#Django Concepts

[fhtagn-and-tentacles]

GORGONS

by Yang J

[bluueejayart]

Wanda Django Maximoff, as seen via her portrayal in Marvel Rivals.

A friend sent me a screenshot of a tweet talking about a funko pop release for Marvel Rivals and how neat a scarlet witch funko would be, especially sculpted after her appearance in Marvel Rivals. I’ve drawn and shared funko pop concepts before and wanted to share my most recent one :)

[dizzblaine]

All I can really say about the studio's closure at this point is that it's a very sad situation which reinforces my beliefs regarding how ridiculous these companies are in the mishandling of developers and the IP's they own. Absolute shitshow.

I know the series is technically "still alive". But I really have no confidence in where it will go at this point in time. Even if there are people still trying to fight for it that have remained employed. I don't know, man.

[angabby-zzz]

Yk lowkey why is outlaw album so sexy

[euthyami]

hiii so whilst i'm sick i made an evil manny concept for eviltoons because he never really had one

sure like, he can also be a villain but i wanted to make a counterpart that is all evil, so here is manuel!! (or marcio bc i do have non related nicktoons names for them)

i also made a cluster jenny design for eviltoons but due to me being sick it will take more time for me to finish!

more info about manuel is under cut!!!

he is created by sartana of the dead, i like to think that she manages to get his belt buckle and uses the power of her guitar and the power of the belt to make something of a skeleton clone of manny

that being said, manuel definitely has an ego and will try to defeat sartana herself, he thinks he's the ultimate villain and doesn't obey to anyone

his design is influenced by the original el tigre and django of the dead

as for his non el tigre design, i decided to base it off the book of life and how they do skeletons, so he still has hair, he isn't bald lmao

as for working with eviltoons, he definitely causes a lot of arguments due to his ego and his attitude, that group is so doomed

[sugawhaaa]

SAN DRABBLE

🌙▪︎[Damn those eyes]▪︎🌙

Warnings//genre:: violence, knives mentioned, San is in love with you bc he's insane....

Pairing:: rich!San x fem!bodied!hitman!reader

A/N:: okay we got part two of the masquerade series and I think Yeosang will be next and possibly the last of this series 💪 I did have a Hongjoong one planned but idkkkk

Atz masterlist::🗡

Taglist:: @saddeneddimple @leo-seonghwa

🎧::

You were a hitman hired by a big shot of an internationally famous company. You were ordered to kill a man named Choi San. Why did the company want him dead? None of your business. You got a photo of him, nice and clear, 4k quality yet when you arrived at the exact location the company said, he was well hidden. A masquerade ball. Choi san would be at this ball on May 17th, arriving roughly at 7 pm yet the grand clock showed it was a quarter till eight and you could not spot this man. It would be hard to find a man you've never met behind a mask and feathers among nearly a near hundred people. Time to move on to plan b.

You started getting friendly, but not too friendly so as to not draw attention. You silently started to hint at your interest in a good man named Choi San. The groups of people seemed surprised you didn't know of this man.

“Oh Mr. Choi?”

“He's new money but he is so famous,”

“You should really look into him,”

All the women seemed giddy about the concept of San and this piqued your interest.

“New money you say? How did that occur?” You ask, trying to keep up your curious little lady vibe.

“His father passed away tragically, however, his father insisted he take the money,” a woman wearing a deep satin blue gown informed you. She held her mask up with the convenient handle on the side. The mask's blue matched that on her dress and there was a gold trim around the eyes and outside of the mask.

“Oh, what a shame,” you sigh with a shake of your head. “I would love to meet Choi san, passed off of all your positive judgment on him,” you say politely, slightly hinting to them that they should introduce you or something of the sort.

“Ah yes, he is just in the back corner by the drinks,” a younger woman in deep magenta points out. Her eyes are full of youth and innocence, a spark that has been missing from your eyes for far too long.

“Why thank you for pointing him out,” you bow slightly before making your way over to him. He stood close to the bar of drinks and held one hand behind his back, the other in front holding red wine, a dark clash to his white suit with a snake tongue-like ending to it. You take a deep breath before coming up to him. “Excuse me, are you choi san?” You ask politely and he turns to look at you, his eyes are mainly hidden beneath his white mask.

“That would be me,” he smirks slightly. “And you may be?”

“Ah, Y/N L/N, sorry for my rudeness,” you put a hand to your chest, drawing sans eyes to the black choker on your neck holding a deep ruby charm on the end of it.

“No apology necessary,” San bows slightly, almost like a nod in a modern conversation. "What is it you wanted to discuss with me?" He asks, assuming that you wanted more than friendly conversation.

"Ah, yes," you look down at your hands for a moment, taking in the dark velvet red gloves that wrap up to your elbows. "Perhaps we should discuss it in private," you suggest and San chuckles, that rich laugh that makes your blood heat up. San eventually leads you to a deserted hallway with rows of doors. He takes you to one of the rooms and explains that these are guest rooms used by people who wish to stay the night at these balls rather than go home after all the drinks and dancing. San had already booked himself a room so there would be no interruptions in here.

San closes the door behind himself before making his way to stand in front of you. A perfect opportunity...

"What is on your mind Ms. L/N?" He smiles politely and through his mask, you can see the purity in his eyes. You swallow hard, your hand tightening around the handle behind your back. San's eyes flicker down to your hand hiding behind your back and he sighs softly. He sits down on the bed in his room, leaning back slightly and holding himself up with his hands. This is the perfect opportunity to pull out your knife and kill him off. You grip the handle harder and swing it out from behind you, now revealing the weapon to San's eyes.

You pin him down to the bed, ensuring he can't wriggle away, before raising the knife above even your own body. Your eyes are locked right on his neck, your aim perfect. However, as you bring your hand down you down feel the knife make contact with his body. You avert your gaze to look at his neck, which should be covered in blood, you see his eyes looking up at you. "Can you really do it?" His expression is blank and you raise the knife again, attempting your strike again but now your hands quiver. "It's much harder to kill someone when they're looking right into your eyes huh?" There isn't an ounce of fear in his voice or expression, almost as if he knew this would happen and he mentally prepared for this beforehand.

You sigh, questioning yourself; could you really do this? Kill a man who is looking up at you with those eyes. Damn those eyes... "before you kill me," San starts, drawing your attention back to him. He raises a hand to your face and you pull back. "Could you let me see your face?"

His request leaves you momentarily speechless, however, it is quite frankly his last wish.

"No," you state and you can see the hurt in his eyes. "Because...I'll let you live. But you if you saw my face, I'd be severely punished," you put the knife back into its hidden pocket in the back of your dress. You stand up and turn to go to the door but San quickly follows, placing a hand on your shoulder. You turn to look at him and he pulls the mask off your face, the mask falls to the floor as you finally feel the warmth of him on your face. He looks directly into your eyes, for they are most familiar to him.

"I didn't plan on snitching either way, I know you're just a puppet,"

[scarlet--wiccan]

Scarlet Witch reading guide

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of every appearance, but a walkthrough of what you need to read to understand Wanda's lore, history, and personal life events. I also have a breakdown of the Maximoff's powers and an explanation of their parentage and ethnic background. [This is an updated + condensed version of this post-- the formatting is messed up and I can't edit it, so I made a new one]

X-Men Vol 1 #4-11 (1964)-- Wanda & Pietro's first appearance as teenage mutants & Brotherhood members.

