#also at least 1 of those bitches needs way more screentime

[daemon-in-my-head]

Anyway, """""doodle dump""""

Very quick Modern AU old man Fine cuz someone made me think about it, abandoned project No666 (you can tell where the last ditch effort started and ended) and my take on figuring out "Composition" aka gotta slap down stick figures so I have a visual rep of my idea and won't fucking forget. Some are way cruder than others. But that's my process. Stick figures and letters. Its enough to tell me whether this is an idea worth pursuing or if I need to reconsider the composition.

[flame-shadow]

Some character rambles using questions/prompts from that one post I reblogged a while ago

BRINE

3. What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

His role came first! There was a joke in the bf fanon channel that all the characters are fucked up and/or traumatized in some way but no therapists for them to go to. So, I figured I'd make a therapist character.

His design came next - I wanted to make a rectangular beetle. And I wanted to make a longhorn beetle design, so I combined the two. It is a common joke to call him the minecraft beetle. (and, in fact, someone made him into a minecraft skin)

4. And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

It took me a little time to figure out his name and personality outside of having a disposition suitable for a good therapist. I wouldn't say I "struggled" with these things, but they didn't come right away.

I'm not entirely sure where the name Brine came from tbh. I thiiiink I'd wanted to give him a B name and when I thought of this word, something clicked enough for me to keep it. It doesn't mean anything, though. Brine the Blocky Blue Beetle.

-

CHARON

8. What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

I wanted to make a cool serial killer. While I've not watched many slasher movies, the concept of a slasher character appeals to me. And boy does this guy have a big knife heehee.

And yeah, of course there's some projection. But it's not the killing part. It's his habitual masking, his partitioning of identities, his cleverness, his discomfort with being confined, his comfort with the concept of death, and his resting bitch face. <3

12. Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

I don't, because I'm bad at remembering songs, but if I did, his playlist would have a bunch of songs about murder and torture and also edgy sex. And also songs about hating the system and fuck the cops lmao. And also some songs relating to mining or crystals.

And also this song :)

1.What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

"I want to create a character that appeals to me and would also appeal to me from twenty years ago. This means he NEEDS to be edgy, and I will be unapologetic about this fact. Also, I want to use the name Charon."

-

CYRA

9. How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favorite background guy?

Well, I have an incomplete fic of her experiences when the Infection starts to spread. She is absolutely the main character in that story and for a long time has been Top HK OC in my brain. She doesn't get as much love these days on account of ... well.. -gestures above- but she is still so special to me and I still think about her a lot.

She has a lot going on and is easily main character material. She is opinionated and responsive, is both proactive and reactive, is emotional, is conflicted, has mommy issues, is embarrassingly starved of affection in its many forms, is paranoid, is loyal to a select few bugs (at least half of whom betray her in some way), will hold onto a grudge for years, and just wants to be left alone (but not actually).

10. What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Her arc is a very long and rocky one about trusting others and being vulnerable. She has many reasons to NOT trust people and to NOT open herself up and be influenced, and those help her survive the plague, but she needs to move on from those tendencies in order to really start living in a post-infection world.

While I play with AUs where her story doesn't end well in one way or another, the intended canonical conclusion of her story is that she finally feels safe enough to open up to more people and to start trying to heal from her many traumatic experiences.

-

MOSSY FOOL

17. Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?

Well, the symbol of Unn, most obviously. It's what he paints on his shield :)

More broadly, he is an intentional mix of mosskin and colosseum aesthetics. He wears pieces from both of those worlds (his mossy cloak and his colo armor), and which pieces dominate his appearance are often influential over both his general state of being and what/where he feels most connected to.

That is to say- to start with, he doesn't wear much armor, but as he gains experience, injuries, and feedback, he dons more armor. Wearing a helmet to obscure his face can be significant. When he's infected, his moss cloak is discolored and often has thorns sticking out of it. When the infection is gone and he can hear Unn's call again, he wears his helmet less, his cloak regains its vibrancy, and he will eventually remove the rest of his armor.

18. Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?

He does have connections, yep! Unn, most obviously, but also the mosskin in general. Most of his generation of Moss Knights didn't survive the plague (either because the infection did them in or something/someone else slayed them), so he has to build new connections once he has returned from the Colosseum.

Ruma, a moss knight from a younger generation, is fascinated with this old and very scarred veteran. She has heard about him from what stories older knights and other kin have told, and where some of her fellows are wary of Mossy, Ruma is not. (Ruma, though she doesn't realize it, shares some similar tendencies to Mossy when he was around her age. She's not following directly in his footsteps, but in a way, she is seeing what might've happened to her had various things been different)

Mossy also has AU connections to characters that belong to my friends. People like the Mossy. :)

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

Two part answer. The common name I use for him is his title/name from the Colosseum - The Mossy Fool - though both in and out of universe, he's just called Mossy. The title is pretty obvious - he's a Fool of the Colosseum, and his most distinctive and consistent visual detail is that he wears a Mossy cloak. Easily identified! Perfect for building a reputation in the Colosseum!

His mosskin name is Zelshi. For the first couple years after I made Mossy, I was very firm on the fact that he forgot his "real" name and he'd never remember it nor would anyone who did know it tell him without him directly asking, which he wouldn't think to do. Eventually, I pondered sounds I liked and which might suit this character, and Zelshi popped into my head.

Admittedly, Zelshi doesn't mean anything. It's just sounds I like. Maybe one day, I'll decide on an in-universe meaning for the name and why/how he got named that, but there's nothing to it for now.

Sometimes I use Zelshi to distinguish when in the timeline he might be (either pre-colo or very post-colo), but for general usage, I just call him Mossy, since most of the time, he is represented during his colosseum years or soon after.

--

Aaand that's all I feel like writing. Thanks for reading if you did! I like my bugs :)

[erenfox]

ranking purple hyacinth characters cuz they're my pookies (well most of them at least) 🗣❗

1. Lauren Sinclair: OHH OUR QUEEN FRR she's such an interesting character, with her defined flaws and trauma! writing complex characters, especially mcs, is not easy at all (for me at least :P lmao) but the way it was executed for lauren? chefs kiss fr 9/10

2. Kieran White: how can one man be so sweetly soft yet intimidatingly hot at the same time??? moreover he's so fucking terrifying when he needs to holy shit. his character arc from being a cocky bastard (powerless reference to those who care hehe) with no affection for anyone in his heart in s1, to being this wholesome member of the apd gang who actually now cares for others was so satisfying to witness as well! aND THE WAY HES ACTUALLY SCARED FOR LAUREN'S WELLBEING??? 😭 9/10

3. Kym Ladell: UGH OK BADDIE I STAN YOU SO HARD. she's such a vibrant and fun character lmaooo i was literally craving for scenes with kym! shes so adorably immature as well, who definitely brings light into lauren, will, lukas and everyone else's dark life. her sass? TOP TIER I TELL YOU. (it's fighting for first place against lukas' sass fr). i just love how during times of crisis, she's actually mature and often takes command, being completely serious and concentrated towards her mission! talk about duality lmao. but ngl it's kinda sad how she uses this childish behaviour to hide her own pain of losing daena, and trauma over nearly losing her friends. shes just so brilliant 😭❤ 10/10

4. William Hawkes: ngl at first i thought will was just a buzzkill, but he's actually so sweet and caring, especially towards lauren and kym (tho idk if he'll ever admit to being constantly worried for his wifey, i mean, sergeant hehe 🤭) his story at home is also so sad, with his father being a hella sus estranged fella, his mother seeing nothing but his brother in him, and rafael fucking running away. seeing him cry over nearly losing his sister-figure (lauren) and wife (kym), and over rafael's betrayal made me sympathise with him. poor baby doesn't deserve it at all :( 8/10

5. Lukas Randall: omg the sass. the grumpy aura. the completely out of pocket death threats to the coworkers he absolutely loves to death. the badass-ness while taking down the phantoms at the warehouse. the only calm moments of him around lila (THEYRE SO FUCKIN CUTE 😭) and the legitimately sly happy look on his face while making kym do dumb shit for blackmail? top tier man, ill tell u that for free 🤣🤣🤣 he just needs more screentime and i would absolutely devour more of his screentime! 7/10

6. Lila Desroses: she's so cute and underrated i can't 😭 the way she's so nice and polite to everyone! and the way she cares for old mr grumpy cat over here, to the point she literally stayed by his bedside throughout the night when he was in a coma 😭❤ soph and eph, im begging you to please make her shine more just like the rest of the apd gang! but please for the love of mr brussel sprouts don't let anything bad or traumatic happen to her istg- 6/10

7. Belladonna Davenport: im not gay but goddamn. she's fine asf! especially when she's murdering people: sheesh. also her pink hair and makeup is legit so pretty, like girlie lend me your beauty secrets- but anyway, as a character, she's so fuckin unhinged it's actually funny. also her lil sibling-like banters with kieran? pure gold fr 😹 8/10

8. Detective March: this little bitch. he was so wholesome during his entire introduction, and then he goes out and reveals hes been siding with the fucking phantom scythe this whole time? and his reason is what - the royals suck and the apd is incompetent? i agree about the royals part, but apd being incompetent? omg i wonder how that couldve happened. totally not because of fucking traitors like you and that wimp harvey jabbering all their plans to the ps, right? lookie here guys, here goes another one of lauren's father figures down the drain, how fun. really hoping for ph to continue so i can see what truly happened with him on the ship's edge (who shot him, i wanna thank you.) 2/10

9. Captain Hermann: ugh i hate him and his attitude towards lauren. he may be good, but that doesn't justify him belittling lauren every chance he gets. the only thing that redeemed him was him promoting lauren to detective again. 4/10

10. Mr Brussel Sprouts: OH MY LOONEY TUNES. THE DEFINITION OF HAWTNESS. THE BEAUTY. THE GRACE. THE HANDSOMENESS. THE CHARM. THE RIZZ. THE IMMACULATE FACIAL STRUCTURE. THE ABILITY TO BE EERILY PRESENT AT ALL THE WRONG TIMES. THE DOPPELGANGER OF THE GREEK GODS' LOOKS. OOF I AM MOGGED 😩✋ 929492949924/10

[emeraldhypothesis]

FOR THE ASK MEME hmm how bout kaito, akira, and . 🐩 :)

woah baby a triple

Kaito:

Why I like them/why I don’t

Kaito is, on a purely emotional level, my favorite of the Kaiba rivals. He's the one I latched onto first thanks to Youtube recommending me some of his best scenes as I got back into the game, so I always associate him with hype and aura, as the kids say. I love his fondness for Haruto, his bickering with Orbital, his weird situationship with Mizael and the soft spot that Yuma brings out in him throughout Zexals 1 and 2.

What I like about their appearance

His magical girl transformation highlights how good he looks in black and white alike. His eyes are this fearsome shade of piercing blue. I also love that shot from the transformation where his eye like pulses as if shifts red, it's a fun way to show the costs on his body that the transformation takes.

I also like how short this brat is. He's barely taller than Yuma or Shark and he has five years on them. They're gonna outgrow him so hard once puberty kicks in and it leads to the funniest images.

Learning to love the hair was a difficult process, but we made it through. Shout out to anyone who just gives him the Vergil haircut in fanart though, it looks way better.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

I will sometimes use Kite if I'm legit too lazy to write/say the full name, but 99% of the time it's Kaito.

Performance wise I have a soft spot for Christopher Kromer as Kite due to nostalgia and a few pretty good line reads (especially his bickering with Orbital), but Koki Uchiyama delivered a tonally perfect performance and every time I hear his summon chants for Galaxy-Eyes he brings the wow-factor, it's like the audio version of getting slammed into your chair.

OTP

Gotta be Galaxymaster. Kaito and Mizael need each other during Zexal 2 (because otherwise they don't really have a character arc between them), and that Moon Duel is the stuff of legends.

"If there's a next time we meet... won't you tell me, what happened to you?" Is one of those lines that sits in my heart.

NOTP

Kaito with anyone Ryoga's age or younger unless you mess with the timeline to make the kids older. Please do not have Kaito trying to hook up with literal middle schoolers.

OT3

Not in a ship sense but the dynamics I've seen about Kaito and Christopher doing their day jobs and Mizael hanging around like an unwanted guest at a party is so funny to me.

Favourite card they use

FROM THE DARKNESS OF THE UNIVERSE COMES A RAY OF HOPE, THE TRUE EMBODIMENT OF THE LIGHT-

It's Galaxy-Eyes, any variation, any form, they're all peak in my eyes ha ha. I have a GEPD pin for my backpack that glows in the dark! I build Galaxy-Eyes first in almost every game that lets me.

(master duel please let me have a royal Galaxy Eyes I've crafted the card like a hundred times!)

Favourite moment they were in

All of them? He's the GOAT.

But for real, three big moments:

Stopping time to fight Yuma and kick his ass hard enough that he teaches Astral fear.

His tag duel with Yuma against 3 and 4 that ends with Neo GEPD, one of the coolest summons and comebacks in the franchise.

Moon Duel, all of it, start to finish.

Honorable mention to the time he flexed on Shark by whipping out a FUSION SUMMON though.

Least favourite moment

Arc-V Kaito in general is... not great, but I'm really not fond of how much of a raging bitch they make him. And don't ever get me started on those stupid Cipher cards.

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

With bro's heart condition, any rumbling in the hay risks life and limb. I think Mizael would also kill anyone who gets in the middle of his Thing with Kaito.

Akira:

Why I like them/why I don’t

I'm largely chill on Akira, but that's more because he kinda just doesn't do a whole lot ha ha. What time he does get is usually good, especially in Season 1, but afterwards he's kinda there. Never annoying levels of Just There, but he's kinda There. Suffers a lot from a lot of his Season 2 screentime being tied to Go's whole deal.

What I like about their appearance

Always fond of when Yugioh just has a Dude Character who looks like he'd be found shopping in Target wearing the world's worst polo shirts. Akira joining the vaunted halls of Shuzo Hiragi and Bastion with that one.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Same in both languages. I enjoy both his Japanese and English performances.

OTP

I think he and Ema are very cute together.

NOTP

Akira's old enough to have a pension plan, do NOT ship him with the teenagers!

OT3

Akira/Ema/a spreadsheet of their transactions and a glass of wine.

Favourite card they use

Acute Cerberus! Weird little doggy, looking forward to seeing its summon animation in Duel Links.

Favourite moment they were in

Acute Cerberus's summon in his duel with Playmaker goes weirdly hard for no reason thanks to a giant explosion? But in general that duel is great as being one of the first Big Looks into the Lost Incident, alongside letting us see Playmaker and Kusanagi get furious at Akira for trying to get them to stand down. It's both great as a moment where we get to see them express raw emotion, and begins my favorite unintentional running bit in Vrains of "The Zaizens will always fumble emotional conversations."

Least favourite moment

The amount of rope he gives Soltech would make a hangman embarrassed.

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

Marry for the money and to be a stay at home parent so Aoi can forge a single emotional connection without an asterisk tied to it, we both know he's married to the job if he still hasn't managed to ask Ema out.

Dennis:

Why I like them/why I don’t

Dennis is really... interesting. He's genuinely one of the most layered characters in the series and taps into a niche I have of someone who wears so many masks and lives so many lies that uncovering the true self is a near impossible task even for them. Someone who's been so caught up in working as an agent for Academia that Dennis barely exists as himself, because he's spent so long as a social chameleon that he hasn't "turned off" in ages and been himself.

He suffers a bit from haphazard screentime like a lot of the Arc-V cast, but he's always a hoot when he's around and he has one of the most unexpectedly brutal fates in the series when he can't keep spinning his lies anymore and decides to card himself to avoid having to make a choice, almost like he'd prefer to die rather than make a choice as himself rather than Dennis the Lancer or Dennis the Spy.

The funny ha ha broadway white boy jokes help, but Dennis is a very layered character that easily could have carried a series-wide arc if given more time in the limelight.

What I like about their appearance

I enjoy his stupid ass never replacing the torn sleeve of his jacket, asymmetry is always fun.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Mackfield and McField sound the same. I think I prefer McField. It makes him sound more like a white guy.

Performance wise, I think I have to give it to the dub! Tetsuya Kakihara does a great job and I love his SHOW MUST GO ON chant for Trapeze Magician, but holy mother of God does Daniel J Edwards make Dennis shine. In the Arc-V Dub and Duel Links he's consistently one of the best talents, showing off a crazy range and some wild line reads between "It's me, Dennis!" and his Maximum Summon call in Duel Links.

Daniel understood the assignment is what I'm trying to say.

OTP

Legally obligated to say Duskshipping because Dana's mind-warping propaganda can't have been for nothing!

I think Janusshipping could also have some legs but I've not quite seen that one fic or art that makes me go "Oh. Oooooh I get it now," which I usually need to get a ship wedged in my head.

NOTP

Much as I do love a good hate-fuck ship, I do draw the line at Dennis/Shun. It's fun to watch Shun try to beat up Dennis but I think we have in fact found the baggage carry-on limit and to my eternal surprise, it was not Hellshark!

OT3

I'm fond of the fanart and scenarios where he's part of a little mean girls posse with Sora, Yuri and Serena! Not a romantic one but closest I've got, besides potential post-canon mindfucks of Yuri/Dennis with Yuya caught in the very uncomfortable middle.

