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respectthepetty · 1 year

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ALERT ALERT!!! TAIWAN REQUEST ASK INCOMING!!!

Please can you recommend to me your top 5 Taiwan BLs? I saw you posting about a few and wanted to know when you would recommend please?! is it always enemies to lovers?

Thank you in advance colour genius!

WHY ARE THESE ASKS ONLY GETTING HARDER?! First, y'all wanted my Top GMMTV actors, then it was Top GMMTV pairs, and now you are coming for my heart and soul with my

Top Five Taiwanese BLs!

That's like making me decide who is my favorite Backstreet Boy (it's Kevin) or telling me to choose my favorite child. I don't have kids, but I feel this is very similar. I love all of them equally for different reasons. Taiwanese BLs are my favorites because they have the best parents, high heat, some (but not all) enemies-to-lovers, and serve domestic bliss, so forcing me to pick between them is painful.

But I'll do it!

However, I'm gonna finesse my way into having more than five, yet still only technically giving you five.

The Ones That Couldn't Be Considered:

First, I will not count HIStory 4: Close to You in this list because it is my favorite BL. Period. It is not fair to these other BLs that they can't be a strategic hot ass mess with the gusto that my beloved HIS 4 had.

Next, Oh No! Here Comes Trouble isn't a BL, so I can't count it, but it was queer to me. I watched it for Your Name Engraved Herein's Tseng Ching-hua, but when Guang Yan said "This comic is not only about my high school life, but also about my heart," their love became canon for me, and I knew I wasn't moving past this show. When I write my book If You Just Don't Wanna Admit It's Queer, That's On You, the masses will see exactly what was there all along.

I can't include Red Balloon because, quite simply, I don't remember it well enough since I watched it when it was released in 2017, but I still feel it in my heart, you know? Edward Chen, the opposite lead in Your Name Engraved Herein, and Jason Tauh of HIStory 5: Love in the Future were the younger leads, so if Gagaoolala brings it back, I'll watch it again to see how they have both evolved.

I can't put my finger on why I won't include DNA Says I Love You, but I think it's because I don't classify it as a BL, yet I don't know why I don't classify it as a BL because it is a BL. It is! But . . . I don't know bruv. Either way, it's slow but good!

See You After Quarantine?'s entire runtime is a little over an hour. That's one episode of a Thai BL! It's cute, quick, and creative, but I cannot use up a spot on an eighty-minute series even though it was good. I'm sorry boys, I'll see you after my Hot Tops!

The Ones That Made the List:

#5 - About Youth

I hate singing, but the songs (and singing) in this series were GOOD, so much so that I still listen to the theme song. The characters (except Ye Guang's shitty parents) were also good, but Ray was my favorite. It was just serious enough to not seem trivial but was still light and enjoyable, and Xu Qi Zhang's mom and pink Converse deserve some appreciation.

#4 - Be Loved in House: I Do

That argument in the street that spilled over into the office the next day is one of my top five fights! In case you haven't watched it, Real got upset because he believed everyone was hiding a relationship from him, so Shi Lei called him out on his hypocrisy since they were basically in a relationship yet hiding it. Real misunderstood, but that made Shi Lei more upset which lead to him screaming at Real in the office asking if he even thought about them as a couple. Then Shi Lei's mother and that coming out scene! AND THE FLOOR SCENE! So many amazing scenes. So little space.

#3 - We Best Love

Although I prefer No. 1 For You, it goes hand-in-hand with Fighting Mr. 2nd, so I'm counting them as one for this list. The second part gave us the office slap heard around the world, and that superb drunken confession, but the first portion really delivered a cohesive story about pseudo enemies-to-lovers that had satisfying pacing and great side characters. The show also had color coding, so if it weren't for the promise of a third season that has yet to be delivered, that time jump and the reasoning for the separation, it would have been No. 1 For Me.

#2 - My Tooth, Your Love

As soon as Jin Xun An said he knew a good therapist, it was over for these other BLs. Jin Xun An is such an adult and does not have time for tomfoolery, which pushed Bai Lang to grow. A majority of BLs openly express that one of the leads is a mess from trauma, yet gives the message that the other person should and will love them regardless. Not this BL! Jin Xun An said he would love Bai Lang through it, but he didn't allow Bai Lang to treat him like poo or make excuses for his behavior while kindly pushing Bai Lang to treat himself as seriously and as gently as Jin Xun An did. Oh, and the side couple was intriguing as well.

#1 - HIStory 3: Trapped & HIStory ?: Freed

You notice how all the other couples on this list are right next to each other, probably holding each other likely in bed? NOT THESE TWO! Mis tóxicos fell in love in the woods while handcuffed to each other after running away from their kidnappers while Kinn was still dating Tawan and Porsche was sexing up customers behind the bar (KinnPorsche). Mis tóxicos were not trusting each other, yet willing to fuck while Dr. Bun was still in the big city and Tan wasn't even on his radar (Manner of Death). I'm not making a comparison; I'm making a statement that this show changed me and what I now crave from other shows. If a man isn't willing to kill for his guy AND possibly kill his guy too, then is it really love? I have demanded for FOUR YEARS that my boy Tang Yi be released, and one of these days, Taiwan will deliver us what we all deserve -

HIStory 15: Freed WHEN?

#taiwanese bls #HIStory: Freed WHEN?!#HIStory 3: Trapped #My Tooth Your Love #We Best Love #we best love: no. 1 for you #we best love: fighting mr. 2nd #be loved in house: i do #About Youth the series

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hils79 · 5 months

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2023 Dramas Watched

I watched a lot of dramas last year, but not as many as I did in 2022. It was mostly a good bunch, which is generally why my to watch list is mostly things people have recommended to me (or I've seen gifs on Tumblr that look revlevant to my interests.

I'll put the list under a cut. It's mostly for my reference anyway

1. Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama - My housemate wanted to watch this because Michael Sheen is in it. I don't even have that excuse, although it's always nice to see him in things. IDK I wasn't obsessively following the court case when it happened, but my boss kept giving us updates because she found it highly entertaining. I think it was just something silly to focus on to distract us all from the shit that's going on in the world. Anyway, the cast were great and it was highly entertaining. I don't think we were supposed to laugh as much as we did but it was kind of ridiculous.

2. Ghost Doctor - This is one I've been group watching with friends over the past few months. It was a lot of fun. A rather silly concept (brilliant surgeon is in a coma after an accident and haunts the hospital where his body is) with a surprising amount of heart to it. I enjoyed it.

3. Dragon Age: Absolution - I loved this! I don't know how well this would stand up if you haven't played the games. It's mostly a stand alone story with a few nods to previous canon. I, however, have played the games and they are pretty much my favourite game franchsise. So, yep, this was great. Very much in the vein of the games. Everyone is gay and it's delightful.

4. The Eclipse - This was okay. It was in a similar vein as Not Me in terms of being a BL drama about social justice, but it lacked the maturity and tight storyline that Not Me had. The two main leads were both excellent it just lost its way a bit towards the end. Still very enjoyable.

5. Welcome to Chippendales - Honestly this show wasn't even on my radar until Jacqui was looking for something to watch and saw it on Disney+. She told me she'd watched a documentary about the founder of Chippendales a while back and gave me a brief synopsis. It was such a wild story that I had to watch this. It was really good! The cast did a phenomenal job

6. About Youth - I'd had this recced to me a while back so when my Saturday group watch gang suggested we watch it I was all in. It was great! Incredibly sweet, occasionally heartbreaking. We all really enjoyed it.

7. Hotel del Luna - I enjoyed this a lot even though I cried WAY more than I was expecting to. I thought it was going to be a wacky comedy about ghosts, and there are lots of funny bits, but there's also a lot about death, grief and making peace with your life. I think I cried at least once in just about every episode. Do rec though. It was good.

8. Roommates of Poongduck 304 - This is one I started group watching before Christmas with some friends and never got around to finishing. It was cute. Nothing amazing, and not one I'd particularly want to watch again but it was fine.

9. Choco Milk Shake - I did enjoy this. It was very cute and funny in places. It was also WAY sadder than I was expecting and I ended up crying a lot. I wish they'd spent a little more time explaining the mechanics of everything (basic premise is a guy's childhood dog and cat come back in human form because he's lonely) and the ending was a little bittersweet. But overall I think I did enjoy it.

10. The Blood of Youth - I absolutely loved this! It had a lot of of the classic wuxia tropes in it, but an interesting enough story that I was hooked. The cast were great, the characters all had fantastic chemistry. I definitely want to check out some of the other dramas the lead has done because he was great.

11. Until We Meet Again - This has been on my to watch list more or less since I started watching East Asian dramas back in 2020. I've been avoiding it because it deals with some quite heavy topics (the premise is two male lovers in the 80s take their own lives because their fathers disapprove of their relationship and in present day they meet again having been reincarnated into two students at the same college) but I'm glad I bit the bullet and finally watched it. It was very sweet, and was all about healing and forgiveness. I liked it a lot. I think Not Me still holds the top spot for my favourite Thai drama but this is a close second

12. The Guest - I really wasn't sure about this one when I watch the first episode. I don't mind TV horror generally but the first episode was a lot and I had to mute it a couple of times because it was freaking me out. Luckily they toned it down a fair amount after that and the rest of it was fantastic! Really enjoyed it. Definitely one of the better dramas that I've watched this year so far. If you're looking for a k-drama that's in the same vein as The Exorcist/The Omen/Supernatural then you'll like this one.

13. Overworking Man - This was a genuinely pleasant surprise. I watched it because the lead is one of my tomb show actors and I had pretty low expectations. I was expecting some sort of cringe sitcom in the same vein as The Office. What I got was a bonkers little web drama full of queer subtext where there's actual character development and life lessons. I really enjoyed it!

14. Midnight Museum - This was a very odd little drama. It was made by GMM who makes a lot of my favourite BL dramas. This one is not a BL, but it uses all of the BL tropes. The two male leads keep talking about how they want to be together forever and they keep risking their lives to save each other. I guess as bros? It starts off as a horror drama (premise is a barista ends up getting a job at a museum that houses cursed objects, which then get stolen, and they have to recover them all) but then halfway through it turns into this weird religious cult thing where they examine the nature of free will vs God's plan. I think I enjoyed it? But it was definitely a bit weird.

15. Cupid's Last Wish - I've been group watching this with some friends over the past couple of months. I enjoyed both leads in A Tale of 1000 Stars which I watched last year. They were good in this too but the story didn't hit quite as hard. It was fine but the ending felt rushed and anticlimactic

16. Sell Your Haunted House - This was really fun. It reminded me a bit of Buffy just in terms of general vibes and ass-kicking female lead. There were some genuinely surprising plot twists and I had a blast watching it

17. Ghost Host, Ghost House - This had a nice twist to it that I didn't figure out until I was partway through. It was cute and interesting.

