#DEVILS MINION ART WHO CHEERED

[crazymecjc]

i am the devil’s minion, and he grants my every wish.

[homoparanoia]

ARMANDANIEL YURI!!

[hallowedhaunting]

Tagged by @hekateinhell! tysm🫶

What’s the origin of your username?: I was trying to come up with a memorable enough username that would fit The Vibe because I originally wanted this to be an art account, then proceeded to not post art for two years lol. I wanted something that had a motif of both religion+horror since I tend to make (original) art around that concept. Also a primary reason I love The Vampire Armand

OTP(s) + ship name: Anything involving Armand (except Bianca sorry queen I’m just heterophobic). Especially Armand/Daniel… but TVL Lesmand has a grip on me too………………… and Venice era……………………………………. Prior to Armand I was obsessed with Usami/Tsurumi from the Golden Kamuy manga and Ash/Eiji from Banana Fish lol

Favorite color: Black and red!

Song stuck in your head: I have been listening to Rosegarden Funeral Party lately, but especially their song Follow. It is so early Devil’s Minion coded to me! 

I have also been listening to Secret Shame's discography quite a bit

Weirdest habit/trait: Probably that I talk to myself constantly when I’m alone (like full on animated conversations). I had to curb this in college because I’d constantly misjudge when my roommates were home 😭 remnants of a highly isolated childhood lol

Hobbies: Drawing, writing, music composition, playing piano + singing, finding and altering vintage fashion+furniture, fashion in general…….

If you work, what’s your profession?: I am a piano teacher!

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?: Hmm, probably to be a writer or artist! Though I know the realities of doing those professionally would be far less rewarding than painting Renaissance figures as Armand

Something you’re good at: Baking!

Something you hate: Minimalist interior design (or what I like to call grey box houses). I have a physical revulsion response when I see it

Something you collect: Lately hardcover books! I have a custom hardcover of The Vampire Armand ❤️. I also have a hardcover of Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice!

Something you forget: Genuinely everything lol my best friend remembers my life better than I do

What’s your love language?: Hah I’ve never thought about this for myself but I certainly show love to others through acts of service!

Favorite movie/show: …I don’t watch enough television to have an answer for this 😭. (Feel free to recommend shows or films— I am trying to change this!) I am constantly reading, though, and my favorite books are East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber, Cry to Heaven by Anne Rice, and of course The Vampire Armand ❤️

Favorite food: Any kind of curry

Favorite animal: Cats! But I love all animals and insects (especially moths and beetles)

What were you like as a child?: My childhood nickname was terremoto (earthquake) if that says anything lol. My church also had my photograph on the wall because I had so much scripture memorized at such a young age. #scripturewarrior

Favorite subject at school: Literature

Least favorite subject: I was so extraordinarily bad at math I got put in the special ed class for algebra 

What’s your best character trait?: Likely my positivity and optimism. I am generally a very cheerful person. I am also incapable of judging others which is in some ways a positive trait and has gotten me into some terrible situations otherwise lol

What’s your worst character trait?: I have categorically lacked self-respect throughout my life. I’m working on it 🫡

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?: Extremely recent history, but I am a bit too young to have done this in my own life– I would have LOVED to talk to Anne Rice about her work. As a person she fascinates me. I would also love to meet a distant female ancestor, especially one from prehistory

I tag @relicsofasaint and anyone else who’d like to do this! 🫶🫶

[tiny-smallest]

day one - pride

Rating: G Characters: Henry and Bendy Warnings: none Description: Henry reflects on the definition of labels and belonging in certain spaces.

Also on AO3!

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WHO'S READY FOR THE INK DEMONTH 2021 I SURE ONCE AGAIN TOTALLY WAS YEP DEFINITELY NO LAST MINUTE ANYTHING HERE LET'S GO

Doing writing prompts again because this year has been A Lifetime and I just don't possess the ability to draw this time so let's go let's get stupid get weird enjoy the misadventures of a specific au of of Bendy and the Ink Machine where the toons are their own people in a world they still don't entirely understand and the people who love them who try to help them navigate it.

---

Henry was used to a surprising amount of things to interrupt his day first thing in the morning. Easily numbered in the hundreds. His children were toons; there was no end to the amount of crazy nonsense that they could get into when he was asleep, and that was disregarding the fact that Bendy usually slept until noon.

Sure, he was the Troublemaker In Chief. That did not mean the other two were paragons of holiness, no matter how much Alice tried glowing her halo at him while she and her brother gave him the saddest, biggest, shiniest puppy eyes. And that didn't even take into account how much trouble they could find, no mischief intended.

He'd seen smoldering breakfasts, pancakes on the ceiling, saran wrap around the kitchen archway, demonic rubber chicken noises from a saxophone that had a part replaced with the noisemaker from the novelty prank toy...

(He still didn't regret letting Boris chase Bendy for that one without intervening.)

With all that, being immediately accosted by three toons hanging off his legs the second he came down the stairs and all trying to talk to him at the same time did not magically get any easier to withstand.

"Whatever it is, it's a no until I get my coffee," he drawled as he attempted to walk with them hanging off him, the three of them dragged along with him. It was with quite some difficulty that he got to the kitchen counter.

"But Henry!" Bendy whined, "we only got a few hours to get ready if ya say yes! We need every second!"

"For what?" he yawned, pouring a cup from the machine.

"You don't know what day it is?" Alice was surprised enough to actually let go, and she dusted herself off like the lady she was before standing up.

Instantly something cold grabbed Henry's heart and squeezed. "Uh- no I...?"

