#but my point stands she's still just as solid as the other characters. give her some love.

[glacierbash]

thinking about that one post about "he's a girl to me" or whatever. and that has me thinking about heavensward so much. and also stormblood! kinda just ffxiv in general but I feel the later expansions have this issue less but ESPECIALLY like. estinien, aymeric, and zenos when compared to the actual women in the expansion. it feels to me like the women of the expansion are by and far overlooked by people for the sake of the men and that general "he's so girl to me" contributes to it. Like there ARE women right there you know. like there are very very very good women just a few feet to the left. you can talk about how girlie estinien is to you but like. ysayle is right there. you can talk about how babygirl zenos is but also. there's fordola. you know that right. like you can enjoy the women too. it's ok.

and ofc genuine actual transfem headcanons are SO fucking good. I love them so much. keep going. But like that post has said, when it's only men in the fandom being treated as "he's so girl" (AND NEVER WOMAN!!!! ALWAYS GIRL!!!!!) it gets really really fucking tiring.

i love estinien! I really like Zenos! I get it! And if they are your favorite characters and you want specifically content about them and to make content specifically about them that is FINE!! but also, holy shit is it exhausting when it's like 99% about them and not a single glimpse towards the women of the story. yeah ffxiv's writing has a huuuuuuge fucking issue with women. and also.

#i dunno it's hard to write something ranty like this without it feeling like #i'm bashing people for their faves. i'm not!!! #im just a really fucking tired lesbian who wants to see women get content #and not just the men of the media with the excuse 'he's so girlie to me' or WHATEVER!!!! #please for the love of god like. it almost feels like people are scared to hc characters as trans. #and if you don't want to who CARES but also come on. come on do it. your faves are trans now. enjoy. #anyways. sorry for the rant. bleh. #I'M JUST MAD WHEN THERE ARE SUPER WELL WRITTEN WOMEN 20 FEET TO THE LEFT WHO GET ENTIRELY IGNOREDDDDDD #ok. 'super well written' is sometimes an exaggeration. and fuck it i'll admit it. MY babygirl has her issues. #you can really feel the pivot where they were like 'oh fuck we don't want her to be a VILLAIN villain what do we do' #'we already had her evil cackle at ish/gard being assaulted and people dying. what now.' #and her death. i've screamed about it enough. #but my point stands she's still just as solid as the other characters. give her some love. #ok. that's all. rant over.

[tobiasdrake]

Thinking about redemption yesterday got me thinking about fallen heroes today, and how rare it is to see a character initially painted as a hero be driven to heinousness for legitimate reasons.

Often times, if a hero goes bad, it's because of an external force corrupting their mind. Or it's a misunderstanding and they were secretly still good all along. Or they were just having a rough day and they'll be good again in five minutes.

We rarely see get to see heroes go sour purely on their own merits. Maybe because their values weren't so benign as they'd seemed when pushed to a natural conclusion. Maybe because they expected too much of themselves or of others. Or maybe personal experience taught them to believe something else.

Whatever the case, as often as writers will attempt to examine the transformative power of better angels, we rarely get to see the transformative power of worse devils.

Which brings me to....

Sayaka Miki is a character that holds a special place in my heart, not for overcoming her flaws but for being consumed by them. She's a cautionary tale into the perils of righteousness.

I need to preface this by bringing up that the characters of Madoka Magica are children. They're irrational, judgmental, ignorant of risk, and quick to throw themselves into horrible mistakes with absolute confidence. Because they're children. That's how this works. The villain of the series is a psychological predator who feeds on the impulsivity and poor judgment of youth, grooming them into self-destruction.

The entire system of Magical Girls exists to give these children enough rope to hang themselves with and then to kick the ladder out from under them. That is the plot, with Sayaka being the primary means by which the show demonstrates the complete journey from rope to ladder.

I just. I need you to understand that even at her worst, Sayaka is a victim of predatory incentives and calculated coercions meant to cultivate her worst traits while stripping her of hopes and dreams. To drown her in mistakes she could never take back. She didn't have the life experience to know better. That's why her predator targets children.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. It's not immediately apparent when we meet her, but Sayaka's fatal flaw is ego. Her moral compass is wound extremely tight, and it's only later that we realize it's wound around her neck.

Like many children, Sayaka is trying on an identity moreso than expressing her inner self. She wants to be altruistic. She wants to be selfless. She wants to be a true hero. She wants to live by nothing more than high-minded ideals, expecting no reward for her efforts (but receiving it all the same).

She wants to be the kind of person that Mami was.

But she has no idea who Mami was. She wasn't there to see Mami fracture. To see her break down in vulnerability and express the isolating misery she lives in.

Sayaka didn't see that. She only saw how cool Mami looked when she was killing Witches. So when she tries on an identity, she's specifically trying on the identity of Mami - blissfully unaware that her interpretation of Mami was nothing but a mask. She is emulating the behavior of a victim already consumed by the predatory incentives she's accepting.

Sayaka was doomed from the moment she made her wish.

Once again, the show does a brilliant job of concealing this at first. Right off the bat, it's easy for Sayaka to be the hero. She saves both her BFFs Madoka and Hitomi from a Witch in her debut adventure, before being immediately thrust into a moral argument that's super easy for her to win.

This is what a hero looks like! Should we stand by and let monsters eat people YES/NO

Sayaka says no. Sayaka says letting monsters eat people is bad. Solid Bioware-level moral dilemma she's got here. Sayaka won +10 Paragon points for the choices she picked out of this conversation tree, lemme tell you!

Moments like this work to disguise what's going on here with Sayaka. Obviously Sayaka's making good choices and doing the right thing when the alternative is Kyoko going "Want me to break your crush's limbs so he needs you for life support?" That's awful, so since Sayaka's against it then that means she must be right. Right?

Kyoko is the devil. Sayaka is the paragon.

But this is a story about nuanced and complex people. Sayaka isn't that person. Sayaka likes the idea of being that person. She's being dishonest - With herself, with others around her, and with the universe.

She's trying on an identity, not fully understanding who she really is or what her limitations are.

Incidentally, so is Kyoko, which is what makes their Yin and Yang dichotomy so potent. Having never been tested like this before, Sayaka is more selfish than she truly understands - While Kyoko, damaged by trauma, is more selfless than she wants to believe.

The thing Sayaka doesn't quite grasp is that, to an extent, it's okay to be selfish. It's okay to want things for yourself. Again, the identity she's trying to live up to was a lie to begin with. She only saw the mask; Never the humanity underneath. So she fails to recognize her own humanity; Her own needs and wants and desires.

She imprisons her own mind in a cage of altruism.

Sayaka is warned multiple times against spending her wish on another person. But she doesn't understand the perils of it. She lacks the necessary perspective to grasp the level of sacrifice she's making. (Because she is a child. I cannot stress this point enough.)

When she makes her wish, Sayaka wants her sacrifice reciprocated. She wants to be rewarded. But she doesn't want to want that. She wants to be the selfless hero for Kyosuke. To silently grant him a miracle because it's the right thing to do for her friend. But she expects, without consciously thinking about it, that the universe will deliver her nice things because she is good.

But life doesn't work like that. It doesn't give you things you aren't willing to reach for. Sayaka said she just wanted him to be happy. She just wanted to help people. She just wanted to dedicate her life to virtue and altruism, with no wants or needs or desires of her own.

Kyoko was being cruel and unfeeling when she suggested crippling Kyosuke; She was trying to express a mask of selfishness, the same way Sayaka's been trying to express a mask of selflessness. But she wasn't the only person telling Sayaka that it was a mistake to do this. She's just the only person who said it after the fact.

So the universe calls her bluff. While Sayaka waits for her sacrifices to be rewarded, fracturing more and more from learning what those sacrifices truly entail, someone else claims her prize. The work gets harder, not just physically but emotionally. And she only gets what she asked for. Nothing more.

This is what a hero looks like. She wanted to be Mami.

Remind me. What was Mami's reward for her sacrifices?

Oh. Yeah. That's right.

The thing of it is, there is a reward for a Magical Girl's sacrifices. There is a prize you're meant to receive for the unjust hardships and self-destruction that you're volunteering to undertake.

It's the fucking wish.

That she, in her righteousness, gave away.

Sayaka's rope is woven from virtuous self-image. Her fatal flaw is ego. She was undone by arrogance expressed in ignorance, not of glory the way we often think of egotistic people, but of righteousness. She held herself to a standard no reasonable person could ever live up to, and it crushed her as it came crashing down.

And yet, she was a victim all the same. Because she was walked, hand-in-hand, to that pier by a predator. Children are meant to learn from their mistakes. Not to die for them.

#puella magi madoka magica #sayaka miki

[leilani-lily]

~Oh Deer~ (Chapter 1)

... So this idea for an Alastor x reader (kinda?) story popped in my brain, and has refused to leave me no matter how hard I try.

Have I written fanfiction recently? Hell no.

Do I even know how to write for an AroAce character? No but I'm gonna do my damndest to represent him properly (and also relying on outer sources so I'm not offending anyone).

Do I feel like a complete fool for being sucked back into the fanfiction world and re-entering with a freakin Hazbin Hotel fic? ABSOOOO-FREAKIN-LUTELY.