Avengers Vol 1 #16-27 (1965-66)-- The twins join the Avengers. Known as the "kooky quartet" era.

Avengers Vol 1 #91-108 (1971-72) -- Wanda begins a romantic relationship with Vision

Avengers Vol 1 #128-133 (1974)-- Wanda meets Agatha Harkness and begins studying witchcraft.

Giant-Size Avengers #1-4 (1974) -- Wanda meets Robert Frank and believes he is her father; Wanda and Vision get married.

Avengers Vol 1 #181-183 (1978-79)-- introduces Django Maximoff.

Avengers Vol 1 #185-188 (1979)-- also known as Nights of Wundagore, the twins return to Transia and learn about their birth on Mount Wundagore & the origin of Wanda's powers; Wanda is possessed by Chthon.

Vision & the Scarlet Witch Vol 1 & 2 (1983-85)-- Wanda & Vision acclimate to married life. Pietro's daughter Luna is born; the twins learn that Magneto & Magda are their birth parents; Wanda becomes pregnant and gives birth to twin boys.

Avengers West Coast #42-62 (1988-89)-- includes Vision Quest & Darker Than Scarlet storylines. Vision's memories and emotions are erased; the babies are destroyed by Pandemonium and Mephisto; Wanda learns that she is a Nexus Being while suffering the manipulations of Immortus. [the volume + issue numbering is weird on this one-- just look up the storyline titles and you'll find them.]

Force Works (1994)-- Wanda acts as team leader and begins a relationship with Simon Williams.

Scarlet Witch (1994)-- a miniseries which introduces Lore and expands on the concept of Nexus Beings.

Avengers Vol 3 #1-3; 10-11 (1998)-- Wanda learns more about chaos magic and resurrects Simon Williams.

Avengers Vol 1 #503-507 (2004)-- a storyline titled Chaos, which kicks off the Avengers Disassembled crossover. Wanda suffers an apparent mental breakdown and causes a series of calamities as her powers escalate to uncontrollable reality-warping.

House of M (2004)-- a sprawling crossover event set within an alternate reality of Wanda's creation; concludes with Wanda inadvertently erasing a large percentage of the mutant population. This is referred to as the Decimation, or M-Day. Wanda disappears and remains missing for several years.

Young Avengers; Young Avengers Special; Young Avengers Presents: Wiccan & Speed (2005-08)-- introduces Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, who learn that they are Wanda's reincarnated sons and begin searching for her.

Avengers: The Children's Crusade (2010)-- the Young Avengers, Magneto, and Quicksilver discover Wanda as an amnesiac living in the care of Doctor Doom. They help her recover her memories and her powers are returned to normal.

Avengers vs. X-Men (2012)-- Wanda rejoins the Avengers. Alongside Hope Summers, Wanda helps banish the Phoenix from Earth and causes a proliferation of new mutant to manifest, the first step in her redemption for M-Day.

AXIS (2014)-- Wanda & Pietro learn that Magneto is not their father after all, and they're not actually mutants.

Uncanny Avengers Vol 2 (miniseries, 2015)-- the twins learn that their powers are the result of the High Evolutionary's genetic experiments.

Scarlet Witch Vol 2 (2016)-- Wanda returns to her magical focus and has henceforth been written as an adept spellcaster. The series does a lot of worldbuilding around witches and witchcraft. The twins learn that their birth mother was actually Django's sister, Natalya Maximoff, and that they are descended from a lineage of Scarlet Witches.

Doctor Strange Vol 4 (2016)-- Wanda is featured in the Last Days of Magic storyline.

Uncanny Avengers Vol 3 #26-30 (2017)-- Wanda rejoins the Avengers Unity Division and begins a relationship with Doctor Voodoo.

Avengers Vol 1 #675-690 (2018) -- a crossover event titled Avengers: No Surrender.

Quicksilver: No Surrender-- an excellent miniseries following the previous event. Wanda and Jericho use magic to aid Pietro.

Avengers: No Road Home (2019)-- a sequel to No Surrender.

Strange Academy Vol 1 (2020)-- Wanda becomes a faculty member at a school for young magic users.

Darkhold (2021)-- the original Darkhold is discovered; Wanda's prior experiences have made her strong enough to handle it without corruption; she merges the Darkhold with her own soul and uses it to bind Chthon.

Trial of Magneto (2021)-- Wanda stages her own death as part of an elaborate scheme to gain access to, and magically enhance, the Krakoan resurrection system, leading to her final redemption for M-Day.

Scarlet Witch Vol 3 (2023)-- Wanda opens a metaphysical shop in upstate New York and constructs a magical portal called the Last Door. New friends, enemies, and a new status quo are introduced.

Avengers Vol 9 (2023)-- Wanda joins a new iteration of the Avengers, led by Captain Marvel.

Contest of Chaos (2023) -- a crossover event. Agatha attempts to create a new Darkhold, much is revealed about the origin and nature of chaos magic.

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver; Scarlet Witch (2024)-- a special anniversary miniseries which leads into the solo title relaunch. The twins are hounded by an abstract entity called the Griever as their powers begin to expand beyond their prior limitations; new context is given to Nexus beings; Chthon escapes containment.

Vision & Scarlet Witch Vol 3 (2025)-- an upcoming miniseries, continuing from the previous volume of Scarlet Witch.

[ninakoll]

HEY !!! DO YOU LISTEN TO CAR SEAT HEADREST ???? IF YOU DONT IT DOESNT MATTER I THINK YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE THE NEW ALBUM " THE SCHOLARS " BY THEM !!!! (this is an opinion i have formed based on the fact you lisgen to bcnr and the mountain goats)

HI i just listened thru the album and YOU WERE SO RIGHT it's RIDICULOUSLY GOOD??????? i havent listened to CSH much before, i just knew them as the band with the hugging cute creatures (maybe i wasnt in the right mindset before? how could i miss something like this??) but i have to check out their earlier stuff now too; scholars was really fantastic. i love when albums work as a whole and follow a concept! THANK YOU for this rec 😭😭, you hit the nail on the head!!!!!! it reminds me of if somebody put styx and the beach boys in a blender and made a hearty soup out of them but its also completely new... listening AGAIN RN !!!!

since we're on the topic of music!

i got a vinyl player from leore as a bday present last year so here is our shared humble vinyl collection so far (tmg, peter gabriel, groove of essr, abba, la femme, bcnr, django django, dwarf fortress ost, dolly+linda+emmylou trio, orville peck), getting them on the basis of "if the internet died what would i want to keep forever and be buried with". so stoked about the bcnr indie store exclusive variant that i found in a record store on my way home from work! (and peter gabriel album was a gift from friends :DD dont bury me with him.) orville peck album has been chewed by the gremlin who is obsessed with his vinyl for some reason

not pictured but some of my other favorites are screaming females (NEED their vinyl next bc they disbanded fml), of montreal, vulfpeck, janelle monae, andrew bird... please drop more music recs in the replies if youd like!!! 👇👇👇🧡⭐

[hils79]

Okay carrying on from part 1 because I have more Ateez songs I want to yap about

11. The Black Cat Nero

It’s been a good couple of years since anyone did something fun for Halloween and that’s a shame because I love a spooky or dark concept. This mv is stunning, everyone looks incredible, the song is amazing, I love it

12. Bouncy

Confession: I really wasn’t that fussed about this song when it first dropped. I love the b-sides a lot more. A few months later though it just kind of clicked with me and it jumped from being somewhere in the middle of my most replayed songs of the year to being in my top 10.