18. Stupid Boys, Stupid Love - This was cute. I haven't watched much Vietnamese TV and this was very diverse even for a BL drama. There were gay boys, gay girls, height differences (the tall biker girl and her small nerd boyfriend were my favourites), butch women, femme women, bisexuals. The characters were young and, as the title suggests, pretty stupid. But overall it was cute and fun and it was only an hour long in total

19. A League of Nobleman - This was fun. It was quite silly, buckets of queer subtext and some political intrigue thrown in for good measure. It wasn't particularly deep or heavy going but I enjoyed it a lot.

20. Between Us - This is a spinoff/sequel to Until We Meet again. It was very sweet, and I enjoyed my favourite character from UWMA being the main role in this. Didn't quite have the same emotional impact as UWMA but I very much enjoyed it

21. Reset - Finished this while I was at the treehouse last month. It was one we had been group watching and it was nice to get to finish it in person. It was an interesting drama. A lot of unexpected twists which I liked, and a timeloop story is always fun

22. Our Dining Table - Absolutely one of my favourite things that I have watched this year. It was so sweet and soft. Usually I'm not a fan of kidfic but this was really lovely and the kid in question was adorable

23. Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938 - I was a bit dubious when I heard they were doing a sequel to Tale of the Nine-Tailed but it was perfect. Time travel shenanigans, an awesome woman with a huge sword, brotherly bonding, an OT3 polycule. I had a great time.

24. The Eighth Sense - I liked parts of it. The main couple were cute, the two best friends were awesome. I did not care for the unnecessarily bitchy ex-girlfriend and her best friend who was equally awful. It went a little two hard on the 'everyone must have a happy ending' idea so a bunch of characters ended up getting apologised to who really didn't deserve it

25. Popular Indie Creator Nekoyashiki is Making His Yearning for Approval Worse - This was kind of weird, but also really fun. Everyone was so extra and dramatic but that just tied into the comic themes. I actually really enjoyed it.

26. The King's Avatar - This one got recommended to me literally years ago. Right back when I first started watching Chinese dramas and asked for recs. I definitely should have watched it sooner I absolutely adored it. Like I want to write fic levels of adored it. It had such a good group of characters, found family feels all over the place and was just generally soft and lovely.

27. My School President - A very sweet high school BL drama. I wasn't massively emotionally invtested in it but I enjoyed it

28. Love Tractor - Absolutely adorable! It's just very soft and I enjoyed this so much I watched it a second time so I could show it to one of my friends

29. The Director Who Buys Me Dinner - Got to love a drama where the premise is 'if we don't date you will die'. It was funny, but also kind of heavy with one of the protagonists being immortal and the the other being a reincarnation of his dead lover.

30. Oh No! Here Comes Trouble - I don't watch a lot of Taiwanese dramas but this was fantastic! Really funny, also really tragic, and full of really interesting folklore. I loved it!

31. Mysterious Lotus Casebook - Hands down one of my favourite dramas of this year. I keep toying with wanting to write fic for it but I haven't quite got there yet. I loved the cast, I loved the story. I was wonderful.

32. Moonlight Chicken - I really enjoyed that this was a BL drama about actual adults instead of the usual ones about high school or college students. I'd seen the two leads in a couple of other dramas and I really enjoyed them in this too

33. Goblin - This is one of those dramas that gets recommended to me all the time so I finally sat down and watched it. I enjoyed it, but probably not my favourite. I think the whole 'immortal being falls in love with high school student' would have resonated with me more in my Buffy fandom days.

34. Cross Fire - Apparently this year is the year I watch all the esports dramas. This was nothing at all like what I expected. It had loads of twists that I didn't see coming and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

35. Our Flag Means Death S2 - Loved it. Just what I wanted from a second series. No notes.

36. Good Omens S2 - It was fine. I enjoyed it. It's not one of those dramas that I go feral for but the two leads are fun and it had some nice surprises.

37. He's Coming to Me - A very sweet BL that doesn't entirely resolve the fact that one of the protagonists is dead but it's left with an openly hopeful ending.

38. Stay By My Side - Another sweet ghost related story but both protagonists are alive in this one. One of them can hear ghosts, and the voices only go away if he touches his roommate. Feelings happen. It's adorable.

39. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon - I think I expected to enjoy this more than I did, but I think my disatisfaction comes from me wanting the drama to be resolved with an OT3. Instead there was just a lot of queer baiting where the two men almost kissed but they were drunk so no homo.

40. Fairyland Lovers - I was way more invested in the side couple than I was in the main storyline. The main couple really didn't interest me at all even though one of them was Bai Yu.

#hils watches #dramas 2023

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turtlemagnum · 5 months

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INTERESTS: writing, music, art in general, anime, games (both video and tabletop), animals, linguistics, mythology/theology, philosophical bullshit, making fun of philosophical bullshit, politics, guns (and other varieties of weapon), tech, vulgarity and misanthropy

writing: i'm a writer!! that's like, what i'm best at at the moment. my Main Project is a fantasy setting that i generally either refer to as Winds of Change (for the whole deal) or Arana (the main continent that i've developed so far). i'm currently developing a game to show it off and make other people as feral about it as i am, so i'm also learning how to make music and draw and such. but, at the moment the only skill i'd consider myself competent in is writing, so i primarily just call myself a writer!!

music: my taste is simultaneously deeply eclectic but also tends towards high amounts of specificity. i would say that my "main" genre is progressive rock and some of its derivatives, but i also love a lot of stuff like funk, soul, a small amount of metal, some IDM, whatever the hell death grips is, some early rap (mostly just NWA since that was what i grew up on), occasional jazz, like 2 indie bands, oldies, and on occasion normal people rock. artists i like include but are not limited to: yes, david bowie, king crimson, jimi hendrix, danny elfman, symphony x, dio, death grips, aphex twin, nwa, nat king cole, marty robbins, lemon demon, tally hall, jethro tull, midas, and masayoshi takanaka. i'm also told i have a nice singing voice, but i'm personally biased against such suppositions.

i like art, if you were to look through my likes (which are NOT VISIBLE ON THE TUMBR) it'd have a good amount of art. what that art is of, i'll leave to your imagination. i'm not great at drawing but i'm getting better!!

i like some varieties of anime and anime adjacent things. i'm not like, one of those anime fans though, y'know. in terms of series i like, i'd say i'm a fan of fist of the north star (i need to pick it up again), cowboy bebop (very controversial, i know(also need to pick it up again)), fullmetal alchemist (good series, one of the few i have finished), jojo (i haven't watched part 6 yet but i read the manga all the way into the end of part 7 just after part 4 had finished airing), early gen pokemon is something i come back to on occasion for mostly nostalgic reasons, i'm getting back into dragon ball (kill me), i liked gunsmith cats (the anime was only 3 episodes, you can watch it on youtube, i need to read the manga though), i somewhat recently read thru the entire original yu-gi-oh manga and was surprised at how good it was, and i read a lot of doujins!

i'm a gamer!!!!!!! i mostly love nintendo shit and PC games, and some series i'm into include zelda (arguably my first game series i was Way Into), fallout (mostly new vegas), elder scrolls (deeply love hate relationship), early pokemon, mario, the first deus ex game, portal, kotor, half life, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., a smattering of indie shit (primarily UTDR stuff), a bit of GTA, thief, pathologic, disco elysium, and MGS. i also like TTRPGs but being Extremely Alone, i'm basically screwed!!

i like animals of basically all varieties. definitely a dog person, though i also love cats.

linguistics is cool but i'm also Fucking Stupid so i haven't really gained much past a fairly surface level knowledge. doesn't stop me from trying!

mythology is cool! philosophy is cool too! to be clear i view the vast majority of it as bullshit and not to be taken seriously, but it's still interesting to think about at least!

like most human beings living in the modern age, i have a lot of very strong political views. however, i don't like to ascribe labels to myself since people generally hear the label and just fill in the blanks of what they already believe and go deaf to everything else you have to say. i feel like my stances should be fairly obvious if you listen to what i have to say, but here's my main deal in regards to this: i like freedom, not in the typical american way that's basically glorified grandstanding with deeply authoritarian tendencies, but in more of a way where i like the idea of people being able to live how they want without a threat of starving and such. i abhor bigotry, though it's very easy to say that i suppose. i try to be open minded and tend towards a live and let live attitude, y'know. i also oppose imperialism and authoritarianism, but i feel as though that should be considered the baseline

huge gun nerd. i've got Gun Autism, babey!!! don't worry, i'm not One Of Those gun people, i mostly just appreciate them from a technical level. i post a lot about guns, so if you don't like that you can either block the tag #turtlegunrant or just not follow!!!!!!!

tech, much like linguistics, is something i like quite a bit but aren't smart enough to Actually Understand. i'm also the variety of tech enthusiast who's a paranoid shithead, so i'm definitely more of a PC guy. i actually fucking hate touch screens, so i hate phones (which i know is rare for somebody born in this century). i love torrenting, piracy, and just generally downloading and archiving shit

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lonelywretchjervistetch · 9 months

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My DCCU Interlude: The Legion of Super-Heroes (Part Six)

Part VI: Starting the Story AKA The Pilot

So, with the set up of the last five goddamn essays done...now what? You probably won't be terribly surprised to hear that I'm not a writer by trade. A rambler, kinda, but not really a writer. But I'm also an avid watcher of television, especially superhero series. So, I have a general idea of what I'd like to see in this series. Not sure still whether it'd be animated or live-action, but I'm aiming for hour-long episodes (dependent upon streaming or ad-time) either way.

This post will be a basic layout of plots for a first season of this show, with the plan to set up a second season as well. As for what I'm using as a sort of basis, well...that's tricky. This is a series with a large ensemble cast, dramatic character-based storylines, and a literal universe of worldbuilding, meaning it should feel like a lived-in universe that the audience can get invested in. So, when I was thinking about the most beloved and successful television series of the past decade or so, I landed upon two answers. Two...extremely controversial answers.

Man, oh MAN, is The Flash the biggest disappointment of my life.

Look...The Flash was a really bad show...for the last 4 seasons. Seasons 4 and 5 were not horrible (not amazing, but not horrible), season 3 was pretty decent, and the first 2 seasons were honestly quite good! It has a large supporting cast, great antagonists, recurring dramatic storylines (for better or for worse; looking at you, Iris-Barry romance), and it was a superhero show based on a DC Comics character! So, good, right? Well, the first seasons are definitely good models to base this Legion series off of...but the series as a whole is a big fat warning sign, especially writing and plot-wise.

It's pretty obvious that the series creators didn't have a great plan for 9 seasons of this series, and even the first three seasons are more repetitive than you'd expect or want. I could talk about the massive wasted opportunities of this series for a LONG time (and I will, don't worry; might devote an essay to it, honestly), but it had a lot of problems. Also...yeah, the budget for this Legion series has to be higher, whether it be animated or live-action. I want the world to feel real and lived in, not to not be fueled by crossovers for that sensation.

