal ball showcases her childhood and love life, all the while he tells her how he understood her pain and suffering, going on about how he had a brother he loved dearly before he "betrayed" him in the past and how it took him years to recover from the trauma(yes, he respects Jonathan as an equal, but is still willing to paint him as the bad guy). This caused Medea to breakdown crying, she mourns how she had loved Jason with all her heart and how she had poured her heart to him only for him to reject it for his greed, she also mentioned it was thanks to him that her life and reputation is basically ruined because she cannot become an archaeologist or return to America without facing retribution, and doesn't know what to do with her life now.

Now that he has her wrapped around his finger, he "comforts" her and tells her not to cry anymore, he promises her that her suffering will end if she chooses to join him and give her Stand more power in hopes of ruining Jason's life like how he ruined hers. Finally, after thinking long and hard about this, she accepts his proposal. Satisfied, he gives her an envelope with the name "DIO" on it, he tells her that he can't get her over to Egypt since they can't be seen together, she's going to have to make her way over. 

She asks if he's going to protect her from retribution if anyone from America found out about her, he promises before leaving into the darkness. After she returned to her Grandparent's home, she looks inside the envelope to see what's inside, it contains the following: 1 set of instructions on how to reach him 1 plane ticket to Cairo, Egypt 1 map of Cairo with his home marked on it 2 photos, one of his mansion and one of his gatekeeper Pet Shop 1 Tarot card, representing "The World" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Medea King belongs to me

[cassyapper]

14 and 16 for the ask thingy please

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LATE BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKING <333

ask game

14. how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

hmm good question...

when writing emotinal scenes i do my best to stick with the show not tell and honestly, i do this by relying most of physical sensation, like things the five sense can register, or by using metaphors that pique the five senses, such as the burning chest stuff i always like to use when displaying anger.

i always feel what the characters feel when writing any scene not just emotional scenes and this is part of why it takes me so long to write the intermissions of wwm/ta, cause kakyoin is just so damn miserable every single scene and it genuinely depresses me cause i have to get into his head space 😭

also yes i draw from personal experience <3 a good example was how kakyoin's anger builds in the first chapter of wwm/ta, how it starts lukewarm but gets hotter, and how he starts physically sweating as a result of it, how he feels like he's choking, etc. all experiences i've also had with anger. i thinkit adds a layer so it's fun <3

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them?

i'm gonna combine wwm/ta and it's sequel and epilogue into one idea for purpose of this buuut

the number of ideas that i'm seriously nurturing clocks out to fourrr i think. i have a lot of other little ideas that i'd like to write down some day but im not stressed if i dont, but these four i'm absolutely gonna do even if it takes me until im 30

one of the ideas is basically an au of stardust crusaders which would enable me to rewrite the part >:) i dont wanna go too heavily into detail but it's a mix of crusader holly, the crusaders splitting up (not intentionally but it happens) which enables more one-on-one moments between them, and yeah. smiles.

thanks for asking dude im sorry it took so long to answer </3

[foxydivaxx]

More Actor Dio headcanons

Trigger warning: mentions of suicide

- Dio went through a painful divorce when Phantom Blood was in the works

- His ex-wife gave him cake as a fake peace offering. Said cake was laced with poison and almost killed Dio. She got imprisoned for that

- That incident scarred Dio and made him swear off love and women. He still shot the rest of his scenes but after that, he straight up went on hiatus.

- He did not do promotion rounds due to his crippling mental health at the time

- He tried committing suicide by shooting himself in the head and was rushed to hospital for treatment. The irony is that this is exactly what happens to Eren Jaeger years later

- Jonathan halted his plans and he and his brothers did all they could just to make sure Dio was alive. Dio owes a debt to Jonathanand always thanks him

- Jonathan calls Dio Baby bro in real life because he behaves that way towards him

- Dio survives thankfully but is a complete mess. Jonathan gets him a therapist and that helped him heal from the trauma

- The fans send gifts to his family for him, a gesture that he was first paranoid about but soon accepts

- His kids visited him every day. They were all in tears because they love their dad so much and hate to see him get hurt

- Dario and Diego always remind him that he is loved and Helena makes sure that her son eats

- Once Dio is released from hospital, he learns to start loving and taking better care of himself.

