#more of characters who are the outliers for not being changed………

[snaplight-anxiety]

ohohohohohoho love when characters get premature/supernatural gray and white hair………yes please symbolism of the trauma you go through changing you physically.. wearing you out.. brushing with death in ways that prematurely age you……yes…..

[lunawagner]

Study Results (1/??)

I'll post some of the results now! Firstly, I'll write about how I processed the data for those interested in details. (Please inform me if you see anything wrong or want to suggest a different method. I'm just an average person with an undergrad degree...)

If you just want to see the analysis, skip the data cleaning and test assumptions part! As a disclaimer, I don't know if this is all for now or if I can bring myself to work more on it soon 😭 

Special thanks to @xavieslittlestar and @m00nchildwrites for sharing this on bluesky and twitter

Data Cleaning

I realized that some of you guys didn't do the test and wrote the numbers by yourself 😊 And it took me hours to clean the data

As expected, there were some typos, and I corrected them before deciding which participants to exclude. For instance, some wrote 29/20, and since the sum of the subfactor scores is equal to your main factor score, I was able to confirm that it should be 19/20 by doing main_factor_score—other_subfactors = target_subfactor.

After dealing with typos, all participants who entered random values like 0000 and values that didn't align with the main factor scores were excluded.

In the end, the sample size was reduced from ~2600 to 1929.

Test Assumptions

The normality and homogeneity of variance were checked. Most of them fulfilled the homogeneity of variance(Levene's Test), but normality was problematic. I assessed normality based on Kolmogorov-Smirnov(KS), kurtosis, skewness, and Q-Q plot. There were some outliers, but most of them were a natural part of the data, so I didn't change anything about them. Although KS values were lower than .05 , I assumed normality if kurtosis and skewness seemed average (-2 to +2 for kurtosis, -1 to +1 for skewness). For others, I tried trimming, LOG, SQRT, Z, and LN transformations, but still couldn't normalize... Winsorizing would probably work, but there are too many participants(yes, I'm lazy). So, I'm gonna be relatively liberal about normality.

Results

Please note that all of them have small effect sizes (0.2 Cohen's d or 0.1 η2). So regardless of the p values, the actual association between your personality based on the big five and character choices in lads might be small in degree. Also, this is an observational study, which means you shouldn't try to infer a causation or a strict relation (so use it just for your enjoyment, not for fandom chaos~). But I'll put my personal comment under them because I need to enjoy myself too lol

Also, I realised that some of those are changing or disappearing when I compare poc(people of color) and non-poc within themselves. Therefore, the effects might be moderated/mediated by cultural differences as well.

===Trust====

Sylus mains had the lowest mean score in terms of trust(M=11.2, SD=3.42). Yet, they significantly differed only from Xavier mains who had the highest mean(M=12.1, SD=3.28).

Personal comment: I don't know what to make of it. But let me put those here as well.

==Conscientiousness and Agreeableness==

I'll write this together because I have a theory about these results.

Caleb mains' scores were the lowest in terms of conscientiousness (M=74.3, SD=13.7) and agreeableness(M=84.4, SD=13.8). For conscientiousness, they significantly differed from Zayne and Sylus mains. And for agreeableness, they significantly differed from Zayne and Xavier mains. [Agreeableness showed unequal variances, so I used Kruskall-Wallis test]

Personal comment: Honestly, I'm surprised. (Caleb and his girlies not beating red flag/villain allegations)

If anything, I would expect Sylus mains to have lower agreeableness and conscientiousness (first impressions don't disappear).

Then I thought, what if it's related to Caleb being MC's adopted brother? Listen before shooting me. To feel at ease with this setting, you should have higher (but healthy) dissociative tendencies to detach yourself from its real-life associations. And guess what— low agreeableness and low conscientiousness are related to high disassociation [refer to:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1130527417300373]. Secondly, having a lower need to conform(related to agreeableness and conscientiousness) with others might be making it easier for some people to choose Caleb as their main love interest.

(But as I said, these results are liable to change. For instance, for the non-poc sample the lowest mean value of conscientiousness belongs to Rafayel mains)

===Emotionality===

Caleb(M=14.7, SD=3.49) mains had the lowest emotionality score, and the difference between them and Zayne(M=15.6, SD=3.04), Rafayel(M=15.5, SD=3.11), and Sylus(M=15.5, SD=3.33) mains was significant

Personal comment:......Babes lolololol. Is Caleb's robot alter taking over his mains?? Did they get a Toring chip as well? It's so funny omg

===Self-Discipline===

Rafayel(M=10.1, SD=2.96) and Caleb(M=10.1, SD=2.97) mains had similarly low scores of self-discipline, and they differed from Zayne(M=10.8, SD=2.87) and Sylus(M=10.8, SD=2.79) significantly.

Personal comment: As a Rafayel main, I can confirm this.

=Second Love Interest=

Most of Zayne mains chose Sylus as their second love interest. The other most preferred second love interest was Caleb, but since this test was done just before Caleb's new myth, the results might be affected by our excitement for it. Also, Zayne mains showed low preference for Rafayel.

A note about less significant/non-significant observations:

As a whole, we have low extraversion and average conscientiousness, as well as high openness to experience, neuroticism, and agreeableness

For subcategories, we have the highest mean for imagination and the lowest mean for gregariousness. (perfect combination to date fictional men)

Sylus and Zayne mains had similar mean scores in many main factors and subfactors of the Big Five test. Likewise, Rafayel and Caleb mains' scores were close to each other, and they contrasted with Sylus and Zayne(not always significantly tho). Xavier mains generally had balanced scores.

None of the groups differed significantly in terms of openness to experience, neuroticism, extroversion, and these factors' subcategories.

To check if the data gives standard results, I checked socioeconomic status(SES) and its relation to neuroticism since previous studies indicate higher neuroticism for low SES groups, and it was the same for this dataset as well. Anxiety, depression, and neuroticism showed a slightly decreasing trend as the SES increased.

Some studies suggest that people of color have lower trust scores, but in this study, poc had higher trust than non-poc. However, it might be due to the differences in exposure to discrimination between poc who live in the US and those who are natives of other countries.

Tag list: @dadddybangtan @gingers-random-junk @cloudyasteria @eoe-1379 @kwtdrn @punksausages @satorusfrontallobesilverhair @xanxann01 @dandellien @auraficial @fictionalmenlover5 @bundle-of-sunlight @starryfilled @cupcakefactory @rayamalaya @mandapanda16 @nouerzzz @jonggunkitten @fckkntired @dreamienebula @tiffyelefano @bbnique @maybeyougotmewrong @starrychxn @situationsheep @maimaily @irlsammy @meowumis @piranha-teeth @svnflowery @soapsoftheworld

[artuurle]

Woe, my Drainfolk headcanons upon yee

All my art and rambles under the cut because it's a whoooole ramble-y mess since i'm bad at. explaining my thoughts.

features characters in underwear but no nudity i promise

Okay so I tried my best to take a swing at this while also keeping these guys recognizable to the series. sorry if its a mess nmbnvbv.

I headcanon drainfolk the result of generations of normal humans warped from the influence of the drain which, similar to the rift, has properties that augments the creatures that exist near it, though the drain is much slower and a generational effect instead of the immediate- rapturous effect from the rift. Since the original population has been here for a good many of hundred years, they look incredibly different from average ggg humans (which also are unique against irl humans. looking at those inhuman skin tones) while still being directly related to them. Many traits developed were essential to help them survive their new lives in the drain ( claws, arm strength + length, growth cycles) since the place was incredibly hard to live in. Anatomy:

Drainfolk have very little sexual dimorphism - most of them all share the shorter and stout build and are covered in hair. the main differences are actually the fact AFAB individuals lack retractable claws and they tend to (usually) be taller and fuzzier on average). Drainfolk also display pads on the entire palms of their hands and slitted pupils. Development:

Drainfolk physically develop into adults at a very different pace than normal humans, while mental development stays the same. Staying incredibly small for most of their childhood with smaller growth spurts before entering a rapid period of growth close to adulthood. The sudden change in size causes a sudden shift to higher caloric intake and the occasional VERY CONFUSED teenager. The need to stay small for prolonged periods of time is because many places in the drain require you to climb in VERY dangerous areas, and the solution was to stay small as long as possible while your parents carried you until you were strong enough to climb around yourself.

Metamorphs:

Outliers in the drainfolk population- They tend to be around double the height of their compatriots and trade a lot of the heavier fuzz for a lighter coat and thicker skin. Their claws also grow longer as a form of defense.

