#and Charmcaster sometimes

[execatrix]

Who's your favorite character in the Ben 10 franchise besides Ben?

would you guys laugh at me if I said Albedo was the first one to come to mind 💀

[darthkvznblogs]

Does Legerdomain still exist in the Kverse?

It does! It's fairly different in function than in Ben 10, but it's one of many magical realms tied into the universe.

[kevbree]

Anymore ben10 headcanons?

Yeah, here are some random headcanons

-Ben has freckles and Gwen has wavy hair -Anodites take the form of their partners to reproduce, as verdona did. They cannot reproduce with each other -Frank and Carl are twins -Gwen sometimes levitates while sleeping and emits flashes -Charmcaster gives her bag to Gwen -In Save the last dance, ben and Kevin danced together in his room, as a parallel to when ben and gwen danced together.idk I think it would be funny -When Gwen is seriously injured her blood is pink and bright -Gwen uses her anodite form to go to the bottom of the ocean when she wants to be alone or clear her mind -Sometimes I like to see Devlin as a clone of Kevin, he was born in the null void and was raised by all the rooters -Kevin's car was red (his favorite color). He painted it green when his mother gave him Devin's plumber badge -Ben starts wearing Hawaiian shirts as part of his daily look -Devin Levin was Omosian, he had horns and red eyes, he absorbed human DNA to go unnoticed, that's why he looks the way he does -We know Kevin likes dogs and spiders, I think he would also like sharks a lot -Argit had a crush on Kevin and Gwen xp -Kevin's mom is Hispanic

[disgruntledexplainer]

It's kinda fascinating looking at the differences between Ben's and Rex's approaches to combat. I'm not talking fighting style, I'm talking about how they carry themselves, and interact with their opponents and bystanders.

Ben 10 is motivated to heroics primarily by his dislike of bullies, though it can sometimes be masked by his love of the limelight. he sees his opponents as bullies, picking on people who can't defend themselves in order to make themselves feel more powerful. in fact, almost all of his major villains fall into this category, including Vilgax, Kevin 11 (before redemption), Hex, Charmcaster, the Highbreed, and Agreggor. When Ben approaches combat, he approaches it as someone intervening in a schoolyard fight. He gets in between the aggressor and the victim, transforms into one of his more intimidating aliens even if it isn't the right one for the job, squares his soldiers, looks his enemy in the eyes, and demands that they redirect their aggression. He even uses phrases like "why don't you pick on someone your own size". He doesn't usually harbor any real ill will toward his opponent, but he wants them to stop what they're doing immediately.

The story of Ben 10 is the story of a kid who got bullied through much of his childhood, who suddenly gained the power to stand up to the bullies for the sake of other kids, and adults as the case may be.

Rex's approach to combat is a bit more complex, because he basically has 2 varieties of enemies, and thus 2 "modes"; hero mode and soldier mode.

The majority of Rex's opponents are EVOs. These are normal, regular innocent people who have become monsters through no fault of their own. To Rex they aren't bullies, they aren't even enemies; they are just innocent, sick, scared, and extremely dangerous people. Rex wants to help them, and indeed he really is the only one who CAN. But he can't let them hurt anyone else. Rex is also very conscious of his position, the fact that to so many people he represents hope of getting out of this dark time. When dealing with most of his foes, Rex first aims a blow at his target to knock them back and hopefully stun them, and then if there are any people in immediate danger he checks in on them quickly to see if they are OK. He might try to get them out of the area before engaging, or he might delegate that task to a nearby providence agent or less powerful hero as the case may be, but he usually checks regardless.

If he is convinced that everyone around him is at a safe distance, the show begins. He turns his cockyness and snark up to 11 and begins making aggressive, annoying moves to try to focus his opponents aggression on him. He projects confidence to everyone who can see him, to assure them that yes, he has everything under control, and everything will be fine so long as they follow his instructions. He carefully gauges how much punishment his opponent can take and only uses that much to take them down, even if it extends the fight. He will try to stun his opponent and cure them if possible, and if not he will hold them off long enough for Providence to come in and contain them.

By dramatic contrast, his other opponents are typically not just villains, but actual irredeemable psychopaths, the kinds who will maim, torture, or kill if it suits their purposes, or even just because it amuses them. In this case, as soon as Rex realizes what kind of opponent he is facing he switches "modes" almost instantly. He will immediately try to lure his opponent as far away from a populated area as possible, and if that isn't possible he will task providence agents or minor heroes to move everyone out as fast as possible. Then he fully switches to soldier mode. When in this mode, Rex's goal is to take his opponent down fast and hard, using lethal methods if necessary. Every second his opponent remains standing is an opportunity for that opponent to kill someone, so he has to take them down without hesitation. Just look at the difference in how Rex treats everyday EVOs compared to how he treats his main antagonists, like Van Kleiss or Quarry. He goes straight for the kill, sometimes without even saying anything if the opportunity presents itself. This is the result of his paramilitary background and painful experience.

anyways, these are my thoughts.

[rpking99]

A Charm Of Hope

Closed with @a-den-of-demons

Continued from here

Jaune had to resist saying anything as Gwen walked away. She had been away for long, and had the temerity to get angry at him for wanting to join her grandfather as a Plumber. The werewolf moved towards a bench, sitting down as he took deep breaths, "I wish she was less stubborn sometimes."