Had he forgotten someone's birthday? No, it was summertime; Bendy was a winter 'birth' and Boris and Alice were spring and fall. An anniversary of some kind? Quick think what are you forgetting you useless-

"How!?" Bendy gaped at him from down below. "It's been all over the news fer weeks!"

Well okay now he was just thoroughly confused. "I um-"

"The parade, Henry!" Boris's tail was thumping gently against the floor; he was not trying one tiny ounce to hide his eagerness. "The parade that's today!"

"Parade-?" It took just one more nanosecond of thought before it clicked.

"Oh you mean the-!" And they wanted to go to it.

Well, he shouldn't be surprised. This would be the first parade they'd get to see, wouldn't it? And it was nice weather out. And it would be bursting with color, which the toons were darn near obsessed with.

He took a contemplative sip. They weren't human; god even knew if they had any sort of sexuality at all. Could they even feel that stuff? The urge to- do anything like that? Wouldn't that technically make them asexual? That was the word, right?

Well, human or not, that would solidly mean they belonged there. Queer was queer, regardless of species, right? Hell, even if they'd just started asking themselves those questions, or wanted to support the fans of theirs who fell under that giant umbrella, they were valid for being there.

"Sure, I can take you."

Both boys cheered, lifting their arms to do so and releasing his legs. He quickly took a step away from them, but their joy had them leaping to their feet anyway and he watched as they bounced around the kitchen, slowly draining his coffee and trying to curb his smile when he was actively drinking.

It was a hard task.

Their excited chatter melted pleasantly into the background as he took the time to drink and try to shake his brain awake the rest of the way awake like shaking out an old blanket to coax out the wrinkles. Their enthusiasm always made for the perfect background noise.

"What colors do you want?"

"I dunno! There's so many! I don' even know what label I fit in-"

"I saw you checkin' out that guy the other day don't think I didn't!" The wink and nudge from Bendy sent Boris blushing so hard the poor wolf's face turned nearly as black as his fur.

"I was hopin' you hadn't-"

They were all quick to consume breakfast, and Henry retreated upstairs after telling the toons to come get him when they wanted to leave.

He settled comfortably in the limitless, timeless space of art before reality came knocking with Bendy's distinctive tapping at the door, pulling Henry from the space inbetween something and nothing as he set his pen aside. "Come in, kiddo."

When Bendy stepped in with what was unmistakably a rainbow flag on his cheek and extra face paint he knew he was in for a time.

"Oh uh- what's that for-"

"For you!" Bendy said with a giant grin. "Who'd ya think?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah well- I uh-"

Bendy didn't slow down. "Anyway the others are about ready to go but they sent me up here to get your flag on while they finish up- now why they trusted me with the paint I got about as much an idea as you but hey I'm not gonna complain-"

"Aw that's- that's sweet kiddo but I sorta figured I'd just be-" How to say this. "Dropping you off...?"

Immediate confusion. "What? Why?"

"Uh well- I mean-" He fiddled with the pen- when had that ended up back in his hands? "You guys- you have a space there, you know? I'm not sure if I-"

There was now a puckered frown on the little devil's face. "Not sure if you what?"

"Well I mean- I don't exactly- belong, now do I?"

The frown multiplied its intensity by about five. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Aw jeez. He really did not want to discuss this with his kid, as much of an adult as Bendy was. For many reasons. "Uh well- you know-" He gestured, as if hoping that would somehow pluck the answer from the air and implant it in Bendy's brain without having to give voice to it, setting the pen down in the process so he’d stop playing with it. "I'm not exactly- I mean-"

"You like guys." Bendy's voice was so sure that Henry knew making any sort of denial was futile. And also kind of stupid. Why would he deny that to his own son? No of course he wouldn't.

"Well I mean- I married a woman, didn't I?" he finally blurted out.

Unimpressed blinking as he drew closer to stand beside the desk. "Yeah they got a word for that. Several actually. Most popular ones are bi and pan, so which colors is it gonna be?"

"No no I mean-" God he was probably blushing. His face definitely felt way too hot. "I uh- I mean I- I like guys, yes-" great brain thanks a ton totally needed that heart rate spiking why are you acting like that's scary this is our kid- "but I- I married a woman- I like women- more often?"

The blinking was now confused.

"Uh-" How to phrase this. "If- if we split it into a pie chart- it's probably like... thirty-seventy in favor of women?" He ran his fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck again. "I'm- not that I'm any great catch but like, if I was in any way qualified to be in the dating pool again, I'd be way more likely to end up with a lady."

The unimpressed look was back. "And?"

It was Henry's look to be surprised. "And- and that means that, you know- I'm not really-"

"You like guys."

"I- yeah?"

"And you're a guy."

"Kind of a given at this point."

"So you're a guy, and you like guys, and just also happen to like girls too. We got names for that." He gave Henry's shirt an appraising look. "Gotta say the bi colors would complement your clothes best. If you want pan colors I'm gonna have to ask you to change. As your official fashion consultant."

Henry snorted. "My what?"

"Listen Dad I love you but I ain't about to let you walk into that parade wearing like, a pineapple hawaiian shirt or nothin'."

Henry banged a fist lightly on the table and pointed at him. "Liar! You wore the exact same thing just the other day!"

"Yeah but that was to the beach, not a parade."

"Literally when have you ever cared about not being a fashion disaster."

"This time, when Alice'll actually kill me otherwise."

"... Okay you got me there."

Bendy grinned. "So, bi colors or pan colors! Or somethin' else? I think there's other ones too."