But here we are. The writing gods have spoken. And they have declared that I write this story out so my poor brain can focus on other things like work.

Figured I'd share so it's just not on my computer all lonely. Will be a slow burn so fair warning. Let's be real, the deer boi needs love. But not overly romantic love. Just, someone he ends up really caring about and becoming his favourite.

SYNOPSIS: AroAce! Alastor x Chef!Singer! Reader. The hotel is looking to hire a chef to prepare meals for the staff/guests. Somehow you're hired and you begin your new life. And somehow end up becoming close to a certain Radio Demon. Word Count: 1.8 K

Chapter 1 under the cut. Enjoy I guess? ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ok, deep breaths y/n. Remember to smile.

You felt your lips curl up into a strained grin as if to fight off the nerves in your chest, your grip tightening on the flyer in your fist. This could go either two ways. One, you get the job and are able to live a life of somewhat normality. Or two, you get hung from the tippy top of the building by your own intestines. With your legs chopped off. And one of your arms sticking out of your ass.

Gotta love Hell and it’s creative subjects.

You shake your head out of those terrible thoughts, surely it wouldn’t be that bad?? When you saw the original broadcast on the 666 News, you couldn’t stop thinking how nice the Princess of Hell actually was. And building an entire hotel to help her subjects reform into something better was, perhaps a little optimistic in your opinion, but it made you admire her gumption and her love for her subjects.

So later when you found the flyer in search of a chef at the very same establishment the princess was hoping to fill… well, it somehow managed to get you all the way here. Standing at the doorsteps of the very lonely looking hotel on the hill. 

You had to admit it wasn’t the look you had imagined, but hey, this was Hell. You had seen worse. And everyone has to start somewhere. Including yourself, arm still poised ready to knock yet not yet making the motion.

You felt so stupid, you had been standing here for almost 10 minutes now just trying to get the courage to enter the damn building. You sigh to yourself and shake out the jitters. Alright, let’s just do this. Once again, you smile, puff out your chest and raise your arm high in the air, ready to strike with a newfound courage.

“Well folks, looks like the little lady is finally ready to take the leap! Will she follow through with her actions? Or will she choke and back out of the fight? Let’s tune in and find out~”

You felt your heart nearly leap out of your chest as you whip your head around to look behind you. A tall demon clad in red and ruby eyes stood behind you, a wickedly wide grin filling his face as he points what appears to be a microphone in your direction. You stare at it dumbly, then make eye contact with him again. He remains poised, half lidded eyes seeming to hold a sparkle of impish joy. His eyes flicker from you, to your raised arm, and back to you. After a embarrassingly long time of connecting the dots, you finally extend your arm closer to the door, never breaking focus on the demon behind you (you can't help but notice he raises his microphone even closer to you), and give the door a good solid knock.

“AND SHE’S DONE IT FOLKS, what a display!!” He pulls the microphone back to himself, as you continue to stare dumbfounded “The form, the elegance, it could almost make a grown Imp cry. Let's give her a hand people.” He begins to clap as a roar of applause plays from… somewhere.

You couldn’t tell if this guy was being sarcastic or genuine, but the whole absurdity of it all, plus the bundle of nerves you were feeling earlier, seemed to bubble up inside of you and you couldn't help a little snort escape. The red demon’s grin widened as he ceases his clapping, stepping closer to you as you continue to giggle.

“Ahhh now isn’t that better. A much nicer smile than the one you were faking earlier. Besides, there’s no need to be so shy my dear. This hotel is always happy to accept wayward demons looking for reformation!”

Upon hearing his words, you turn to face him and put your hands up “Oh nono, I’m not here to-”

“Ohoho~! and what’s this you have here?” Before you can finish your sentence, the tall demon ripped the flyer out of your hand and inspected it quickly, before turning back to you. His half-lidded gaze was now round with surprise, his grin becoming even wider (which you didn’t even think was possible).

“So THAT explains the nerves from before! And here I was just thinking you were a timid little thing. But a business woman! Now that I can admire.” He smiles at you almost impressed and leans in closer, your noses almost touching.

“Tell me my dear, can you make a good jambalaya? Or perhaps a hearty gumbo with cornbread on the side~?”

You were so flustered with the speed of everything happening (plus the close proximity of this demon you had just met certainly didn’t help). All you could manage was a jumbled “Uhh, well yes I-!”

“WONDERFULLLL~!" He straightens up again and you sigh with relief. “I’ll be sure to test you on such skills. But for now we should-”

The front doors of the hotel suddenly burst open and a short gray female stands before you, with long silvery hair and an eyepatch. She looks at you for a moment, before turning her gaze at the red demon and giving him a scowl.

“Alastor, what the HELL took you so long, you should’ve been back ages ago. And quit creeping out new potential clients.” Her gaze adverts back to you, expression softening ever so slightly, “Seriously, if he’s bothering you-” “Oh Vaggie my dear, no need to be so hostile. I was simply going over business with our newest chef!” he brings his long fingers up behind your shoulder and pulls you in close against his chest, making you yelp a moment before regaining composure. You could sense this so-called 'Vaggie' demon tense, eyes flickering between the two of you. You felt as if your brain was sputtering to catch up with the current conversation (he WORKS here??!)  before finally realizing what he had just called you. You sneak a look at him, and he gives you a quick wink before focusing back on the female before him. 

“Now be a doll and have Nifty tidy up one of the rooms, preferably one of a reasonable size and close to the kitchen. And call upon Charlie as well, she’ll DEFINITELY want to meet our newest addition!”

The female in front of you shot a glare at Alastor (you quickly noted these two did not seem to get along), but then flicked her gaze back at you. After a moment, she sighed and turned back into the building as she followed the male demon’s orders. You couldn’t help but notice how Alastor’s grip on you tightened ever so slightly as a chuckle escaped his lips, static humming ever so louder in amusement. He himself began to walk into the hotel, guiding you along with him.

"Now then. We’ll have to introduce you to everyone, as well as get you to fill in the proper paperwork, give you a proper tour of the place and-!”

“Wait wait,” you stop walking, causing him to halt. You notice a slight twitch in his eye and his hand squeezes you for a moment. He doesn’t like to be interrupted, duly noted. You take a breath.

“Sorry, uh for interrupting” That seemed to please him. “But does this mean… I got the job?? You don’t need a resume or a test or…?”

Alastor let out a guffaw of amusement “Why of course my dear! As long as you remain true to your word of being able to cook a good New Orleans dish, that’s all the proof I’ll need! There hasn’t been many a demon coming here interested in the job, so I say your timing couldn’t be more perfect!”

Well that was the easiest damn interview you’ve ever done. You felt yourself exhale a sigh of relief as you smile up to the tall demon. 

“Wow, that’s… that’s amazing, thank you so much.” He gave you a half lidded smirk, clearly enjoying being praised “So… does this make you my boss, Mr…?” 

You heard the sound of a record screech as his eyes widened in surprise. Hand finally leaving your shoulder and placing it on his own chest he began to laugh heartilly, a laugh track playing in the background. You stood there confused for a moment before he finally responded.

“Ohhh my goodness me, my mother would be rolling in her grave if she ever heard about this. How rude of me to be so forward without properly introducing myself!” One minute he was standing right beside you, and then the next he had sunken like a shadow into the floor, only to appear in front of you a few steps ahead. With grace and suave you didn’t realize he possessed, he gave a small hand flourish before bowing in front of you.

“I am Alastor, also known as the Radio Demon. I happen to be the Hotel’s Facility Manager, but you’ll find Miss Morningstar is the real ringleader around here,” You notice the corner of his lip twitch at that last remark, but you pay no mind to it. “If you ever have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to reach out to me.” You smile and dip yourself in your own little curtsy as he straightens up.

“My name is y/n, and I’ll be sure to do my best to serve you and this hotel, sir.” Alastor seemed to hum with approval as he looks down at you. “I guess I just have one more question for you, if that’s alright.” 

“Why of course dear y/n, whatever would it be?”

“Well, I uh…” You feel yourself becoming flustered at the question, and the radio demon seemed to notice. Cocking a head to the side, he takes a step forward, opening his arms into a friendly gesture.

“Come now dearest, you can ask me anything! If we’re going to be working together, we have to be honest with each other~” You look up at him and sigh, knowing he was right. With a gulp you straighten your back and wear a serious expression.

“How long did you see me standing by the door?” 

Alastors face didn’t waver, it was hard to tell what was going on in his mind. Then his smile grew into what looked like an amused, smug expression before answering.

“The whole time.”

You groaned and felt your head slap against your hand, making Alastor burst into laughter yet again at your expense. He was there watching the entire time?? Satan’s Ass you felt like such an idiot. Was he waiting for you to move so he could get in the building?? The more you thought about it the more you wanted to sink into the floor and die, for a 2nd time. The radio demon wiped a stray tear from his eye.

“Ohhhh y/n, what a riot you are. I can already tell that this is going to be fun~”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First chapter hoorayyy ♡〜٩( ˃▿˂ )۶〜♡ Not sure how often I'll be updating, hopefully soon as I'm currently inspired. Thanks for reading thus far!FIRST (You're here!) PREVIOUS (Doesn't exist ( • ᴗ - ) ✧) NEXT

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel fanfiction #oh deer #leilani-lily

[midwesternvibes]

Time for more Seperated Leo Human AU! (I really need a name good lord-)

As promised, we now get to look into Leon's lore! He's a funky little guy, and shockingly well adjusted!