13. Django

This is definitely the father track to Arriba which I also love. I just really enjoy the subtle Latin flavours while still being very much Ateez

14. Wake Up

This is probably my favourite song on this album. The synths, the modulated voice, Jongho’s powerful vocals. It’s just so good.

15. We Know

https://youtu.be/910397KV1uE?si=bLJj4qRJrY5Uui9a

This is my favourite ateez album and I have a lot of feelings so here we go. I will try not to gush about every single track on the album. This was the first song on the album that I got properly obsessed with and people don’t really talk about it compared to some of the other songs. I don’t even know what it is but I got the chorus stuck in my head after listening to it once and I just love it a lot

16. Arriba

In the same way that I love Django I love the Latin vibes of this song and the bar set that they use for it during the concerts is absolutely the right vibes

17. Matz

I remember listening to this album for the first time on a day when I was working from home. It’s a good job I wasn’t doing anything important because when the chorus dropped I yelled OH MY GOD because I was not expecting it to go this hard. This was my most listened to track of last year because damn.

18. Youth

Other people have probably put into better words than me how special this is and how brave Mingi is so release a song about the darkness he’s been in and his struggles. Every performance I saw of this live made me cry and I’m just glad Mingi has an outlet for his feelings and people like Yunho to share his burdens with him

19. Not Okay

And speaking of sharing burdens this is hands down my favourite of their Japanese releases. It’s powerful, impactful, and something I very much needed at the time when it came out. This was the first ateez mv I ever made gifs of

20. Blind

There’s a lot of argument that this should have been the title track instead of Work, but I can see why they went the way they did. They were trying to have a bigger impact on the Western market and Work was the right song for that. Blind, for me at least, is the strongest song on this album though

And I’m at the link limit again. I could probably do another post about Golden Hour 2 but that seems a bit much. I’ve already talked about Enough

So, shoutout to Selfish Waltz and Man on Fire which are both also awesome tracks

[sanjoongie]

𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝙾𝚞𝚝𝚕𝚊𝚠

👢#CallMeDjango Collab with @mingsolo @daemour {Welcome to the Outlaw} & @flurrys-creativity

👢Pairing: Vampire! Outlaw! Yeosang x Bounty/Vampire Hunter! Reader (f)

👢Genre: smut, slight angst (happy ending)

👢Trope: monster/slayer romance, e2l

👢au: western au, vampire au, vampire hunter au, historical au

👢Warnings: mentions of blood, death, biting, all things vampire related

👢Kinks: flirty fighting, shaving is sexy, fang kink, sloppy head (m), blood play, penetrative sex with no barrier

👢Word Count: 5,472 (i apologize for the long word count, i got caught up in the world)

👢Summary: when a particular outlaw draws you to a town on the edge of civilization, you find yourself spiraling into the allure of a vampires wiles

👢Author's Note: we are not commenting on the fact that I swore off cowboy!teez and yet, here we are again. Title and concept inspired by Django lyrics of course~

You step off the steps of the hissing train, ignoring the ticketman’s aid down. Habitually, you checked your duel pistols, but they were still snug in their holsters. You had traveled here to hunt down a bounty. Sunset Outlaw, a new name on the list of outlaws, but still one that was dangerous. 

The town was bustling despite its existence at the edge of civilization. You pursed your lips in thought and moved down the line of the train to retrieve your horse. Once you had your gloved hands tight around Twilight’s reins and you mounted up, you made your way down the main drag. You noted that it was a busy enough town for its own saloon, bank, and even inn. You tied Twilight at the water trough and then made your way inside. 

“Can I have a room?” You inquired to the innkeeper.

She eyed you up and down. The look on her face said that she knew you were trouble but didn’t give a shit--as long as the trouble didn’t happen in her inn. “It’s a dollar for the night. Twenty-five cents more if you want hot water, but you have to go to the pump yourself to get it.”

The ‘lobby’, if you could call it that, had a few scattered chairs where the other guests were lounging. Your sense that told you more trouble was housed here went off. “I’m a bounty hunter,” you supplied. You ruffled around in your saddle bags until you found the poster you wanted. “Have you seen this outlaw? Kim Hongjoong? Miss…?”

“The townspeople call me Bluejay,” the innkeeper insisted. She casted a perfunctory look at your wanted poster but shrugged her shoulders. “Never heard of him. Sign here, and I’ll give you the key to your room.”

You signed ‘Red Hawk’ and plucked the key after placing down your money in rumbled bills. Just as the Bluejay opened her mouth, you interrupted her. “I don’t know how long I’ll be in town. Call that a downpayment on my room.”

“Be my guest,” she replied with amusement. 

Red Hawk was your moniker as a bounty hunter. When you were young, the man you loved was killed by a bandit right before your eyes. You had wept over his dead body. As a consequence, your hair had been dyed red by the blood of my dead love. After you dried your tears, you hunted down that bandit and killed him yourself, with your dead lover’s guns. That’s when you officially became Red Hawk.

After settling your affairs at the inn, you went straight to the bank. That was the last known location of the Sunset Outlaw. You interviewed the few witnesses that there were, more notably, the main banker. Choi San had a large body for such a small countenance. He flinched when you flashed your badge at him, and he stammered through his encounter. 

“He t-took everything. He had a g-g-gun but he never shot it or anyone. Although he did…” San chewed on his bottom lip anxiously, looking down at the floor.

“I need all the information I can get, Mister Choi. In order to catch him,” You prodded him.

San nodded his head, but it seemed like a motion he was going through, not that he actually understood you. 

You sighed and closed your notebook. “Even if it sounds weird. You never know what kind of clue will help me,” you encouraged him.

San’s eyes met yours, but they were shaky at best. “We had one client at that time that was depositing some money. A lot of money, so he demanded we open the bank for him during the night, when no one else was around. He just finished a deal with a farmer. Bought the land while the farmer was recovering from his family being murdered. He wanted out quickly. The outlaw seemed to imply that our client had sent the bandits that murdered the farmer’s family. Then--” San’s pupils blew, and you tried not to sigh again. You got this a lot in your line of work. Well, your other line of work. 

San breathed in deeply, as if he were gathering up his courage to speak. “Then, the outlaw grabbed the client intimately, and he bit him!”

You cursed. “Did you bury him here in the town’s graveyard?”

San’s eyes were wide with fear. “No. The outlaw took the body with him. It was the oddest experience I’ve ever had.”

You patted San on his somewhat broad shoulder. “I hope you never have to experience it ever again.”

Your bounty hunter career was actually a cover for your true calling: vampire hunter. When your family migrated over from Europe, it had been the family business. When it wasn’t just humans that moved over to the Americas, it seemed that your family would need to continue with their work. 