He opened his mouth, closed it again and then opened it. What the hell. "... Bi colors, I guess."

"Yesssssss I was hopin' you'd say that." He hopped over onto the table like he'd suddenly become a bunny.

"Oh you were, huh?"

"Listen, the pan folks got pretty colors, but I'm always a sucker for a sunset," he said as he pulled out the pallet he needed. Henry sighed and shook his head, the smile ruining his effort to look exasperated.

"Well. Sunset me then, I guess."

"You got it boss!" Bendy said in maybe the worst mafia minion accent known to mankind.

It was barely five minutes of Bendy painting lines carefully on his cheek before he whipped out a mirror.

"Tah-dah!"

Henry blinked at himself in the mirror. He tilted his head, something shifting inside his heart that he had no name for, no way to voice.

The once proud look on Bendy's face was swiftly dropping. "... I didn't mess it up, did I...?"

"No- no, no." Henry tilted his head. "I uh..."

Bendy's worried browlines screamed anxiety to him.

"... I guess I just look good in a sunset," he said quietly, seeing the little corner of his reflection's mouth turn up as if in some sort of hazy dream.

Better than I thought.

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 3 Part 1

Hello all, here’s the first part of the third episode of Midnight Striga, a Fairy Tail/Owl House crossover fic! Everybody clap your hands!!

Luz’s head thunked against the table, heedless of King’s chuckles and Eda’s grimace.

“Aw, come on, kid.” Eda tried to console the embarrassed teen. “So some things slipped your mind after your big showdown. It’s not the end of the world!”

“I’m aware of that, Eda.” Luz’s muffled voice replied. As she lifted her head, she turned her tired gaze onto the Owl Lady. “But this is way more serious than me just spacing out.” Her serious look dropped away, replaced with a comical level of panic. “I can’t believe I dropped that Lacrima!! Who knows what kind of chaos that thing can cause!?”

“Easy, kid.” Eda raised her hands in a calming gesture, taken aback by how worried the kid was. She had never seen her get like this before. “What’s the big deal about that Lacrima thing anyway? I mean, I get that it boosts magical power and all, but aren’t you getting a little too bent out of shape over it?”

“BOOST MAGICAL-?!?” Luz started to shout, before taking a breath to calm down. “Lacrimas do WAY more than just boost magical power. Especially that one.” Her gaze turned morbid as she recalled that little chunk of crystal she had held, the power it represented.

Eda arched an eyebrow, puzzled. “Kid, I’m gonna need more than that.”

Luz sighed, but relented. “Okay, small history lesson, The Human Realm has magic, as you now know.” This got nods from Eda and King. “And with magic, comes monsters.” Another set of nods. “And among those monsters are those considered to be the pinnacle; Demons.” This brought the two up short. “I won’t get into the full story, but a while back, humanity crafted magic specifically designed to counter and battle inherently magical beings, of which Demons of our Realm very much qualify. To fight Demons in particular, Devil Slayer Magic was developed.”

Eda snorted, feeling uneasy. “Well, isn’t that a name.”

Luz cracked a grim smile. “It really is.” She grew serious. “But the magic itself is the real deal. Devil Slayer Magic, like all of the lethal arts, breaks down the inherent defenses of those it is meant to kill, and fundamentally weakens them as well. Anyone who wields the magic is essentially an Anti-Demon; the presence of a Devil Slayer actively weakens, and can even harm, Demons of all types and forms, making them easier to kill.”

Eda placed her chin in her hands, a dark light burning in her gaze, while King nervously sweated next to her. “I’m assuming the magic was made for a legitimate reason, so I’m not gonna say anything about the fact that it was created specifically to kill Demons, but what does this have to do with that Lacrima?”

Luz chuckled, an ugly sound. “I’m a little surprised you haven’t pieced it together yet. Lacrimas are crystalized magic, remember?”

Eda’s eyes widened, the implications hitting her, King openly whimpering beside her. “Now hold on kid, are you saying that that was a Devil Slayer Lacrima!?”

Luz snapped her fingers in Eda’s direction. “Bingo, right on the money.”

“So, what you’re saying is, there is a chunk of Demon Killing Magic loose in Bonesburough!?” Eda sounded a little panicked at the moment.

Luz shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Well nothing we can do about that.” Eda said, all the urgency gone. Luz face planted the table in response.

Luz turned her head towards Eda. “How are you not worried!? I just said that an extremely dangerous form of magic was loose in the town!!”

“Yeah, but it’s been Four Days, kid.” Eda stated logically. “There is no way we’ll be able to track it after all this time.” Luz bit her lip, but didn’t argue, the Witch was right.

With a sigh, Luz sunk deeper into her chair, sullen. “Well, if we’re not gonna track down the Lacrima, what are we gonna do?”

Eda grinned. “Well, I’m gonna introduce you to one of the most intrinsic aspects of my business!” The way King went still at those words told Luz all she would need to know on the subject, as did Hooty’s surprisingly mocking laughter.

‘Still,’ Luz thought. ‘What’s the worst that Lacrima could’ve gotten up to in just four days?’

Unbeknownst to her, across Town, a young Demon crashed painfully against a wall, staring down a three-eyed Witch glaring at them hatefully. As they tried to crawl away, the Witch painfully stomped on their leg, eliciting a painful cracking sound. Seeing the Demon react, the Witch smirked, and dug her heel deeper into the limb.

“Boscha, cut it out!” The worried cry of her friend drew Boscha’s gaze from the Demon lying before her, the red fading from her eyes.

