#F*CKING ANIMATED SERIES

[beif0ngs]

DIVINE DEPARTURE

[filmbyjy]

MINESTREAM

SYPNOSIS > Wanting to start a new stream series with his best friends, Jay had a bright idea of playing some simple Minecraft with them. Everything was normal, until he realises there is another person in the call with them. He quickly learns that it was ni-ki’s older sister, (name). Watch how streaming a simple game of Minecraft can dig up some interesting feelings between the main leads.

FIFTEEN – that man is a f*cking simp

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

a/n: i used papago for like the translation so please correct me if I’m wrong😭

with the night wind blowing at your hair as you walked around with jay, you can’t help but closed your eyes. it was a nice walk at night. you had spent the afternoon with him at the cafe and talked a lot about a bunch of things.

you found out he liked a bunch of older songs, especially rock songs. he played the guitar and was trying to play more often. you also learnt he was decently fluent in Japanese, which surprised you.

“you know Japanese?” you say a little in shock and awe.

“yeah, I learnt it so that I didn’t have to keep staring at the subtitle and just actually concentrate on the anime I was watching. took a long time though but it was worth it at the end. i’m still learning more phrases.”

“that’s so cool!”

“ありがとうございます (thank you).” jay replies.

“you sound like a local. i’m impressed. did riki ever accidentally speak to you in Japanese?”

“he did. maybe once or twice. i understood what he said so it was fine.”

“well, you sound natural. maybe even better than me in Japanese.” you say.

jay laughs. his laughter was truly adorable. you couldn’t help but melt at it. it made you realise that being alone with jay made you feel super comfortable. due to your past experiences with disgusting guys in japan. you couldn’t stay alone with any guy without feeling unsafe. that of course did not include ni-ki, he was your brother after all, and heeseung.

and now, currently after having a heartfelt conversation at the cafe for a long time, the sun had set. you and jay were walking around the park and towards the campus grounds. there was a cyclist coming closer to the both of you so jay grabs your hand and pulls you to the side so you wouldn’t crash into the cyclist.

“oh. thank you, I didn’t realise there was someone.” you say. jay snorts.

“maybe, you shouldn’t aimlessly walk with your eyes closed.” he squeezes your hand since he was still holding it.

“I was enjoying my peace. the night feels cool and nice so why not, you know? besides, it’s the weekends tomorrow. I just need a small breather before I have to go back to sitting in my bedroom and painting.”

jay hums. the both of you continued to walk with your hands intertwined. neither of you minded and really remembered that jay’s hand was still interlocked with yours. in fact, it actually felt comfortable like it was meant to be.

was this fate?

right as those 3 words popped into your thoughts, jay’s phone rings. he answered it with his other hand still walking with you hand in hand. you had kept quiet, just listening in to his conversation with whoever it was.

“I’m doing fine. mmm, I’ll try to visit you guys during summer break. no. I don’t have a girlfriend.” it caught your attention. you knew jay was a good looking guy, tons of girls would’ve loved to talk to him so why doesn’t he have a girlfriend.

“mom, I know you’re worried about me. I can handle it. I’m only 22 this year. yes, I’m doing well in college as per usual.” he chuckles slightly. “I don’t want to go on a blind date, mom. I want to find my own girlfriend. someone that understands me and likes what I do.”

his eyes met with yours as he finishes his words. your heart stops. you nearly had a heart attack because why would jay just stare at you as he finishes his sentence. what did that mean? there is no way he likes you…right? it was too early! he can’t like you that way.

jay finishes up his call with his mom. he places his phone back in his pocket and turns to face you. “so what are you thinking of doing during our summer break?”

“mmm, I’m not sure. I haven’t thought about it. probably more streaming.”

“do you wanna stream with me? I probably wouldn’t go out much during the break.”

“I thought you were going to visit your parents?”

“I am but we could stream together after I visit them.”

“you aren’t staying for a week?”

“my parents are usually busy, they travel around a lot so they’ll probably fly out a day or two after I visit them.” jay explains. you hummed.

“me and riki would would definitely be free.”

“perfect. I could ask the others if they’d like to play too.”

finally, you had arrived in front of your dorm’s apartment building. unfortunately, jay lets go of your hand. the warmth was all gone and you already missed it.

“rest well and don’t overdo yourself. I know it’s tempting for you to just continue doing your artwork but you need to rest.”

“yes, jay. I know. I won’t overdo myself.”

“that’s my good girl.” he ruffles your hair. “well, I have to go. the boys probably would expect me to come back soon. they can’t survive without me. the dorm would’ve burnt down by now.” jay jokes.

you laughed, “alright. before you go, can I ask you something?”

“sure.”

“can we stream tomorrow?”

“of course.”

you had stepped forward and quickly left a peck on jay’s cheek before bolting in to your apartment building. jay holds the cheek that you had left a kiss on as he watches your figure growing smaller. a stupid smile adorning his face, he was smitten.

you had opened your front door after taking an elevator up to the floor. it slams shut as you entered it and laid your back against it. your heart racing quickly, the heat flaming against your cheeks.

“oneechan, what are you doing?” ni-ki appears at the hallway, his eyebrow raised as he looks at you in question.

“oh my god, I- riki, why are you walking so softly. when did you stand there?” you say as you were flustered.

“I was about to walk to the kitchen but I heard the front door slam. what happened?”

“nothing. just went out.”

“was there another stalker?” his voice sounding a little serious.

“oh, no no. no stalker, just umm i saw a flying cockroach outside.” you lied. the worry in ni-ki’s eyes dissipated, it was quickly replaced with fear.

“we really have to move. oneechan, I’m going to find us an apartment that’s better than here and is equally as near to school.”

“umm, we don’t have to.”

“I don’t care, I’m paying for the rent. you don’t need to worry.”

“riki!”

“consider this as a big early birthday present.” ni-ki skips over to you and pecks your cheek. “only the best for you big sis!”

you had to tiptoe to pat his head, “you have to stop spending money on me, riki. I can buy things on my own.”

“not until you get that streamer money.”

“well, can you really blame me for joining an art course because it’s my passion?”

“not at all, oneechan! you just have to not feel bad every time me and yvette noona want to pay something for you.”

“but I’ll owe you guys.” you pout.

“shhhh.” ni-ki grabs you and pushes you towards your bedroom door. “you don’t have to feel bad, I’ll do anything for you and any one of my friends! trust me, I’ll even ask sunoo hyung for house hunting advice.”

“is he even a reliable source-” ni-ki stops pushing you to your bedroom when you reach the middle of your room.

“he is a very reliable source. now, get some rest! I’ll find a house by the morning and then confirm stuff by next week. we’ll be in a new apartment in two weeks time.” ni-ki blows a kiss to you and shuts the door.

you sighed. ni-ki was an amazing younger brother and you love him to the moon and back. he’s a one of a kind brother, anyone would want him. however, you felt so burdened by the fact that you felt like you owe something to him. you knew he didn’t care if you paid back or not and he always treats you. it’s just the guilt creeping up on you.

you looked down at your phone and glanced at the lockscreen, it was a baby photo of ni-ki. everything you did was for him. your parents could always trust you with ni-ki and vice versa. with them running a company back in Japan, it was hard for them to come home. hence, you had to grow up for ni-ki. of course, your parents were grateful. they always brought both you and ni-ki out as a little treat. it wasn’t a surprise when ni-ki wanted to fly out to Seoul with you to go college. he’s a constant in your life and your parents knew that. hence, they didn’t say no to ni-ki and allowed him to take the same flight as you.

you had taken a shower quickly and changed into your pyjamas before deciding that you had to sleep. you had to continue up painting before streaming again tomorrow. just as you dried your hair and then threw yourself on the bed, you can’t help but remember what you did when you came home. you hid your face behind the pillows.

as for jay…

he was busy giggling and kicking his feet in his bedroom. jake and sunghoon were confused as to why jay was just mindlessly walking to his bedroom and then they heard a ‘girlish’ giggle from jay’s room. both jake and sunghoon looked at each other in shock.

“he’s gone insane.” sunghoon says. jake nods.

“didn’t he go out with (name) just now?” jake asks.

slowly the put the pieces together, sunghoon’s eyes widened. “we’ve truly lost him.”