In the next couple of days, you continued to gather intel. Just one fanciful encounter from a scared banker wasn’t enough to condemn a man. Except the more you learned about this supposed outlaw, the more you were starting to get some grudging respect for him.

The Sunset Outlaw was a modern-day Robin Hood. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. There were at least a couple more instances of the outlaw robbing a train cart of government gold, only for it to wind up under the beds of failing businesses in the county. A recently widowed mother found a herd of cattle on her land after a group of bandits were horribly murdered in the middle of the night. The list went on, but no innocent lives were taken. The outlaw just happened to be pissing off the wrong people in power. 

You were, however, not getting a clue of where the vampire was holding up. No one could see what the outlaw looked like because he wore a bandana over his face whenever his crimes occurred. Even San said that the outlaw's face was obscured by the man’s neck he had been biting. You were starting to think this hunt was going to end in a dead end for you.

You sat in the local saloon after a long day of investigating. You nursed watery beer, not in the mood to spend more money on something harder. You were going to have to stay here until the outlaw committed another crime, hoping to be able to catch him in the act. 

One of the whores that worked in the saloon sighed heavily, causing the one beside her to flutter her fan. “Do you think Mister Kang will come tonight? He sure is a sight for sore eyes.”

“He is the most beautiful man I have ever had the delight of laying eyes on,” the other whore agreed. 

You were about to zone out from the conversation when something the first whore said peaked your interest. “Odd for him to only come out when the sun set though, hmmm?” 

The fan fluttered and then snapped shut by the second whore. “I know plenty of men like him, hun, it’s not so odd.”

The first whore was clearly newer than the second one, so she persisted. “But even the man at the general store insists he only sees him at night too. He makes a special exception for Yeosang. He buys more food than one person could need. I wonder if he’s supporting a family at home.”

“If he is, that means he’s cheating on his poor wife with us,” the second one reminds the first. 

That began your digging into this Kang Yeosang. The locals said he had recently purchased a plot of land that was far from town. He didn’t come in often, and when he did, it was always after the sun had set. Which, for a majority of the settlers that woke and slept with the sun rise, was considered quite odd. 

“Must be old money,” the general store owner mused out loud. “One of those first settler families from New York. He dresses well, that’s for sure. Never a speck of dust on that man’s clothes.”

“Pays his tab,” the bartender informed you at the saloon. “Even if he drudges up a tab while buying the whole room a round, he always pays up the next time he’s in.”

“I’ve never seen a man so pale,” An elderly lady told you when you stopped her in the middle of the road during a stroll. The sun was so strong for her that she held a parasol above her. Ironic, considering her take on Mister Kang, but even so. 

You were beginning to think that you needed to set up a meeting with this Kang Yeosang. And that perhaps it might lead you to the Sunset Outlaw.

After acquiring some less than solid directions from the general store owner, you took Twilight into the dusty beyond. Even though you left fairly early, the townspeople were not joking that Yeosang lived far from the settlement. Around midday, you stopped at a farmer’s plot of land to beg for some water for your horse. 

The farmer was handsome and called his wife ‘sparrow’ which would have been sweet if you didn’t find the domesticity of it exhausting. You had never known a life like that, so it simply did not appeal to you. But the couple seemed happily in love. The wife even delivered you a cup of coffee, laughing when you pulled a face at the bitter brew. You thanked them for their generosity and moved on. 

The long hours in the saddle were starting to get to you, so you pulled out your pile of outlaw wanted posters. You had a sneaky suspicion that the innkeeper had been lying about knowing the outlaw Kim Hongjoong, but that was a problem for another day. You were contemplating where you would move on next if you happened to take out the Sunset Outlaw. There was one known simply as ‘little eagle’. She had a similar background to the Sunset Outlaw, it seemed. Helping out some natives from keeping their land didn’t sound like a crime to you, but it sure did from the people she had stolen the deeds from. 

You were about to turn around and set up camp for the evening at a copse of trees that grew next to a boulder when at last a house came in sight for you. “Finally!” you said, pulling your hat off and fanning yourself. 

You hopped off your horse and guided Twilight to the fence. Not a lot of people took kindly to you walking on their land. Yeosang had sounded like a gentleman, but you weren’t one to take someone at face value, although everyone had painted him as beautiful beyond comparison. Most people also use the same descriptors for vampires.  

The sun was still up, but it seemed to be setting. Not a great time to come accusing someone of being a vampire IF they were a vampire, but you had no choice. You did, however, have your crossbow strapped to your back and your quiver at your hip, along with a few recently sharpened steaks, and that would have to do. And if it turned out Yeosang wasn’t a vampire, hopefully, you wouldn’t have to use your pistols on him. 

“What's a delicious bounty hunter like yourself doing so far out of town, Red?”

You narrowed your eyes at the front porch of the homestead. The sun was low, and it cast a long shadow over the covered outcrop. “Apparently introductions are not in order,” you drawled. 

“Why, of course I’ve familiarized myself with the new face in town,” Yeosang said charmingly. “Especially since such a pretty face has been asking all about little ol’ me.”

You chuckled mirthlessly. “That’s a mighty fine compliment coming from a man they describe as a perfect statue.”

“But my real question is why is a bounty hunter interested in someone of my high standing? Why, I’ve never even stolen as a child. I pay my tabs on time. I even buy a round of beer in the saloon when I’m feeling good. I’m an outstanding citizen, if I do say so myself.”

“Then you would know that I’ve been asking everyone in town about the Sunset Outlaw as well. I figured since you were new in these parts, you would offer a different perspective.” You stared right into the eyes of the devil himself. Now, would he take the bait?

“Since you rode all the way out here and the sun is setting, I would be remiss to send you back out. You should stay, have supper with me and I can answer all your questions.”

You hummed and opened the padlock to the fenced area. “Don’t mind if I do, Mister Kang. That’s very nice of you.”

The inside was as normal as one would expect. It was decorated with taste, and there were a few pieces, including the grand piano, that would have cost a pretty penny. Now, an outlaw might be so inclined to spend his money that way. Or a vampire that had already lived a few centuries might have brought it over, still attached to their material possessions from their human life. 

“So, Mister Kang, what brings you to this bustling little town at the edge of civilization?” You wondered, putting down your crossbow and leaning it up against the coathanger.

Now that you were inside and Yeosang out of the shade, you could truly be struck by the beauty of the man. The provincial townspeople had not been telling tall tales about the new man in town. His nose, his jawline, his almond shaped eyes, everything supported how gorgeous he was. His face contrasted with his larger figure, but you figured the body was to dissuade others from picking a fight with him. Although most vampires preferred to appear helpless, which lured in their prey, this vampire seemingly played by a different set of rules.

“Please, call me Yeosang,” the mysterious man insisted.

“Why, that’s awfully informal of you,” You said, meeting his eyes. 

The brunette cocked his head flirtatiously. “I do enjoy a lady calling me by my name in my house.”

You snorted under your breath. “I am far from a lady.”

Yeosang eyes traveled over your shirt and vest, dipping into every curve and valley. His eyes seemed to light up as they flowed over your tight pants. “So I see. We’ll have to fix that.”