Favourite card they use

His Performages are all very cute but I do have a soft spot for Flame Eater. He looks very Friend-Shaped!

Favourite moment they were in

Would it be gauche to say that time he killed himself in front of a crowd of people to forever alter the trajectory of their lives all to avoid having to make a decision in one of the most ADHD coded power plays yet seen in a YGO anime?

His Duel Links event was surprisingly good, as I was kinda expecting him to get off the hook with his betrayal but it actually plays a huge role in the event and we get to see a wide range of reactions between Kurosaki's disgust and Sawatari's... disinterest.

For real though, I love his match with Shun, getting to see him slip off one of his many masks and become Academia's dog was a long time coming and it lead to the awesome spectacle of Chaos Giant vs Satellite Cannon Falcon.

Least favourite moment

It sure would have been nice if I didn't have to wait until 2024 to see him meet Ruri and apologize to her. I also would have liked to see Dennis interacting with Leo and Yuri more.

Would I fuck, marry or kill them

I'm not catching his crazy, I'm running away from it. He's all yours, Dana.

[devilbeez]

What’s your take on Neige?

I just like a discussion about him because both side of the hate/love spectrum can agree that this bitch need more screentime and development.

Note

This is a respectful discussion/analysis of a character. Do not start fighting in my note, I just want to know if you like the character and why/why not and if you have a counterpoint to other people arguments I don’t wanna see “BUT HE SUCK” or “BUT HE DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!” We heard you the first time. You yelling louder won’t make ten other person like/hate Neige less

This is is completely about Neige not Neige’s fan so if you like Neige the negative comments is not being thrown towards you but the character itself. There is no reason for you to feel attacked. Unless you’re Rook Hunt /j

If you have a terrible experience with his irl fans you can share it but understand that a select group of people is not what everyone is.

My take:

Personally I hate the mf. As a person, could not give a shit— if I were in twst I might think he’s overrated but I could not give a shit about him. As a character, he is absolutely atrocious.

He’s Kalim but worse. They have similar personalities of being oblivious and dense but are really nice to people. Their role in the story is also the same, being the kind of childhood friend that admire the person who overblot and didn’t know that they hurt those people. Kalim is better because in the end he’s aware of his mistakes and learn from it. He grew from how he was in the past. Neige doesn’t. He isn’t aware of Vil, that we know of. He doesn’t change in anyway from start to finish when he should’ve. Why?

Because he shouldn’t be a background character. He should’ve been more than some guy that appeared. Unlike Che’nya who only role was to be Riddle’s childhood friend or Cheka who more of a comic relief, Neige WON the competition. He’s the antagonist of Vil chapter and he WON. Many other media make the antagonist won with better and more satisfying ending. School of rock; the protagonists lost the competition but they found each other and themselves, Haikyuu; every teams development and it never felt like victory isn’t earn and even when the characters are just side characters we see a bit of their personalities ie. the team that felt like no one take them seriously because they always fighting with the big league.

Neige should’ve been as important as the VDC group. His role is so significant to the story, being Vil’s rival and the winner yet he have no development whatsoever. His exposition is Vil’s talking about him, all the knowledge about him is from Vil which is 1. Bias 2. Breaking the “show don’t tell” rules. With such an important character we should’ve at least see him throughout the story as glimpses not all at once at the end. Maybe Vil take the team on a field trip for their clothes and meet Neige in the town and Neige get to talk to us and tell his side, maybe we go run a manager errand and accidentally bumped into Neige but we don’t know it’s him.

On top of that, Neige should’ve been make aware of Vil’s problems so he can have some change during the story. Maybe he saw Vil overblot, he’ll him realizing Vil was going to poison him and later have a talk with him after the competition would’ve been something. That way he can change as a character, that way there’s a development to the character that had such an impact to the story.

Right now he just feel like a guy that stumble into success— which is sad because that could really be something we can explore in his character. Is he feeling guilty? Does he desperately want Vil attention as his senior? Is he admire Vil and genuinely try to be like him? Realistically, yes, absolutely something like this happen. Someone won because they have more follower, deserved or not. However in story it make it seem like he’s just some Mary Sue. We don’t know his goal in his career, “being a good person” is absolutely a valid character goal but when everyone around said character got a deeper look into their goals it just make “being a good person” seem dull.

TL;DR It is that one quoted that originated from here “The war crime might be fictional but my annoyance is real” Neige character is frustrating because I know it could’ve been better, there are so many ways to make it better, but it just didn’t happen.

If Neige character get further explored? Sure, I can give him a chance just as I did with Jamil story but personally, I wish it would’ve been done in Vil’s chapter. This was not an epilogue like Jamil’s development is it was Neige exposition and they didn’t even try to actually give him a character beyond uwu soft boy

[agentxthirteen]

Vote Pepper because:

Stony shippers don't like her, and as such, in Stony fics,Pepper is portrayed as Type A to the extreme (i.e., a nag) in order to justify Tony not liking her. Other than that, she's a fairly popular character, with fans acknowledging that she defeated most of Tony's adversaries.

Even characters in canon respect Pepper and ship her and Tony together - including the other part of the mlm ship, Steve.

Pepper got to marry Tony in canon and have a child with him in canon. This is despite how the two were perhaps only briefly together in comics (the source material for the MCU, allegedly), where Pepper realized she would be happier with Happy Hogan.

Vote Sharon because:

Stony, Stucky, Romanogers, and Steggy fans loathe her. Sharon is portrayed as a conniving, meddling bitch/villain in fics. Multiple authors flat-out say that they need someone to be the bitch or villain in their fics and they used Sharon.

She got so much hatred based on Steve kissing her in Civil War in 2016 that Marvel Studios changed its entire plan for multiple characters. Endgame hammered in a plot about how Steve had not, in fact, moved on and abandoned everyone he'd formed ties with to return to a woman he'd never dated and who had actually shot at him after seeing him kiss someone else because this was deemed more romantic than him being with someone who gave up everything to support him. Instead of "He can do this all day," he retired with someone who never got a single line of dialog in the film because the filmmakers said he deserved to be selfish for once. The filmmakers can't agree on if he genuinely went back in time (TSA approved, but also suggests he groomed Sharon so she would be return the kiss when she was older) or if he created another timeline (TSA supposedly wouldn't allow it, unless Cap is an exception to this rule, too). Meanwhile, Sharon is in a non-extradition country, using her own name, dealing in art (his area of interest) which would make it pretty easy for people to find her if they looked. But with Steve needing justification to not look for her, Marvel Studios argues that she's not only a villain, but was always too weak to survive trauma with her morality intact (despite how we saw her do just that in the past). In short, the kiss led to so much hatred for Sharon that Marvel decided to make things incredibly nonsensical and confusing in order to justify it.

Sharon still gets blamed for making out with Steve even though they weren't related and the only people saying they were did so in order to break them up. Reminder: He initiated the kiss 2016. He asked her out in 2014.

Even Marvel Studios employees talk about how they wanted to kill Sharon off in ways that might have been too violent to show on screen but backed off because "Emily Vandercamp" is so sweet. That is... not her name. This was said unprompted in a promotional interview. And yes, one of the writers flat-out said it's because they ship Steve with someone else. To my knowledge, nothing like this happened to Gwyneth Paltrow/Pepper.

Emily VanCamp was shown Stucky fic in interviews and told how people prefer Steve with Bucky. All she could say was that she hoped people liked Sharon a little more after Civil War. One problem with that was that Marvel Studios had decided to turn Cap 3 into Civil War - taking her from a lead to another extended cameo. She only have 7 1/2 minutes in the entirety of the MCU, and only three of those minutes were spent developing a romantic relationship. To my knowledge, nothing like this happened to Gwyneth Paltrow/Pepper, who got much more screentime and time to develop a romantic relationship.

Interviewers quoted anti-Staron shippers (including from people who openly said they thought Steve should get with Bucky instead) on the promotional tour, and you can see in at least one of the interviews that Emily is trying not to cry. To my knowledge, nothing like this happened to Gwyneth Paltrow.

This is despite how Sharon has been Steve's main love interest in the comics since December 9, 1965. Despite being off and on for decades (three of Steve's other love interests were while she was supposedly dead, with at least one writer saying they only created the love interest because Sharon was dead at the time), the two of them have been together since 2005 - seven years before TFA came out.

Round 2

Propaganda Under Cut

Pepper Potts

So many fics make her bitchy and controlling for absolutely no reason she deserves better

So for this we have to think back to like... peak Avengers MCU era. I am sorry. Back when Avengers had just come out it was BRUTAL out there for anyone who didn't like Tony/Steve (Tony Stark, Pepper's canon love interest, and Steve Rogers aka Iron Man and Captain America). While the ship itself is like, fine, it got sour so fast because Pepper was demonized SO much. When she wasn't completely sidelined and ignored, she was a cheater or an abuser (??) or what-have-you in fics so the two men could get together. It's much better now and last I heard Pepper gets some of the love she deserves (bc we do love women in this house!) but oh MAN it was bad back then. TBH all MCU women were treated like garbage by the fanbase but she got the brunt of it because she was in the way of The Most Popular Ship. She was just too #girlboss I guess

Frequently villainized for being a canon love interest for Tony Stark. Often portrayed as a Nag, constantly bothering him about doing "work" for his "company" when he could be working on inventions or spending time with his love interest! Sometimes she just Doesn't Understand Him, inconsiderately pressuring him to stay out of being a hero instead of being who he really is; only the m/m love interest really understands him! Or maybe she's the aggressor, who took advantage of the power imbalance between her and her poor innocent *checks notes* boss in order to pressure him into a relationship he didn't really want where he was treated terribly, and only his m/m love interest can save him from her! Pepper deserves better!

Sharon Carter

she “got in the way” of stucky shippers, in the comics she’s like the love of Steve’s life 

When she first appeared she was unfairly treated by fans for "getting in the way" of the Steve Rogers/Bucky Barnes ship. A shame because she's a really good character. I'd talk more about how unfairly Sharon, and her actress Emily VanCamp, have been treated by the fanbase and the creators, but that's a different story.

She and Steve Rogers were meant to have a romantic relationship, but the entire fandom and many Stucky fans dislike her because it wasn’t a good ship. I think she isn’t the best but she doesn’t deserve so much hate

[gren-arlio]

After a week delay, Episode 5 of Waku Waku Puyo Puyo Dungeon is here!

Yeah, I kinda needed that extra week. School Finals are happening and as much as this means to me, school is a bit more important. However, it gave me time to revise and fix this episode, so we're all good. Sorry about that though.

As usual, here's the new portraits, with new Arle ones, and new characters such as Succubus, totally not Schezo, and Black Kikimora (Or Biki as I'll put) :

And the video itself:

And now, Timestamps:

Skeleton-T Encounter. Again: (0:05)

5th floor shenanigans: (1:15)

Succubus Boss: (6:45)

Succubus Defeat and Totally Not Schezo Encounter: (11:45)

Kikimora Goes Outside For Once: (14:29)

Arle Appearance (With A Carbuncle): (15:00)

Rulue Appearance: (16:32, 17:13 is just "Alright, let's go inside" thing.)

Menus, and Double The Kikimoras: (17:27)

Biki Leaves You: (18:42)

Ending: (21:41)

I think from now on I'll just call Black Kikimora "Biki". And off topic, this game really did a great job showing off Kikimora as a character, she gets tons of screentime.

With that, enjoy.

Skeleton-T Encounter. Again: (0:08)

Skeleton-T:

A-Ochaaa!

Schezo:

What is it, are you okay with just slacking off like this?

Skeleton-T:

No way!

A lady with a whip suddenly came into the shop. I was kicked out.

Schezo:

A lady with a whip? There's such a person?

Skeleton-T:

No, not at all!

It was "Nee-Chan"! Nee-Chan with a whip!

[I had to make sure this was right. Apparently it can mean older, more mature women, but that's...really up in the air for me.]

Schezo:

Oh wow...they seem strong. Where is she? Is she on the 5th floor?

Skeleton-T:

I heard they went beyond the 5th floor.

Schezo:

What the hell...then what floor are they on?

Skeleton-T:

That, I have no idea.

However, if you have 3 orbs, then you should be able to go beyond the 5th floor. [No clue how he knows this.]

Schezo:

Hmm...3 orbs. Okay, let's try the 5th floor then.

[Then the usual phrase happens after this. Let's go inside.]

-----

5th Floor Shenanigans: (1:15)

Schezo:

What the?

The Voices: [No real name but I'm giving it one for convenience.]

He who holds 3 colored orbs, raise them.

Schezo:

Orbs...I believe I have 3...

(Schezo has the 3 orbs.)

Okay. Now we can move on.

Alright. Let's go.

-----

Succubus Boss: (6:45)

Succubus: Mhm. ♡ Come on in. [Why my phone has that but not music notes remains a mystery.]

Schezo:

What the hell are you!? [You can also replace hell with fuck if really wanted, because that's an actual result.]

Succubus:

Me? I'm a Succubus.

And I'm here to take you into a world of pleasure.

Schezo:

Oh! A world of pleasure!?

Succubus:

Fufu...you're real eager. ♡ So you want to become my servant?

Schezo:

(Servant? ...Does she mean a retainer?)

Succubus:

If you become my servant...

I'll give you "That thing," as well as a lot more...♡♡♡ [Man I don't like using those hearts.]

Schezo:

No thanks.

Succubus:

What!? ...I'm sorry, I didn't catch that.

What do you mean?

Schezo:

I don't take orders from others!

Rather, YOU should be my servant! [Or retainer. Either or.]

Succubus:

Oh my~♡ You got a lot of energy. ♡

Fufu ♡ That's the least you can be to make this fun. Alright, go for it!

Schezo:

Let's go!

-----

Succubus Defeat and Totally Not Schezo Encounter: (11:45)

Succubus:

Ahh ♡ [...Your guess is as good as mines. Not a fan tbh]

Schezo:

You idiot, trying to control me;

Schezo Wegey. You dare rule over me? [You can also replace idiot with stupid bitch to get that Rulue feel from episode 1.]

...Huh? This evil presence...

...Come out! I know you're there!

Mystery Voice:

Ah...did you sense me?

As expected, even when weakened...

Schezo:

What the hell!

You bastard, you're mocking me!

You son of a bitch...here, I'll cut you into pieces!

[Its getting more difficult for him to NOT Swear so I said screw it.]

Mystery Voice:

Don't rush. We'll fight sooner or later.

In the meantime, regain the strength you lost.

[Voice vanishes]

Schezo:

Who...who was that guy?

That evil spirit...that magic...he's not an ordinary guy.

But I feel like I've seen him before...

[14:10 is "Do you want to leave?"]

-----

Kikimora Goes Outside For Once: (14:29)

Kikimora:

Mr. Schezo! I've been looking for you for a while.

Schezo:

Huh? I didn't ask you to find me, alright?

Kikimora:

I heard you were getting rid of that whip lady, right?

Um...I don't mean to thank you, but here. It's yours.

(Schezo got a "VIP Pass".)

Schezo:

Tickets...I'll take it.

Kikimora:

Well, excuse me.

[Kikimora leaves]

Schezo:

...What did you thank me for?

I don't recall doing a thing that warranted a thank you...

-----

Arle Appearance (With A Carbuncle): (15:00)

Arle:

Oh, hey Schezo!

Schezo:

(Hmm...we can't continue like this...)

Arle:

Hey! Perverted Mage!

Schezo:

(Yes...Women!

Whenever Arle, Rulue, or that whip lady is involved, bad things happen!)

Arle:

Hey!! Pervert! Nekkid, Bumdtious Mage! [Nekkid meaning a form of Naked. Bumditous just means incredibly self-assertive or proud to an annoying degree.]

Schezo;

You're so loud!

Arle:

Schezo, you've been acting strange lately.

What's troubling you? Maybe love, for example.

Schezo:

You! You're the one!

Arle:

What!? Me? That came out of nowhere, what're you trying to say!?

Schezo:

Huh?

Arle:

I'm just saying...

Schezo:

(What the hell does she mean?) [Schezo is staring at her, it's just not told. Yet.]

Arle:

Oh my God! Don't stare at me like that!

Schezo:

(I'm full of love! Now I can take Arle's magic!) [...Whatever this means. I'm a tiny bit unsure.]

Arle:

...?

Schezo:

I want you!

Carbuncle:

Guu! [...He shot a laser at Schezo.]

Schezo:

Gghh...

Arle:

Wait a second, Carby!

You can't shoot beams in a place like this!

But still, he deserved it. He's still a pervert...

I can't help but say that. Let's go, Carby!

Carbuncle:

Guu!

Schezo:

That's not true... [I assume to Arle's statement.]

-----

Rulue Encounter: (16:32)

Rulue:

Oh no, there's a pervert here!

Schezo:

Oh, the meat muscle woman is here!

Rulue:

Excuse me, what was that!?

Schezo:

You're the one who treats me as a pervert!

Rulue:

Minotauros, just end this now!

Minotauros:

Umo!

Schezo:

I don't have time to be a punk here! You can all rant and rave for all I care!

Rulue:

Hey, wait!

Schezo:

It's a waste time to get invoked with that stupid bitch! [He's been swearing often. You can also just say woman. And 17:13 is "Alright, let's go inside!" Again.]