- It is around this time that he begins to work out relentlessly and the now sexy DIO body is born

- Dio actually used to believe that he was not attractive or sexy thanks to his evil ex-wife. Now he knows better.

- He creates an Instagram account and begins to show off his body. Everyone’s jaws dropped because no one expected Dio to be that hot. Jonathan comments that he loves his newfound confidence whilst Jotaro admits that he envies Dio, especially with that sexy ass. Dio just laughs

- Jonathan then announces a dual Jojo project and immediately asks Dio if he wants to return. Dio immediately says yes.

- Jonathan then asks Dio to come over to his house and it was there that he meets Kars

- Many agree that his relationship with Kars is a blessing because Dio is much happier and healthier nowadays

-When he and Jonathan spoke privately about Stardust Crusaders, some of the things we see with his character like the shirtless scenes and flamboyance came from Dio himself. Since he has a hot body, he figured that now would be perfect timing to show it off. He basically recalled his model years and put it to good practice. The other reason is to tease Kars xD

- He loved working with Jotaro a lot because he is fun personified

- Jotaro keeps on asking Dio for dating advice because he is trying to ditch the playboy lifestyle

- Dio grew out his hair and prefers it that way

- He always chases after Jotaro because that boy is mischievous xD

- Jotaro always pranks Dio out of love

- Dio’s sexy catwalk is a shoutout to his model years

- He became Calvin Klein’s brand ambassador and the sexy shoot got loads of attention for putting Dio’s body on display

- Dio’s nickname on-set: Greek God because of his looks and hot body. The media and fans have started calling him that plus Adonis

- Dio often touches himself and that was how he got Kars to fuck him for the first time

- Animal motifs: cats. Dio is often compared to a cat because of how adorable he is

- His iconic Dio voice is how he talks normally but the character has a more sinister, malevolent, sensual and terrifying vibe

- His fave scene: His final battle with Jotaro especially the iconic Road Roller scene. He laughed when he saw that in the script and questioned Jonathan’s sanity

- He is outspoken about mental health

- He acts tsundere around Jotaro but he cares about him

[mangodestroyer]

Yes! It can be helpful to see someone else talk about the works of various authors. Like I said, I do think about these things, but I personally find it difficult to analyze all of this in a more sophisticated way. I have studied various techniques for creative writing. I've seen so many people analyze works. I've visited sources like Fiction University (which I found life-changing). I do try to think about my own stories and look over them a lot. But for some reason, I can only ever get a feel for certain things. There are just certain parts of the process I struggle to articulate.

Truth is... I'm just not sure if I can do any of this "correctly." I know there are tons of ways to write a story. Everyone has different methods and all that. For me personally, I feel like my writing turns out better if I just let it flow out onto the page. Maybe think about it before or after. And even if the story can be dark and cynical, I feel like I still need to have light-hearted, humorous, or borderline unhinged scenes just to make it "fun." I also like writing exposition in a way that feels conversational at times. Like I said, I feel like all along, maybe Pratchett was more up my alley than anything else I've read. The moment I read the first few pages, I thought, "Was this what I was aiming for with my writing all along?" I mean... I definitely don't write like Pratchett. But damn if his voice doesn't resonate with me! It just kind of helped with my writing confidence as well. Feeling less weird about liking the style I tend to gravitate toward.