And sure, there are much better superhero shows to use as a basis here, especially during the renaissance we're currently in. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are some of the recent best. And hey, let's not discount DC completely, either. Doom Patrol is pretty fantastic as comic-book adaptations go, as is Peacemaker, and I haven't really watched Titans past season 1, but I hear it got better as the series went on. Oh, and Stargirl and Superman and Lois! But using the Flash as a basis is...personal.

That said, I do think The Flash also works as a basis because of the wackier nature of the source material. For the messiness of the series, it's never been afraid to go to some crazy places, adapting storylines and characters from the comics with little hesitation...and sometimes little accuracy, but that's a different story as well (lookin' at you, Zoom). But OK, that's one inspiration. What's the other?

Game of Thrones' first season is, genuinely, some of the best television I've ever watched. The wide scope of that series, both dramatically and story-wise, is a great model for a Legion series. With the first season so eloquently showing the fall of House Stark from grace, foreshadowing the rise of Daenerys, and the various struggles within two battling houses. It combined political intrigue with medieval fantasy, and did so masterfully. It gave us memorable characters and storylines, which generated a faithful fanbase for a reason. Seriously, it was amazing television.

But both GoT and The Flash had their myriad issues, especially when it came to sticking the landing. Honestly, the former lasted as long as it did because it at least had the books to go off of. But once that material ran out, the series suffered heavily until the end. The Flash, on the other hand, took from its source material a lot, but never really had a good endgame in mind, and completely lost its focus by the end of the series.

So, looking at both series, the main lessons they have to give are:

Strong protagonists (e.g. Barry Allen or the Starks, Lannisters, and Danaerys)

Strong and memorable supporting cast (e.g. Team Flash, or...shit, so goddamn many)

Threatening and memorable antagonists (e.g. the excellent and unmatched Eobard Thawne, or...well, the Lannisters again, to be honest)

Character-based storylines (for protagonists, support, and antagonists alike)

An actual plan (The Flash had one until season 3, and GoT had one until the books ran out and they had to make shit up...badly)

I originally elaborated on this more, but this is all pretty basic stuff, when you think about it. I'm not exactly breaking ground here. I'm just pointing out where these shows succeeded or failed, and how.

So, with all of that said, it's time to talk about this prospective Legion series, huh? I'll be breaking it down by storyline, which are centered around the protagonist or protagonists involved. I've covered these guys in previous posts, as well as touching upon their storylines, so check those out for more information on individual characterization. OK, let's do this!

Prologue: Plans Unfold

On a dark planet, in some forgotten corner of the galaxy, a dark cult meets within stone catacombs. An obsidian spire stretches towards the depths of space, surrounded by a large and perfectly circular arena, in which the cult gathers. Runes cover the chamber, written in a language thought abandoned long ago. This is, of course, the home of the Dark Circle, the underground antagonists for the season. The robed cultists gather in this ancient place to foment their coming plans.

While the true nature and history of this place will be revealed by the end of the season, the seemingly ancient surroundings immediately set it up as a part of the endgame. Four of the cultists, egged on by the triumvirate of leaders, are sent out into the universe at large to seed their plans, as well as the season's conflict. They enter the obelisk, which acts as a beacon for Zeta Beams, which the Circle can aim and control. They send their emissaries to the next location: Luna, in 3038 CE.

Episode 1.01: Debut

The Moon, in this universe and timeline, is a large mining colony. It's here that one of the cultists arrives, to make their way incognito onto Earth, which will act as the true staging grounds for their plan. Their contact on Earth is a nomadic gang leader and criminal contact known as Cadis Thar-Ok, who will be a major player in this story. Also looking for Thar-Ok, and also on Luna, is Garth Ranzz, a farm boy from Winath here to search for his brother Mekt Ranzz, who was a part of Thar-Ok's gang when they wandered through Winath not too long ago. While the cultist heads towards Knighton, a neostate known for its (literally) underground criminal empire, Garth heads to Metropolis, the City of Hope. Here, he hopes to speak with the Science Police, and to find clues to his brother's location.

Also on this shuttle is a traveler attempting to escape her homeworld, and possibly find a temporary new one. This is Imra Ardeen, an outcast from the Moons of Saturn, specifically Titan. Escaping persecution from her people, and recruitment by the Titanian cult known as the Espers, Imra is attempting to remain hidden. In fact, she is dressed similarly to our cultists, but in brighter colored red robes, rather than the dark robes shed by the cultist. Wearing a circlet meant to mask and suppress her abilities, she is sleeping on the shuttle, and doesn't sense the danger of the cultist. However, she hopes to arrive in Metropolis to answer questions about herself by seeking out the Temple of Mars there.

A quick note about our passengers, in terms of casting. After some thought, Garth is remaining ginger and Caucasian, rather than the darker skin of the current comics. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, there are way too many Black electrokinetics. Check out my second essay in this series for more about that, but it's ridiculous. Honestly, it's basically a stereotype at this point, and I'd rather not contribute to that. Secondly, though, there's a weird Ginger erasure happening in media, specifically when it comes to racebending characters. And while I'm very much an advocate for racebending, but even I have to admit that this is...really weird. So, yeah, let's keep one iconically Ginger character in this series, shall we?

But what about Imra? She's canonically a Caucasian blonde, but there's no canon reason for this choice. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, Imra could be any race, and I actually sort of like the idea of a dark-skinned Imra with blonde hair. I tinkered with this idea previously, but I'm actually sort-of digging it now. Especially because...well, name a Black female true telepath in media. No cybernetic enhancement, no magic, just telepathy as a primary and innate power. Go on. I dare you. You can't. Now, that's a trend I'd be down to buck.

We'll get to our third member in a second, but I'll spoil now that I'm thinking AAPI for him. That's flexible, though, so throw whatever image you want in your personal headcanons. Now, back to the story!

Once the shuttle arrives, Imra and Garth depart, and we see their initial reactions to this beautiful and futuristic city. Imra is mostly nonplussed, but Garth is very much into it, before quickly being overwhelmed. We then change to our third major focus: Rokk Krinn, a citizen of Braal and locally notable athlete, here to speak with the United Planets on behalf of his impoverished world. He meets Marla Latham, assistant to his sponsor, R.J. Brande. Marla goes over details of Rokk's stay, then offers to take him to meet Brande, who's currently in his favorite place: the Hall of Heroes.

The Hall of Heroes , a relocated and restored Hall of Justice, is an attempt to revitalize one of the older districts in the city, specifically located next to the historic Steelworks building, which has fallen into disuse in recent centuries. The Hall was moved from Washington D.C., after a historical event known only as Godfall nearly destroyed it and the rest of the city. Housing a massive amount of historical artifacts, the Hall has been expanded upon and restored over the years, until becoming the predominant collection of artifacts from the First Age of Heroes.

As a major feature of the city, Garth and Imra are also headed here. Garth's journey led him to the Science Police, but he stopped at the museum after being turned away from the busy station. Imra, on the other hand, went towards the Temple of Mars, only to find that they had no solid connection with the one she sought, the legendary J'onn Jonzz. Instead, she came to the Hall of Heroes to find more information on him, so that she may herself be helped. And, of course, there's one more person headed here.

In Darkham, the crown city of Knighton, the cultist has found Cadis Thar-Ok, who contacts one of his men in Metropolis to assassinate R.J. Brande for the Dark Circle. The purpose of this is to eliminate a driving force for planets to join the United Planets, which increases order in the universe. Braal's membership is tenuous at best, hence Rokk's visit here. Were Brande or, even better, a Braalian celebrity to be assassinated, this would foment chaos in the UP, and further the goals of the Dark Circle.

As planned, Thar-Ok's assassin makes their way to the Hall, following Rokk and Marla inside. Here, the DC fanboys are fed with artifacts that we haven't seen yet in this fledgling DC Cinematic Universe, as well as hints of battles to come in future projects. It's one of those Easter egg-filled scenes that fans love to dissect for all they're worth. We also get a view of the museum through the eyes of our main characters, which gives us insight into their desires and characters.

Garth, for example, is focused on finding his brother, and meting out any needed justice (or vengeance) against Thar-Ok and his crew. His focus is, therefore, on crime-fighting, so he heads towards a controversial wing of the Hall: Batman's. Now most of the artifacts about the Dark Knight are actually in Knighton, which includes the place once known as Gotham City. Here, though, the Hall focuses on Batman's role as associated with the Justice League. As such, this is a slightly more sanitized version of the character, more akin to Bronze than Modern. Garth, therefore, is interested in the legend of the character, moreso than some of his darker realities. He doesn't want to be Batman. He does want to fight crime of the same caliber, however.

Imra, for her part, goes to the area devoted to Martian Manhunter, as well as the other Martian visitors and heroes that have visited Earth. We can get a look at Miss Martian here, as well as possibly even Jemm, Son of Saturn. However, unsurprisingly, this exhibit is somewhat sparse as well. Mars has reclaimed much of this exhibitry, and other pieces are found in other exhibits or museums. So here, Imra doesn't quite find the answers she's seeking. However, as she's realizing this, she also gets a sense that something is wrong. This drives her to head towards the most popular exhibit. Which, of course, focuses on...

Understand me. No hero is revered more in the 31st century than Superman. Period. There cannot be any doubt about this. The legacy of Superman has lived beyond the ages. However, because of this, there are a lot of misunderstandings about him as a person, outside of being a hero. Put it this way. You know Hercules, right? His labors, his history, that one little time he murdered his wife, you know? But, like...what was his favorite color? Favorite food? Was he a morning person, or a night owl? Do you really know anything about him personally? Hell, what was his actual name? Yeah, I see you nerds with your hands up in the front of the room. To the rest of you, though...did you know his name isn't Hercules? Or Heracles? It's Alcides. But people tend to forget that fact.

What I'm saying is, that while the knowledge that Superman was Clark Kent is technically public knowledge...nobody gives a single shit about the person he was. And so, this exhibit is to all the flash, pomp, and circumstance that is Superman's deeds and legends. We see his villains, his greatest fights, his triumphs. But what Rokk and Brande see, as they walk around this portion of the Hall, is the hope and love and inspiration he gives to everyone that sees him. And that is what brings them together. Superman is the centerpiece of this portion of the franchise, and we should see some of the stuff that he's going to get up to in the future of this DC Cinematic Universe.

Brande and Rokk meet, they have a conversation about Superman and the Hall, as well as the personal strife they've seen and suffered. It's the beginnings of an important conversation, but both are continually distracted by their surroundings. As they have their talk, Garth and Imra walk into the exhibit, sort of in the background. Maybe Garth's reaction to Superman (which should be notably in awe) is noticed by Brande as a part of their conversation. Imra should come here sensing something wrong, but pause in the visage of this figure of legend. Yeah, I'm hamming it the hell up, that's the point.