You cocked an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

Yeosang rubbed his chin. “I don’t have a lot of visitors, and as you have learned from the townsfolk, I don’t go into town that much. I would be much obliged if you would help me shave before supper? So I can appear as gentlemanly as one can assume to be in a desolate landscape that we live in. I have a dress upstairs for you to change into. Wouldn’t it be nice to pretend in an uncivilized place such as this?”

“I can help you with your shaving.” You jumped on the opportunity to have Yeosang at your fingertips.

“How lovely,” Yeosang replied. His eyes held a dark light that belied something mysterious. Then again, vampires did love their mystery.

The mysterious man who invited you into his house gave you a brief tour, which included lingering near his bedroom when he announced whose room it was. Then he brought you back to the main floor, to the dining room.

Yeosang had set up a bowl with hot water, and the soap was in a tin with the appropriate brush. He handed you a towel before taking a seat at his dining room table. He had already tucked a towel into his shirt to protect it. “I do appreciate you doing me this favor,” He smiled serenely.

“Call it payback for supplying me with dinner,” You replied coyly. 

Yeosang tipped back his head, and you took that as your cue to begin. You lathered up the soap and took the brush, using broad strokes to apply it liberally on his face and neck. You firmly grasped his head to hold it in place

“I don’t suppose you’ve been around when the Sunset Outlaw has been committing his crimes?” You asked your first question. One stroke of the brush up his neck had you admiring the sharpness of his jaw.

Yeosang rolled his eyes up to regard you. “No, I have not had the pleasure of meeting him.”

“But you have heard the town gossip,” You pursued.

“Of course. The townsfolk appear to adore this Sunset Outlaw. He does help them where no one would,” Yeosang offered.

Yeosang was finally completely covered in soap, so you procured the razor from the table. Yeosang wasn’t going to be able to talk during this period as any movement might cause you to cut him, so you took your chance to seemingly gab about what you had learned.

“I will tell you something interesting I garnered from all his stories, however,” you began. The razor glided along Yeosang’s skin easily, and you knew it had nothing to do with how good the soap was. “For some odd reason, the Sunset Outlaw, living up to his name, never does his good deeds while the sun is up. It’s almost like he’s allergic to the sun! Funny, right? But I do find it interesting.”

You paused to wipe the razor of the soap that had run up the blade while you shaved Yeosang, and he took the moment to speak up.

“That is interesting,” He said, his eyes sparkling with interest. “It’s almost like you’ve come to some conclusions yourself.”

You leaned in as if you had a secret just for his ears. “My family is from Europe, you see. So these accounts sound very familiar to me. There are myths of men drinking blood from other men.”

Yeosang’s eyes widened. “A vampire?”

You narrowed your eyes at Yeosang. He was a good little actor. “Heard of them, have you?”

Yeosang’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “I’ve been known to crack open a book from time to time.”

“You two have a lot in common,” you drawled.

Yeosang laughed, and it rang disingenuously throughout the dining room. “Me? An outlaw? My genteel upbringing surely doesn’t call for it.”

“Why am I here, Yeosang?!” 

Yeosang chuckled dryly in the back of his throat. “Why, you're helping me shave right now?”

Your hand tightened on Yeosang’s forehead and the razor at his neck. “I don't feel one grain of a stubble under this soap, Partner, so, try again.”

“You're not like the rest of them, are you?” Yeosang drawled, a crooked smirk pulling one corner of his lips.

“No, I don't suppose I am,” you agreed. You continued to shave Yeosang, but it was more threatening now. “But neither are you, are you, Yeosang?”

“Whatever do you mean, Red?” Yeosang faked ignorance.

“Well, none of the townsfolk have seen you while the sun is up, for one thing,” you pointed out.

“I just like staying up until the sun rises,” Yeosang said, a merry twinkle in his eyes.

“And the box your bed is on?” You pointed out.

“Why, I like sleeping raised off the floor, just like everyone else,” Yeosang offered.

You tucked the razor into your pocket after cleaning it and then folding it in half. You took the towel over your shoulder and then began to use it to touch your neck. You pulled aside your hair. “Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?” You murmured.

Something poked against his lower lip and his tongue came out to play along the top line of his teeth. His light eyes took on an almost predatory gaze. “I don't feel the heat like I used to.”

“And the unnatural white skin and long fangs?” You said in a deadly tone.

“Oh no, Hawk, it seems you've triggered the animalistic side to me,” Yeosang purred. “That, I'm sorry to say, is simply encouraged by your alluring scent. You smell like you would taste divine.”

“If my blood smells that good, why don't you bite me?” You prompted.

“Because that would be bad manners, darlin’.”

“Don't you darlin’ me, Mister Vampire,” You finally accused. 

“What will you do?” Yeosang wondered. “Your crossbow is propped up at the front door. That razor isn't going to do a lot, but piss me off. Unless you've got something else tucked into that tight little getup of yours. I really wish you'd wash up and put on the dress I laid out for you. Darlin'.”

“I’m done with you toying with me, Yeosang. I'm putting this game to an end,” you declared.

“How quaint. Do you really think you’ll kill me before I can kill you?” Yeosang questioned.

One minute, Yeosang was sitting in the chair, and the next he was behind you. His hold on your head to pull it back mimicked the way you had been holding him as you shaved him. You shuddered as his fangs scraped against your skin. You could feel his cool breath on your neck. 

“I believe this is check,” Yeosang snarled, making a chess reference. Educated fucker.

“Is it?” You said through gritted teeth. 

You had also pulled the stake that you kept strapped to your upper arm, pulling it stealthily from your folded up sleeves. It was now pointing at Yeosang’s heart. “Let's test your earlier question. It can’t hurt, right?”

Yeosang sighed, his breath causing you to acquire goosebumps all along your skin. “I don’t want to kill you, but it seems you are most determined to kill me.”

“You are a vampire; a monster. An aberration from the evolutionary line of humans. You need to be eliminated before you kill more humans.” You shivered, but it wasn't because of fear.

“But I’m only killing the bad ones!” Yeosang insisted, frustration coating his tone. “Didn’t you discover that during your investigation?”

“It doesn’t matter what your reasoning is!” You yelled. It felt good to yell; to battle against rolling your hips back against his body.

“Surely it does, though? Outlaws can’t go around and kill innocent people because that’s against the law. But you’re allowed to kill outlaws. You protect the good humans from the bad. You KILL the bad humans to protect the good ones. Aren’t I doing the same?”

You froze, Yeosang’s words, causing your world to come crashing down. “You’re wrong,” you spat even though you were lying through your teeth.

“I’m right,” Yeosang insisted. “Only, you can’t handle that.” The vampire's grip tightened, the firmness of his body suddenly tighter against you. Your stake pressed into his flesh. “You can't handle any of me.”

Your pulse stuttered and your pussy throbbed. “What are you doing to me?”

Yeosang’s lips brushed against your sensitive skin as he spoke. “What am I doing to you?”

“Stop that.” You had meant that as a command, but it came out as a whine.

Yeosang peeked down your body and his deep chuckle set your libido on fire. “I can see how hard your nipples are from here, Darlin’.”