I just didn't get that feeling with Stardust. Everyone told me it was an amazing book. Tbh, I do think there are aspects of it that can be fun (and my current longfic idea does vaguely take inspiration, it's just a very changed and much darker story). But... not quite like the first book of Harry Potter levels of fun when you're reading it as a child. It's a clear example of the hero's journey, so probably a good book for learning the three acts and pacing (something I had a lot more struggles with back in the day). However, there was a part of me that felt bad for finding aspects of it boring. I thought at the time that maybe I wasn't getting it. The characters seemed emotionless and lacked personality. Same with the prose. Because I put up with so much emotional abuse growing up, I did worry that maybe my characters were too strange and emotional (things I was often told I was). So maybe characters who talk the same way and hardly react are more appealing? I was starting to feel pressured to write my works in a way I didn't enjoy. I've had so many works pushed at me with characters and prose I didn't enjoy. I thought maybe I lacked a knack for writing because I didn't see the appeal of popular characters and writing styles.

Again, I will be rereading it. See if it's the same as I remember it. But more importantly, I will try to be engaging in far more media. And will read more books from various authors. Aside from Pratchett, who else am I missing out on who might also resonate with me? So many works I set aside because I thought liking them meant I didn't have good enough taste.

I plan on finishing up Mort soon. Tbh, it feels like I flew right through everything I've read so far, so it probably won't take much longer. I have other Discworld books as well. And... so many more on the way! I basically already own a quarter of the series. Not that I meant to get carried away like that. After looking into what the series was about, and reading what I read of Mort, I just knew I'd be super into it.

Okay I lied I do have something else to say about the neil gaiman allegations

Do NOT drag Terry Prachett into this. I haven’t seen anyone do so myself yet, but I’m sure someone probably will and it disgusts me.

And also, stop giving neil all the credit for everything. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that the GO fandom gives neil WAY too much credit. I’m even guilty of this. But it isn’t right and it absolutely isn’t fair to Terry Prachett or anyone else who was worked so hard on the show. People only give neil so much credit because he is alive to answer questions about GO and talk about how it was written while Terry Prachett unfortunately no longer can.

Sorry that this isn’t very well articulated it just was something that came to mind and made me very upset. Hope this makes sense.

[girlpetrarca]

Mind you, I'm all down for gay pirates, I just think we shouldn't forget our origins...

(Robert De Niro as Captain Shakespeare in the movie Stardust 2007)

[scratches-and-spasms]

Aaaaand as promised, I did switch AU!Jotaro. (Any of you still in shock? Whoops.)

This was...really fun to imagine and draw. Less fun when your laptop is slow as hell. Full redesigns here (Joseph's in there for lulz)

Drawn and edited in both Paint Tool SAI and Adobe Photoshop CS6

[angryschnauzer]

I wonder what henrys reaction would be to you watching a film he's in but you didn't know he was in it before you started watching.

Since you'd moved in with Henry there were some basic ground 'rules' or agreements put in place, mostly so that when you were both there and not off on filming schedules you didn't get under each others feet. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but spending every free second with someone can drive a person insane. It was agreed that one night a week Henry had unlimited time to play games on his PC and you could watch whatever you wanted on TV, no matter how trashy, scary, or corny it was. Anything from 'reality' shows that were hyped for the cameras to old movies, after all thanks to Henry's Netflix contract he had unlimited worldwide access to their entire catalogue with no location restrictions.

Tonight was no different. In between jobs, the house was clean and tidy, Kal walked and now snoring in the hallway, Henry had pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose as you'd made your way into separate rooms, the whirr of Henry's PC starting up louder than the Dun Dun of Netflix loading. Scrolling through the titles that had been recommended based on your recent views, you spied an older movie from well over a decade ago, and upon checking the brief bio you saw it had the guy from the Marvel show you liked and also the other dude from the show where everyone was doing magic and it all seemed quite Russian.

An hour into the movie you were entranced, staring at the screen as the story about the fallen star had captured your attention completely, not even noticing the noises from the room next door had stopped until Henry had come sit next to you;

"What you watch... Oh, Stardust"

Henry would regularly trot back and forth from the kitchen to his gaming room to get drinks and snacks, but he never usually stopped to watch with you.