But of course, in the background, we should see the assassin enter, ready to take Brande out from the shadows. The dark thoughts and influence he's exuding start to overwhelm Imra, which gets the attention of a nearby Garth. She points out what's going on, just as the assassin is readying a weapon. Garth, acting on instinct, fires of a wild lightning bolt at the guy as he sees the weapon. This loud and bright burst of energy gets the attention of the entire Hall, causing them to panic. The Science Police are called, while Brande and Rokk are also made aware of the situation. Hectic action sequence takes place, and Rokk uses his better-honed abilities to disarm the assassin. Imra, unable to hold back her power at this point, uses it to paralyze the assassin as they flee, in an impressive-if-terrifying feat. An extremely haphazard, if effective, display, from all three.

The Science Police take their sweet time to show up, and question the trio in their actions, as well as speaking with Brande and Marla. We meet two members of the police in particular: Gigi Cusimano and Director Ryna Norg. The former is impressed by the action of this trio, while Norg is not a fan of vigilante justice. A common problem in a post-Justice League world, this is a major sticking point for her, so she acts to suppress it as best as possible. In fact, she's about to arrest Garth for damaging the museum, before Brande steps in.

I should stress, by the way, that Ryna is meant to come off as a hard-ass, but also as a great cop and decent person. A bit harder than someone like Commissioner Gordon, but with the same dedication to her job. While she'll be an antagonist, she's not a malicious one. After this misunderstanding, Garth tries to get her ear about his brother, only for her to brush him off and tell him to go through official channels. Not encouraging. When he insists, although he's already on her bad side, Norg agrees to get his info and send an officer to speak with him later. As for where he's staying, he has no answer to that...until Brande steps in and offers to put up him and Imra. Both accept.

Now, at this point, the episode is coming to a close. Other stuff has filled in this episode to extend it to the appropriate amount of time, whether that's flashbacks or extra scenes that I, as a non-writer, haven't come up with. But, at the end, as the trio are settling in and introducing themselves to each other, Brande begins to come up with an idea. And from this, we cut to our final scene.

Typical Science Police interrogation, where we get to see the inside of headquarters. Officers Ryna and the reptilian Howkun try to get information out of him, but he reveals nothing. His role was, of course, as a gun-for-hire that knows nothing about the larger operation. He only knows that he was sent money by someone who wanted Brande eliminated, but has no more information to give. After a while interviewing him, the two officers exit the room and report to a watching Ryna Norg.

Suddenly, the criminal starts to scream, as if being attacked by someone. And before the Police can gas the room or otherwise intervene, the man explodes into body parts, as if sliced apart cleanly by an unseen knife. The officers intervene, but too late to catch anyone. They quickly spread out on Ryna's orders, and the police station is locked down. As this happens, the body parts lie abandoned in the room, with the prisoners head on the table.

Said head then begins to look around, and his body parts start to move.

This man is hapless criminal Cory Belkin, AKA...nothing, actually. You may recognize a character like this from James Gunn's fun and crazy movie The Suicide Squad. In the film, he's known as "The Detachable Kid", or TDK, and he's meant to be a version of another character from Legion lore. Only problem it, he's about 1000 years too early. So, I'm changing two things. One, this is a racial ability for this alien species, from a planet I'm calling Zerpitz. And two, they have the ability to completely separate parts of their bodies, rather than just their limbs. Problem is, it'll take a bit for Cory to come back together.

Either way, Cory takes his time to escape from the poorly secured room, with the help of a device hidden within the vents by one of Thar-Ok's criminal allies. By the time the officers return, his body is gone. With an untraceable weapon and no criminal, the secrets of this crime will remain unsolved by the Science Police. Their first L of the series.

Oh, and yes, this person is absolutely related to Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, for anyone who was wondering. He'll show up later on.

As the cops scramble to figure out the next move, the body parts of Cory Belkin also scramble out of the station. While it takes a while, Cory manages to pull himself together (maybe sans a digit or three), and makes it to Knighton. He reconvenes there with Thar-Ok, who's flanked by other members of his gang. There are, in fact, multiple powered people in this group, many of whom are young, and all of whom faithfully serve Thar-Ok. He congratulates Cory on getting away from the Science Police, but also recognizes that it's only a matter of time before they figure out something's up. Which means that Cory is now a liability. And so, Thar-Ok sends Cory away with cheers at his back, and certain death at his front. A Dark Circle member follows him through the shadows of Darkham, and actually kills Cory Belkin.

Thar-Ok recieves a message that the ugly deed is done, and that a new mission will come soon. We also get confirmation that Thar-Ok, because he can't help himself, used his connections to commit a few robberies in NuMetropolis while the police were on lockdown from Cory's escape. He's somewhat intelligent, he's very brutal, and he knows how to take advantage of a situation. Thar-Ok is our first major boss for the season's first arc.

Well, that's the pilot! I really wanted to devote one full essay to this story launching point, but that won't be the case for the rest! As this essay series moves forward, I'll be putting episodes into bundles, summarizing overall story beats and storylines, as well as establishing characters and their development, if any. And, of course, I'm only covering the first season of this proposed series. After that? Eh, I have other essay series to finally write.

Next post, I'll be putting up the first major arc, in which the Legion is officially established, the other core members are introduced, and the first scuffles with Thar-Ok and his gang lead to the introduction of the next threat: the assassins. See you then!

Next: Birth of the Legion (1.02 - 1.05)

Index: Legion of Super-Heroes

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taiturner · 1 year

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for the ask game: twd, fear and world beyond :)

GIVE ME A TV SERIES AND I'LL TELL YOU....

TWD

Favorite character: Alden, Sasha, Aaron

Funniest character: Eric is the first person that comes to mind (I love when he's petty<3) but I'm blanking on everyone else

Best-looking character: Magna, Siddiq

3 favorite ships: Aaron/Eric, Denise/Tara, and the most unpopular opinion of all but Rosita/Gabriel is So special to me. Honorable mention to Elijah and Lydia, I know their development happens in the background but the parallels between them are so loud anyway and those last few episodes really got me.

Least favorite character: N*gan

Least favorite ship: Lori and Sh*ne, get him away from her

Reason why I watch it: I know most people hate the bloated cast but I love it for that reason. I favor the later half of the series when there are so many different communities intricately linked, it makes for some really fun dynamics everywhere and there will really never be another show that gives you that

Why I started watching it: I basically had to bully myself into liking apocalypse shows (which is so ironic now because... my favorite things). I tried once and didn't make it past the pilot but then I picked it up a few years later (when season 9 was airing) and got hooked

FTWD

Favorite character: Grace

Funniest character: I'm blanking 😔

Best-looking character: Luciana

3 favorite ships: Grace/Morgan, Sherry/Dwight, Al/Isabelle

Least favorite character: Troy

Least favorite ship: I'm mostly blanking on every other ship in this show but actually the first one that comes to mind is Charlie (a 12 year old) and that 16 year old 🧍‍♂️ why'd they do my girl like that

Reason why I watch it: I don't always love the plot but I do love the characters so I've been holding on for them

Why I started watching it: I think I might've watched a few episodes of this before I ever started TWD but I was bored... I started again at season 4 because I heard about Al and I loved the concept of a journalist still interviewing people in the apocalypse, then I eventually went back to watch it all.

Favorite character: Iris and Leo are tied but Hope, Felix, Huck, and Silas are sooo close behind.

Funniest character: Elton maybe

Best-looking character: Sorry to be a Joe Holt stan but ♡ Leo

3 favorite ships: Felix/Will, Iris/Percy, Huck/Dennis

Least favorite character: This is one of the rare shows that I love love love every single character so it's really hard to answer this so. I guess Jadis because I have the least connection to her. Everyone else is my family <3

Least favorite ship: I don't think I really have an answer for this because I liked all the established ships... I think Lyla/Leo were cute even though she was betraying him :( so I guess them for technical purposes.

Reason why I watch it: People call it a "teen drama" but I think it's much more aligned with "family drama." At its core its entirely about FAMILY! And the family dynamics in this show are so incredible. The complex siblings, complex friendships, putting your entire trust in someone that's inevitably going to betray you, it's so good to me. I also think coming of age in the apocalypse is a really fun story to tell, especially since these people have lived in the apocalypse for 10 years but haven't actually experienced it. People who hate this show are boring <3

Why I started watching it: I had basically just finished watching TWD for the first time when this show was announced so I was excited to see it from the start, and the premise of it all sounded really fun and I was sooo sad when the premiere got pushed back like... a year. This show is my best friend now.

#thank you for sending!!! 💖#answered #carlschandler

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thepixelblender · 1 year

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12 and 22 for gintama?

# context : anime only, as of answering this I have seen eps 3-330 (in this fucked up watch order). Also I haven't interacted with fandom at all hi all

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

My only vague idea of who people do and don't like is derived the official character polls which I'm not even allowed to see in full because spoilers - although even then I feel like most of my faves are pretty basic haha.

That said ! Umibozu probably? I really like his intro arc, I like that in general they make him so polarizing like - yeah he neglected his family and he's way distant with his daughter and he's this intimidating hard boiled figure in general but at the same time, while what he did was not right you can understand why he acted that way - I'd be scared to come home too at that point - and while he's still running away he's coming around and trying to show his love and support for his daughter after all. Any subsequent one off episodes where he appears are also fun ! I like the planet slayer one. In general his design and setting are so 'and now for a completely different show' it cracks me up shshs. Santa arc and Kagura's boyfriend arcs are also enjoyable, in general his butting heads with Gintoki is fun. Dad rivalry. Gin (and Pachi) being so. polite understanding cold shoulder 'we don't like him, but he's okay' at Umibozu shhs it's just a fun dynamic.

He gets so little screentime but it's always fun and adds to his character, whether it's his arc or his self serious goofy personality. + He pulls the overprotective dad thing off way better than Matsudaira ~v~

yeah! I just watched Rakuyo so even though it's doing a billion things to my brain /pos I'm not going to talk about it yet. sorry for yato posting it will happen again

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I have ! No frame of reference for this ! So uh?!?! Who knows. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume most people don't talk much about the 4 Devas and associated background recurring cast from Kabukicho? In which case that would be my answer? I think they're all quite enjoyable past the. t word. ugh.

#gintama #ask game

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homocidal-invader · 1 year

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ok. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Well dang :V

1: What was the first episode you’ve seen? Episode 1 because I intentionally looked for the show to watch it after seeing clips of it online.

2: What’s your favorite episode? Episode 1. It's one of my favorite first episodes of a show ever and I really like how well it introduces everything. I love other episodes of the show of course I just think the first episode did a great job and should get more praise for that!