“that man is a fucking simp.” both sunghoon and jake say at the same time.

taglist[open]: @bldelaine @velvtcherie @shalkeren @kgneptun @yenqa @dammit-jjk @sionshiii @enhaz1 @mrchweeee @ncityzenz @autumn583 @okokok4 @ariadores @n1k1mura @kwiwin @drunkdazeded @justkatey @thatsroug @auesoooo @bunchofroses07 @j4ysluv @heeseungwifeyyy @smouches @bubblytaetae @dimplewonie @brachioanton @blackhairandbangs @heestrawberries @amesification @rizzshimura @y4wnjunz @rainyjy @pkjay @simjyunnie @imtoanonymousforyou @jungwoneez @jeongingf1 @astrae4 @heartswonn @pinkishyngs @heeseungsbabyy @in-somnias-world @ramenoil @wantmatthew @leehanascent @kayyssw @allisonleannn @kim2005bomi @saurxcream @urmomssneakylink @zyvlxqht @honeyboobear @ddazed-lhs @bee-the-loser @sunkislove @glassesyunjin @eleanorheartschishiya @jayjongie @woninluv @artstaeh @jwnghyuns @junissy @svmjaeyun @clairecottenheart @onigirik1 @woniejjang

(want to be added into the taglist? just send an ask or fill up this short form here!)

[honey-minded-hivemind]

I had, a crazy fun idea: Let's combine X-Men Evolution, but add some dashes of X-Men The Animated Series, and make it some combined X-Men world/show/anime called X-Men: The Animated Evolution. Ye or no? Let me explain:

It would have the dynamics and ages of Evolution. The X-Men adults consist of Professor Xavier, Storm, Wolverine, Beast, and Morph, their teen wards/kids are Scott, Jean, Evan, Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, but I add Gambit to it, as well as Jubilee, but as teens, and with their Animated Series look. You have the Brotherhood and Acolytes, the adults being Magneto and Mystique (and Sabretooth a bit later down the line), their teens are Pietro, Wanda, Todd, Lance, Fred, with Pyro and Colossus too, but usually in the Acolyte group.

The plot is a bit of a mix between Evolution and The Animated Series, with everyone trying human school for a bit, trying to fit in or stand out, causing teenage mayhem and having teen problems, the occasional adult having a past come back to haunt them and teens ready to hug them, some Sentinels made that then get destroyed (for good this time), Apocalyose makes some of them Horsemen, and Sinister is a side villain defeated during like, season two, about midway through it. Then everyone ends up exposed, and now they're all having to try and atick it through- and then that gets too dangerous, so now they're all copped up in the Institute, because hey, time for their pseudo- parents to teach them!

Weapon X is a thing, Hydra wasn't involved, it's just Weapon X being f*cking jerks again, and there is a whole side story/adventure where some of the teens help bring them down, with Logan and Sabretooth possibly caught or on a separate mission to stop Weapon X, and oh, yeah, Laura helps, because she deserves to kick the scientists in the shin, with her claws.

Reader is the new kid, a few of the teens like them, and Reader is trying to wrap their head around the whole "Oh, my classmates are mutants, I like them, I want a normal life, and they won't leave me alone" as well as the "Oh sh*t they're following me, wait how did they know where I live wait is everyone in on it?!". Yep. Reader ain't escaping this.

So. Yeah. Just an idea.

[iamjellyfish]

The idol soldier. | part 2

Part 1

A/n: I f*cking cringe reading my first fics, I deeply apologize to anyone having to deal with the part one. Anyways, I’m not out of hiatus yet, I finished writing my oneshot to be review but I barely want to draw so I might as well as writing something else for a change.

So-, let's try our best to finish this series so I can write smut for y’all.

Second note: this fic take place after the manga and uh, everyone lived! (Idc Shinomiya Isao is my father figure HAHAHA)

Warning: angst, hurt/no comfort- yet, multiple angst trope, the angst demon got me again rahhh. Prob OOC (I’m practicing writing Hoshina’s accent like how other writer do).

Summary: Soshiro proves to you that the life-fighting kaiju isn’t stable enough for love, so the idol soldier second-guesses her decision. She was urged by her manager to return to being an idol, pressure from fans and companies takes a toll on y/n. Would you leave? Or despite all of it, would you stay?

“Guess Jelly really only belongs on stage.”

You mutter into your knees as you hug it and sigh tiringly. The dim light of the phone still reflects into your eyes even if you don’t want to see it. It was the chat between you and Soshiro, your current boyfriend, the one that melted your idol heart and flew you to the moon, but he was a busy man – he is a vice-captain after all. You don’t want to be selfish, you really do, but you also don’t want to be second-priority to him.

17:01 Y/n: Soshiro <3 Do you wanna go get some street food near the base?

17:23 Soshiro: Sorry darling, works.

17:24 Y/n: Oh- okay.

18:00 Soshiro: I will make up for ya alright? How about yer’ treat yourself something nicely?

Soshiro sent you some cash.

18:01 Y/n: You don’t have to! Really.

18:59 Soshiro: Nah, bae. Treat urself, yer’ my princess. ILY alright? Gtg.

19:00 Y/n: Oh, okay. I will come over as usual alright?

Soshiro left you on seen and heart your message.

You know to the man, work is his first priority, work is his life. Soshiro even told you his past one time and you will forever remember every word of his because that is when you realize, you, y/n, and Jelly is his second priority. Blades and works will be his first priority for a long time, heck, you even think the time you retire as an idol or release your 100th album, Soshiro will still have blades and work as his first priority. And Soshiro knows this too, he tries to make up for you by gifting expensive gifts, giving you cash, and letting you sleep over at his place on the base.

Now is 11 pm, and you already prepared everything to wait for Soshiro to come back. The bed? You wash the sheet at 5 in the morning, and by the afternoon, it is soft and clean (Soshiro is a clean man, you just like to help him with cleaning so he can rest after a work day). You decorate it a little with your stuffed animals, and you make sure everything is perfect for Soshiro when he comes back. So laying on the bed, finger-swiping on social media on a secret account of yours, you wait for Soshiro, your man to return home.

Yours e/c eyes scan through the posts, fingers clicking on the “save pictures” button on posts where they have Soshiro’s picture, fan cam, or edits. After a while, a viral post popped up, it was about you.

“The mysterious disappearance of Jelly, the successful idol” was the post’s title. The context of it is just theories on why you disappear for a good long while, even if songs are still released but your appearance was kept at a minimum. You admit you do it on purpose to chase being a JAKDF and of course, being with Soshiro. But you still shoot the music video, still pump out goods, you made sure even if you lower your appearance as Jelly, it would be covered up with excuses like “health issue” “problem with the company” etc…

But seems like it still isn’t enough. The post only covers theories like “Jelly secretly quitting” or “Jelly might have serious health problems”, the worst one is probably “Jelly is secretly got bullied and done dirty by the company”. Not a problem, just let the post die down and everything will be fine-

“JELLY MIGHT QUIT BEING AN IDOL FOR HER SECRET LOVER”.

Fuck fuck fuck. Someone definitely leaking this one out. You’re in deep trouble. In fact, you doubt the post could die down because the post is growing too fast and those damn news channels already covering this. The proof is just blurry images of you and Soshiro, even with just 3 burry images, the fans are already in rage (You are kinda a bit sad and graceful at the same time that Soshiro are too busy to even go on a date with you). But now, you’re afraid of what could happen, what if they doxx Soshiro? What if they found out? Nope, too dangerous.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

You pick up the phone only to be get yell at by the manager.

“Great! Look at our Jelly! Have fun being a Disney princess chasing after some guy? Because we are having a meltdown because of you! If only you weren’t the fan favorite, we would have let you go- “

You want to cry so much; you want to counter ‘But it's Soshiro!’ but you know damn well your manager doesn’t give a shit. And now with everything going down, you know full well that you going to be too dangerous for anyone involved, even for Soshiro. You don’t want to bring him any distress, and you don’t even think you could handle the fan’s rage and Soshiro giving you the second-place treatment at the same time, your poor heart with crack into a million pieces. After a good while of yelling and berating, your manager finally spoke up.

“Alright, Y/n. Here is what gonna do, I have forced to quit you from the JAKDF. Tomorrow morning, you leave. Am I clear? I will send the details later but finish your fairy tale love story because this is the last time you see him.”

“Yes ma’am.”

You said as she cut the call. Your eyes teary as her words finally hit you and it hurts. Never seeing Soshiro again? That’s your worst nightmare! But you know you can’t easily quit being an idol, contracts, and lawsuits, you can’t risk it. As you finally fix yourself up, it is already past midnight and Soshiro finally returns, he fumbles on his words as he realizes how late it is.

“Oh- my, sorry princess, I got carried away when training.”

He smiles, trying to hide his guilt as he walks to the bed and lies down beside you. You just nodded, you couldn’t even be angry right now, not at him, not when you knew you might never see him again. You let it pass, just like every time. Tonight, you will cherish every second, every touch of his… as long as possible. So you pull him into a kiss and cuddle him, Soshiro doesn’t think much but accepts your affections like normal. 