"Hmmm~. Dear little Gwen is SUCH a pain, isn't she~? She's always driven me a little... crazy~" Charmcaster purred into Jaune's ear as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, smirking as she let him feel her bust against the back of his head

[aimlovesmusic]

what's your favorite ben 10 villain?

Tied Albedo and Charmcaster…. Thooooo I do think of Kundo sometimes

[riphimopen]

hex is many many many centuries old and cant remember anymore if he came to earth from someplace else or if he was actually among the first humans in the cradle of civilization; it doesnt really matter at this point lol. either way he stumbled into something very powerful back in the day. unlike the nazar beads gwen utilizes as a vehicle for manna (the equivalent of the charms of bezel), whatever hex found was raw enough that he ingested it and its been his affectionate parasite ever since. despite all the ways that it contorts and drains him physically and mentally, the magic has kept him alive for however many thousands of years and doesnt do too much harm unless he's actively channeling it. by the time he calms down enough to properly mentor gwen he decides to stop using for his own health, but he cant really get away from it because its in all of his organs latent. being gwens mentor isn't the first time hex has 'reformed' (and will relapse) from evil and it wont be the last, but to be fair being alive for way too long means sometimes you go crazy. and sometimes you get better. he'll go a few years wrapped up in nihilism/hatred/mania and then talk himself down from what to him feels like just a bad day; unfortunately for charmcaster his bad days fell over her younger years. she's not his niece by blood but hex was very close to her father, which is the only reason he bothered taking her in after her dad died. very much unprepared and unwilling to be a parent and of course knowing that he was going to outlive the child regardless, hex's treatment of charmcaster throughout her youth was negligent at best and acerbic at worst and although the two of them only had one another that did more harm than good to both psyches. at this point hex recognizes the ways that hes done damage to charmcaster and isnt hoping for her to forgive him. he just wants to help her get well again and then leave her life for good so he can stop hurting her; first he needs to find someone he can trust to help her be rehabilitated and treated with care. sometimes he thinks he sees that in gwen. sometimes he thinks he's going to ruin gwen's life too.

[aestherians]

Answering the most googled questions about myself - shout out to @thecrispydemon for this idea!!

Superhero, menace, friend, enemy, human, changeling, I've been called it all. I like to think of myself as a cyborg just trying to do his best.

December 27th 1994

Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Watsonianly I got my middle name from a great grandfather. Doylistically I'm named after comic book legend Jack Kirby

hammed burger And chili fries

Ugh, yeah, he's one of my rogue alternate selves. Lost his Omnitrix or something, went crazy, and started hunting down all Omnitrix-wielders across dimensions and timelines. The show/movie canon is kinda vague about him, but yeah, in my canon he's just another evil Ben.

Not in my canon but I know a lot are!

Yeah, I'm 3/4 human and 1/4 anodite. Unlike my cousin I never developed ~the spark~ so you wouldn't know unless you were told

Idk, ask Gwen lol

Ambidextrous! But mostly left-handed. Fun fact, because my present body is right-handed and I always wore the Omnitrix on my dominant wrist, I always get phantom shifts on my right wrist

Yeah, severe and unmedicated. Dropped out of high school :')

Nope, I'm an only child

Yeah, everyone hates it lmaooo

I try not to😭

Yeah, she's like a sister to me. We have the same birthday, lived within walking distance, and always hung out as kids. Had a brief falling-out in our tweens, but I think most people are like that. Sometimes I catch myself thinking of her as a sister instead of a cousin

My first son, Ken, was just born a few months ago! Named after my cousin (Gwen's brother) who was a casualty of the Highbreed War. I've time traveled a couple times and know a lot of my future selves have a daughter too, but we'll see if she shows up in my timeline. I try not to think too hard about destiny and railroading and stuff. If it happens, it happens.

I live in Bellwood. Fictional (in our world) city in SoCal. The fandom can't agree if Bellwood's on the East Coast or West Coast but I trust my noemata.

Loose lips sink ships, dm me for a link🏴‍☠️

Yeah, a handful of times. Was directly killed by Charmcaster twice and was erased from my timeline by a Chronosapien once, but I got better.

Kai Green! She's my best friend and fwb so we decided to tie the knot. Ken was born soon after.

Oh come on, as if you don't know the story by now:

[madmanwonder]

(Prompt, crossover au)

Mortal Kombat Intro: Gwen Tennyson vs Charmcaster

Gwen floated into the stage with her magic.

Gwen: *Hermione Granger Skin* “Why are we fighting when we can just get lunch?”

Charmcaster stepped out of her portal with a model strut.

Charmcaster: *Scarlet Witch Outfit* “Where’s the fun in that, Gwennie~?”

Gwen entered a combat stance with both hands holding a purple light.

Gwen: “Sometimes I wonder why I am dating you?”

[roselaughs]

I had these guys for a long while, because surprise I have Ben 10 and Secret Saturdays OCs. I love Ben 10 and Secret Saturdays and one day I was like "hey why won't I make a sequel to both shows lol". So meet Secret Galaxy, the rag tag team of freelance superheroes consisting of Ben Tennyson's grandson, Zak Saturday's granddaughter, Vilgax's son, and Charmcaster's protege. Feel free to ask questions about them!