Walking over to her follower (Friend), Boscha casually asked. “Yeah Skar?”

Skara gave Boscha a reproachful look, much to the stunned disbelief of the rest of their clique. “I don’t know what’s been up with you since you lost that fight the other day,” All of the girls braced for Boscha’s retaliation to Skara’s comment, only to marvel as Boscha didn’t even blink at the reminder. Seeing as she wasn’t going to be beaten bloody, Skara continued. “But that’s no reason to start jumping every demon you meet in the streets!” Skara spread her arms wide, indicating that, yes, Boscha had indeed ruthlessly beat and left whimpering multiple demons, all lying in the street. Skara, feeling bold, got in close. “What’s up with you?”

“I need to get stronger, and they make good ways to test myself.” Boscha blandly responded, as if she was just talking about the weather. The fact that one of the demons she ‘tested herself’ against was lying on his back, struggling to breath from the damage done to his chest from her attacks didn’t even phase her. The sheer casualness of it chilled the group, unused to even this level of ruthlessness from their effective leader, at least not without some genuine spite and anger behind it. The sheer detachment from her emotions was jarring.

Skara shivered, lightly rubbing her arm. “W-well, let’s just get to class, okay? We’re gonna be late, you know?” With her piece said, Skara rapidly walked in the direction of their school, the rest of the clique following her. Boscha blinked, puzzled at their reactions. Was it something she said? Shrugging, Boscha slipped her hands in her pockets, strolling along after them, utterly oblivious to the death grip she held on the gem currently stashed in her pocket.

Kill...Demons...Kill...Every...Last...One

Back with Luz, she was currently staring at the sight of Eda, proudly standing before a massive, rotting slug corpse alongside the beach. Luz’s eye was twitching at the sight. This was… certainly something alright.

“Isn’t it glorious Luz?” Eda asked. Luz blinked, about to answer with a sarcastic quip, when it kicked in that Eda was serious. “These babies travel the Boiling Sea, growing larger, gorging on all they can, including valuable, resellable, junk from the Human Realm, before they eventually croak and wash up on these shores!!” She turned a beaming grin the Human’s way, clearly expecting her to be impressed. Luz was not impressed in the slightest.

Luz sighed, slowly dragging her hand down her face. “You dragged me out here to help you dissect and harvest this thing, didn’t you?”

“Got it in one, Kid!” Eda cheerfully admitted. “What can I say, you’re labor, you’re here, and we’ve got a lot of corpse to dismantle!”

With a groan of annoyance, Luz brought her hands together, a spell forming. “Light-Make: Workers.” she intoned. Shimmering into existence were two incredibly blank looking humanoids, who instantly set to work; the first grabbed the tools Eda had on hand and started going at the corpse of the trash slug, while the second plucked King out of the way, and started sorting the numerous goods and trash into piles. With a blank look, Luz turned to a dumbfounded Eda. “There, I officially eliminated two-thirds to three-quarters of your workload. If you need me, I’m gonna get a better look in town, maybe get a lead on the Lacrima. Peace!” With a backwards wave, Luz took off, while Eda marveled at the complexity of the spell before her.

“Dang, that kid really knows what she’s doing!” Eda mused. “These things are seriously sophisticated; I was never as in to the technical know-how for things like this as others, but even I can recognize the level of planning that went into designing these. And that kid just whips them up on the fly! HA!” Eda crowed, enjoying the pleasure of knowing she had gained access to something like this over anyone else on the Isles.

“So these things will follow any order?” King piped up, looking intrigued.

“Hmm… not ever order, but anything simple.” Eda stated after a moment of thought. “These things, from what I can tell, are meant to be simple labor; they can handle uncomplicated tasks well, but anything that needs real thinking is beyond them. They’ll keep going until they run out of magic, and any time they complete a task they’ll stand by to receive another.” Eda nodded to herself; she wasn’t kidding when she said these were good, any Abominationist worth their salt would sell their family’s entire wealth to spend even a minute studying one of these.

“So, what your saying is, we’ve got a pair of super-minions that’ll do all the boring work so we can kick back and relax!?” King demanded, ecstatic at the very thought.

As Eda opened her mouth to refute this, she paused, considering. As what had already occurred to King fully dawned on her, a wide, devious grin stretched itself across her face. The duo cheered, birds flying off in the distance at the volume.

Luz whistled along, carefully scanning her environment for anything out of the ordinary. As she wandered along, she idly noted how beautiful the place was, deadly wildlife and callous view of harm and death notwithstanding, and Luz could honestly say that, if things were different, she could easily see herself living here. Still, she had a mission, and absolutely nothing could distract-

“You can do it!”

Who the what now? Luz’s gaze turned to the source of the voice. Peering through the bushes, she witnessed the sight of a truly adorable Witchling giving herself a pep-talk. “You got this! It doesn’t matter if you do poorly in terms of grades. My parents are right, I’ll have better opportunities on this track.” As the girl kept cheering herself on, she accidentally stepped on a plant, yelping in distress as she noticed. “Oh, I’m sorry little friend!” With a hum, the girl quickly whipped up a spell that perked the damaged flower back to normal; Luz was impressed, the efficiency in that spell was something she hadn’t thought Witches on the Isles were actually capable of. As the girl celebrated, Luz spotted another girl coming along the path, the cart carrying her hauling a truly massive pot. As the new girl approached, she bumped into the first Witch’s own, much smaller cart, sending it sprawling across the ground. Luz frowned at the sight.