3 in the morning. You packed your stuff, Soshiro is still asleep but you couldn’t even sleep. You spend a good long while staring into his face, trying to remember every single detail, every feature of his. You wish to never forget it, to never forget him. You left him a note simply saying “Let’s break up. Goodbye.”, you couldn’t bring yourself to tell him the truth, you just hoped that he would think you’re a brat that don’t understand his priority so you left.

And with that, you left. Without a trace.

Mina of course know this, but she was asked to keep a secret about the details. She couldn’t tell Soshiro why you left anyway, she knows how broken he could get if he knew the truth. So she kept it a secret.

The sun was warm today, this is the first time Soshiro would find himself waking up and you’re nowhere to be found. He didn’t think much, normally he would wake up before you, give you a little peck on the cheek, and go on with his day. Before he left, he suddenly recognized there was a note on the table, and his hand reached out to open it, “Let’s break up. Goodbye.”, you were broken up with him? No, is it because you felt left out again? Is it because he didn’t take his time to go out with you again? Or is it because he messed up somehow?

That didn’t matter now, he needed to talk with you. As he pulls out his phone, he realizes you sent him a huge cash with a message “Here is everything you gave me, I will return it to you. The gifts will be sent back to you a few days later”. Soshiro was shocked, he wanted to call you, to text you but you blocked him. He texted Mina and Okonogi for answers but they both can’t really answer much.

Soshiro literally begged in his head that somehow you would unblock him and let him have chance to explain. But his past came back haunting him, how could he not realize how secretly hurt you are? How could he not realize all the hints? You were hurt and now his princess is leaving him forever. Right now, he has no way to contact you, so with a heavy heart, he has to surrender for now.

A few months later, shortly after you broke up with Soshiro, you returned to be an idol and have been thriving since. You did have to make an apology saying you were suffering from health problems, and that you didn’t want to make fans worry so you had to limit your appearance and surprisingly everyone was buying it. The scandal died down after that, thankfully.  

Jelly has been releasing new albums and you have to prepare for concerts so you have to practice extra hard for those. As you said goodbye to your group members, you quickly returned to check your phone before returning to your dorm.

“Hm... nothing much.”

You said as you read through the posts. You did have to block Soshiro everywhere and even stuff about him on the internet or else you gonna brawl your eyes out crying. But then, something caught your eye, it was a post about you, basically just dating rumors with another male famous idol. You recognize him as an idol you met only a few times, exchanged small talks, and got interviews with, but nothing much. But seems like it was enough for fans to start rumors, you chuckle to yourself. In this field, some idol even plays the couple of games for extra clout from rumors but it usually ends up dying down or overlapping with other trends.  You could never do that though, but you could sense that your manager might want that.

And you were right. 

In the next few interviews, you were asked to drop hints that further make the rumors about your dating more ‘real’. You didn’t think much of it but oh boy, Soshiro was deeply hurt. He goes on a spiral, and when he finds out about the rumors, the man already thinks about it “What if he treats her better so she left me to be with him?” “Did she really think dating an idol is better for her?” “Did he treat her right?”. But you double down and make it worse by dropping little innocent hints here and there, making everything worse. The tea was hot and you made it extra boiling.

“Oh, I think (idol-name) is really cool, he is really kind.”

“My type is probably someone that can understand how hard it like being an idol.”

Your eyes would exchange a little innocent look to his eyes and Soshiro already knows he hate it. He misses you deeply, and sometimes he even thinks about being an idol so he can be with you. He even went and begged Mina to somehow contact you and beg you to return, Soshiro thought that he might actually be dead this time. The moment the viral video of you and the idol helping each other for a gameshow, Soshiro wants to bury himself 6 feet under.

You’re really cruel to him, at least right now. But even if you were the cruel poison, he will still drink it down, because it’s you. When Soshiro thinks about it, he realizes how important you are to him, he can’t afford to lose you, and he can’t get over you. He will do anything just to see you again, even if it’s something he might regret. So when the ticket to meet you after the concert lottery was announced, Soshiro thought he have used all his life luck to pull the ticket. He was happy is the simplest answer.

So when the time comes, you walk on stage, singing and dancing. Soshiro was nostalgic back to the day when he first listens to your song, first going to your concert and you winked at him while on stage. Did you know it then? That you would fall for him? Loved him but only to be treated like second-choice? The thought haunts him but right now, he is the closest to you ever since that day you left. Soshiro will risk everything he has to get you back.

If wanted him to buy you a new dress, he would gift you an entire wardrobe. If you wanted a house, he would buy a mansion. If you want him to change his haircut, he will. Anything just for you, his princess.

a/n: I wanna give a special thanks to myself for having a Soshiro brainrot at 12 in the morning and writing this ‘till 2:21 and start hallucinating.

[theratpy]

Ratticus is so ******* *** ** ***** **** *** ****

Ratticus is so f*cking bad at being good ref Zuko

EXCITED for Feb 22nd to see the Netflix adaptation of Avatar the Last Airbender, and hoping and holding my breath that it will be half as good as the animated series!! The story writing, character development, pacing, and practically every individual frame of ATLA absolutely CAPTURED my heart when watching it on cable TV as a kid, especially the version with the animator/director notes on it. It was a core reason I wanted to become an animator, and now here I am, a decade later, doing that actively and loving every second of it.

Oh uh your asterisks probably had nothing to do with this and I'm just blabbing at you now but! either way hope you have a good day and thanks for the ask !

♡ Melby, creator of Theratpy

[that-ari-blogger]

LavenderTowne and Hazbin Hotel, Part 2

A while back, a youtuber by the name of Lavendertowne released a video on Hazbin Hotel and the fan reception was… mixed. Lavendertowne discussed her perspective on the series and presented her own ideas of how it could have been done differently, and some people liked what she said, others didn’t.

I made a post discussing her discussion soon after, and I am rather proud of it. So, check that out if it interests you. As the title suggests, this is going to be a follow up.

But recently as of writing this (I’m prewriting this a few weeks before it will go out), a second video was released, and I have thoughts.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (Hazbin Hotel)

The framing device of this video is that it is an alternate universe in which Lavendertowne has been given full creative control, as such, her design sensibilities supersede everything else, and I want to point out that this means your relationship as an audience is different.

I will not be judging the quality of the artwork and skill, and I will instead be pointing out what the different designs imply through what elements they incorporate, and discussing the criticisms levelled at the series.

This AU doesn’t have to deal with any of that, this is one person putting out her thoughts.

The original series had to go through Amazon Prime’s standardisation and animation and budget. It had to deal with execs who don’t understand television as a medium making decisions based on metrics that don’t hold up to any inspection whatsoever. The series had to mingle with shareholders and individual animators and writers with contradictory artistic visions.

Speaking of which, lets start with Angel, and I actually agree with some of what Lavendertowne said in the section about him. Hazbin Hotel, for all its successes, is definitely not a perfect show, and a ton of the pacing issues are evident through the characterisation.

Most notably, episode four is one of the show’s best episodes, finally slows down and tells a story about an abusive relationship. It’s horrifying to watch, but you can’t look away. Angel is vulnerable and desperate, his constant flirtatiousness is shown as a façade that he keeps dropping accidentally. Its harrowing and really well written, and Valentino is f*cking terrifying.

For the rest of the series, Angel doesn’t have this depth. It’s established he’s wearing a mask, but because the show doesn’t have time to show you the real him, the mask is all you get.

Yes, this can feel like dodgy characterisation. Media is subjective, that’s kinda the whole point, so while I am more than happy to take what we learn in episode four and use it to imply depth beyond what we see in the rest of the series, not everyone is, and that’s ok.

Moving on to the actual design, I love Lavendertowne’s Angel Dust, although this is mostly because I prefer the more monstrous character designs. I like to draw on horror in my writing, so the uncanny valley is something I am at home in.

I want to draw attention to the difference in shape language. Hazbin Hotel is very cartoony, so it can get away with some truly wild proportions to get the character’s vibe across. For example, Angel is wild and jagged, his asymmetry implies an off balanced nature and his thin limbs imply speed. This guy’s design communicates movement.

Lavendertowne’s style isn’t really equipped to do that, her proportions are more… I hesitate to say “realistic”, so “grounded” will have to do. Instead, she relies on a messy hairstyle to hint at that mental unrest and makes him as thin as she can possibly get without breaking with her style. Then she adds those upwards stripes to emphasise his height and make him look even thinner than he actually is.

This makes Angel look fragile rather than flighty.

Lavendertowne designed Angel twice, once in his performance attire, and once in his informal dress, and we see what she has focused in on.