Metamorphs are the term for drainfolk who after reaching adulthood, undergo a secondary growth spurt. This is caused by being thrust into various forms of responsibility and power- similar to how a dominant male orangutan will become larger or the dominant male fish will change size/gender if the large leader female dies. Either sex can become a metamorph, though its slightly more common in Afab individuals because of child rearing. This is also commonly seen in leaders of established groups of varying legality and in the eldest of a gaggle of an orphaned group of drainfolk after reaching adulthood. Any spot where the role of responsibility is shouldered is a role that can cause a drainfolk to become a metamorph.

Bonus:

Drainfolk even into their adulthood tend to climb up on people they deem close to them as a sign of affection or when they are scared / stressed for comfort. It is very common to see a drainfolk climb onto another the same size to the absolute annoyance or acceptance of the one being afflicted with the behavior. The behavior is very normalized in the drain but may come off as weird to people not aware of it.

[veliseraptor]

genuine qn!! can you tell us more about mxtx and her preoccupations thematically and including character types and and relationship dynamics, so interesting

oh man so we'll see how long it takes me to answer this ask because I could probably write a whole goddamn essay for this. with footnotes and everything. am I tempted, yes, but the last time I did that it took me like a year and a half and I'm pretty sure nobody cared

anyway, yeah! mxtx is definitely a writer where I feel like I can see the throughlines in a lot of her work pretty clearly. some of these are probably generic and I'm only somewhat equipped to recognize those (being yet a novice in the world of danmei specifically and cnovels more generally), so I can't be certain all of this is mxtx and not just the generic milieu she's working within. but I tried to parse it out based on what I've noticed.

I focused on thematics because that's what I personally find most interesting (and easiest to elaborate on, since some of the relationship dynamics are less specific to MXTX than they are romance conventions, a genre I am less familiar with).

this is necessarily an incomplete list because I haven't reread in a hot minute and also I am, again, not writing a complete essay for this (right now)

Justice/injustice. This one recurs across all three novels, both in terms of the desire for justice and the ways in which injustice is woven into the fabric of society and sometimes, it seems, almost inevitable. There's something deeply pessimistic, for instance, about the way that MDZS deals with this question, or at least a certain ambivalence, but in general I would say it's a theme of MXTX's work that people don't get what they "deserve", and what is or would be just is at best a difficult and often an unanswerable question.

Cycles of revenge/violence. Relatedly: MXTX seems to me very concerned with cycles of revenge and violence and what comes of them - namely, nothing. In SVSSS you see it with Shen Jiu and PIDW!Luo Binghe in particular, and how Shen Yuan's cutting of that violent cycle transforms not just Luo Binghe but the fate of the world as a whole. In MDZS you see it most clearly with the Nie Mingjue/Jin Guangyao/Nie Huaisang situation, which ultimately ends with nobody winning, but also in Jin Ling's explicit rejection of revenge at the end of the novel. In TGCF you can see it in Black Water Arc, where - again - nobody wins, but you can also see it with Xie Lian and Jun Wu. This further relates to:

Disinterest in/distrust of punitive impulses. This is the one I wrote a whole essay about! But in general I think that MXTX is...skeptical...of the impulse to punishment/retaliation, because of the stance she seems to take that violence only ever begets violence and never makes anything better. Again this threads back to the aforementioned "nobody gets what they deserve" thing - because if nobody gets what they deserve, who decides what anyone deserves?

Ambivalence about the "fixability" of society at large. This also kind of goes back to the first point on this list, and specifically I think is illustrated through the fact that two of three of her main pairings retreat from the world at large at the end of their stories. They aren't completely removed from society, but they are distanced from it - in both cases, I would argue, out of some disillusionment with its functioning and/or their place within it. There is a certain feeling in MXTX's work that society is, if not irreparably broken, fundamentally unjust in a way that is difficult to change. (I think TGCF is an interesting outlier in this way, actually.)

Class/status dynamics. I'm not saying that MXTX is, like, writing about class or status, but I am saying that she seems to be interested in the role that it plays in shaping/defining a character, given how often it turns up as a factor - in Shen Jiu, in Luo Binghe, in Jin Guangyao, in Wei Wuxian, in Mu Qing, in Hua Cheng, even in Xie Lian's crash from the heights of wealth to the depths of poverty.

The fickleness of the crowd. This also has to do with the importance of rumor and reputation, but what it often seems to come down to in terms of impact is how quickly people at large change their minds and bend to the beliefs of the people around them; how much attitude toward a person is informed by, and defined by, public opinion - regardless of that opinion's basis in truth. Often, explicitly, in spite of the opinion's basis in lies.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

revisited your new tier-list and had to ask about your dislike for skully. the rest i either saw you talk about or can deduce, but what did the dead boy do?

[Referencing my personal tier list!]

***Please note: these are just my OWN thoughts and opinions! In sharing them, I do not mean to disparage or to invalidate those who think differently than me; please feel however you wish about Skully!***

Listen, Skully's one of those characters I want to like 😅 but I just can't bring myself to...

I found him charming at first, I really did. I thought his whimsical demeanor and politeness were endearing and a nice way of translating Jack Skellington's character into a twisted version of him. I also thought he was very cute when he fanboyed over meeting his idol. Unfortunately, my opinion of Skully quickly went downhill as soon as we started planning for Halloween with the residents of Halloween Town. That's when he starts to exposit his... own beliefs on how Halloween should be celebrated. His ideas by themselves are fine (I actually prefer his version of Halloween, if I'm being completely honest). However, it's how Skully expresses those ideas that completely turned me off. He's so insistent that he get his way and becomes dismissive or defensive with those who don't see his perspective. I cringed every single time he talked down to others for not agreeing with him or for simply pitching different ideas--and while you could argue that the NRC boys were also turning down Skully's ideas, none of them were as rude about it as he was. Some of the boys (like Vil and Jamil) even entertained his ideas for a little while or went out of their way to attempt to console him. But what did Skully do? Continue to sulk and whine. Whenever he asks Yuu for their opinion too, he tries to MANSPLAIN to them to change their opinion if you ever pick the dialogue option where you disagree with him. I often hear people gushing about how it's so sweet and considerate that Skully involves Yuu by asking for their thoughts on X or Y. But when you gauge his reaction to a dissenting dialogue option, he doesn't actually want to hear your honest opinion, he only wants someone to validate his own views. Again, it's okay if Skully wants to observe his own traditions and what he has grown up with, but he shouldn't be going around forcing others to follow him. It's gatekeepy, it's elitist, it's not cute.

You know what else isn't cute? All the tantrums he threw in the event. Like... to a certain extent, I get being emotional and I understand being upset. But to act in the way Skully does????? To shout and cry like a toddler?????? Multiple times??? Over being "betrayed" by your idol? By someone you projected onto and had no idea what they were actually like? Someone you don't even KNOW??? That reads as really parasocial and emotionally obsessive 💦💦 (and if you know anything about me, I'm deeply disturbed by extreme parasocial behaviors). That, paired with his general emotional immaturity, left such a bad taste in my mouth. Yeah, the other NRC students and especially the OB boys act have emotional outbursts too, but those occur far less frequently (unless you’re talking about an outlier, like Riddle, who is also low on my tier list). I don’t know, maybe it’s because I don’t “get” worshipping someone to that extent??? It just seems so… unserious and unhealthy. Skully’s motivation just feels so much weaker than I’d expect of a Halloweenie. It would have helped to know just how bad the bullying he suffered was (which would justify his intense emotions) or more about why Skully + his hometown adore Jack so much (so we’d better understand why he feels so betrayed or why he wants to emulate Jack so badly).

A lot of what Skully does completely disregards others' autonomy and boundaries. Even the hand-kissing lost its charm after a while because he continued to do it in excess, even when the NRC boys largely expressed disgust + discomfort and TOLD HIM MULTIPLE TIMES to not do it again. Grim even actively dodges an attempted kiss from Skully. Does Skully listen? Absolutely not. Yeah, you could argue this was done for comedy. The thing is, I don't find it funny. I find it invasive and see it as harassment. He wears the title of "gentleman" but cannot be bothered to actually study up on what it means to be one... yet he gets so irritated whenever other characters question his being a "gentleman" 💀

I also didn't find Skully to be that threatening of an antagonist. He just... poisons Jack, pumpkins Grim (without even getting confirmation if Grim even saw anything suspicious in the first place), kidnaps him and Yuu, and... then what? He didn't plan anything out after that and had no solid way of "taking over" Halloween. He's a first-year student who hardly has mastery of his UM and has basic. How was he going to get the residents of Halloween Town to obey him? How was he planning on beating the remaining NRC students? Maybe the point of this event wasn't to have Skully be a major threat--but it's still a massive letdown after the likes of Rollo or even Fellow and the mysterious boss backing him.