The new girl glanced down, slight surprise lighting behind her eyes as she tore them from her book. At first, Luz thought she would apologize; the next words out of her mouth killed any hope of that. “Oh, sorry Willow. I didn’t notice your cart. It was so small and pathetic I must have missed it, sort of like you actually.” Ordinarily, that kind of cruel callousness would’ve set Luz off to some degree, but the words lacked the genuine edge of malice that Luz often found in such statements.

“Amity.” The now-named Willow seemed to physically deflate. It was practically heartbreaking to see her look so small, so fast. “What do you want?”

“Oh my, can’t I check on a fellow classmate?” Amity said, a coy grin on her face. “I do hope you’ve got your Abomination ready for the presentation.” Abomination? Luz figured it must have been some aspect of the Isles’ magic she hadn’t seen yet. With a twirl of her finger, the kid named Amity called up a colossal humanoid composed of some purple-colored sludge and muck. With a hesitant twirl of her own finger, Willow called her own Abomination out of the much smaller pot beside her; it was pathetic, small, malformed, essentially nothing but a head. Every bit of Luz’s instincts and pride as a Construct Specialist cringed in pain at the sight of Willow’s Abomination.

Amity tisked at the sight. “Ooh, I don’t think that’s gonna cut it. Not like mine at any rate.” She gestured to her Abomination, which proceeded to march forward, stomping on Willow’s, and standing before the timid girl.

“You-Are-A-Star.” The thing gurgled out, apparently capable of VERY limited intellect. It then moved to slowly drag its finger across Willow’s forehead, leaving the image of a purple star behind.

“Oh, how sweet!” Amity cooed with faux-sincerity. “It’s just like mine.” She gestured to a gold spot on her uniform, some kind of badge, Luz guessed. “But smaller, and meaningless.” With that last bit said, she had her construct haul her onto her cart before returning it to its vessel. “See you in class, superstar.”

“‘See you in class, superstar.’” Willow spitefully mimicked. “Oh, I HATE it when Amity taunts me like that.” She growled, the ground shuddering. “I hate making Abominations.” The rumbling increased. “I hate getting bad grades!” Thorns started poking out from beneath her feet. “I CAN’T TAKE THIS ANY MORE!!!” With a scream of rage, eyes burning a vibrant green, colossal vines ripped out from the ground, lashing out in all directions. Before Luz could even blink, the vines whipped over to her hiding spot, hauling her into the air. While they were biting a bit into her skin, it was more irritating than harmful, other than the height she was being dangled from at any rate.

Deciding to cut this off before she reached a point of being in actual danger, Luz called out to the girl. “Hey, you mind letting me down!?”

As the girl’s still fiercely glowing eyes whipped over to her, Luz briefly contemplated the idea of having made a mistake, only to internally sigh in relief as the glow faded, embarrassed shock crawling across the Witchling’s face. “Oh my Titan, I am SO sorry for that!” She quickly withdrew the vines, smoothly lowering Luz to the ground, much to her admiring thanks. “I can’t believe I lost control like that. Oh! Where are my manners. My name’s-”

“Willow, I heard.” Luz chuckled. “Speaking of names, mine’s Luz.” With that said, she held out her hand, open for a shake.

[jacscorner]

Toku-Talk 01.2: Grapplerangers

So who remembers “Toku-Talk”, the segment where I talk about tokusatsu ideas that I have? Nobody? Too bad. 

So on the 1st (of 2) Toku-Talks, I talked about my wrestling-themed Tokusatsu idea that was heavily influenced by Super Sentai. I won’t go over all of it, but I just wanna show that I eventually did do some basic Sentai-ish designs for my seven heroes. I’ll shoot a link to my dA where I eventually did put my Toku-Talk 1 at the end if you REALLY want the full re-cap, but trust me, you won’t need it here.

GrappleRed/GrappleLion: Ambitious young super star, a straight Face. His mask is based off of a Lion. He's a well-rounded fighter, making him a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. This is something that hinders him later on while the rest of the team have a specialty, but he lacks any sort of strength. When fighting, he takes the persona of a superhero, something along the lines of a Superman, high moral character. Under the mask, he's quiet and indecisive, would rather stand in the background instead of the limelight. His Finishing Move is the Lion Pride, where he grabs a foe from behind, jumps into the air-or off of a high spot-and performs a backwards suplex.

GrappleBlue/GrappleLynx: A more technical fighter, an old-school style that focuses more on joint locks. Her mask is based off of a Lynx. When fighting, she comes off as a cold, heartless woman and will verbally confirm to her enemies she enjoys the sound of their bones breaking. Under the mask, she's incredibly shy and a crybaby, she absolutely can't stand the idea of people-well, other than monsters-getting hurt. Her finishing move, the Lynx Lock, is something along the lines of the Boston Crab. Ala anime, the screen goes black and you see blue kanji for 'menacing' or 'death' as a cracking noise is heard.

GrappleGreen/GrappleTiger: The physically strongest fighter, Green specializes in throwing Lariats and throws. His mask is based off of a Tiger. In the ring, he's very boastful of his strength and will make loud declarations of how he will defeat his opponents-a gag of sorts is how his claims, like being able to pick and up and throw mountains will be incorporated in the visuals. Without the masks, he prefers to spend his time in textbooks and is a vivid reader. He has a passion for writing and wants to write a novel. His finishing move is the Tiger Tornado, where he spin like a tornado with his arms extended, either dragging people into his vortex or just knocking them around with his stretched out arms.