A series featuring these character designs would prioritise angel’s duality and insecurity. The posing of the first design is closed in, and combined with the oversized coat that he wears like a shield, gives him a defensive stance. This angel would still be flirtatious, you can’t take that away from him, but he would be more guarded as a person.

Meanwhile the performing character design is more open, he wears less and is posed as open and inviting. This angel looks more acrobatic and nimble, but also more vulnerable. There is a correlation implied between the lack of physical defences and a more excessive personality, as if one is compensating for the other.

There is a trade off here. Angel’s original design played into his mafia past with the suit and tie, but Lavendertowne instead positions him as more of the femme fatale, who lounges back and gets the secrets. It’s a different archetype.

Niffty's design I don’t really have many thoughts on. I like the beetle mandibles in the hair and the little caterpillar is cute.

One of Lavendertowne’s criticisms of the series as a whole was that the overall colour was very monotonous. She highlighted the fact that the series is mostly bathed in red, and to show off what she meant, she presents Niffty with some splashes of green and yellow to balance out the hues a bit.

Lavendertowne’s Lucifer design is complicated in my eyes, because its my favourite of the designs, but also the reading of the character that I disagree with the most.

For example, the video states that Lucifer is a neglectful father and that there is a dissonance between his care and his selfishness that doesn’t make sense as a character beat.

So, allow me to argue a different understanding of the character. In my eyes, Lucifer does care deeply about his daughter, but he is truly awful at showing it. He decides to protect her from the hardships that he suffered by not letting her even attempt anything risky. He doesn’t want her to fall, so he won’t risk raising her up and letting her see the sun.

This became neglect, or absence, which Charlie is hurt by, and Alastor uses as a weapon.

Lucifer’s dawning realisation that his behaviours is one of those things that got messed up by the shortened pacing. I would have preferred another episode of getting to know the crew at the hotel and growing to like them, and so having an entire arc in one song wasn’t my favourite part of the series, as beautiful as that song was.

“You didn’t know that when

I tried this all before,

My dreams were too hard to defend.

And in the end

I won’t lose it all again.

Now you’re the only thing worth fighting for.”

Lavendertowne’s design prioritises the trauma of Lucifer, and as a side note, this version of the character would also be voiced by Jeremy Jordan, because that man has range.

But to that point, this is a fundamentally different version of the character. Where the series version has put on a brave face to hide his deep insecurities, the version Lavendertowne presents looks utterly defeated as a person.

This looks like the type of person who wallows in self-pity and who’s redemption arc would take two or three episodes. Lucifer here looks like he spends all of his time sitting on a roof top waxing philosophical and too caught up in his own mourning to notice the distance growing between him and his kids.

Case and point, the makeshift halo that he wears is such a phenomenal design decision. It’s an active character beat that he has tried to replicate his dignity before his fall, showing how he can’t move past it, but it also shows his lack of care. It’s made of string, its for him and him only, it doesn’t have to look right to anyone else.

Lavendertowne’s Lucifer seems like he would be overjoyed to join his daughter at the hotel, and desperately try to reconnect, like in the series, but it would take Husk or even Sir Pentious explaining to him that he was the reason the two fell apart, and breaking down the idea of hope and getting better as a person. It would show off how Charlie’s message has impacted others, and would lean into the slower burn story that these designs seem intended to display.

The cloak is also a cool detail, first up because of the crown on the shoulders which impact the silhouette and the shape language. It makes him look spikier and standoffish, but the broken crown motif is also a personal weakness of mine, so I won’t dwell too much on that for fear of gushing about the history and iconography and two separate fanfics I have written which feature that in their titles alone.

However, the cloak’s main feature is to get across the tone shift between this story and the original. It occurred to me halfway through this that the designs presented in Hazbin Hotel feel like they were designed as costumes first. They are symbolic and referential, with the rule of cool being paramount.

I respect this a lot, but Lavendertowne’s ideas present a grittier story, with outfits seemingly designed with practicality in mind above all else. Here, a character going flying across the city would have majour consequences. Gore and death would be rarer, but more impactful, and as a key part of that, this story would more heavily focus on consequences.

In this case, neither Lucifer or Vaggie will get their wings back in this version of the story. Lavendertowne specified this in her video, explaining that this was because the original undercut the trauma that these two received, and that’s a valid take.

Part of what I respect about Lavendertowne’s design process and formatting of the video was the fact that she presented a reason for her own unenjoyment of the series, and engaged with that criticism to present something that she would prefer. Again, art is subjective, and the video really takes apart preferences and the logic behind them.

Here, Lucifer doesn’t have wings, and instead uses his cloak to mimic the shape, linking back into that conceptual space of being stuck in the past, like his halo.

What this means for the story presented is that the final fight would have to take place within the hotel itself, where the angels cannot fly away and can be engaged with on even ground. I’m envisioning set pieces in the main halls, and staircases, and a moment when Husk turns off the light in a corridor, then cut to Angel’s perspective as he tries to find his friend, only to flick the light back on to see Husk, wounded but still standing, surrounded by half a dozen dead exorcists. I think that would be cool.

Also, the pomegranate sceptre is a neat design, and the open chest is the type of overly dramatic outfit choice that an overly emotional, self-sabotaging mess of a person would make. The type of design that pulls on an edgy, fallen angel, paradise lost style pf nonsense that I whole heartedly approve of.

Lute’s design I like, but it took me some time to get used to.

Part of this is that I genuinely despise the design of the exorcists in the series. I think in concept they are really interesting, especially with the mask, but in practice they just don’t work. I think it’s the colour scheme, they don’t scream “heaven” to me. They appear designed as “righteous crusaders questing for the greater good” and all that hypocritical, I would have preferred if they had their home turf emblazoned on them, like crusaders.

Lavendertowne’s design emphasises the idea of juxtaposition. Lute doesn’t look like a combatant; she doesn’t look dangerous. She looks like a saint. Until you see what she is doing. You notice the sword and the bloodstains on her hands and the combat boots which imply something beneath the façade.

The wings are also an interesting detail that Lavendertowne implements in her designs. One of her criticisms was that the designs of the angels and demons weren’t identifiable as pertaining to one side or the other. While I think that was an important theme in the series, the idea that when push comes to shove, the morality of hell and heaven were almost indifferentiable, I like that Lavendertowne took a different direction with her design.

In the AU, there is a hypocrisy evident in the exorcist designs, and Lavendertowne focused in on how they appear different and present a mask of superiority that is completely undercut by their actions. Hence the wings allow the angels to fly and literally rise above those they deem unworthy, while acting as a visual signifier of alignment.

I picture Lute’s white outfit getting absolutely stained with mud and rubble and blood, and I picture this version of the character as more cordial in conversation, the type of person who thinks being polite makes you correct, only to devolve into wordless screams of rage when she starts losing.

That hypocrisy is exemplified by my favourite part of the design, the headdress. Because first up, iron halos are cool, and the fact that they are the only metal on the design works with the fact that the angels don’t know they can get hurt, but second, this mask doesn’t have eyes.

We could say that there is some magical or technological way of seeing through the mask, maybe there is a screen in there and she’s like iron man with a ton of gizmos and gadgets, or maybe there are little holes or a mesh like an old gladiator helmet that lets her see through.

But visually, this communicates that Lute doesn’t see the world beyond herself. She is blind to change or anything that would challenge her mindset, and has intentionally closed off herself from learning anything new.

It also limits her expression. Sure, her mouth is visible, so she can smile or grimace, but the eyes imply emotion. She’s hiding from you just as much as she is hiding you from herself.

Final Thoughts

In any case, I really like the designs presented here, and I think that exploring how they communicate different ideas from the original based on different design and story preferences and sensibilities was interesting to do. If Lavendertowne releases another video, I might do another follow up.

I want to stress that me liking LavenderTowne's redesigns does not invalidate the show, neither do any criticisms. I mentioned that the series has flaws, but I love it regardless, and it's ok if others didn't.

Once again, I will write fanfiction for this universe if Lavendertowne approves, because I think that it would be an interesting thought experiment. I think the scenes in this version of the story would be longer and more drawn out, instead of the rapid pacing of the original series.

Other than that, if you liked this and want to see more, I wrote up a discussion about the first video, but I am also making my way through the source material. I have a series about musicals and storytelling in those, and right now, I am discussing Hazbin Hotel’s songs and what they do for their story. So, stick around if that interests you.

Part 1

[alicent-vi-britannia]

How Suzaku ended up being very validated at the end of season one

Today it's time to break a spear for Suzaku. The truth is, I feel safe talking about Suzaku in this space, despite the considerable number of haters he has; but I see that most publications about him focus on his ship with Lelouch and I think they lose sight of his role in the story and his narrative arc, which is a shame since I sincerely think he is one of the best characters in the series and anime in general.