The only things that save Skully from being at the very bottom of my tier list are his strong first impression and the fact that he does repent and learn to change his ways later in life. It seems like his attitude improved and he became more open-minded too; I only wish I could have seen that more mature version of Skully… Maybe I would have liked him more then.

[mandrake-mistakes]

Let’s talk about the Prim Reaper

Listen. It’s funny. I enjoy a big tall glass of I hate Gale juice in the morning with my bacon and eggs as much as the next girlie. But he’s also super interesting and complicated and important and I have a million thoughts so buckle up for a lengthy journey through the Gale Hawthorn section of my brain.

Why Gale is good

He wants a better world for everyone in panem

He stepped up to care for his family as a 14 year old

He took care of Katniss’s family while she was in the arena and would have continued to feed them for the rest of his life if she’d died in the games. At great person cost

Every single person from district 12 who is alive at the end of the games (besides the victors) is alive because of Gale. He pulled people out of burning buildings, he tore down the fence, he fed and led all the refugees to d13

He’s smart, resourceful, capable, determined, idealistic, stubborn, and honest.

Why Gale is important as a character

His anger at the state of Panem is (1) valid and (2) representative of a feeling held by a LARGE number of people. Katniss doesn’t talk to a lot of folks openly, but it’s safe to assume everyone overthrowing their districts was just as angry as Gale. He puts a voice to that fury

His focus on violence as a solution and his quickness to assimilate into the military and his trust of Coin make him one of the most notable mirrors held up to society in the original trilogy. Susanne wrote THG inspired by Americans response to the Iraq War. We were dealing with things like the Patriot Act, anti-Muslim sentiment, and enlistment propaganda in the states when these books were first written. Gales view on enemies and war were incredibly normal takes for the average American citizen at the time. She didn’t write him to be a villain, she wrote him to be US

The belief that some collateral civilian death is necessary and acceptable in war is NORMAL (bad, but very very common). All of you reading this live under governments that operate that way. It’s KATNISS’S beliefs that are the outliers here. The fact that Susanne got us all to agree with Katniss on this is wonderful and impressive and half the point of the books. But that doesn’t make Gale a stand out villain, he’s representing the norm. He is who we were before we read THG

Gale is a foil to so many things I don’t even know where to begin. His morals contrast Katniss’s and make her views more solidified and defined for the reader. He does the same for Peeta by being a contrasting romantic lead. Also Finnick to a lesser degree. He mimics some of Snow’s philosophy, reminding us the call is sometimes coming from inside the house. And he exemplifies Coin’s control and influence over her people. Not all of these are examples of literary foils but if you’re not Mrs Pierce from 12th grade English you don’t get to call me out about it

Why Gale sucks

He has a strong Us vs Them mentality, which is very normal, very problematic, and very worth critiquing. He has a chip on his shoulder about the “well off” merchant class in district 12, he has no empathy or forgiveness for capital citizens like Katniss’s prep team, and holds onto prejudices against victors. Unlike Katniss, he doesn’t get to know people and change his mind about their motives, he doesn’t give respect or humanize those he thinks are against him. He does not remember who the real enemy is

He also has a strong “if you’re not with me you’re against me” view of people. Anyone who isn’t rebelling loudly enough is making themselves his enemy. He’s angry with katniss in Catching Fire for not wanting to join the rebellion, he complains she should be doing more to spread dissent instead of trying to protect herself and her loved ones. He says that anyone sweeping floors in the Nut in district 2 is working for the enemy and deserving of the same treatment as those actively firing weapons against him. He’s very black and white about who deserves mercy and who does not.

He’s a really bad friend!!! He rarely gives Katniss any sort of comfort or emotional support. He ignored it when she’s struggling. He ignores the trauma she went through in the games. He goes so far as to ignore it when her SISTER DIES. When she acts out of fear (trying to run away, performing with Peeta for the cameras, refusing to define any romantic relationships atm) he belittles her.

It has to be said, we all knew this bullet point was coming, the romantic pressure he puts on Katniss is not chill. He kisses her without permission, guilts and manipulates her, gets angry when she doesn’t make a “choice” about who her “boyfriend” should be in the middle of conversations about who will be brutally murdered next. He does not read the room and does not accept her no or empathize with her confusion or fear.

“‘It’s the way he hates you. It’s so… familiar. I used to feel like that,’ he admits, ‘when I’d watch you kissing him on the screen. Only I knew I wasn’t being entirely fair. He can’t see that.’” - Gale says about hijacked Peeta after he’s insulted and embarrassed Katniss in the dining hall. Hijacked Peeta, who barely sees Katniss as human, who tried to kill her, who at best sees her as cruel and manipulative and wicked at this point in the story. Gale relates to that overgrown, violent, jealousy so much he tells katniss it’s FAMILIAR. He says that TO HER FACE. Evil. I know he goes on to say a nice comforting thing about how hijacked Peeta isn’t seeing the real her right after this quote but I will never be over that he says this and I shan’t forgive him for it.

What happened with Prim and the bomb

This gets its own section cuz it’s a big deal and super twisted by in fandom discussions

We know that Gale didn’t make the choice to use the double bomb when and where it was used. He was with Katniss and Co.™️ in the capital when it went down

Gale and Beetee are not even sure that it was their trap design enacted by Coin. But they seem to suspect. Katniss is sure it’s true. We the readers are meant to believe that’s what happened. It was Chekhov's gun, it had to go off

Gale would NEVER hurt Prim on purpose. He’s proven himself to be a protector, and Prim is one of his priorities. He’s saved her life, he’s cared for her, he cares a lot about Katniss and knows better than almost anybody how important Prim is to her. There’s no reality where Gale knew she was going to be in the capital and allowed it. No world where he saw her on the street and pressed a button to drop a bomb on her.

However, Gale is okay with the death of innocence. His design preys on compassion, it intentionally targets medics and those rushing in to help. It reflects his belief system about collateral damage in war perfectly. He knows it’s not pretty, but he believes it’s necessary and the ends justify the means. When he says this he’s imagining the trap being used on the ENEMY. He’s comfortable thinking about the deaths of theoretical, enemy Prims.

The fact that this got turned around and used on allies and ultimately kills someone close to him and ruins the relationship he cares most about is a huge lesson for Gale. He never learned to remember who the enemy is and that failing lead him right up to that scene with katniss in the mirror. He thought there was a wholely good and wholely bad side to the war. He thought his designs would only be used on enemies. He thought those getting hurt would deserve it. He thought the loss of life would be worth it. He was wrong.

[persistentplums]

In vbros the act of being a part of the hero/arch business is toxic masculinity/men centering/man child fantasy the women of vbros become clear to me using that framework

Mol (sexualized, assassin fantasy, “tease”)

Shelia (my man my man my man warrior, woman who fixes everything, only woman in male dominated field, male centric)

Rose (token woman, her past “doesn’t exist” aside from being a mother)

I used to be very mad about this, I dragged the show on my priv twitter about this point. But in realizing the whole thing being male centric informs the women themselves, what they allow, how they are used as characters, the writers and the age old roles women are in comics makes Mantila interesting.

She rightly pointed out Shelia competence and Shelia replies with she WANTS to be like this. Effectively being okay with her role and reinforcing the writers place of her: male centric.

Mantila however is motivated by women, yes she says her dad is the reason she believes she is owed the head of GUILD but I would also argue Bobbie refusal of the business in general is the bigger reason. Add her “interest” in Shelia and using men to add the salt to wounds I think Mantila was the first character actually motivated by the decisions women in the world chose.

This could also add the Mantila is a fem lesbian thing I truly believe in but, the women in vbros eventually or outright are constantly shown to be okay as the support to the male centric identity in this world. Mantila and Rusty are outliers in a way that would’ve been VERY cool to have seen. Rusty relationship with women is shit. But Mantila and Rusty relationship is one not only similar issues but beneficial to their hate of the role they were forced into as a child enforcing their gendered place in this world.

Rusty carrying the boys and Mantila being just a donor has more to do with how both, I believe, decided to abandon the roles put on them by their parents, by their world, and the writers slight change out of misogyny.

This isn’t to say the women of vbros are bad they’re cool but they are 100% informed and created by the misogyny of the creators and the misogyny of the very genre they’re parodying. It’s only really until the movie that the very point is addressed, which I personally hated, but when I think about Shelia has never been anything outside of that and while Debbie was correct in pointing it out I feel so sad we never got to see Debbie character one of the only women characters who was free from the same set up in the show.