Lore drop under the cut!

His full name is Leonardo Tomás Esposito, and he is quite proud of it! He picked it out himself when he was about 10 years old, and he's happy to say that he still loves it to this day! (Fun fact: all of the names have double meanings to them hehe)

But anyways, his Mamà is in fact, NOT Big Mama (but it was a solid guess!), her name is actually Mia Esposito! (+10 Fandom points to anyone who can guess her full first name) She is a full time nurse and used to travel around the several NYC hospitals as an on-call nurse, but once Leon was born she stuck her roots down to one and has been there ever since!

She's actually an incredibly interesting character (with her very own arc!) with a lot of depth and meaning. She grew up with her Puerto Rican mother and Italian father, but after a series of misfortunes and despair, she ended up immigrating to NYC to start a new life for herself. About 10 years later she began raising a baby all on her own as a single immigrant mother in New York City (Sound familiar?). Whenever Leon asks about his father she tells him that she doesn't remember his Papá, only that he had the same almond-shaped brown eyes as her baby boy....

But ultimately she doesn't remember him hahaha maybe Leon should stop asking questions and get back to studying!

(Leon knows that she's hiding something, but ultimately he doesn't care about his father that much, he just assumes that he did something to hurt his Mamá and wants nothing to do with the man at all)

Leon and his Mamá are very close, they're very similar to Percy and Sally Jackson from the PJO series, and they would definitely fight God for each other.

Leon was raised very much with the mentality of "It takes a village" and has many aunts and uncles and relatives in the hospital staff that he considers family. Mia couldn't really afford childcare as Leon grew up, as it often came down to food or rent for the month. The hospital staff saw this and absolutely adored little baby Esposito, so they were more than happy to raise him alongside their own children. Mia owes her life to this staff and considers them her family through and through.

As he grew up, Leon saw all his favorite people as nurses and doctors and considered each and every one of them heros. He decided very early on that he wanted to be a doctor when he grew up, and after a terrible injury when he was 14 it cemented the fact that he wanted to be a pediatric surgeon, to help kids just like him.

But the issue is, Leon and Mia definitely do not have enough to cover medical school for Leon on a single nurse's income, even with all the jobs that Mia and Leon have taken over the years. That's why Leon NEEDS the athletic and valedictorian scholarship, without it he won't be able to achieve his dream. The only thing standing in his way is.....

THE HAMATOS

(Except Michael, he's a gift)

Leon is willing to do ANYTHING to get those scholarships, but his Mamá always reminds him that the Hamatos might need it just as badly as he does, and that's about all that's keeping him from REALLY doing anything to hurt/sabotage them. His Mamá has instilled a really strict moral code into his psyche and he won't actually do anything to them, he just....really wants to give his Mamá a better life, one she deserves.

Although, he is kinda curious as to why the Hamato brothers have the same eyes as him......

First // Previous // Next

Whew! That was pretty much just a really intense ramble, sorry there was no actual structure to that, I just really wanted to talk about my Leon lore! Props to anyone who figures out the significance of all the names, and to clear up any confusion, Mia is Half Puerto Rican, half Italian, and Leon is 1/4 Puerto Rican, 1/4 Italian, and 1/2 Japanese (but shhh he doesn't know that yet) and obviously he's got that amazing vitiligo (shout out to anyone and everyone with vitiligo, y'all are amazing and beautiful)

Thanks for reading my lore dump, see ya next time for..... huh idk yet, vote ig

See ya next time!

#Leonardo rottmnt #Leo rottmnt #Rise Leo #Leonardo #separated leo au #seperated au #Mia LMA #Leon LMA #rottmnt #rottmnt leo #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #Tmnt #rise of tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise donnie #rise mikey #rise of the turtles #rise raph #trans leo #transmasc leo #trans leonardo

[mikodrawnnarratives]

TW IMPLIED CHARACTER DEATH

TW BLOOD

(Just like last time, it isn't really graphic but I'm tagging just so you know)

@naffeclipse

Part 1 | This is Part Two | Part Three | Extra

It. Probably won't need a part 4

I'm doing this all on one cps file so I sure hope so kjlfdkfljs

i'm at like- 750+ layers i'm so sorry my file

...there might be a part 4 but it'll be small sketches and aftermaths

Once again, long post under the cut:

I am not the only traveler, who has not repaid his debt.

I've been searching for a trail to follow again

Take me back to the night we met

- The night we met by Lord Hurdon

Alright, I didn't make too much of an effort to hide it but how many of you guessed it was gregory and how many of you didn't see it coming?

Gee I wonder who Gregory's companions are

Okay if you don't have a nugget of who these companions are then my rambling below makes it a little more obvious

Anyway, this little comic of self indulgence to mend my broken heart says "YO what if Gregory and other characters saved Vanessa like they did in canon"

It certainly would NOT be easy for Vanessa once she wakes up to that realization. But there are factors that make it a little bit easier for Vanessa to cope compared to other children.

Since Gregory and others proved they could fight and free her as Vanny, it gives her mind a little reassurance that they aren't completely helpless.

Plus, I like the idea of the GGY story (Dr Rabbit) existing as this au's equivalent of the same experience, that would mean Gregory has had his own bad experiences with Glitchtrap and so it wouldn't be like some random kid going against a threat he was unfamiliar with

She still distances herself a lot earlier on and the more time passes, the older Gregory gets, the less he looks and sounds like a kid.

Those make it much easier for Vanessa to stand being around them as time goes by. Earlier on, she only really interacted when absolutely necessary. But she did grow a small soft spot for them.

She remained pretty closed off about herself over the years and never delved too deep about her past. Ness left frequently for her own hunting jobs and at one point Gregory asked where she went. Somethings made it seem like these hunts weren't just random and different

He didn't get an answer of course. But later that day, Vanessa told him about Y/n. In vague terms. This is the most information he ever gets about Vanessa's past.

So Gregory's got no idea who to expect to see showing up to the gravestone ltr on and is just like

Gregory: cool, ur mysterious enough for it to be believable ur related to my mysterious older sister/mentor figure Wanna hear a story

Y/n: ...yes.

Forgive him his brain is ever so foggy from grief and no slep

Anyway, Y/n picked a day to visit Vanessa when they knew they were stable enough not to lash out and attack any humans that may happen to also be visiting the graves. They had eaten pretty recently but not so recent that they were vulnerable.

It's pretty early in the morning where it is still dark and the rain provides some more protection.

If you couldn't tell before, many MANY years have passed since Y/n has been human. Think somewhere between 20-30 years. And while, they still hate who they are now and aren't mentally okay, they've gotten a semi-solid understanding of their limits and what they can and cannot tolerate and when.

And, even though they are nervous, they can manage to have this conversation with Gregory for now.

Why are they talking to Gregory so willingly? despite the risks?

well

the next part will explain that

#Last Goodbye and First Hello comic #my art #MDN art tag #cryptid sightings #cryptid sightings fanart #vampire!y/n #the lost episode #cryptid sightings the lost episode #fnaf vanessa #vanessa a. #fnaf vanessa a. #dcamv #daycare attendant multiverse #gregory fnaf #fnaf gregory #gregory fazbear #cryptid hunter!y/n #cryptid hunter y/n #tw blood #blood #cw blood #cw character death #character death #implied character death #tw character death #fancomic

[dokidokitsuna]

Slowly, I think I’m getting a handle on this…I tried studying the character art from my favorite dead MMORPG, Maple Story 2, and I think it helped me find a style for the shading and rendering that’s more dramatic but still sort of cartoony.

Plus, I’ve been doing a bit of script writing, which always helps me figure things out. ^^ So please enjoy the additional work I’ve done on these character concepts.

-Between these two, Magolor definitely needed the most work: you can tell because I basically drew a full character design sheet, which is something I almost never do because I don’t like repetition. XP But it doesn’t feel repetitive when I’m totally lost to begin with. ^^; I think I got a little too abstract that first time I drew him, so my focus here was to figure out the specific shape of his body and rebuild outward from there. In stark contrast to my usual Magolor designs, he’s very tall and muscular, with an imposing silhouette (especially with his cape on). Yes, he IS hiding something under all those purple bandages, but we won’t talk about it today. ;)

-I also like that his outfit gets darker the further inside you go, from the solid white cape and glittering chains, to the silver armor and gray scarves, to the skintight navy blue fit underneath. Symbolism??? Perhaps~

-Blade’s design was already pretty solid, so I just adjusted her cape a little, and then dove straight into the Rainbow Malady concept art. ^^ Phase 1 has her sprout a second eye and wings on one side of her face. Her head catches fire, as the power of the Rainbow Sword attempts to ‘burn away the darkness’. In this phase, Blade is already in a lot of pain, but remains fully conscious and can even speak, when she isn’t coughing up multicolored blood. She can recover from this on her own with a day of rest. Phase 2 is much more serious, forcing her organs outside of her body, and growing star-shaped welts over the rest of her skin. At this point, she can no longer recover without Magolor’s help-- essentially, he uses magic to shove all her organs back where they belong and stitch up the open wounds. It’s like setting a bone after it’s broken-- just as painful as the injury itself (if not more), but necessary for proper healing…which takes about a week.  Phase 3 is the last and worst, transforming her arms into elongated wings and her whole body into burning plasma, on top of all the issues from Phase 2. Thankfully, she can’t really remain conscious in this phase-- she’s usually delirious from fever, blood loss, and her brain literally burning away. ^^; Storywise, she needs about a month to recover from this, so she doesn’t use it too often…of course, as the 'player', you can put her through it as many times as you want. =T

-Fun fact, I guess: So the primary love language between these two characters is food. ^^ I was musing about what I could do with a protagonist arc centered around worsening illness (which is…surprisingly rare), and I thought, “so what do you do for sick people? You put them to bed, you manage their symptoms, you clean and comfort them…and most importantly, you feed them.” And then ^that little doodle basically came to me in a dream, and from there evolved the idea of Magolor showing kindness to Blade by cooking for her.

