#this is just me projecting my love of animation onto my favorite book series

[chiarrara]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Oh my gosh this is impossible, I like too much and I'm the most indecisive motherfucker. I actually agonized over this, like this is so broad I was trying to think of everything I've ever liked, and what do you mean by favorite, and do I like the story because of the characters or the narrative, and how much do I like them now vs. how much I used to like them. I was doing way too much.

Basically, this is a list (loosely ordered) of my favorite characters (probably) right NOW, either based in recency bias, or in their lasting ability to remain a favorite years later A.K.A. characters that altered my brain chemistry because I'm insane about them:

Yuri Plisetsky - Yuri!!! On Ice

Yuri Plisetsky is my favorite of all time. If the rest of the list isn't quite in order, he's still at the top every time. There are some characters that just click for you and he's one of them. You're gonna start seeing a pattern here with some of these characters so it might just be that I have a type, but either way I love him like he's me. I love to put him in situations. I love to explore his character. I love to imagine his future. And I love his lil face. He's just so determined, and so angry, and I adore him and all his flaws.

2. Otabek Altin - Yuri!!! On Ice

Now listen, he's not a major character, he doesn't have a lot of screen time, but he made a huge, huge impact. It's not a coincidence that I love Yuri P so much, Otabek is so high because of Yuri P. But ultimately, he's one of my all time favorites because of a version of him that exists in fanfiction and fanon. Specifically, I love Otabek because of "From Almaty, With Love", my favorite fic of all time. I love to inhabit his mind, but also I just love him. He's the type of guy who's nothing like me, but I wish I was more like him. Also, I'm just a sucker for the strong and silent type.

3. Megumi Fushiguro - Jujutsu Kaisen

Current biggest projection target. Oh my god how this lil guy has taken over my mind. I watched JJK for the first time in December, but I don't think I really got insane about Megumi until I read the manga and... just check out my tag #megumi fushiguro's gay little hands. He's just so compelling to me. I just love a grumpy teen. I love a troubled little guy. I love how out of touch with his emotions he is. I love that he's insane. I want to put him in every possible situation and see what he does. He's my favorite, I don't know what to say.

4. Ahsoka Tano - Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Ahsoka!!! I love her so much!!!!! It's been a while since I watched The Clone Wars, and I'm off the Star Wars hundred million franchise properties train right now, so I haven't watched the new show, and I probably won't because I like her just the way she is in Clone Wars and I don't need any more. She's the coolest girl, she pulls like crazy, she's some variety of lesbian, she's a skilled fighter, she has a great personality, and she's a brown girl for brown girls. Like, little boys get cool characters they can latch onto all the time, she's that for me. Love her forever.

5. Zuko - Avatar: The Last Airbender

Ahhhhh, Zuko. I'm gonna try to be normal about him. Best redemption arc ever written in any media ever. He's just so lovable. You get to know him even a little bit early on in the series (The Storm) and it's just...OH. You start to understand. And it just grows and grows from there. He's a sympathetic character (The Blue Spirit), but you don't pity him because you're with him every step of the way as he has to grow and fight through all the pain and conflict inside him (Bitter Work, The Avatar and The Firelord). And he makes the worst mistakes. He makes the wrong choices (Crossroads of Destiny). And he has to earn every little bit of his redemption. And he does. What an incredible character. One of the most iconic voices of all time (Dante Basco, I love you). Also, I just love him. "Hey, Zuko here!" He will always have my heart.

6. Yuuri Katsuki - Yuri!!! On Ice

It is actually impossible for me to pick only two pictures of Yuri Katsuki because he's just so precious in every single one in completely different ways. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to put him on this list because Yuri P dominates my thoughts around YOI so much. But I don't love Yuri On Ice because of Yuri P. When I'm actually in a rewatch, Yuri Katsuki reminds me how much I love and adore him and how much he really means to me. Discovering Yuri, and everything he doesn't show you through his unreliable narrator ass as the show goes on is so so special. And nothing in that show could make me fall in love with figure skating the way "Yuri on Ice" and "On Love: Eros" did. My 2017 Spotify Wrapped was 90% YOI music because I used to fall asleep to "Yuri on Ice" on repeat. I love him so much. He means so much to me. That's all I can say.

7. Rue Bennett - Euphoria

She is me. I am her. This is less about her character, and more about how she allows me to see myself and be seen. My weakest parts. My most painful parts. The worst experiences of my life. I don't think I've ever related to a character or what they have gone through more than I have with Rue. I don't think I've ever related to a character's flaws and worst moments more than I have with Rue. Say what you will about Euphoria, I don't care. It's so important to me because of Rue. At least....Season 1 is.

8. Effy Stonem - Skins (UK)

Are we starting to see the patterns here? Effy Stonem is THE original indie sleaze girl. I wanted to be her sooooo bad. I wanted to be her in Gen 1 (I loved Effy Stonem before Gen 2, I'm not like other girls. lmao, anyway...) Skins was a very formative piece of media for me. There is no world where I love Euphoria without having loved Skins first. Skins and Effy made me want to go to raves in Bristol, wear ripped tights, take MDMA, smoke spliffs and cigarettes 24/7... it was actually such a bad influence, but it means a lot to me. I loved Effy from her first appearance on screen, and I loved her until her last. Kaya Scodelario you will always be famous.

9. Ash Lynx - Banana Fish

Ash Lynx is one of the most complicated and compelling characters I have ever seen. I had a hard time deciding to include him because I don't feel like you can divorce Ash the character from Banana Fish the story, or from Eiji and their relationship. Do I love him as his own character, or do I love Banana Fish in its entirety? But I do love him. He's very special to me. Banana Fish is about him. It's a love letter to him, in a way. You can't love Banana Fish without loving Ash, everyone around Ash loves Ash, even the horrible people who want to claim him. His pain and trauma is so overwhelming, but you as the audience can see the person he is through all of that even if he can't, and you just want him to find happiness and see it for himself someday. And be safe for the first time in his life. A tragic hero who really shouldn't have been in a tragedy. An unfair tragedy. He deserves the world.

10. Kyo Sohma - Fruits Basket

At this point you have to be seeing the pattern. I love a well-written grumpy boy. And I love Kyo Sohma so, so much. I watched 2001 right before 2019 and let me tell you, the vidication... I was absolutely in love with 2001 Kyo, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. He was my little shojo crush, it was fine if he wasn't Tohru's. Then I popped on 2019, and he had the SAME VOICE ACTOR!?!?!? Bro, the way I melted. And then the show went on and I noticed he was being framed a little different than he was in 2001???? I mean, if you want my whole watch through check my #fruits basket 2019 tag. I had a whole journey. Let's be so honest, Kyo is on here because I'm in love with him. But also, he's an amazing character with so much deep turmoil from really really difficult circumstances, and he still manages to be caring and attentive and kind, along with a million other amazing character traits. Most character of all time. I love him so much.

BONUS (Characters I can't believe didn't make this list):

The Entire Skins Gen 1 Main Cast (who I love more than Effy, but I can't pick just one favorite), Suguru Geto (who's creeping up on me more and more as I dive deeper into his character), Eiji Okumura (the other half of AshEiji, and just the sweetest boy alive who's also the biggest ride-or-die I love him), and Victor Nikiforov (out of the YOI cast, he's my least most favorite, but I love him so much and his lil heart mouth. He's a star, he is the moment, give him his flowers).

#favorite characters #yuri plisetsky #otabek altin #megumi fushiguro #ahsoka tano #zuko #yuuri katsuki #rue bennett #effy stonem #ash lynx #kyo sohma #skins gen 1 #geto suguru #eiji okumura #victor nikiforov #i worked on this for like 3 days #it's not funny #i have other things to do

[penn-dragon]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

This is such a sweet question I would love to!

These are in no particular order because my level of passion for them changes depending on my current hyperfixation, and I’m limiting myself to one character per media but giving honorable mentions because I tend to love two or three characters almost equally

1. Monkey D. Luffy!!! (Honorable mention: Zoro and Sanji)

One Piece holds a special place in my heart. I watched it on 4kids when I was growing up and it was the first anime I watched as a teenager. Luffy is so so so important to me as a character. I got myself through the worst parts of teendom by imagining that if he was real Luffy would love me. He’s such a warm, loving, and joyous character. He’s Joyboy!!! He came into the world without a family and so he made his own and that’s so special, the message that no one in this world is born to be alone and somewhere out there someone or ones will love you and fight for you. And on top of all this he’s an aroace king!!!

2. Mogami Kyoko -Skip Beat!

Kyoko was my Girl Crush™️ in high school. I remember telling my best friend “yeah if I was gay I’d date Kyoko” LMAO. Beyond that there’s just something so special to me about reading this manga over and over, watching this girl—who only knew how to live to make her existence as palatable to other people as possible—grow into herself and find her own passions and loves as she heals from the abuses she’s dealt with her whole life. (Just looking up images of her made me want to reread the whole manga)

3. Peter Parker (Honorable mention: Harry Osborn)

Spider-Man is an OG, a forever love. No matter how many years go by I’ll always circle back around to Spider-Man. I love him and his pain and his Anger Issues™️ and his iron-clad morality. The people’s hero, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He’s also responsible for coding my brain to always gravitate towards the comic relief characters. I love a jokester who quips through dangerous situations.

4. Yosuke Hanamura - Persona 4

So I always joke that a majority of my favorite characters fall into one of two categories. 1. Hides their insecurities behind jokes/false bravado, and 2. Internalized homophobia/in love with best friend. And the characters I go FERAL for have both. Yosuke Hanamura is one of the both. I love a comic relief character!!! I love a man that’s hopelessly in love with his best friend but won’t admit it because he’s terrified of the implications!!! When I played this game for the first time, like most people, I was SO MAD THAT I COULDN’T DATE YOSUKE. 90% of the time when I play I don’t end up dating anyone because I refuse to deny the protag his one true love lmao. Yosuke and Yu also have the bonus of being my first ever gay ship. Their love is so powerful it pierced through my own internalized homophobia lol!!

5. Din Djarin -The Mandalorian (Honorable mention: Luke Skywalker)

I’m out here projecting so much onto this man!!!! He’s autistic, he’s asexual, he’s Traumatized. My other category of favorite characters is “Stoic Dad who learns to love again through a pseudo child figure” so he’s right up that alley. The man responsible for finally getting me into Star Wars after 27 years of having absolutely no interest.

6. Virgil Hawkins!! - Static Shock (Honorable mention: Richie Foley)

The way I waited with baited breath for every Static Shock episode as a child. It’s still one of my favorite shows, I own all 4 seasons on DvD and cherish them. I love Virgil so much!! He taught me about diversity! He’s such a lovable character and it makes the show an absolute delight to watch no matter how dated some parts of it get. The show does such a wonderful job balancing Virgil’s super heroics as Static with the heroics of every day life and it’s so endearing.

7. Oliver -Space Boy (Honorable mention: Amy)

Oliver is definitely the most niche character on this list (which is a crying shame please PLEASE read Space Boy on Webtoon it will chemically change your brain.) I’m just so attached to him. I feel so much for him and his story. If I could give him the biggest hug I would in an instant. “Take away his humanity and you can ignore his pain. Define him as a tool and you can justify using him.”

9. Rex Salazar - Generator Rex

Oh maaaaaan I love this asshole teenager!! I’m soooo obsessed with characters who get dehumanized for the sake of using their abilities like a tool and not a person. Re: the above Space Boy quote. The aesthetic of this show is so cool! (Also hello character who hides their insecurity behind false bravado.)

8. Aang - Avatar the Last Airbender (Honorable mention: Zuko)

Oh Aang… My sweet boy… my beloved… He imparted so much wisdom to me growing up… and also taught me it’s okay to have fun. I’ll always love him so much. There’s so much to rant about Avatar but it would take three hours.

10. Yugi Mutou - Yu-Gi-Oh! (Honorable mention: Atem)

I related to Yugi SO MUCH as a kid. He’s just a little weirdo who loves games and craves friendship more than anything. Honestly Yugi might have been the character I most strongly related to when I was young. I remember feeling swells of happiness when people would say nice things about Yugi as a character because it felt like they were saying nice things about me too.

#sorry this got long #you activated my trap card (autism) #long post #Penn answers things #dnana-2809-blog #thank you for asking I love getting asks!!!!!

[gregrulzok]

Hello...Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Hi !!

I wouldn't say I necessarily have a straightforward top 10 list as such ... But I'm not one to pass up and opportunity to infodump on anyone who'll indulge me !