[therealvinelle]

What languages do you think the Volturi would have used as their main methods of communication in which eras? I’m guessing Latin during the time of the roman empire, and clearly english in the modern day

(I’m assuming its not convenient for the guards to have to learn every language in the world, especially since they’re always changing)

Great question.

You can't talk to vampires, explain to them who the Volturi are, what the law is, if they can't understand you, and you can't have witnesses tell you of someone who's broken the law if you don't understand them either.

Vampires, language, and learning

Given how little vampires are around humans (as they lose control near them and the Cullens are considered weird outliers for willingly seeking human company), they are not going to learn much language from them. Perhaps that changes when mass media makes human speech accessible without being near people, but that predicates vampires setting up a radio or a television to begin with.

More to the point, the kind of vocabulary you get from a vampire's interactions with a humans will be extremely limited (they will learn enough to lure victims into an alley with them), just as TV and radio are infamously deceptive sources of language learning - scripted material can leave you with a stylized vocabulary, and purely receiving without producing the language nor having the opportunity to be corrected by a target language speaker means your learning will be slow and limited.

I imagine most language learning occurs between vampires, and to make up for how limited this must be (as there is likely a very low number of vampires alive at any given point) they likely learn language very fast (immersion and repetition are key words in 2nd language acquisition). They also likely learn the language exactly as the speaker teaches it, though if I'm getting very nerdy I can imagine a vampire who spoke a dialected or "L" form of their language would switch to a more standardized/upper/"H" form when teaching it to others (Research has shown this can be a subconscious change, and can even be as sensitive as particular topics, such as politics, will have people switching to a higher form of their language, as well as people who spoke L being in stubborn denial they spoke L at all only to be shocked to hear recordings played back to them. Our teacher-vampire might not be aware he was switching, or he might think of the L variety as not actually part of the language, and therefore not worth relaying).

All this to say vampires out in the world likely learn languages from people they run into, assuming it doesn't turn into lethal fight, and it may only be enough to get by ("I like you, I will teach you enough to tell the other vampires in this region you're not a threat"), or it can be enough to be conversational ("I like you, let's hang out for a month").

Where does this take us?

Let us look at the vampires we meet in canon.

There's the Amazonian coven, Nahuel and Huilen, all people who kept to themselves, will likely have encountered very few English-speaking humans, speak English as well as a native speaker. Alistair, a recluse since the 14th century, is not challenged by what is by now a different language either. Caius is not only fluent, but when he loses his temper or directs his speech at Aro he doesn't switch to another language.

Carlisle, who we see the most of any of the characters with a different language background, only has one mildly archaic phrasing that I ever noticed ("You could but love them", about immortal children), and that could be impacted by him reminiscing about something he saw a long time ago - see the above about people switching subconsciously.

That is the only slip, however, and Carlisle might even have done it on purpose if he privately thinks "but" is sometimes better than "only", or he thought it added to the storytelling. It could even be something he feels comfortable doing because his proficience with modern English is that good, while Nahuel would never because he wants to be Fluent™. We don't see Carlisle talk at length about anything from the past aside from this one occasion, however, so it's possible this was subconscious and he does slip into slightly different speech when reminiscing.

Returning to the Amazonians, Nahuel, Huilen, and Alistair.

They have learned English and learned it so perfectly they're indistinguishable from native speakers. More, these are all people unlikely to have learned it from humans nor from mass media, indicating vampires do learn the language from each other, as I believe is most likely (again, notice how conspicuously modern American they sound).

Further, when it's necessary they learn it fluently. Remember we meet them in the context of them coming to witness a trial, and Nahuel in particular had to make a lengthy speech. It's possible, I daresay probable, he learned his (very modern and American) English from Alice and Jasper on the trip to Forks - where else would he have learned it?

Vampires, in other words, use each other to learn languages and it seems they can pick it up quite easily (though learning is likely very differently for them, something I'm not going to get into because I don't know enough about human language acquisition.)

And now, the linguistic diversity of the vampire world

So, we are looking at a few interesting factors where the linguistic diversity of the vampire world is concerned.

There are, in my opinion, likely to be no more than 500 vampires in the world at any given point, likely less.

Of these 500, many live in covens. These may be a multilingual covens.

This is pure speculation on my end, but I imagine different languages are completely compertmanlized in vampire brains and language A isn't lurking in the background when you speak language B. Caius never switches, even when he's lost his temper, the Denali yell in English when their sister is murdered, everyone's speech stays modern no matter the occasion or who they're speaking with, with that sole and very small exception from Carlisle which could have been intentional on his end. The implications of this could be that it's possible for Carlisle and Victoria (who both lived in London a century apart) to talk to each other in 17th century English, without Victoria experiencing interference from 16th century English nor either of them from later English. Further, if Carlisle never engaged with the English language after being turned, it would still be easy for Victoria to communicate with him and teach him more modern English.

You likely have a Six Degrees of Kevin Spacey-type of linguistic thing happening in the vampire world (remember it's tiny). If you don't speak language E, you may still speak languages A and B, and know someone who speaks B and C, who in turn knows someone who speaks D and E. There will be the person who speaks only language M and no one else does, but he will be an outlier.

This will be a separator between newborn/young vampires and older ones, and nomads/reclusive vampires and more social vampires or vampires in covens. The young or nomadic haven't had a chance to learn more than what they knew as humans, and perhaps what they learned from their creators. The older nomadic/reclusive vampires may have learned bits of many languages, but may not master them the way we see Carlisle's friends (who have an English-speaking vampire friend) and the Volturi master English.

Language is survival: if you only speak language M, odds are you don't know about the Volturi or the law. The Volturi won't be able to communicate with you when you break the law either, which they will want to do so they can track down your creator and potential coven members. For this I imagine Aro and Marcus are brought in.

What this means for the Volturi

The Volturi don't need to speak every language on the globe, they need to be able to speak with every vampire. As mentioned above, in cases where they really don't know the language, where it's a minority language they have no chance of learning, Aro and Marcus's respective gifts mean they will still gain the information they need.

(It will still have been a waste for language M vampire to have broken the law because the language barrier kept him from learning of it, and I imagine a true language M vampire (that is, one who only speaks a language no one else speaks) when encountered is brought to Volterra so Aro can learn his language, and then teach him the lingua franca. Aro learns a new language and meets someone from a new culture, while the language learner is informed of the law and appropriately terrified of the Volturi after being kidnapped like this, everybody wins.)

If you learn English, Arabic, Urdu, French, Spanish, and Mandarin you're going to be able to speak with the vast majority of vampires because most of them will at one point have picked up enough of it to get by in a conversation. I imagine the Volturi, at least the Volturi with roles that require them to communicate directly with people (such as Demetri, whose gift means it's in his interests to have met as many vampires as possible, or Heidi, who has to be able to scam people from all over the world), try to know more than these languages however, and to be better than passing at them. It would for instance be bad if a nomad trying to help them is unable to give vital information because his French was too limited.

It's also in the Volturi's interests, especially in the early days when they were establishing themselves, to teach vampires they meet languages so that they can then go on to communicate with others and inform those of the law as well. I imagine, too, that a particularly multilingual vampire can get recruited into the guard, at least for a few years while the language teaching is transferred to both the guard, and the community he came from.

So no, the Volturi do not learn every language on earth, but it is in their interest to be able to talk to every vampire alive, and I think they're able to speak to the vast majority of them. This, also, is not getting into mutually intelligible languages - learn Danish, for instance, and you get Swedish and Norwegian for free.

I also have to say - languages may be "always changing" but not unrecognizably so within one generation. The pace at which they change and the way they change depends on population size, external influences, the existence of a written language, historical trends- social media, for instance, is seeing a modern day and quite rapid shift in Norwegian (And I'm sure other languages as well) as people of all ages are constantly exposed to English. I've seen toddlers ask for "ice cream", not "iskrem". Our vocabulary and even grammar is definitely changing. Meanwhile, if you present a modern Italian with a text written by Frans d'Assisi, he would be able to understand most of it. Yes, languages change, but I don't think it would be that great a bother to keep up to date even if you were an immortal polyglot (and even then, even if you look at pidgin or creole languages, if you know one or both languages involved then you are going to be able to follow most of what's happening).