Most of the time, the little affection Magolor shows to Blade is…basically performative. Think of it like a hammy supervillain petting their cat-- it’s more of a character stim than anything else. ^^; The way Magolor talks to Blade (and especially the way he talks about her…) makes it clear that the hand-holding and headpats don’t mean much.

But on the other hand, giving Blade food and watching her cutely devour it, especially during the times when she’s bed-ridden and he doesn’t see her as often…I like to think that might genuinely endear her to him a little, enough to make it a sort of stand-out gesture. Like, if he strokes her forehead when she’s sick, that’s whatever; but when he spends 5 hours making a Maxim tomato consommé for her to eat, that’s him trying to say he cares. Maybe it’s just a tiny bit, maybe it’s just in that moment, but a small part of him truly wants her to be happy.

#i think the brain worms are gonna stop now that I’ve finally gotten this out #maybe I’ll try doodling some of the boss characters later on #kirby #gijinka #au #BLADE_Princess #magolor #dark matter swordsman

[elvensorceress]

The thing is, even if they do the whole moving in thing now… to me it is almost like putting Eddie as a side character. We’ve had time to see the evolution of everyone else’s relationships, and as you pointed out even Tommy and Buck’s was developed better than Eddie and that woman. Making them live together all of a sudden almost feels as if they don’t care about Eddie enough to give him solid development. Because what we’ve had so far isn’t it…

Personally I want her gone. I can’t stand the actress and it annoys me she’s still there. Because she doesn’t deserve it after her behavior and because I am at my limit with her smug attitude. I wouldn’t mind Tommy staying for a bit longer, I like him and the different dynamics he brings in (wow look at that, maybe a developed character can be likeable!) but honestly I want her gone like, yesterday.

Been trying to think of a reply for this, but I basically just want to say:

100/10. No notes. Because. Yeah. Yes to all. Eddie and Tommy's relationship is more developed after one episode, too. Hell, Maddie and Eddie's relationship is more developed at this point and they've had one? group scene together? But we know more about what they think of each other and how they fit in each other's lives even without a single duo scene of them together. So. 🫠

But I agree. It wouldn't make sense. It's been a few months of them dating. Because they put the cruise ship disaster right at the beginning and the first three episodes spanned a week? Or so? And the cruise was two months(?) after season 6? Does anyone even know the supposed timeline they're working with? Or is it hand wavy like s4 was and we'll just never know for sure?

idk the timeline is fuzzy so don't quote me on anything. But it can't be more than maybe three months that they've been dating? And it's so late in the game to try and back track and show development now. She was in 6a. They could have done something to keep up that relationship throughout the whole season. Not that it really matters or that I want her on my screen for any longer. imo the lack of shown development would have to be on purpose. We know Mr.Minear doesn't like relationships like this where you seclude the characters and can't have them interact with the rest of the story so. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

(let's go quicker, Timothy! get there faster!)

If that moving in disaster (a la BuckTaylor) does happen, I would hope that it's for a reason. A good reason. But even then, it's like. Is there really a good enough reason at this point? Because I just don't think so. I am tired. She's insufferable.

🏳️‍⚧️🕯️Prayer circle to get the biphobic/homophobic transphobe off our show 2Kforever 🕯️🏳️‍⚧️

#will no one give my boy the storylines he deserves??? 😭 #when will Eddie stories come back from the war??? #911 spoilers #911 s7 spoilers #911 speculation #thank you friend! #jenwyn gets mail

[mahou-furbies]

Thoughts about the Cure design from Wonderful Pretty Cure?

Overall: alright designs, none of them are instant winners or get me interested in the character based on looks above, but there have been more meh season reveals as well. With the striped ribbons they do look more unified than any of the seasons that have come out while I've been following the franchise so that's a point in their favour at least.

Wonderful:

A really standard pink Cure design both with colours and shapes. I always like a two-tone hair (and would certainly like it less if her hair was just pink) but we've had the pink+blonde combo several times already, how about something new with the hair colour? Doggy ear hairstyle is fun at least and the crown is probably the best design element. And striped socks, or tights I guess, are always nice.

Friendy:

Unique hair colour for a purple Cure is very welcome and her hairstyle is cute. I also like how the four Cures are split into two pairs design-wise, so even if the whole team still doesn't look quite as unified as I'd like, at least the pairs have a more of a theme going on with each other. I also like how they swap brooch ribbons.

But about Friendy, the Sherlock vibe is nice but I'm skeptical if anything will come out of it. Overall I find this is a solid design even if no individual element stands out particularly.

Nyammy:

Lillian:

My favourite of these, mostly thanks to the Stocking like hair. And finally it's a white haired Cure! A white palette with blue accents gives her a peaceful look. I'm also very much a cat person so she gets points from that too. And I said that no design makes me that interested in the characters, but I think I'll have to take that back because Nyammy's dazed expression does make me curious, it'd be really funny if she ends up being like lol I don't care about everything.

Probably the weakest one of the bunch for me. Theme colour discourse aside, this is kind of too monochrome for my taste and I really don't like how the pink stripe looks with the teal. Hairstyle isn't my favourite either and I think she'd look nicer if she had a separate skirt or shorts under the hem. But the hem shape is good and I like how it looks with the ribbon.

#precure #wonderful precure! #responses

[neonoddeye]

Carried away | Zoro x Reader One Shot

As I write this, I’m on episode 239 of One Piece, but I could not resist writing something for my new husband. I absolutely freaking adore the characters in this show and will most likey write more for them in the future :)

Contents: swearing, very light violence (like, kicking and stuff), soooo fluffy as usual, gn! reader

For the first time in days, the straw hats finally reach solid ground; you almost jumped up and down with Luffy once your eccentric captain announced it to the ship. The sight of shops and adventures waiting to be uncovered is almost staggering, even though it’s a feeling you’ve been overcome with many times before. You’re snapped out of the daydream as you see Zoro throwing over the enormous anchor with incredulous ease, his figure glistening in the afternoon sun. He puts you in an indescribable trance, one that could easily overpower your prowess if you weren’t on the same crew as him. He turns to you after safely lowering the anchor and gives a small nod; as soon as you turn away, cheeks flush with embarrassment, Nami smacks you on cue.

“Don’t you get carried away by that idiot, y/n!” She scream-whispers to you. “You can do better than that, you know!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” you sigh. “I’ve tried, trust me. I just… I still want to get closer to him.”

“Well, have you made the effort?” Nami crosses her arms, giving you a playful smirk.

“I- guess I could.”

The crew begins gathering belongings for their adventure, with Luffy and Usopp already chasing each other down the pier you docked on.

Alright, fine, today’s the day. I can’t play this game with Zoro forever.

The two of you have been good friends since you joined the crew not too long ago, and it didn’t take you long to fall for the swordsman. Unfortunately, Zoro is reserved, and you’ve long tried to bury your feelings for him, save your venting to Nami and Robin from time to time. Yet, the small, almost unnecessary touches he gives you, and how worried he gets over you when you’re wounded make it difficult to keep your feelings away. For maybe, just maybe, the stubborn man could fall for you.

“Hey, Zoro” you approach him apprehensively as he begins to walk off the ship. “You got any plans today?”

“No, not really, just walkin’ around I suppose. Why?”

“Oh! I uhh… me neither.” You’re already sweating under his sharp gaze, per usual. “Do you want to uh… maybe go with me? I have nothing to do in particular.” You trail off at the last part, trying hard to not lose confidence.

“Sure, why not.” He cocks his head towards the exit, jumping off briskly. “Come down when you’re ready!” He yells back up to you.

Your body moves on instinct, swinging over and jumping off the ship as always. What was not in the plan was your shoe getting stuck on a loose nail sticking out of the ship, making you trip and fall over the ship much less gracefully. You scramble for a bit before two strong arms secure your fall, gently lowering you to your feet and patting you on the small of your back. His hand lingers for a bit before he walks around you to check for any damage.

“Tch, Franky’s gotta fix shit like that,” Zoro retorts. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for catching me,” you reply. “Swear I’ve never done that before, that was lame!”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. I know you’re better than that.” He follows with a small, ambiguous wink.

The hell is up with this man?

After some silence, the two of you find a row of shops with a sea of tourists gliding between them. It’s a wondrous sight to take in for the both of you.