Denny Tennyson - Dennis Lee Tennyson is the grandson of the famous Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Unlike his grandfather when he was his age Denny is a quiet and reserved young boy, prefering to spend time only with himself and a select group of friends due to not trusting people's interest in him. Despite this he's sympathetic and will try to reach out to someone if he sees that they're in trouble or in need of help. Denny is also very creative and artistic, which extends to how he battles as well as him prefering to use his alien forms's powers to their fullest extent rather than just bruteforcing his way through everything. Originally during the summer he graduated elementary school Denny got his very own Omnitrix, which he was initially hesitant about but grew to appreciate and like his Omnitrix.

Sam Saturday - Samantha Saturday is the granddaughter of Zak Saturday. She is a spitting image of her grandfather even having the same cryptid controlling powers he did. Sam's a mischevious and tomboyish young girl that seeks adventure at any moment and likes to mess with people around her. However she does have a more caring side, as she deeply cares for and stands up for her family and friends. This more caring side also extends to her being willing to defend those she sees as in trouble, no matter how dangerous her opponent is. While she has inherited The Claw from her grandfather, on the same summer Denny got his Omnitrix she also found a mystrious Omnitrix-like device that she dubbed the Cryptrix, which allows her to turn into 10 cryptid like forms (and also allows her to channel her cryptid powers easier). Sam and Denny are best friends since childhood and are usually seen hanging out together, though a lot of people including their families say that they two kids sometimes feel like siblings.

Sytrax - Sytrax is the son of the feared conquerer Vilgax. He's a serious, honor bound chimera sui generis (ex) bounty hunter. He acts somewhat self centered and dislikes being underestimated or being looked down upon. However he does have a softer side that he does not like showing, and desires to have a group of people he can trust and feel safe around one day. On top of that his sense of honor makes him more fair in combat towards those he sees as weaker than him. Originally he was trying to find his own footing to carry on Vilgax's legacy, being raised to see his father as a noble but powerful ruler. But after encountering Denny and eventually learning the truth of his father's nature Sytrax started rejecting his father's legacy and went on to try to forge his own identity seperate from Vilgax, such as trying to become a plumber. Despite Ben's and Vilgax's rivalry, Denny and Sytrax end up becoming very close friends and even having a somewhat brotherly dynamic.

Curseslinger - Curseslinger is the (adopted) daughter and apprentice of Charmcaster, the Queen of the Legerdomain. She was chosen by Charmcaster for her reat magical abilities and cunning street smarts. However, Curseslinger feels that she's actually not good enough to be the student of the Queen of the Legerdomain, which results in her frequently performing on the streets and in talent shows to show off her magic powers to people and hopefully win over their approval as a substitute for her own internal approval. Although Curseslinger's very quirky and can come off as creepy to some people, she's friendlier than she appears, and is very loyal to her friends and those she likes even though she may not appear to at first glance. Curseslinger takes an interest in Sam and the Saturdays due to their connection to more mystical elements of the galaxy such as cryptids. Sam does in fact admire Curseslinger and her magical prowess, which gives the witch some confidence in her powers and have even more of a fondness towards Zak's successor. Curseslinger and Sytrax also end up as a couple, and tend to be very affectionate with one another.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Charmcaster in Gwen's body in your au reminds me of the risk of Berserker servants in Fate, tldr Berserkers drain magical energy faster than the average servant which can lead to the death of their contractor if they can't replenish their Magic quicker than the Berserker consumes

Yeah it's!

I know I've gone into this before but some people are new here which means I can ramble again!

So! Magic!

You have your pool of Magic energy to draw from. Now, every use of Magic drains out a chunk of that pool. Depending on the spell, more will be taken at once than others.

You can replenish your Magic the same way you replenish all other energy: food and rest. Similarly, should your Magic run very low, you can pass out as your body forces itself to rest. But you will recover eventually.

Now, there are some things that can happen to damage your Magic itself. Most often it has to be something other than just pushing your limits and passing out (which isn't healthy either but usually passing out is the safeguard against damage). This includes things like having an outside spell draining your Magic. Or sometimes channeling too much power that you overfill your Magic (this is why channeling Gods is typically dangerous).

If your Magic is damaged, it's going to be slowly draining out of you 24/7. This leads to being quite tired, low energy, sometimes even fainting because your Magic dipped so low.

This can be manageable. Limiting your use of Spellcasting, making sure to rest and eat often, getting an infusion of energy from someone else, so on and so forth.

But it can become unmanageable if the damage is severe enough. Draining too fast to properly replenish. If it's severe enough, the body will just drop into a coma entirely. Like most comas, you will be alive and all if you're hooked up to shit that can keep you going, but it won't fix you. (anyone here for ML, this is what happened to Emilie in HC/LL).

Now! There is an extra little 'fun' thing!

Some beings are either entirely or at least partly made of just Magic Energy. Draining all of the Magic out of them isn't just dangerous because 'it can damage their Magic', it can be outright deadly. Swinging back to the Ben 10 stuff, this is a problem that Ben and Gwen face when the risk of draining Magic comes up because they are 25% Magic. Draining them will kill them if they don't get an infusion of energy real fast.