[official-sonic-team]

the new frontiers dlc brought up interesting information regarding the symbol we periodically see throughout the game

the main point is that the symbol of the game is worshipped by the ancients as a god, or as a miracle of the god they believed in. it’s interesting to note that sage gives this information, as she has data on the ancients in her data banks, and thus can be relied as giving accurate information.

it is also important to note what sage also says: “perhaps the god of the Ancients depicted by the wall markings still exists out there today.”

which feels very poignant. sage has by this been point been carefully observing every action sonic the hedgehog has been doing. she has been adding more and more data to her collection, and has frequently shown before hand her own curiosity at sonic’s power.

importantly:

“how are you able to escape cyberspace?” and “how can you use the chaos emeralds?”

we know, of course, that all of sonic’s other friends were trapped in cyberspace. Sonic managed to be fast enough to escape. obviously, this is quite the outlier ability.

we also know that sonic’s ability to manipulate the chaos emeralds is an odd phenomenon. there is simply no other character in this series on par with sonic in his ability to transform using the emeralds, as he does so the most frequently and usually without consequences. sonic has even been seen transforming into his super form for fun (sonic 3) or staying in it for days at a time (sonic advance 1), and now using them multiple times in a row (sonic frontiers).

sonic is also one of the few characters able to perform “chaos control”, often said to be a “miracle”, was used as a parameter for gerald robotnik’s “ultimate lifeform”, and a rare ability. most characters are either robots (metal sonic, emerl), or developed by gerald (shadow, biolizard), or, in black doom’s case, are also an alien.

then, we learn that the chaos emeralds are originally from the ancients and their home world. most normal mobians on sonic’s planet can not use the power of the emeralds, or for very long.

knuckles also says something very interesting:

the connection between Angel island and the ancients are clearly stated, heavily implying the ancients built the ruins that are noticeably stylistically different from the echidna ones, which lean towards a more maya inspired style. the ruins being spoken about are implied to be the very technological advanced ones we see throughout the island, much more bold in color, reminiscent of futuristic realism, with inventions such as warp pads throughout the island. we know the ancient echidnas were not familiar with the emeralds (considering Chaos would never have been provoked if they had), and it seems unlikely in their dedication to protecting the master emerald from harm they would abuse that power to create technology. it’s also highly possible the chaos emeralds separate from Angel island/the master emerald given that sonic finds them in sonic 1 while exploring South Island, where the chaos emeralds seem to have been residing long enough to cause geographic changes. in essence, it’s highly unlikely the echidnas had created those ruins, and knuckles confirms it was likely the ancients. sonic frontiers emphasizes that the ancients were incredibly technologically advanced.

and within these ruins, we find two interesting artifacts:

the realistic depictions of hedgehogs in hydrocity and the infamous hidden palace mural- both of which are on angel island. the style of these artifacts match neatly with the futuristic, brightly colored ruins associated with the technologically advanced machinery around angel island.

thus, it can be implied that the ancients are the ones who make these pieces of art. which then begs the question: why? what interest would they have in a hedgehog?

perhaps that was the form they most often depicted their deity in. through prophetic visions inspired by the chaos emeralds, which transcend time and thus know one day sonic would have hold of them, or for other reasons, mystical or physical in nature, their deity was often considered to be a hedgehog.

and what is Sonic’s purpose, in sonic frontiers?

a) he guides the koco to the hermits, protecting them

b) he and his friends help the koco move on, as they are extensively ghosts, and often during these scenes, the symbol appears in the sky

c) he defeats the end for good

it is also interesting to note that the ancients parallel the story in sonic adventure one in quite a few ways, mainly in how tikal could not soothe chaos and simply caged them in the master emerald for all eternity, and it was sonic who pointed out that locking him up wasn’t fixing the issue at hand, but only worsening it. the ancients, too, had locked up a god like creature, and failed to defeat, or otherwise solve the problem at hand, and it is sonic who comes to finally destroy what had terrorized them for so many years.

is sonic the hedgehog the manifestation of the ancients god? an interesting question.

[dareduffie]

HOW AND WHY BRUCE WAYNE CAN AND SHOULD BE ASIAN.

* Written by an East / Southeast Asian.

Batman (2016-) #153

You actually don't have to change much. Here's the story:

Thomas and Martha, philanthropists they were, decide to adopt a baby that's been abandoned on the steps of the Gotham Orphanage. In growing up with two White parents who are well-meaning but... simpleminded about race, let's say, Bruce doesn't develop much of a cultural identity.

He's East Asian and only "White-passing" in the sense that Markiplier and Olivia Rodrigo "pass" as White. Despite being a visible minority, Bruce grows up without a sense of race. First and foremost, he thinks of himself as a Wayne. Not only does his dedication to Gotham stem from his love for his parents because of a tragedy, but also because Gotham is the home he was handed by parents—who he would also view and miss as his "benefactors."

And this is another reason why Bruce has a chronic need to adopt as many children as possible—that was his first gift. In Batman & Robin: Year One, he struggles with the discovery that he and Dick, despite similarities in their life experiences, are extremely different people. Bruce is grateful that he was taken in and therefore removed from an impoverished childhood, so obviously it must follow that all other children desire the same outcome (and that the adoption would, in itself, be the solution to all life's problems).

Batman & Robin – Year One (2025) #3

Being as he's generally emotionally stunted, I don't see him as being very self-aware about his ethnic or cultural identity. Rather than changing or diminishing his character, I would instead argue that making Bruce Wayne an Asian man could actually enhance pre-existing facets of his nature by bringing more nuance and significance to them.

So why East Asian specifically? When arguing against Bruce being POC, I think people are mistakenly thinking of Whiteness and mobility as interchangeable (and, to be fair, they often are).

Through personal experience, I've found that White people are more willing to extend trust and respect to those that they can provide "exceptions" for. Generally speaking, Bruce will have greater social flexibility and ease of disguise (i.e. Matches Malone, Mordecai, Det. Hawke) the lighter-skinned he is. He's rich and powerful enough that Gotham's elite can't do much about him being an "outlier" regardless of his skintone, but he does have a habit of slipping in and out of characters regularly. Luckily for Asian Bruce Wayne, we're stereotyped to all look identical!

Batman: One Bad Day: Mr. Freeze (2022) #1

Personally, I think being emotionally stunted is of greater importance to Bruce's character than his being a billionaire. Like I said, I can't imagine him having a strong sense of his own ethnicity without anyone to lead him and especially after growing up in a White household devoid of other influences. Being adopted isn't quite the same experience as being a first-generation immigrant, but there is the same inclination to assimilate rather than celebrate your culture.

Which, of course, brings us right back to why he is so driven to serve Gotham. In addition to the plethora of other canonical or interpretive reasons, he's grateful. Might even feel he owes a debt.

TO BE CLEAR: I am not suggesting that Bruce Wayne as an Asian man would experience White privilege. I am suggesting that his exorbinate amounts of money and proximity to Whiteness would allow him access to a privilege similar to it—with the exception being that his privilege is conditional on him being rich. His life would not be empty of discrimination, but he would be keenly invested in assimilating himself not only because of his upbringing but also his own interests. His culture bears no importance to him because he has never experienced it and has therefore decided he's better off without its burden. Ignoring, of course, that his ethnicity is not something that he can simply put away.

To his eyes, Bruce would have no reason to investigate his background; nothing mission-wise calls for it and he's smart enough to know that it is politically wiser to appear closer to the hands that he is shaking than to note the differences. He wouldn't regularly clock microaggressions against himself and even if he did, he would probably accept it as a part of Brucie's reputation and Batman's protection.

Catwoman (2011) #2

Also. Listen. If there's anyone that's good at being a strict parent and stoic man who is obsessively committed to upholding his family's values, it's an Asian man.

TL;DR: Bruce Wayne should be Asian because it would suit his character to have been adopted himself and because conforming into whatever it is he believes is better for Gotham is like his whole deal (which is juicier if he's Asian) and because I want him to be and I said so.

[rotomartsblog]

I’ve been thinking about my version/rewrite whatever of Ever After High so I’m just gonna list a few lore tidbits about the world and some of the characters

So first things first I want to say that my version of the EAH school is more based on European secondary education than American (since I’ve decided that EAH should logically take place in Europe). Mostly N. Ireland’s secondary school system since that’s what I’m most familiar with. Anyway- EAH students go through seven years of school from around age 11 to age 18 (give or take a bit). EAH officially has two stages of education; the Freedom stage and the Legacy stage. The Freedom stage is the first three years of school and the Legacy stage is the remaining four years. The Legacy stage itself is split into two sub-stages, Pre-Signing and Post-Signing. The story begins in the second year of the Pre-Signing Legacy stage, where Legacy Day will take place at the end of the year. Students also can only room with people from their year.