I hope this is what you're looking for and, uh, buckle up. I'll include a TL;DR with each character to make your life easier, because knowing me, this is gonna get LONG.

Also potential spoilers for: Dungeon Meshi, Night in the Woods, Berserk, Devilman Crybaby, Arcane, Jujutsu Kaisen, Dimension 20: Fantasy High, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind.

Also note that Berserk and Devilman Crybaby are both NSFW sources. I don't mention anything explicit here, but be mindful when looking into it.

Laios Touden (Dungeon Meshi)

TL;DR: Excellent neurodivergent representation, complex and unique in how interesting he is, also just me IRL

I'll be honest in saying he isn't actually my favourite Dungeon Meshi character (that's probably Chilchuck), but he IS the one I think about the most.

I'm firmly of the opinion that Laios is intentionally written to be neurodivergent-coded, and I say this because he's incredibly nuanced and interesting in the way he portrays symptoms and signs of autism. Most canon autistic representation I see can be boiled down to "slightly quirky" with a dash of the same 3 symptoms, and the background of that, Laios is a breath of fresh air. He's socially inept, but not at all cold or inexpressive - quite the opposite, he's open and enthusiastic and optimistic. He's obsessive, not in a quirky jokey way, nor in the way of being a savant that knows everything off the top of his head - he genuinely feels like he's learning about his interest and ENJOYS learning about it, rather than being robotic in his hyperfixation. On top of that, the thing he's hyperfixated on is EXTREMELY realistic for a neurodivergent person - many of us do find interest in animals, in cryptids, in other living beings that are, well, other, because we spend our whole lives being alienated and separate from our peers and we seek that comfort in other places. Monsters are straightforward, they don't play mindgames. They are powerful, they don't let others push them around (Laios, mind, is also powerful - but he's a human, so his strength alone has never been enough to protect him). And after all, humans already hate him, they already treat him as an unwanted freak. Why shouldn't he find solace in creatures that are treated the same way he is?

I could go on and on about how amazing he is, but honestly a lot of what I have to say could be posts of their own and we'd be here all day. I'll say also that he's just ... Plain and honest relatable. I have not projected so hard onto a character in a long time.

Angus DeLaney (Night in the Woods)

TL;DR: Comfort Character Extraordinare

If Laios is good to my brain because he reminds me of myself, Angus is good to my brain because he reminds me of my boyfriend. This, I cannot deny.

He isn't the most complex character in the world, nor even in NitW - yet I think there's more to him than people give him credit for. I think he's excellent in filling the role he's given - a friend-of-a-friend, a near-stranger, the person in the friend group our protagonist is in, someone she knows, and yet doesn't, likes, and yet doesn't really vibe with. He's nuanced and deep, has a life of his own, and honestly I'm almost glad they didn't explore it fully. By having Mae only get a tiny glimpse into his life, after knowing him for so long and yet never really spending time with him, we get the sense that people are people whether or not they're in Mae's life. It gives a greater sense of depth to the world offered to us by the game. Mae's close friends she knows well aren't the only ones going through tough things, everyone has their own story, and sometimes she only gets a tiny hint of that, and sometimes she gets none at all. I think it's very true to life, and very smart.

As for Angus specifically, well. He's smart, warm, kind. He doesn't let his cynicism get in the way of his friends fun, nor does he let it stop him from taking their worries seriously. He shows affection through cooking, he makes dumb nerdy jokes, he's canonically more charismatic than you'd think, he wants to take care of everyone and doesn't know how to take care of himself, and he has a fantastic ass.

He reminds me of my boyfriend. What more can I ask for.

Griffith (Berserk) & Ryo Asuka (Devilman Crybaby)

TL;DR: Incredibly nuanced villains that I want to put on a little dish and dissect. Themes of light and purity as something evil, of good intentions (Griffith) and love (Ryo) as something horrifying.

I figure I could just combine these two, given how much they've impacted each-other's writing.

Griffith AND Ryo are both infinitely nuanced characters, in ways that are complimentary and yet still different enough.

I've made a few posts about Griffith (if only because I recently finished Berserk), and my opinion on him can be summarised as such: I think he's the best villain in fiction, in that he is afforded nuance and complexity, without having to take away his teeth and make him ultimately pathetic, unintimidating, or a sexyman. I think the most interesting part of Griffith is his politics, his drive to change the world, his willingness to sacrifice everything to the greater good to the point where it becomes apocalyptic. It's fascinating to watch a character be so wrapped in genuine and honest good intentions, to the point of destroying everything.

I don't think I've talked much about Ryo (I should rewatch Crybaby), which is really a shame because he's no less interesting. He takes an aspect of Griffith that I haven't talked much about (rather, Griffith takes an aspect of Ryo) - obsessive love and devotion to the point of destruction - and amps it up to an infinite degree. Unlike Griffith, who pushes aside his love for his political motivation, Ryo destroys everything and anything in his path to the one he loves - including that very person. He's possessive and obsessive, in a way that does end up feeling genuine, and his entire humanity is concentrated on his feelings to this one person.

Together, these characters represent a trope that I personally love - purity, beauty and light as something evil, something vile, something overwhelming and possessive (as contrasted by something dirty, something crude, something rough being real and human and kind).

I just find them fascinating.

Ekko (Arcane)

TL;DR: mmmm community centric anarchist punk king.

This is possibly the most self indulgent one. Arcane is a wonderful show entirely full of fascinating characters I love, and each one of them deserves an amount of words that even I don't possess to describe their greatness.

Ekko is no less cool and interesting for having less screen time, but if we're just being honest here for a second ...

I just love his vibe.

I love that he was a rowdy, shitty little kid that antagonised everyone he could. I love that as he grew, he got more serious, took on an air of responsibility, but he didn't lose his friendliness, his humour, his artistry. I love that he prioritizes fun and growth and community, not just survival. I love that he has authority as a leader, not through fear but through confidence, through respect. I love his scene with Vi, where he bites back at her for the first time, I love their hug, I love their bond. I love his fight with Jinx, I love that for a moment they're just kids playing a game, I love seeing the reality crash over him like a wave. I love the little tidbits we get of him as a kid, playing dumb pranks, practicing his punches.

And to be completely clear: HE IS THE ONLY CHARACTER THAT WAS CORRECT.

Heimerdinger, Jayce, Silco, Vander, Mel, every single leader in this show is either too preoccupied trying to preserve broken pieces of the past or they're speeding towards a future they don't understand.

Ekko says NONE OF THAT SHIT, takes up the punk anarchist mantel, and says "I am going to take care of the injured, the indisposed, the homeless, the sick, the children, because blind ideals mean nothing in the face of real poverty and struggle".

...Which is why I say it's self indulgent on my part. It's just because I fully agree with his ideologies.

Geto Suguru (Jujutsu Kaisen)

TL;DR: Another villain I absolutely love analyzing and dissecting. Beautifully written ideology and motivation that is fully understandable even if it's something any sane human would viscerally disagree with.

I've written post upon post on Geto, so I won't get too into it, but I still wanted to mention him. Another reason I won't talk too much here is because I've ultimately fallen out of love with JJK - sad, but true. In my opinion, the most interesting part of the show was, in fact, Geto.

Geto's ideology is incredibly well written. So, so many little details end up playing into it, it's set up so carefully and expertly that in the end it's incredibly easy to see how he ended up in the place he did. The death of his friends, the responsibility of Mimiko and Nanako, the way he's treated, the way his best friend is treated... Some of these things are big, some more subtle, but they all lay a brick in the foundation of one of the best villain arcs I can name. And if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of villains that genuinely believe what they preach. There's an air of sincerity about him, despite being a manipulative asshole, he isn't a selfish one.

I just think he's fascinating.

Fabian Aramais Seacaster (Dimension 20: Fantasy High)

TL;DR: Incredibly entertaining, and has informed the way I play my TTRPG characters.

A bit of a random one, and a more light-hearted one - I just love this silly little man.

Fabian is so unabashedly loud, silly, over the top. He makes such obvious, catastrophic mistakes, often after delivering such confident speeches about how awesome he is. And then he's allowed to have quiet moments - he can be somber, soft, sad, tragic. He loves his friends, but he can't bring himself to be obvious about it, but he wants so badly to express it. He has repressed trauma that we don't really get told - instead it's expressed through every desperate cry for attention and every subsequent moment of quiet reflection.

I've been playing TTRPGs for a little while now, but Fabian has fundamentally inspired me to be more confident, more nuanced, to take up more space at my table, and to not be scared to change the way my characters act based on the scene and mood and circumstance.

I just think he's neat !

Panacotta Fugo (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind + Purple Haze Feedback)

TL;DR: An underrated character that showcases burnout, gifted kid syndrome, and abandonment issues in a way I find particularly painful.

God. Where do I even start.

Fugo speaks very deeply to some of my own trauma. The gutteral, albeit brief depiction of gifted child syndrome and the subsequent burnout that follows it felt incredibly, palpably real not only in the episodes we see his backstory in, but also in his general behaviour. In the way he still tries to act proper and composed, in the barely-restrained rage that bubbles over once in a while, in the severe guilt felt through these outbursts. Pretty much any time Fugo is on screen is a testament to his pain and his sheer desire to overcome it, which (as amazing this show is) I can't exactly say for most JJBA characters.

The abandonment issues are more personal to me than I'd like to get too deeply into - suffice it to say, being left behind without a thought, looking at people you came to think of as your family turn their backs on you and walk away, and realising for the first time that you weren't, in fact, a needed and cherished presence in their lives, but rather something easily parted with ... That shit hurts, and it hurts me very personally.

Araki has gone on record stating that he fell in love with Fugo as a character and came to see him as a personal friend. I believe him, if the genuine and subtle care poured into every crevice of his character is anything to go by.

Purple Haze Feedback isn't canon, but it is Araki-approved, and its the exact amount and type of Fugo content I was starving for after his extremely undercut role in part 5.

And I think that's it!

Was that 10? Who knows.

Either way sorry if this isn't what you were looking for - i think one look at my blog will tell you that I'm very prone to infodumping especially as it pertains to character analysis.

And if you read it this far... Holy shit, thank you !!

To be honest as I've fallen out of fandom spaces it's become incredibly hard to come up with characters I actually like, rather than ones I've projected my own stories onto and changed fundamentally.

Playing DND has NOT been helpful, it's increasingly difficult not to spend four hours talking about a PC I made that I really love instead of any actual character haha.

Either way thank you for the ask !! Like I said I love a good opportunity to infodump.

#laios touden #dungeon meshi #angus delaney #night in the woods #griffith #berserk #ryo asuka #devilman crybaby #ekko #arcane #geto suguru #jujutsu kaisen #fabian seacaster #fantasy high #panacotta fugo #jjba gold experience

[passionateseadruid]

Netflix Death Note Rewrite

Summary:

I’m rewriting the 2017 Death Note Movie

This is the first in a series of Rewrites! Pretty much no one liked the Death Note Netflix Adaptation so I (an actual fan of the series) will try to rewrite the movie to actually make it compelling and competent.

First things first how long would this be? Ideally a mini series of 5-8 episodes maybe around 30 minutes each give or take. But let's say that we only have the original 1 hour and 40 minutes for a movie. Well we better make the most of it then.

~~~~

We open up on an old abandoned church busted pews, broken windows, and a cracked alter. The whole place furnished with old rugs and tarps to cover up the decay of the furniture, thousand of candles everywhere, maybe a mural on the wall of a brunette positioned in a stance with his arms out spread, welcoming the people, yet judging them at the same time.

"Light" Turner (still known as Donn Turner) stands behind the alter talking about Kira.

"Thank you all for coming to honor our savior. Kira the great god of justice, the god of the new world. I notice we have some knew attendants." Donn motions to a couple. Everyone looks to them and Donn motions them up to the front where they complete a ritual, something maybe to do with candles and ending in eating an apple. 

After the ritual everyone leave except for a brunette girl named Mia. She comes up and kisses him on the lips, praising him and his sermon today.

~~~~

The original relationship was very stale and didn't have much weight put onto it. It was also very toxic and the two characters didn't have much in common. By making "Light" the leader of this cult and Mia his pre-established girlfriend in said cult it tells us a few things about these characters already.