What will we talk about today specifically? We are going to elucidate Suzaku's mentality and in the process we will discover that, contrary to what most fanboys think, he has his fair share of points in his arguments. Even the series grants it.

To start, keep in mind that Japan is one of the areas that has shown the greatest resistance against Britannia since Suzaku forced his country's surrender by murdering his father (which is partly why he in the present doubt whether he did the right thing at the time). That's why Britannia is tougher on Japan than any other area, from Suzaku's point of view.

Suzaku believes that resisting and fighting for freedom is not worth it because it will only cause more innocents to die and Britannia to increase its retaliation against Japan and make life more difficult for them. And the series has been responsible for proving Suzaku right in that regard. At first, the terrorists stole "poisonous gas" and the viceroy ordered an entire ghetto to be exterminated in response. Then the leader of the terrorists defeated an incompetent general and killed the viceroy, who was one of the emperor's many sons, and Britannia responded by sending its best general accompanied by its most advanced military unit (excluding the Knights of the Round) to to resolve the matter, thus drawing a huge target on Japan. If Britannia gets this far after a small-time terrorist achieved a simple victory, what will he do next if he actually starts winning? Annihilate every last Japanese? That's what Suzaku fears and knows will happen.

He lived through Britain's invasion of Japan, saw what the empire did to his country, and realized that Britain has only gotten stronger since the war and that Japan has only gotten weaker. Hence Suzaku works within the system. He wants a free Japan. But he believes that Japan will never defeat Britannia militarily (it doesn't matter if he fights on the side of the empire or not: the enemy is a very advanced military and technological superpower), so he looks for another alternative in Britannia, one that involves less spillage of blood, and finds it in Euphemia. Larry, you can judge Suzaku as a coward who gives up before fighting, just like Kallen and Lelouch do. But, if you ask me, this is the mentality of a victim of abuse and therefore a person traumatized by war (someone who lives in fear).

It's for this reason that Suzaku has no faith in Zero. His entire rebellion is based on the fact that he will win. We, the viewers, know that he will do it eventually because he is the f*cking protagonist, but Suzaku doesn't know that. No one in the Code Geass universe knows.

The thing is, Zero's existence, his overflowing charisma, and his eloquent speeches inspire rebellion. Zero is the reason why Britannia has an iron fist in Japan and why there are many Japanese who continue to fight. And Suzaku can't see how dying pointlessly in a fruitless battle and letting innocent civilians get caught up in Britannia's wrath will win freedom for Japan.

In the end, all Japanese people, whether pro-Zero or not, will pay the price for the terrorists, who are not only wasting their own lives, but are also actively getting the people they are trying to protect killed, and herein lies Suzaku's biggest problem with Zero. He doesn't seem to care about anyone or anything other than his own goals and the battle of Narita proved Suzaku right (again). The entire city was wiped out by Zero and the Guren Mk II. Zero had no regard for the lives of civilians because he was only focused on who he was fighting. Even as Lelouch became aware of his actions, he reaffirmed his determination by blowing up the ship with the remaining members of the Japanese Liberation Front, people who were supposedly allies of Zero and his Black Knights. The subsequent Black Rebellion, which was a consequence of the massacre of the Administrative Zone of Japan, ends up completely validating Suzaku:

Ultimately, Zero caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides, Area 11 was demoted to a "correctional area", and oppression against the Japanese became much worse than it already was.

Zero's return only heralded new problems for Japan. For Zero was already the reason why Japan's bloodless path to peace is no longer possible (from Suzaku's point of view). That's why Zero needed to die. With him dead, the resistance would be crushed and his people, although oppressed, would finally stop being decimated by Britannia around the clock. The ghettos would be quiet and military units would stop shooting in those places. It wouldn't be perfect, but at least they would be alive and there we extract another of Suzaku's beliefs: "it is better to live suffering than to die in vain." Either way, Suzaku was working to ascend to Knight of One to ask for the release of his people.

Do I mean then that Japan should have bowed its head and accepted tyranny? No and the series doesn't tell you that either. Suzaku was wrong about certain things too, just as Lelouch was. The point of the post is to take Suzaku seriously, understand why he fights Zero, and reevaluate his arguments to shed light on the positive points (because yes, he has them). The series is not about who is right and who is wrong (and if you believed that, you got it all wrong). It's about two characters who challenge each other's perspectives, learn from each other, recognize their mistakes and find a solution together for a common goal. And they grow from it.

These are some posts that I already have written and would like to translate and share here:

Why is Mao the best villain in the series?

What is the narrative arc of Euphemia?

Who has the best introduction in the series and why?

Analysis of the destruction of the Japanese Liberation Front

The conversation between Lelouch and Kallen in episode 13.

The narrative of episode 17 of first season: duty versus heart.

Better understanding Suzaku's trauma.

Unraveling the final scene of the first season.

Why did Suzaku hand Lelouch over to Emperor Charles?

The reunion in episode 1 of R2 between Lelouch and Kallen.

Why did Kallen return to Lelouch, even though he used her and lied to her?

Narrative parallels between the first four episodes of the first and second seasons. And you can expect many more, which publication are you interested in reading?

[koreanbibliophilegirl]

LILLY THE ALEX RIDER DSMP AU. IT'S OVERTAKEN MY BRAIN. THE NEW SERIES. TALK TO ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PL

Oh hi Bean!!! :D

LOL I have not watched s3 yet but I saw you brainrotting, I'm assuming it was great!👍

Okay okay okay so!!! Brief recap bc I need to refresh my memory:

Tommy as Alex, Techno as Yassen, Uhhhhh Phil as John and Kristin as Ian I think???

Dream as "a younger, greener Blunt" to quote myself, uhhh I think Mrs. Jones was Puffy?????

Jack Niki Sapnap Eret as K-Unit/K-Squad! Code names Thunder, Arson, Animal Abuse, and Tax Fraud!!!😃 (I believe Tommy was Drug Abuse lol)

Quackity as Ash, Hannah and Punz as [Point Blanc] with Purpled & Enderboo as two of the clones, Ranboo Aimsey and Eryn as the [PB] kids, with Ranboo(in the role of Kyra) later transferring to Tommy and Tubbo's school. Kyranboo pog!

Tubbo was Tom!! As he should be!!!

Uhhh okay I think that's about as far as we got???

AR!Wilbur was Jack(the Starbright variety not the Manifold variety) but I think we might want to change that particular bit...😅 I suggest Charlie or Schlatt!! If it's Schlatt then Tubbo could also be Tommy's pseudo-brother?? Yknow since Schlatt is usually Tubbo's dad in these things. Charlie would be funnier though, considering Ash and Jack canonically went on a few dates in AR.

"Oh yeah Quackity from Las Nevadas, we f*cked a few times!" "Charlie-" "He made real nice noises when-" "CHARLIE STOP-"

Awesamdad would be nice too, but I think Sam was Smithers??? Or maybe it was Foolish, idk.

Uuuuhhhh Point Blanc!! Still needs a name!!! It's just Hannah and Punz (+Purpled) so... uh.

....Academy Bedwars????

idk what to call them OTL, I'm saving Skephalo/Eggpire for Scorpia, I can't call PB the Eggpire...

Uuuuhhhh anyway!! Bedrock Bros bc we love Bedrock Bros in this house!!! Phil got discovered/fought his prodigy/got betrayed a little later than John did in AR canon, so Techno met baby Tommy a few times. Tommy's blue sweater coming from Techno was what we agreed on I think!

Anyway even though Techno felt betrayed by Phil being a spy, I think his feelings are a little different than Yassen. With Yassen it was pretty complicated, with him already being committed to Scorpia/the morally grey(like, really really dark grey) side, still being grateful to John for saving his life, etc. Meanwhile Techno would betray the Eggpire for one corn chip- if said corn chip was Phil. He was just angry Phil never told him.

"You're a spy????" "Techno I can explain-*" "AND YOU WEREN'T GONNA TAKE ME WITH YOU???!?!!! I thought we were a team, smh! S M f*cking H!!!"

(*: he cannot)

Anyway after Phil "dies"(I don't think he's actually dead, I feel like a major deviation from AR canon is bound to happen sometime and I think Phil returning would be an important plot point), Techno just. Stays with the Eggpire. He doesn't know how to contact MI6 anyway, and he doesn't really see the point when Phil isn't gonna be there. Also, staying with the Eggpire means he can keep an eye out for Phil's remaining family, so that's what he does till one day he sees Tommy(Techno had been keeping track of him so he knows what Tommy looks like, but the kid looks exactly like Phil anyway) in a... rich kid boarding school?? And he's going by Tommy Outit(/ref)??? Bruh???