I wanted to actually establish what the Curse on Wonderland actually is since that never actually gets explained in canon. Basically, the Curse takes the form of an erupting black fountain in the centre of Wonderland that leads up to the sky, “polluting” the atmosphere. It has both a physical and mental effect on the people of Wonderland, making them physically weaker while also “corrupting” their minds I guess? While the people of Wonderland have developed medicine and treatment for the curse, it’s more effective against the physical symptoms than the mental ones and it isn’t widely distributed.

Speaking of Wonderland, the Alice of the story is the only “character” that follows the Legacy system, because the rest of the characters are from Wonderland and don’t follow the same rules as Ever Afterlings. This doesn’t mean that the characters don’t have family legacies and traditions but they operate separately from Ever After’s.

Speaking of Alice, Alistair has been trapped in Wonderland since he was 10 years old. He isn’t as fond of Wonderland as his canon counterpart. Also his last name isn’t Wonderland it’s Adventures. I know that’s sounds equally stupid but it’s makes more sense to me based on the lore I’ve established.

Card people have the ability to go “flat” like a card. Also, they’re made of the same material of a playing card (specifically card stock), and they feel like such whether they’re flat or not.

Card people are limited to only two colours in their designs; white and the second colour depending on what suit they’re from (Clubs are green, Diamonds are blue, Hearts are red, and Spades are purple), except their eyes, which can be any colour. The exception to this is royal cards, which have three colours; white, black, and their suit colours (also their eye colours of course, which in Lizzie’s case is green). The outlier to this entirely is the Joker cards, which have no set rules for how they’re coloured.

There’s never a set number of Jokers for each generation of card people. In the previous generation, the parents generation, there were two: the red joker and the black joker, but in the current generation Courtly is the only Joker card.

Chess people are living chess pieces so they are made of wood.

Card and Chess people aren’t ‘born’, they’re literally made.

Lizzie, Kitty, and Maddie are the first Wonderlandians to attend Ever After High.

When the Evil Queen was imprisoned, all known entrances to Wonderland were closed off. However, new ones can be made either on purpose or accidentally. This is how Darling ends up in Wonderland.

When Ever Afterlings go to Wonderland their colour palette changes because idk I think it looks neat.

Also the Evil Queen cursing Wonderland and being imprisoned would’ve taken place like right before Raven started EAH.

Okay done talking about Wonderland onto something else. King Charming is a piece of shit human being. He’s a bad dad and an unfaithful husband who has a whole lot of illegitimate kids. Blondie is one of them.

Raven ended up rooming with Maddie in their first year at EAH because over half of the students in their year requested to specifically not be roomed with Raven.

Briar’s mum was asleep for 100 years because I don’t want to work out how it’d make sense if she was from the previous generation. Rosabella’s mum is Briar’s mum’s great-niece. Briar and Rosabella call each other cousin because it’s simpler.

Rosabella, despite what is believed, is actually the Beast in the story. The reason it’s believed she’s the Beauty is because the society of EAH is #sexist and #homophobic so the idea of the Beast in BATB being a girl or a boy being the Beauty is unbelievable. Rosabella suspects she’s the Beast because when she was younger she grew horns, though she’s forbidden from telling people this.

Briar and Rosabella’s parents are not on speaking terms because of a situation revolving around Rosabella’s horns. When they grew in, Briar’s parents had offered to babysit Rosabella while her parents were busy. Briar’s dad then dehorned Rosabella (and he wasn’t trained for it so it wasn’t a pleasant experience for Rosabella). Rosabella’s parents were obviously upset about this so they cut ties with Briar’s parents.

By the time the story begins Ashlynn’s mum is dead so she’s kind of going through it. Her dad hasn’t remarried yet.

I’ve messed around with the ages of some characters so while most of the main cast is the second year of the Pre-Signing Legacy stage, some are in different years. I haven’t worked out everyone but the important ones right now are that Dexter and Darling are in the first year of the Pre-Signing Legacy stage and Ramona is in the first year of the Post-Signing Legacy stage (and Justine I guess since they’re roommates).

Also most roommates will probably be the same as in canon since I can’t be bothered to change those.

Despite Legacy Day being when you pledge to follow your destiny, there are expectations on people whose stories typically happen when they’re young (case in point: Alistair being in Wonderland when he’s 10). Cedar often deals with people prodding and asking questions since she’s still a puppet as a teenager, though her dad also started his story late so it isn’t unique to her.

Raven doesn’t listen to Tailor Quick in my version. Sorry to swifties but sometimes you write a character and realise some things don’t work with their personality. Raven listens to goth music and dad rock. Dexter still listens to Tailor Quick though.

Speaking of music tastes, Poppy listens to Ska punk and Holly hates it so much.

Cupid was told to hide her monstrous features when going to EAH, so she’s masquerading as a Cherub. Also for a majority of her first year at EAH she’s faking her personality.

EAH’s school is specifically for European stories and there are different school in other regions for their stories.

Idk how yet but I’m planning on including references to other fairy tale authors and collectors like Andrew Lang.

I’ve planned a few arcs and mini stories for my version, some of them replace canon arcs. A few of these are a story based on A Wonderlandiful World, a rewrite of Way to Wonderland, a rewrite of Dragon Games that features two of the mention regional schools, a story I can only describe as “Cedar gets psychologically tormented by an arm puppet”, the Blood Knight story, and a story that replaces Epic Winter.

While EAH is typically only open for people with legacies to follow, there is a course available for people without legacies. However, it’s incredibly expensive and the course is kept entirely separated from the main course. Non-legacy students aren’t even allowed to be roommates with legacy students and there’s few opportunities for the two courses to interact. Poppy was originally in this course before Holly managed to get Headmaster Grimm to transfer her to the main course and the Charming family have a deal with the school so that none of their children go to the non-legacy course.

That’s all for now I think.

[blueikeproductions]

I’ve said before Transformers has struggled recently with its villains and recent material doesn’t change this.

Ever since this happened…

We’ve largely been stuck with poor man’s Vegeta Megatron.

And as such the series has lost its main villain, and become directionless.

The modern version of this trend started with Rescue Bots & RiD15, but it made sense in their respective series, and the replacement villains were treated like actual villains and are fondly remembered because of that.

It’s also not the first time Megatron was succeeded in leadership, as the Marvel Comics did this shockingly frequently.

With RatBat being the most unique case, in that he was the only one who largely succeeded in his efforts, and was a result of sincerely wanting to try something different.

I think that sincerity is long gone in favor of brand stagnation and “DEI” despite the later going out the door as of typing.

The usual replacement tends to be Galvatron, often depicted as an evolved Megatron through mystical means.

But Hasbro seems very reluctant to use Galvatron lately for whatever reason, instead usually having him as a (technically) separate character if he does show up.

Cyberverse kinda shows the current problem two fold. The bad writers convinced themselves they wrote a sympathetic Megatron when the writing shows him to still be certifiably insane and going through what is essentially an on the nose bad break up with Optimus. This extended to Megatron somehow being worthy of using the Matrix, and able to use it, despite Decepticons never typically being able to, and imply Optimus isn’t worthy of the Matrix, but never follow up on it.

To convince themselves and the audience that the regular CV Megatron was still a good person despite his atrocities, the writers pulled an Archie Sonic, and brought on their own Robo-Robotnik in Megatron X.

He too is apparently worthy of the Matrix and able to use it, despite completely destroying Cybertron and most, if not all, of its non Perfectcon inhabitants.

(To be fair, the idea of a Decepticon being able to use the Matrix goes back to Marvel G1 Thunderwing, but his actions helped corrupt the Matrix, creating the Dark Matrix Creature, but Cyberverse never states this is the case at all. This isn’t really a popular concept the series goes back to either, making Cyberverse the outlier.)

This ties back to Hasbro’s reluctance on Galvatron, as X was originally supposed to BE Galvatron in a Marvel G1 homage, but Hasbro said no.

So we’ve been left with a weird, but non committed, experimental phase of trying out different Villians to less than stellar results…

(Mandroid and Scourge are pretty good villains, but Mandroid quickly succumbed to bad writing, & Scourge was fairly quickly killed off, with no clear intent to go back to the Terrorcons and have a Movie Cyclonus based on the Armada version to take Scourge’s place.)

This feeds back into fan complaints about Hasbro’s unwillingness to try new things I’ve seen recently. In context the complaint was more wanting another Beast Wars like thing with new factions and new non G1 characters.