-----

Menus, and Double the Kikimora's: (17:27)

[Menu goes as followed:

Listen <-

Ranking

Bulletin

Back]

Kikimora:

What do you want me to explain?

[More Menus going:

Cleared Attractions <-

When You Get Cursed

Tales of the Black Market

About Rankings

When in Need

Back]

Kikimora:

When you enter an attraction, you may be surprised by the new monsters too.

And if they're too strong, then it'll end in a game over.

I recommend going back to cleared attractions.

You'll have a much easier adventure if you get more levels and items before going into new attractions.

Schezo:

And I, as a man of much power, do not need to do this amount of work.

Kikimora:

Is that so? Well...I'm not saying that it's impossible.

[Menu again, this time they click "Tales of the Black Market.]

Kikimora:

Between you and me, besides Momomo's store, [Or Momo-San]

There are rumors of another shop that sells items.

I hear they sell expensive valuables that don't sell here in this place.

Schezo:

Hmm...sounds like it could be a good thing. Where is it?

Kikimora:

Hmm...I'm not sure.

Schezo:

As expected...you're useless.

Kikimora:

"As expected," huh...come on...

[She then repeats "What do you want to hear about?"

And now, they go back to the menu, click back, then click "Bulletin". It reads:

Horror House

Wonder Jungle

Peddler Fufufu

Mana usage <-]

Schezo:

Eh? You're the one who's supposed to explain this?

Black Kikimora (who I'll call Biki):

That's right...follow me.

-----

Biki Leaves You: (18:42)

Schezo:

Hey! What the hell are you doing bringing me here!?

Biki:

Let me tell you something good.

Schezo:

What? Well, lets hear it.

Biki:

Even traps, which can be quite a nuisance, can be a powerful weapon if used well.

For example, you could use a Trap Magic Circle Scroll to trap enemies, then attack.

Schezo:

Huh...

Biki:

...Try it.

[She leaves while enemies spawn]

Schezo:

Hey! Where are you going? I wasn't done!

Damn it! Let's get these guys out of the way...

-----

Ending: (21:41)

Schezo:

Looks like the way out.

[He exits the area.]

Biki:

Well, well, well...Impressive.

Schezo:

Boo. [I guess to scare her?] Of course it is.

Biki:

...

Schezo:

...Say something.

Biki:

...It's over.

Schezo:

Well...

Biki:

... ... ...

Schezo:

(As usual...I mean, she's not pretty and is unsociable.)

(WHAM!) [From Biki's broom.]

Schezo:

Whoa! What're you doing! You hit me from behind with a mop!

Biki:

Sorry for being ugly then! Scram!

Schezo:

It was just a slip of the tongue...or was it a futile excuse?

-----

And that's all. Next episode might take another week or two, since they're getting longer, so heads up for that. Thanks for reading though.

[baebeyza]

Top 4 or 5 I dunno

Am bored so imma just list my faves for characters who have at least 4 different versions in the cartoons

(this was more than I expected, so it's under the cut-)

Shockwave!

1. TFP (Just a fucking pissy and spiteful babe with the sexiest design) 2. Energon (jerkiest jerk ever) 3. TFA 4. G1 5. Cyberverse

Soundwave!

1. TFP (My brother's favourite transformer, that gotta mean something) 2. G1 3. Cybertron (I'd love him more if he wasn't in like, 6 episodes total) 4. Headmasters 5. Cyberverse

TFA Soundwave just aint sexy, I am sorry- and neither is RID15 Soundwave after his upgrade u.u WFC Soundy just didn't do much

Prowl!

1. RiD01 (Middle child) 2. Energon (a little eager boyo) 3. TFA 4. G1 5. WFC

Only reason I chose WFC over Cyberverse here is that I fucking forgot he even was in Cyberverse, so he obviously couldn't leave a big impression on me

Ratchet!

1. TFP (Especially that german voice OuO) 2. WFC 3. TFA 4. G1 5. RiD15

Putting RiD15 Ratchet above Cyberverse Ratchet because he says "I needed that" :D Also, in Prime Wars he seems to exist because Windblade mentions him once, but we never see him

Roddy!

1. G1 (Original boi) 2. Energon 3. Prime Wars 4. Cyberverse 5. TFA

Headmasters Roddy gets no place in this for just fucking off and never coming back-

Ultra Magnus!

1. G1 (love of my life) 2. WFC 3. RiD01 (the bitch version-) 4. Headmasters 5. TFP

Fun fact: In the japanese version of Armada he exists as well, but not really as a character, just as an upgrade for Prime in the last season of the show that just existed for some reason - in the english version that upgrade is called Overload :D (but sometimes gets called Ultra Magnus too because the english script writers for the show were kinda high or something)

Oh, and in TFA I aint all that hype for him

Hot Shot!

1. Cybertron (A cutie) 2. Energon (A mature cutie) 3. Armada (I don't even care about this boi, but I can't put him below the other two) 4. RiD01 (I can't remember anything he ever did) 5. TFA (I couldn't even remember him existing)

Arcee!

1. G1 (Original girl) 2. TFP 3. Cyberverse 4. WFC 5. Energon

She's also in Headmasters as a secretary - a downgrade from G1. And in TFA she didn't leave much of an impression on me :/

Wheeljack!

1. Cyberverse (Such crazy uncle energy) 2. Energon (He's only called Wheeljack in original version - and I fucking loved the way he talked man, his voice and accent were just so damn epic) 3. TFP 4. G1 5. WFC He is in TFA, but I can't remember anything he ever said in those 3 minutes of screentime

Perceptor!

1. Prime Wars (Of course, he was so cute and funny!) 2. G1 (Cutie!) 3. Cyberverse 4. Victory (his one job of telling Ginrai he cannot be repaired was better than anything he ever did in TFA - at least he had a damn on-screen job! xD) 5. TFA

Some Minicon in Armada is called Perceptor, but bugger me if I fucking remember which one it was

Grimlock!

1. RiD15 (Fave of the whole show, such a sweetheart! <3) 2. G1 3. Prime Wars 4. Cyberverse 5. TFA

Rid01 also has a Grimlock, but he ain't even a Dino in it

Bumblebee!

1. RiD15 (A sin, I know, but I'm not hot on Bee in general and I just found this one the most appealing) 2. Cyberverse 3. TFP 4. G1 5. TFA

I know he's in RB, but I havent watched that yet so I can't talk

Sky/Jetfire!

1. Cybertron 2. Energon 3. Armada (one of the only two characters I actually liked in the whole show-) 4. G1 5. WFC

TFA version wasn't all that hot to me

Megazarak/Scorponok!

1. Energon (a goodie) 2. Headmasters 3. Beast Wars 4. WFC 5. RiD15

Bro I remember nothing about him in G1, that 4th season was so damn forgettable and weird, that even the RiD15 version stuck to me more

Fortress Maximus!

1. Headmasters (Master SWOOOORD- <3) 2. Prime Wars 3. RiD01 4. G1 (I can remember this version better than Scorponok at least)

Sideswipe!

1. RiD15 2. Armada 3. G1 4. WFC

As with Bee, can't judge his RB version

Blurr!

1. G1 (BOI) 2. TFA (handsome boi!) 3. Cyberverse (I just remember that he dies) 4. RiD15 (Just here because I liked him more than in Armada) 4. Armada (he aint even boi, but he has the name so whatever)

He's in Headmasters too and he fucks off with Roddy, so SHAME ON YOU

Cyclonus!

1. G1 (The only version I give a shit about- the others are just a contest about which I care less) 2. Energon 3. Armada 4. RiD15 5. TFA

Headmasters Cyclonus gets disqualified for the AUDACITY TO BE A WHIMP!

Galvatron! (disclaimer - versions that are really just Megatron-repaints don't count. Also for the Unicron Trilogy, I go by the japanese versions because I hate the english one when it comes to him and Megatron)

1. Energon (In japanese, its always Galvatron from the start, the character never was "Megatron" and bro do I love him!) 2. G1 (The original crazy man, you go babe! 3. Beast Wars II 4. Headmasters 5. WFC (Hope he gets to be awesome in Kingdom! ~)

Unicron!

1. Beast Wars Neo (personality babey) 2. TFP 3. Prime Wars 4. G1 5. Armada (at least he had Sideways here) I mean he is in Energon, but is barely a character...

Red Alert!

1. Cybertron 2. G1 3. Armada 4. WFC 5. TFA

Fun fact: Energon Prowl is Red Alert in japanese and Armada Red Alert is Ratchet in japanese-

Skywarp!

1. G1 (Aesthetics ~) 2. Beast Wars II (totally different character btw, but again - Aesthetics ~) 3. Cyberverse (girl Aesthetics ~) 4. WFC 5. TFA (anti-aesthetics!)

There be a lot of seekers in Prime Wars, but they all die without ever showing a robot-mode so who gives a fuck man

Thundercracker!

1. Cyberverse (It's the moe-effect) 2. Cybertron 3. G1 4. TFA 5. WFC

Thrust!

1. Beast Machines 2. Beast Wars II 3. Armada 4. G1 5. Cyberverse (Couldn't remember him in this thing either)

The Quintessons!

1. Energon (Alpha Q Disney Princess) 2. G1 3. WFC 4. Cyberverse

Alpha Trion!

1. G1 (This is the only version I have spent any thoughts on-) 2. TFA 3. Cyberverse 4. WFC 5. Headmasters

Man, at least in Headmasters he had a body compared to TFP-

Metroplex!

1. Cybertron 2. Headmasters (just for that one scene in which he says that Magnus would have wanted to be buried on Earth) 3. Prime Wars 4. G1

Jazz!

1. G1 2. TFA 3. RiD15 4. Headmasters (mah man Marshall, eh?)

Scourge!

1. Cybertron 2. RiD01 3. G1 4. Headmasters

Cliffjumper!

1. Energon (Character is called Overdrive in japanese but whatever) 2. TFP 3. G1 4. TFA 5. WFC (forgot he was in it)

Ironhide!

1. Energon (The boi) 2. G1 3. RiD01 4. TFA 5. WFC (5 seconds or something)

Omega Supreme!

1. Energon 2. G1 3. TFA 4. WFC

Laserbeak!

1. TFP (Of course-) 2. G1 3. Cyberverse 4. RiD01 5. Cybertron

Sorry, WFC Laserbeak u.u And who cares for Armada Laserbeak-

Mirage!

1. Energon (the Decepticon who is IN LOVE WITH MEGS/GALVS, what more do you want! Also he cute-) 2. RiD01 3. G1 4. WFC

Chromia!

1. Cybertron (In japanese Thunderblast's name is Chromia- forgive me not sticking to one language here x'D) 2. WFC 3. G1 4. Cyberverse

Menasor!

1. RiD15 2. Prime Wars 3. G1 4. Cybertron

Bulkhead!

1. TFA 2. TFP 3. Energon (Sprung in japanese) 4. RiD15

[oldtvandcomics]

I watched The Green Hornet (2011). Now I really should do a review, right?

Ooooooh, damn it. Ok.

The most noticeable thing about this movie for me has been just HOW MUCH everyone in it is focussed on the way they look, and that not in a good way. The whole thing is just a bunch of people parading around their inflated air-filled personas and hoping that if they only perform hard enough, the others will believe it is them. The problem is that this leaves very little space for genuine interaction, and in the end, the movie itself runs into the same trap as they do: It wants to pretend SO MUCH to be one of the Big Bad Superhero movies, but in the end, it is a nobody.

I must add this disclaimer somewhere: I LOVE the Green Hornet. He is my third-favorite superhero. I desperately wanted to like this movie, I really did.

Objectively measurable things first: The dialogue is bad. Like, AMAZINGLY, PHENOMENALLY BAD. Sometimes you feel as if something that has been just said should be a funny moment. It never is. It just feels awkward. As to the characters, they are unlikable the way heroes only in the 2010's can be: It is a decade where nobody seems to believe any more that people can be genuinely good and heroic, leading to "realistic" re-imaginations that inevitably kill the charm of the original. In the case of Britt and Kato, this has degraded them to simple brutal serial killers who do it because they enjoy their own violence. Britt is the ultimate frat boy who takes shamelessly advantage of Kato's skills while believing to be superior to him, calls him slurs and straight out sexually harasses his female coworker. And... Look, in the Real World, this is probably what Britt Reid would be like. BUT THIS ISN'T THE REAL WORLD!! Britt is supposed to be a hero, that is the sole reason why he exists: Because the people in the 1930's desperately needed someone who is on their side, and they dreamed up superheroes to protect them from real world problems.

[Which I feel is a problem with many modern-day superhero adaptations, btw. They are separated from their original historic context and put 1:1 in the current year. This means that they inevitably stop making sense. Instead of looking why that is, what those nonsensical elements meant in their original context, and adapt THAT, people look at them and go "this is stupid, I am going to make the story about how stupid this is, look, I deconstructed this thing, am I not clever!". And along the process of pointing out how stupid it is, the rest of what made the story good to begin with also vanishes. The end result is that I have the impression that they are calling me a bad person for liking the original in the first place.]

Then there is the aforementioned sincerity problem: There were only one or two scenes where the characters were not lost behind their own smokescreens and I could actually connect to their emotions. And finally, the plot: There wasn't much of one. Britt and Kato only did their gig for fun, and the gang they pissed off as well as the corrupt politician who was supposed to be the final conflict just didn't feel important enough to warrant this level of bloodbath and collateral damages.

And now the treatment of minorities. Oh boy.

Kato naturally is treated like crap, both by Britt and the general story that seems to condemn this, but only towards the viewers. Britt is never forced to recognize all the ways he hurt him, even less does he apologize. And the narrative revolves so much around him that he is able to completely ruin the whole movie by simply being so badly written. Kato himself could have been a good character, but it and his arc just go under, and isn't that typical for Kato.

This movie loves sexist slurs. I was totally shocked to see that apparently, a decade ago it was completely acceptable to use "pussy" and "little bitch" as an insult in a movie, EVEN MORE BY THE MAIN CHARACTER (the person being called these slurs being, obviously, Kato). Casey, a clever and competent secretary with sharp wit and an even sharper tongue in the original, is degraded to "hot blonde girl", has both male leads openly thirst over her IN HER WORKPLACE, and all of her work experience erased by being a new employee. It was terribly uncomfortable to watch.

But hey, at least they sent out a message that they are both not gay? I guess?? Because look, Britt Reid and Kato can be fairly easily read as queer. They live together, have very visibly a close bond and trust each other unconditionally, and also neither of them has a female love interest. That is the original, 1930's-1940's. 2011, we are aware enough of the existence of queer people so that it couldn't be left like this, so obviously the mutual trust and respect needed to go, and those comments about poor Casey served the same purpose. The movie also kind of seems to keep commenting on the nature of their relationship with bits of dialogue that in a different context kind of sound romantic, and are clearly supposed to be jokes and/or funny moments, but absolutely nothing about the dialogue is funny, so it all just feels really uncomfortable.

And finally, the xenophobia. Also, racism, because it is trying to comment on how the original story treats Kato like crap by treating Kato like crap. NOT how you do this, guys. But the point I actually wanted to make in this paragraph was about the villain, who has a Slavic-sounding name. Which, apparently, is difficult to pronounce (it isn't??). Hahaha, look how difficult it is to pronounce! Let's constantly point this out by having the Americans comment on and keep mispronouncing it! Aren't we funny!

Fuck you.

Sorry, at this point, I had to.

Adaptation from the original things:

They gave Kato more screentime, that is good. It also completely went under in the mess that the rest of the movie is. Oh, and they didn’t let him wear his white suit, which, pity, it’s a really nice suit. Britt is an arsehole, and acts like a spoiled child. Points for trying to make him look more like a playboy, because in every other adaptation, he is a completely normal, responsible adult man who is said to be a playboy (vanishing weeks on end while fighting crime does this to your reputation). But like, AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, HE SHOULD BE a normal responsible adult man! Character growth, anyone? No? Not in this movie. Casey as I said before is just there to look sexy. Axford is... Apparently that older journalist guy who kept telling Britt to tune it down? That's Axford?? OK, he is absolutely NOTHING like the Axford I know, who is a bit of a bumbling character obsessed with catching the Green Hornet, but very likeable and a fairy good journalist. Lowry isn't there at all.

Look, what made the Green Hornet as a superhero so exceptional was the truly amazing supporting cast. I fell in love with the people at the Daily Sentinel at least as much as I did with Britt, the way they bicker and poke fun of one another. I couldn't find a single one of these beloved characters in this movie, and the Daily Sentinel itself was more of a background prop than anything else.

Black Beauty... Call me boring, but it really doesn't need this many guns. Why would it need this many guns?? But all in all, it was cool, so no complaints there. They did miss a chance by having Britt live in a GIANT mansion with a garage full of cars instead of an apartment with a secret passage, because who wouldn't want to see an apartment with a secret passage.

And now that I got this off my chest, some of the things that did work:

Kato. Kato, as usual, has got a perfectly good and interesting story going on behind the scenes. He is maybe the only character who doesn't feel fake (I mean, he gets covered up by the layers of bad radiating from everyone else so it hardly shines though), and he also has a completely good storyline that would have worked, had the rest of the movie... I'm repeating myself.

That's... Pretty much it, yes.

I did like the part at the beginning where Britt first met Kato, and there was this ridiculously complicated coffee machine that he built, and Britt was immediately in awe with him, and then Kato showed off all the stuff that he designed and built, and they were both just SO INTO IT. It is one of the few genuine moments in the entire movie.