Tommy, of course does NOT recognize Techno and he's like Why is that guy looking at me like he recognizes me. Meanwhile Techno is bluescreening bc Hey. Hey Kristin? Why is your son doing spy work? Kristin???

...

Okay Imma pass the baton onto you now, feel free to add on lol.

-Lilly xx

[technicianuprisingau]

Drawing the Rest of the Copy Ability Stars, Round 1!

I wasted a lot on this... so let's get this show on the road!

Yes, there are oh-so-many abilities that are canon in Technician Uprising, but HAL doesn't bother making ability stars for them. And so, as an AU owner... I have a full reign to design all of them! I am going to comment on each of them as well! Click down below to learn more about the process of making each star and what I think about the ability overall.

From top left to bottom right:

Balloon - The first one I draw overall (and the first ability fully illustrated, though I wanted to design Light fully first). This ability really just appeared in Canvas Curse, which is canon to TU, and due to a totally not secret plan of mines, I had to turn this into a full-fledged ability. Honestly. It just existed for Canvas Curse, so I hope the revamp moveset will give it a bit more versatility outside just "haha easier to control ball go brr".

Light - The MOST underused and underrated ability, FIGHT ME. God I love the concept of Light being used as a power but MAN. BIGGEST OOF FOR THIS ABILITY. Literally exists as early as in Adventure and was left for the slumps, never to be adapted. Watch as I make this a permanent use ability. I had to check the illustration of this ability in Adventure to get the icon.

Metal - Once again taken here due to a due to a totally not secret plan of mines. Honestly this is just Stone but Stone Change is always on. But I'll figure out what to do with it. And no, we're not using the scroll's additional ability, that's just Ball (which is also here in this round). I really just ctrl+c ctrl+p the icon from Squeak Squad directly.

Missile - Oh I would make this a Technician Mode... IF JET DOESN'T HAVE F^CKING MISSILE SALVO, making this ability UTTERLY OBSOLETE. Thanks HAL, but okay. Honestly it's pretty... eh. Maybe I haven't seen it too much in action. Also redrawing the Missile was. Hm. Okay I guess. I struggled setting up stroke thickness and setting since I'm limited to two colors and I don't want it to look weird, but the flame exhaust effect on the back is nice.

Bubble - I would make this a Technician Mode but at the same time I'm not so sure, it's already perfect enough to, you know, not change much... while the point of the modes is to EXACTLY twist the abilities' skills in a sense (at least for Technician. Idk. Most of Robobot Armor's ones are just normal attacks with bigger damage™ and that's it). Thank you Squeak Squad icons for saving me once again. Btw, Animal aside, this is my favorite ability in Squeak Squad. Though I'd change it to just trapping opponents in bubbles in my AU perhaps. Idk, turning them immediately to ability stars sounded... OP?

Ghost - Hahahaha spooky. I would also make this a Technician Mode... except I have an OC with Technician + Ghost with a rather complicated backstory, so, uh, no. I tried drawing a ghost, ends up just being frustrated because the proportions aren't right, but hey I did it!

Freeze - I cheated from Air Ride. Anyways, I guess I remember a Kirby gijinka artist (KirbyTardos, if I recall that username) who noted this might be more focused on defense, which I'll happily steal. Sir if you see this, I hope you're doing well, I should really check your comic series. Anyways... this one was supposedly fused with Ice nowadays, but whatever, it can co-exist I suppose. Trying to make it fancy but ends up giving up and settled for this.

Paint - Uhhhh... Isn't this just Artist? Nope! Decided that Artist and Paint are for two different specialties just like Ice and Freeze, in this case Artist is for precision while Paint is for R A N G E. I think their style should be differentiate too, with Artist you have the user having much cleaner, detailed art that needs thinking into it, while Paint is just. Graffiti. Go crazy. Go insane. Spread 387493743 splashes of paint to the wall of your neighbours!! I tried to recreate the icon in Super Star Ultra, but then I realized it looked wrong every single time and after more tweaking I just leave it like this. Could've done it better. Maybe I will revisit it someday.

Animal - Another one I could've done better I guess. Stealing again from Squeak Squad's icons! Tried adding a claw mark. Didn't work. F^ck. But oh well! ANYWAYS I LOVE THIS ABILITY HOW DID HAL DIDN'T ADD THIS TO FORGOTTEN LAND??? NOOOOO!!

Magic - Insert that one song from Milgram here. I love Deco*27. Anyways. Went simple with this one. Three cards and a magic hat that I stole from Squeak Squad. I also stole the colors of the illustration as we already have abilities with black and white ability stars and I doubt I can change em much to make it distinct. Yeah, yet once again taken here due to a due to a totally not secret plan of mines.

Ball - Ballin huh? You guessed it, it is, yet again, once again taken here due to a due to a totally not secret plan of mines. I don't think this one has to change a lot, it's just so goofy. I like its vibes, but I bet it will be a pain in the ass to use properly in-game somehow. Shoutout for Nightmare in Dreamland's little ability illustration for this. Also it's hard to design the ball icon itself so I went with a beach ball.

Laser - I kinda want this to be a Technician Mode, so we'll see this one with great interest! I wanted other colors but the illustration artworks only gave me colors that already exist or too close to other ability star's colors... then I realize that not all copy abilities have to share their outfit colors with the ability star, because Wing existed - it doesn't have blue but the star's blue-ish anyways! So I decided to go for pink, the color of the laser beam that was shot in the illustration!

Iron - Yes this is canon. Yes I will have to revamp this to avoid this being just Stone 2.0 but with deflect system, and in fact, I have made a full moveset from this long time ago! It's now a construct creating ability, creating simple things such as pillars and stuff. Still retains the "deflection with staff" technique and the one that reminds you of Stone Change... but I made the latter time-restricted rather than "as long as you hold it you're invisible" spiel. Anyways. The ability hat, as well as some iron blocks to hammer it to the point that HEY THIS ABILITY'S ENTIRE THING IS IRONS and not just "snek????"

Top - Went with green because that color is rare for copy ability stars, THANK GOD. It's also one that I purposely made canon because it's funny! Also young me already made a full-fledged moveset for this, thank f^ck. Tried to make it look like the top is tipping and gliding. And still spinning. Kinda looks smooth me thinks.

Baton - Oh god the ability's design itself is kinda mid imo but I'LL REDESIGN THAT JUST YOU SEE. Anyways. This is another one in the "so underused it hurts" category. For some reason the ability is one-use in the anime!!! Wow!! F^ck it!! Young me made a full-fledged moveset so WE'LL GO BY THAT THANKS. I went with pink... again... Or red... uh... I guess it's just pale dark pink, I used color picker on the staff don't ask. Tried to bring more of a Suplex vibe with a puffball holding the staff as if spinning it. S p e e n. I like the concept of the ability though, Motion Manipulation baby!

We might have more abilities on the go, but we'll see. I might move on to redrawing all Technician Modes after this. I'll also update the spreadsheet eventually with all these damn stars WAHOO.

Please enjoy ^^

P.S. if anyone wants to use these for their TU OCs, hmu and I'll give you separate version of the ability star you want!!

[80linesofvirgil]

Redbubble has a 20% off sale going! Thank you to everyone who has bought prints so far it is honestly the most exciting thing to have people buying my art and so much fun seeing your pictures of the prints up in your homes so extra thank yous to the cool people who have sent me those. :D

I'm currently working on a new piece for the gay fantasia series as well as a short story to go with my two Rogue & Bard illustrations. I'm so hyped by the potential of this concept and my imagination is ticking away coming up with an epic story that can link all these disparate scenes. I think it would be the coolest thing to have all of these in a collection of short stories: "Tales From A Gay Fantasia", ....and then.... maybe... anime.....?

I'm still unemployed and feeling pretty unemployable but seeing all your lovely comments on my art is propping up my mental health wonderfully :')

Lots of love, new art and stories soon, Joe x

oh, P.S. I did make a sticker of the 'Paladin & Her Sorceress' and f*cking Blizzard Activision copyright claimed it because of Diablo 2????? Which I've never played or used as a reference so..... no idea, I think they literally just went after the title...... I dunno... I've contested it but that was like a week ago and nothing's happened...

[legendary-defender-of-fandoms]

Reasons why Technically Technology Technician Bad Batch the Third Isn’t Dead

Maintenance Clone 99 didn’t sacrifice himself when he died. He was shot while trying to get more ammo for Echo & Fives during the Battle of Tipoca City. It was tragic, unfair, and heartwrenching, but not a sacrifice. So naming a sacrifice plan after him makes no sense.