[themattress]

Character Perception Evolution

Sometimes, believe it or not, I change my views on fictional characters.

This post will be updated with any example of such characters I can think of.

Ahsoka Tano (Star Wars) - While most people cite her being considered an annoying, pointless, and all-around hated kid sidekick character and evolving into one of the most beloved characters in the franchise, I actually have a different take. I never minded Ahsoka when she debuted in 2008. I thought she was largely inoffensive and was happy to see another lead female character in the series given how little of them we had. And yes, she only got better and better as she grew, and totally deserved her popularity. But something’s been wrong with her ever since her time travel-based survival of her big duel with Darth Vader, accelerating with her depiction by Rosario Dawson (complete with some awkward as Hell interactions with Luke Skywalker) and Dave Filoni’s dumbfounding remark that Ahsoka’s voice being with the voices of other dead Jedi in The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t necessarily mean she’s dead. It feels like she’s become a Creator’s Pet, a character that Filoni refuses to let go of past her natural expiration date. That’s why the primary excitement I have for the upcoming Ahsoka series is for Thrawn, not for her. She just isn’t that interesting anymore.

Amarant Coral (Final Fantasy IX) - I disliked Amarant back when I first played Final Fantasy IX, seeing him as this generic badass loner edgelord character who didn’t have very well-written character development. However, a few years back I replayed the game. And while his character development remains as shoddy as I remember (I feel like the developers just ran out of time and both he and Freya suffered as a result), I found myself greatly enjoying Amarant because I now could see that he’s pretty clearly a knowing parody of a generic badass loner edgelord character! The game knows he’s a jerkish stick-in-the-mud for no good reason and has fun with it, with Amarant’s snarky comments and frustration at having to be dragged all over creation by Zidane and his merry band of idealists making him hilarious.

Cain Madhouse (To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts) - Refer to this post. I first encountered Cain through the anime, where I thought he was a cool villain but not much else than that. He seemed to be there purely for the sake of providing the series with a central antagonist. Then I read the manga, and was honestly taken aback at just how interesting, complex and even sympathetic Cain was as a character. He isn’t even the true villain of the story, a role actually shared by his abusive father and the evil religious nutcase he’s in cahoots with. While he’s certainly far from a blameless martyr, Cain truly is doing what he believes to be for the best, and in his own twisted way still loves the people in his life that he cares for and genuinely wishes to do right by them. And all this nuance despite being named “Cain Madhouse!”

Charmcaster (Ben 10) - Here I’m talking about one version of the character in particular: the one from Ben 10: Omniverse. Back in 2014 when she was fresh, I greatly enjoyed this take on Charmcaster. She was really funny and cute, her magic was badass, her design was wonderful, her voice-acting was entertaining, and in general she was a major step-up from the version we’d gotten in Alien Force and Ultimate Alien. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to her. I don’t hate her, but I can’t fully enjoy her when so many of those AF/UA aspects are still in play with her, which makes her and her trajectory somewhat nonsensical, not to mention tasteless and ultimately kind of pointless. That was OV’s whole problem, I suppose: trying desperately to reconcile the original Ben 10 with the retcon-ridden AF/UA and largely failing. It doesn’t help that the next incarnation of Charmcaster in the rebooted continuity is so much better, as are similar characters in other shows such as Lena from the new DuckTales.

Dawn (Pokémon) - In the Diamond & Pearl anime, I didn’t care for Dawn for a good while, partly because doing a rehash of May immediately after May had left was insulting especially when I loved May so much and partly because there were other issues with her character’s utilization that irked me. However, after her subsequent, much-improved appearances in Best Wishes and Journeys, I looked back at her in her anime series of origin and realized that it really wasn’t Dawn that was ever the problem - it was Ash and Brock! It’s a franchise-wide trend: whenever Dawn is paired up with literally anyone else, she shines. Even the rehashing of May and personal gripes I have don’t matter much because she’s so likable. But when with Ash and Brock as their traveling companion, she by and large becomes the most generic goodie-goodie shojou girl possible. Just detach her from them and she’s a solid character.

Eraqus (Kingdom Hearts) - That great character design and Mark Hamill’s impeccable voice-acting made me think he was sympathetic when I originally played Birth by Sleep. Overtime, that impression faded. Yes, I agree with him that darkness is a problem and vigilance against it is needed; even if he was supposed to be wrong about that, he isn’t. The problem is that he goes about that in the dumbest, most counter-productive way possible. Terra would literally not have a darkness problem if not for Eraqus’ dumbass teaching methods. Worse still, everything that goes wrong in the story could have been avoided if he was just honest with his pupils about everything, including the fact that Xehanort might not be on the up and up given his obsession with potentially causing an apocalypse, an obsession he literally scarred Eraqus over. And maybe he shouldn’t have jumped immediately to murder as the solution to Ventus’ awareness of his own special existence posing a danger to the universe. If that wasn’t enough, we later learn he openly cheats at chess and just expects everyone to take it. 