"Yeah, i've never seen it, but it was recommended to me"

"Never seen it?" he enquired; "Oh..."

An hour later the movie was starting to conclude its various plot lines, and in slower moments you would comment about how much the actors had gone onto bigger projects.

"Yeah, there's a few familiar faces in there" Henry agreed

"Charlie Cox has done Daredevil and loads on stage in the West End"

"Uh-huh"

"And right at the start Ben Barnes played Tristan's Dad, he's really done well with Shadow & Bone. And of course Claire Danes was amazing in Homeland"

"Right... anyone else?" he asked, but you shushed him where it was one of the final scenes, a young Sienna Miller as Victoria sitting in the crowd as her beau Humphrey smiled and winked. There was something... something familiar... you squinted at the screen before turning your head slowly, Henry grinning like an absolute fool from the other end of the sofa. Your eyes darted back and forth between him and Humphrey before you were back on Henry and he did the same wink and smile.

You stood quickly, the gasp that filled your lungs seemed to be endless;

"NO!"

Henry laughed; "Yes"

"YOU ARE NOT FUCKING HUMPHREY"

He reached out and grabbed you, pulling you onto his lap;

"Technically, you are fucking Humphrey"

You scrambled for the remote to rewind and pause it, looking back and forth between the screen and your boyfriend;

"You're Humphrey. Oh my god, i literally watched the whole movie and didn't even figure it out!"

"Well, it was a particularly awful wig and fake moustache"

"But... still... I thought i'd seen your entire back catalogue!"

"I guess not" he pressed a kiss to your nose before his hands started to wander beneath your t-shirt; "It was pre-Tudors, it was filmed close to two decades ago, i've changed a bit"

You smiled and ran your fingertips over the greying hairs on his temples and in his beard; "Yeah, you've gotten more handsome"

"Why thank you. But promise me one thing"

"Sure"

"Don't bother with Laguna, its the absolute worst. Its two hours of your life you'll never get back" he paused for a moment; "And probably the same for Hellraiser and Blood Creek"

You laughed;

"Too late, i've seen both of those"

Henry did a fake exagerated sigh; "Really?"

"Oh definitely, but they were pure gratuitious viewing, younger you was delicious"

"And now older me?"

"Is a whole damn meal" the credits started to roll and Henry stood with you in his arms; "Now take me to bed and let me enjoy that meal"

[articianne]

spoiler thoughts i guess? pretty damn long

things i enjoyed:

magnifico (he was pretty much the entire highlight for me)

the storybook art style (i know that was a point of contention with a fair amount of watchers)

most of the songs. i think the one with the chickens was unnecessary, but it's fine.

i do admit having "at all costs" on loop at this very moment

valentino was basic but honestly, all things considered, he did make me laugh sometimes!

star was very cute

the climax on the castle...roof.... (?) was very cool. enjoyed how the stardust concept came full circle. i wish it went differently, but for what it was, i enjoyed it

things i was apathetic to and/or disliked:

full of shallow characters—everyone (yes, including magnifico) is like.....60% of the characters they could be. there's some really weird untapped potential that was sorely missed for me

asha isn't a compelling character

neither is magnifico. not that he has to be, because he's quickly set up as 1D villain by the 15 or 20 minute mark. that's probably why, of everyone, i enjoyed him the most. he's weirdly set up with some sort of tragic backstory—which could have meant a lot, he could have had his own wish to bring back his family, but it should have been made impossible, thus him turning to forbidden magic or capturing Star or whatever, idfk!!!! . but it's quickly given up, and the movie embraced him being the "classic" villain. unhinged chris pine was why i watched Wish to begin with. his villainy is confusing, a) cuz he goes from 0-100 in like two minutes, and b) since he seemed to be Villain-ing enough without the Forbidden Green Magic for him to cross any "threshold" in my mind. rather than having some taboo book that tempted him for 1 scene before he gave in (cue "say no to this" from hamilton), i think he should've just... done it himself. if he's some extremely learned sorcerer who bans everyone else from doing magic and who already has an evil dungeon lair under his study, i don't think a book is gonna stop him. he should've just.....revealed his true colors (cough. green) on his own.