No corpse, no proof of death. Goggles with an intact strap are not a corpse. And isn’t it weird that the goggles were on Tech’s face under his helmet, but Hemlocke just found them at the crash site with the band intact? They couldn’t just fall off his head, which means either Hemlocke removed them from Tech’s head or Tech left them as proof of death as part of his plan.

No one at Disney or Star Wars will say “Tech is dead.” They’ll talk about his sacrifice, or say “he doesn’t come back this episode,” but they won’t outright say he’s dead. They keep saying “it’s complicated,” which makes no sense if he’s really dead. It’s only complicated if he’s alive.

Tech would definitely sacrifice himself to save his family, and he knew his odds of surviving were slim, but he would still do everything in his power to increase his own odds of survival once he knew the others wouldn’t fall with him. It’s easier to save one than five.

No clone death has ever gotten this much social media focus from the official platforms. Not Gregor, not Mayday, not even Jesse.

Tech’s death is getting more “we sure miss hims” and “relive his adventures” than the deaths of Han Solo, Leia Organa, and LUKE F*CKING SKYWALKER!!!! No way Disney would spend more social media time mourning a clone from one of the spin-off animated series than the OG hero trio unless the death wasn’t real.

Star Wars has always been the antithesis of nihilism & grimdark. I’m not saying it’s all sunshine & rainbows, but the core of Star Wars has always been the power of hope. Even in stories where everything goes to shit, Star Wars will always try to end on a hopeful note. And if the Bad Batch loses a member for good, there is no hope.

Tech has a lot of unresolved plot threads. His relationship with Phee, finding something to do besides nerf nugget deliveries or hiding from the Empire, reconciling with Crosshair. We need closure.

Disney loves the theme they composed for the Bad Batch. They love playing it when the brothers fight together. And they ONLY play it for the brothers & the end credits (sorry, Omega) We haven’t heard it in-show since the last time all five brothers were together on Kamino, and I have no doubt they’ll bring it back once more in the last season. But to do that, they need all five brothers.

Tech didn’t have an “Uh Oh” arc before the season 2 finale. Echo’s rescue in Season 7 of The Clone Wars was his “Uh Oh” arc, Wrecker kept taking head trauma that led to migraines & his chip activating, Hunter got yeeted out a ship, fell into a mountain, and got shot by Cad Bane, and Crosshair has been nothing but “Uh Oh” arcs ever since Order 66. Now it’s Tech’s turn.

Star Wars loves repeating patterns, and with The Bad Batch getting only three seasons it’s the perfect setup to mirror the original trilogy. Not necessarily in actions, but in emotional beats. Tech in Season 2 follows similar emotional beats as Han (complicated relationship with a smuggler, struggling with emotions, betrayed by a shifty ally, etc.), culminating with both men being cut off from their found family in a dramatic confrontation with the Empire. Leia got Han back, and I knew Omega will get Tech back.

Saw’s insurgents mucked up the plan to track Hemlock’s personal ship back to Mount Tantiss to find & rescue Crosshair and the other clones. The team needed a new way to track Hemlocke, and a new infiltration plan. What better way to get behind enemy lines than to fake your death, steal a proto-Stormtrooper uniform, and pretend to be a normal soldier? Especially since Tech looks the least like a Fett clone, so if he does take off the helmet no one will recognize him.

Omega coined “The Tech Turn” as the name of a certain flying technique that only Tech uses. It’s something only the two of them know. And it feels like a plant, like in Season 3 there will be a scene where Omega sees a Stormtrooper pull off The Tech Turn in a shuttle, or Omega will hijack a shuttle & someone will tell her to do The Tech Turn to get rid of some proto TIE fighters on her tail.

There are a ton of Star Wars characters who have died onscreen just to show up several installments later. Maul, Ventress, Gregor, Echo, Palpatine, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand. Heck, Artoo’s died onscreen TWICE and been fixed up good as new before the end credits, and Chewie was totally blown up by the First Order until he suddenly wasn’t. So Tech returning isn’t unprecedented.

Star Wars doesn’t tease. They don’t leverage the possibility of seeing certain characters to get more seasons or new movies. Young Justice does that will Wally West - they “killed” him in Season 2, and use the promise of his return to get fans coming back only to say “Whoops, no Wally this season. Guess we’ll have to be greenlit for another season in order to see if he comes back.” Star Wars doesn’t play dirty like that. Star Wars always delivers. If all of this attention is suggesting Tech is alive, then Tech will be back in season 3.

Tech is the first canonically autistic Star Wars character. Star Wars won’t invoke the “bury your neurodivergents” trope. They’ve been getting better at inclusivity in recent years (mostly in writing, but there are baby steps being made in the TV shows).

[kokonutcat]

[Naruto rant/criticism]

Please don’t interact if you’re going to insult me for having an opinion that differs from your, I will correctly tag this post so if you’re a nh stan read at your own risk. I’m not responsible of your actions.

In the recent days I’ve really been having a naruhina hate brainrot. I’ve actually always disliked that pair since the first days I started watching this anime. But the more I think about this ship and the more I dislike it and see less reasons to enjoy it.

Yeah I used to ship ss in the past, because even if Sasuke never has been interested at least he was Sakura’s teammate and had plenty of missions together. (Well I learnt from my mistakes but that’s not the topic of this post!)

However, what do Naruto and Hinata have seriously? For being characters who got married and one of them being the mc their interactions were barely existent and Naruto having basic human decency toward her isn’t a proof of him having romantic feelings. I still literally can’t picture him being on a relationship with her either, no matter how much I try. I always used to find this ship painfully bland, boring, tasteless. I would rate it a solid 1/10 at best, and I’m on a good mood rn.

I got spoiled very early that they were going to be together at the end and even despite that when I watched the last episodes it blew my mind when I saw them going to be married all of sudden. It was so hard to believe. If they were so planned to be together since the beginning they could’ve at least given them some development idk it’s not even that complicated I don’t ask Kishimoto to write peak romance. Don’t even talk to me about "The Last" lol that movie is just laughable. It’s basically Naruto into a genjutsu and Sakura forcing him, guilt tripping him to love Hinata and telling him how much "he deserves her". No sorry but I can’t take this sh*t seriously.

Another thing, when I still was into the first episodes of the series I used to think that Hinata will have a development, she will be strong and all but I was apparently wrong as hell because she’s just as pointless, irrelevant but more annoying and her whole existence stills revolve around N-Naruto-kun 🥺👉👈. The shippuden era was the moment when she seriously started to get on my nerves. She reached a new low when Neji frustratingly f*cking died for her the the only thing she was thinking about was N-Naruto-kun’s big warm and manly hand. The audacity lmao. I would be so ashamed to myself at her place. Also there’s nothing wrong with her being a housewife, raising kids is far from being an easy task by the way but she could’ve at least done something for her clan as the "Hyuga princess", especially about the oppression and slavery that endured the secondary branch through generations and that caused the death of her cousin in front of her. But no, she got married to N-Naruto-kun, so it doesn’t matter, damn why am I even surprised, that was the only goal of her life anyway. That cute uwu girl’s """"development"""" disappointed me a lot, to say the least, I saw a lot of potential in her not gonna lie.

Poor her, she existed only for the sake of a ship that happened just for the dull sequel also more commonly known as "Boruto".

[rosalie-starfall]

No f*cking way! I had basically zero hope it would be saved!

[stoookes]

As you said, in response to a previous ask, the younger alphas would be less prone to sledging omegas, but actually all of the alphas named in that ask have had at least one fight with VK over the years 😂😂😂😂😂

VK sledged Jonny absolutely unprovoked in an England game, probably during 2021/22, which backfired like a bitch for us because Jonny went on to score a century in that game. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Sorry VK, I love you and your feistiness, but you should have kept your mouth shut here.

VK and Jimmy have had so many sledging episodes honestly! The most recent one came in the 2022 series, when VK absolutely went for Jimmy while standing at the non-striker's end. Kept telling Jimmy that he was an old man (😭😂), and that it wasn't his backyard (they were playing at Lords 😭). Although if VK is to be believed, Jimmy had started the verbals, first by swearing at Jasprit Bumrah while facing an over from him during England's batting, and then, apparently by calling VK "a f*cking pr*ck" for running on the pitch. VK said as much.

VK and Ben have also been involved in a verbal duel, again in the 2021 series. According to VK, this started because Ben was sledging Siraj, and VK leapt to his defence, and got all up in Ben's face, pointing fingers and what not. After being separated by the umpires, VK encouraged Rishabh to continue sledging Ben from behind the stumps. This particular encounter is very interesting to me, because I headcanon all of VK, Siraj and Rishabh as omegas and Ben as an alpha. 🫣🤭 So if Ben was really going at Siraj....