Katsuki Bakugo (My Hero Academia) - I used to hate this character; he was obnoxious and unlikable, yet the narrative and other characters never reacted to him the way they should and bended over backward to accommodate him. However, nowadays I don’t hate him so much as I feel sorry for him, on a meta level. Bakugo could have been a superb character with a great redemption arc, the pieces are all there.  But for some reason or other, Horikoshi instead decided to keep him the angry, violent, petty, egotistical asshole he’s always been, and justifies doing so while also playing at redeeming him by treating his super-dickery as comedic. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t work when it didn’t start out as comedic and had terrible effects on people like Izuku. Bakugo’s only been funny when he’s the butt of the joke, not when others still have to suffer from his rage-outs. It’s sad that Bakugo can’t live up to his potential, especially when others in the series like Endeavor (who’s a far worse person) do.

Kevin 11 (Ben 10) - I loved Kevin as a villain in the original Ben 10, hated his sudden change in character complete with a quickie redemption and out of nowhere romance with Gwen in Alien Force but was willing to tolerate him and wait to see where they’d go with him because he was admittedly pretty funny, loathed what ended up happening with him in Ultimate Alien which turned me off him altogether, and in Omniverse...ditto what I said about Charmcaster. But then there’s the continuity reboot version, and because of it I now have to admit that while I’ll always hold a soft spot for him, the original Kevin doesn’t hold up too well either. He’s a pre-pubescent kid named Kevin 11, yet he’s a purely evil psychopath and his villainous appearance is that of a grotesque mutant chimera? Yeeeah, I think the school bully with a troubled home life who has his own evil version of Ben’s Omnitrix and its aliens makes a lot more sense. Him not changing his ways so easily, staying Ben’s rival no matter how much they might team up, and having feelings for Gwen that are comedically one-sided also helps.

Kyo Sohma (Fruits Basket) - Back in the day, Fruits Basket to me was just the 2001 anime series, and I honestly found Kyo pretty annoying. His hair-trigger temper and violent inclinations were a turn-off, as was his dub voice and that whole concluding arc with his true form. Then I read the manga and saw the faithful 2019 adaptation, complete with an incredibly improved performance by Jerry Jewell, and now I absolutely love the guy! No joke, he’s easily one of the best, most interesting and likable male leads in a shojou, as is Yuki.

Lysandre and Diantha (Pokémon) - Just see this post for details.

Mary Jane Watson (Spider-Man) - I’m talking specifically about the version portrayed by Kirsten Dunst in the Sam Raimi trilogy. She came off as a generic superhero girlfriend in the first movie to me, a hodgepodge of several characters from the comics instead of a proper adaptation of Mary Jane. It got worse in the second movie, where she played the annoying obstructive love interest trope. But despite the stupidity of having her be kidnapped in the climax again, I found myself really enjoying her in the third movie. This made me pay closer attention to her in the first movie, and to check out all her deleted material (much of which was included in the novelization) in the second movie. Not only did I find her to be a strong, truly human-feeling character, but she was more faithful to the comics’ Mary Jane in several key areas than many give her credit for, and Kirsten Dunst always gave a great performance.

Prince Demande and the Black Moon Clan (Sailor Moon) - I recall liking these villains fine as a kid, but feeling like they weren’t as good as the Dark Kingdom. While the Dark Kingdom is still my personal favorite group of villains, I now have to concede that the Black Moon Clan in both the manga and anime are superior. They’ve got the more complex set-up, feel darker and more dangerous, and have by far the best of Chaos’ incarnations in the Death Phantom. Meanwhile, I recall feeling some sympathy for Demande when I was young; his situation wasn’t an easy one after all, and he did love his brother very much, not to mention in the anime he gave his life for Usagi. Then I grew up and learned what rape was. Fuck this guy. While I adore him as a villain, he’s a horrible person and no sacrificial death can change that.

Regina Mills (Once Upon a Time) - My stance for a long time has been that Regina was an overall good character in the first three seasons but then totally fell apart from some truly appalling creator favoritism. Having revisited the show recently, I don’t entirely revoke this stance, but it’s more complicated than I thought. When you get down to it, Regina only ever worked properly in Season 1, where she was a humanized yet still proudly evil antagonist. Season 2 not only dropped the ball in terms of consequences for her, but it fast-tracked her down the redemption path in a way that was ham-fisted and not believable. Season 3 handled her on the heroes’ side much better, but it’s nigh impossible to reconcile with the backslide she went through in the second half of Season 2, where she is depicted as this absolute psychopath delusional beyond the point of recovery, but Adam and Eddy genuinely don’t view her that way and weren’t meaning to make her come off that way - in their eyes, her grievances are all legitimate. And that’s really what I have a hard time ever getting around: the notion that the villainous Regina I loved in Season 1 was never the real Regina, just a stand-in until A&E had free reign to finally give us their Regina and re-orient the story to being “how the poor sad Evil Queen got her happy ending” like they originally envisioned. 