3: Favorite Irken? I like the main character a lot but if I had to choose a second favorite uhhh the Tallests as 1 entity I can't choose one over the other

4: Favorite Human? I like the other main character a lot also but as a second Professor Membrane bc he's funny and I had a mental image of him before watching the show

5: Favorite Other Race? There aren't really a lot of those to pick from :V

6: Any fan characters? Yesssss a few but this particular one I made several comics about

7: Favorite fanfiction? It's NSFW and I haven't actually finished the full series because it's long and I suck at reading! I might consider linking it at another point :V Favorite bc I took some inspiration from it for Est and I enjoy NSFW fics lol.

8: Favorite fanart?

I've got a few really inspirational ones on my computer! I recently made a long comment on the Irken propoganda poster fanart (and made my own fanart based off of it), I like the Corrupted Data 99% one (and made my own fanart based off of it), I like this sketch dump of Tallest Zims bc it's cool and bc of the comment "all I do is lie to myself" which I quote all the time now, this FnF song video that I keep trying to do a full version of because the OP said I could but haven't gotten around to it yet, and a bunch more I don't feel like tracking down lol.

9: Do you write for the fandom? Well I make comics but for fanfiction I've made one, short ZaDr fic but in character somehow

10: Do you draw for the fandom? Yes, here's my art tag for this blog and here's my askblog

11: Would you be scared if Jhonen found your art/fanfics/blog? I've watched his Twitch streams (he might still be doing that every Monday?) and sometimes when he searches stuff up he ends up scrolling past fanart and doesn't acknowledge it lol. So not really, he's not as mean a guy as the fandom seems to demonize him wrongly as. I actually think meeting him would be pretty cool!

12: Do you like pairings? If so, which? I mean aside from ZaDr I like RaPr and basically am open to any if ppl write it in a way I like. Those two I just enjoy in particular.

13: Do you believe there are any canon pairings? Like, intended by the writers? I don't remember any prominent characters dating canonically no lol.

14: OTP? ZaDr. I watched episode 1 and shipped it immedietely after their first interaction XD If that's not a "One True Pairing" I'm not sure what is.

15: Favorite enemies? (Tak and Zim or Zim and Dib… etc) Does enemies to lovers count? Idk I am more of a HELPLESS ROMANTIC type I am only into enemies if it's charged in some way XD Otherwise it sticks out to me less so nothing really comes to mind that easily.

16: Favorite Tallest of the four? I can't choose Red or Purple it changes every day! I like Miyuki and Spork but come on they don't have that much screentime and Red and Purple have far more changes to be funny lol

17: Favorite thing about Invader Zim? ADHD and artstyle

18: Least favorite thing about Invader Zim? that's hard. Even when the show disturbs me I take it as a positive. Uhhh. when ppl in the fandom are judgemental about other people's headcanons in a mean way lol

19: Do you have any blocked tags, relating to the fandom? probably but finding out would mean I'd have to look through my blocked tags! I frequently block people though.

20: Do you ever do crossovers? I had some Gravity Falls crossover sketches back in 2021, and I've done a few crossovers between characters in my own discord servers sometimes, but nothing large/prominent.

...Unless crossovers between zim askblogs count.

21: Any parts of show that actually scare you? Probably not scare but definitely disturb me. I'd need to rewatch it to remember.

22: Any parts of the fandom that actually scare you? I'm very sensitive as a person and have anxiety so people scare me easily!

23: Part that made you laugh the hardest… I'd need to go clip hunting for that! Good news though I recorded myself watching IZ with a friend in 2021 and am slowly editing the clips so I'll find out eventually.

24: Part that you could relate to… Zim very ADHD

25: Least favorite episode? I like all the episodes and I see grossing me out as a bonus bc rarely do things disturb me and it means that it succeeded but uhhhhhh I mean least likely to rewatch probably rise of the zitboy lol

26: Least favorite scene? Sometimes there's fatphobia in the show and that sucks :V

27: Do you like G.I.R.? YES I don't draw him as often as other characters but if you look around my askblog he makes it into tons of the posts lol

28: If you could be anyone from the show, you would choose….. Trying to send me to hell??? Rude.

29: Are the Tallest intelligent or not? Yeah they just don't care lol

30: What do you think an Irkens blood color is? I like it when it's either pink or matches their eye color. I want a rainbow blood smear of irkens after war. imagine it.

31: If you could write an episode, what would happen? I've thought of several fake episode scripts, like where Dib gets suspended for pushing Zim at school and goes to a better nicer school, then ends up back at normal school at the end of the episode because the world is built to hurt Dib, or an episode where Zim gets stuck in his elevator and can't get out bc his PAK legs are too long and his rockets are useless and GIR is useless.

If I could write an episode though it'd probably end up being gay shit tho ngl

32: If all the voice actors and artists were different, would you still want Invader Zim to come back? Well if the writers are the same... hmm, though a lot of what was good about IZ was the synnergy between all the writers, artists, and VAs, like Rikki who voiced GIR also being a background artist, and somehow a bunch of these ppl are still friends 20 years later.

I think it'd be fun to see it even if they totally and completely fuck it up though because then the fandom would tear it apart and it'd be funny

33: Do you consider any of the characters your ‘babies’? Depends on the day but I do love random navigator drone from Florpus. Baby bc Evv is totally based off of them XD Adopted!

34: Do you have any fancharacters that are the result of two canon characters getting together? Fankids? I'd say Wur, even though it's not Dib's biological kid he's still its dad XD

35: If you could meet any of the characters, who would it be and what would you say? Dib's insufferable but I think he just wants someone to listen to him lol

36: If you could meet any of the voice actors, who would it be and what would you say? Probably Richard bc I've seen lots of interviews with him and he just seems really friendly and nice to talk to!

37: Other than Zim, who is your favorite Irken Invader? Damn :V Well we don't really get to meet the other invaders much, do we? Like it's either Skoodge or you just REALLY like a background character lol

38: Professor Membrane: a good daddy or a neglectful cold father? I'd like him to be good but yk all the times he's good it could just be argued it's because his kids are science experiments XD When I write him he's neglectful and cold but more on accident than intentional abuse. He wants the best for his kids but he's just not equipped to deal with their emotions.

39: Favorite quote? I'd need to rewatch the show there's too many good ones lol

40: Zim’s taken over the planet… Now what? Calls the Tallests to tell them about it and they're like..... We're not flying over there!!! Uh... we told you to watch it not take it over!!! uhhhh whatever, good job [disconnects].

Zim would have his fun being king for a day then things get back to normal by the end of the episode lol

#verm1c1de

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suugiart · 2 years

Text

Get to know me tag

Tagged by: @genderfluid-envy (I was going to say "Finally something to do except writing," but this is still writing.)

rules: tag peeps you want to know better

Last song: I think the last song I consciously turned on was the first Demon Slayer OP, otherwise I just had the Frankenstein musical playing.

I think I should have everyone know that I usually steer toward stuff with electric guitars, like Avenged Sevenfold and Metallica. Basically I grew up listening to rock and metal.

Last show: Last show I finished? That was probably Angels of Death. My friend loves to introduce me to new shows when we have sleepovers and it's always so fun.

Currently watching: Oh gosh, lots for me too, Ceph. Currently I am trying to finish Assassination Classroom. I'm really loving it and I only have like 7 or 8 more episodes to go and then I'm done! I want to finish Tokyo Ghoul someday, but I may just end up reading the manga. My friend also introduced me to Skeleton Knight in Another World, and The Owl House, which I should also keep watching.

AND DEATH NOTE. I almost forgot! My younger sister and I are watching it, but unfortunately we haven't gotten past episode 4 in the past few months.

I really want to watch other animes like Spy x Family, Soul Eater, and Yuuri on Ice, all of which I heard are good.

Currently reading: QUITE A FEW. Some of which I haven't continued in a while and really should.

I've picked up Frankenstein, and I really love it so far. I'm also reading the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman (it is SO GOOD), and I paused on the third Harry Potter and Howl's Moving Castle.

Really, I just switch between books depending on what I feel like reading at the moment, and I am a HUGE sucker for science fiction and dystopian and murder. Dark themes, basically. Unwind is so perfect for that. You can just feel the emotions through the pages, and I can't remember another story that has made me audibly gasp as much as Unwind.

Current obsession: Everybody knows this one just by looking at my current banner and PFP. My Hero Academia all the WAY. The brainrot is unreal. My hyperfixation with this one is through the roof, holy frick. When I'm not spending my weeks writing over six chapters of my original novel in the span of six days, I'm writing angst and what have you for MHA, whether I upload it or not.

I honestly don't know where this blog is going to go, because thinking about it one day going to some other fandom is so weird. That was me with Undertale anyway, but here we are in my blog chock full of MHA brainrot.

I would love to make posts other than random art and chapter highlights for MHA, but I don't have enough followers to actually get requests and stuff, so hopefully someday.

No pressure tags: @sunsetcougar (I don't know many people via tumblr FNSDSA)

#learn about me #kinda #I guess #Suugiart has been exposed #Cat is out of the bag #I watch anime #I'm so ashamed #I swore that I wouldn't let anyone find out that my blog is about anime

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stillinaincrad · 2 years

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Anim...aybe?

It's been a while since I have taken even a passing interest in any new anime, only a random title here and there that I have enjoyed. This should be heir apparent by my activity on Tumblr alone - I've never posted a ton in any month's time to this url but it's also never been so long in between posts since I started back up here. Which means I am either bored with Tumblr, which is not at all true, I still thumb through my feed several times a day, or I am bored with modern anime.

BUT, in the strangest twist of fate I can remember in recent years, here we are at cruising altitude already into the summer season - that time of year where normally all the junk gets thrown out to fill up the airwaves to get a season of anything at all until fall when the good stuff happens. And yet here we are, and there are multiple anime I am really digging. They're mostly new seasons of older shows, but we just had a new season of Date a Live that I couldn't watch at all past the fourth episode, so I guess I am kind of shocked at how much fun I'm having. Cannot say I could have ever expected this for a summer season.

Utawarumono: Futari no Hakuro (Mask of Truth)

I've never played any of the games, but I have really enjoyed this series from the start - it has a great balance of fun characters and exciting plot (although everything I have read says they really went away from the source material in False Faces/False Mask). I would love to know what the hell happened to Kuon's voice at the end of Ep4, where she basically turns into Ranmari Rindo out of nowhere. But even with that quandary fresh on the fingertips, I am really enjoying the new episodes so far and waiting to see when/if it comes out that Haku... well, no spoilers for those who haven't seen it at all, I guess.

2. Lycoris Recoil

The crisp art and bubbly of this show somehow reminds me a ton of Takt Op Destiny, except that I was not bored out of my mind halfway through the second episode like I was with Takt Op Destiny. Kurumi is 100% stolen from somewhere that I can't place just yet, and if you didn't say 'that's totally Homura' the second that Takina picks up the m60 then you really owe it to yourself to go back and watch some better older anime. Still, neither has stopped this from being a boatload of fun. I think my favorite thing about Lyco Reco is how Chisato is both Yui Hirasawa and Golgo 13 at the same time. Feel good fun, and after this 3rd episode there is the potential there for a crazy good overall story arc if they take it in that direction. Guess we will have to see!