Again, during the 2021 series, this time during the T20 leg of the tour, VK and Jos had a bit of a confrontation after Jos' wicket. Jos was walking towards the pavilion, and VK decided he had to give him an animated send-off 🙄 which obvio didn't sit well with Butler. The two of them had some back and forth but the umpires intervened before it could go any further.

VK again had a go at Ollie Robinson during the same series, when the latter had come out to bat, and called him a big mouth. Also damn VK, honey, what had gotten into you during this series? Sledging English players left, right and centre like that! 🤣🤣🤣

Honestly, it looks to me like it was VK who started sledging the alphas here and they retaliated after receiving a barrage of expletives, not the other way round. Think VK has gotten so used to the older alphas sledging him and the verbal volleys motivating him to perform well, that when the alphas don't initiate the banter, he initiates it himself, because a) it gives him the kick he needs to perform well and b) it distracts the opposition as well.

The whole VK fighting alphas on the pitch things really does track in overse because he's always, and I mean always, felt and feeling he's fighting for his place, being the trailblazer to bring other omegas into the game. He's constantly fighting to be seen as more than 'the little omega that could' - he wants to be seen as a great player, not an outstanding omega.

He'll fight this one until he's blue in the face, and he'll defend any omega (or probably otherwise) who he feels is being put down in the same way.

One day, they'll sledge him because he's the best player and they want him off the pitch, and the o-word won't come anywhere near the field. That's what he hopes, anyway.

[smokeybrandreviews]

I Missed You

I've been frustrated with US comics for a few years now. Sh*t has been a barren wasteland of content for some time. Well, i can't say that for the entire industry, mostly the Big Two, but they weight the industry down so much, it's hard not to focus in on them. If the two gods bleed, what does that mean for the lowly mortals, you know? IDW puts out pretty solid Licensed fair, though. Their Power Rangers and Sonic stuff is pretty good. I really loved the Transformers comics they produced until Hasbro wanted a bigger piece of the pie and pulled their rights. Still, Image is doing a pretty great f*cking job with my darling Cybertronians now, so I'm not too mad about it, but i digress. This is more about DC and Marvel and how they've finally decided to get their sh*t together. Even if it's not anything in the main continuity.

Fall of X

Before i delve in to the return of the Ultimate universe, i need to give a nod to the Krakoan Era of X-Men comics. That sh*t was brilliant. It's been a long time since I've given a sh*t about an X-Men comic so, to see how well that sh*t came together, i was stunned. Credit where credit is due, that man John Hickman has a vision! His world building is insane. I've been a pretty big fan of his since his work on Fantastic Four but what he did with the X-Men eclipsed that near completely. The groundwork he laid for others to move forward with, was strong enough to weather editorial nonsense and, eventually, Hickman's premature departure. It'd always the creatives who suffer but, as one of the greatest comic runs come to an end, i mourn it's loss. There seems to have been a bit of X-resurgence lately but it feels like it all started with those House of and Powers of X comics five years ago. That said, i think i am even more in love with what he's doing in the new Ultimate universe.

Return to Glory

I love the Ultimate universe. Mostly. It is a time capsule of tropes and cliches of the day but the idea of it always appealed to me. Apparently, it appealed to Hollywood, too, because the MCU is based HEAVILY on the modern take Ultimate brought to the comics. When they killed it off, i understood why. Ultimate comics had basically ran it's course. There were a lot of mismatched tone and terribly stories at the time. Some were great, Ultimate Spider-Man maintained a decent quality until it's demise (probably why Miles was allowed to survive Secret Wars) but that thing needed to go. Throw out the entire universe, which they did. Well, several years later, Hickman, apparently, sold the Marvel higher ups on a proper reboot with a limited series title Ultimate Invasion. Another 1610 refugee, The Maker, decided to reboot his home universe and, being a Reed Richards not shackled by morality, did just that. Marvel gave Hickman the keys to an entire branch universe, with branding enough to lured in suckers like, and he has not disappointed. yes, it does feel a little "Heroes Reborn" but that can be forgiven because, so far, it's pretty f*cking good.

Along Came a Spider

The initial offering of Ultimate comics consisted of Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men. Obviously, Ultimate Spider-Man is my sh*t. I finally got my Endgame with Pete and MJ plus their two kids. I love this book just because of that but there is so much more to it than JUST that. It's written very well. This one is, more than the others, a character driven drama with occasions spurts of super powered action. It's f*cking brilliant, easily the strongest of the three individual books. Did i mention the art is gorgeous? It has that in common with peach Momoko's take on X-Men.

Turning Japanese

I'm a sucker for manga and anime. A cursory search of this blog will tell you that. My personal style is heavily influenced by Kubo Tite and Toriyama. I stumbled across Peach Momoko LONG ago on an image board somewhere and have been haunting her career ever since. It's f*cking dope seeing Marvel give her a shot like this and, so far, it's paying off. Her take on X-Men seems to be focusing on Armor but with a Coming-of-age twist. It's very unique and i am enjoying where she's taking the character. Hisako is basically Wolverine's fourth or fifth adopted daughter. That's it. That's as far as she gets in the main universe. Giving her the spotlight was an interesting choice, one that allows Peach to kind of juxtapose her mutation with the oft stifling expectations of conservative Japanese society. Plus, Storm is Japanese maybe? Or not because...

Wakanda Forever

Storm is an integral part of Ultimate Black Panther and is basically classic Ororo but, like, a teenager? Who has teamed up with Erik Killmonger? To save Wakanda from Konshu and Ra? I'm going to be honest, i don't like this book so far. I can't connect with it. It's definitely a slow burn, feels like a covert/espionage, spy thriller type narrative, which is fine, but it's taking WAY too long to get going. There is a ton of groundwork which needs to be laid so we're four issues in and just not getting the principal team together. It's a frustration, for sure, but i get it. Another thing taking me out of this is the Panther suit design. Sh*t is gross. You can tell everything in this Ultimate version of the world is heavily inspired by the MCU films but it's not hitting like it should. Ultimate Black Panther has potential but right now, I'm reading it just to keep up with events.

Ultimates

This one just dropped and, i must say, i like it more than any other Ultimates book to date. It's basically the origin of the team and it hits so much harder that any of the other comics to date. Lots of world building in the margins here and i mean that. Read all of the preamble and afterword because it gives you a very clear of what is going on with the current state of world affairs. The comic, itself, is pretty good. Legit shows the efforts to save the fledgling universe from The Maker and the failures. We get to see this take on Ant-Man and Wasp, plus a few licks of what is on the horizon. As a comic, it's underwhelming. As a preview of what's next, it's dope.

I know i said the big two but this one got away from me. I'll have to get to the DC stuff later and, obviously, it's about to be real Bat-Heavy. He seems to get just SO much love over there at Detective Comics Comics. That said, Marvel needs to keep betting on Hickman because this dude is delivering some fresh, fun, and brilliant takes on established characters. We need more of this unfettered creativity. That's what comics are supposed to be about in the first place.

[captainsavre]

Hey! The shows that got "proper" trailers are the ones premiering on february (TGD, Abbott Elementary), it even says "official trailer". The shows premiering in march got a teaser trailer for the official trailer thats coming probably mid february.

GA got maybe a few more new scenes but a lot of the season finale as well, those are "teasers" for the season and not supposed to show so much new stuff as those are saved for the official trailer. 911 only had cgi and animated promo so all the scenes are new (and they're getting "new series" promo so different). What I mean, we still haven't seen the official trailer

Hmmm okay that actually makes some kind of sense, thank you for the info…

But I’m still mad though 😑 I’m mad because of that scene between Maya and Andy. I’m mad because there’s still no Carina/Stefania in the teaser and why does Greys has more new clips in theirs than S19?! Because Greys is Greys, you can say… yeah but the network should dedicate the same amount of energy and effort to all shows equally… specially when was S19 having the highest ratings and network’s highest numbers, a lot more than Greys actually 😒

Oh and why they didn’t mention the new time slot?!! The audience still think S19 will be on at 8pm when in fact has changed to 10pm… but they surely don’t want to people know that, ‘cause all they want is to the S19 audience watch 911 instead… so it increases 911 views and decreases S19’s and that way they have an excuse to explain the cancellation.

So yeah, it may only be a teaser, not a promo… but I’m still so f*cking mad 😠🤬

nothing against you anon, please don’t take it personally… i’m just so mad at this whole situation 😑