back to asha, i just wish there was more to her. she's introduced as a 17 yr old girl who wants to become magnifico's apprentice so she can ask him to grant her grandfather's wish. this is gonna sound mean, but i don't think she has her own passion. we see so many other disney princesses with their passions/hobbies. ariel and learning about humans. tiana and cooking. cinderella and fashion. but asha just exists for literally the plot of the wishes. she also gives tours? i'm not sure what she does with that? like is it a job or some sort of internship with the castle? . edit: apparently she draws. which makes this worse lmfao. they mentioned it for 2 seconds in the beginning of the movie along with her dead dad and magnifico's backstory, and all of those bits were never picked up again. so i literally just forgot she can draw.

i spent the first half of the movie annoyed that she didn't put in more effort to become magnifico's apprentice at the beginning. i mean, idk. study magic in private if it's forbidden (a classic disney move) but again, she doesn't seem to have a passion or hobby like that, unless i missed something. like, if my family's happiness was hinging on this, i'd be pulling out all the stops to land whatever this is.

that leads me to my weird sensation of the ending feeling unearned to me. magic was banned or whatever, and the movie makes a big deal about asha sucking at it. yet she becomes fairy godmother pretty damn easily, thanks to star. i don't really care about the outcome—asha can definitely become the fairy godmother, peter can get his wish of becoming peter pan, idk whatever—but i go back to magnifico working his ass off to become a sorcerer while asha is handed insane power after, idk, 1 day. . magic has zero rules in this movie (don't get me started on the whole wish granting business). for a girl with like no other passion outside of "free the wishes!", i was genuinely surprised at that outcome

amaya should've been evil

or she should've done something outside of He's No Longer the Man I Married. like, know that his obsession with having his kingdom rely on his power is wrong, but be there for him anyway. or be in denial. or see his paranoid descent into madness and warn asha herself, rather than have asha do it.

u could not ask me to name asha's friends. i wouldn't be able to tell u.

it was mostly character/plot stuff that bugged me, but tbh the film was weirdly short. 15 more minutes at least would've been a huge help

so tldr i say "magnifico should've won" but i say that because i just wanted more of him, since no one else clicked with me. still some banger songs tho

magnifico should've won

[elionwriter]

SONIC ORIGINS: REDEFINING THE CANON

The new cutscenes from the game and the Anniversary mode that ties all 4 main titles together were the things I really enjoyed the most out of Origins (beyond the fact that you can re-try the special stage levels!!! Can I get a wahoo?). Of course this brought about a little bit of retconing but it wasn't really anything major and it was just a really nice way to redefine the classic age as it has been envisioned in the modern era.

WHY IS SONIC CD SO PROMINENT?

One of the things I was shocked to read so much around was people feeling confused as to why Sonic CD was elevated to major mainline game on par with 1-2-3. And the only answer I have for that is: BECAUSE IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN?!?!

The fact that CD has been up till recent years criminally ignored and underrated doesn't mean it wasn't always meant to be a main title of the bit era. It certainly has all the trappings of one! From the first ever animated cutscenes to the first complex story, the incredible level design and original score and most importantly the introduction of two main characters, Sonic CD is just as iconic as the other games. To those saying Metal Sonic and Amy had too much screen time in the cutscenes when they are hardly relevant characters in the classic era, HOW?!?!?!

Amy is literally one of the most recurring characters ever, yes, even in the old games, even though she is not a playable character in CD ( she should have had a mode made for her in the collection though😤😠) and has a small role in Drift, Drift 2, Fighters and R. Metal Sonic was literally Sonic's first big 'not Eggman' rival. The race between them in Stardust Speedway is one of the most iconic moments in the saga's history! I am honestly so grateful for Origins finally giving this game its due.