There was nothing worse than having a sexual reaction to your mortal enemy. “Let me go before I stab you.”

“I can't let you go. I'm awfully hungry,” Yeosang purred. “I might have to be balls deep in you while I drink from your breast.”

Excitement flared through your body and you cursed at it betraying you. “You wouldn't dare.”

“I would dare, the way your body is screaming for me to do all the debased things I don't dare do with the whores in town.” 

Somehow, in your pursuit of triggering Yeosang to bite you and put the final nail in his coffin, so to speak, you had passed over the fence that separated hatred into lust. You desperately wanted what Yeosang was offering. You would be at your most vulnerable if you allowed it to happen, but perhaps it would give you the chance you needed to finish this battle. You had to at least try; Yeosang was a hard nut to crack.

You let your body melt into Yeosang’s hold, letting the arm that you held your stake to Yeosang’s heart fall to your side. “Am I a bad human then? Will you kill me?”

Yeosang let go of his hold on your head and turned you around. “Haven’t you been listening? You and me? We are the same. Our character is morally grey; doing bad things for the good of the world.”

Your throat tightened. Hadn't you been grappling with the same question since you began to kill? Vampire or human, you had wondered if you were becoming one of them; one of the monsters.

Yeosang tipped your chin to meet his eyes. You immediately avoided direct eye contact. As a vampire hunter, you knew never to look him directly in the eyes. He might hypnotize him otherwise. A throaty, knowing chuckle left Yeosang’s pretty lips. “Let me bring you up to my bed. Let me prove to you that people such as us can get along.”

You nodded, and Yeosang threw you over his shoulder. With the speed of a vampire, you were transported to Yeosang’s bedroom. The vampire threw you gently to the bed, and you bounced with the impact. 

The vampire watched you with dark eyes as he began to unbutton his shirt and remove it. You followed his lead, removing your vest. When you tried to take off your own shirt, Yeosang was on top of you on the bed, halting your progress. 

“Allow me,” He murmured.

His deft fingers undid the buttons, eyes watching as your bosom was revealed, pushed high from your corset. “All rough on the outside, but still a woman under it all,” Yeosang mused out loud.

You felt your cheeks heat up at that statement. “It’s simply for function,” you muttered under your breath.

You helped Yeosang wriggle you out of your pants, and soon you were only in your corset, pantalettes discarded already. 

Yeosang knelt between your legs, fangs scraping over the sensitive flesh of your thigh. His nostrils flared, and his eyes flashed red. “Your scent is tempting. Your blood is beckoning to me.”

You swallowed loudly. How could you be so weak for this vampire? You flipped the two of you so that you were straddling Yeosang instead. 

“Focus on the task at hand,” You insisted. 

You rubbed the heel of your hand on the imprint of Yeosang’s cock against his tight pants. Yeosang moaned and then his eyes widened. You lowered yourself to undo his belt and take him in your mouth. Men almost always forgot about being lubricated when entering a woman. Yeosang bit down on his forefinger, drawing blood with his fangs, as you gave him sloppy head, in order to prepare his cock for yourself.

His hands shredded the bedding below him before he growled and changed positions again. “Who’s proving what to whom?”

You were both knelt on the bed, Yeosang’s legs inside of your own, and your back to his chest. “Enough games, we both know who’s in charge in this situation.”

You let out a soft cry as Yeosang entered you from behind. Once he was completely sheathed inside of you, one hand slid over the curve of your hip and, the other hand, pulled your hair out of the way. 

“Wa-wait,” You stuttered as Yeosang’s hips swivelled and his cock moved in and out of you slowly. 

“Oh, I’m not going to bite you immediately,” Yeosang laughed quietly. “But you did shudder for me so deliciously when I did this earlier. I can’t help myself.” Those delicate fangs ran along the slope of your shoulder, and you closed your eyes as you enjoyed the feeling once again. 

Yeosang worked himself in and out of you, slowly but surely, nearly driving you insane. He wasn’t like the quick fucks that you were used to. The type where men spilt their seed and you missed your orgasm once again. It was almost like Yeosang was looking for you to attain your high first. 

“Yeo…” You moaned his name wantonly.

“Careful, Red,” Yeosang said as he clasped his hand over your mouth. The same hand that was bleeding. He wiped his blood over your lips sensually. “You might appear eager for me.”

Your muffled noises of pleasure randomly escaped Yeosang’s gag. You could feel your pleasure building, and it was only a matter of time before it spilled over. As you moaned with your release, Yeosang bit down on your neck. He pumped himself in and out of you, drinking your blood, and found his own orgasm. He growled against your neck, spilling himself inside of you. 

You both collapsed onto the bed in a tired pile, both satiated in one way or another. Facing each other, you both panted as your highs slowly slipped away.

But, as with most men, Yeosang found himself indulging in pillow talk. 

“You asked me earlier what I’m doing here on the edge of civilization.” Yeosang brought up in a voice that was deep from having some great, mind-blowing sex.

“It was a rhetorical question,” You mused.

Yeosang dragged a finger along your bare shoulder, playing with some stray hair, the red ends beginning to fade out. “I’d like to answer it, nonetheless.”

You pursed your lips. It was bad enough that you had already started to feel like Yeosang was one of the good guys the way he treated the locals. Even worse, you’d let the very monsters you hunt fuck you. But to listen to his reasons why, surely there was a limit? “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Yeosang chuckled low mirthlessly. “Afraid you’ll start seeing me as a human?”

You stiffened as the accusation hit its target. “You are an abomination. You’re like an animal that’s upset the ecosystem. You haven’t been human for a very long time.”

“You’re right.” Yeosang smiled tightly and then it was gone. “But that ties into why I’m here.”

You sat up, pulling the sheet with you to keep you covered. Unfortunately, that took away from the sheet covering Yeosang, and it pooled at his waist scandalously. You swallowed loudly and pointedly looked away. “Trying to make up for lost time?” 

“Something like that.” Yeosang smiled slowly. “Like what you see, Darlin’?”

You cleared your throat. “Don’t you have to go to sleep soon? I’m sure the sun will rise eventually.”

Yeosang folded his arms behind his head and shook his head. Unfortunately for you, it only showcased his arms and upper body that much more. “That’s a myth. I never sleep. I simply can not allow the sun to touch my skin.”

“Yeosang.”

“I know. I’ll have to leave. Disappear for a bit until the bounty dies. But I will continue to help people who need it. This place is desolate and it needs some hope.”

You didn’t know what to say, truly. “I hope… I hope I’m not still doing bounty work when it comes up again.”

Yeosang’s light eyes flick over to your hunched body. “What will you tell your family?”

“I’m not sure. If I say I didn’t kill you, someone else will come looking for you, Yeosang.”

“Don’t go back?”

You shook your head. “I can’t do that. There are more vampires out there, killing innocent people. I won’t stop protecting them. It’s my calling.” You rub your hand over your chest, feeling pain in your heart. 

“Then…let me come with you.”

Your head whipped backward so fast you gave yourself whiplash. “What?”

Yeosang’s eyes remained on the ceiling above, but you could tell he was holding back hopefulness and bracing for the worst. “What better place to hide from the enemy than with the enemy?” Yeosang’s eyes finally found yours. “Besides, I could help people with you.”