A. "Light" is very manipulative, and charismatic, while still being the toxic bitch he was to Misa in the anime. B. Mia, much like Misa is very loyal, but she's actually less interested in "Light" and is devoted heart, body, mind, and soul to Kira (You'll get to see more of that later but essentially Mia is a flip of Misa. Misa was first devoted to the idea of Kira and then her devotion turned into an obsession with Light. Mia will be the opposite but right now that's a further plot-point). And C. This takes place after either the Anime or the Manga (though I'm leaning more towards the Mange because the epilogue of that had the set up to this, where there were Kira Cults.)

~~~~

The next scene Donn and Mia enter Lights home and his dad is there preparing takeout.

"Donny! Oh Hello Mia."

"Hello Mr. Turner."

"Do you want to stay for Dinner? Donn made the Honor role again and got a 100% on his recent science project. I ordered his favorite food as a reward! We've got a lot to celebrate!"

"No thanks Mr. T. I should bet home. My step monsters will kill me if I'm out past my curfew."

"Okay, see you at school tomorrow." Donn smiles and strokes her head. He kisses her forehead and she kisses his cheek. 

"Bye love!" she smiles and walks out.

"Love huh? That's a bit soon considering your both still in school."

"Dad-"

"No no! It's fine she's a nice girl. I just don't want you to do something you'll regret,"

"I'm fine! I'll be in my room." He grabs a plate scoops some food onto it and takes it to his room.

"Wait I caught the Grim Angel today! Don't you want to hear about that? Donn? Can You at least take out the trash?"

"I will!" He slams the door. He then scarfs down the food and throws some garbage into the trash including a bag of potato chips. Then he goes to empty the trash. Once outside he throws the trash in the garbage can it starts to rain as a book drops right on Donn's head. "What the hell?" He picks it up and brings it into the house.

He goes up to his room and locks the door. "The human whose name is written in this note shall die. This will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds. No way, is this how Kira killed all those people?"

"Yes actually." Donn falls off his chair with a scream. Before him stands a big monster, 8 feet tall and looking like a demon. He had no eyes, and black fungus all over his body. His body itself was a ghostly pale and he had red flame like horns popping out the side of his head crackling and moving in a none existent wind. "Calm down! You have a father downstairs don't you. I'm sure he'll be worried if you start screaming."

"How do you know that? What are you?"

"My my. I thought a fan of our savior Kira would know a lot more about Shinigami."

"Kira? You're a Shinigami?"

"Yes... I go by Justice now."

"What does that mean?"

"I was human once. I was the most devout follower of Kira when we were alive."

"Teru Mikami."

"I cannot say. It is one of the rules."

"So why are you here?"

"I'm here to finish my work. I want you to kill off the remaining criminals."

"Why can't you do that yourself?"

"After the incident there was another rule in place to limit how many humans we can kill a year to just ten."

"Did you choose me? Is that how you know about my family?"

"Yes. I want you to become Light Yagami reincarnated, and for your precious little girlfriend to be the new Misa Amane."

The Shinigami "Justice" would then go on to push light into his first kill. He snuck into his dad's room and pilfered his brief case for the name of the Grim Angel. Damon Cher. Donn pushes him to escape custody steal a bike and ride onto the freeway.

"No one else should get hurt right? That's what it says on one of the rule pages."

"Correct."

About an hour later Mia sends him the news story via text that is identical to what he'd written down in the book.

"I'm a murderer."

"I thought that you were Kira's fan. Don't you want purge the world?"

"No! I just-"

"Lightling... if you don't do this I'll kill you and your girlfriend."

"Why me?"

"You're perfect."

~~~~

Okay that was a lot but it's all very important. Thing is... this is a sequel to the original death note and some of the themes I want to address are imposter syndrome and how you can't live in someone else's shadow. Spoiler alert but both "Light" and "L" are living in their successors shadows trying to live up to the expectation's of someone else. 

I also needed to give a reason why Light/Misa/Mikami wouldn't just rid the world of criminals once they became Shinigami. While I could just wipe their memories that wouldn't really explain why a Shinigami would come to earth other than pulling a Riuk and just having them be bored.

(also yes I know Misa didn't really care about being Kira but she may still want to be with Light in the afterlife.)

~~~~

The rest of that night "Light" killed ten criminals; and the next day he confided in Mia.

"So Justice here is your Shinigami."

"Yes."

"And you and me have been chosen as the new Kira's."

"Yes!"

"Give me the book."

"What? Why?"

"Light sweetie, the book." she holds her hand out.

"Fine. But don't be stupid okay."

"Oh and by the way, heart attacks are so cliche. People are already catching on." She whispers and leaves him taking the book with her.

~~~~

I know people didn't like Mia being the assertive one but she doesn't fit the role of Misa either. This whole movie was flawed to begin with and through these changes you get a story about three people with a mountain of expectations thrust upon them. They aren't Light, Misa, and L. That's the point. If you want these three you should watch the Anime.  ~~~~

A week goes by and the two have already filled ten pages through an assortment of different methods of death.

"According to recent chat logs the general populous think Neo Kira based in New York though a popular theory is that they're based out of Greenland. Okay hand me the book I'll start to focus there. draw their attention their."

"No. If we start to bring attention towards one area in particular it'll let people know that we're onto them."

"What does your dad think?"

"My dad thinks Kira is nuts. He and two other officers are apparently trying to catch Kira."

It's then we cut to James (Light's dad) as he enters his office and sees that it's been trashed. James sighs. "Arata!" A younger man appears. 

"They got you too, huh sir?"

"Chief Turner! There's a visitor here to see you! He says he has information on the Neo Kira case." Another man comes over to see James.

"Thank you Philip, bring him in."

Philip goes and returns with an older man dressed in a trench coat and a fedora. He holds up a silver laptop and a fancy white L on a black screen appears. 

"Chief turner! My name is L." A distorted voice cheers. "I'm here to offer my assistance."

"Why are you coming to me?"

"Because you're the only one who believes that Kira is back as well as being brazen and open that he is evil."

"What would we need to do?"

~~~~

You guys may wonder why I added two original characters. Arata is supposed to be a Matsuda stand in and Philip is just supposed to fill out the rest of the motif I'm working with. Chess pieces.

Light and L are the kings because they are both cowards that are spurred to make moves.

Mia and Watari are the "Queens" because they actually do physical stuff but have very little say in what actually goes on.

Arata is the Rook because I thought "Oh Rook. He's new he's the Rookie. Funny"

The name James has connections to the bible and God according to google. So Bishop because they also have connections to the bible and God.

And Philip means horse lover. That feels self explanatory.

~~~~

We cut back to Mia and Light chilling at home. They are watching the news when an emergency broadcast interrupts them. Several reporters are heard in the background.

"I'm sure you're all wondering who I am. My name is Landon Chef and I have been working with L on this investigation. It is in his expert opinion that these deaths are all coincidental. Kira is not back." The news report can be heard in the background as Mia and Light fight.

"Oh hell no!" She screams. She shoots up from the couch and grabs the notebook.

"Mia what are you doing?!" Light grabs the book.

"He's making a fool of us, Light. He's making a fool of Kira!"

"Don't be stupid! This is what they want!"

"Who care! Let's give them what they want!"

"Mia don't be stupid."

"No Light! We have to do this! For Kira! Kira is our god! He's my life, Light."

"Fine. Give me the book, I'll do it."

"I'm more than capable-"

"Give me the book! You want a new god of justice you'll get one! Now give. Me. The. Book."

She hands it over and he jots down the mans name.

Over in the police department the three men working with L look on in horror as their stand in dies. "I told you that they were in Seattle." L said over the computer.

Over the next few weeks the new Kiras continue to murder. The audience is greeted by a montage of the two killing people. Light writing down names and Mia doing the resaerch. We also see them back at their cult. Light starts to use his new name and Mia dies her hair blond. 

Then back at the police department we see that the three men are preparing to meet L face to face. 

"Hello Gentlemen. Please call me L. I'd prefer if we all used code names. After all we don't know what Kira is really capable of."

"Ehem." Watari clears his throat. "Don't give them to much lee way L."

"Sorry Watari."

"I'll be Rook. That's what most people call me anyways."

"Call me Kelpie."

"Chief." James said

"You can continue to call us L and Watari Respectively." L smiles.

"You probably want more sweets, don't you L?" Watari smiles but it's very clearly fake.

"No I'm..." Watari glares at L.

"...you know what? Sure."

~~~~

This seems a bit weird so but it would come up later in the story. I'm just going through a rough draft with some scenes to flesh out the story a bit. So basically this L is the fourth real L. This Watari was the third real L and was the successor to Near who died young. This Watari is very obsessed with the original L. So much so that he makes this new L dress like him (styling his clothes like how Near described him) and keeps him on the sweet heavy diet.

~~~~

After they meet L closes in on Mia and sends Watari to get information on her.

"And what's the purpose of that?" Philip questioned.

"Perry Ethan was found hanging from a tree with lacerations on his thighs and wrists. He didn't have a criminal record so I traced him back to where he lived and found out he's the step father of Mia Sutton. That’s actually how I found out where to trace the murders to.”

“You can’t go after Mia!” James protested.

“And why is that?” L asked

“Because she’s a good kid. She’s kind and caring and she’s kept my son out of trouble!”

“I’m sorry chief turner but Mia is our best bet at finding Neo Kira. If not her then someone close to her.”

“Does that mean my son’s going to be investigated.”

“If need be then yes. What would Watari say? Ah yes, he’s got a 42% chance of being connected to the murders.”

“I’m not going to sit by and watch as you accuse my son!”

“Then help us find Kira. If you believe that your son is innocent help us find other suspects.”

“…what would you have me do?”

“I need you to pull every file you have on the computer and put it on hard copy. The first Kira was the son of the police chief and he accessed classified documents through his father’s computer.”

“Right! You told us that a decade ago.” Arata said.

~~~~

Yeah so basically this Watari exposed Kiras’ identities and while most people were dissuaded from worshipping Kira. But as we know there were still small groups of people.

Mia is in custody and light comes to save her but she’s is just in holding and they haven’t officially arrested her. They have 48 hours to find evidence and arrest her or else she will be let go.

During this time Light and L finally meet. The next few scenes would be a cat and mouse chase. I’m kinda stupid and bad at writing that kinda stuff, so we’re going to skip that.

~~~~

Later on they choose to charge Mia and Light makes the very smart decision to mind control a criminal to walk into the police station and say that he (the criminal) is Kira and then control him to not speak for his stay at the police station. Eventually dying of a heart attack when he is let go. 

L is still convinced that Mia had something to do with it so she remains in custody.

Light starts to panic as Justice implores him to write down someone in the police station. He chooses the clerk who writes in his own blood that he is Kira reincarnated and that Mia is a stupid mortal woman who had nothing to do with the murders.

Despite this L (with the help of Watari) convinces everyone that the Perry Ethan incident still links Mia to the case.

Eventually Light starts to kill people on the other side of the world and they have to let Mia go.

some stuff happens and Light and Mia argue that what both of them did was stupid and Light storms off in a fit of rage.

~~~~

I’m just going to cut to the end.

~~~~

In a fit of rage Light makes several criminals challenge L. Him and L meet and Light asks Justice for the Shinigami eyes. He writes down L’s name as L tackles him and quickly writes down his and Mia’s names too.