Roxas (Kingdom Hearts) - So TV Tropes had Roxas for this trope, saying he was divisive due to the KH2 prologue he starred in, but stuff like his FM boss battle, his presence in Coded, and especially 358/2 Days increased his popularity, to the point where KH3 resurrected him to give him a happy ending. I’m....kind of the exact opposite.  Honestly, I’ve always liked KH2′s prologue, warts and all, and while at first it was disappointing Roxas wasn’t a huge presence in KH2 given all the hype he was given, as time went on the more I appreciated his story and what was being said with it. It was genuinely complex and thought-provoking. I do not like the black-coated Organization XIII member Roxas that got shoved down our throats afterward, I tend to care about him the least out of 358/2 Days’ cast when playing that game, and I hate how such a nuanced story as what we had in KH2 gets undone, in a nonsensical way, solely for the sake of cheap fanservice (ditto for Xion’s case). Yeah, the FM boss battle is awesome, but for me mainly so because I get to kick that stupid black-coated Roxas’ ass!

Rumpelstiltskin (Once Upon a Time) - Another  character that was listed on TV Tropes, saying that his popularity waned because of him constantly going through the Heel Face Revolving Door, which especially damaged his relationship with Belle. For me, that in of itself wasn’t the problem. He’s the freaking Dark One, practically the show’s main villain! Of course it’s going to be hard for him to ever reform. What soured me on him for a long time was the narrative’s framing of him and other characters’ reactions to him, which were increasingly insufficient for what an utter bastard he truly was. Going back over the show, I’ve somewhat softened on him again since he himself was a mostly well-written, well-acted and consistent character across 5 whole seasons, and I don’t feel like taking mistakes from the narrative and other characters out on him; it’s not like he asked for any of that. It’s just in Seasons 6 and 7 where I feel he was out-of-character on the whole, to two opposite, incompatible extremes.

Seto Kaiba (Yu-Gi-Oh!) - When I first began watching the anime, I thought Kaiba was a cool and sympathetic rival character. As it went on, though, I got sick of him being such a one-man Spotlight Stealing Squad and how hard the makers of the anime were actively trying to make him look cool. It didn’t help when I read the manga and saw this wasn’t the case for him here; he wasn’t even the deuteragonist the way the anime positions him, Joey was. But enjoying him in The Abridged Series made me revisit the actual show, and I actually realized that while those issues I had are technically still there, the 4Kids English dub has always done its best to mitigate them with Eric Stuart’s voicework and lines, which actually keeps him far more in line with his original manga self, who isn’t an overtly sympathetic, honorable and “cool” rival but a crazy, extravagant jerkass. And I love him that way. Screw the rules, he has money!

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog) - Shadow was awesome in Sonic Adventure 2, I was definitely a fan of him there. But then his popularity caused him to be immediately resurrected, to diminishing returns, which made me sour on the character and consider him emblematic of the Sonic franchise’s problems. I wished he had just stayed a one-shot. However, recent things such as the Sonic Boom TV series, the Sonic Prime TV series, the Sonic Forces DLC, The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie have all made me re-evaluate Shadow. Now I think he’s not bad as a series mainstay, just subject to being mis-used...but hey, so is every other character, so it’s not an issue unique to him. Used well, he’s honesty one of the franchise’s best characters.

Slade Wilson (Teen Titans) - I used to truly buy into the notion of him as a badass Anti-Hero / Anti-Villain like many people did, but after reading his original stories up through “The Judas Contract” and especially Christopher Priest’s run on the Deathstroke comic series, I no longer hold that view of him. Slade’s a badass combatant, sure, and as a threatening villain you definitely have to appreciate him. But as a person, he is not a badass. At all. He’s a pitiful, prideful, predatory scumbag. He’s “badass” and “honorable” in the exact same way that Walter White is: it’s all a big smokescreen to compensate for what a small, lowly, wretched excuse for a human being he is. Great character, great villain, absolutely intolerable person.

Supreme Leader Snoke (Star Wars) - When The Force Awakens came out, I didn’t like Snoke at all. He was the cheapest of retreads (an old, decrepit Dark Side user who rules the Empire and corrupts a Skywalker into becoming his evil apprentice), the cheapest of plot contrivances (the remnants of the Empire can only become a powerful threat and the victory from Return of the Jedi undone due to this fucker from out of nowhere), and the cheapest of Mystery Boxes (who is he and where did he come from and why does he do what he does, isn’t it so mysterious, don’t you just wanna speculate and theorize all over the internet?) As annoyed as I was that he died without any answers in The Last Jedi, I also liked him better as just Kylo Ren’s stepping stone. Better effects for him and a hammier performance by Andy Serkis helped. And when The Rise of Skywalker revealed he was literally a puppet of the resurrected Palpatine, everything about him just clicked. Stupid people online rant about insufficient foreshadowing for Palpatine’s return, but rewatch the trilogy with Palpatine in mind and Snoke himself - everything about him - is the biggest piece of foreshadowing there is. 