GrappleYellow/GrappleCheetah: A total heel and mischievous character, GrappleYellow starts off as the weakest member and will fight dirty, but he's also the slickest and fastest. His mask is based off of a Cheetah. He uses illegal moves, punches, and will grab lots of objects and will bring weapons to fight with. He slowly starts getting better, perfecting kicks and elbow blows, until he makes a complete Heel-Face-Turn and becomes a true wrestler. With the mask on, he acts more like a villain and even talks like one-the villains will even say things like, 'why aren't you on my team' and 'hey, we're on the same side! Stop attacking us'. With the mask off, he's much friendlier, down right cheerful. He does super nice things and you could never picture him as a heel. His finishing move, the Cheetah Charge, is a dropkick with a running start, with both his legs catching fire from how fast he runs.

GrapplePink/GrappleCougar: A high-flying fighter who does lots of aerials and acrobatics-well, more so than the rest of the team. Her mask is based off of a Cougar. She jumps around and bounces of off opponents and teammates to perform aerial moves. With the mask on, she's a very flirty temptress who lures monsters in close before she strikes. Outside of the ring, she's got a bad attitude, with the rest of the team just outright calling her a brat, Her signature move, the Cougar Crush, is her kicking/jumping off something before descending on her target, delivering a high kick atop their heads and a knee kick from below.

The Core 5.

GrappleShadow/GrapplePanther: A reformed villain who becomes a 7th ranger. Wait, 7th? Yeah, 7th. He's introduced as a strong minion early on-think something along the lines of Ikagen from Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger or Goldar/Grifforzor from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. He was once a fresh-faced wrestler who could've become a star, but an accident put him in the hospital indefinitely. Until the Main Villain came around and GrappleShadow made a deal with the devil. Main Villain helped him walk and fight again if they wrestled for him. He's incredibly strong, often requiring the Rangers to retreat or defeating him with some sort of trick before he's eventually reminded the reason he wanted to wrestle; that he wanted to be someone children looked up to, not feared. He's defeated/stripped of his power and is sent back to the hospital. He'll later recover and is able to join the crew later as GrappleShadow, dawning a Panther-themed mask. He specialize choke holds. Both with and without the masks, he appear to be an aloof loner. But in reality, he's guilt ridden for all the things he's done and struggles with his terrible deeds. His special move, Panther Vengeance, is similar to a hangman's choke, wrapping their arms around the opponent and jumps in the air, landing on something and hanging the opponent.

GrapplerSnow/GrappleLeopard: The ACTUAL Sixth Ranger. A mysterious lady wrestler, later to be revealed as the daughter of the coach. She lived with her Mother all this time and, against their wishes, became a famous and popular masked wrestler that gets referenced throughout the show as 'Snow Mask'. When she appears in the show, she dawns her own masks when the monsters appear, only this time, she transforms into a ranger, which is, of course, based off of a Snow Leopard. Her specialty is chops, knee blows, and submission holds. She appears to be the same strong willed, determined women with the mask on and off, but secretly, she's insecure and a try hard who wants the acceptance of others. She comes off as a cool loner when she's introduced because she's so socially awkward, she can't stand being around people, but she warms up later on. Her special move, the Snow Claw, is where she performs a clawhold-grabbing someone's face with her hand-before lifting them up in the air, crushing their head before they go limp, or 'freeze over'.

The Shade Duo

While not crazy about the designs myself, I don’t think they’re too bad. I think what really bothers me is the visor the helmets have and just my inadequacy at drawing helmets in general. Overall, I think they look....pretty okay. Could have been better, but okay.

I guess if I could turn back the clock to yesterday, I’d tell myself not to bother with putting them in Sentai-themed outfits and just made them masked wrestlers. I doubt some executive is gonna see this post and think ‘oh wow, this random guy from America’s onto something’ or anything remotely close. XD But this was a fun little exercise to do. Maybe in the future, I’ll redo this and just make 7 new characters to be the “Grapplerangers”.

https://www.deviantart.com/26qq308/art/Toku-Talk-01-Puroresu-Sentai-Grappleranger-704870961

[michrob87]

Lefties have it right

http://blog.timesunion.com/hoffmanfiles/lefties-have-it-right/40932/

Lefties have it right.By

Rob Hoffman

on January 8, 2018 at 5:31 AM

0Let’s face it, there’s nothing in our physiological makeup that has fascinated us, or mystified us more than the functioning of the human brain.  It is by far our most important organ, and yet, it remains the one that we know the least about.  While we continue to try to ascertain its workings, there is still so much about this magnificent biological structure we have yet to fully comprehend.  (I suppose that is why it is so hard to truly know ourselves.)  I believe we are living in a time where we hunger to understand the brain, and we can all thank the president for that.  After all, he himself has discussed the importance of the brain, and has told us on numerous occasions that he in fact has, “A really good brain.”

(“I have a very good brain.”  They say that’s exactly what Sir Issac Newton used to say after the apple fell on his head.  All smart people have really good brains, and feel the need to tell us about it all of the time…right?  In fact, remember the time Albert Einstein stated that he was a really mentally stable genius?  You Tube)

It is our brains that explain everything about us.  Many psychologists prescribe to the notion that our behaviors, likes, and habits are predetermined, and that our brains are simply hardwired to be as they are.  Sure our environment shapes us to some to degree, but let’s face it, people can tell you from now until the judgement day that you should like seafood, or appreciate art, or poetry, but if it’s not something that you would naturally gravitate towards, no amount of coaxing in the world is going to get you to a place where you are going to sit there and enjoy a “poetry slam,” when the idea of poetry literally causes you to break into hives.