Like we HAVE been getting that with the Terrans and Terrorcons, but it’s clear kids aren’t that interested in them, and adult fans are as fickle as ever and not supporting it super well either. TFONE is pry the most damning, where it’s doing poorly across the planet theatrically, despite trying a new non-evergreen art style, and a much better version of Aligned/IDW caste system that simplifies it to Cogs & Cogless.

It’s not for lack of trying, but it’s also not grabbing kids well either.

This weird flip flopping recently came into play with Galactic Trials, the crappy looking racing game.

The game casts Nemesis Prime as the main villain, who tried to steal the relics of the Primes, but fail and cast the Chaos Emeralds, er, relics across the galaxy.

Here’s the weird part: this happens before the Great War began, with the Autobots and Decepticons now finding out in the present and scrambling to collect the relics for themselves. The story isn’t expanded and confuses things. Nemesis typically isn’t even a Prime, but a Decepticon clone of Optimus. Barring a few exceptions, the main deviation this MIGHT be referencing is IDW Nova Prime, who briefly became Nemesis Prime, powered by a Matrix like relic from the Dead Universe.

So does that mean in this universe the Matrix chose a guy literally named Nemesis to be Prime? Is this actually supposed to be Nova Prime via IDW? Is this Orion Pax’s black sheep of the product line? So many questions this game isn’t going to answer.

This is the frustrating part about all this. I like that they’re trying to branch out still, and I liked Nemesis Prime in IDW and back when he was Scourge in RiD01, but…

He’s kinda pointless here.

Why are we using a “new” character for a failing on launch, not-mobile game, when the plot would be much simpler in that Megatron or Starscream raided the vault of the Primes only for Optimus to intervene and launch the relics into space. Why is Nemesis the villain? For that matter, since it’s a racing game, shouldn’t the Stunticons be the villains?

This is where CyberWorld might be the make or break now.

I think slowly but surely, Hasbro is recognizing their past ideas on overusing antihero Megatron isn’t working, and that they need to properly commit to a successor if they don’t want Megatron to be a villain anymore.

Going by toy leaks, it appears they’ve decided to go BACK to Galvatron proper, but they also include Scorponok, who’s typically cast as a leader in some capacity (excluding Beast Wars).

(Until we learn more, I’m leaning towards their roles being similar to Superlink’s.)

So I think that’s a step in the right direction so far; going for Skybound’s aim of familiar but, they’re willing to pivot under better writing.

I think that’s where TFONE D-16 doesn’t work as a concept.

Like it if not, casual audiences and kids aren’t that invested in the idea of a wide eyed good boi Megatron who fell from grace or wants to redeem.

They want these kinds of power hungry megalomaniacal Megatrons, who are willing to go the extra mile just to upstage Optimus to stroke their own ego. Not high school bosom buddies with gay lover subtext that Stereotypical Tumblr-Twitter wants. And hopefully with what we’ve seen with Skybound, we’re going back to that Megatron soon. And if we don’t go back to Megatron strictly, then Galvatron might be the way to go cartoon wise.

[the-knife-consumer]

how about sam and max, but NOT as a unit, as different people - how they approach stuff differently, what they might try to hide from each other, etc. stuff about them as Individuals is always so interesting to me

Yeuuahh that's always nice .. What makes it a little daunting for me though is that Sam's characterization gets switched up a lot- not drastically but like noticable. Max stays pretty much exactly the same through comic/games/show but Sam gets a tiny change every time and it makes pinning down a character/mannerisms for him weirrddd... (Example: cartoon Sam is outwardly confident and unbothered by a lot of stuff but game Sam has issues™️ and is not confident in his image, also more likely to tell max to shut up/stop goofing off instead of playing along with him) so I won't be getting into little personality traits in this since there are so many that vary or contradict each other in the way he's portrayed. But ☝️ I try my best to pin down what seems to be constant.

Anyway Sam seems to overall be slightly less trigger happy but still unhinged. He also doesn't scream/shout as much and is therefore more approachable, so it makes sense to me that he handles a lot of conversation work and does most of the "evidence" (useless junk) gathering. But like that's only comparatively. He's still off-putting and vaguely if not outright rude during conversation (cartoon Sam excluded here, that's where he's the kindest so it's an outlier) (still has his moments tho). This guy can't mask for shit if he doesn't want to be talking to you/ doesn't respect you you're gonna know lol.

I also think one of the only things that keeps him civil is that he actually has a concept of guilt unlike max (source: htr guidebook. I think). But at the same time there are a lot of instances where he recognizes he's doing something bad/being a bit of an ass but doesn't care enough to stop. This is the same guy who kept somebody who cheated at a card game locked in his closet until he died. We gotta remember that.

So. I think Sam at least tries to approach things in a dignified and normal way, but gives up a good 80% of the time because doing things however the fuck he wants is easier and faster.

As for what they hide from each other. Sincerity. They are rarely if ever sincere they are so irony poisoned it would kill a normal person. They hate being genuine. And food. They hate sharing.

And max. Is max. Self explanatory like look at him (okay I could delve into stuff about max yeah. Specifically super ego and Max's. Not even implied outright stated suicidal thoughts mental health issues. But also that's Game Max only. Not a series constant, at least I can't remember if it is. But my brain is like fried rn.)

[acesw]

Knowing our Arcanists 14: Druvis III

Welcome to entry fourteen of my series: "Knowing our Arcanists"! This is a series in which I introduce and tell the stories of our fellow characters in Reverse: 1999. For today, we have: Druvis III!

Despite well loved by many, Bluepoch tends to overlook her character ever since we left the first 4 chapters and there's so much potential left behind. After analyzing her, she's one of the characters that left one of the most lasting impressions on me. Lets get started.

Druvis Weyerhauser III is an Irish-American arcanist who was born in the early 20th century on October 23rd. Her arcane skill, inherited from a long and ancient line, allows her to communicate with the wildlife around her and manipulate them to a large extent. Raised in a wealthy family, Druvis has always been familiar with formalities. But at the same time, the woods has always been her calling.

She lived in Ireland throughout most of her childhood. Living with a wealthy and predominantly arcanist family, she grew to love her identity and lineage considering her familiarity with Celtic traditions and sigils. She also read Irish epics and legends growing up.

Its likely that she learned how to do traditional wand-making around this time, using the wood and natural materials around her as a source of power. While strange in style and composition for its time, the powerful arcane conduction became the reason why people commissioned them.

However, her life changed when her mother remarried, and she decided to chase after the "American Dream" during the 20s, where many lesser-known aristocrats migrated to the Americas in hopes to find a respectable footing. Druvis' mother wanted to abandon her traditions, and embrace the "New Age" full of cubism and modern sciences.

The Weyerhaeusers became lumber tycoons who were more adamant in maintaining their wealth and business over honing their arcane skills, leaving Druvis as an outlier among them. She chose to often escape to the woods against her parents wishes, curious and captivated by the whispers of the trees so close to her home. On those nights, away from the banquets, she would listen to the whispers and examine the shape of their growth.

Druvis' defiance and insistence on traditions was often something her mother disapproved of, wanting to raise her daughter as a proper upper class lady, but she never seemed to do anything to stop her entirely. However, she hoped that Druvis would grow out of it and join her in the business.

They were able to buy and profit a portion of the Cascade Range, thus their popularity and their wealth grew immensely from their business. They gained more deals and their stocks increased. This growth remained constant for years, whilst Druvis grew a love for the range for its beautiful flora and fauna. She found the Cascade Range as a place of respite and escape for her, away from the modern society.

In Autumn 1928, stocks began to crash and wealthy families continuously lost their stocks and other earnings. The Weyerhausers lost most of their profits and went bankrupt due to the collapse of the wood supply chain, and her stepfather grew more desperate to replenish those earnings. After selling things like potion formulas, it left him with choosing the last option: to sell and bulldoze the land.

What changed Druvis' life forever was not this, but the unfortunate events that came after. On one night while her parents, their buyers, and workers that were to do the disafforestation. Druvis was also searching for them, wanting to offer a new solution using arcane skills in hopes to persuade her parents away from bulldozing the land.

Yet, the entire forest was ablaze by an unknown suspect, leading to the deaths of 13 people, including Druvis' parents and their buyers. The media swarmed Druvis with questions, which further grew as arcane traces were found at the scene. This led to her being blamed and shunned by the media, leaving her to deal with not only grief but also criticism of her name. Due to this, she disappeared from public eye, mostly grieving alone in the burnt forest and taking the time to pick up on things like wand-making again.

As we know in the main story, in the post-"Storm" era, Druvis was offered a place in the Manus Vindictae through Forget Me Not. They shared a similar grief and Forget Me Not used it to his advantage to take her in and cultivate her vengeful feelings towards what happened to her. She helped the Manus for a time, crafting things like Schneider's gun wand and being a supplier of resources.