A TEAM OF FOUR

The idea that the classic adventures go beyond the main games and the characters have many more untold stories is something that the comics (both Archie and IDW) and the Mania Adventures shorts have been really pushing forward in recent years. So it really just makes sense to me that Origins sanctified and canonised it.

(If you haven't yet, do yourself a pleasure and pick up Archie's 2 Sonic Mega Drive issues, IDW'S 'Seasons of Chaos' and the second 'Free comic book Day' issue. One of my greatest regrets is that Archie never managed to publish the final number of the mini-series)

The idea that the final cut scene is basically a set up for those future, untold adventures feels really good! Not only does it open up the opportunity to new, classic inspired games like Mania or a series (be it comic books or animation) in which old characters can re-live and be re-used like the hooligans and Mighty and Ray, but it also creates an interesting and in some ways new overarching plot for these games:

IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE CARDS

It's always been a well known fact that Amy foretold her meeting with Sonic and has been in love with him ever since. But the final cut scene from CD adds a new, beautiful twist to the story.

As Amy sets her cards again, she draws out a card which quite clearly represents friendship, a double tail and finally a chaos emerald or the master emerald.

If one wants to interpret it in the most basic way, it just sets the scene for Sonic 2. But going in a bit deeper and interpreting the last card as a symbol for Knuckles as the second card is clearly one for Tails, then that means that Amy foretells everything that will happen in the next games and that Sonic is set to meet both his future friends. Amy smiles as she sees Sonic fly away in his plane and this time doesn't try to follow. Why? Because she knows that he has things to do and people to meet and that they will all eventually come together as a team, as seen exactly in Origin's finale.

I just find it very sweet that in this perspective not just Amy and Sonic but Tails and Knuckles too are all bonded together by fate. In the long history of Sonic's adventures this interpretation sets 1-2-3 and CD as, well, just that, an origin of how fate brought these four characters together against Eggman.

If Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Eggman are indeed all bonded together by destiny then that is a very good 'in universe' explanation of why all of them have pretty much the same thing going on in most adaptations (Well, all the modern ones anyway). It was just meant to be!

I wonder if Sonic Prime, which is meant to deal with a multiverse of sorts, is going to have a similar reading of their bond or is gonna take things in a different direction.

In any event, till proven dead wrong, this is my new headcanon for these characters! What is yours? Do you agree with this interpretation or think it's too much of a stretch? Let me know and let's discuss it!

[lilyhoshikawa]

jack atlas for the character meme

Overall opinion

Jack’s one of the great rivals in Yugioh to be honest, and it’s kind of a shame how ruined he gets in 5D’s season 2, much like… every other character tbh. What immediately stands out to me is how strongly Jack and Yusei’s rivalry defines the early series. Jack and Yusei have similar backstories and life experiences up to the point where they make a critical decision sending them in opposite directions- for Yusei, deciding to sacrifice his life’s work to save an innocent person, and for Jack, abandoning and betraying his friends for a shot at something better. Then we have the moment of adhesion when the two reconnect, the duel that not only shows us the stark contrast of their new personalities (Jack’s braggadocios pride vs Yusei’s quiet and humble nature) and how well they contrast, peaking with a moment where the series’ central mystery- the mark of the Crimson Dragon- ties them together. On top of all of that, we have the meta level of how Stardust and RDA contrast, an effect that protects vs an effect that destroys. Character information through deck choice- Yusei’s flexible synchron strategy vs Jack’s all-or-nothing power OTK deck. I’d even say that Jack and Yusei have a more promising rivalry early on than the iconic Yugi and Kaiba because it’s established that Jack has beaten Yusei on his own terms early on. We get the feeling that they are genuinely close in skill level and any duel between the two could go either way. Then it all just… goes downhill rapidly. Jack vs Yusei round 2 is one of the best duels in all of 5Ds, but after the Dark Signer arc we only ever get Jack as a punchline and Yusei as the savior of mankind so much stronger and more capable than anyone else that it’s a question as to why any of them are still around and they have to make a 3v3 tournament the center of the plot just to keep Jack and Crow relevant.