“You’d help me kill your own kind?” You demanded with bewilderment.

“I’d help you,” Yeosang clarified. “I also don’t want innocent people dying for no reason too.”

“You’re awfully dedicated to atoning for your sins,” you mentioned.

Yeosang’s lips tightened. “I have a lot of sins to atone for.” And he left it at that.

You laid back down, using Yeosang’s arm to pillow your head. “I guess I won’t be leaving at sunrise after all.”

And that was the last that was heard of the Sunset Outlaw. Some surmise that he retired after helping out so many people in need. Some believe he never existed in the first place. But other’s swear that the outlaw took up with the likes of a bounty hunter, playing Maid Marian to his Robin Hood. Now wouldn’t that be an interesting story indeed.

[puckish-rogue]

Okay, so I need to take a moment to actually go off about something regarding SR and my intentions regarding the main canon of this blog. Some of this might be repeated in the intro post for the SR3 revision. But I still want to discuss why I'm so bothered by the way the series (the original one) went, and HOPEFULLY get all my followers to understand why I think the way I do and so on.

A friend of mine had been asking me to share more on my ideas regarding the changes I want to make to the third game because we both love hearing each other go off on our little autistic rambles (we both have the tism). During one of the many points I was trying to make—specifically about how I wanted to utilize the character of Dex better cause the devs really dropped the fuckin' ball with him—I had made some comments regarding Ultor being the scary megacorp with their own internal security team that acts more like a PMC, and how they have corporate espionage going on since a cancelled SR tie-in game was going to involve you playing as an Ultor assassin.

And it was in mentioning the shit with Ultor that I had to pause for a moment and really consider just why the fuck they went in the direction they did. Look, I can speculate all I want. And realistically speaking I know there are several factors as to why they leaned so heavily into absurd bullshit and comedy. But oh my fucking god does it just BAFFLE ME that any of this was an option to begin with.

I mean, think about it for a moment here; you set up a world where the criminal underworld seems to be a major factor in pretty much every facet of living. Corporations, politicians, and any power player you could imagine has some tie to an organization in one way or another. There's some espionage, PMC's (private military companies), mercenary work, and various criminal organization's vying for their own position on the ladder. There is a crazy amount of different stories you could come up with, different antagonists to face, just a wide array of opportunities to create something that is not only compelling, but fun as hell to see unfold.

And I'm aware that a lot of this still sounds like heightened reality. But I promise you that when you start to look into things regarding the concept of the criminal underworld itself and the many centuries it's been around, you'll uncover some real crazy shit that almost seems way too far-fetched to believe. And a lot of that is a helluva lot more interesting than making your player character the president of the US (which might I add is INCREDIBLY out of character), who then fights aliens and then winds up being kidnapped by Satan so they can marry his daughter in some weird fucking epilogue to a series that has drastically pivoted from games about street gangs and hip-hop.

Like I hope this makes sense. I hope you can understand my vision and where I want to take things with my blog. There are so many fun and interesting things that can happen when you decide to not go off the rails like you're writing a fucking plot through Mad Libs. I fully intend on doing a much bigger focus on the main canon of this blog and really expanding things because I feel like I've been slacking pretty significantly. Don't get me wrong, I love my au's. I love being able to put Django into different universes and see how his character would play out there. And it especially helps in being able to interesting with old and new friends who might have Muses that couldn't really work in a modern setting (albeit one that is a big more heightened reality than most).

I love this series a lot. It's the reason why I'm here in the first place. It's the reason why I've found roleplaying and writing in general so much fun. This is a series that I desperately wish could've been handled better. Because I can see the potential. There is a universe out there where SR wasn't reduced to a series that felt the need to outdo itself over and over again. And when the time came to course correct, it wasn't mishandled to shit by higher ups and people who just really couldn't see the vision some of us have.

Do I think my vision for the series is the right one? Absolutely not. This is strictly something that I personally find appealing and wish to explore in my own way. Having said that, it is nice to hear from others that they like my ideas and want to see more of it. And man, it's even better when you get people wanting to write with me and explore that together. Many thanks to anyone who took a moment out of their day to read through this. All I can hope for is that it helps you understand where I'm coming from, and just the frustration I feel regarding the way the entire franchise played out.

Expect the intro post for the SR3 revision to come out soon! I look forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

[paper-mario-wiki]

forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't phrenology really controversial? I remember learning in school that it was used to justify slavery and the genocide of native americans, because the base model uses a white skull as the "ideal"

Yes and no! Phrenology is a pseudoscience that is largely known for an intersection it shares between a different pseudoscience (significant speculative racially driven physiological Blood Hierarchy) and, frankly, cuz that scene in Django Unchained is the most detailed exposure the average person will likely get to the concept of phrenology. It is a horrible, disgustingly and dangerously inaccurate medical belief that was used in a lot of psychology at the time.

The phrenological chart in my hud is mapping out which parts of the brain are directly connected to different aspects of personality, or so it claims.

[izicodes]

Here’s a project idea: create a project that can be easily translated using other languages.

E.g. you know those beginner projects like “Build a calculator”? Yeah but do it in as many languages/frameworks as you can.

E.g. (again) I would build a calculator in:

JavaScript

HTML, CSS, JavaScript

HTML, SCSS, jQuery

Python console app

C# console app

Lua console app

WPF

Django

C# ASP.NET

You get the idea, building a singular “project” in various languages. This would be for fun, best way I believe to see how you could mend your project’s logic in the other languages syntax and concepts.

Might do this in the future, I don’t know yet 👩����‍💻⚡️

[gazemaizeisdead]

I do love your 13 pitches for rata-two-ouille but some of the references flew over my head may i humbly ask for you to explain them. again even though i dont get it they are really fucking funny

sorry i didn't respond the first time; brad sometimes likes to message me from sockpuppet accounts to "keep me on my toes" whenever he's mad at me. the other day we had a real big setback during filming (kicked out of a dog park) so morale's pretty low at the studio.

my inspirations for my various ratatouille project concepts are, as you'd expect, quite eclectic. i am a skeptic on the project of tracing artistic influence (how can one really know from where they sourced their ideas) but it's always an interesting discussion.

all the emile movies are my take on lynch (i don't like the idea of simplifying my work to the point of someone being able to say "oh this is gazemaize x eraserhead" but let's be real, that's what i'm doing.)

as for the other less obvious stuff,

Film based on the in-universe Gusteau documentary that inspired Remy to be a chef. A young Gusteau (digitally-recreated Anthony Bourdain) works his way through the unforgiving 1960s hellscape of French cuisine to fight for his third and final Michelin star. At first this seems like a small plot hole because in Ratatouille restaurants are able to get up to five stars but at the end of the movie Gusteau’s food is so good that the Michelin company has to change their system to add extra. First M-rated Pixar film, ties the record for second most F-bombs in any movie ever

this is primarily a response to kafka's hunger artist, and more broadly, to masahiro's sakurai entire career. i don't think it's worth reading the novelization of kirby air rider just to understand my work but it is worth reading for its own sake (if you have the stomach for it, it's not for everybody.)