3. Classroom of the Elite II

The days of the psychological anime are long past, and I will be the first to say that it's a freaking tragedy. I'm not going to put Classroom of the Elite next to Paprika or anything, but I did really like the first season because every one of these characters is a deviously manipulative, scheming a-hole. There really are no good guys, and I never did get a pulse on where a few of them landed morally at all. After Mahoutsukai no Yome, it was the closest thing to my kind of thing that 2017 had to offer. I was surprised to hear that 5yrs later there was a second season coming, but my interest definitely pulled me in. Am very interested to see where this season goes.

4. Overlord 4

And, of course, the no-brainer. If I was only allowed to watch one show in 2022, I could have told you in December which it would be - I have been amped for this since it was announced at the end of last year. Overlord has been one of my favorite titles since it came out in 2015, back when everyone was busy calling it a SAO-knockoff, and back when I never expected Madhouse to make another season at all, let alone four. So excited for these new episodes!

#utawarerumono #fukari no hakuro #mask of truth #lycoris recoil #youkoso jitsuryoku shijou shugi no kyoushitsu e #high school of the elite #overlord #summer anime 2022 #anime

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clarafordahwin · 10 months

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Agree with you about episode 2. I liked it and found certain expects of it very entertaining and/or engaging, but def felt they went for theatrically and some part of the witty back and forth were too long - even though from what I've read, critics seemed to love that. For me, i think, episode 3 or 4 were the best. Between Elliot's breakdown and the parents' backstory that I found very sad too. Linda clearly had ppd in the past, something you'd think a great doctor like Bev would recognize, yet she was so harsh toward them. I actually haven't watched the finale yet, I'm taking a break because the gothic nightmare of ep 5 was A LOT. What did you think about the moment Elliot fucked up and basically ruined Susan's sister's bladder? I couldn't understand what distract her, I rewatched and it seemed like she was stuck staring at Beverly like a little freak (lol) but why did that take her out? Did you like Genevieve btw?

Okay, watched episode 5. It was stunning. I'll be thinking about it for a while.

To answer your question, I think it was Elliot seeing Beverly hold the baby that made her loose concentration.

1. Elliot's rant about how everything that Beverly wants, Beverly gets. "I got you the birthing center, etc." Beverly was the one who wanted to be pregnant.

And when it was just a science experiment, Elliot wanted that too. But she got kicked out of the impregnation bit so the babies will always be Claire's. And she is staring down the idea of actually having to be a mother.

Will Beverly still put up with her behaviors and addictions when the babies are around?

Silas asked, when did you start lying to each other? I think that Elliot is still very aware of the threat Genevieve poses to her, and seeing Beverly smiling down at a new born, she was forced to confront it.

-----

2. Speaking of which, why does Beverly want to be a mother? I think a lot of when she tells her parents that every few years she parades them around so they can pretend they aren't psychopaths. Elliot desires things that are big and loud and thrilling. Beverly desires things that are good and normal, to the extent that she goes to grief counseling to imagine a life where she wasn't living a life inseparable from Elliot. She really does see Claire and the babies as the way out. Let's see how well those tools for separating siamese twins work out 🔧🔨🗜

3. Genevieve is cool! I like her. They showed her doing coke with Elliot once, and I wish they could have highlighted that a little more. That's what I loved about Claire in the original: she used drugs without becoming dependent, highlighting Beverly's extreme dependency issues once he started using. But with Elliot being the one on drugs, I guess that might not have been as poignant, and the pregnancy kind of replaced the drugs in terms of "thing that worked to push Bev away from Elly." So I guess I wish she could have been given some more flaws. She can get a little too therapy-speak sometimes. But I love the actress, and am excited to see what she does in episode 6!

#everything below the cut is up to episode 5. havent seen the finale yet.#dead ringers 2023 #anon #ask #shut up clark

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taohs · 1 year

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the soundtrack for snk DEFINITELY is crazy good, i think i only watched up to season 2 but i can back you already on it being such an amazing series! if anything i probably am caught up bc everytime an episode aired id basically watch the whole thing through my dash lmao! is the manga still continuing? or did it already finish im not sure.

demon slayyyerrr, i love that show! i cannot wait til season 3 for a new arc. the last one was crazyyy omg i fell madly in love for tengen so fast and i always love the openings!! + soundtrack none of it has missed.

hehe if i told you my top 3 youd probably find out who i am wayyy too quickly. But from ones that I can think of, Horimiya! I love a good shoujo and im pretty sure the anime was long anticipated since the manga is popular! Plus the op is such a classic at this point and it reminds me of kamisama kiss's op!

its always amazing to have an anime that means so much to you that you're able to watching it a gahzillion times and it never gets old so im so glad to hear you have an anime like that for you! Theres plenty like that for me too that ive been rewatching lately :3

more questions yay! whats your favorite season? favorite music genres? and favorite pass time activity like if youre bored or have some free time! - your animanga secret santa c:

if you ever decide to pick up snk again i would definitely recommend it!! it's definitely such an amazing story (but traumatizing) and many of the characters are so lovable! the manga has ended last year (i think), but i didn't read past where season 4 part 2 stopped because i want to save my reactions for the anime. i'm really looking forward to the last season and how mappa will adapt it. i have high expectations for it and i hope that it receives the same amount of care that csm has gotten!

omg yesss season 2 really made everyone fall in love with tengen akljflfd!!! ufotable went hard with the animations! i'm never ever disappointed when it comes to kny's adaptations. have you seen the latest trailer for season 3 yet? it looks really good already! finally time for mitsuri and muichirou to shine!! <3

oo i heard a lot about horimiya! i really like the artstyle from what i've seen of it. shoujo is actually a genre that i haven't ventured very far into, even though they have a lot of good series! kamisama kiss' opening is fantastic so i'll take your word for it that horimiya's op is also good 👀 would you say horimiya is one of your favorite shoujo?

hmm i would say my favorite season is spring and summer!!! i really love the warm weathers and i get to wear cute clothes > u < i also generally feel a lot happier during those seasons, but i still love winter and fall because i get to snuggle under blankets to keep warm :'D my music preference is really all over the place so i can't pin down what my favorite is HAHA but i enjoy listening to a variety of kpop, cpop, anime, love ballads and pop music ♡ ♡ when i’m bored i usually like to watch TV, play games or make something in photoshop!!

#anonymous #answered #secret santa

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fatbottombucky · 2 years

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Marvel Series Are Weird... Right?

SPOILERS FOR HAWKEYE SERIES+ MORE

I find it so odd that Marvel has given A LOT of their characters massive character overhauls for their series... just to possibly never use them ever again (AKA them dying)

Hawkeye, for instance, I never really liked him- a better term would be 'cared for', especially MCU Clint- I just never found him that interesting and I thought adding his family in Ultron seemed weird, rather pushed upon us as some weird character development by Joss.

The show... is amazing. I went in for Kate Bishop, I'm now walking away from episode 4 with a newfound love for Clint (I fell in love with him in episode 1 tbh).

We see Clint having to deal with Endgame, a year on. So it's been a full year since the death of Natasha, which is STILL prevalent for him. Honestly, Natasha plays such a key role in his series, I thought she'd be referenced once or twice, but it's been multiple times with a few past shots of her. It's clear Clint has survivors guilt.

Clint is partially deaf and uses a hearing aid. This is from being around explosions and made worse from Endgame during the last fight. Clint told his wife about Ronin and she actively helps him (from home) with trying to get rid of his Ronin past.

Clint isn't a great father, but he's trying very hard to be present which is very difficult and can emotionally affect men because their relationship with their children is strained- I love that his series is touching on this, where he makes promises and REALLY struggles to follow through and leaves him feeling guilty about letting his family down.

SO... we get all this emotional development, plus some character development. We see him secretly enjoy Kate Bishop's questions and her excitedness over... him. The show pokes fun at the fact Clint doesn't have great branding and actually, people forget about him- which he finds nice cause his job is to be discreet.

Someone on TikTok called Clint the 'Passive Avenger', he didn't want or sign up to be one, but Loki making him passive in Avengers and having to watch as he had no control over himself made him become an Avenger.

The ending theory of Hawkeye is that Yelena (Natasha's sister from the movie Black Widow) is going to assassinate Clint, due to the fact, someone has put a Black Widow hit on him (she was chosen because Valentina Allegra de Fontaine told Yelena Clint killed Natasha).

We go through all this development with Clint, we find out so much about him, and his relationship with Natasha. Only to have him die?

What is it with Marvel and giving characters extreme character overhauls only to kill them, we had done to us with Loki, which I still haven't forgiven them for (despite getting a Loki series). The whole ten years with Loki and him being a villain, to passive and then, finally, redemption to only be killed by Thanos. I went on a journey with that character only... to have him die.

Same with Vision, I never really cared for him. The WandaVision series was AMAZING!!!! I learnt so much about him through Wanda and he taught her to let him go; to grieve. I think that series was emotionally beautiful but they did it again. They gave Vision a lot of development only to basically kill off the Vision we came to like.

Am I the only one slightly miffed by this?

IDK the thought of seeing Clint struggle to be a father, to being an unwilling mentor to Kate and dealing with his grief over his best friend... if they kill him off it's gonna suck. I think, at least, one original Avenger should get a chance at retirement (not accounting for Steve cause he had to go back in time to do his retirement) but also still be in this world.

I also think Clint should be the one to have a proper happy ending in the current MCU cause of Nat's sacrifice, she willingly gave up her life so he could see his kids (plus millions of others) again. She did that for him cause she knew, despite who he had become, Laura and his family will make him be Clint Barton again.

The whole killing characters off just so you don't have to mention them in future phases is just weird to me. Killing characters off for shock endings and twists is boring. Killing characters off because the actors are moving on is also lame, i mean, they never have to actually appear again they can just be named.

#marvel #mcu #hawkeye #if they kill off hawkeye then im out of the marvel fanclub #stop writing characters to be interesting and then killing them off in the span of 6-9 episodes #it aint good writing or even twisty #its boring and dull

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your-brilliant-lady-m · 3 years

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Part 1 - Basic Concepts of Miraculous Ladybug: Miraculous Jewels

Alright! I promised you meta and now I deliver!

I feel like people mostly watch Miraculous for the romance these days. Shipping is all everyone cares about. I wonder why? Probably because writers themselves don't take their worldbuilding very seriously and because they don't put much effort into making the audience care about something other than Love Square, like the mythology behind the Miraculous, or motivations of the main villain, or some pretty heavy topics for a kid's show that they bring up and then refuse to touch again. You know, all the good things. And this is coming from someone who is a passionate multishipper. I have lived through several shipping wars in different fandoms and came out victorious after all.