Ulrich Stern (Code Lyoko) - Through Code Lyoko’s first two seasons, Ulrich was hands-down the weakest part of the show for me. I didn’t think he was interesting or likable, and his Will-They-Won’t-They romance with Yumi, who could honestly do much better, was so exhausting. But then we hit Season 3, and the two-part prequel. Everything about Ulrich’s depiction in that just screamed “This guy is an asshole, you’re not supposed to like him”. It reframed everything we’ve seen of him as deliberate; even his lust for Yumi now comes off as just a way for him to feel better about himself since deep down he’s aware of what a shithead he is. Then when we returned to the present day action, Yumi firmly breaks off any potential for dating him. From this point on, Ulrich has to develop on his own terms, and he becomes so much better as a character; I actually found myself liking him, sympathizing with him, and appreciating his willingness to change for the better; a great foil to William whose stubborn unwillingness to do the same costs him and everyone else around him. The season 3 finale reminding me of the reason Ulrich became the way he used to be in his absolute scumbag of a father also helped a lot. He’s not my favorite and still kind of a dick, but I like him now.

Venom (Spider-Man) - Like most kids, I thought Venom was awesome growing up. Once I got older and looked up his history, I found that the majority of it was not very flattering, making me feel more conflicted about the character. Where do I stand on him now, you may ask? It’s simple, really: I love Venom - the symbiote. It’s Eddie Brock who I feel is the problem. Beyond the name and bonding with the Venom symbiote, I don’t think there’s been a consistent thing about this guy across all of his incarnations. The issues with Venom can almost always be traced back to the human part of the equation, because he was thought up on the fly by David Micheline with very little about him solidified beyond being an angry psychopath. I much prefer Venom as the symbiote, the host body be damned, and I’m glad that depiction has been gaining traction in recent years in various comics, TV shows and video games.

Xehanort (Kingdom Hearts) - So I totally subscribe to what’s on TV Tropes about Xehanort the Keyblade Master (was hailed as a great villain in Birth by Sleep, now seen as a horrible villain for everything that followed). But I want to talk about Terra-Xehanort. Because while I love him and both split halves of him, back in the olden days I preferred Ansem over Xemnas. He had the cooler design, a more vivid personality, was tied far closer to the Disney Villains, and of course was the villain in the original Kingdom Hearts (forever my favorite even if KH2 is technically a better game - and even then KH still has the better story). Now it’s reversed. Even disregarding how (with the exception of Dream Drop Distance) Xemnas retained his dignity as a character going forward while Ansem didn’t, there is just a weight and presence to Xemnas that I’ve fallen in love with more and more as time passes. He has the same depth and darkness of character as Ansem but takes it even further. His plans are even smarter and with more direct involvement from him. And of course, there’s him being KH2′s Final Boss, which means he’s irrevocably associated with the peak of the series to me. He’s the only incarnation of Xehanort whom I can safely call both a great character and villain to this day.

[kevbree]

hi hi hi! are there are gwevin moments you would change or do differently? like a 'what if' kind of situation?

I'm not sure about changing their moments, even though their relationship was very rushed, I love how silly they looked and the constant flirting and I don't know if I really would like to change it, especially on Gwen's side, that scene where Gwen laughs when Kevin puts straws up his nose or when she puts away his dirty tissue, god she's so in love it makes her look ridiculous <3 Kevin is her first big crush

but on the other hand, sometimes I think what if Kevin hadn't joined the team immediately, he didn't really have a reason to stay with them, from Kevin's perspective the Tennyson family ruined his life. So at the end of chapter 2 from alien force kevin simply leaves or disappears at some point.

sooo Gwen tries to meet with Kevin, she somehow manages to find him (without Ben finding out) and tries to talk to him, at first it is very difficult, there could even be a small fight. I have this doodle where they are supposed to be struggling :p

Gwen does it wearing her lucky girl outfit, I like the idea that whenever she does something on her own she wears it :) just like when she went to Charmcaster and Hex's house Kevin has never seen her in that suit so I think it's kind of funny that when Kevin sees her he doesn't immediately recognize her pfff also when they are a team Kevin will make her remember that and she will get upset and nudge him Gwen knows that Kevin has information (like the hologram that Vulkanus had) but while trying to obtain that information she begins to feel interest in him (they are not romantic feelings, but interest in his story ), and these would be the foundations of their relationship. Then Gwen suggests that he help them and work together (Or maybe keep Kevin as an enemy for a while????)

[multifandomplushie]

What will Gwen and kiven be like in Ben 12?

Oh, boy, do I have ideas for these two!

Gwen:

- Instead of being a sassy, mature bookwoorm like in the prime universe, in dimension 12 she's an energetic, fun and hyperactive anime fan who can have a short attention span sometimes, unless it's something she's really interested in (like her family, magic and anime/manga), but she can still be a tough opponent despite kind nature

- She gets the Charm of Resurrection instead of the Charm of Luck

- Her hero alter-ego resembles a much more classic anime magical girl

- Her primary color is red and both her casual outfit and magical girl form are red and white

- Unlike classic Gwen, she actually gets along great with her cousin Ben (so the summer trip with Grandpa Max is organized in the first place not because the two need to be brought closer together but because Ben and Gwen themselves want to spend more time together as a family)

- Since I was personally never a fan of the retcon of Gwen's magic with Anodite species, I decided to not include Anodite-related stuff as a whole for my au, and make Gwen in Ben 12 the same type of magic user as Charmcaster, Hex, etc.