I also loved the part at the end where Kato was trying to look for a new job, noticed that there is absolutely nothing that he can put on his resume, and for a moment it looked as if he was really considering a career in crime. They could have done more with this idea. I also hoped for a moment that he would actually dress as the Green Hornet for the job, and OMG, my fanfiction is coming true, but no. Pity, because I swear that it is better written than this movie.

(No, seriously. Would anyone like by any chance to read my fanfiction?)

TL;DR: THIS IS A BAD MOVIE. DON'T WATCH IT.

[arlakos]

Things that I feel would have made Miraculous Ladybug a better show.

A Comprehensive Guide to what I would fix with Miraculous Ladybug, with 10 different Ideas.

WARNING: long post for mobile users

1. Combine the Riposte and Captain Hardrock episodes to introduce Luka and Kagami and have it be strictly a civilian episode.

After 3 seasons of Miraculous, I can safely say that I don’t care much about the whole lovesquare stuff, and to be frank I hate the fact that Luka and Kagami were added into the show just to be alternate love interests for the heroes.

I mean, Kagami gets a pass because she has a unique personality, but Luka is literally just every guitar teen ever, and is more one dimensional than season 1 Chloe.

EDIT: It really doesn’t help that because of these new ships, there is even more ship teasing that before, making the whole romance side of miraculous rather boring and filled to excess with ship teases

HOWEVER, if you really wanted to introduce these characters as alternate love interests, why not do something unique with it and in a way that won’t go over so long?

My idea is as follows

1. Have Adrien meet Kagami at fencing and Marinette meeting Luka with Kitty section.

2. Have the two main characters interact with these new love interests and learn more about them.

3. NOT have Hawkmoth come and akumatise anyone, because akuma’s shouldn’t be the only reason and/or way to progress the show or make it interesting.

4. Have the new single episode be about Adrien and Marinette falling for new people.

That way, the show can introduce the idea of new love interests, change the episode format so a bit so that its not so linear, and save an episode slot for a episode idea more interesting... Or perhaps instead restrict the whole alternate romance subplot to a few episodes as part of a small storyline and have the whole romantic subplot be done with instead of extending it is like with the Lovesquare over 2 seasons

EDIT: I don’t particularly like the ship, but the idea I’m proposing could be a good way to shorten it into a more coherent and more interesting plot, instead of adding another ship tease into the series that ends up tearing the fandom apart.

2. Have Season 3 be about Ladybug and Cat Noir teaching the 3 new heroes how to fight.

Season 3 is trash. There I said it. And its not just the episodes themselves are the problem. The whole season and the premises it tries to introduce are garbage as well.

Lets start with Lila.

Based off of the Chameleon episode, it was believed that Lila would be a more prominent character in the show, basically being a villain for both Marinette and her alter Ego. Despite that, her actual effect on the season was about as minimal as you could get, with her presence only being restricted to a few episodes (with these episodes more relying on everyone else being an idiot for them to work, Chameleon included). It also didn’t help that the show still stuck to the single episode format, meaning Chamelon, which was meant to be an episode that would set up a ‘war’ between Marinette and Lila was immediatly suceeded by episodes such as Gamer 2.0 and Animaestro, both of which did not feature Lila at all and took the tension out of the first episode (unfortunately not the salt though, rip Miraculous Fanfics)

Also, the Finale robbed Lila of her spotlight. Imagine being presented as the villain of season 3 only for you to be replace with a knockoff Queen Wasp 😭.

Season 3 also made the mistake of introducing new heroes into the show.

Now, I’m of the opinion that the new heroes introduce in season 3 were a mistake, because not only did the new heroes make the idea of getting a miraculous not so special anymore (with so many new heroes), but some of the designs, powers and/or Miraculous tools were not really that great. I mean, Viperion looks cool and all, but his tool is a goddamn lyre. At least a yoyo can be used to tie up people. And do not get me started on Pegasus.

Also, with all the new heroes introduced, it meant that the heroes from season 2 barely got any screentime. Chloe was made into a villain by the end of Season 3, while Rena Rouge got to appear once and my boi Caracace got only one episode out of the ENTIRE SEASON to appear.

But I do have a solution to at least on of these problems.

What if, in season 3, that season was all about Ladybug and Cat Noir teaching Rena, Carapace and Queenie how to actually be heroes and form a team of 5? It would help bring some new dynamics into the whole hero stuff, and we could potentially see more of the stuff that we had only seen in heroes day.

(Also, rewrite heroes day so that the 3 heroes don’t immediatly get akumatized and actually help Ladybug and Cat Noir. God, they got ripped off for all the hype build-up.)

It could allow for new stuff in season 3 such as:

More hero dynamics

Seeing Alya, Nino and Chloe adapt to daily heroics

Ladybug (and Chat) learning how to be leaders and mentors, which would then make the plotline about Fu passing on his title to Marinette make more sense and justified, since they didn’t do that in season 3 at all.

A more realised storyline about Chloe’s identity being public knowledge that goes on for more than two episodes

Also it means we could get rid of Lila...just saying.

3. Have Miss Bustier work to rehabilitate Chloe and have that be the starting point of Chloe’s redemption.

In recent months, there has been a lot of salt aimed at Miss Bustier, and to be frank I don’t think she deserves it. Her characterisation is honestly really heartwarming when it comes to the idea of teachers caring for their students, but her character can often be forgotten by writers, especially when they desire a story to tell. This can be seen as early as Origins, where she ignores Chloe outright bullying Marinette so the latter can stand up to her later on, but notices Ivan being angry at Kim so Ivan becomes Stoneheart. I personally think her character is lovely, and certain fanfic stories like the Miraculous World of Caline Bustier show that good side of her that so many salt fics fail to forget or intentionally ommit because of one bad episode where Marinette cries (chameleon).

However I do think that Chloe gets way out of hand in the show, and I do feel that despite her best intentions, Bustier not doing anything about Chloe for two seasons seems a bit...off putting.

But what if she did do something about it?

I think that the best way for Ms Bustier to act more like a teacher without breaking her ‘kind teacher’ status would honestly be to actually work on rehabilitating Chloe, either by working with her after school with exercises or recommending her to a psychiatrist for help. I know this can come off as dark for miraculous, but Chloe has already shown that her life beforehand has been a bit rough (even though it doesn’t nullify how she has acted in season 1), so it would make sense that Chloe would need some help with her behavoir/attitude. It would be a great way for Bustier to actually do something about Chloe’s behavoir, without compromising her kind personality. She is kind enough to care about Chloe being better, but assertive enough to do something about it.

Plus, for those who like Chloe, it could be a great way to redeem her properly without going back and forth between a ‘likable person but also bitch’ and ‘an asshole bitch with no redeeming qualities’ like in season 3. Plus it would then make Chloe becoming Queen Bee more fair instead of making it seem as if she doesn’t deserve to be a hero.

Also it would make those people who make salt posts about Bustier frick off. Leave her alone she’s a good character

4. Not having everyone immediately liking Ladybug/Marinette but not hating her either.

Ok, this is where I get really heretical with this post, especially because of how much of the fandom likes Marinette, but I feel that having every single character in the show immediately liking Marinette is a bit too much, at least for me. This sounds biased, but it causes problems for the show for two main reasons.

Marinette is kinda at this point a part-Mary Sue, at least when it comes to the idea that everyone in the world seems to like Marinette and the only ones who don’t are irredeemable pieces of trash who are probably villains (Lila and Chloe being Astruc’s favorite examples :/ ).

Marinette often has everyone agreeing with her on everything (when Lila isn’t there) and majority of the time she goes unnopossed with anything that she does, to the point where even a fireman doesn’t call the cops when he see’s her outright breaking into Adrien’s home (in Oni-Chan).

It would be more interesting (or at least more realistic given the setting) if most characters aside from a few important ones were mostly indifferent towards Marinette, aside from ones such as Alya, Nino, Adrien and Nathaniel for obvious reasons. I’m not saying they have to hate her, but it would be cooler if the rest of the class were more individuals with their own lives and focus, rather that characters with a trope who just revolve around Marinettes world. 

Also those girl squad moments in Miraculous seem kinda forced, mainly because Alix, Mylene, Rose and Juleka don’t seem like the type to hang with Marinette unless the episode calls for it like in Gigantitan and Reflekdoll.

Now, lets discuss Ladybug. 

To keep it simple, I think that it would make more sense if people weren’t immediately trusting of Ladybug at first, and I feel that as seasons go on, it would make sense that over time, people would eventually start to lose trust in her or start to feel angry at her for her inability to stop Hawkmoth permanently.

I mean, if you take episodes such as Syren (where said villain floods a whole city), it is likely that some people got hurt (or worse) and people would eventually start to worry that Ladybug could fail or that her Miraculous Ladybug could stop working. 

It would wouldn’t help that Hawkmoth is mostly focused on getting Ladybug and Cat Noirs Miraculous, and people would start to realize that and would start to get the idea that if Ladybug and Cat Noir gave up their Miraculous, Hawkmoth would leave them alone.

Now, don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t think that this has to be a permanent thing that constantly worries the heroes like in other shows such as Ben 10, but it would be an interesting storyline for Miraculous if some people in Paris would start to get fed up Paris being used as a battleground for heroes and villains.

Also, it would make sense that the class likes Ladybug at least, especially for saving them in season 1.

EDIT: Changed my opinion, read my reblog

5. Have Adrien fall in love with Marinette and Ladybug fall in love with Chat - AKA I’m tired of the lovesquare.

I’m gonna be frank with you, I’m a little biased on this one, mainly because I can’t stand the lovesquare stuff. Its annyoing because people fight over which ship they like, and tbh it has gone on for way too long.

It also doesn’t help that it ruins the main characters. Marinette suffers because she can act like a creepy stalker at times, memorizing his schedule and even stealing his phone, yet can’t even speak to him properly (or more importantly like an actual friend) in a majority of episodes, making her look both creepy and/or idiotic.

Chat Noir also suffers, but even more so due to double standards by the fandom. I don’t think Chat is a sexual harasser like SOME might want to thing (looks at the salty side of fandom), but I do think he flirts WAY the fuck too much, to the point where it wastes most of his character. At least him making more jokes would be better than flirting.

So, my idea is to get rid of all that.

Let Marinette actually talk to Adrien, learn about him, care about him like he’s an actual human being, and actually be a good friend for once rather than being friends through Nino and Alya. Let Marinette actually be kind to Adrien and have her actions make Adrien realize that he likes her more than a friend, rather than Plagg telling him something he wants to deny.

And on the reverse note, Have Chat stop flirting and be more caring. I want Chat to treat Ladybug like she’s the greatest thing in his world, and not by flirting with her during akuma fights, but by checking how she is daily, wanting to spend time with her on lonely nights to make her feel better, and overall being more a friendly (yet lovestruck) partner than the flirty sidekick that Astruc wants to relegate him as. By all means, let him pun and make jokes during fights, that’s part of his charm, but I want Ladybug to fall in love with a Chat Noir that stands by her side, cares about her to the point of overkill and makes her always feel better no matter how down she feels.

And THAT’S what the lovesquare should be about, a story about two characters falling in love with two amazing people, not realizing they are one an the same.

I want Adrien to fall in love with the extrodinary Ladybug who changed his world forever and the simple but amazing Marinette who loves him for who he is, and not what he is. I want Marinette to fall for the sunshine Adrien that is too pure for this world and made her smile on a rainy day, but also for the caring Chat Noir that has always stood by her side no matter how dark the situation has gotten when fighting Hawkmoth, and has always cared about her to the point where cannot help but love him for who he is, puns, humor, love and all.

That’s what I think would make good romance in Miraculous Ladybug

Also Adrien doesn’t deserve that kinda salt btw. FIGHT ME.

6. Have Akuma battles actually cause an impact on the show.

Akuma’s are both a curse and a blessing for Miraculous Ladybug. A blessing because the powers can be unique and the designs are pretty to look at (minus a few), but a curse because the way they are written is responsible for Miraculous Ladybug’s stagnation and also how character issues are resolved.

Someone gets sad because a personal problem, they get akumatised, the return back to normal thanks to Ladybug, and their personal problem is suddenly resolved. Rinse and Repeat. All of the damage caused by the akumas is fixed, and no one seems to be affected by the akumas long term.

So...why not change the last bit? 

I think that the akumas should do more than just trash Paris and not by being more evil, but by also have an effect on people mentally, similar to how people write about Chat Blanc causing Marinette to have PTSD. I don’t think the akumas have to be more threatening then they are, but I do wish that certain akuma’s or even the experience of being akumatized would affect certain characters more than what is shown.

Like say, how about an idea where Style Queen suddenly trying to turn Chloe into a statue, and not caring for the fact that she is her daughter, causing Chloe to straight up hate her now that her true colors are shown? Or perhaps an episode where people get hurt due to rubble from a battle, and one of the main characters sees someone greviously hurt despite them being fixed after the battle? These are just some ideas, but as is, akumas feel somewhat of a let down, because despite their cool designs, they are just one-shot glorified henchmen of Hawkmoth who are essentially forgotten after a single episode.

EDIT: I personally got some asks saying that giving characters PTSD would be a bad thing for a kids show, so Im just gonna clarify: I dont think that the characters should get PTSD, but I do think akuma battles should matter, given that some akuma backstories are made from more personal problems but are treated as with less seriousness than expected and often times fixed instantly by the end of the episode.

7. Give Luka a personality

Luka is the personification of every soft spoken teen music player ever and has the personality of the song Wonderwall. Next.

8. Have Alya not try to Figure out Ladybugs identity.

For someone who has read hero comic books, Alya should realise that trying to expose someone’s public identity is a VERY BAD IDEA.

9. Have Ladybug and Chat Noir unlock new powers on their own, rather than having to rely on Gimicky power up potions.

I’m gonna be frank, the power up potions are lame as heck. They are essentially glorified costume changes that add new stuff onto the suits, which doesn’t sound that bad until you realise that Miraculous Wielders are capable of Changing thier costume designs anytime they want, meaning more likely than not they could probably just change costumes without the potions. Even the Aqua form is pretty lame once you realise that Ladybug and Cat Noir’s tools function like water breathing devices.

Instead, I think it would be cool that as the heroes wear their miraculouses, they star to bond with them as they get close to their kwamis, allowing them to unlock new abilities over time, similar to how learning the basics of martial arts follows into more advanced styles. It would also make the miraculouses feel more magical and add more depth into them, as it turns the miraculous from magical jewellery that give powers, into a magical experience that grows and changes as the wielder and Kwami bond together on a spiritual and magical level.

It would also help to offer contrast between the heroes and Hawkmoth, because while the latter doesn’t have a timer for his powers and is stronger (for the time being), the heroes bond with their kwami’s and unlock new abilities in the process, while poor Gabe is stuck with his base powers due to forcing Nooroo against his will, only able to unlock more abilities through cheating (aka Scarlet Moth).

10. Change Hawkmoth’s story

Hawkmoth is about as bland of a villain as you can get when it comes to villainy. Even with the whole sob story of Gabe’s wife in a coma and her trying to bring him back, Hawkmoth himself has always been all over the place, especially when the writers try to bring the two sides of the character together. They want him to be unwilling to hurt Adrien in one episode, but then for him to be a dangerous and despicable villain in Chat Blanc. It gets really annoying, as they both want him to be a sympathetic villain, but also a villain who isnt afraid to be pure evil as well.

Also Mayura doesn’t help much with the story either. Before she was revealed, people were speculating that she was a new person would be the actual big bad of the show, and it was rumored that she would be Hawkmoth’s boss, and also the possible reason for Hawkmoth getting the Butterfly Miraculous, which could have been used to expand upon Hawkmoth’s character, and potentially have some sympathy given to him if the writers wanted to go that path, with Mayura being the new evil of the show. Unfortunatlely, it turned out Mayura was Nathalie all along, essentially being a glorified henchman for Hawkmoth, and not only that, but her powers were a copy and Paste of Hawkmoths own abilities (Villain infects an object, something something magic, Ladybug needs to destroy an object and purify it in order to return it to normal) 

They could have at least given the job of purifying feathers to Chat, would have made him more essential in season 3 if Mayura was actually used more.

Hawkmoth’s character has stagnated, and personally, I think he needs a rewrite.

Some ideas that I have for Hawkmoth that could make him a better character better are:

Have Mayura be the actual big bad of the show (and a completely different character) and have Hawkmoth be her (somewhat unwilling) lackey. She could also be written to be crueler than Hawkmoth, and could show how Hawkmoth is a more sympathetic character by having him only focused on his son like in Gorizilla, while Mayura’s the one more likely to pull a Chat Blanc situation and absolutely torture the poor cat into being an akuma. Also, it would still allow for those Nathalie/Gabriel moments without ruining them with character changes.                                                

Have the Butterfly Miraculous be corrupted with dark magic (thus allowing Hawkmoth to make possesed villains), but as a side effect make him more crazy, causing him to go from the kindness we see in Gorizilla to the ruthlessness seen in Chat Blanc. (On a a side note, the idea of the Butterfly Miraculous being corrupted would make more sense, given that it can corrupt people into being villains, and would also explain how something that is supposed to be used for good can be used for evil.)         