I am probably the only person out there who cares about the big picture, the overall storyline and the worldbuilding of Miraculous in addition to all details and implications that could develop into fascinating plotlines relevant to the main story. It is a rather lonely fandom experience, I must confess. But, hey? Who cares? I am here to have fun and bring to the table discussions no one wants to have.

So, let's talk about the basics.

If you, as the writing team, are capable of keeping only 1 thing consistent, then please, I beg you, let it be the basic concepts of your universe. Because in this case, one has to actively put effort into writing characters and conflict resolutions badly. And also because nothing can save bad worldbuilding.

I don't have high worldbuilding standards for Miraculous. They certainly aren't as high as the ones I had for Legend of Korra (which was a badly written trainwreck, that ATLA doesn't deserve as a sequel) or the ones I currently have for Dragon Prince. Therefore I won't be too harsh in my criticisms. Granted, I think that Miraculous has better worldbuilding and lore consistency than Winx Club for example (I haven't seen the reboot yet, so writers might have fixed their worldbuilding at least a little bit). Even though I enjoyed Winx when I was younger and some elements of this story still attract me.

Both serialised and episodic shows as well as movies to the lesser extent must have some flexibility in worldbuilding and plot because you can never be 100% sure where your story is going. Maybe, you'll get money for more seasons, maybe not. However, you must never lose sight of your basic concepts. They have to stay the same no matter what, because rewriting lore and retconning major developments every new season is not and never will be called good writing.

Forgive me for using architectural metaphors, but you need a solid foundation to build any kind of structure. Otherwise, everything falls apart.

I like to apply this logic to writing as well. When designing a world where your story takes place, you must lay a few ground rules. It's especially important if you have a magic system. What kind of ideas absolutely must exist? What kind of conclusion do you want your story to have? Does your magic system has limitations? Where is the grey area? Could you introduce new elements later on?

And I feel like the writing team of Miraculous Ladybug did not ask these questions. This may feel like I am nit-picking canon material and looking for problems that simply aren't there, but I promise that I am not. You see, things that I am about to point out only seem small at first glance. But these details are actually the source of the largest plotholes in the series. And their presence negatively affects character development, conflicts and resolutions of said conflicts.

That doesn't mean that I have nothing good to say about the magic system of the show and its elements. There are a lot of great ideas and concepts. And some of them have the potential to contribute to the delightful story.

Let's dive right into it, shall we?

Camouflage

I have to give credit where it's due because the idea of camouflage and shapeshifting for Miraculouses is brilliant. It seems like Miraculous can't fundamentally change its type of jewellery or accessory. The ring will always be the ring but with a different ornament, colour or shape. This is true most of the time (Monkey Miraculous is an exception since it transformed into earplugs/headphones/headband/circlet) It makes sense and avoids plotholes. Grimoire doesn't have the pictures of each Miraculous in disguise for identity protection. That was very neat too. I have no comments. This concept was very good.

Also, since Marinette wore a nose ring of the Ox in "Kwamibuster" without any problem and Adrien wore Ladybug's earrings in "Reflekdoll", we can assume that you don't need to have piercings to wear a Miraculous. Miraculous just magically passes through your skin.

I'm interested to know the following. Can Kwamis recognise a camouflaged Miraculous on a person? Can the holder order them to confess the identity of this person? This shouldn't be possible for identity protection just like with Kwamis sensing each other. But more on that in later posts.

Power Levels

For a long time, we assume that there are only 7 Miraculouses. Turtle belongs to Master Fu, Gabriel has Butterfly and Peacock, Marinette and Adrien have Ladybug and Black Cat. Everything is pretty straightforward. Then it's revealed that there are more jewels and more boxes. It makes the worldbuilding interesting, but it also majorly complicates things, making them inconsistent.

Their position in the Miracle Box implies their power levels. Creation and destruction are the most powerful forces in existence, therefore they are at the top. Moreover, it makes this Box the most important, the most powerful out of all others. Su Han in "Furious Fu" calls it "Mother Miracle Box". Fox, Turtle, Bee, Butterfly and Peacock have less power than the main pair, but more than the Miraculous of the lower Zodiac tier (since they correspond with animals of the Chinese Zodiac).

1. Ladybug can create anything out of nothing (Lucky Charm, which gives what you need the most at the moment). This Miraculous can resurrect the dead, reverse the effects of the Cataclysm. The power of Miraculous Cure or Miraculous Ladybug can work in several ways:

it simply repairs the damage (puts stuff back together, heals injuries and so on)

it reverses time for the matter, restoring things back to the state they were before the destruction occurred (however, the Cure doesn't erase people's memories of everything that happened unless they were mind-controlled, frozen in place or transformed by Akuma into something else - this is an important point that I'll discuss some other time)

How does Miraculous Cure work when there are no supervillians? In NY Special Marinette just says this.

Excuse me, what? What was that? You can't do anything when the villain is gone? What the hell?

*insert here every scene where Ladybug fixed Paris after destroying akumatized/amokized object (this action causes the Akuma victim to detransform/sentimonster to disappear - villain is gone) and purifying butterfly and feather*

It was such cheap angst. I couldn't even be upset when Adrien gave up his Miraculous, because that whole situation is just stupid. But, never mind. We aren't talking about that today.

Apparently, Lucky Charm and Miraculous Cure only work when summoned to battle a specific villain. What is the point then? Huh? You can't tell me that Ladybug has the power of unlimited creation and then say that she can't repair the damage without a special Lucky Charm that was magically synchronised with specific big bad of the week.

Ladybug also can purify Akumas. It makes sense for Ladybug to have the ability to reverse the magic of less powerful Miraculous. But this power can't be applied universally. How does this power of reversal apply to different situations where there is no evil Butterfly holder? Can Ladybug reverse the magic of any Miraculous?

The unlimited power of creation introduced in season 4 ("Mr. Pidgeon 72") is another fascinating thing. On one hand, it's logical and proves the status of this Miraculous as the most powerful. On the other hand, by introducing this power, you have created a plothole. Look, Marinette can create the charm which repels Akumas. If Ladybug can create anything then what stops her from creating a tool for finding Hawkmoth (like special glasses for discovering identities or a compass)? I mean, the show says that the power of creation is unlimited, it means that the creation of such tool is possible.

2. Black Cat can destroy anything with Cataclysm, even other Miraculous. He can kill living things and turn them into ash, but not himself. This Miraculous is supposed to have other special abilities that we don't see. And they should be equal to powers of Ladybug, both in number and in potency. Unfortunately, after 3 seasons writers didn't give us anything. It makes laughable the idea of balance between Ladybug and Black Cat.

Now, to the second tier. These Miraculouses have a singular ability, but they need a second one to keep the power balanced between Zodiac and the main pair.

3. Butterfly creates champions with different superpowers. But how does the time limit of children work for Butterfly? In theory, the countdown should start right after the creation of the Akuma since for Ladybug and Chat Noir countdown starts after activation of their powers even if they don't use them. However, if the countdown of the Butterfly begins after Akuma creation then there's no point because the holder has to stay transformed to guide their champion. The charged butterfly won't have time to even grant powers before the transformation of the child-holder drops. This issue is never explored because Gabriel doesn't have a time limit. However, I feel like it should be addressed in flashbacks of past Butterfly holders for example.

This Miraculous should be less powerful than Ladybug and Black Cat. It's often not. Some Akumas are too overpowered. Stormy Weather can move the Earth away from the Sun, Timetagger can send people through time and jump through time as well, Chat Blanc destroyed the world with a single energy blast, Miraculer could steal powers of those more powerful than her by default. These are the most notable examples. One could argue that Chat Blanc was a different case. Hawkmoth simply gave the most powerful Miraculous a boost. However, we know that even without a holder (the wildest and the most powerful form of uncontrolled Miraculous magic) Plagg's Cataclysm can't destroy the universe just like that (he presumably wiped out dinosaurs and sunk Atlantis on his own without a holder). I think that the less powerful Miraculous (Butterfly) shouldn't be able to increase the power of destruction to such a degree and give Black Cat the power to destroy celestial bodies and galaxies.

Writers want us to see Hawkmoth as the formidable villain. But it's not easy because he is less powerful than your main heroes by default of your worldbuilding. Sometimes writers make the Butterfly more powerful than creation and destruction to raise the stakes, breaking the laws of their magic system. So, how do you solve this? Let Ladybug and Black Cat keep their status as the most powerful and instead of giving Hawkmoth more magical power, make him smarter, more cunning, inventive. Gabriel is a fashion designer, whose creativity makes him a very good Butterfly holder. He has a life full of experience, he knows much more about things than the main teenage characters. Catalyst was very interesting for this very reason. Gabriel sort of discovered a cheat code to boost his powers. Show us how he experiments with his powers, how he analyses his past Akumas and tries to find the most effective ones. Maybe Gabriel tries to design Akumas that can specifically neutralise Ladybug and Chat Noir. This exploration could also give writers an opportunity to explain how the powers of Butterfly work. Can he control the type of powers he grants? Can he control the appearance of Akumas? There are many things to be explored.

4. Peacock creates sentimonsters. I remember that fans were very disappointed when the power of the Peacock was revealed at the end of season 2. I was one of them. The concept of Amoks is far too similar to akumatized butterflies. Other Miraculouses have unique abilities and keywords for their powers, while Peacock just looks like Butterfly 2.0. That glowing mask effect just adds insult to injury.

You have to start by figuring out the powers of the Peacock in a normal situation. If a holder is a good person, then how does their power work? For example, make them related to sight (because of the "eye" pattern on feathers). Maybe, Peacock grants the ability to see the several possibilities of the future, but only a few minutes ahead. Maybe, this Miraculous gives you the ability to see through someone's eyes for a few minutes (and the victim is completely unaware of the intrusion). Perhaps, Peacock allows the holder to use feathers (or tiny peacocks) as cameras one at a time and be all-seeing. These feather-spies can be destroyed by the holder or disappear on their own after some time. Such power could be devastating when used against heroes in canon.

5. Bee can paralyze. This power is pretty straightforward. Once I read a fanfiction focused on very vell done Chloe Redemption, where she fights alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, she grows and becomes a better person. This fic ends with an Akuma battle, where LB and CN are trapped and Akuma is ready to kill them. But Chloe uses a second power of the Bee on the villain - Miraculous Stinger. It's deadly both for the holder and for the victim (because bees die when they sting someone). Chloe kills the Akuma with a Stinger before it can get LB and CN, but she too dies making the ultimate irreversible sacrifice. I will add a link if I find it again.

6. Turtle can create a shield. I don't have much to say on this either. It feels underpowered compared to others in the second tier. Maybe Turtle can also slow down opponents (because turtles aren't the fasters animals out there).