Everyone mourns. Everyone moves on and there’s no need for a shitty sequel.

~~~~

Okay finally thoughts, I know that it’s not perfect but I really have no idea what to do with this.

I would like to expand the concepts I have about L and Light living in each of their predecessors shadows and how Light both relishes the attention and fame and power but cracks under the pressure, and L trying his best and failing over and over and how he’s in over his head, then ultimately winning in the end with the killings finally stopping. This was his justice to claim, Lionel Morgan’s view of justice.

It’s bad but I wanted to preserve and expand upon interesting concepts that I don’t think were fully explored by the writers. The shinigami pushing light. Him and Mia having a messed up romance. L being emotional over the lives he’s loosing. Light looking for power but not wanting to be a full on serial killer.

Anyway constructive criticism and questions welcome in the comments section. I’m a humble Druid who enjoys the mysteries the sea has to hold and instead of saying goodbye I’ll just wave. (Get it?) 👋

#death note #l lawliet #l death note #light death note #light yagami death note #ryuk #misa amane #misa death note #death note 2017

[justrustandstardust]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

hi omg i would LOVE to answer this!!!! my list changes all the time but here is my current lineup (in no particular order).

hange zoe from attack on titan - i LOVE that they're a nonbinary afab person who is canonically a mad scientist whilst existing beyond the trope with nuance and dynamism. they're genuinely FUNNY in a way that afab people just aren't allowed to be in media.

bellatrix lestrange from harry potter: i fucking LOVE a crazy woman. a woman who just exists to be crazy and goes around killing people? i eat that shit up.

geto suguru from jjk: SUCH A WELL-WRITTEN ANTAGONIST. his moral compass is subverted so it ends up being the very thing that pushes him down a dark path. [chef's kiss] he's also, HOT

gojo satoru from jjk: the other half of geto. he's such a deeply tragic, mournful character and the way that his constitution is so at odds with his disposition is fascinating to me. i eat up the ying/yang dynamic he has going on with geto (i definitely don't project onto gojo)

jinx from arcane: once again, i love a crazy girl. she's nuanced, she's beserk, she's complex and she's batshit crazy. i love seeing girls portrayed in ways that challenge tropes of femininity.

korede from my sister, the serial killer: such a great read, i love her dry ass sense of humour and her dynamic with her sister. she's so funny in a really deadpan way, she's full of emotion but doesn't express it, and she grapples with really relatable tensions

hercule poirot from various books: i grew up reading him because i LOVED agatha christie. he's such a wonderful representation of masculinity (he's just a little guy) and he's really nostalgic for me.

katie from kira-kira: i read this in my elementary school years and it was one of the first times i saw my experiences as an asian immigrant reflected in a book. her character, and her relationship to her older sister, moved me to tears (i have a thing for sisters)

cristina yang from grey's anatomy: she challenged everything that was established about asian women on television. i loved her spirit, her ferocity, her caustic nature and how she was unapologetically herself.

villanelle from killing eve: another crazy woman, but simultaneously deeply complex and nuanced. seeing her in scenes is literally drugs. i love her dynamic with eve (i have a thing for narrative foils) but she's also an outstanding, unpredictable character

thanks so much for your ask! i definitely rambled but i'll take any opportunity to talk about my favourite medias

#my thoughts

[colorisbyshe]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Thank you for asking!!!!! Love a chance to talk about myself.

The way I got this ask and like IMMEDIATELY forgot any piece of media I have ever consumed?? If I forgot any of my faves... sorry to them!!

Also, a running theme for most of my faves is that they have overcome being otherized and/or trauma and came out being pettier and more self righteous, lol.

Uchiha Sasuke from Naruto. Pettiest bitch alive and he DESERVES IT! Should be pettier.

Wei Wuxian from MDZS/The Untamed. Went through hell, kinda literally, and did awful things but still chose to do the right thing, every single fucking time.

Fenris from Dragon Age. Watching him emerge from such an awful place and learn to let people in, while remaining sooo rough around the edges, was lovely.

Spock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From both TOS and AOS, less so from Disco/SNW, because he's just so fucking funny and also watching him be so repressed and then be forced out of that repression is fun. I love him. Baby boy.

Joy from EEAAO. Loved watching her anger, loved watching her creativity, and I loved watching her anger make her mother change. I love that she was able to give up the anger because she was finally seen and her hurt was legitimized.

***** ****** from ******* ******** because *runs away*

NGL.... it's still my boy Edward Elric. In many ways, I should let him go. But he was my first rep of atheism in literally the funniest fucking way ("Yeah I've seen God but... nah.") and I still enjoyed his journey, even if I now have major issues with the narrative and apologism and recognize Scar as a far more compelling character than Edward. Sorry to everyone but when I saw Edward at age.... 13, I did not realize what war crime apologism looked like. At least I let go of stanning Mustang. Cause I wanted that man carnally for a long time.

Sook-hee from The Handmaiden. Watching her fuck shit up was cathartic.

I need to finish my watch through (bingewatching two seasons in a week was mentally taxing, tbh) but Flint and Max from Black Sails. Again... love a selfish character who has felt left behind by the world and so they take what they can from the world. They deserve it!

Recency bias I guess but I'm REALLY loving Frieren from... Frieren. Watching her learn to value other people while going around with her lil :3 face is nice.

I feel like this list is leaving a lot of faves out--my lovely Sailor Jupiter who I imprinted on like a baby duck and have carried in my heart ever since, Dimitri Fire Emblem, Qifrey, and probably so many more. The characters that I love just for horny reasons (Yae Miko, Kaveh, Tighnari my beloveds). Characters I love for their potential (Finn, Poe, and Rey from Star Wars)(Also Cassian but I guess I could love him more if I watched Andor but I will not be watching Disney+ shows.) Characters who I love now (Louis, Lestat, Claudia from IWTV the show) but haven't finished their arcs yet, so idk how I'll feel int he future. Etc etc.

I will also say that this list feels a biiiiiit swayed by characters who I have experienced more in fandom. There are characters from one off books, video games, comics that I CONNECT with more, maybe idolized more, but engage with less often because there's no fandom, so they come to mind less immediately. And they've been butchered less by fanon, so I don't project onto them as much. Like they are FULLER vessels, which means they have less room for me to go "Oh, yeah, we are exactly the same. Let me into your brain."

This list is mainly of characters I love to play with like bratz dolls in my brain and is less about like... maybe heavily fucking with them while consuming their media and then being able to let them go when I'm done.

[mrultra100]

4th Anniversary Special; Top 10 Vampires

4 years… Holy hell, it’s already been that long? Might as well do something to celebrate. Now, what’s something that I love beyond all reasonable measure and won’t shut the hell up about? What’s pale, supernatural, and blood-thirsty that I’m hooked for…?

*GASP!* I got it!  VAMPIR-

Oh…Lemme fix this for a bit.

There we go…VAMPIRES! I love me some vampires! Many of you know that I’m a sucker (Geddit?) for these goofy creatures of the night. Hell, one of my own OCs IS a vampire! Since we’ve started this blog with vampires, why not celebrate by countin’ down my top 10 favorite vamps? If we ignore both that stupid Morbin meme and those godawful books made by a delusional, racist cow (That last part’s real, btw), we can wash all of that out by talking about a bunch of silly bloodsuckers for a good few minutes. Better get some garlic and wooden stakes ready, cuz’ we’re about to go full-blown Bela Legosi all up in this mother! This, ladies, gentlemen, and others, is my Top 10 Vampires!

10. Malzeno (Monster Hunter Rise; Sunbreak)

The first (And newest) “vampire” on this list, and it’s not even a vampire! What gives!? I’ll tell ya what gives! Malzeno is rad as hell! While it’s only here because as of me writing this, Sunbreak is just about to come out, and we still don’t know everything about this silvery Drac-drake. Not only is it one of the best Elder Dragons in the series, it has a killer theme (As per usual with most of the themes in MH), and its design captures all of the charm as a regular vampire. I’m not a regular Monster Hunter player, but mark my words, I can bet that people are planning to make a badass cape from its wings once they slay it. Guess it pays to be THIS banging, huh?

9. Count Von Count (Sesame Street)

Yes…I’m including the counting vampire puppet. Try and stop me, PIGS! While he’s not the perfect example of a vampire (Blood-sucking is a huge no-no for a kid’s show), the Count has a good few traits related to vamps. Also, for those who aren’t used to vampire lore, the Count’s obsession with counting actually has some roots in vampire mythology, as one of a vampire’s lesser-known weaknesses is a compulsive need to count things, giving their victims enough time to escape. Is that why he hasn’t tried to attack and drain the residents of Sesame Street? Nah, he would never do such a thing!

8. Wilhamena (OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes)

Here she is, folks; One of the most beloved (And lewded-on) vampiresses we’ve seen in quite some time. What could I say about Enid’s hot vampire momma that hasn’t already been said? People love her that much. Wilhamea here is an example of one of my favorite type of vampire; Tall, with a long dress that covers their whole body, along with massive hair, and well-endowed hourglass figure. It helps that Wilhamena’s a certified MILF.

7. Slayer (Guilty Gear)

One of the classiest vampires on this list, Slayer is a true gentleman. While he maybe a creature of the night, Slayer is actually one of the good guys. Not only does he enjoy a good, fair battle, but he also aids Millia Rage in her quest and gives her helpful advise. Hell, his own wife is okay with being drained, having more than enough blood to go around for him. We can always use a guy like Slayer.

(Credit to Bogleech for the depiction seen here)

6. Pentasite (Mortasheen)

Yes...this...THING counts as a vampire. Ya see, in the world of Mortasheen (An ongoing RPG project made by the wonderful @bogleech​ ), vampires are monstrous, telekinetic animals affected by an ancient virus from the deep sea. It’s only in the last few eons that these bizarre, blood-sucking beasts started to haul themselves onto dry land. As for Pentasite? Well, I’m gonna let its official description do the work.

“This large Echinoderm mutation achieves sentience without a central brain and amazing agility without a muscle structure. It is one of the few vampires capable of reproduction without parasitic implantation in a living host, as any portion severed from its body will slowly develop into a complete creature. Like a normal starfish, the Pentasite regurgitates its stomach over prey, but no longer uses the organ in digestion. Rather, the stomach is utilized only as a sticky net to constrict prey and drag it towards the blood-sucking teeth.”

Scary, huh?

5. Seras Victoria (Hellsing: Ultimate)

I’m not the biggest anime buff around, you should all know that. With all of that said...How did a show popped out a vampire girl that goes this hard? Seras is the right combination of cute, sexy, badass, and horrifying that I could ask for in a vampire girl character. I could learn alot more about Hellsing, huh?

Also, Police Girl is a golden nickname in terms of comedy.

4. Alucard (Castlevania)

Oh, what. Ya thought that I was gonna follow up Police Girl with her master? You’ve must’ve gotten your Alucards wrong. The Alucard I’m bringing up ain’t Dracula...He’s merely the son of him. Thankfully for all of mankind, Alucard chosen to become a hero, defying his evil father and his wicked ways. There are alot of characters out there who deserve a spot in Smash, and this sword-wielding dhampir is ONE of the biggest. He was already an Assist Trophy in Ultimate, so what’s stopping Konami and Nintendo from adding him into the next Smash game?

...On second thought, the stupid “enefftees” that Konami were making, along with the various slip-ups made by Nintendo may already answered that.

3. Globert (Mixels)

Yeah, yeah. I’m well aware that the Glowkies are technically NOT “vampires”, but since they’re the closest we’ll ever get to a vampire in the Mixelverse, I’ll let it slide. Globert is basically the living personification of “flanboyant”. He hosts parties, sings and dances, he and his whole crew live in a cave on the Mixel Moon, and don’t get me started on how he dresses. If you’re looking for the ultimate party animal to host your shindig, here’s your answer!

(Credit to Daria Cohen for the art seen here)

2. Duke and Missi (The Vampair)

That’s right, I’m puttin’ both Duke and Missi together for a single spot on this very list! To tell you all the truth, the vampy-ness of these two grows the strongest when they’re together. Ever since their series got the love that it deserves years ago, I’ve been keeping up with it and their antics. I even graduated high school a few days after the season finale came out, and I first discovered the show early on in my freshman year! I’ve come full circle with these two, haven’t I?

And finally, for number 1...

You already knew who it is, so let’s just get down to brass tax, shall we?

1. Vampire Twins (Johnny Test)

As much as V-Mary is my favorite character of all time, I couldn’t leave Susan out of this. Besides, they’re basically the mascots of this very blog! On this day, 4 years ago, my first ever post on this site featured the V-Twins, and I’ve certainly done alot with them since then, huh? From requesting fanart to a bunch of other artists like a weirdo, to stepping up to the plate and starting my own art career out of a want to bring these two back in a big way. I honestly have the Vampire Twins to thank for inspiring me to become an artist at all.

And there have ya have it! It’s been 4 years since this blog began. I’ve been through alot; Hopping onto other sites, picking up art-making as a hobby, making new friends, etc, it’s been a long, wild journey for me so far, and I’m excited to see what comes next. Thank you all so much for reading, and here’s to another 4 years and beyond!

#Ultra Ramblings #4th anniversary #vampires #monster hunter #sesame street #ok k.o.! let's be heroes #guilty gear #mortasheen #hellsing: ultimate #mixels #the vampair series #johnny test

[hollyvorpahl]