I can say with great confidence that I would not have been one of these wide-eyed gadflies who sat around on college campuses listening to the “Bard of Haight-Ashbury,” Allen Ginsberg.  I suppose that my brain simply isn’t wired as such that I can enjoy an art-form such as free-verse poetry.  Of course, if Ginsberg were to show up sporting let’s say Yodels, I suppose I could be coerced to listen to a little good old-fashioned “Hippie Poetry.”  What is it about Yodels that make the prattle of poetry just go down a little bit smoother? (Getty Images)

Considering how differently we are wired, it shouldn’t be any wonder that we are a divided people here in the United States.  However, I believe the media has it wrong regarding what divides us.  There’s a lot of talk about the concept of tribalism, and how we are loyal to our own “tribe” or group.  While I don’t disagree with this description of how our society is broken down, I do believe that the way most so-called experts have attempted to explain the causes of our tribalism are way off the mark.

It is my estimable opinion that it is not race, nor religion, nor region, nor the football teams that we root for that divide us as much as it is the conflagration that is “left vs. right.”  I don’t mean the political left vs. the political right.  I mean left-handed people vs. right-handed people.  Think about it.  Sure there’s racism in the world.  African-Americans and whites don’t see the world the same way here in the United States, this much we know to be true.  However, even amongst whites or African-Americans, there is division over the concept of being right-handed vs. being left-handed.  How did we get here, and can we bridge this gap, or are right-handed people simply doomed to be inferior to left-handed people?  (Spoiler alert…I’m a lefty!)

This division over left-handedness vs. right-handedness lies squarely on the doorstep of the brain.  It is our brains that determine whether we lean towards left-handed vs. right-handed dominance.  How typical is it to be left-handed?  Not very.  Somewhere between 88-92% of the world’s population is right-handed.  How soon in our human development do we choose a dominant hand?  Apparently pretty early.  According to researchers who studied hand dominance in utero, they found that hand dominance in the womb was an accurate predictor of handedness after birth.  Heredity also plays a role as well.  Nearly 24% of handedness is inherited. As a lefty with two right-handed parents, all I can say is, I wish I knew which hand the milk-man delivered with.

Like all things of value in our society, lefty’s are rare.  We’re like leprechauns, but taller.  (Hoffman Collection)

There was a time in our society that being a lefty was considered a negative.  People would criticize your handwriting, or the way you held a fork, or cut your meat, or your ability to handle scissors, or your throwing.  Look at baseball.  Most of the positions on the field are made specifically and exclusively for right-handers.  Forget Jackie Robinson, the real hero who integrated baseball was the first player to stand to the first-base side of home-plate, or throw from the mound from the first-base side of the rubber with that slinging motion, tossing another unhittable slider.

My Aunt Sylvia, who has since passed away, was not known for her cheerful, optimistic nature.  In fact you could argue that she only had two moods; fed-up and surly.  How did she acquire a disposition that was so chock-filled with sourness?  Most likely it was because she was born a lefty, but was forced in school to write and eat with her right-hand.  This is worse than making a child renounce their religion.  Religion is a choice.  Nobody chooses to be left-handed, and yet our education system has historically denied 12-14% of our population that most basic of rights, to favor your lefts.

The “Immortal Babe.”  The “Sultan of Swat.”  The “Bambino.”  The “Hefty-Lefty.”  (I kind of embellished on that one.)  Babe Ruth was an inspiration to every chubby left-hander who has ever picked up a baseball, especially when you learn that he used to play with his glove on backwards since they didn’t even have a left-handed mitt at the orphanage where he learned the game.  (Getty Images)

The sad truth is, left-handed people have been discriminated against by an uptight, and right-leaning society that has sought to crush those free-spirited “port-siders” who just want to be free….man.  Historically, left-handed people were routinely accused of consorting with the devil, and during the 15th and 16th centuries, any woman who was left-handed could be branded a witch.  (If you listen to The Eagles’ classic “Witchy Woman,” backwards, you can clearly hear Don Henley say, “Bitch is lefty.”)  Even during the supposedly more enlightened 19th century, left-handedness was sometimes brutally suppressed.  In school, students who preferred using their left-hand to write with would often find their left hand tied to the back of their chair.

Even in modern times, the lefty is forced to exist in a world where the scissors, most sports, the left-to-right style of how we write, and many attempts at manual labor are all catered towards the prissy and spoiled right-handed majority.  This group of left-brained, right-siders, are an oppressive bunch that are so insecure about their dull sameness, they use the word for “correct” to describe their handedness.  What’s so “right” about being right?  Why are we lefties left behind?  Why are we so put upon?  I’ll tell you why.  Left-handed people are rebels.  We are non-conformists.  We don’t go with the flow.  We are the fly in the ointment.  The proverbial turd in the punchbowl.  We are the antagonists, and we won’t be denied, as long as you have those special left-handed scissors that make it so much easier for us to cut stuff up.

A rallying cry for those who refuse to conform.  This is the true “rebel yell!”  (The Hoffman Collection)

Even in politics, being on the left is seen as a negative.  Right-wing politics is ascendant.  The “Alt-right” is the hottest political movement in America as we speak.  In Europe in the early part of the 20th century, people willingly supported the Fascists in Italy, and the Nazis in Germany rather than support the left-wing policies of the Socialists or Communists.  (Granted, the Communists were and are pretty horrible, but the Nazis if possible were worse.)  If you wanted to destroy a politician’s career in America between 1920, and, well today, all you have to do is refer to them as a “lefty.”  The only way it would seem to survive as a left-wing politician in the United States, is to be at least 74 years old, look disheveled, and yell a lot about the rich in a very thick Brooklyn accent, even if you’ve lived in Vermont for over 40 years.  (By the way my little left-wing millennials, it didn’t work for Bernie either, he lost, remember?)