Jack’s personality is certainly tough to get right- he’s selfish, proud, and arrogant. But one thing he isn’t is dumb. It’s shown to us early on that Jack thinks and duels on a level comparable to Yusei, down to visual indicators, and that his ability to deal with threats is equal- he beats the same amount of Dark Signers as Yusei does. But Jack is selfish, yes, and it takes significant character development via Carly to establish a connection with others, a desire to reconnect with his former friends. Season 2 promptly throws all of that away and makes Jack a power-obsessed idiot that can’t comprehend a solution to a problem that isn’t “hit thing really hard, backrow be damned” and ramps up his selfishness for comedic effect. The problem with this characterization isn’t just that 5Ds season 2 is lighter in tone- that would be neither better or worse on its own, just different- but that they bend the characters to fit that tone. The scene where Jack and Crow sit around wondering why they’re even here when Yusei handles basically everything and is so much more competent than them is insulting because the joke is based on them having become versions of themselves that aren’t accurate to the characters we first saw and loved. Joking about Jack being a jerk or obsessed with victory is fine, because he is. Joking about how Crow is a crime boy who hates cops is also fine, because that’s what he is. Joking about how they’re both dumb and useless is not fine, because that’s a characterization invented out of nowhere.

I think the interpretation of Jack we get in Arc-V does a way better job of extrapolating where Jack would go in a prospective better version of 5Ds season 2. Jack is still proud, sometimes arrogant, and brash, but he’s also a much better person, more devoted to prosperity for the people who look up to him and being a good teacher and role model. He’s angry, prone to outbursts, and as overdramatic about his favorite card as he ever was, but with the heart and genuine care for others to make him someone admirable. It’s a shame Arc-V has so many problems in its second and third seasons, because I honestly think this version of Jack shines in many of his appearances.

Gender / sexuality

This dude is definitely a bisexual if I’ve ever seen one. I tend to think of him as a cis man who doesn’t really care about gender but transmasc Jack Atlas is great too bc it makes his expressions of manliness into something gender-affirming which is cute.

Favorite moment in canon

I still think Jack vs Carly is probably hands down the best duel in 5Ds, establishing how far Jack has come as a person and giving us a look into who Carly is and what she wants. The final confrontation between Majestic RDA and Ascilla Piscu is beautiful.

Favorite moment in a fan work

To be honest I don’t read too many yugioh fan works, they tend to be fairly hit or miss for me, so I’m politely gonna skip this on, especially given how long I rambled upfront.

Favorite line

There’s really nothing that beats hearing “my very soul! Red dragon archfiend!”

Characters I love seeing them interact with

Obviously I’m a big Carly fan, and I often find myself wishing their relationship had continued to evolve post-Dark Signers, so seeing any time their relationship is further explored is great. I also like seeing him as Yusei’s rival when it’s done well, because again, the way their decks and personalities clash make them some of the most entertaining rivals in yugioh to watch fight each other.

Last thing before bed

Given his obsession with his deck, I can only imagine it’s become something of a ritual for him to give his list a once-over before bed, making sure every card feels right and is in its place, especially as I think he probably sleeps late and doesn’t have time to give it any major tune-ups before his scheduled pro duels.

Sleeping headcanons

Obviously the show itself gives us that meme image of Jack’s gigantic empty room but I think he’s actually got a pretty messy sleeping quarters, lots of cards all over his room in various places, various new product that he’s been pouring over and opening. So I tend to imagine he falls asleep right after going through cards, often having weird dreams about new decks and support for his cards that he wakes up thinking are real for a few minutes before he fully wakes up. Just like. Lots of dreams where they unveil a new RDA monster that’s like, a main deck vanilla, and he wakes up confused and baffled. I speak from having many yugioh dream experiences of my own if u can’t tell dbdjfn.