For the WIP ask game: ❄️, ⚽️, and 🎶

So I'm working on a few projects at the moment so I'm gonna answer for at least three of them. I hope that's okay.

The WIPs I have currently are:

1. The Princess Guide to Love and Necromancy (there's also joke typical YA genre title, A Tale of Lace and Bone but I like the other title better)

2. Tales from the Drunken Duke (and its sequel The Guild of Lesser Glories)

3. A Vow from the Winter Lord

4. Of Glass Pens and Enchanted Treats

Toughest aspect of my WIPs:

1. This one is newish. I've wanted to write a story like this for a while but I had doubts anyone would actually like it or want to read it. I still have those doubts but I want to write it anyway. 

2. So, this one has a lot of... self criticism. I have the hardest time believing the concept that other writers/authors don't pen excellence in the first draft. I start to compare my drafts to finished books and it makes me feel like crap. I want this one to be light and sweet but as I write, I read things like Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree and I feel the ease of his words and then spiral. Why can't I write like this? There's no way he struggled or had to change anything. 

3. I have the most for this one yet I continuously doubt my abilities to pull off a serious Fantasy Romance like this. I guess you can say I'm intimidated by the scope of it?

4. There's a lot of the story that I don't have and I find that really daunting. 

Genre of my WIPs:

1. Fantasy Romance. This is the only one of them that I guarantee gets spicy.

2. Slice of Life Fantasy with a touch of Romance. 

3. Fantasy Romance

4. Slice of Life Fantasy with a touch of romance. 

WIPs Playlists:

So I don't really make playlists. I have an easily distracted mind and I write in quiet. If I have music going I find that my mind gets sucked into the music and I just listen. Music is a form of art I wish I could do. It's an art form I admire with my whole being. That being said, I'll share some of my favorites that remind me of how I'd like a score of my books to sound if they were turned into an animated movie or tv series. A lot of these were used as ambience while I wrote until I came to terms that I get more done in quiet.

-The score for the movie Stardust

-The score for the videogame Fable 

-The themes written by Aiden Chan for The Mighty Nein and Vox Machina. "A New Kind of Hero", "Beyond" (Pike's Theme) are a couple of favorites. 

-The Rise Undaunted's "Long May He Reign"

-There's a little piece of the score for A Knight's Tale called "Guinevere Comes to Lancelot." This has been something for me since I heard it. I downloaded it onto my iPod back in high school. It carries this small memory for me. My little sister and I didn't get along well, but the night before she had to do something (I don't remember what, probably a presentation or something) she asked if I was still awake. I was and asked what was wrong? She told me she was nervous and couldn't sleep. She asked for help so I played her the song. After that, she would ask me to play it for her or tell her a story to help her fall asleep when she was nervous. Sorry to get mushy.

Thanks for the ask! I hope these were okay answers lol

#ask holly vorpahl #i should be writing #creative writing #writing #fantasy romance #writer problems #i love writing #writing inspiration #writeblr #answered asks #thanks for the ask!

[media-mel]

More film/show quick reviews

I Am Not Okay With This (2020) - ok this is a series but shhhh! I LOVED this. The main girl is SOOO likeable and funny to me. Sad it was cancelled, now I want to read the comic to find out what happens next…

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - I did watch this once as a kid, but shh. Very quippy and quotable, I kept thinking of various KH crack videos with dubs from this LOL.

Polar (2019) - More camp than I expected LOL. The vibes between Montana and the rest of the film feel like two different movies. In terms of women roles, it feels uh.. pre-Gamer Gate… CW: long sex scene, fatphobia, torture, and the dog dies…

The Spider Man Trilogy (2002, 2004, 2007) - Okay I actually genuinely love how camp these movies are. Love the camera movement. Still really surprised how good the 2004 film is!

The Irishman (2019) - god this movie was so long and for what! LOL. Fantastic performances though. And I got used to the de-aging VFX, even if they caught me off guard at first. Still, perhaps I wasn't the audience this movie was for because I really felt it was so long...

Venom + Venom Carnage (2018, 2021) - Wow I really just… really do not fucking care for car chase scenes LOL. These movies were alright, but honestly I probably will never watch them again haha. Venom and Eddie were funny! I saw glimpses of the sexuality that all the fans were bonkers about (though it was weaker than I expected based on said fans reactions lmao).

Titan AE (2000) - Very very y2k movie LOL. The rock music is sooo funny and does not fit the sci fi at ALL imo lmao. I do prefer Treasure Planet for Jim and Silver’s relationship, so I wish the emotional relationships were stronger in this movie. But still a fun movie. Stith4Ever. Why was Akima’s skull so fucking long.

The Hunger Games films (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)- I know that these movies ironically fulfill the very notion I've heard the books were against (making a entertaining spectacle of dark topics, among other things), I do really like them 🙈 My favorite will always be Mocking Jay pt 1 just because I love that underground-jumpsuit aesthetic LOL. Lock me away, boys 🚓🚨

The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) - Okay other than Illumination’s loathsome “Our movies cannot slow down at all even once” problem, this movie was great. They made Mario and Luigi. So. fucking. adorable. And Bowser was great ofc.

American Psycho (2000) - I DO think this is a good film, but I also can’t BELIEVE this satirical doofus is the guy so many men project themselves onto LOL. I wasn’t expecting a theme on conformity, but to me its what makes the movie interesting.

The King's Man (2021) - This delivered what I expected: fun characters, action scenes that are unique and actually interesting, epic music that makes you feel like you’re with old friends. And it delivered what I did not expect: The WEIRDEST erotic scene I have EVER seen LMAO.

Agent Cody Banks (2003) - Saw this so young I don’t really remember it. This movie has a much higher budget than I remember LOL. Not really innovative but it was for kids, and I remember loving it.

Nope (2022) - okay okay I will admit at first I was like “okay how does the monkey connect” but my dumbass didn't realize Jupe had been purposely giving horses to the UFO, so realizing that Jupe tried taming the UFO in the way he thought he tamed the monkey really made me love this film even more. No wonder Jordan Peele's considered the next Steven Spielberg!

Rope (1948) - NGL I was hoping Rupert would go along :/ This would be so fun on see on stage, I enjoyed it!

Psycho (1960) - I enjoyed this too! One scene that will stick with me is the camera shift in Norman and Marion’s conversation when mothers are brought up. Very interesting cinematography there.

Hoodwinked (2005) - l watched this friends lmao; I was very hesitant, but I gotta admit it was funnier than I expected. The various POVs really makes it a unique animated comedy.

Fight Club (1999) - God first 12 minutes of this film I thought I was going fucking crazy! But hey you know I get it now. This is a fun movie. It feels like the opposite reaction to consumerism and conformity than American Psycho’s, an interesting pair of movies.

Three Pines (2022) - Once again, a show not a film, but I really enjoyed this series. Loved the setting, the atmosphere, the characters, the mysteries. Even though its a detective show with murder, I still found it oddly cozy enough to be a comfort show for the future LOL. Maybe it's because Armand is just that likeable!

#film reviews

[mysticdragon3md3]

"Let Goku Die" by Mother's Basement

I remember when I switched from American superhero comic books to manga, it was a tough transition, ecause manga had endings. Even when Magic Knight Rayearth got a sequel series, that too, also had an ending. Even the seemingly neverending episodic series like Ranma ½ got an “ending”…even if that ending was that the characters would continue their lives, just as they had while we watched/read them, but now we would have to say goodbye to them, while they continued on. But it’s been a long time now, and I can’t really remember those feelings anymore.

I don’t really understand the feeling of needing new episodes/chapters of a series to keep releasing, especially when the story is episodic or the type where each story arc is just ANOTHER adventure. Maybe because I’m the type who can rewatch a movie or series multiple times, and still get enjoyment out of those scenes, each time, I don’t understand the need to always need NEW misadventures of the characters we love. Just go back and re-watch/re-read things. Even years after watching my favorite series Sengoku Basara (2009-2011), I can still realize new ideas and new interpretations, out of subsequent rewatches. As Geoff said in this video essay, re-watching has value in the new interpretations you can have while rewatching.

Though the moral of this video essay is admirable, I am solidly rooted in my escapism and refuse to leave my refuge of “slice of life”, iyashikei, and rewatching “comfort” series. lol

But this idea of not letting go of long-running anime is also funny to me, because from my perspective, otaku have become very good at letting go of series and moving on to the next. For many years now, I realized that most of my main fandoms have been videogames. Maybe because videogame franchises can span literal decades. Just this past week in March 2023, Persona 5 announced P5X, ANOTHER spinoff, after P5 originally released in 2016 (in Japan; released worldwide in April 2017). If you are a Kingdom Hearts fan, that fandom is still active. But me as a Western Sengoku Basara anime fan, must face a desert. Compared to most videogame fandoms, most anime fans go from favorite series, to new favorite series, EACH SEASON. Recently, I saw a figure collecting channel warn against buying Nendoroids of EVERY character you like, because everyone is going from “seasonal waifu, to seasonal waifu”, not even remembering the previous favorite characters, a year later (when Nendoroids usually release after their preorders). ("DO NOT DO THIS Anime Figure Collecting MISTAKE!" by The Anime Figure Collector; https://youtu.be/mxKDfjJsXVU) For a while now, I’ve had this feeling that anime fans far too easily let series go. They get distracted by the new hot thing in the new season, with 4 seasons every year.

Not that I can’t understand that certain series would probably shock most otaku to end. Especially from Shonen Jump. Hearing from their mangaka, it seems the Jump publishers highly pressure a lot of their series to go on eternally, even when the mangaka wanted to move onto new projects. I can see everyone being shocked when One Piece eventually ends. And we saw everyone lamenting about Berserk (even when it was announced that the deceased mangaka’s assistants would continue the series). Certain series have become legacy IPs. Dragonball, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Naruto/Boruto, etc. Even if you haven’t been reading every chapter, it’s just something we all got accustomed to expecting in the background of the industry/fandoms.

I remember being shocked when I finally reached Ranma ½’s ending. But I feel like a lot of the most popular series, like Dragonball and Naruto/Boruto, are these fandoms I’ve moved away from, so long ago, that I didn’t even realize they were still going. Like The Simpsons. I can objectively see how it would be hard to let go of a long-running manga/anime, but it’s been so long since one long-running anime/manga was my personal obsessed fixation, that it’s still a little difficult for me to see. It’s not like a videogame which needs 3+ years for each installment. A manga/anime can get through a lot of story, that would be an abundance of rewatch material, after the series was done. That being said, if Persona or Fire Emblem just ended their franchises, no more of either of those games, then maybe I’d remember what this feeling was to be unable to let go of a manga/anime. In fact, it’s kind of happening to me right now. I got into Fire Emblem only through Fire Emblem 3 Houses; now everyone is moving onto Fire Emblem Engage. Persona 5 is still getting spinoffs, and though I've become less fixated on P5, I still love it, and don't want to let go of it. Meanwhile, everyone talks so tired of Persona 5. Atlus can barely announce a spin off for P5 without everyone groaning, "Why are we still milking Persona 5?!? Give us Persona 6 already!". I meanwhile, would like to stay on Persona 5 as long as possible. I can't let go. Despit the fact that but I chose to leave Persona 5 as my primary fixation, in exchange for Fire Emblem Three Houses. I imagine that fixation switch was a hint of what otaku are experiencing, jumping from season to season, with new favorite series/character, but they do it a lot more often. So I guess if I think about it, I can relate, though my perspective is distorted through longer stretches of time. Me being unable to relate or so out of practice with this feeling of being unable to let go of a weekly series/story, is such a strange scenario, because I am intensely unable to let go of things. I’m a craft supply hoarder. I keep every movie ticket. I can’t sell off parts of my multiple collections that I’m not that interested in anymore. My favorite anime is still Sengoku Basara from 2009. Most of the anime I watch aren’t new, but from 10 years ago. I can’t let go of things. …But I guess I haven’t had to. I could probably relate more to otaku, who want their anime/manga to keep going on forever, if I was still obsessed with anime, still needing a daily anime fix, with their storylines constantly hurtling towards their endings, as much as I used to be. But when I shifted my fixations to videogames, I may have accidentally found safety from that feeling of “things ending”. Because even if a videogame franchise does end, it may take literal decades. So videogames is a relatively safe fandom, to avoid that “ending” feeling.

Still, can people please stop groaning at every P5 spinoff? I'm looking forward to them! Even the Chinese-only one that I can't play! I just love looking at the art and knowing their adventures in that world are still going. Persona 6 will come! Please let me enjoy these p5 spinoffs without using P6 as an excuse to rain on my parade! ;o;

#Youtube #video essay #video essays #anime #manga #long running series #endings #food for thought #positive media psychology #reactions #nostalgia #reminicing #processing thoughts #rambling #please ignore my idiocy

[pikahlua]

out of every character/relationship in bnha which had the best development in your opinion and why

Well, that's a hard question to answer since the series is still ongoing. Just considering where the anime/manga area today, though...

I want to be fair in my evaluation and not just jump to what you probably expect me to say, so I will shout-out some potential answers that deserve mentioning.