(My Favorite one) Have Gabriel and Hawkmoth being entirely seperate characters. Have Gabe keep the book like in canon and have the Peacock Miraculous be broken, but Hawkmoth is for all intents and purposes a different person who is also a villain. It would allow for Hawkmoth to become an actual villain without the moral restrains made in season 2 with the revelation in The Collector, while also allowing for a story with a nuanced yet kinder Gabriel. Perhaps even a story where Adrien reconnects with his father.

I think that all of these story ideas would really help make Hawkmoth a better character, either by allowing him to be a villain that the writers want him to be like in Chat Blanc, or the sympathetic villain that wants to fix his family.

And that’s about it! Do you agree with this list? Don’t agree? Got more ideas? Reblog this post and write about what you would fix with Miraculous

[crazycookiemaniac]

Omg why are you losing so many followers youve been drawing gay shit for forever??? (Or maybe i as a gay was just interpreting it that way)

Because I literally spammed people every day for one week lmao. And also, a lot of people follow others for specific content. The moment I stop drawing that exact thing they followed me for, they unfollow me. There are also accounts that follow just to make you follow them & if you don’t, they unfollow you after a while. There’s people who followed me for haikyuu & weren’t interested in BC content, and there were people who followed me for BC content but got showered in gay art instead and that was not their cuppa tea. 

But mostly, i start appearing on people’s feed the more I post. So having me post incessantly for one week made me show up on feeds that I hadn’t shown up for  a good while, so there were probably people who forgot they had followed me in the first place & me posting was a reminder to unfollow.

Truthfully, follower counts are dumb. Yes, it is important for you to have a high follower count for you to get attention, but the amount of people actually following you if you don’t have a consistent art style & rarely ever post something with different vibes than your usual ones, is equal or less than 1% of your total amount of following.

My instagram tells me I have 43k. I do not have 43k people following me. I’ve had 43k that once saw my account & pressed the follow button, but their feeds are filled up with other people’s accs that interest them more than mine (as well as my own feed does not show all the content of the 200+ something people I follow, unless I scroll down till the depths of hell to find every single post on that day and then do so on the next day as well).

Essentially, 95% of your followers are there because of content. They want to see what entertains them. Most of them don’t care about the artist and don’t interact with them at all. Many of them are scared to, given the high follower count. Social media & big accounts make people forget that there are other, real, living & breathing people that are behind them all.

So, to many, I was just a random artist they found and “lol”ed at one of my comics & pressed follow without thinking about it. Most of them don’t go to my account and see all other art I’ve posted to see if they actually like what I do, or me as a person and as an artist at all.

People who don’t know this get really discouraged when they don’t earn a lot of followers, or when they lose a lot (like I did). And some people think you gotta have hundreds of thousands to be famous. I’ve seen accs going around that paid for ads, that had over 150k followers and less than 1k likes on their posts.

Truly famous, loved, growing and/or steady accounts have an amount of likes per post proportional to their follower count. For example, if someone has 150k followers, most of their posts will vary from 20k to 100k likes.

When I was growing my account because I hopped in the fandom bandwagon and stupid little me didn’t know that would only make me crash later, I had like 20~30k and some of my posts reached more than 20k likes (because people liked my stupid comics). Nowadays, I’m not part of the fandom that made me grow anymore. I’m part of a very underrated one (Black Clover), as well a I am drawing a very underrated ship (LuGna) that above all else is getting hated on. I have everything against me in this, so it’s no wonder I lost so many followers.

They didn’t wanna see gay art. They didn’t wanna see Black Clover. They didn’t even know what the fuck was going on. Not everyone paid attention or kept up with my warnings. Despite me explaining multiple times in multiple posts what the Thunder Flames project was about, a lot of people still didn’t know what I was doing that for.

The thing about being a big follower count is that, unless you’re actually loved for what you do (and to do that, once again, I need to emphasize that you need to keep a steady rhythm, a steady vibe, a steady you. Because people follow you for your first impression on them, and you gotta keep up to that first impression if you wanna keep your followers.

I’m unsteady. One look at my gallery and you’ll see how disorganized everything is. Oh, lookit, a 1 min speedpaint of a random drawing I did on an old piece of paper! And right on the left there’s a stupid random comic I did–on the right there’s this super detailed, shaded drawing I’ve done that actually looks terrible to me and I will 100% archive it later, and then there’s B&W mixed with gray shaded, flat colored and fully shaded characters of different fandoms + OCs from commissions and whatever else. 

The thing is, I made my follower count based on a fandom, and now that I’m not there most of that follower count does not have me on their feed. And most of them do not want me on their feed. Now, I’m trying to build a follower count for who I am as an artist, because the few people who have actually stayed and followed me throughout the years know how inconsistent I am in terms of art style, fandoms and everything else.

A solution to this would me either keep creating/posting the same thing all over again (just in different patterns), or creating original content (which I do plan on doing at some point). But for now? Since my follower count does absolutely not reflect on how many people actually like me and/or my art, I’m going to be as chaotic as fucking ever and do whatever the fuck I want.

So yes, I do find it comical that I lost 1k followers over this and am not fazed in the very least, especially because I literally foreshadowed losing 1k and hit the fucking jackpot.

The only reason I’m talking about this at all is because 1- it’s impossible not to notice my follower count decreasing, especially because every new 1k I thank people publicly through stories; 2- some people were actually worried I was upset over it and I have to 3- show that I am not, while simultaneously trying to show people that just because you’re losing followers doesn’t mean you have to stop doing what you want to create content to please people. It doesn’t mean you should be upset, and it doesn’t mean that what you’re doing is bad or wrong.

It means you’re fucking renewing your followers & you’ll now grow for what you’re trying to grow for, bitch. That’s what it’s all about.

Obviously, people do take a great risk doing this. I am taking a great risk doing this. I could’ve lost 5k, I could’ve lost 10k. But I only lost 1k! And that’s because I believe in the project I worked on; I knew there were people out there who enjoyed what I was doing and it’s on them that I was focused on. On the people who supported me AND my art, not just that one single funny comic post I did 3 years ago.

This answer is 100% a lot longer than what you could’ve possibly expected for and I am typing this while being awake for more than 24h so I’m sure that I’ve repeated myself a lot and that there are a lotta typos or w/e and I apologize for that!! But I’m too lazy to go back to read everything over & turn this into a neat post & I’m pretty sure I could answer your question in the first paragraph.

Oh and also. Yes. Yes I have been drawing gay shit ever since I’ve become an artist because I’m so fucking pissed at the lack of canon gay content in a way that it’s depicted as a normal fucking romantic couple instead of having eeeeeeeeveryone point their finger to the gay couple and scream “HEY THAT’S GAY!!! THIS CAN’T BE PART OF THIS VERY HETEROSEXUAL SHOW WHERE EVERYONE IS OBVIOUSLY HETEROSEXUAL EVEN THOUGH NONE OF THE CHARACTERS HAVE EVER SAID THAT EXPLICITLY BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE CREATORS ARE EITHER HETEROSEXUAL OR TOO AFRAID TO LOSE AUDIENCE IF THEY TREAT GAY PEOPLE AS NORMAL PEOPLE!??!! WHAT SORT OF ABSURD NONSENSE IS THAT??!! GAY PEOPLE AREN’T NORMAL!! THEY’RE GAY AND THEY SHOULD HAVE A GAY SHOW JUST FOR THEM IF THEY WANNA GET SCREENTIME” and yadda yadda yadda.

I’m tired of this bullshit. Ever since I was an artist I’ve been rooting for gay ships in shonen manga while knowing they would never happen just because they were gay, and now that we are in our Blessed-By-Satan, Pandemic-Chaotic, What-The-Fuck-Is-Going-On, We-Don’t-Know-If-We-Wanna-Go-Back-Or-To-The-Future-Or-Just-IDK-Fucking-Die year 2020, in which the LGBT community is thriving and being louder than ever to fight for our rights, Me, in my twenty four years of fucking age, having gone through several fucking disappointments ONLY regarding this matter, am sitting here on my ass, hopeful as all galactic, glittery shit that for some fucking reason, my new OTP formed by very underrated characters from this very underrated franchise in the southern and western communities, becomes canon because my stupid eyes can see chemistry between them even though those stupid haters’ can’t. But that’s because they’re stupid and homophobic, and they really should just shut the fuck up. I don’t wanna dream, I want to believe. Let a bitch pray in peace.

But even if I’m getting ready for disappointment, I’m gonna make this project happen and I’m gonna have a shit ton of artbooks from this Thunder Flames project inside my fucking garage if no one wants to buy them. But I am going to invest a shit ton of money in it and I am going to have these artbooks come to life. Because I am spiteful and petty and homophobes should shut the fuck up, and I wanna do what I wanna do bc as an independent artist, I’m building my future with my own two, very toned and buff by now from all the drawing I did, hands. 

God fucking damn it.

Jesus christ I’m just rambling at this point, I’m so sorry. If anyone ever reads this out of context people are going to be so confused.

But that’s fine. They won’t. You know why? Cuz I got almost 11k followers here on tumblr but less than 0.5% gives a shit that I’m here, so I’m safe.

Have a nice day, drink your water and fuck homophobes. Peace

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Late to the slapping discourse but I think another thing is, well, p much everybody, be they makoto fans or haters, despise that confidant, especially due to eiko hogging up so much screentime, so seeing makoto slap her was likely pretty cathartic

sfdjkhla I get where ya coming from anon, but sorry you just reignited this fury inside me again I’mma just rant (not at you, just at the void that is tumblr, I’m just mad and I have more to say about this topic apparently laskfdj;af Just know you didn’t do anything wrong, but your ask did make me think of something new so yay!). Tho tbh, I’ve seen other Mako haters hate that she slaps Eiko for my similar reasons (aka Mako is a pretty bad person who gets away with some bad shit because she’s an main character and we need to be “on her side”). But I don’t think that slap should’ve been viewed as cathartic (tho I get WHY people do), or the fact that it is showcases a big (writing) problem.

(also sorry this is all over the place, I’m writing it very quickly, while quickly reviewing her CoOp, before I go to bed)

Y’all know I hate Makoto, and I think her CoOp is hot garbage, but I don’t actually blame Eiko for it tbh (I mean Ryuji/Anne’s are just fine with juggling other chars, despite having their own issues.....not so much are because of said side chars, it’s other things but again the side chars are juggled just fine with Anne/Ryu). I don’t really hate the char, I think she’s fine. She’s a pretty friendly person, maybe a tad airheadish but she’s not mean (at least she doesn’t say mean things without a reason). Hell I think she does her role pretty fine, it’s Makoto who fails to overcome flaws (mostly her hotheadedness and applying these new view points she’s learned). 

If the writers intended Makoto’s slap to be cathartic no offense but fuck those writers yo. Because it showcases Makoto really is unable to understand any other person’s mindset (at least in practice), does her own selfish shit, and gets rewarded even tho she hurt someone or failed to actually do the bare min to make up for shit she’s done (like the Kamo arc, sorry but you had her say it yourself writers “it’s not that I couldn’t do anything, it’s that I just didn’t care enough” your whole “adults make me do things I don’t want to/they are mean :(” bs doesn’t mesh well, you don’t actually resolve or address the flaw of that char, you just shoved responsibility onto someone else....with that something else isn’t really explored/expanded upon either). Basically, if that slap was cathartic, I think the writers failed....I mean they already did fail with them actually writing that slap in, but they failed at their theme/moral to boot.

So when I have Makoto, who’s CoOp literally starts out with her wanting to learn new perspectives (and you know, maybe kinda learning a little EMPATHY) it’s hard to argue she learned that shit when she literally is unable to do just that and slaps someone. As well as reinforce the fact SHE SHOULDN’T BE IN THE POSITION SHE IS IN (aka our planner/advisor/whatever). 1) It shows she can’t control her emotions (and if we’re gonna give Ryu shit, she def deserves it too), 2) she can’t come up with a gd plan to save her life (the best plan the PT came up with was the first dungeon in PQ2 and guess what? She wasn’t a part of it, gee I’d be shocked but....I’m not). 

It just showcases the poor writing ability of that writer. Makoto’s CoOp is about her learning new things about society and her peers she’s failing at, and ability to connect/understand the people around her....and at that freaking climax it just shows.....she didn’t learn shit. She’s been saying she did all CoOp, even basically says she understands why Eiko is acting that way, but what does she do with that info? Does’t apply it when confronting her and just reverts to bullheaded Makoto mode. It doesn’t matter what happens after, we don’t see her reconcile with Eiko, all that is off screen. In the climatic moment, she fails to accomplish the goal of what her CoOp set out to do....and she’s rewarded for it. She doesn’t realize why Eiko is upset, she doesn’t try to think of a backup plan in case her first one fails, she acts only on her own emotions in the moment. And no “her friend is in danger of prostitution so it’s now or never” is NOT a good excuse, you wanna know WHY? The freaking, change of heart part of the ENTIRE GD GAME! Any argument of “we can’t always use hear changes” goes out the gd window with like 90% of any problems we encounter when we can just go to the Metaverse (to even just interrogate tbh!). The only reason Anne/Yoshida work is because Anne’s we don’t know till the literal last second and by then it’s resolved itself, and Yoshida is dead set on fixing it himself! Makoto’s CoOp? No, that guy should be bumped from “shady boyfriend” to “yeah this guy is now on our request lists holy shit does he fit our MO”

But back to Eiko, yeah it’s great Makoto is expanding her horizons, so glad she knows what a cardigan is~! Too bad, despite actually knowing her friend’s circumstance and possibly why she’s acting that way, Makoto doesn’t approach it with the level of tact that is freaking needed. Showcasing she’s learnt nothing, nothing from her past mistakes, not from “these new viewpoints I’ve learnt,” nothing from knowing WHY her friend might be feeling this way. She literally just does what she’s been doing. She just has the smoke and mirrors benefit of saying “well I learnt a new viewpoint” but your actions speak louder than your words. You didn’t learn shit. 

Wait....no I’m not giving Makoto enough credit, haha, you see she did learn something, at the beginning of the CoOp, and that’s actually not ignoring something shady going on. Unlike with the Kamo arc. My bad, so instead of seeing her bull her way through feeling “forced” to do something, we see her bulling her way through “caring” this time. But here’s the thing, that wasn’t her arc for this CoOp, her understanding other viewpoints was. She failed. Somehow she freaking failed. It’s a talent Makoto! It’s a real talent you have there!

You know why I think Makoto/Eiko thing pisses me off so much? I have a friend that reminds me a lot of Eiko. She’s nice, def a girly gal type person, as well as other things. She had just begun dating someone I deemed a red flag (not Tsukasa bad like selling yourself or that she was in any kinda danger, but still a “yeah you should know” kinda thing....like...I’d feel bad if I didn’t know about it and I was in her position kinda thing). And you know what I did? Did I take her out into public on a crowded street and yell at her and say you need to break up with him and when she got (pretty rightfully) defensive I then slapped her and got on my high horse and was like “I’m doing this for your own good! YOU  don’t understand MY position, what I’M going through, but you need to know what I’m doing is for the BEST!”? No. That never crossed my freaking mind cause I’m not a psychopath. I instead, took her out for ice cream, sat in a more remote spot for privacy, and reassured her of her emotions and own autonomy and that I cared and that I understand she cares about things and I’m coming from a place of good faith and I wasn’t there to attack her, and then I broke the news to her. You know what she did? She laughed, was happy I was a normal human being with some tact, said she wished another friend of hers did what I did instead of through text. Said she’d take what I said into consideration. She broke up with him a few months later.....cause he was a twat apparently, but our friendship was well in tact and strengthened. And I was barely a year older than Makoto was at the time, AND a super awkward honor student AND my friendship with her was about as new as Mako’s and Eiko’s (AND we were very much opposites like those two hell even more so).

I dunno, it just would’ve been so much more impactful if Makoto, instead of slapping Eiko after she called Mako a “bitch.” Mako stepped forward (making everyone think she’s going to be physical but instead it showcases Makoto thinking rationally for once), looked Eiko in the eye and said “What you think of me is not all that I am. And even if you hate me, know I still think of you as my friend and will be here for you for whatever reason. But I won’t let you throw your life away, not for this scum of a human being. *turns to Tsukasa* Listen to me asshole, I say this not as some honor student, but as Eiko’s friend. You will be delivered justice, and you will apologize to Eiko and all the other girls who’s lives you’ve ruined” to which we either get Tsukasa’s name via asking around (low key Ichiko could probably help), or by getting it from Shadow!Eiko in the metaverse. The next rank we see Eiko and Mako making up, and Mako explains how she’s more than just an honor student (basically the shit she says after she slaps Eiko), and Eiko apologizes for all the mean things she said in the moment and how she felt afraid or whatever other stuff they wanna add to deepen her char or whatever. And we have a theme kept intact, and Eiko even learns about new perspectives (as well as reinforcing this whole moral/theme to the viewer)....but we legit get to see this development for her, and we learn how to do it with compassion and understanding and not ‘slap to be dramatic~!’ bs (because then it comes off as like....using force to change someone’s behavior.....and like????? probably not the best message ESP for P5′s setting). You can dislike Eiko, but the CoOp technically became just as much as her arc as Mako’s and the fact we don’t see the resolution is poor. (btw the “how/when” it would’ve taken place would’ve been rank 9 still, we just wouldn’t rank up till the mementos mission was done, that or restructure the link but the former is easier)

So....yeah....maybe it’s the fact that Makoto’s CoOP belittles how teens can actually resolve these problems. Maybe it’s the fact we’re supposed to root for Mako’s bad behavior. Maybe it’s the fact when it came down to the wire, Mako didn’t utilize the knowledge she has been bragging about getting over the CoOp. Maybe it’s the fact she resorted to violence when there was another avenue to take. Maybe it’s the fact we never see Makoto actually hit a bad guy/aggressor (instead we have to save her from those) but instead only see her hitting her so called friends. Maybe it’s the fact of her showcasing flaws that she shouldn’t have (her hotheadedness and shitty planning skills). Or maybe it’s the fact we root for a “cathartic slap” in favor of doing what this CoOp is supposed to be: teaching Makoto AND the viewer about learning to see someone else’s perspective, and coming up with a plan that we never would’ve thought of to help fix that issue. Sacrificing a big theme/moral of the CoOp for something “dramatic.”