In fact, anything that smacks of the “left,” is seen by the teeming masses as negative and undesirable.  Consider the following:

A bad idea is “out of left-field.”

A guy who sucks in baseball is told to play “left-out.”

When somebody is trying to insult you, but make it sound like they are saying something nice it’s called a “left-handed compliment.”

Food that’s not finished at dinner time, and is reheated the next day in a dried-out, crusty, and luke-warm version of its former self, is known non-affectionately as a “leftover.”

When Jesus comes back, and takes all of the good-hearted people who are the true believers, while the sinners who didn’t make the cut  must fend for themselves amidst the devil’s minions, it’s known as being “left-behind.”

Why couldn’t I have listened to my mother and teachers who begged me to be right-handed.  If only I hadn’t been such a rebel, I could be chilling with Kirk Cameron in whatever vanilla flavored version of heaven he’s squatting in.  (You Tube)

Outside of being a non-conformist, are there any advantages in going through life as “southpaw?”  Well….

You usually only have to hit against righties in baseball, which is good for a lefty since getting to face a righty is easier.

Nobody really ever borrows your baseball glove since there are very few lefties.

Your serve in racquetball, tennis, and perhaps squash, (I really don’t know anything about squash other than it tends to get played by swells named “Mitt,” or “Buzz,” or “Chip,” or “Clark,” or some “tool-like” moniker given to an individual I wouldn’t be caught dead “chilling” with.) is really hard to return.  I’ve won racquetball games without ever having to hit the ball a second time after I’ve served due to the fact that some people find it very frustrating to return a left-hander’s serve.

Lefties always get the end of the table since nobody wishes to buy an elbow from me or any other lefty while we’re eating with our unconventional left-hand.

Left-handed people tend to return quicker from strokes.  (Either that or nobody can tell the difference.)

Supposedly, left-handed college graduates tend to earn 26% more money than right-handed graduates.  (This stat may be a little bit skewed since both Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are and were both left-handed.  They more than make up for my teacher’s salary.)

They have a better chance of passing their drivers test.  Lefties pass 57% of the time, while righties only pass 47% of the time.  One therefore could make the assumption that we left-handers must be better drivers.  (Fun fact, I failed my road-test on the first try.  Sorry, other lefties.)

They are faster typists.  That’s why I’m able to write these blogs so quickly.  Look, I’m finished…not.

They spend less time standing in line.  Geez, it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it.

They are better at multi-tasking. (Or as my brother calls multi-tasking, doing a lot of things at once poorly.)

(Source: Left-handed people are great, righties suck.com)

Because we lefties have been so badly discriminated against over the centuries, we have needed to invest our time in developing cute little sayings, and putting them on coffee mugs.  The best part, while we’re drinking our coffee, those insufferable right-handers have to read what’s on our mugs every time we take a sip.  They can literally suck-it.  (The Hoffman Collection)

Probably the greatest attribute that lefties have going for them is their creativity.  How can I prove this?  Take a look at this list of famous lefties and you tell me if we’re not G_d’s most gifted children.

Barack Obama – No surprise here.  Is there anything this Kenyan, Muslim, Socialist isn’t to the left of?

Bill Gates – Let’s see, richest man in the world is a lefty.  Check!

Oprah Winfrey – “You get a left-handed glove, and you get a left-handed glove, and you get a left-handed glove,” is what I imagine her saying when I daydream about Oprah being a lefty.

Babe Ruth – A great pitcher and perhaps the greatest hitter in baseball history, and of course he’s a lefty.  You know, this is just getting boring pointing out our superiority.

Napoleon Bonaparte – Which hand was it that he stuck in his shirt for all of those portraits?

Leonardo DaVinci – Does that mean that the Ninja Turtles are left-handed as well?

Marie Curie – Lefties “radiate” greatness.

Aristotle – I think, therefore I believe I’ll be a left-hander, or something like that.

Jimi Hendrix – I hear the guy could play a little guitar.  By the way, I believe he shot heroin right-handed, of course.

Edward R. Murrow – Only the best journalist in history. I believe he could smoke with either hand however.

I would also mention famous lawyer Clarence Darrow, H.G. Wells, James Baldwin, Michelangelo, Charlie Chaplain, Robert De Niro, Bill Bradley, and Ned Flanders.  Guess who’s right-handed? Well, if you had guessed Tom Brady, Adolf Hitler, Bill Belichick, Joseph Stalin,and Judas, then you’d be correct…or should I say “right?”  Do you really need any more proof?

I’m sorry, could somebody remind me how many right-handed artists painted the most famous portrait in world history?  Oh that’s right, the man was a lefty.  Thank you Leonardo.   You are the Jimi Hendrix of the Renaissance.  (Getty Images)

I believe I have accurately explained the greatness of being left-handed.  However, what are we to make of those who are ambidextrous, the bi-sexuals of the hand-dominance world.  Are they more flexible?  Are they more open-minded?  Do they have some sort of genetic advantage?  Personally, I believe that they are descended from a tribe of magic pixies.  I’m not sure I trust these people.  Pick a handedness, and stick with it.  We don’t need you genetic supermen making the rest of us look bad.