7. Fox creates illusions and acts as their puppeteer. In order to create a balance between other powers, these illusions must hold for as long as the holder needs them to. I propose this mostly because we see that Venom of the Bee lasts very long, the shield of the Turtle lasts either until it's destroyed or the holder wants to remove it, same goes for Akumas and sentimonsters who disappear only when the holder wants them to or their affected object is destroyed.

Let's talk about Zodiac tier. Miraculous of the third tier shouldn't have the second ability like more powerful ones. These powers are the most inconsistent. Even if we haven't seen all of them yet.

8. Mouse can create many small clones of the holder. It is unclear how these clones communicate with each other and how many of them this Miraculous can create. The holder can control the number of clones. This power was very convenient in "Kwamibuster" and it makes sense symbolically for the mouse. What activates the time-limit for children? Marinette didn't have any problems with it when she became Multimouse.

9. Snake can create a 5-minute time loop and has the ability to come back in time. This Miraculous feels a bit overpowered for the Miraculous of the Zodiac Tier. The holder can reset the time as many times as he/she needs to. It's was a good source of drama and trauma in "Desperada". I was honestly surprised that Adrien was capable of fighting after spending months in a loop. But this doesn't change the fact that Snake is overpowered. You can give this Miraculous the power to hypnotise or keep the time ability but place a limit on the number of resets. How does the lyre work as a weapon? Who knows? No one!

10. Dragon can shapeshift into elements: water, wind and lightning. It has the coolest transformation words hands down (Bring the Storm and Open Sky). Apparently this Miraculous doesn't have the time limit.

11. Rabbit can time travel or jump through alternative realities, even writers aren't sure. Time-travel in this show is so badly written it gives me a headache. This Miraculous shouldn't exist just like its powers. Snake belongs to the same tier, but 5 minutes and whole centuries of time jumps aren't comparable in power levels. They are not and this is the hill I will die on. Give the Rabbit powers related to its symbolism in China like an ability to de-age people, heal them or give them a speed boost in contrast with Turtle who might have the ability to slow down.

This Miraculous is so special that its Kwami - Fluff can live separately from his Miraculous in a Miracle Box for millennia (Fluff lives in the Box in "Sandboy", but his Miraculous, pocket watch, was passed down for generations in Alix's family). This is a discussion for a separate post, however. There's a lot to unpack. We'll do that some other time. You will suffer with me but at a later date.

12. Horse can create portals. They could lead anywhere, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, this power is not very useful in direct combat, especially when it's used by a child since we can have only one portal per transformation.

13. Monkey can cause a malfunction in powers of other people. What is the point of this? This power was specifically created by writers to defeat Akuma in "Party Crasher". That's it. What if your target is not magical? How does this Miraculous work in different circumstances?

14. Pig shows people their greatest desire. Both the holder and the recipient of this power can see this desire. Chat Noir wasn't impressed in "Guiltrip" and neither was I. It's underpowered compared to other Miraculous in this tier. Also, why does the tambourine can shoot energy beams? Why?

That's all I have to say on the matter. I'll update the power analysis as needed.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous analysis #miraculous meta #ml meta #ml analysis #miraculous transformations #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug critical #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #mt of lb and cn #miraculous jewels

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pop-punklouis · 2 years

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speaking on strangers things; i am happy hop is alive, but they way the wrote him surviving was too obvious of plot armor. oh he just jump onto the lower level, no major injuries or burns??? Like there was always another level below the machine, in the season 3 finale you literally see like 4 of the bad guys in hazzmat suits on that lower level be turned to dust. Also it would been more interesting to see him stuck in the upside down instead. But i did enoy that plotline over all, specially the prison breakout, betrayal, and monster fighting. The hawkings crew had the strongest arc, but i did genuinely enjoy all of them. the Bullyying though...... that was fcking extreme man and hard to watch ngl. Like who on earth bullies someone for grieving their dead father 😭 the skating rink...... like i dont condone violence but like somebody had to put her down. Also the van and dinner scene right after that were so fcking funny to me. also least favorite character this season is that one dude thats basically the archice andrews of hawkings. i know they want me to find him cute, but he just bothers me ksjdhfhdh. Also i liked vecna as a villian more when we didnt know who he actually was, like idk i just like itd be better if he originated from the upside down, but i do see why the connected it the way they did. My adhd brain doesnt mind the 294848 different plots tbh and long episodes, but i do hope the last two episodes is everybody coming together and staying together for more than that one group scene they have every season. Also i know its likely someone will die, i just hope none of the kids, i cant handle that, srry to the adults but yeah... anways i rewatched the first three season after finishing the 4th and season 2 remains my favorite

i agree. i think it would've been more interesting to have him stuck in the upside down, but I'm not sure how good the CGI would've been able to hold up having him there practically the entire time. but his plot was one of the more interesting, in my opinion! i liked it a lot, and as I've said previously, i still think the prison break where he fights the demagorgen is one of the best scenes in the whole season.

the bullying was SUPER extreme like it made me hate angela with a burning passion of course lmao and i did not feel bad one bit when she finally got knocked in the face with the skate but the dramatic reaction from the cops? it was almost funny because it felt so absurd to me after everyone saw what was happening to her on that rink. like talk shit you get hit sorry :/

NOT ARCHIE ANDREWS pls its so real. every time he was on screen (that poor actor... his line deliveries were so bad) my mom and i cracked up lmao

and yes?? i was way more intrigued with vecna as a character when i assumed he was just another monster. not a great villain, in my opinion, as his presence did not rock me the same way the demagorgen, the demadogs, and the mind flayer did in seasons past, but he was alright. him being a human who morphed into this demon/monster hybrid that... preys on teens regrets and trauma or some shit is so dumb I'm sorry like what's the point. i wanted more also i wanted a better monster design he kinda just looks like a similar design to Predator

people keep speculating that steve might die, but unless joe keery wants to leave the show and pursue other opportunities, i don't see that happening. the blowback from fans would be unreal, so i think it might be a main character that isn't as present (like jonathan jesus he doesn't even exist here anymore tbh) but i don't think it will be one that's TOO beloved just for the shock factor idk

i actually was planning on going back and watching the first three seasons as well! season 2 will always reign supreme in my mind, but I haven't watched the seasons back since I did the very first time so it will be cool to watch it all over again knowing where the story is in S4

#stranger things spoilers

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doorbloggr · 3 years

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Saturday 22/5/21 - Learning When it is OK to Drop a Series

The way I consume shows and books makes it difficult to keep a constant schedule of entertainment. I am very guilty of binge watching/reading, when I start a series, I will watch up to ten episodes in one sitting well after midnight. Then i sit around for weeks at a time putting off starting the next thing, knowing it too will take all my attention for a few days.

Unfortunately this binge behaviour means that I have often been a poor judge of character when it comes to whether I should finish something. Hey I'm already 10 episodes into this show, might as well watch all 24 episodes. And that has meant I've got a number of series on my Finished Anime List that I sort of feel wasted my time.

Higurashi is moe-horror, a very specific flavour of anime/manga where the characters and themes are cute on the surface but there is abuse, murder and monstrosities when you get even skin deep.

The true catalyst for this epiphany was an anime called Higurashi: When they Cry NEW. I followed up on it after a streamer I watch said the original series was one of their favourite anime. The show is a psychological and physical horror, and as I've discussed in previous blog posts, my domain is usually Slice of Life, so... a far cry from my comfort zone. I told the two friends I get anime reccomendations from that I was watching it and their reaction was very telling of signs I shouldve read.

The friend who suggests me Slice of Life and Isekai/Fantasy anime told me that he would never touch an anime like Higurashi with a ten foot pole. The friend who suggests me Fan Service and Horror anime told me that she tried to watch Higurashi but thought it was pretty dumb and hard to watch.

I continued to watch the show, I was 8 episodes in, and wanted to see if it got better. At 17 episodes, I was questioning again whether I should drop it, but I was almost done, so why not just finish? I regretted that.

This post is not a recommendation against Higurashu by the way, but my opinion is, if you're ok with very visceral gore horror, heavy themes of abuse, and looping stories that only get scarier with each retelling... hey, Higurashi could be for you, but in hindsight, it wasn't for me.

After I finished Higurashi, I caught up on Log Horizon, an anime I am very familiar with and enjoyed a lot.

After watching Higurashi I vowed to myself to only search out anime I know I'll be interested in, or take on suggestions from my friends who know what I like. Since Higurashi I haven't chosen to drop any series, but I also have only watched one Isekai and three Slice of Life's since then, and I thoroughly enjoyed all start to finish. But to safeguard myself against future bad binges, I'm gonna end this post with some advice to myself, and others, on how to ensure your media consumption is enjoyable.

1. Keep records and check for patterns

On my phone I have a Notes file detailing all the anime I've finished. I mostly do this because I have an obsession with documenting my habits and looking back, but it also helps as a way to reflect on what type on anime I have enjoyed in the past.

If you have a record of what you have watched, you can look over the list and find trends. Then you choose new series that have a lot in common with your faves.

I have enjoyed many romance anime, and the one mecha anime I've seen, Guren Lagann, I enjoyed a lot. So when heard that Darling in the Franxx was a mecha anime with romance, I was veryyy interested.

2. Swap stories with friends

On the list I discussed above, about 80% of the anime I've watched were recommendations from friends. It's like a learning AI, but with real people. Friends give you a bunch of anime to watch and you tell them which ones you enjoyed. Then they can get back to you with anime they think you'd enjoy based on past preferences.

Ben-to was an anime I recently watched because a friend told me it's just the type of show I'd enjoy.

My friends have gotten really good at recommending me anime that I enjoy because I've told them when I'm watching a new show and whether I like it or not. Because of my long dry spells, I dont watch a tonne, but I also give my own recommendations back and they've enjoyed my suggestions.

3. Unsure? Four episodes

Ages ago, I was watching a podcast run by 3 streamers called LewdCast and they had a segment where they had an anime bookclub; basically they'd come to each podcast having watched an anime and discuss whether they liked it or not. But having to watch an entire series per week not knowing whether you'd like it is exhausting. So their rule was to watch the first four episodes.

Food Wars was actually a recommendation from LewdCast that I was very hooked into by Episode 4, so I watched the entire series and it is still my fave anime this year.

Episodes 1 and 2 are usually world building and introduction of themes and characters. So dismissing an anime after the first episode isn't giving it a proper chance. But after 4 episodes, the themes have been established, you're introduced to core characters, and you've been given a glimpse of what the flow or hook of the show is. You're at least partway into an arc and you understand how the show will operate overall.

Some people will tell you, "Oh this show is a slow burn, but it gets really good deep into the first season", but the truth is, if you're hating it or not hooked after 4 episodes, it's probably not worth it. If a friend I know tells me, "trust me, you'll enjoy this", then I will probably stick with a show I'm on the fence with more then 4 episodes. But if you sought out a show on your own and you don't know if you'd like it, give it four episodes. If you don't wanna finish it after that, drop it.

#blog #blogpost #anime #manga #higurashi

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