Kevin:

- In a lot of ways, Kevin in Ben 12 is similar to prime one but certain aspects are expressed more vividly, for example, he's more of a hardcore goth and is really into horror genre (primarily, well, gothic horror). It's actually gonna be his main interest instead of cars (I left the latter for another character)

- Just like Ben 10's Kevin, he was messed up by life in many ways but Ben 12's Kevin had some more loses in his life which led to him being more love deprived (in terms of any relationships) and, as a result, more possessive and overprotective of those he cares about (primarily Ben, Gwen and Argit), which he tries to overcome and show his affection in less drastic ways

- There will still be a Rooters arc for Kevin but there would be no "Kevin is a mutant, not an alien" reveal (he'll still be partially an alien Osmosian), only that Alan, Manny, Helen and Pierce were made part alien through experiments, using Kevin's powers

- I'm likely to make one of the ghoul aliens, likely Viktor, become Kevin's father figure, but I'm still trying to decide at what point of the timeline that would happen in

[msnihilist]

did you see that ben 10 co creator just recently talked about the possibility of a new ben 10 series?but he said they won't do with the original continuity and they want more mature and emotional stuff like UAF used to be with a more older and mature ben,like honestly it sounds cool,but tbh I don't like ben 10k it would be more cool if they go with more mature and older prime ben and not the ben 10k one,what do you think?

[(text:) anonymous asked: lol the ben 10 co creator literally said we're done with the comedic and funny stuff and they want to do a more mature and dark story if they ever gonna make a series again I want that shit (end text)]

I've said it before, but the idea of a new Ben 10 continuity utterly fails to tickle my fancy. It's why I have refused to (and will continue to refuse to) watch the reboot.

The OG Ben 10 continuity spans more than 200 episodes and four movies and a shitload of video games and comics. I do not want to do all of that again. Do you all have any idea how much of my brain is already dedicated to Ben 10 lore? I can't take another one!

More to the point, I don't trust any rebooted Ben 10 to actually be, well, good. Especially not if its creators are aiming for something "more mature" and "dark." I love when cartoons get serious, don't get me wrong. But dedicated adult shows (especially when adapted from children's media) tend to only focus on saying the word "fuck" and gratuitous gore and "oooh~ these characters have sex!!!!" instead of actually telling a good story. (I.E.: Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Velma, etc.)

It's true that there's a tiny chance of a hypothetical Ben 10 reboot getting really passionate writers, stellar animation, heartwarming character arcs, detailed world-building, etc... But I have all the building blocks I need to do all of that myself. I do it myself all the time! I don't need a Netflix reboot or whatever to do it for me.

Also, I like Ben 10 how it is. Are there things I'd change? Sure. Do I sometimes ignore canon to make things fit more coherently? Yeah. But I love this show, I've grown up loving it, and its world, story, and characters are always going to be special to me. I love UAF's darker plots with xenophobia, inbreeding, and genocide, and I also love the Omniverse episode where Ben and Rook watch paint dry (← makes me giggle just thinking about it).

So I'm not interested in seeing a reboot. I do not want that. I don't want a continuation, either. Leave some things for the fans to imagine, you know? I don't need to see every single stop on the path from Point A (Ben's teenage years) to Point B (Ben's adult years).

Now, I would be interested in perhaps a "What If?" series like Marvel did. What if Ben was an Anodite? What if Charmcaster joined Ben and Gwen instead of Kevin? What if Max wasn't a Plumber? What if Maltruant succeeded in creating his own universe? What if Ben refused to use the Omnitrix for fighting and was a strict pacifist? What would Ben be like if Gwen really had died in Secret of the Omnitrix? Etc etc etc. I think that would all be very cool. Some fun food for thought.

But if anymore Ben 10 media comes out in the future, it's safe to say that I will not be engaging with it. I'm happy with what I've got. Not everything needs more more more.

[sonicasura]

The Omnitrix kept half its attention on masking its presence and the other half monitoring things to shepherd [User] away from any sketchy places. They were enamored with all the sights, all the species walking around so casually. [User’s] heart was racing in response though nowhere near panic levels. A good kind of overwhelming—the alien device wagered.

Besides strongly advising against going near a shop with the Pakmar family name, it left the human to wander wherever their curiosity led them. So many different shops had displays showing the sometimes human sometimes alien species making their own wares. Quite a few Pyronites were creating glassware in a blacksmith forge. A rather vibrant Arachnachimp was weaving fibers into climbing ropes. A few street performer mages—

‘Woah! It’s still crazy that magic exists here and is studied. So many different magic, mana colors.’

‘Charmcaster took up the throne to Ledgerdoman many, many years ago. She allowed inhabitants of her home realm to migrate to this one. Genetic mana talent started to spread in addition to the gradual practice igniting the “spark” in many beings.’

It felt a subtle pride at there being the occasional Petrosapien visible in public. The species population had recovered nicely since the time of Vilgax’s conquering campaign.

[User] was slightly less enthusiastic at smelling the Lepidopterans presence. Still, there were just some aspects other species couldn’t help about themselves. Lenopans were bound to leave pieces of themselves behind, Vulpimancers tended to think police chases were either playtime or hunt. So on and so forth.

—ROB’d Anon.

I bet it was good for the Omnimon to see how much of an impact Ben really had on everyone. So many species interacting in a more positive manner and various cultures are shared. A grand learning experience overall.