Characters in the running for best development in my opinion:

I started with a long list of characters and pared it down based on a few arbitrary metrics, namely those things in character development that appeal the most to me (because this is about my opinion, after all). Those metrics are:

Are there multiple steps in their progression? This eliminates single-story arc characters whose character progressions are completed as a relatively small portion of the story.

Are those steps believable, not too small, and not too quick? Slow-burn progression is good, but if it’s drawn out too much, the pace of the character’s progression may be unrealistic, unimpressive, or just boring.

Is the character arc unique either in nature or in putting twists on otherwise familiar tropes and arcs? My Hero Academia is great about streamlining familiar shounen tropes in satisfying ways, but I don’t want to reward the 34th iteration of what is essentially a Son Gokuu expy.

Does the character progression create reread/rewatch value? This is one of my favorite elements of any media I consume, namely the ability to get something new out of a story the next time I view it, giving the work as a whole more lasting power.

Is the development appealing, compelling, enjoyable? This is where my subjective opinion will have the greatest impact and will distinguish between characters with long character arcs that stay high the longest time rather than have annoying dips in being interesting to me.

Using these criteria, I’ve narrowed down a list of the top three runners-up:

Izuku Midoriya - Izuku has one of the longest--if not the longest--character arcs in the story by nature of being the protagonist, and there are multiple stages in his progression. There are many nice twists on protagonist tropes in his arc, particularly towards the beginning of the story, and we even get some interesting character regression later in the story. However, while some elements of his progression/regression are fresh and interesting, they do get repetitive a bit here and there, lessening the impact. While I said I didn’t want to reward overused expies, I can’t help but admire Horikoshi’s take on worn protagonist tropes, and he takes an interesting approach by divvying up those familiar protagonist traits among other characters rather than focusing them all on Izuku, even having Izuku knock on the fourth wall to lampshade this fact on occasion (”he’s like a comic book character”). As a result, I may have ideas about how Izuku’s character arc will end, but I can’t say for sure, and the fact that I don’t know excites me. My view on his character has changed with each twist to his tropes that I pick up, making even the earliest story arcs hit me in new ways. Izuku started out as a standard relatable protagonist easy for the audience to project onto, but he has proven many times that there is more to him than what the story initially leads us to believe. However, while I love the subtlety of these arcs of his, they are often a little too subtle for many people to catch, making the audience complacent with their initial interpretations of him and making some meta discussions I’ve had redundant and tedious. All in all, he has a good amount of virtues and flaws, an interesting amount of active and passive presence in the story for a protagonist, and facilitates the overall story with his own character arc quite well.

Tomura Shigaraki - Tomura is the first antagonist in a long time that I’ve seen take a similar progression as a protagonist might, in some cases fitting the protagonist trope better than the story’s actual protagonist. I love how the story makes me hate him--write him off--right at the beginning, only to slowly reveal there is so much more going on under the surface with little breadcrumbs here and there and to make promises to me about the length and depth of his character arc. What starts out as a one-dimensional, boring, maybe even annoying antagonist rapidly becomes an intriguing mystery about his origins and his finish line. He suffers a bit here and there from being absent from the story for a few chunks, but that just lends itself more to the mystery and makes me excited even more for when we finally get to see him again. I see a lot of praise for the My Villain Academia arc for its sudden dark turn, but my favorite part about it is how seamlessly Tomura transitions into the protagonist spot and shows me just how relatable all the villains are. I am compelled to root for them in unexpected places, because Tomura’s vilification of society in general puts him up against more than just heroes but other villains as well. The best twist on a trope I’ve seen comes from Tomura, and that’s how his learning the power of friendship bolsters his villainy even more rather than making him switch sides to the heroes. I’m excited to see where his character goes.

Endeavor/Enji Todoroki - Just barely edging out All Might to make the cut, Endeavor is a divisive character for good reason. All Might and Endeavor represent the original tropes of protagonist and lancer/rival from more traditional shounen manga, and My Hero Academia gives us a take on the contemporary successors of those tropes via Izuku, Katsuki, and Shouto. In that sense, All Might and Endeavor are straight expies, but Endeavor just becomes a bit more fascinating because of the duality and paradox of heroism combined with assholery that he represents. With each new story arc we see a new side of Endeavor that challenges our view of him the story gave us just an episode before. I particularly love Endeavor’s ability to constantly slap away death flags like they’re flies, not because I’m invested in his survival but because I love trope subversion. Horikoshi is very brave to create a character like Endeavor much less attempt to develop him as much as he has, and his controversial nature makes me anxious about how Endeavor’s story will ultimately end, but even that anxiety is enjoyable while the story is still ongoing (who knows how I’ll feel about it when the story ends though). I can’t give him the top spot because there are a few gaps in the realism of his progression, but at the very least I can really appreciate what Horikoshi is attempting here with Endeavor.

I would also like to say that just because a character didn’t make this list, that doesn’t mean I don’t find their development excellent or compelling. I’m just trying to narrow things down to “the best in my opinion,” but for example I do think many characters have excellent moments of character development, even if there are chunks of the story where they have very little of it. I started to list them out, but the list got annoyingly long, so just know that I have things to say about pretty much everyone.

Relationships in the running for best development in my opinion:

Using similar criteria to the above category, I narrowed the relationships down to a winner and three runners-up:

Are there multiple stages in the relationship’s progression?

Are those changes believable, not too small, and not too quick?

Is the relationship arc unique either in nature or in putting twists on otherwise familiar tropes and arcs?

Does the relationship progression create reread/rewatch value?

Is the development appealing, compelling, enjoyable?

The runners-up are:

Izuku and All Might - The relationship between these two starts out as multi-faceted from the get-go; All Might begins as Izuku’s hero/idol, but he very quickly becomes Izuku’s teacher/mentor as well. Fascinatingly, these two relationships are in conflict with each other through most if not all of the story, even on the meta level like in Kamino where All Might the hero dies while All Might the teacher survives. The warm fuzzies I feel from watching these two grow closer and come to care in so many ways about each other are just as wonderful as the cold pit in my gut when I realize how those warm fuzzies are bad, how this relationship covertly becomes something detrimental to both these characters no matter how All Might tries to improve. All Might, the hero who saves everyone, doesn’t have a hope of saving Izuku, and Izuku’s impending downfall is entirely due to All Might’s existence, an existence that has grossly influenced Izuku all his life. And yet in spite of that, I still want these two to always have each other. I just want them to figure out how to be there for each other a bit more...healthily.

Katsuki and All Might - While the relationship between Izuku and All Might highlights All Might’s tendencies to lie and withhold information, it’s Katsuki’s relationship with All Might that dissects and criticizes All Might’s character for those tendencies. The faults in Izuku and All Might’s relationship easily fly under the radar before Katsuki and All Might grow closer. Izuku puts All Might on a pedestal, whereas Katsuki immediately sees through all the bullshit. Others are blinded by Izuku’s and All Might’s heroism, but Katsuki always sees them as flawed human beings, even when he idolizes All Might as a child. He admires All Might for his ability to persevere through hardship, but he sees All Might as an obstacle, not a symbol. He wants to surpass All Might in his desire to be like him. After so long watching All Might fumble as he tries to be a decent teacher to Katsuki, they are only able to truly connect after All Might the hero dies. Only then does Katsuki become something of a protégé to All Might, not to his heroism but to his mentorship. Katsuki slowly takes up the mantle as mentor to Izuku, and he damn well intends to surpass All Might in that regard as well (which is honestly an easy threshold to cross, given All Might’s ineptitude here). I almost wanted to give this relationship top spot in terms of development, but ultimately it is held back by how subtle and stretched-out the development is, and I think that’s intentional; Katsuki’s perspective is often subtle or hidden in plain sight by the narrative to further the mystery of his thoughts for dramatic purposes, but you just know at some point in the future shit is gonna go down.

Katsuki and Shouto - I was torn on this one versus Katsuki and Ochako, as these two are the major “friendships” that retain a significant amount of dramatic tension over time as opposed to just falling into an easy, static friendship that most others in the story do. Ultimately, Katsuki and Ochako’s relationship devolves into extremely short interactions and progressions for a long time, so I had to give it to Katsuki and Shouto instead. Their relationship starts out as a one-sided rivalry where Shouto refuses to acknowledge Katsuki, frustrating Katsuki to no end and leaving the audience none-the-wiser to how these two will ultimately clash in the sports festival finals. After Izuku vs. Shouto, Katsuki comes to realize that he won’t get anything out of Shouto until he successfully “saves” him similarly to how Izuku did. And of course, Katsuki fails at saving Shouto, leading to one of my most favorite anticlimaxes in fiction. This is the same arc where All Might tells Izuku “meddling where you don’t technically have to is the essence of being a hero,” and already before that line we see Katsuki meddling whether on purpose or accident as he listens in on Izuku and Shouto’s private conversation. From there, Katsuki continues to meddle in Shouto’s life, often listening in on key details of his family drama, again uncertain if it’s on accident or on purpose. And the closer Katsuki gets, the more Shouto accepts him and calls them friends. It’s like Katsuki stumbles hard into this friendship without realizing it and Shouto rewards him for it in the ways that piss Katsuki off the most, and it’s so freaking funny and lovable; I wish more people would talk about them. Kudos to you, TDBKs, I truly appreciate all your hard work. <3

Now for the not-so-shocking winners...

Best developed character in my opinion:

Katsuki Bakugou

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

How could he not be? Love him or hate him, you can’t tell me your feelings about him haven’t changed in many ways since we were first introduced to him, even if you hate him more now than you did in episode 1. You only feel that way because of the sheer level of focus placed on his character development since then. He’s a character who not only develops over time, but he develops the audience over time as well, forcing us to see the subtle twists in the story that often don’t get noticed until Katsuki himself brings them up. Often the question I have to ask of others is not “Do you like Katsuki Bakugou?” but “When did you start liking Katsuki Bakugou?” When he bites All Might’s hand during the final exam? When he rejects Tomura at Kamino? When he confides in Izuku at Ground Beta in Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 2? When...chapter 285 (to avoid manga spoilers)? Each of these incidents is often cited by many as that moment their opinion of him changed.

Me personally? I started noticing something was up at the USJ, specifically when Kirishima translates Katsuki’s words to mean “You believe in our classmates.” At that moment, I realized there was a disconnect between Katsuki’s speech and his actions. He became an intriguing character then. I gained mad respect for him during his match versus Ochako in the sports festival after noting how that story arc suddenly shifted the tone of his belligerent attitude from concerning (via Izuku’s perspective) to humorous. I was all set up to fall in love during the final exam, was sold on his heroic nature when he rejected Tomura, and honestly would have been happy if the whole series ended with Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 2. His development is so emotionally fulfilling that he just overshadows every other character by comparison.

One of the things I love most about his development is how he’s present in the entire story even when you don’t think he is. Some portion of his development occurs in each story arc no matter how small his role may be, like how his development into a solid team leader in the joint training arc is bridged naturally to Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 2 via his B-plot as the band drummer during the school cultural festival. He’s almost entirely absent from the Overhaul arc minus a short flashback of Kirishima’s, but I recently noticed his presence in an entirely unexpected way that gives me pause about where the story’s finale might end up; there’s a parallel between his relationship with Izuku and the relationship between Mirio and Tamaki, which is obviously featured heavily in the Overhaul arc, but that’s a conversation to be had a little further down in the post (oops spoilers).

Most of what I could say from here really just ties back to things I’ve said in so many other of my meta posts, like how the mystery of his perspective is such a compelling piece of the overall story, but I’ll just wrap up with this line from my blog’s summary:

80% Bakugou Katsuki (if he ain't in frame in canon, it's probably boring); all characters have better chemistry (platonic/romantic/antagonistic/any other context) with Bakugou than they do with literally any other character change my mind

Q.E.D.

Best developed relationship in my opinion:

Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou

This relationship has obviously undergone the most change not only since the beginning of the story but since the beginning of their friendship in early childhood. I'd say it’s the central focus of the story, but really the central focus of the story is the triangular relationship connecting these two and All Might.

There is just...too much to say about these two. So I’ve decided to do what I can to keep things concise and split it into the important parts for brevity.

Answering the development questions

Parallel with Mirio and Tamaki

Table of Contents of all my relevant meta

Answering the development questions

Are there multiple stages in the relationship’s progression? Yes and how! Shallow childhood friendship to bully/victim with skewed perspective on both sides to hero/victim to distant peers to bitter rivals to spurned rivals to hero/victim to confidants to healthy rivals to careful friends to mentor/mentee to hero team to spurned friends to hero/victim to...

Are those changes believable, not too small, and not too quick? Your mileage may vary, but I think if you can get to the point where you can wrap your head around Katsuki’s perspective, the relationship development becomes shockingly believable. The person who suddenly seems unrealistic is Izuku in many cases, but it all ties back into the warped hero-centric society of which they both are products. That there are so many stages to their relationship of which many are featured in each story arc is the most satisfying slow-burn I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Is the relationship arc unique either in nature or in putting twists on otherwise familiar tropes and arcs? Gah, there are just too many to name, so I’ll say this: one of the best parts of Horikoshi’s storytelling is how he makes you think you’re watching a familiar trope before suddenly pulling the rug out from underneath you. The way Horikoshi plays these two straight as typical shounen rivals while hiding little hints about something deeper going on for such a long time but especially during Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 1, almost to the point of giving us a narrator who flat-out lies to the audience (Izuku thinking of their childhood and how Katsuki’s quirk set him down the “wrong path”), only to now have us questioning exactly who is the hero and who is the rival set to turn to the bad side is so [chef’s kiss] beautiful.

Does the relationship progression create reread/rewatch value? This relationship is the primary motivator TO reread/rewatch. As just one example, if you haven’t gone back to read the early chapters from the beginning through Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 1 ever since reading chapters 284, 285, and 319, I highly recommend that you do.

Is the development appealing, compelling, enjoyable? [gestures wildly at my blog]

The aforementioned promise of the Mirio and Tamaki parallel

A lot of people have noted how easy it is to compare Izuku and Katsuki’s relationship with that of Mirio Togata and Tamaki Amajiki. Interestingly, most people say that Katsuki is parallel to Mirio and Izuku is parallel to Tamaki.

I would argue the opposite, particularly because of these moments:

Tamaki foreshadowing Mirio’s downfall by Mirio’s self-sacrificial nature.

Tamaki’s nature is that he is crushed by expectations and perfectionism.

Mirio being inspired by Tamaki’s strength and seeing the true virtue in Tamaki that others miss because of his attitude.

Mirio smiling at victims, not opponents.

Katsuki is present in the Overhaul arc via Tamaki’s presence, and that just terrifies me for any future parallels other arcs may have to the Overhaul arc.

Because of moments like this:

And this:

Bitter food for thought.

Meta Table of Contents

Lastly, to save me a lot of time, here’s every meta post I’ve written that touches on the relationship between these two:

(no manga spoilers)

Izuku’s Admiration: All Might vs Katsuki Bakugou

Izuku’s Image of Victory (S03E23)

Katsuki’s perspective on Izuku since childhood

That’s not what Katsuki wanted to hear (S03E23)

Izuku & All Might (S01E02) vs Katsuki & All Might Izuku (S03E23)

All For One & Tenko (S0309) vs Young Izuku & Young Katsuki (S01E07)

Who won Deku vs Kacchan 2?

Sometimes Izuku is terrifying

(manga spoilers)

Smiling in the Face of Danger: A Picture Book (chapter 286)

That’s not what Katsuki wanted to hear 2: The Victory Strategy (chapter 286)

Katsuki Bakugou Rising: How was he going to finish that sentence? (chapter 304)

Who is Katsuki Bakugou’s villain counterpart? (chapter 310)

Shouto vs Dabi (the Deku parallel) (chapter 301)

Just thinking about bugs (chapter 317)

Everything that happened in Katsuki Bakugo Rising was heavily foreshadowed early on and staring us dead in the face P.S. Horikoshi is laughing madly at us: A Picture-Book Essay (chapter 286)

Izuku/Tenko (chapter 305) vs Izuku/Katsuki (S01E07)

All For One/Tomura (chapter 297) vs All For One/Katsuki feat. Tomura & Izuku (volume cover 10)

Possible Parallels: The Final Battle (chapter 298)

Self-Victory: Katsuki vs. One For All (chapter 316)

AFO is a bastard and we’re all on the train to Pain City ;D (chapter 318)

AFO’s Master Plan: Izuku’s rage will be his downfall (chapter 318)

Ch. 318: “He’s here, bastards” vs “Guys, I found him” (chapter 318)

Chapter 319: This doesn’t pass the sniff test (chapter 319)

Who will save Izuku? (chapter 318)

What was Katsuki thinking when he told Izuku to dive off the roof in chapter 1? (chapter 284, hints about chapter 319)

The post-war conflict or lack thereof between Izuku and Katsuki (chapter 318)

Incomplete list of Katsuki’s unresolved plot lines, character arcs, and foreshadowing (chapter 310)

Platonic Mentor OFA 2nd User is relevant to my interests (chapter 310)

Bak-u-go headcanon discussion for fun (chapter 310)

And there’s plenty more where all those came from.

#my hero academia #izuku midoriya #katsuki bakugou #all might #toshinori yagi #tomura shigaraki #endeavor #enji todoroki #shouto todoroki #mirio togata #tamaki amajiki #todobaku #miritama #bakudeku #not shippy but like this is important to their relationship #meta #ask pika #anon ask

[that-was-anticlimactic]

top 5 ships! ♥️

F E E L I N G S

1. rarijack

okay so. rarijack was like. my first real introduction to gay was via ninjago fanfiction i accidentally stumbled upon, but it wasn't a great fic so i didn't think much of it. then, i found myself shipping rarity and applejack even tho they were both girls. i didn't know why, and for awhile, i just. didn't think about it and simply shipped them. but this has been a comfort ship since 2013. it fills me with great joy and makes me all giddy and flappy hands and like. it's the epitome of opposites attract and being able to love someone... somepony despite being so different, learning to love what they love simply because your partner loves it. it's understanding someone on such a deep level that you can say "honestly, i don't know why you're giving me your frowny eyebrows". like. f r o w n y e y e b r o w s. to know someone so well that you can tell the different moods by their eyebrows. it's being willing to give up what you want for love, wanting the one you love to take care of themself. putting their happiness above your own until they make you take care of yourself... i just. i love rarijack so much. they are everything to me. my internet friend beth made me two rarijack stickers on redbubble and they're my favorite stickers on my laptop.

2. zukka

is anyone surprised? they mean so much to me. i love them so much. they're so important to me. sometimes, i self-project onto sokka so much that it reminds me that i'm worth loving, if that makes sense? there's so much good in zukka, so much learning and self-discovery and recovery and pure love and just. okiuhgyfdgyhuijop. my brain isn't working great right now, so that's all imma say for now, but i have so much more that i can say. brain just says no :/

3. renga

is anyone surprised? to be honest, renga is a lot of self-projection??? like. i want a langa in my life. ftgyuhioiuygfg as dumb and selfish as that may sound, i just love the way that they love each other. it's so passionate, but so natural. they love eachother and naturally as they breathe. they both brought each other happiness and meaning. reki gave langa the spark of life he was missing and langa gave reki someone who genuinely cares about what he has to say... there's just so much good and pureness in it. i love them. so much.

4. jetru

oops. jetru came out of nowhere and stole my heart. just. the potential that they have is so good. i love writing for them and i love thinking about them. they always give me this warm glow in my chest. i love this dynamic and how they would both love each other so passionately and just. ahhhhh i am so excited to write you happened verse jetru edition when i have the time because i have Ideas <3

5. jack & goldilocks

so, they're from my favorite book series, the land of stories ! i love them so much. goldilocks is a very important character to me, and her love story with jack is just so sweet and wholesome. i don't really have too much to say here because i just genuinely love them so much.

i'm doing six cause i wanna sorry

6. kiane / howzer & gilthunder

so, i don't think you know them, but kiane is king and diane from the anime seven deadly sins and howzer & gilthunder are as well! kiane is canon, the other is not but it always makes me so happy and giddy! kiane makes me feel so many good feelings! it's falling in love all over again and loving each other even when they're so far apart. they're just so pure and mean so much to me. and i headcanon howzer as gay but suffering from internalized homophobia / a maybe homophobic father and he figures it out around like s3 of the show, and gil is bi and i just love their chemistry and the way they interact and ahhhhhh wish they were canon:/

#brooke tag #but thank you for indulging me <333 #this was fun! #i love talking about rarijack so freaking much! #some honorable mentions are: yueki / lavashipping / glaciershipping / djwifi / julerose / mcnozzo (don't judge me iuygfttgyui--i hyper #-fixated on them when i was going through it lol) / pins and patches from b #*bmc aka jake and michael / troyson from kipo #aaaaaand i'll stop there cause i need to shower haha #thank you for letting me scream about rarijack ! #<3 #corey rambles:)

[readingrobin]

8 and 16 please?

8. What are your top three films? Books?

Oh god, it's too hard! But I'm going to try to give it my best shot. Keep in mind these lists change every day and they alter according to what I'm in the mood for.

Films

1. Spiderman Into the Spiderverse - This film is amazing on so many levels: it's animation, music, storytelling, lighting, themes, how it all ties into the ideals of Spiderman and what that character represents. It's a marvel on every level and I really hope people don't discount it as a Spiderman property just because it's animated. It's better than Spiderman 2 in my opinion, though they're both very good as what they are.

2. Kiki's Delivery Service - So it's funny, I usually say Spirited Away is my favorite Ghibli film, but it's like that's my brain answer, but my heart says Kiki's Delivery Service. It was the first Ghibli film I watched and, as I'm getting older, I'm starting to relate to it a bit more. I can understand Kiki's struggles on a different level, having gone through those lows that she experiences.

3. Beetlejuice - I've really started fixating on this movie after seeing the musical, even though I was a fan of it prior. I guess all this content is just making me more amped about it. It's probably Burton's best (I don't really consider Nightmare Before Christmas as his movie since all he gave that project was the idea and money, I see it more an a Henry Selick film, but that's a rant for another day.) The soundtrack is stellar, everyone's performances is on point, I forget that that's Alec Baldwin in it half the time, and just the design of it all is fantastic.

Books

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - Duh. No explanation needed.

2. The Sandman by Neil Gaiman - Probably my favorite comic series. The overall tone and direction of the series may have changed slightly over the course of its run, but it was always very entertaining and insightful. Has one of my favorite interpretations of Death and it's overall a moving piece of literature. I recommend it to literally everyone.

3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - I really can't explain how much love I have for Bradbury as a whole. It really all comes to a head in this book, where he describes the human experience in only a way he can. There is light and dark, and evil and friendship, and love. It's a story that captures the beauty that lingers around fall, but also those small fears we can never really get rid of. Bradbury knew how to tell a story while keeping you completely ensnared through his words.

16. How do you organize your music playlists?

So I create my playlists through Spotify and I usually only make them for my characters or for specific moods. Really it's as simple as "Oh this song really makes me think of this character" or "I really want to listen to this song when I'm feeling X" and then I put it onto the playlist. It's a good simple system.

Ask me things!

#asks #ninja-muse

[scienceart-everything]

Describing my gender identity

- When an mentor figure calls you son (somehow both people in the scenario)

- I want to subvert gender roles in all activities - I want to be perceived as a woman when I do masculine things and I want to be perceived as a man when I do feminine things

- My gender is whatever as long as it’s gay. I am a homosexual.

- Soft boy - sad boy hours - Hamlet

- Strong woman - resilient - eternal - “females are strong as hell”

- Converse

- The completely arbitrary way people assign gender to inanimate objects (that plant is my son, this is my favorite mug she is beautiful)

- Sir instead of ma’am But even better the gender neutral honorifics of professor and dr.

- I don’t particularly love (don’t hate either) the complements beautiful or handsome. I like sharp, suave, ethereal, smart (in the clothing sense)

- Defending women and men fiercely but not really feeling a part of either group (not really feeling a part of the non binary group either)

- Shakespearean fool

- Wise old mentor

- You know how when a sports team has a team name that isn’t an animal (especially if it’s an abstract concept) but they end up with an animal mascot and it’s “associated” and “close enough” that’s womanhood for me (also they could’ve picked a different animal arbitrarily and that would be manhood)

- An academic paper with the gendered or personal components removed (even when they would help people understand the context of the paper better or inspire someone)

- Musical Theatre Boy Protagonists

- I had to go through girlhood to get here but my inner child is a boy

- Full-time abstract concept

- I can’t imagine being a wife exactly but I don’t like the term spouse. It’s important to me to get married but I think I’ll be a partner forever

- Also partner is excellent are we committing a crime are we lawyers are we detectives the possibilities are endless

- A male pirate’s femininity

- When old women cut their hair short when it turns grey