But I don’t know why I should be shocked, this is P5. Contradictions everywhere, in the lore, in the themes, in the writing, in the morals. Just. Everywhere. 

[recklessrex]

Jellicle-ho did this and now I also want to rank my favorite Cats. So I wrote this instead of writing about Sullivan.

Long Post Warning

To start with I don't hate/dislike any of them. The ones toward the bottom of the list tend to be ones I just think about less often, or don't feel like I connect to as well. Based on 1998 for simplicity's sake.

1) Munkustrap

My baby. Munk's always been my favorite from the very start. It's not just the hero thing, it's not just that Michael Gruber's a handsome mf, it's how he interacts with the others. He's so loving and protective, but at the same time so done with everyone's bullshit (when bullshittery occurs). And then there's the underlying anxiety issues we're all pretty sure he deals with that makes me just want to hug him. He just so clearly wants everyone to be happy and safe. It melts my heart how much joy he gets from seeing his tribe happy. Watch when Deuteronomy shows up in 1998, after he greets him himself (before which he steps aside so others can greet him first cuz he's a sweetheart), he spends most of the walk to the stairs soaking in how happy all the others are and being utterly overjoyed. Add to that his deep, devoted love for his father and how diligently he looks after him, his clear affection for his little brother Tugger despite being more done with his bullshit than anyone else's (Tugger don't touch the bagpip. Tugger no), his strong, tender bond with Alonzo and how smoothly they work together in a crisis, and his sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle crush on Demeter (notice that she's the only one other than Alonzo that HE approaches right before the Gumbie Cat and the only one he uses both hands to reach out to during that). Also his snark and sass, when he lets it out, is an utter joy. And I love the way he can assert his dominance with just a glance if the situation calls for it (watch him with Cassandra in Grizabella's first scene), but still rarely ever pulls rank like that. Overall he's a really fun character to watch for me, as well as to think about and (if I get around to it) write about.

2) Demeter

My other baby. (I'm so happy my two babies love each other). She's such a complex character. Her backstory of abuse and her current dealings with PTSD as a result are only the jumping off point. I love her moments of bravery, like jumping on Mac to protect the tribe despite everything she's been through. Courage isn't about not being afraid, it's about doing what needs to be done despite your fears. She's the most courageous member of the tribe and I love her so much. As for her relationships with the others, she has a much less subtle crush on Munk than he does on her, but she's so shy about it (and he's so damn polite) I doubt they'd ever get off the ground without a little help. She's so adorable in the way she looks at him, in 1998 she has a particular smile different from her other smiles that seems to be just for him. I also love her connection with Bomba, I feel like if she and Munk ever got off the ground it would be with Bomba's encouragement. Bomba is always there to hold her up when she feels small. While Munk makes her feel safe, Bomba makes her feel strong. So this is why Demelustrap is my OT3 thank you for coming to my TED talk.

3) Mungojerrie

Acts like a dumbass, is actually a genius. (Fight me). I love characters like this. Contradictions. Like brave strong Munk who is actually more emotionally vulnerable than he lets on, or nervous timid Demeter who bravely confronted the person she fears most. Mungo seems fundamentally clueless in most situations but I think he's just a carefree goofball, at least when the stakes are low. He and Teazer are both clever enough to get away with all sorts of mischief, and I don't think it's a "Teazer is the smart one" situation. I mean Teazer is probably smarter, but they need smarts on both sides. I also love how smoothly they work together as a team. Mungo ranks higher for those adorable "clueless" moments and for being a lovable goof.

4) Rumpleteazer

Acts like a bimbo, is actually a genius. To a lesser extent than Mungo in that she acts way less clueless than he does, and her antics are usually more obviously silliness rather than dumbassery. Would be higher but I just like Mungo's goofy aesthetic a bit more. I'd also like to take this time to note I do NOT think they are siblings. (Fight me. Again)

5) Mistoffolees

Another of those contradictions I love. He's simultaneously shy and showy, bold and insecure. He doesn't quite know who he is yet, but he knows who he wants to be. He's also adorable to watch, with his little hops and poses. His relationship with Tugger is adorable, whether you see them as mates or BFFs (both? both. both is good), and his obvious crush on Victoria is equally adorable (more NOT siblings!). The way he melts when she smiles at him toward the beginning of 1998 *sigh* so cute

6) Alonzo

Sorry @jellicle-ho I do love him lots, but he doesn't make the top five simply because I feel closer to Misto and the Chaos Twins (just an expression, not siblings!) on a spiritual level. He's still one of the best characters. He has his "contradiction" element of being cocky but somewhat insecure, and I especially love that he's just as serious as he is playful. He's also a slinky, sassy bastard and a blast to watch on stage.

7) Victoria

Woo boy. Okay first of all, since it seems to be a major factor, the contradiction element. She seems like a shy, reserved, almost demure young lady at first, but she's actually that quietly sassy serene girl at the Alpha bitch's lunch table, the one that's actually nice and doesn't participate in putting down the weird kid no one likes. But she's still gonna judge you. I love every moment of Victoria-sideeye in the 1998 video. And of course there's her whole side plot which basically revolves around her being extremely DTF, which is quite the opposite of "demure." Also her obvious crush on Misto is also adorable, the way she smiles at him, ugh like the only reason she danced with Plato instead is because Misto was too shy to approach her (also Plato has much better upper body strength so hey ho, hey hue, let's go Pas de Deux). She's also so very graceful and elegent and then there's her "omg why!?" flexibility which make her fascinating to watch.

8) Pouncival

Precious child. Precious little jackass brat. No but really I love him so much he's such a brat but also like he's tiny? And he wants to be cool sooo bad! The way he runs in for his "and bright!" all excited, I just can't. He has this sort of quiet, but enthusiastic demeaner of someone that knows he's not the star, but hopes to be, and he's bursting with energy in a pseudo-controlled way that I find more compelling than Etcetera's brand of enthusiasm. I love his acrobatics, whether they're super smooth, adorably clumsy, or straight up pratfalls. I love how 14-years-old he is. You can see him getting bored in that teenage "okay grampa you've told this story forty times already" kind of way during part of Gus's song. I love how adorably menacing he looks during the Naming of Cats. I just love the baby. He is very baby.

9) Bombalurina

She's beauty. She's grace. She'll smack you in the face. She's sexy and she knows it. She's such a confident, strong woman, and while she's the most overtly sexualized character, I kind of find it's even more empowering, you know? Like the idea that a woman can be both sexy and strong, she doesn't have to pick one. Bomba is walking proof that being strong, bold, and tough is not inherently "masculine," nor is protecting others. Don't get me wrong, I love strong female characters of all varieties, I'm not here to knock the tomboy trope, but when a strong female character is also sexually liberated it's just a different level of empowerment. Not just the deconstruction of "masculine/feminine" lines, but also in the "my body, my life, my choice" kind of way. Further, I absolutely love her relationship with Demeter. I personally support the mates, bffs, and siblings hcs because they honestly work so well as any of these (but as mentioned above, Demelustrap is my OT3, despite not always getting strong Bombastrap vibes). Her protectiveness and desire to comfort Demeter is so beautiful. Maybe it's the contradiction thing that I love so much. Strong, bold Bomba has her most tender moments when looking after Demeter. Idk. Moving on!

10) Rum Tum Tugger

He's beauty. He's… grace? He probably won't smack you in the face. He's sexy and he SO knows it. Tugger is walking proof that certain stereotyped "feminine" traits aren't inherently feminine, or to put it another way, he breaks down what it means to be "masculine." Think about it. Cares about his looks, beautiful luxurious long hair, wiggles his hips, wiggles his hips more, wiggles his hips when he walks, struts like a model on a runway, shakes his chest to be sexy, idolizes a cute boy, fashionable clothes (knee-bandana ftw!), all stereotypical "girly" traits, but would anyone describe Tugger as "girly"? Anyway, that's not even what I love most about him. I actually used to dislike him as a kid, but these days I can't get enough of him. Most of the time he just oozes positive vibes in one way or another, be it party vibes or laid back vibes. Most of his screentime in 1998 is such a good time because of that. He has such an energy and ferocity to him during his dance numbers, especially the second half of the Jellicle Ball in 1998. And then there's his quiet moments, especially the affection he shares with Munk while singing about their dad (omg the respect and affection he feels for both of them, coming from such a self-loving bastard it just ahhhhhh), and then after Deuteronomy comes back I just can't he's so sweet omg. Not to mention his whole relationship with Misto. Aside from the whole idolizing thing, which is adorable, he also is so supportive and encouraging. He just naturally bleeds confidence and good vibes, but he deliberately offers that confidence to Misto when he needs it. It's so beautiful and I'm gonna cry. I used to ship him with Bomba, but these days I hc them as friends with occasional benefits that like to place bets on how far interactions between Munk and Deme will go before one of them chickens out or gets awkward, and on which one will be the awkward chicken this time.

Wow I talked a lot about Tugger and he's only #10. Okay well, you folks ready to get controversial?

11) Macavity

I know I know, hear me out. I know most people interpret him as a total bastard with no redeeming qualities but like, I don't read him that way? Anyway I have complicated feelings about Mac but I'll get more into it in another post. As a character in the show I do really like him as a villain, I love his laugh, I love his "no look guys it's okay I brought him back see he's over there heheheh" gesture before he shows up in disguise, I love how show-boaty and "totally hyped for this" he is when he reveals himself, I love his "no wait please don't hurt me it's cool I'm leaving" gesture at Alonzo after the Jellicles start ganging up on him, he's just a blast of a character really, whether he's redemable or not.

12) Old Deuteronomy

Sweetest man you'll ever know. His compassion for the entire tribe is so sweet it hurts. He even feels love and understanding for Griz, and (futiley) tries to persuade the others to accept her, even subtley scolding them after the first "Memory" with his "Moments of Happiness." He loves his sons especially, and I adore every moment he interacts with either of them. He also can bring the sass, see his 'chin up' posture before Tugger bows to him, which I always read as them playfully teasing each other, or his little eye-roll when Munk gets a bit extra talking about the fire brigade. On that note, how into Munk's little play he is, even though it's going wrong. He keeps making encouraging gestures at Munk and reacting with surprise at the right moments (when Munk is looking at least lol). Anyway he's great moving on.

13) Jennyanydots

Jenny is that cool aunt that hangs out and has fun but also won't put up with your nonsense. She's so great I love her so much. She's honestly just a blast all the time I love her so much what can I say? I hc her as teaching Tumblebrutus how to sew. I don't know why.

14) Electra

Ah the "quiet" kitten. I read her as the tough tomboyish one of the girl kittens, and I hc her as sort of in training as a protector, and that's why she's more serious than the others. In 1998 she seems to look up to Munk, being the first to greet him before Gumbie Cat, and nuzzling him during Old Deuteronomy. 1998 Electra also has a lot of little adorable motions like licking her paws during Old Deuteronomy and retrieving the Peke paw from the middle of stage and than posing/playing with it during the Pekes and the Pollicles. I also love her freckles and her pink arm warmer. Massively underrated character.

15) Tumblebrutus

SPINNY. BALLET. BOI. Nuff said. But I'm gonna say more. He keeps up with Misto in ballet and exceeds Pounce in acrobatics, and as such is fascinating to watch. Also Brutus's struggle between his playful instincts and his desire to impress his elders is so adorable.

16) Admetus/George

First of all I first knew him as Admetus long long ago, and he will always be Admetus to me. Sorry. Second, omg this lovely, happy, wonderfully expressive boi. His face at literally any point in 1998 is such a gem.

17) Jemima

Speaking of great expressions, how bout Jemima? She's so cute and sweet! I love her whole deal of understanding Griz's pain and trying to get the rest of the tribe to understand. The only reason she's not higher up is because I somehow don't emotionally connect with her like I do some of the other kittens.

18) Coricopat

The more laid-back and playful half of the mystic twins. The twins in general are cool af, but Corico ranks higher for being more relatable.

19) Skimbleshanks

BUBBLY. TRAIN. DAD. Nuff said. Buttttt I'm gonna say more! Skimble is your best friend's dad that is always chaperoning on field trips but that's okay because he's actually pretty fun to be around most of the time. I love his cheerful expressions and his little jigs. His song is so much fun. And I love the relationship between him and Spara in 1998. More on that below

20) Asparagus

Okay so Spara is your other best friend's dad (or your best friend's other dad) who sometimes tries too hard to be cool and connect with the kids but that's okay because he's so nice and besides it's kind of adorable? What I find most adorable about Spara though is how hard he's crushing on Skimble. Like even if you hc them as already in a relationship, he really just can't get enough of Train Dad. Look at how Spara smiles at Skimble ALL THE DAMN TIME. He's practically blushing at multiple points during Skimble's song. And Skimble tends to gravitate towards Spara quite a bit, and omg that big grin he gives him during the line "sleeping car exprrrrreeesss!" I'm dead. In conclusion I need more Asparashanks content thank you for coming to my TED talk

21) Cassandra

I WANT to like Cassandra better than I do. I really really want to. But I feel like she's just so hard to get to know. I do enjoy her on stage, but as a character with backstory and motives she's a bit hard to work with. That being said she's by no means a flat character. I do hc her as one of the deputy protectors along with Alonzo, and more recently as part of the BFF power trio of her, Alonzo, and Munk, since Alonzo and much more subtley Munk are the only ones she shows any physical affection toward, aside from occasionally hanging out with T-brutus but we'll shelve that for now. I do really enjoy watching her though, she has some really interesting movements and expressions. And she does radiate a sort of "try me, I fucking dare you" vibe that I love a lot.

22) Tantomile

I have the same problem with Tanto that I do with Cass. I just don't feel like I know her very well. She is cool as a mystical psychic character, but that's part of what makes the twins in general cool. So far I haven't been able to connect to her as an individual without her brother, otherwise she would be much higher on this list. She's still cool though.

22) Plato

*Deep breath* okay. I don't dislike Plato. I just.. okay look out of the male kittens/young adults, he's my least favorite. He does have qualities that I really like, like how he's a shy reserved boy on the outside and a fiery passionate soul on the inside. That's cool. Also those intense expressions are pretty cool I guess. I guess I might have less positive feelings about him because everyone assumes Victoria's magically in love now because of the Pas de Deux even though they barely interact otherwise. Which is unfair of me to feel that way. I hc him as struggling with internalized anger and anxiety and having difficulty expressing himself.

23) Etcetera

I'll be honest, I used to find her annoying. This one's pretty much entirely on me, because she has a superficially similar demeanor to a girl that used to bully me in school. But since graduating Cety's grown on me a lot, not in small part due to her wonderful enthusiasm for literally everything. While less compelling to me than Pounce's quieter, more controlled flavor of energetic enthusiasm, her bouncy jubilance still makes me grin and giggle along with her, so that's a major plus.

24) Jellylorum

Jelly is your other cool aunt that worries too much about your safety but also has cool stories to tell and is always doing like art and stuff in her garage. I hc her as the tribe nurse. Would be higher if not for slight Karen-ness.

25) Gus

Only on stage for a short time but he shines. The way he starts out all helpless looking like he doesn't even know where he is and slowly blossoms into singing about his old days with enthusiasm, and then breaking down into tears. He's a great character for the scene that he's in, but unfortunately there's not a lot else to him, so he gets a low spot on the list

26) Grizabella

Oof. Okay so. I get it. She messed up. My hc is… well, complicated, but short version is she never planned on being a mom and has no idea how to be a mom, and so she just let Deut raise Munk and visited occasionally (ahem rarely), but she does end up later spending some time as his primary caregiver, and she fucks up royally, like massive neglect and mild emotional manipulation, and ends up emotionally damaging Munk more than if she'd left him alone. SO with this hc in mind, is she redemable? Idk. But the tribe forgave her so that's what matters. Do I feel sorry for her? Yes. Do I believe she honestly regrets her past actions? …kind of? Yes. Let's go with yes. Does any of this make her my favorite character? Not by a long shot. I have mixed feelings about Grizabella. I don't dislike her I just… don't know how to feel about her.

27) Bustopher Jones

Walking fat joke, but a pleasant walking fat joke. Wish we could have got to know him better than "that cultured fat guy all the toms want to impress." He's fun though. I love his expressions throughout his song, and that toodle-pip! is so adorable.