Your eyes find a stand with a small arsenal of weapons, and Zoro catches you mentally recalling how much money you have to spend.“I’m gonna go over there first” Zoro points to a shop near the back of the marketplace, beyond the daunting wave of shoppers. “You can go over there, if you’d like.”

The two of you part ways for a bit, and you walk towards the arsenal to do some window shopping. Unfortunately, nothing seems to be of your liking, and you briskly thank the shopkeeper before turning to head over to Zoro.

Oh no, I let the airhead go off on his own, you curse yourself internally. After a quick first glance, he’s nowhere to be found in the crowd. Swiftly, you navigate the ocean of people and, after making a few educated guesses in turns, immediately spot the swordsman loitering about the street.

“There you are,” you say with an exhale. “Lost you for a sec.”

“Didn’t find what you needed?”

“Nah, nothing good. How the hell did you get over here?”

He shrugs his shoulders, giving you a small chuckle. “You’re a dumbass,” you reply playfully. Then, after gathering all of the courage you could possibly muster, you walk up to him and gingerly grab his wrist.

“I should stick with you, then. Hate to break it to ya, but you’re not really good at the whole ‘directions’ thing.”

His gaze softens with yours as he slides his hand into yours, interlocking it like he’s putting in the last piece of a puzzle. Your heart is threatening to pounce out of your chest, and by the way his ears turn the slightest shade of red, his is as well.

“Whatever you say.” He begins sauntering over to what you can make out is a sword care stand, pulling you alongside him by your hand. Which, you can notice, is already sweaty.

You follow Zoro to a sword care shop, watching his eyes graze every item with care. You’re not a swordsman yourself, but thankfully your mind is hardwired on the hand intertwined in his, taking note of every twitch and movement felt. To know you had a bit of a grip on such an unattainable man made you feel invincible in the moment.

And, fortunately, that invincibility was needed, as a figure slides across your peripheral vision and between you and Zoro, severing your sacred union to him. Your eyes dart to zoro, who is patting his clothing wildly. “Damn them, they took my fucking wallet!” He says between gritted teeth, already reaching for his swords. But before he can make any further moves, you stop him with an outstretched arm. “Let me get this one,” you say quietly to him before pouncing in the direction of the thief.

In one fell swoop, you kick the lousy criminal to the ground, jutting your foot into their neck and standing above them like an animal before prey.

“Think you stole from the wrong crew,” you spit, before reading down and plucking Zoro’s wallet from the thief, giving them one last kick to the groin for good measure. “Get lost.”

The thief scrambles to their feet and scurries into a nearby alleyway, and you turn back to meet Zoro with your head held high.

“Easy enough,” you smile at him, handing Zoro’s wallet to him. He takes back his belongings, then replaces the wallet with your hand, reuniting you to him once again. He then, much to your surprise, pulls you by the arm towards him, close enough to where you can hear his heartbeat drumming on his chest like a timpani. Your wide eyes meet his, and he gives you a small, but lingering, kiss on the forehead. “That was kinda hot, y/n. You should do that more sometime.”

“Well, I’d rather you not get your wallet stolen again,” you tease him, bringing your free hand up to caress his toned arm and taking in the warmth you longed for.

“Idiot. Wanna get lunch somewhere?”

“Like, a date?” You say, a huge grin forming on your face.

“Sure, let’s call it that.”

#ronoroa zoro #zoro roronoa x reader #zoro x y/n #zoro fluff #one piece #one piece x y/n #one piece x reader #zoro x reader #anime #loopdelta

[whelvehitee]

Perhaps I just needs to get some stuff off my mind

Wow that was so serious but-

POWERPUFF BRAINROT!!

Okay so here’s some headcanons that I’ve had but I’ve never really wrote them down but I think would be good fanfic material

I think the greens would be good friends after some time like as violent as they are they have very good battle chemistry because I don’t think they’d just be animals going ham on the enemy. As kids? Sure but as teenagers or new adults I think they’d achieve some sort of mutual understanding of each other. What I mean is that I feel like they would really get what the other is going through with being stereotyped as the “headstrong” and “numbskulls” because even though buttercup is more on the soft side and butch is just blatantly crazy I think they would get why they are like that after a point in their relationship (not romantic just in general). They wouldn’t call each other friends but they would stand up for each other in their own way, I don’t think buttercup would fight butchs battles for him instead she’d just give him advice in her own green way same goes for butch to buttercup.

I think because of buttercup being a green she gets bricks anger issues in a way butch doesn’t. Not shipping them but I’m just saying like buttercup in all her annoying and teasing glory would know when to shut up when it comes to brick because I don’t think anyone would want to get on his bad side considering she’s already been there yet never on the receiving end but looking back on the burns he’d give blossom during their fights I don’t think she’d like to mess with him. Brick already has a hard time going about his day because of constantly being on the edge I don’t think he’s ever had a childlike mentality after what’s happened with Him because I think Him really had a lasting effect on the boys causing them great types of trauma.

The puffs and ruffs probably come to a sort of understanding after some time because even if they don’t like each other they still get each other like I said with the greens I think this understanding is even deeper with the reds. They are EXTREMELY complex like I cannot even begin to explain how much of their character I can break down.

I don’t think blossom is a conservative know it all bitch instead I think blossom is narcissistic from being the forever leader but still being her everything nice qualities. Yes she is the nicest but I think she’s the LEAST reasonable. I think she would have very solid foundations for every situation which would be very hard to negotiate with causing disagreements that she wouldn’t anticipate but would still invite unknowingly. Knowing this I think her and brick would constantly be at odds yet brick would be the one making and effort to settle down instead most of the time because I think even with his all hotheadedness I don’t think he’s a person who would headache unnecessary arguments. Brick does have pride but he’s the complete opposite of blossom in a way where the way they handle social ques is also very different. Yes they have their similarities but I don’t think they’d be on the same page EVER. Now where does the understanding come? Their behaviour mostly because I feel like they’d respond to a lot of things the same way. On and emotional level I think they have a similar sense of stress.

Welp that’s all for now

#powerpuff girls #ppg #rowdyruff boys #rrb brick #ppg blossom #rowdyruff brick #ppg buttercup #ppg bubbles #powerpuff buttercup #powerpuff blossom #powerpuff bubbles #rrb boomer #rrb butch #rowdyruff butch #rowdyruff boomer #headcanon #idk what im doing #i have an exam tomorrow #i should study

[highfantasy-soul]

NATLA Episode 6 - Masks (2/5)

[Masterlist of my NATLA thoughts]

An explanation of what I'm doing here and my history with ATLA.

Of course, full spoilers ahead.

<previous/next>

Aang begging Zuko to let him go save his friends seems naïve of him (it is, kinda) but Zuko's resigned 'no' at Aang's pleas is heartbreaking. He's not gloating, he's not angry at Aang, he's exhausted and beaten down and surely feeling guilty over all the arguments Aang is throwing at him - everyone assumes they know who Zuko is because of the mask he's put on since his banishment, but Aang is the one who can see through it. Aang's naïve belief in the inherent goodness of people extends even to his enemies and is such an important character trait.

The war council flashback is ssooooooo well done! Zuko clearly just happy to be there and not actually paying attention, then desperately fumbling for an adequate answer to his own plan for the attack - all of which any viewer who had been paying attention could see are bad plans. BUT when the general suggests his own plan, Zuko is smart enough to see the flaw in it - he's far from inept, he just wasn't ready to jump in with his own strategy at his first war council. The frustration and disappointment Ozai shows as he tried to prompt his first-born to prove to him he was worthy is much more interesting to me than Ozai just writing Zuko off from the start. Ozai's insistence that 'sacrifice is a part of war' really is a key aspect of why he does what he does - to his people and to his children - and ironically, is exactly what Roku and the other Avatars always advise Aang. While Ozai takes it to the extreme, and it's very important that you know when a sacrifice is going too far, the sentiment is a solid one. Soldiers die in battle - it's when you resign yourself to that and no longer fight against it or you feel a twisted sense of pride and accomplishment for 'bearing' that sacrifice that the issues really come up.

It's a GREAT detail that Ozai doesn’t break eye contact with Zuko as he asks which division it is that will be sacrificed - gauging his son's reaction.

How Zuko stands up against the general is just sooo Zuko. Again, SHOWING his honor, not just having Zuko yell it randomly. The plan is 'unworthy' of the fire nation - it's a dishonorable tactic. In Zuko's eyes, just like fighting with your face hidden and employing mercenaries, it's underhanded and not how the fire nation - as they have positioned themselves to be in the world - should behave. All that propaganda about the Fire Nation being the best and always doing what is right begins to crumble, but he believes, as of now, that it's 'just a few bad apples' and the system is still good. If he can just speak out against the aberrations in the system, then everything will be fine because the system is correct, others just aren't living up to the way 'the system tells you to be' in the Fire Nation. (Oh my god, I knew my current DnD character had a lot of Zuko in her (plus Azula, little bit of Yue, some Darth Vader, and others) but damn, this analysis is hitting very close to home for her).