First thing in the morning

Like I said, I think Jack sleeps late. Wakes up for enough time to get ready, with a cup of coffee or three and plenty of time to make sure his looks are in order- he’s definitely very finicky about his appearance- and then he’s off to the track for his scheduled appearances in duels. He probably skips breakfast most days he has matches scheduled to save up his energy for a post-victory feast. That feels like his sort of thing.

Favorite locations

Jack’s absolutely one of those coffee shop dudes. We see him in canon hanging out at that one café somewhat often but I’m willing to bed he’s got a pretty long list of expensive coffee places he likes to hit up from his time as the King, mostly in Neo Domino, and mostly very high-class pricey type joints that Crow and Yusei get mad at him for going to. Probably spends the whole day there spending tons of money on cup after cup while theorycrafting new decks on a laptop or something. That’s one of the few things I’ll accept from season 2- a love for coffee and ramen feels like a great addition to his character, honestly. Where can I get some RDA instant noodles.

[oughtnots]

i am truly begging for more info on terror/ghost quartet 👀👀

ah thank you for asking!! i'm still piecing it together a bit since there aren't necessarily direct counterparts but some thoughts:

ghost quartet is about cycles of violence. since the pushing of pearl (onto the train tracks. into the river to drown) is so important, i was immediately put in mind of franklin being pushed down the ice hole. but for that we need a rose red equivalent and a thematic motivation. i know it's not sisterhood/brotherhood, but the two captains of the expedition, at odds...?

basically in this au crozier (a crozier in a worse mental state/at the end of his rope) takes the place of rose red and snaps when franklin refuses to send out the rescue expedition. he goes to tuunbaq (who is a more known entity, with silna as its shaman) to ask it to kill franklin, thus starting the "one pot of honey / one piece of stardust / one secret baptism / and a photo of a ghost" circular narrative/quest. but as you know, in the end the bear does not uphold its end of the bargain, and crozier has to take matters into his own hands...

i'm not adhering strictly to all of the cycles of rose being crozier because it doesn't really fit with the terror perfectly and also i want to get more than four characters in here haha. but that's my central idea for now

other miscellaneous thoughts:

- collins as starchild. secret baptism / never have a holy land. struggling to transcend a place of displacement and fear. definitely have some art planned about this.

- goodsir as photographer. there when franklin is pushed. photos of a ghost repeating--daguerreotypes of the murdered. "the photographer has a drink", goodsir drinking the poison.

- fitzjames as astronomer. crozier wants fitzjames's approval/camaraderie but fitzjames sides with franklin to look down on him instead (and yes i could pepper some fitzier in here if i so desired). also the astronomer's song is all about wanting to be a thing of beauty, wanting to do something great and incredible, but "i don't have the time/i don't practice enough" and that insecurity reads very fitzjames to me.

- i really really want to explore silna as tuunbaq's shaman (this is not so much a ghost quartet specific thing but relates to her role here). thinking of how in the book tuunbaq basically breathes through her/uses her as an instrument (yeah i know that scene is actually gross but i'm cutting out all that d*n s*mmons stuff). silna who has cut her tongue out to take her father's place but when tuunbaq wishes to speak through her, it still can. silna/tuunbaq both taking the place of "the bear", together.

- potentially separating the character of the pusher from the man on the platform. plotwise i've set crozier up to be the pusher but "screaming about the apocalypse/screaming that the day of revelation is at hand/reveal it to me right now!" feels like hickey to me. (then again, crozier IS the one ringing alarm bells about the expedition, which is a bit like screaming about the apocalypse.)

- i want to do something with the dead room / house of usher / "we are living in the tomb"

anyway this is all vague and not particularly coherent as of now but i have a lot of thoughts and i'm very excited to do more art about it! i already have some stuff that i haven't posted yet hee hee