28) Exotica

Oh Exotica. Who even are you. We don't know you at all. I do like the moment in Old D's song when she's reaching from the outside of the crowd hoping to get to touch him, and he reaches out so she can, and immediately after touching him she drops her hand and backs away, which I read as shy fangirl overload flee the scene omg he touched me omgomgomg. So that was cute. Ummm. I wish she'd stop changing colors every three seconds so I could keep track of her. Other than that, I don't dislike her, I just don't know her well enough to like her.

Omg I made it to the end. Did I forget anybody? I don't think so... Phew, that was so hard! Thanks for reading if you made it this far! :)

[kob131]

https://izetarion.tumblr.com/post/189410998186/theres-two-versions-of-adam-taurus?is_liked_post=1

Monty!Adam: Created by Monty Oum, a minority. Focused on the Faunus, while wanting to get back at the humans for their mistreatment of his kind, a man of revolution who was focused on the safety of his people - seen as how he was strong-armed into working with Cinder Fall after getting her maiden powers, wasn’t so psychopathic that he would turn on his own kind and kill humans out of sheer glee (seen with Cinder and her lot, as he gave them a chance to leave), prioritizes the cause over a cat girl, who was his student - sharing a “student-mentor” relationship as established by the show’s creator as well as said cat girl (“Forget it! It’s time I headed back to Mistral!”), has a legitimate reason to hate humans - especially those affiliated with the Schnee Dust Company, very charismatic, somewhat of a fallen mentor figure given the way the catgirl described him, his cause steadily consuming him (“I had someone I care for, who changed…”), is one of the most popular male characters in the series in the first half of RWBY - despite having little screentime, has an aesthetically-pleasing look to him, compared to DMC!Vergil and Jetstream Sam - two of the most iconic video game characters, in terms of looks and fighting style, Adam Taurus fans signs his adoption papers so that Miles and Kerry would never touch him. People use this version in their fanfics and RPs, turning him into a redeemable person while still keeping his morally grey aspects. Tauradonna is more mutual than lovey-dovey.

Okay so let’s break this down and show this is bullshit.

“Focused on the Fanaus-”

He is never shown to actually help any Fanaus and all White Fang activity, ESPECIALLY in Volumes 1 and 2, revolves around fucking over human. In fact, considering Tuskon, the fact that Vale does not have discrimination against Fanaus and V1 E1 openly says a peaceful protest of Fanaus was interrupted by the WF (” In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted...”): Adam has acted AGAINST the Fanaus since LITERALLY the first episode.

“A man of revolution who was focused on the safety of his people-”

Which is why, in an EARLIER episode than the one you cite (Volume 2 Episode 12 meaning MONTY was in charge here as we know since he was cited with putting in the Raven scene in the SAME EPISODE against Miles and Kerry’s wishes): Adam gave no shits about his men DYING when he openly said he’d convince them to work with Cinder without so much as a glare at her. BTW, Adam specifically cited Cinder being HUMAN for the reason why he didn’t want to kill his men (’I won’t sacrifice my men for a human cause’). If the human part wasn’t the reason why he wasn’t agreeing with Cinder, why would his dialogue not be ‘I won’t sacrifice my men, no matter what.”?

“ wasn’t so psychopathic that he would turn on his own kind and kill humans out of sheer glee (seen with Cinder and her lot, as he gave them a chance to leave)-”

Nuh uh, in the same Volume Adam out right STABS Blake and says he wants to destroy everything she loves, in the previous Volume he didn’t care about his men dying and said nothing about trying to DESTROY VALE killing THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS of people (including FANAUS) and at the VERY beginning, he tried to blow up a train car full of people who hadn’t even raised a finger against him even though, as Blake shows, he could have detached the train.

“ prioritizes the cause over a cat girl, who was his student - sharing a “student-mentor” relationship as established by the show’s creator as well as said cat girl (“Forget it! It’s time I headed back to Mistral!”),”

Except that, again. Adam STABS Blake and outright shows malice towards her in the SAME VOLUME, Arkos shows mentorship and romance are NOT exclusive and even THAT line is delivered with Adam looking furious clearly showing he’s hung up about Blake.

“ has a legitimate reason to hate humans - especially those affiliated with the Schnee Dust Company-”

Not really, especially since Adam was shown to be selfish in previous Volumes so why would he care about other people? In fact, the ‘fuckboi’ Adam you’ll bitch about later has the reason to hate humans, especially those with the SDC. This version, since he’s apparently completely seperate, is just racist.

“very charismatic”

Never shown OR said. Just projecting.

“ somewhat of a fallen mentor figure given the way the catgirl described him,”

Notice how here they don’t actually say WHAT the description is despite KNOWING about quotes? That’s because there’s nothing actually said in the show that is ambiguously about a mentorship.

“ his cause steadily consuming him (“I had someone I care for, who changed…”)”

Doesn’t prove anything AND it coinsides with ‘fuckboi’ Adam.

“ is one of the most popular male characters in the series in the first half of RWBY - despite having little screentime,”

So is Kirito, wanna guess what V1-2 Adam and Kirito have in common? They don’t have defined personality and their popularity came from people projecting onto them.

“ has an aesthetically-pleasing look to him, compared to DMC!Vergil and Jetstream Sam - two of the most iconic video game characters, in terms of looks and fighting style”

Both of which are incredibly common in anime.

“ Adam Taurus fans signs his adoption papers so that Miles and Kerry would never touch him”

Too bad according to you, they weren’t the ones who ruined Adam. No no, your issues, as I have shown, existed with MONTY. So you better start smack talking him... what’s that, if you did that you couldn’t profit off his name and his fanboys would rip you to shreds? Maybe you shouldn’t be a disingenuous fuck.

‘ People use this version in their fanfics and RPs,’

And people turn Jaune into a generic self insert and Ruby into an edgy angsty psuedo anti hero- that means nothing.

“ turning him into a redeemable person while still keeping his morally grey aspects.”

So basically making him a generic anti villian instead of a tragic case of someone not being able to get over their past tramua.

“ Tauradonna is more mutual than lovey-dovey.”

And it’s more ‘abusive’ than mutual.

Fuckboi!Adam: Created by Miles and Kerry, two amateurish white guys noted for writing sub-par comedy segments and part of the upper echelons of Rooster Teeth. Born out of the criticism of “show, don’t tell aspect” of the show - barely having any visible evidence of Faunus racism, born out of the two admitting they couldn’t write a racism sub-plot - despite having the money and resources to do so, established as an abuser by CRWBY and demonized heavily by them and the fanbase despite little evidence of such prior to because of catgirl’s various descriptions of him pointing towards someone “dear” (“More of a mentor, actually…”),  “hElLo, My LoVe!” “tHe bElLaDoNnAs HaVe CaUsEd Me NoThInG bUt GrIeF!”, “sO i JuSt wAsN’t GoOd EnOuGh FoR yOu.”, A fedora wearing crazed nazi ex-boyfriend, DMC-Reboot!Vergil but with the edgelord turned to 11, “Tauradonna? More like Tauradon’t!”, How many zippers does your dumbass outfit need? lol, Why did your voice crack?, Even his own VA hate him, Is an incel-ass bitch, Gaston apparently, Lol he’s attempting the birdbox challenge, That stupid ass face reveal did nothing as the damage was done, The fandom - primarily BMBLB, and CRWBY sing of his death (“Ding-dong the bitch is dead!”) - with the BMBLB fandom using his death as major evidence of their ship becoming canon. Also, his death caused such dissonance in the fandom that shit hit the fan in all kinds of ways, not to mention his death started the slow deterioration of RT - embodying the spite element that Blake attributed him, probably because he was pissed at CRWBY to the point where his hatred manifested as a curse - causing their various injustices against their employees to come out and be heavily criticized as a result (No, seriously, RT is visibly crumbling shortly after his demise).

“ Created by Miles and Kerry-”

And yet will somehow completely overlap with the Volumes Monty had the most control over.

“ two amateurish white guys”

Miles is part Mexician.

“ noted for writing sub-par comedy segments”

While Monty is noted for never writing whatsoever so i guess that means you think Miles and Kerry are better.

“ Born out of the criticism of “show, don’t tell aspect” of the show - barely having any visible evidence of Faunus racism, born out of the two admitting they couldn’t write a racism sub-plot - despite having the money and resources to do so,”

The criticism being located SOLELY in Volumes 1 and 2 Aka MONTY.

“ established as an abuser by CRWBY and demonized heavily by them and the fanbase despite little evidence of such prior to because of catgirl’s various descriptions of him pointing towards someone “dear” (“More of a mentor, actually…”)’“

You know...despite the fact that every single aspect of Adam’s character has been shown WITH MONTY, as I showed above.

“ “hElLo, My LoVe!” “

Located in Volume 3, which you cite as a Volume where ‘Monty!’ Adam existed.

“ “tHe bElLaDoNnAs HaVe CaUsEd Me NoThInG bUt GrIeF!” “

Huh, if you spelled “Belladonna” as “Miles and Kerry”, that sounds an awful lot like you...oh

“ “sO i JuSt wAsN’t GoOd EnOuGh FoR yOu.” “

They scream as Rooster Teeth ignores them.

“ A fedora wearing crazed nazi ex-boyfriend”

Never actually shown wearing a fedora or ever showing any personbality traits associated with it...but then again, you know what they say about mirrors...

Also at least it’s better than ‘blank edgy emo teen’ he was in Volume 3 which you loved apparently.

“ DMC-Reboot!Vergil but with the edgelord turned to 11″

Uh oh, Op’s brain rotted so he can’t actually make arguments....oh wait, he was always like that.

“ “Tauradonna? More like Tauradon’t!” “

So basically ‘wah wah wah. my otp is not canon’.

“ How many zippers does your dumbass outfit need?”

Dunno, why is wearing a tux as a freedom fighter and sticks out like a sore thumb?

“ Why did your voice crack?”

Why did he sound fourteen in Volume 3?

“ Even his own VA hate him,”

Ever since Volume 3 which you cite as “Monty!Adam”

“ Is an incel-ass bitch, Gaston apparently”

Or you know, a Beats who never grew up and never became a better person. But who needs insight?

“ Lol he’s attempting the birdbox challenge”

*insert Family Guy skit here*

“ hat stupid ass face reveal did nothing as the damage was done”

They say as most of the fandom did a 180 on how they view his character and gave him more justification for his actions than “Monty” Adam ever had.

“ he fandom - primarily BMBLB, and CRWBY sing of his death (“Ding-dong the bitch is dead!”)”

Which considering he was meant to be hated is a GOOD thing.

“ with the BMBLB fandom using his death as major evidence of their ship becoming canon”

Basically ‘wah wah wah make MY otp canon”

“ Also, his death caused such dissonance in the fandom that shit hit the fan in all kinds of ways”

all kinds being two ways: accepting it and throwing a fit because you didn’t get your way. Also inadvertently justifying wasps being assholes because they did the same thing during Volumes 4 and 5.

“ t to mention his death started the slow deterioration of RT - embodying the spite element that Blake attributed him, probably because he was pissed at CRWBY to the point where his hatred manifested as a curse - causing their various injustices against their employees to come out and be heavily criticized as a result (No, seriously, RT is visibly crumbling shortly after his demise).”

And said curse infected many of his fans where they all became monsters after his death like say, using the suffering of others AND THE DEAD *cough* MONTY *cough* all over a fictional character that didn’t even exist because as I have shown Adam is completely consistent with his characterization from the Black Trailer to his death. Something I am certain OP knows deep down because half way through this point they completely abandon any attempt at actually proving what they are saying to instead spout a bunch of memes in a vain attempt to appeal to people’s confirmation bias because they can’t actually make an argument to prove Adam had changed AT ALL, especially since their obsessive behavior, attempt at creating an abusive/parasitic relationship with RT and their own childishness has all but prove Adam is in no way unrealistic as they act like him except with NO justification whatsoever.

But sure, scream loud enough and people will think you’re right. That hasn’t BACKFIRED before.

[arsenicpanda]

Opinions on your top 5 Riverdale ships and/or characters

Oh man, this has been in my ask box for like…two months?  And I haven’t answered because I just haven’t been up to it, but I am now!  So let’s go!

Favorite Ships

1. Betty/Jughead:  There’s really no contest here.  The rest of these don’t really have an order, but bughead is 100% on top.  The thing about bughead is that it has so many fun tropes wrapped up in it: childhood friends, one-sided pining (if you subscribe to the theory that Jughead has had a thing for Betty for years), investigative duo, poor boy/rich(er) girl, bad boy/good girl, brooding boy/gentle girl, gang member/cheerleader (which might happen enough to be a trope only on Riverdale, but whatever), dark power couple, etc.  Now, I love all those tropes, but here’s the thing: it’s so much more than that. These are each facets of bughead, yes, but they’re still greater than the sum of their parts. They both have a darkness in them that I absolutely love and want more of, but they also have a devotion to the people they care about that is quite admirable. They just fit together, and they’re such equals and so devoted to each other, and it’s just maximum levels of charming.  Bughead ticks a lot of boxes for me, and the only ships that outrank them (shirlulu and izanamie) do some of those tropes but to a greater degree.

- FP/Gladys:  Yeah, I don’t know what it is about this exactly, but I find them really endearing?  Like, they’re both such disasters and masters of neglecting their children, but I really like them together?  I mean, they used to commit armed robbery together, maybe, and that is just excellent. Also, I think I just want the Jones family to reunite for Jughead’s sake, and supporting this ship is part of it.

- Kevin/Joaquin:  God, I miss them.  The original Southside/Northside ship, with its mixture of bad boy/good boy and poor boy/rich(er) boy, and they were just precious.  Joaquin was proud to be with Kevin, and Kevin deserves that, damnit. Also! The way Joaquin just stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Kevin even though he probably needed to escape as fast as possible and the way Kevin was like “I have to go after Joaquin” in the middle of the heist were just so cute.  And omg, the way Joaquin would just fold when Kevin asked him for information was a delight. I needed more of them; they were precious.

- Archie/Josie:  Short-lived though it was, I found them really cute.  There was an innocence to Archie and Josie, and it was nice to see Archie pulled out of Riverdale darkness (which, as much as I love it, has always been a genre he doesn’t quite belong in) and to see Josie connect with someone and be open to something beyond just music, but without losing focus on her music.  Also, they could sing together, and it was adorable. Like, their musical number was just the cutest. Honestly, if this had continued, it could have pulled Archie out of the main plot even more or it could have finally dragged Josie into the main plot and give her the screentime she deserved.  I feel like this ship could have really stolen my heart.

- Cheryl/Veronica:  You know, I like choni and varchie, I really do, but something about these two charms me.  It’s maximum levels of rich bitch, and I love that. Cheryl and Veronica had some nice bonding back in season 1, and the way Veronica used to be the kind of mean girl that Cheryl is now is so interesting to me.  Veronica would drag Cheryl into be slightly nicer in a cute but also potentially comical way. They’re two smart ladies who could combine their fortunes of shady origins and become this terrifying power couple that crushes their enemies under their stiletto heels.  And it would be so funny to watch Cheryl interact with Veronica’s friends, like oh my god, Veronica dragging Cheryl, Betty, and Jughead onto double dates with just the highest potential for disaster would be amazing.  I also would enjoy adding Toni to this to make a ship with maximum scary lady, I must admit.

Favorite Characters

1. Jughead Jones:  Was there ever any doubt?  Jughead is best boy and my second all-time favorite male character, right behind the passive-aggressive legend known as Koizumi Itsuki.  He’s got layers, man. He’s a decent guy, but he has a darkness in him that I love. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Jughead’s cut from the same cloth as Lelouch Lamperouge, and I find that fascinating.  Jughead is willing to do a lot to protect the people he cares about, but he has a few moral lines (although I wonder how unmoving those are). He’s got a prickly, brooding exterior that conceals a gooey inside full of love and sadness and abandonment issues (seriously, Jughead’s abandonment issues and desire for family/people that won’t leave him drive and explain a lot of his actions).  And watching him interact with the people he cares about is just a delight.  He and Betty are adorable at their softest and their darkest, and he’s just the sweetest to JB, and watching him investigate with FP is just the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.  Also! His willingness to believe crazy conspiracy theories that turn Riverdale into an eldritch nightmare amuses me to no end. I love this grumpy, loving, varying levels of crazy, weirdly smooth dweebazoid of a gang leader.

2. Betty Cooper:  Oh man, do I love Betty Cooper; she is so much more than meets the eye.  She looks like a sweetheart, and even is to a certain extent, but underneath lies a certain ruthlessness, as well as a darkness and a complete disregard for the law when it suits her.  She’s so determined and so smart, and she doesn’t give up on the people she loves, even when maybe she should. And you just don’t fuck with Betty Cooper or the people she loves if you know what’s good for you.  Like a dog with a bone, that girl, she doesn’t let up on a mystery until the end, especially if her loved ones are involved. Betty Cooper is silk, or maybe something soft and fluffy, hiding steel in the best way, and I love her for it.  Watching her as she relentlessly pursues leads and does morally, ethically, and/or legally dubious things like blackmail people and bribe people is such a delight, as are her gentle and vulnerable moments when she’s not in tough investigator mode.  She’s just this badass sweetheart who will hunt her enemies to the ends of the earth, drag them back, and then, after turning them in, do something wholesome like go out for burgers and milkshakes with her friends or cuddle with Jughead, and I love that to no end.  For me, Betty Cooper is a very unique character, and oh, how I love unique.