Romcom Toy Story crossover in the style of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" where Remy falls in love with a stuffed toy rat. Django and the toy's adoptive parents (a Pet Rock and a 2nd generation Tamagotchi, who had faced parallel discrimination themselves in their youth but don't see it as equivalent to what their son is doing) eventually do give up their bigoted ways but the relationship falls apart anyway during the same night due to Remy's obsession with his career. Heavily marketed as featuring Pixar's last LGBT character

when i was younger i had a classmate who was very interested in tamagatchi and i sat behind him in school after a desk reshuffling and he had not one not two but seven of these shiny, candy-colored beeping flat egg devices hanging from his backpack and i was perpetually filled with the irrational desire to reach in front of me, rip them off their little metal ball chains and put them in my mouth. i could not focus in class because i wanted to eat them that much but i also liked the boy in front of me, who had been very kind with me (he had gone out of his way to show me how to properly hold a pencil, where my teacher just criticized my bad handwriting without giving me any constructive advice on how to fix it other than "go slower") and i knew he'd be very hurt if i did. sadly after three months one day i could not resist and i did grab and swallow two before i was stopped (Tamagotchi Connection Version 3: Surf Wave and Keitai Kaitsuu Tamagotchi Plus: Strawberry Yogurt, strawberry yogurt my ass) and though i was okay after an endoscopy and both machines were still functional sadly one tamagotchi died of starvation and another evolved into the wrong kind of adult tamagotchi and my classmate never spoke to me again. he was very popular and i became hated after this incident, it made the rest of my senior year a living hell

Remy is dead and a ghost in this movie, it’s revealed that the Gusteau he kept talking to in the first movie was NOT a figment of his imagination, that was the real Gusteau; cooks of significant skill are able to continually defer their true deaths by making tasty enough food for the grim reaper (for reasons that are only alluded to, this form of necromancy only works for the french, in a comforting throwback to the nationally-segregated afterlife system implied by Coco).

this one is my favorite and the project i would have liked to finish the most, as it's very personal, for i was actually haunted by the ghost of a french chef for three nonconsecutive years. (try sucking off your tax accountant while an offensive stereotype is lecturing you on Escoffier! it provokes artistic output, to say the least)

Three disconnected episodic interludes about Remy (Dan Castellaneta), Linguini (Phil LaMarr), Colette (Tara Strong) and the entire rat-clan learning the true meaning of Christmas. Olaf cameos in the second short as a monster chasing Remy during a hallucinogenic nightmare he has after staying up for a week straight trying to create the perfect fruitcake (only later does he realize that the only truly perfect fruitcake is the one you share with family). Disney+ exclusive

dan castellaneta voiced the genie in aladdin 2 but disney managed to get robin williams back for aladdin 3 and you have to wonder, from dan's perspective, if he felt a little used, like a rebound who gets discarded the moment the original couple makes up.

here's my most spicy take: dan castellaneta does a better genie than robin williams. williams was a once in a generation talent but friend like me doesn't have shit on "nothing in the world" (or so i'm told, i've never seen the first aladdin movie).

Remy and Linguini reunite to battle the Underminer and his robot army and stop them from destroying the surface world and polluting the atmosphere to turn the whole planet into an artificial underground. At the end they leave the underground for the first time in the movie during the final battle and the Underminer turns good because he sees Paris and realizes that he doesn’t need to terraform the surface world because the hellish aboveground wasteland he wants already exists. 62 on metacritic

the incredibles 2 you saw in theaters is actually the incredibles 2 2 because the real first incredibles 2 was a playstation 2 game released in 2005. its wikipedia page has my favorite sentence in all of non-fiction (very bottom of screenshot)

Following the release of Incredibles 2 (2018), the events of this video game became non-canon.

i love the way this is phrased and appended to the top of the page but spaced from the rest like a magnificently important event. it makes non-canonization sound so literal, as if disney sent men in suits to sneak into basements and goodwill centers all over the country and find these dusty game cases and put a little stamp on the disc that says "this never fucking happened".

i hope that helps, send me more questions anytime, i love talking shop about "the process". brad and i are still working hard (or hardly working! haha)

[wearethekat]

19, 10, 7, 2!

19. Favorite old(er) book you read this year

Borders of Infinity (1987) by Lois McMaster Bujold. Moderately cheating since this is a reread and a book club book, but Bujold is my all-time favorite writer and her prose is so good. This is a novella from her long-running Vorkosigan SF series which has won a much justified eight-odd Hugos.

10. Sleeper Hit: Not a book that you have to force into people's hands, but well-executed

The West Passage by Jared Pechacek. I'm obsessed with it and it seems like no one is talking about it. absolutely one of my favorite books of this year, and an utterly original gem of weirdness and monks. Reminded me strongly of Piranesi, also a very good book.

7. Wasted Potential: Great premise and/or characters but fell down on execution

I hate to say it, but Metal From Heaven. It was one of my anticipated new releases for this year (apocalyptic industrial butch revenge narrative, anyone?), but it just didn't work for me. The main character spends most of her time semi-hallucinating, and combined with the heavy, ornate prose, it made ME feel like I was trapped in one of those unpleasant sticky fever dreams. I wanted to like it so much but it was a very unpleasant reading experience.

2. Flops of the year

Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo had a cool concept (murder mystery in a luxury space hotel) but had an unconvincing ending that ruined it. How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying (Django Wexler) had, again, a cool concept (woman who's been trapped in a Chosen One time loop for like 500 years decides to choose evil this time around) but there was hardly any time looping, and the protagonist was one of those people who's constantly making tiresome cheap meme references at poor secondary world fantasy characters who have no idea. (and I say that as someone who enjoyed the memes in Gideon the Ninth).

send me end of the year book asks!

[sindirimba]

KSMZ! (which is also the name of a radio station, I've decided. the hosts read BoN fic aloud. the call-in shows are wild)

in fantasy land i would listen to the fuck out of that radio station, yesssss

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

ooh this is hard. i'm thinking over my favorite character writing and a lot of it is more like, a slice of character life, less of a development. am i misunderstanding narrative concepts? probably... hmm.

i guess i'll just go with what i'm thinking of as 'character writing' because i suspect that's what an arc means and i'm just ignorant. and for that for whatever reason the first thing that comes to mind is roman in the mustang? i don't know, matthias has a talent for picking roles that get to me. roman is such a fascinating character and the journey he goes through i just really enjoy watching and thinking about. such a great movie. seems underrated to me, highly recommend to anyone who hasn't watched it.

S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged)

nile's always been a tomboy and will always be, and she likes to dress up sometimes for fun, not just for a job, but her comfortable every day style is... i mean, what we see at the end of the movie! she's a tomboy <3 my special little athleisure princess.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

honestly the first character that came to mind is dandelion! i relate to her stubbornness about music and her belief it shouldn't just be a business, and i think we'd have a lot to talk about there. and she seems like she needs a lot more people on her side and i would be her bravest warrior 🫡

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

fan-related ramble is that i struggle to ramble unprompted 😭 but like, you know what i really love. the television show django (2023). i've been feeling so nostalgic lately over the feeling of watching it over several weeks and yelling about it with you and @gaal-dornick. what a wonderful time that was. pensive cowboy emoji here.

thank you <3

(ask game)