It was in Chapter 2 that things turned on its head, where Druvis decided to betray the Manus in favor of the Timekeeper. The Timekeeper offered a new path to help move forward rather than settle in revenge against what can't be changed now. By looking forward to the future, life will grow again from its burnt shells, and bring closure to her grief. She remained loyal to the Timekeeper ever since, forever thankful in taking this new path and now strives to fight for the future ahead of her.

Druvis is a really reserved and respectable woman. Despite having the qualities of a decent upper class lady, she was never one to engage in social interaction. She found more comfort in the forest and even vice versa. She better communicated with the trees than with people, but she can immediately switch to her more presentable demeanor with those around her.

With friends, meanwhile, she finds comfort in talking to them and discussing about things like potion-making. She also becomes very protective of them, doing every means of her power to help them out of situations and problems.

Her practices left her a profound knowledge in arcane materials, and it helped her in creating these powerful potions and wands due to its "unusual" compositions.

She absolutely values her traditions and lineage as someone who can communicate with all the wildlife around her. Druvis practices most of her traditions alone and but will also share it with friends. (e.g. making them Celtic ale) It also helped her learn to be thoughtful and intuitive, taking approaches to understand anything that's in front of her.

Her values also go against modernist and industrialist ideals, since it brings significant damage to the forests. Her experiences led her to have a particular distaste for luxuries, fancy parties, and even her family name due to how it became associated with an aristocratic business. From observing everything, she never understood the "American Dream" because of it; because it changed her mother.

Even with how things turned out in the end, Druvis still loved her. She remembers fondly of how her mother used to read her those Irish epics, and allowed her to learn her practices growing up. She's still absolutely thankful for what her mother left to her, even if she didn't become the aristocratic individual she wanted.

Even then, its time for Druvis to move on, since the future won't wait. She may continue to mourn for what was lost, but she now understands that dwelling on the pains will only hinder her growth. But now, she won't let them affect her anymore, determined to continue fighting with her hope and the future.

[rknchan]

okay it has been bothering me for a while. i don't want to side with bad faith heteronormative interpretations of 'a scandal in bohemia' but i feel like youre taking watson's descriptions of holmes in this story too literally

"It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position."

why take this at face value?

i thought we established that:

watson is an unreliable narrator

he's a hardcore romantic whose idea of love is "i fell in love 30 seconds after seeing mary and married her in 4 days". he probably doesn't think anything lesser than this is real love anyway lol. he's an outlier who should not be counted

he idolizes holmes, and that includes seeing him as a cold and distant thinking machine above all emotion including love. but we know this just isn't true.

“You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say that you are not hurt!”

It was worth a wound—it was worth many wounds—to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation."

only in the later cases he finally recognizes that THERE IS "loyalty and love behind that cold mask", there IS "a great heart"

4. holmes himself is lowkey tsundere. in early cases he can't admit himself that he is more than an emotionless thinker

"I fear that it may be the last investigation in which I shall have the chance of studying your methods. Miss Morstan has done me the honour to accept me as a husband in prospective."

He gave a most dismal groan. "I feared as much," said he. "I really cannot congratulate you."

I was a little hurt. "Have you any reason to be dissatisfied with my choice?" I asked.

"Not at all. I think she is one of the most charming young ladies I ever met and might have been most useful in such work as we have been doing. She had a decided genius that way witness the way in which she preserved that Agra plan from ali the other papers of her father. But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things. I should never marry myself, lest I bias my judgment."

he doesn't in plain text admit that he would miss his friend and doesn't want to be deserted for a wife. he instead tries to distance himself talking about emotions being opposed to his cold reason

so why couldn't he be pining for the woman who beat him and changed his worldview, while also respecting her intelligence and her choices?

i'm not saying this interpretation is correct. not saying holmes must be attracted to women. seeing him as aroace has a huge lot of evidence. seeing him as attracted to men and/or having romantic chemistry with watson is also valid. i don't want to erase anyone

i just mean that watson's unreliable narration and these characters' personalities leave room for different interpretations

and if theses 1-4 can be used to support holmes/watson pairing, then they can be used to support holmes having one sided feelings for irene either

[rttnzombii]

Guys who wants to see my mini essay about Eggman being a loser and agent stone making him less of a pathetic loser?

“In the games, and in any other media before the movies came out, everyone hates Ivo Robotnik. It’s not in a fun, dedicated way where he is an arch-nemesis of Team Sonic; no, everyone sees Eggman as a failure. This may sound weird if you don’t know anything about Sonic and thought Eggman was a typical villain.

To make matters worse, his entire family hates him too. Movie-only fans might be aware of this as it was the focus of the newest movie— there’s Gerald Robotnik, His and Maria’s grandfather, who didn’t give Ivo a second glance in favor of his long-dead cousin Maria, who’s death he wants to avenge. Gerald manipulated Ivo and dismissed him, saying "oh Ivo, you’re no Maria," even though Ivo probably doesn’t even know who Maria is in the movie universe. Gerald's character suffers similarly in the games.

What you may not know is that in one of the games, Eggman encounters a descendant multiple generations into the future named Eggman Nega, who absolutely hates Ivo too. He believes Eggman is cramping his style and even tries to go back in time to eliminate him to restore his own reputation. Eggman also has other family and cousins who seem indifferent to his fate. I recall a character named Collin, who went by the nickname Snively, who worked with Eggman at one point but also hated him and later betrayed him. I can't remember a single family member of Eggman's who actually seemed to like or tolerate him.

He’s had many henchpeople too, most of whom are robots. Many, like Omega, Alpha, and Sage (who was a robot daughter he built for himself), have betrayed him and joined the heroes. Sage is somewhat of an outlier; while she doesn’t switch sides, she certainly isn’t loyal either. Smaller minions like Orbot and Cubot were unable to betray Eggman, but would have if they could, as they didn’t like his poor leadership and failure to recognize their devotion.

None of this is particularly surprising. Eggman is seen as a villain to the heroes and a failure to other villains. It’s humorous in a way; he needs more formidable foes in the games to heighten tension, but his iconic status prevents him from being sidelined completely, so he remains a comedic figure rather than a genuine threat. It’s a bit sad, but he has brought it upon himself by attempting to create a totalitarian egg-state and belittling Sonic for having friends. Why should anyone remain loyal to someone like that? Joining the heroes is often viewed as the right move; characters like Shadow and Knuckles have done it, and others have wandered the line of allegiance.

It’s worth recapping that for many years, Eggman was depicted as someone without any truly loyal supporters – not even his robotic henchmen. In various animated shows and comics, he created robot companions expressly meant to like him, but he often found himself isolated.

However, that has changed in recent times. As of 2020, Doctor Robotnik finally gained his first and only loyal henchmen, Agent Stone.

Agent Stone's presence sets off a shift in Eggman's story and character, as he embodies the loyalty and support that the villain has long been deprived of. When movie Eggman states that there’s only been one person who truly cared for him, he is specifically referring to Stone, who is the only true ally eggmans ever had. GAent stone worked to follow Eggmans manifest and work to follow the villain through all his evil schemes with no alternate goal in mind other than to follow Ivo and keep him safe. Who can see Stones heart is in it when he heart brokenly says “No, I cant lose you again.” As Ivo fires him when he is still being manipulated by Gerald.

Eggman is ignorant towards Agent stones devotion and genuine care for him until hisGrandfather betrays him. Revealing he was only manipulating Ivo so he could destroy the world that he blames for Marias death . He then decides to Team up with team sonic and redirect the giant self destructing laser that he and his grandfather are currently in to the moon. Choosing to save earth, to save the only person who ever cared about him, to save Agent Stone. “I, Dr.Ivo Robotnik am dedicating my final live stream to one very special henchman, Agent Stone.” Then the camera cuts to Agent stone watching the broadcast play jaw slack and eyes wide. “ If i cant rule the world then I might as well save it. You were the one and only person who ever cared about me”The camera then cutes to Stone again as he begs the doctor not to “you were more of a sicko freak to me. You were a sicko friend.” Then the camera cuts and the beam hits the moon and the space station eggman is stationed in explodes.

This strays completely from the games, where Ivo doesn’t have to self sacrifice and there isn’t any ally who’s going to miss him when he’s gone. They set this up so that he would finally have a friend, an ally, someone who loves and cares for him. He is still no where near the typical villain, but he’s now no longer universally hated. He’s growing and developing for the first time 34 years. “

Uhm sorry I panicked