- I think I have more have uncle energy than aunt energy. I don’t really like the super gendered stereotypes of either. I really wish there was a good gender neutral way to describe this relationship because it is ME! Like godparent without the religious component. The go to family friend.

- The collective gender identity of people who project onto Remus Lupin.

- When a boy is the main character I have main character energy when a girl is the main character I have quirky side kick energy.

- In contrast to gender blind casting - aggressively gender aware casting but still non traditional

- Crowley’s gender presentation in the good omens tv series

- The truth that queerness is so much bigger than who you marry or sleep with

- The way I felt ashamed of my handwriting in elementary school and feel kind of proud of it now because of its lack of femininity

- Tool kit queer

- They/them is good but I honestly rather people just guess randomly between she/her and he/him but I use they/them more because people don’t really ever guess he/him.

- My gender presentation is too soft to be butch?

- The homoeroticism of dark academia

- Dude, man, dear (these are the terms of endearment I use mainly)

- You know how bi girls have been taught that they have to assert their queerness in relationships with men. My gender identity is such that even a relationship with a man would be queer inherently and there would be no need to assert queerness. Again, I am a homosexual who love men and women.

- Loving boy-coded childhood interests as an adult (dinosaurs, space, trains, etc)

- Making crafts in the way other people go about building furniture

- I have too much old traditional energy to have young hip non-binary energy. (Though I respect it)

- Queerness is both a riot and the narrative of growing old together and really no in between.

- Never changing the pronouns in covers of songs when referring to myself or anyone else.

-Neuroqueer makes a lot of sense to me but not in an agender sort of way just in a way of never “being good” at following gender rules because all societal rules confuse me!

- fun.’s discography

- Black nail polish

- Old Books

- Mugs of Tea and Wine Glasses

- A walk in the woods

#gender identity #describing my gender identity #making sense of gender #genderqueer #Remus lupin #pronouns #any pronouns #discovery my identity #neuroqueer #old books #black nail polish #gender roles #homosexual #fun. band #tea #queerness #queer identity

[lost-caticorn]

Izuku Midoriya (Deku) is autistic - HC

Hi hi ~ so I am autistic and I strongly headcanon most of BNHA's characters as neurodiverse (and gay but that’s another story). I think that Deku is definitely autistic and here are the main reasons why. For this “analysis” I’ve used both the anime (until s4 which is currently airing) and bits of the manga.

(I’ve had comments on my previous autistic headcanons pointing out that I was projecting myself onto the characters and YES I am very much doing this. No but seriously, I am writing about why I think certain characters have the same neurodivergence as me so yes of course I’m going to use my own life as a reference and as a material to explain why I think the way I do. If it bothers you it’s fine but don’t spread negativity is all I ask for.)

All autistics are welcomed to add to this post btw I’d love to have more perspectives <3

1. Stimming

I feel like this one is extremely obvious so I'll start with it: Deku is one stimmy boi omg. Just look at the way he swings on his chair before watching that one All Might video:

“Stimming” also known as “self regulatory behaviour” is basically the repetition of movements, sounds, visual stimulation. It’s a way for autistic people to calm and reassure themselves, concentrate and express their feelings.

I’m also putting his mumbling in here because it’s very common for autistics to talk to themselves, it’s a form of vocal stimming:

2. Special interest

"special interest" is a term used by autistic people to refer to the topics that interest them. When we're invested in something it's not just a hobby. For us it becomes an obsession, we think about it 24/7 thus why we have a word for it. A special interest is not only an obsession, it's a safe place, an escape route if the reality becomes overwhelming, something that gives us a joy and fulfilment.

All Might and generally Heroes are Deku's special interest. He spent years to research and gather all informations in books. He's so obsessed he goes back into 'fanboy mode' super fast and forgets the time and place at times. He knows everything by heart AND well enough to use it directly in battles.

Also like his mumbling could be due to him being in hyperfocus: an intense form of mental concentration that focuses consciousness on a subject, topic, or task. Hyperfocusing on special interests is something quite common for autistics. He’s so focused that he forgets that it's not really “appropriate” (by society’s standards) to do that when other people are around.

AND he does that quite a bit huh.

3. Blunt, honest and infodumping

Deku is very honest and isn't afraid of being vulnerable. This is something I tend to observe with the autistic community because we simply don't see why some things are considered shameful or embarrassing. We say what we think and we don't see the wrong in that.

He has a tendency to infodump: Infodumping is the practice, common amongst autistic people, of giving intricately detailed summaries of their topic of interest in single heaps. This can occur in conversation both online and offline. "Speaking in paragraphs" is another way to describe this. It happens multiple times in the manga but this one is my favorite example:

First of all, he was SO stressed at the beginning of the interview. Again, this is interesting in itself because Deku is not shy, he’s usually more on the spontaneous side. It reminds me of when he had to be funny with Sir Nighteye to gain his approval because he was surprisingly very stiff. This makes me think that maybe he feels uncomfortable in any social situation he’s not already familiar with. That’s... Very relatable as an autistic person because most of us also have social anxiety.

Anyway, about the infodumping. This example perfectly shows the switch that occurs in his behaviour before and after a special interest is brought up. When being asked about himself he doesn’t know what to say at all but he gets loud the moment he’s asked about All Might and start literally speaking in paragraphs. When can clearly see that he’s not stiff anymore. Talking about All Might was both a relief and something that got him suddenly excited.

4. Bullied

I find it so interesting that the series begins with Deku's perspective and within the first pages we are already introduced to the concept of inequality in this world. People are not born equal. Deku learns it very early at age 4 because he's quirkless and I can't help but draw a parallel with neurodiversity. 

He's bullied for being different, for not having a capacity that others have, for not meeting expectations.... This reminds me of almost every autistic person ever unless they become very good at masking (hiding autistic traits) very fast. Also he points out a few times that he’s probably not only bullied for not having a quirk. This makes me think that even if he had one he would have been ostracised anyway. Maybe being quirkless drew attention on him but he was different from the start. As an autistic person I relate so much to this and I think the discrimination he faces is very relatable to a lot of neurodiverse folks. This is my interpretation of this aspect of Deku.

5. Strong sense of justice

No I'm not saying that us autistics are better people BUT I think we have a strong sense of justice that we aren't afraid to show no matter the circumstances. A lot of people don't express when the feel like something is unfair mostly because of social rules but because we're quite blind to these we often blur out things without even thinking or considering time and place. I think we see that in Deku's childhood especially when he stands up for his beliefs while being quirkless and powerless.

6. He comes up with unique ways

Something very interesting with deku is how he always manage to come up with a unique plan. I think this is something most autistic people relate with because we often perceive things a bit differently than most and as a result we have unique ways to achieve our goals.

Ok and that’s all for me ~

Honestly there is not one single moment of him that makes me think he’s not on the autism spectrum lol. I could understand people disagreeing with other headcanons but this one?

I’ve seen posts talking about hyper empathy as an autistic trait Deku has and I didn’t put it in here because I don’t feel knowledgeable enough on the subject to touch it. That being said I think it’s a very interesting point to make! 

Anyway if you’re still here, thanks for reading I hope it was enjoyable!

#bnha #deku #midoriya izuku #bnha hc #my hero academia #autistic headcanon #autism #neurodiversity #actuallyneurodiverse #autistic culture #aspergers #aspie #stimming #bullying #special interest

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

To Make A Hero – Maria Brink and Andy Biersack ‘Dark Nights: Death Metal’ Interview

Countless iterations of Batman have been created since the character’s DC Comics debut in 1939. He’s been a detective, a Dark Knight and a key member of The Justice League. Of course, the crime-fighting anti-hero also leapt off the page and onto the screen for TV shows and movies such as the 1960s Batman live action TV show, the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series, and even a 2018 Batman Ninja animated film. Now, fans can see — and hear — their favorite action hero in a completely new way with Dark Nights: Death Metal motion-comic series and soundtrack.

The multi-medium endeavor is based on the comic book mini series of the same name written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Greg Capullo. The official soundtrack was produced by Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy, Watchmen), who recruited over a dozen musical artists to contribute to the songs. Two such artists are Andy Biersack (Black Veil Brides) and Maria Brink (In This Moment), who came together for the song “Meet Me In The Fire.” Both Biersack and Brink also have speaking roles in the motion-comic.

“I got a call saying that they were doing this series,” Biersack recalls, “and asked if I wanted to do the voice of Batman. For me, not only was it a dream come true, but it was huge to have a creative outlet in a time where there was nothing that could be done.”

Biersack is, of course, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic that kept non-essential workers home for months on end.

“It was this weird period where we couldn’t do anything creative. So to be able to, in some cases, record the audio here in my home studio and pretend to be Batman for a few hours a day was awesome.”

Biersack’s undying love for the anti-hero is well-established, but In This Moment vocalist Maria Brink also professes to adore comic books.

“I’ve always loved them and been fascinated by them,” she says. “I actually got into them more when I was older ⁠— I like all fantasy stuff. I got to have the voice of The Hand, which was so cool. In the middle of COVID, all of us were looking for creative outlets to keep our minds occupied, so it felt like a blessing for sure. To me what was so exciting was to bring in all the musicians and have all of their voices taking on this new storyline. I really loved the creativeness of converging both of these worlds.”

The storyline of the mini series is based on the concept of a dark multiverse, which sees multiple alternate realities and alternative versions of Batman. Told through visuals, dialogue, and music, this project is complex in both content and form.

“What I really liked about this project,” Biersack continues, “is that you have an opportunity to see those iterations individually and how they play into the same storyline. To have every version that you love in the same story is a pretty exciting thing. Especially if you watch the series that they made, you get to see the whole history of this character.”

For the Black Veil Brides frontman, it speaks to the greatness, versatility and longevity of Batman as a whole.

“As someone who enjoys comic book character creating and world-building, I love the idea of having a character that can stand the test of 80 years and have all of these variations, and the validity of one is the same as the other. You can have the Adam West chummy, joke-y Batman and you can have the Frank Miller angry, grumpy, murderous Batman — and they’re both valid versions of the character.”

For Brink, collaborating with Biersack and producer Tyler Bates on their cinematic track “Meet Me In The Fire” was about much more than Batman.

“When I was writing it,” she explains, “I wasn’t just thinking about it in terms of the comic book,  but the world in general. That give and take, the struggle, the fight and the power; people wanting to stand with each other and having to go through hard times together — especially where we were all kind of at [with COVID] when we were writing this song. There’s gonna be hard times and you might have to walk through some flames and get your feet burnt.”

Biersack adds, “The idea of Batman, or any character, is there’s some initial injustice that causes them to become the hero that they ultimately become. In those ways, there’s so many parallels to the idea of those moments of absolute darkness or sadness that we all face. And in a year where not only was the world changing on a literal level — a virus that’s traveling everywhere and putting people in danger — but also socially, there were so many changes and important things that occurred last year. The best value that you can have in life is to not just have something difficult to occur, but to learn from it and grow from it.”

So in a time when lives are literally on the line every day, how do these two prominent rock musicians define what it truly means to be a hero?

“I guess a hero to me is someone who really stands up for others,” Brink says. “Someone who really cares about other people and who will risk themselves and whatever it takes to empower other people. It’s selfless. The doctors risking their lives to help these sick people — they’re heroes. They could die.”

“Also just on a more personal level,” Biersack adds, “anybody in your life who inspires you to be a better version of yourself is tremendously heroic. I think if you can find it in yourself to be a hero for yourself and for everyone around you, that is the most important virtue possible. If you aren’t trying your best to be better than you were yesterday, ultimately I don’t know that you’re spending your time that wisely.

“I think at the end of the day,” he continues, “the message that rock n’ roll has always been about is to not put everyone else up on that pedestal. Rise to the challenge yourself and be the hero that you want to see.”

You can catch Black Veil Brides and In This Moment on tour with Ded and Raven Black on their North American The In Between Tour starting Sept. 17.

#maria brink #in this moment #Andy Biersack #Black Veil Brides #2021 interviews