The Blue Spirit animated episode really shows Zhao's station in the Fire Nation - other leaders think he's just on a vanity project going after the Avatar. This is shown in the live-action all the way at the beginning of the season with Ozai declaring him 'no one of importance'. I think the live action giving us an early look at that, and Azula seeing him as someone she can use to further her own gains, adds depth to Zhao as we're not doing the Jong Jong storyline. Having Zhao take command of Zuko's search for the Avatar lines up with the animated version, and I like how they combine Zuko breaking his banishment by sneaking into the fire nation to capture Aang in the animated series episode Avatar Roku (part 2 of the Winter Solstice) with his infiltration of the prison. In an animated show, you can have many repeats of plot points (Zuko defying the fire nation rules to capture Aang) and meld them into one plotline that gives the moments time to breathe.

As iconic as the Blue Spirit episode is, there's little connective tissue from Zhao capturing the Avatar and Zuko showing up as the Blue Spirit to get him out - for some reason he's on the roof of the building as Zhao gets his promotion, then somehow gets back to his boat and sails off without Zhao realizing he was in the area until his boat pulls up beside his, then there's no indication that Zuko has any informants that would let him know that Zhao has caught the Avatar in a remote location or that he sent him to that particular prison. How does Zuko know any of this? It's established that Zhao is the one with resources, not Zuko. Sorry to poke holes in this beloved episode, but if y'all are going to complain about the live-action, I need to bring up this stuff so I can compare it to how the live-action handled it.

So, how did the live-action do it? Zuko was already employing June to capture Aang, and since we know she's great at it (and succeeded before), she gets him and hands him off. Then Zhao comes and 'takes Aang off Zuko's hands' as he's been given charge of capturing the Avatar and he goes ahead and taunts Zuko with the location he's taking him to: hammering home Zhao's overconfidence and urge to gloat. So in the live-action, there are direct lines from Zuko tracking and capturing Aang, Zhao taking him to the prison, and Zuko showing up as the Blue Spirit. Yes, the vibes of the animated episode are immaculate and I'm sure a lot of the questionable plot holes concerning the spirit are to keep the mystery of who it is until the mask comes off - but according to first-time watchers of the live-action, they didn't call it was Zuko either until the mask came off, so I think, from a storytelling perspective, the way the live-action did it flows better and is more tight storytelling while still maintaining the mystery of the masked man's identity.

Zuko's performance here is so great - Dallas manages to capture Zuko's anger and frustration as well as his vulnerability so well without skewing too hard in either direction. The perfect balance is struck where I think the animated series sometimes fell short of as, even though the narrative was clearly trying to get us to see that Zuko wasn't a flat villain and that there was a chance for him to be redeemed, a lot of his actions were quite one-note in the beginning. There were definitely hints of his softer side like in episode 3 when he asks Iroh if he really meant that he had more honor than Zhao, but I think the live-action, like with many of the character shifts, made him more real and believable rather than a heightened cartoon version of the archetype (after all, cartoons are meant to be heightened).

From the moment we see Aang tied up in the prison, it's almost a complete shot-for-shot remake of the animated version - even down to Zhao dictating to his little note-taker - and it's soo good. Funny enough, Zhao even tells Aang to stop worrying about his past and start worrying about his future. Just as with Ozai's twisting of 'necessary sacrifices', we see Zhao twist the idea of moving on from the past into something darker. Zhao is the epitome of the new Fire Nation ideals taken to the absurd extreme - the hubris, arrogance, and ambition by any means necessary. And unfortunately, despite its absurdity, it's a very very real depiction we see every day (Trump and Elon Musk being prime examples).

The escape is so close to identical even down to Aang's little quip where he questions the masked man, gets no response and says 'IIIII'll take that as a yes' (or the live-action version 'Right, escape now, talk later' which is the same energy so if you had an issue with that, take it up with the animated show). Though I will always mourn the loss of the line "Wait! My friends need to suck on those frooooggss!!!" I understand the need to nix that bit.

The standoff at the gate between The Blue Spirit holding his blades to Aang's throat and Zhao ready to take them out was so well done. No words, but the fact that you can see Zuko's eyes behind the mask, hear his shallow breathing as he's terrified his plan might not work, it adds so much. Aang's confusion, Zhao's cocky assurance, then uncomfortable shifting as he realizes brute force won't work this time - the Blue Spirit isn't afraid of him (he thinks). So many layers of masks and bluffs make the scene so good, even though most of us know how it's going to end. Being introduced to the Yuyan archers with Azula and then having Azula be Zhao's backup was a great way to tie in him getting promotions and more resources than he otherwise would have.

In The Blue Spirit episode of the animated series, Sokka and Katara are benched by getting sick, but I like that the live-action changed it to being captured in the Spirit Realm by Koh - it lets then still do stuff (character building stuff) while out of commission and Aang's reason for being in the place he's captured is a lot more compelling than 'he was looking for frozen frogs'.

<Ok, next posts are going to be very in depth about Zuko and Aang's interactions after the escape and the Agni Kai - I have a LOT to analyze there>

#natla #natla positivity #live action avatar #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar

[fipindustries]

my experiences with transphobia.

this will probably make me look a bit unlikeable because its going to ammount to "not that many tbh i was insanely priviledged", i am very well aware of the struggle that my community goes through every day all over the world, specially in the last few years where republicans and terfs and conservatives in general have seemed to drive themselves into mouth foaming frenzy out of disgust, and where intra community fighting seems to get more bitter every day.

but i do want to share my experience all the same and hopefully this will help give some hope in the current bleak state of affairs that not everything about being trans is constant suffering all the time.

winding back the clock all the way to me being a kid, i was very much bullied, from kindergarden to high school. my experience in the education system was twelve solid years of being called names, being pushed around, being ostracised, being made fun of and being excluded. i had people trick me into accepting food the offered and then telling me they had spit on it before (my response to that was to keep eating it all the same and made sure to enjoy it in front of them). ive had people beat the shit out of me, and i had people point at me on the hallways and laugh every time i would walk across them.

none of this was over any gender stuff, mind you, but because i was just "the weird kid" i was very openly nerdy and neurodivergent, i had been raised by cartoon shows and i would insist on behaving as a cartoon character irl. also because i was not very social, i was awkward and because i tended to keep to myself.

besides that i lived in a small town with no nerdy scene at all, my family (especially on my dad's side) just plain didnt get me. noone seemed to share or understand my hobbies and my dad would constantly critcize me for the way i behaved, the way i dressed, the way i talked, etc.

out of all this my response was to say "no, its the children who are wrong". i resolved from a very young age to just be myself and if that made me an outsider and a weirdo and an outcast then whatever. if some came to make fun of me or criticise me for just being me then they were in the wrong and their opinion was automatically discarded. i was not going to compromise myself for the sake of others. i never really developed a sense of shame over being who i was.

this of course was in part a bit of a trauma response which ended up with me having the maladaptive trait of being too self centered and too inconsiderate of other people's needs, i had a really bad tendency to see any criticism, no matter how valid, as an attack to be ignored, to this day i still have trouble measuring myself and noticing when im hurting others, i still have a hard time prioritizing other people's needs over my own.

but, tragicomically enough, this attitude proved to be actually rather useful for when i transitioned. i am more or less impervious to weird comments or outsiders eyes. as soon as i came out of the closet i was going out in full drag like, literally three days after. i was walking outside, going to the corner store, doing groceries, running errands and stuff ouside in the street with fake boobs and my face caked in make up i still didnt fully know how to properly apply. i had a bunch of kids yell faggot at me and my only thought was that those little shits should get taught some manners.

it also helped me brush off really unpleasant comments from a close friend with regards to my transition, like her saying she was sure i was going to end up detransitioning or that everyone thought i looked like a fake caricature of a woman. my first reaction to those comments was "she is just saying that to hurt me, opinion automatically discarded". it helped me stand uo to my dad who outright refused to call me by my pronouns or treat me like a girl so i just immediatly stopped talking to him or visisting him until he changed his mind. it took a year but he eventually did and now things are great between us.

but that is only half of the story. im telling you all this because it sounds cool and because im genuenly proud of it but the truth is also that, i just didnt have to put up with a lot of hardship in my life in general, i grew up in a nice house with a loving caring mo and step dad, i went to college, i lived a lower middle class lifestyle generally. once i got out of high school i managed to get some actual friends. and i live in a more or less stable country.

all of my friends and immediate family were instantly cool about my transition. my uncles, my grandma, my cousins, my mom, my sister, my step dad. i was immediatly accepted with an "ok, cool, you are mandy now". all of my friends immediatly accepted me with open arms as well. if there were ever any weird social games about "being excluded from girl spaces" or people treating me different or whatever im probably too socially oblivious to notice them.

on top of that i live in a genuenly very trans friendly country, in a seemingly trans friendly city. so generally goberment institutions, health care institutions, private bussineses, the companies i worked for, they all went out of their way to use my prefered pronouns and name, even before i changed my documentation to reflect this.

i dont think i ever was scared to come out of my house or walk down the streets of my city, even at night. and let me tell you, there are times where the sun hits the wrong way or i forgot to shave or all my clothes were dirty and i had to essentially boy mode, and none of that deterred me from going outside and doing my bussines without even sparing a second thought to what strangers on the street might think. other people on the street are just non-entities for me, they might as well be painted on the walls, i just cannot bring my self to care about what they might think.

i keep thinking back to that scc article about people living in different circles that seem to either automatically insulate them from or automatically draw them to abuse from others.

people are generally nice and normal and reasonable around me and i dont know if this is because i have an "anti-transphobia" field or i am just incredibly innatentive, where its happening all the time and i just dont notice it, but it has certainly made my life easier.