- FP Jones:  God, this walking disaster.  FP is terrible at literally everything he does, and, for some reason, I really love that.  I mean, FP is Problematic, yeah, and my enjoyment of FP is partially rooted in some personal stuff, but I also just find him really amusing.  And watching him try to be an effective gang leader or a good father or a competent sheriff is just hilarious because he is so bad at all of those.  I especially love watching him investigate with Jughead, by which I mean watching him stand there all “yeah, this is official police business, you have to answer my questions” while Jughead does all the talking.  Also! The extent to which he is proud of his son is both hilarious and endearing, and the way he wants Jughead to keep writing and get out of Riverdale warms my heart. Look at this disaster man and his tragic backstory and his timeline that doesn’t make any sense and has always been too busy (He was in the army AND he has a chunk of priors that he must have committed as an adult because juvenile records are sealed AND he became the leader of the Serpents AND he started a business with Fred Andrews, at which point he must have no longer been in the Serpents.  Where did he find the time?). I love him.

- Penny Peabody:  Penny is, hands down, Riverdale’s best villain, probably at least partially because she’s used sparingly.  But I just love how mean and ruthless and cunning she is. Also, the way she condescended to Jughead all “Is that what mommy told you?” about her not-death was goddamn amazing.  Every moment Penny is on my screen is gold. Also, she’s largely competent. Yeah, the Joneses keep taking her down, but she always comes back as a legitimate threat. Penny Peabody adapts to whatever life throws at her, and I can respect that.

- Archie Andrews:  Weren’t expecting this, were you?  Honestly, Gladys could have also gone here (or in Penny’s spot), but I decided to talk about Archie today.  Archie is human golden retriever, and I love him for it. He’s a sweet kid, and he means well, but by god is he a dumbass.  He doesn’t quite belong in this show, y’know? Like, Jughead belongs in a crime movie/gang movie/Very Special Episode, and Betty belongs in a crime/horror movie, and Veronica belongs in a mafia movie, while Archie is just this regular kid from a nice family who should probably be in some wholesome coming of age movie or a dog movie or something.  But he still really wants to help! Normally I don’t like dumb characters very much, but for some reason I find Archie really endearing. Maybe it’s his devotion to people he cares about? And, man, Archie cares pretty easily. Yeah, he’s gullible and he was a fascist for a little bit there, but he’s mostly a good kid, something season 3’s juvie arc showed off really well.  He just instantly bonded with these other kids, and he kept that bond even after he left juvie. And he just took a random kid he just met into his home, and it was precious (even though it ended in him getting sliced). He’s got a big heart and an empty head, and I just love him.

And that’s it.  I’ve probably repeated myself a bit, but what’re you gonna do, y’know?

[sabbathism]

People don’t like season 2, and here’s what they have to say :

tl;dr: I answer the web’s most vehement complaints about season 2 of American Gods. If you happen to recognize yourself in one of those, then I suggest thinking about it really really hard and, perhaps, giving the show another chance. If you recognize yourself in several of those, please drop the show. It’s not worth wasting your time and especially not ours. (I put a list of helpful cast and production related facts at the end.)

Hi, Nelle here, I’m but a humble fan who wishes to have fun seeing gods bicker and argue among mortals, complete with the craziest of situations, stellar cast and great visuals. And yet I can’t help but hear things when I start browsing this hellsite in quest of juicy fanworks.

Although I’m no Joan Of Arc, I hear voices from above and here’s what I have to shout back (lest I get burned at the stake)  :

“The pacing is all over the place ! It’s too slow !”

Is it tho ? Pacing has been “all over the place” (really meaning: different from what we avid show-viewers are accustomed to) since season 1, we’ve never gotten straight answers out of anything unless we started listening and paying attention to details. 

The book (you know, the source material) has four parts, the fourth serving as an epilogue to the whole story, season 2 is most definitely meant to close part 1 which, allegedly, had the slowest of pace to begin with. And it doesn’t even have half the new narratives the show has been creating. So no, it’s not slow. I promise you things are happening.

“It needs to follow the actual book more !!”

What’s a good adaptation ? Is it something that is 100% truthful to the source, down to every word ? Is it something that should offer something for people who don’t know the source ? Or, on the contrary, be something inseparable from it ?

American Gods as a TV show offers new things for people who have read the book and for those who haven’t, while keeping the beloved moments and aspects from the original material.

Why add or change stuff ? Well because, if you’re a book reader, you get welcomed into the state of existential dread that comes with not knowing what happen next, I promise it’s part of the fun. But also because author Neil Gaiman believes that he can do more, do better, with something that was written 20 years ago and needed the changes in a lot of places. He’s aware that he has, in fact, a show to make, and not a carbon copy of the book, as well as a fanbase that deserves to be challenged and entertained.

“Why taking the focus off Shadow ? He’s barely the protagonist anymore !”

Because there are..... characters ? who are also part of the story ? Like, actual stories need characters ? But alright, I know it can get confusing when you have a lot of those, here’s how you can still tell Shadow is the protagonist : months of advertising and the entirety of season 1 which was spent following Shadow with only minor breaks allowing other characters to breathe. Trust me they need the development too, or then we’ll really have reasons to complain.

You want a narrative focusing solely on staying in Shadow’s head ? Alright. Try the book. But here’s my take on its narrating choice, as a graduate in english literature : it’s boring. To the point where Neil Gaiman himself got sad that he couldn’t follow other characters.

“They’re not giving the POCs enough space ! Where are the coming to america segments ? At least they gave actual insights.”

Out of every piece of fiction, I truly don’t think you want to get angry at American Gods for how much room it’s giving POCs... (a 20% white cast ensemble, POCs and especially WOCs writers and directors on production, ethnically accurate casting and writing, diversity positive messages, etc) Really I’m sure there are many other places in the fictional industry were the question of diversity is more than legitimate. American Gods has yet to be one of them, by far.

As for the Coming To America stuff, well, there’s not that many in the book to begin with. There are a whole bunch for sure, but we’ve got over quite a few of them in season 1. If there’s more believers you want, we’re served with the latest episode 4, with humans worshiping both Old and New, and interacting with gods. I’m sure we can review that point again once the season is over.

“Those white directors don’t even know how to read or write POC characters !”

*cough*

here’s a list of the POC directors and writers on episodes 2 to 5 of season 2 only :

Deborah Chow (director)

Aditi Kapil (writer)

Salli Richardson (director)

Rodney Barnes (writer)

Orlando Jones (writer)

That’s half the entire director-writer team for these episodes, with Neil Gaiman being involved. You’ll have to point out to me exactly what you mean by “not writing right”.

“New Media ? 1. she’s a bitch, 2. her actress is just plain bad, 3. she’s a hurtful stereotype.” 

And here comes perhaps the trickiest one of all... I’m gonna have to bear with you, as much as you’re gonna have to bear with me :

1. Yes. 2. No. 3. Yes, and it’s a problem, but not for the reasons you think.

First of all, and let’s get it out of the way : actor =/= character nor writing. You think the writing is bad and/or that the character is annoying ? Well, it’s certainly not on the actor. You wanna know the actual level of Kahyun Kim’s acting ? Starring in an Alan Cummings play alongside him. We’ve got a lot to discuss but please keep her out of this.

Second, New Media is an absolute bitch of a character. She’s mocking, manipulative, and too ambitious for anyone’s good. A lot of people seem to love her tho and to that I say good ??? I mean, great if you like her, because she’s got as much potential as the rest of these crazy characters, I’m not here to tell you who you should hate and who you should love.

But there’s a problem you shouldn’t ignore, and that its so far she’s not well written. It’s a terrible thing to say in such a show but she’s really not : because we barely see her talking, because we barely got any scene with her (remember what I said about letting character breathe ?), and because what we’ve seen of her so far is the stereotype of the hypersexualized naive asian girl. Complete with tentacle porn scene. (Whether you felt weirded out, amused or utterly disgusted by this is your own valid opinion.)

The character has been officially described as “the goddess of global content”, “a cyberspace chameleon” and “a master of manipulation.” In recent addition to that, actor Bruce Langley (Technical Boy) has said : “New Media’s willing to be perceived as naive because if she’s being underestimated, when she does make her move, you’d never see it coming, but she knows way more than she lets on.” He then goes on to compare her to Gillian Anderson’s Media.

This proves that the way New Media comes off isn’t a problem of intent (the naive part is calculated and they want the character to be duplicitous, falsely seductive), but of handling, and it’s just as bad. Sure, Gillian’s Media also knew more than she let on for about as much screen time -I’m sure New Media will get to her four scenes in one season-, but she had been grounded in the narrative as her own character, she’s had her exposition speech and time. (See her meeting with Shadow in S01E02) We’ve yet to see that much of Kahyun’s New Media.

Because they do not give her what she needs to be more than a two dimensional character, we find ourselves with a shallow character who doesn’t give too many signs of the thought process everyone seemed to have put into crafting her beforehand, including Kahyun’s acting. This is a serious issue that needs to be handled before the season ends, or she will just stand out like a nasty spot in an overall incredible piece of fiction. Hell even Laura (another very unlikable character) manages to be a great addition to the narrative. Come on people.

You can of course argue that they could have gone for another type or personality for her, other than naive and sex-oriented, for a korean actress to play. You’re right, there’s a lot of aspect of social media that could have been put to work, but not only are we gonna need more than two scenes (at least the tentacles aren’t a regular occurrence so far), but it’s just like they could have not made the Technical Boy hang Shadow. 

The New Gods appear as the ‘general bad idea’ we promote through and associate with their element. Mr. World is gonna be the creepy looking government dude, Tech is gonna be the lanky rude geek, they’re gonna be cold, insensitive and selfish. They’re gonna be the things we don’t like. Throughout season 1, Tech Boy was in the same place we find ourselves in with New Media : he was the loud white racist teenager hating on anon on the net, he was unlikable from start to finish, and it’s only once we got inputs from his actor, the writers, and then now that they’re showing more of his story and personality well after season 1 that we see him as the fully complex and interesting character he is.

Let’s all keep our wits about us, not engulf ourselves in blind hate or love, and encourage the writers to prove us all that this character is worth the while like her actress says.

(I still won’t forgive the bitch, but at least she won’t stick out like a sore thumb.)

(if you want Kahyun’s input on her character and experience, here’s a lengthy interview)

"They don't even know how to write their own character, period !"

By all means, tell me your basis of characterization to declare that characters who didn’t even have enough screentime to have much substance in season 1 (except Shadow, but strangely no one complains about him) aren’t written right when their creator is literally hovering over the writers and actors shoulders, because he wants them to be developed and written right.

It’s not Harry Potter, Neil isn’t making up facts about them to make himself look better, maybe accept that the vision you had in your mind wasn’t entirely accurate to the truth of the characters and that’s okay ? You can still write them yourself however you want, tell the stories you want to tell, Neil has made it very clear that he doesn’t consider fan ideas less valuable than his.

“Bryan has such as specific, unique vision ! They’re just trying to copy it and they’re failing.”

Definitely. No really, you’re right, I’m a big fan of Bryan’s work, I lost my mind like everyone else when he said he wasn’t giving up on Hannibal season 4.

But you know who else has a unique vision ? The seven directors who took over (four of those are women) and the show-runner who had already worked with him beforehand. They’re not trying to copy his style, they’re trying to make a smooth transition so fans like you don’t have a hard time mourning the terrible loss of Bryan and Michael. And for every person who noticed the changes, there were just as many who haven’t even paid attention to it.

Concept : some people may watch shows/movies for the story and the characters, not just for who’s behind the camera. (As far as I’m concerned, I actually like the image better. Everything was killer in season 1, and I think it’s even nicer in season 2.)

“Bryan gave us Salim and the Jinn, and now they’re just gonna be cast aside because those directors lack the LGBT+ sensibility Bryan has !”

Alright, yup, sure. As a member of the community myself, I totally recognize that someone who’s also part of it will know firsthand of the subtleties and details to give the best representation possible on screen. The example of Salim and the Jinn is perfectly fine, since the entire segment was indeed beautifully made. But if we cannot allow people from outside to ponder and think about our lives through writing (which is probably the best way for them to start understanding and broadening their mindset), how can we expect wide representation to improve in any meaningful way ? Especially considering that the show has been casting LGBT+ actors, in an environment where the cast is listened to and solicited on their opinions. 

And especially when Bryan was not the one who gave you Salim and the Jinn. (Because I’ve seen people genuinely believe it.) Neil Gaiman did. He wrote a gay muslim couple in his book 20 years ago, way before it was considered a political statement. He’s also the one who gave strict and specific directions as to how these very characters should be handled. Because if he expanded Salim and his fire boyfriend Jinn’s story from a one-shot to a full story integrated into his entire narration, then it’s certainly not to pull a “bury your gays” or make them miserable. No need to be LGBT+ to be a decent writer and human being.

“Production was a mess anyway, I knew it’d turn out like this. It sucks without Bryan.” 

Define “mess”. Because all the incendiary reports we got throughout early production had been utter bullshit.

Showrunners being “fired” ? Bullshit. “Disastrous” organization ? Bullshit. “Screaming matches” between directors and actors ? Bullshit. Actors “refusing” to come back ? Bullshit.

Every report that wasn’t made through direct input of the cast or production team was not only wildly exaggerated, but also fake ? But please, hear it from Neil himself :

It was weirder for me to read some of the stuff online that said, “Oh, my god, American Gods, behind the scenes, is all falling apart.” I was going, “But they just shot four episodes, and everything is fine. They’re doing some re-shoots, but they’re doing less re-shoots than they did in Season 1.” [...]

I was reading Steven Bochco’s biography on the tube, going into work on Good Omens, every morning, and learning about what went down on Hill Street Blues, and then on NYPD Blue. That was worse, by a factor of thousands, than anything that happened on American Gods. A showrunner came, and a showrunner left. That’s not even an unusual thing. [...] The weirdest thing for me was putting out a thing on Twitter on Season 2, and having a bunch of people go, “We thought this was canceled.” No, it’s not canceled. In its own mad way, it’s on schedule.  

(Source)

The show was never in any danger, much less in jeopardy. It's overreactions to false rumors and dramatic assumptions that can kill a show faster than a showrunner leaving. You want to be critical of a production ? Go ahead, and check your sources and facts. Please. I promise most of the time it’s not worth the worry, much less losing all hope.

“Bryan cared, they’re just ruining what he’s built.”

I dare you to watch any cast interview and tell me these people don’t care about the show, and that they do not value the work everyone else (from hair department to makeup artists, producers, writers, directors and costume team) puts into it as well.

I’ve watched my fair share of shows, I’m curious about production and behind-the-scenes material in general, and I’ve never seen a group of people being so genuinely happy and passionate about what they do and create together.

Neil took time out of preparing Good Omens (which he was showrunning himself) to be more active because he knew things would be different between season 1 and 2. Ricky Whittle (Shadow) had his contract reviewed to better accommodate shooting and planning. Orlando Jones (Nancy) contributed to writing episodes (especially regarding Black history and representation) and brought inputs on characterization. Ian Mcshane (Mr. Wednesday) participated in directing when he explicitly said during season 1 that he wasn’t interested in working as a director on this kind of show.

And that’s for the well-known names only. Go on the American Gods hashtag on instagram, you’ll find all the various artists who participated in crafting all the details found in new episodes. They’re out there talking about how excited they were to work on it all, how they did it, the love they have for the show and crew. They’re active and positive in every way you can be, please tell me how much they don’t care.

Production made the choice of taking its time making this season rather than rushing it when it’s been very clear that delaying can cause massive loss of viewers, because they care more about how the show comes out than what people actually think. They took in stride whatever problem a show of this magnitude could naturally encounter (again guys, no disaster happened) and worked to solve it the best way they could because they were perfectly aware that we fans care. And somehow that’s what made some of yall disappointed ??

If you seriously think Bryan (and Michael, some people forget about him smh) cared more about American Gods than these people -when he, in fact, cared just as much-, then by all means, leave right with him.

(Also uhm, idk if you noticed, but they’re both still credited in the fucking opening. Because, you know, they’re going by the bases they’ve settled.)

Some (hopefully) helpful facts :

+ Bryan and Michael weren’t fired, they walked out of the show after mutual understanding with the rest of the production that they weren’t agreeing on budget and realization. They concluded that pushing it would just be harmful to the show.

+ Likewise, Jesse Alexander (second showrunner) wasn’t evicted but stepped out once disagreements rose as to how to handle the end of the season. Again, they found a solution fairly quickly.

+ Gillian Anderson had only signed for season 1. Whether her character will ever be seen again (probably in flashbacks) is entirely up in the air. No promises, no impossibilities.

+ Both Kristin Chenoweth (Ostara) and Chris Obi (Anubis) have not been able to contribute to season 2 due to conflicts in their schedules.

+ Neil Gaiman has been much more involved in the production of season 2 as he had finished shooting Good Omens, something which took up most of his time when season 1 was produced.

+ Taking time producing a show =/= production being a disaster.

+ Always go for the reports/articles involving interviews and/or inputs of the persons actually working on the project (cast members, producers, writers, directors). Those are the most reliable sources you can fight. (Just remember that there’s always a possibility for fake news/drama online !)