#trans #transgender #lgbtq #fip living life

[lumenflowered]

//did you actually play through one of the johto games as maria for this?

//if so, do you have any screenshots you could share on main?

OOC: I did! still am, as a matter of fact! I'm currently playing through refined gold, a romhack of heartgold which supposedly did not change much beyond allowing some pokemon (horsea, murkrow) to be acquired sooner but also I didn't read the documentation as closely as I should have and only discovered that it buffed major story trainers (gym leaders, silver, team rocket, pokemon league) once I got to falkner and he had a hoothoot.

I'm a bit of a pokemon veteran, or at least I'd like to think so... so a "minimal buffs" romhack was honestly a reasonable amount of challenge. I miss not having to deal with hms though. and tms being reusable. and the party-wide exp share. do you realize how much time I spent grinding in victory road and lance STILL clapped my ass.

anyway, let's see what I can dig up...

(putting this below a cut because I dug up a lot of screenshots)

most recent screenshot: that fucking gyarados was the bane of my existence because I don't have any electric-type moves and SOMEONE had the bright idea to give it DRAGON DANCE. which it used. four times.

a choice scarf is not enough to outspeed a 4x dragon dance gyarados. in-character, maria won by the skin of her teeth. out of character, oh goD that took me like three tries because of the dragon dance incident. more like two because I got some really terrible rng on the second try and went "fuck this" like ten seconds in, but still.

anyway I unfortunately did not think to get a screenshot of the hall of fame and I am not fighting lance again specifically for that screenshot, sorry guys, I'm not fucking with that gyarados aGAIN

sassy lost child when did you play ace attorney. (I was. NOT PREPARED for the silver fight. it took me four solid tries to beat him. which was part of my motivation for going "y'know what he can have this win in the blog canon.")

(honestly, if I had too much trouble with lance, I was fully prepared to yeet maria into kanto some other way. but he was beatable. evelyn carried the hell out of that fight. and she is still just a seadra ingame, though I do have a king scale ingame, she'll evolve eventually.)

look how fucking Shaped the honchkrow sprite is, btw. peak birb.

one of these options is really not like the others

[ade voice] call an ambulance... BUT NOT FOR ME

(she was faster)

the team! from back in the ice path I think?

I did, out of character, spend like a week playing voltorb flip to get an ice beam tm for evelyn. saw some REALLY weird rows such as this one with 5 voltorbs and no points, and several rows with a lot of points and no voltorbs. I think the highest I got was like... level 7/8. once. (technically could have cheated using savestates and gotten through it much faster but I feel like maria would be disappointed in me for that one.)

one of the team rocket admins had a really weird smeargle the message I sent this screenshot with was "what the fuck is this smeargle on" and I stand by that tbh

thanks reina.

the power of FLUFFY BOYS compels thee

I spent a bunch of time in the pokeathlon to get a fire stone for molotov (since I couldn't find it in the kimono girls' closet ingame) and. y'all may not know this. but the pokeathlon SUCKS ASS to play on an emulator. in-character I think maria would be best at the skill course due to her bloodborne weapon scaling REALLY WELL with a stat called skill. out of character that was the worst one to do on an emulator by far, I eventually managed to eke out enough victories on the jump course to get that fire stone and I don't plan on going back.

I have a lot of screenshots of Ade at low (but not 0!) hp.

see I remembered this happening but I forgot how you literally just WALK IN THERE AND HE HYPER BEAMS A GUY. (the guy's... maybe not fine but like. he's alive enough to complain about it afterwards. he's fine lance didn't commit a murder.)

lol. lmao even.

the funny thing is that she would have believed him if rotomblr hadn't spilled the beans on "yeah that's a wholeass champion"

this is the Rat, my hm slave.

because I have played bloodborne (kind of currently playing it? don't have access to it most of the time but I'll be able to continue my save in march) and gotten the dialogue of particular characters you meet early on, I feel no guilt in dubbing the rat "gehrman." he is permanently level 20 because that is evolution level and rattata can't learn strength but raticate can.

(youngster joey's rat later got named gehrman because 1) I thought it would be hilarious 2) a bit of a nod to the rat that I wouldn't be able to beat the game without, because hms suck and I hate them.)

live footage of evelyn sweeping the ENTIRETY of jasmine's team on take two of that gym. she's terrifying I love her <3

one of the QOL things that this particular romhack does is allow trade evos to evolve through different requirements. haunter's, for example, is learning shadow ball. which it does naturally at level 36.

I did not realize this until after I used the morty tm. on my gastly.

ade really wanted to evolve twice in one day. I have never b-buttoned a pokemon quite so much before in my life. (also yes I could have grabbed an everstone from professor elm but by the time I thought of that I was midway through the radio tower and could not be assed to go get that yet.)

behold, the Rat. I was fully intending to leave him at level 4 forever before I discovered rattata can't learn strength.

(also, I find it deeply amusing that furret can learn surf.)

one (1) fear: WHITNEY'S MILTANK.

it had a lum berry. and attract. and milk drink. for gameplay purposes, rakuyo is a guy, and at that point I only had rakuyo, hunter, and molotov. so that miltank was. a Nightmare.

youngster joey is the SINGLE opposing trainer who maria actually gave her number to, because I thought it would be funny.

she is less annoyed than I am by his constant calls about the top percentage rat.

baby hunter!

...god I don't think there was a single gym in this romhack where it wasn't at least a little down to the wire. olivine excluded, but that's specifically because jasmine kicked my entire ass the first time around and I trained a bunch more for the second one.

baby rakuyo! they've come so far <3

anyway that's. all the screenshots I can dig up that are fun. hi yes I have so many thoughts about this. come closer. :P

#ooc post

[ungrateful-cyborg]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @miqojak! Ty! It didn't even take me half a year to get around it this time XD

In no particular order, except for the first one ever since I'm 16. Also finding 10 fandoms is kinda hard because I'm def not that active, or even a passive participant, in so many fandoms so you'll get a glimpse of my younger self instead :'D

And long post ahead so thank you in advance if you've taken the time to go through this list!

Kanon, from Saint Seiya

Look, this is the blorbo and if you see similarities between his backstory and Kazan's, no you don't. Mentioning either him or the manga is enough to get my friends to sigh and groan as they await the inevitable gushing/rant that'll follow (which reminds me that I haven't, actually, gushed about him or ranted about the manga in quite a while now). Which is to say, I love lonely sad villains/antiheroes and if you've ever seen me mentioning the forbidden blorbo, now you know who I'm talking about.

Emet-Selch, from FFXIV

At this point I feel like I should mention that I do not stand in favor of manipulating or killing people as a form of therapy :'D

A bit more seriously though, I think he's the first character I felt so viscerally about in the game? Like I never agreed with his views but going through ShB I really hoped we'd managed to bring him to our side. My tragedy-loving ass won't complain about how ShB ended for him, mind you, but still.

Honorable mention for Thancred too, whom I feel more and more attached to as times passes, and also Y'shtola but in her case it's perhaps more the fact that she's, in terms of behavior, very much My Type.

Madi, from Black Sails

There are many great characters in that TV show and if you haven't seen it, I can only recommend it to you. But really, Madi is my favourite of the lot and definitely the inspiration for Inge if I had to pick one.

Between her cleverness, her dignity, her integrity, her charisma, her dedication to her people and her cause and her curiosity about others, what's not to love about her?

Varric Tethras, from Dragon Age 2 / DA:I

I was hesitating between Isabela and Cullen, but then I remembered the Best Companion Ever and how could I not put Hawke's most loyal friend on the list? I love him, love his loyalty, how he stays compassionate despite all he goes through, his sense of humor, his honesty... Only wish we could have romanced him in DA:I, but on the other end I like his story with Bianca so I'm not too sad about not being able to.

Byakuya Kuchiki, from Bleach

In the spirit of this dash game I'll respect the rules and make a choice, but if I'd filled this list any other day, I might have put Grimmjow there instead :'D

Anyway. I love a stubborn man with a stick up his ass and too many (conflicting) principles despite a rebellious heart who needs to be almost killed to start thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, he could have handle a Situation better.

And I love this character development past that point.

He wasn't an inspiration for Wolfe, but they're very much alike in several aspect. Byakuya is, however, a lot better at keeping a straight face.

Lois Habiba, from Torchwood S3

I haven't watched Torchwood in a long time but I remember her. In fact I remember Lois better than I remember some of the main cast.

She was just a normal young woman who had managed to get a really good job and risked everything to do the right thing and idk. She was just a really solid character that deserved better recognition.

Dean Winchester. Do I need to say from where?

Look, I loved all five seasons of Supernatural. A shame they didn't add more later!

And with Dean it's a bit personal so I'm not gonna go deep in details about it, but let's just say that there's quite a bit of me that I recognized in him and I just want to give that man a hug.

Donna Noble, from Doctor Who

I'm not up to date with the new seasons/episodes so no spoilers please!

But hm, yeah. I think what I loved the most about how Russel T. Davies was directing the show was how real his everyday people turned companion felt, and while I preferred Rose when I was younger, the older I get, the more appreciation I have for Donna.

She's just so full of life and character, so brave and so unapologetic about being herself despite her self-esteem issues, but I think what I love above all else about her is how she always acted as an equal to the Doctor.

I'm gonna repeat myself but really, the older I get, the more I love her. And I really need to catch up :'D

Cain Hargreaves, from the Cain saga

Honestly I don't expect anyone to remember this manga XD It's an old one I read when I was a teenager and one of the few I kept despite not having re-read it in 10+ years. I don't remember that much from it but I do remember the ending quite well.

Anyways. Cain's a young earl with a tragic past, a strong sense of justice, more money than common sense, a love for poisons and a fear of commitment. Truly, what could go wrong with such a character?

Also:

"Have I ever failed a promise to you? - Yes, all the time." after his sister made him swear he'd come back to her alive is just perfect.

Spike, from BtVS

He's devoted, he's cruel, he's romantic, he's brave, he's pathetic, he's capable of taking responsibility for his actions... I love a multifaceted character and I've had a soft spot for Spike ever since I've watched the series for the first time.

I rewatched it not too long ago and it didn't age that well imo, or maybe I'm just more critical than I used to be, but I still think Spike is an awesome character and I love that it was in spite of Whedon's intentions for him.

---

And I believe that brings me at 10 characters for 10 fandoms! It strangely feels more like undressing in front of strangers than actually undressing in front of strangers :'D So obviously I'm gonna tag a few people to do it too:

@under-the-blood-moonlight @merlwybs-wife @voidtekarc @alannah-corvaine @ashenbun @zhauric @biff-adventurer @tea-and-conspiracy and @confusedtia! And frankly anyone else who wants to!

#The More You Know #answered; OOC #I can only hope Tumblr won't block the notifications this time around

[entamewitchlulu]

So for bakarina side ships

What are your hcs for the women? All of them are super lesbian Disaster icons in show but I'm pretty sure everyone in that show is bisexuality incarnate.

I could see Mary, what with her scheming and emotional intelligence, actually being able to really connect with Sophia who always seems like she's projecting a little hard with her romance novel obsession.

Penny for your thoughts?

god i love the katacule f/f side ships soooo much. my personal fave is MariSofi mostly for the Aesthetic but also because they're my two favorite characters in the show and I think they should kiss

so ok here are some thoughts about the f/f combos

MarySofi is very sweet because these two have grown up together and have teamed up all the time on pretty much everything when it comes to Katarina so they've had so much time to get to know each other. Sophia gives Mary a chance to mellow out a bit since usually Mary is very headstrong and determined and constantly working hard, while Sophia is more of a quiet type who can help Mary slow down. Mary also helps Sophia be more assertive and confident in herself just by being around her and Sophia adores her for that boost. They're very soft and Sophia likes to share f/f romance novels with Mary; that's actually how their mutual feelings started to grow because Sophia was the first person to essentially reassure Mary that there was nothing wrong or weird about her for loving a woman by sharing stories where that love was normal and okay, so Mary is really grateful to Sophia for helping her feel more solid in her identity during times when she felt like maybe she was kidding herself and she'd never be taken seriously

MariSofi is super super soft. They are very snuggly and touchy feely and especially love playing with each other's hair. Maria taught Sophia how to bake and Sophia likes to make treats based on the things the characters in her favorite books eat and share them with Maria; she'll also perch in the corner of the kitchen and read out loud to Maria while Maria bakes, like ye olde audiobooks lol. I think aside from Katarina, Sophia is probably one of the more down-to-earth nobles of the group and while none of them really wield their position over anyone, there's still that pressure of knowing they're some of the most powerful people in the kingdom, but Sophia is just so gentle that Maria doesn't feel that pressure with her at all and Sophia has never really Felt like a noble so being with Maria makes her feel a lot more relaxed. I think they both really connect with each other on the topic of feeling as though they were born a curse on their loved ones and how they were able to work through that feeling and love the parts of themselves that they thought made them cursed.

MariMary (which is such a funny ship portmanteau) i think was a much slower relationship, because Mary initially was the most jealous of Maria for managing to get so far ahead with Katarina so quickly and easily while Mary had been trying literally for years to get Katarina to recognize her feelings for her and it took Maria like two seconds of existing for Katarina to start thinking shit like "wow if I were a man i'd marry her" so I can imagine that's a point of tension on Mary's side. Despite this it is impossible to hate Maria and Mary melts pretty quickly especially as she realizes that Maria is working SO hard, which definitely reminds Mary of how hard she's worked to be the perfect noblewoman who can stand at Katarina's side. They also both have histories with being bullied and struggling to work through the scars that left so I think they could find some comfort and relaxation in each other as they realize the similarities in each other and that they don't have to put on a front. Maria gives Mary the chance to let her hair loose, so to speak, taking a break from putting on airs as a noblewoman, while Mary's forceful personality gives Maria the boost she needs to not shy away from conflict and to feel confident in standing up for herself and believing that she has the right to belong in the space she's in without regard to her background.

anyway that was pretty rambly but i hope it was interesting!! i'd love to hear any more of your thoughts if you wanted to share :)

#lulu answers #hamefura #dark-angel-of-muses

[arqueete]

I saw Spring Awakening at a local college and this one was really *chef's kiss* for someone who has seen Spring Awakening live too many times. Lots of interesting little choices and details to appreciate.

The individual performances were mostly just alright (with a few standouts) but I find that that isn't actually that important to me when I see Spring Awakening. As long as the singing is in tune, the acting is earnest and enthusiastic, and the direction feels true to the themes of the show--and I felt like this cast and crew was solid on all those points--it doesn't really bother me if it feels "amateur." (I mean, it is amateur after all and amateur theater is still fun.)

It's clear that they took bits inspiration from the original production of Spring Awakening on Broadway and the Deaf West revival (not including deaf characters and sign language--BUT I do think there may have been some sign language incorporated in the choreography of The Guilty Ones? A nice touch, if so.) There are things I love about both versions so I really enjoyed that.

The choreography for Bitch of Living was really fun. The boys all had notebooks they were writing in in the classroom scene, and then during the song they would hold up the notebooks each with a letter written on them to spell out words alongside the lyrics, like B-I-T-C-H obviously, but also I-T-C-H in Moritz's verse, or T-H-I-C in Ernst's verse, or B-U-T-T in Hanschen's, or T-I-T-S in Georg's. They also only had one handheld microphone--the one Melchior was using in All That's Known, which he pulls out and hands to Moritz, and then gets passed around to each boy. I loved this visual of this gift of angsty music being passed around.

Similarly! In My Junk, as the girls sang their solos, Melchior came out and would hold up the microphone for each, also giving them an opportunity to make flirtatious poses with him. In the latter part of the song, there was a lot of this between Melchior and Wendla. Even though in reality they don't really interact until later, I thought this was a nice connection being drawn between them for the audience.

When Wendla said that her mama said she can't go to the wedding, Anna dramatically collapsed on the ground like Wendla, you're killing me.

There was also a great bit where Fraulein Grossenbustenhalter drops a handkerchief and bends over to pick it up.

When Melchior says his, "But when you lie here..." line, it's with this mischievous sort of grin like, come oooon Wendla, I know you're not really going to go! And she smiles back as she agrees to stay. It was interesting to see their interactions done more playfully than I'm used to.

I absolutely loved this The Dark I Know Well. They really had Martha and Ilse moving around, using the microphone stand, and it felt much more like a rock number a la And Then There Were None, and I was like... hell yeah. The girls really don't tend to get moments like that in the show typically and why shouldn't they?

As the song built up in the end they had the other female characters and ensemble step out to gather behind Martha and Ilse--as well as the Adult Women. It got me thinking about the adult women in this show and their experiences with sex in that time period, even just within a typical marriage, and how that affects what they are willing or able to share with their children.

The Mirror-Blue Night featured the backdrop lit up blue but Melchior holding a yellow lantern and the boys having small yellow flashlights (I think drawing from the lit up fingers in the Deaf West version of this song), and then the hayloft was lit in this warm light as well. I thought this looked fantastic and really made the hayloft feel like this warm refuge in the mirror-blue night.

Left Behind had several interesting things going on, like the most literal representation I've ever seen of the gravesite (as a pile of dirt.) Melchior looked at Moritz's father intensely and Hanschen reached out and put a hand on his shoulder like a subtle restraint--which I do think makes sense for Hanschen's don't-rock-the-boat character.

At the end of the scene it was just Melchior and Ilse... and Moritz, who Melchior stared at until Ilse gently took his arm and lead him away. I'm not a fan of productions doing things like this. I think it's a bit too soon for us to see some representation of Moritz again--not like when we see him in Those You've Known.

It's been literally over a decade since the show added Melchior into Whispering and still every time I'm like what is happening???

When Ilse came out at the end, as she neared the end of her introduction, she reached down and grabbed a flower on a grave and held it up like she was considering how it would look in her hair. I thought this was a nice bit of whimsy leading into the rest of the cast coming out and greeting each other warmly with side-hugs and grabbing hands and spinning around and it was so... sweet and joyful. I hadn't felt emotional up until that point but I got teary-eyed then.

I had a great time. It's been several years since I saw the show live last and this reminded me of why I like it so much.

#spring awakening