#I didn't realize that he was such an obscure character compared to others!

[etherfall]

[Repost bc I screwed up my own tags lol]

Ask from sugarqueen4693: I think it would be funny if once alder firsts takes in N, Darmanitan (who was like his parent) would very closly watch Alder and was very suspicious of him at first.

Yeah definitely! Darmanitan did pretty much raise N at the start. So when Alder brings N home, Darmanitan follows Alder around to keep a protective eye on N. Alder tries to be friendly, but Darmanitan is constantly on alert for the first few months haha. Little N can't quite understand why Darmanitan is so wary, but tries his best to make the two get along.

Then one day N stumbles upon this scene:

Turns out the two parents aren't so different after all.

[chirpsythismorning]

Has anyone theorized why the Duffers chose to focus on Ten (10) specifically at the start of season 4?

Because looking back, how he was framed at the beginning of s4, compared to the end, makes it obvious he was a red herring.

In 4x01, we get our first (less detailed) recount of the massacre at Hawkins Lab, with the focus singling out Brenner and Ten. While I think there could definitely be important ideas hidden in the subtext during those scenes between them, Ten doesn't seem to hold any importance to the overall story, as his own character, beyond what's given to us in that premiere.

Because in 4x07, when we get a more detailed recount of the massacre, we're now viewing this moment from El's perspective at that same time Brenner and Ten first come into view. But it's at this moment the audience realizes that it was never about Ten.

By the end that same episode, Ten is merely canon fodder. He was given almost all of our focus, and then he was gone. And that was it. But I think that's because it's obvious he was never meant to be important to the overall story in the first place.

Ten was placed at the start of the story, not only as a distraction, but to also act as usable early promo footage.

No, but seriously. It's quite common for shows to post the first 10 or so minutes on YouTube before the actual premiere of a new season. In fact, Stranger Things has done this with the first 8 minutes of s1 & 4.

Planning for marketing and advertising is so fucking essential to Stranger Things roll-out, they would've probably wrote and filmed those scenes, knowing that it could, and very likely would, be used early-on in the promotion circuit (because later scenes in the season are usually filled with spoilers), which meant whatever they focused on couldn't give too much away. If anything it needed to make you think you were getting a lot in the foreground, when in reality the true answers were tiptoeing in the background.

What I think makes the choice to focus on Ten at the start of the season so interesting though, is that he's the number right before Eleven.

Our focus, right from the jump, is specifically on the number that has proximity to Eleven...

And so why do that? Why focus on Ten and then drop him into obscurity?

Maybe to distract us from the fact that the number we should've really been focusing on also has similar proximity to Eleven (literally and figuratively and numerically)... Mayhaps Twelve??

I promise you guys, I was minding my business, doing research for a completely different post, when I noticed a detail that expanded on my curiosity in regards to Ten.

Now, I'm not the kind of byler that tries to add up a bunch of numbers and say that it means something, and that's honestly mostly because I suck at math (and so no hate to the bylers that do that bc that's more of a me problem). And yet despite that, I really don't think this is even reaching. I think they made the choice to focus on the numbers they did and the way that they did, for a reason.

Although Ten didn't give us much of a purpose beyond s4 misleading opener vibes, he still started off the season with a fleeting, but still larger focus than the rest of the numbers besides El.

And so besides Ten and Eleven, which other number played a big role this season?

Two.

Though that's not to say Two operates as a red herring. I would say he actually plays a substantial role the entire season. He has a beginning, middle and end to his arc that stretches the entire season and feels layered in ways that make it clear he was more than just a blip to keep us busy.

And so, for the first episode of s4, these specific numbers were credited first before the rest, as they apparently played the biggest roles. And so, I just find it kind of ironic that:

Do you see it?

Okay, if you're still stuck I'll help you out:

The Duffers have admitted since s4 premiered that a lot of the surprises/answers they're saving for the end of the show, can likely be found within the show itself. This is because, a lot of the choices made, especially in season 4's case, were with the end in mind. And so details that maybe even seemed meaningless or ended up going nowhere, probably had a purpose that went beyond what we assumed when we were first confronted with those ideas. And that was probably the intention. Otherwise the surprise element wouldn't even be there.

Although it might seem like nothing is here, and maybe there isn't. Maybe I am reaching.

I still can't help but feel like these Hawkins lab scenes specifically hold the truth to what is going to play out in season 5.

Because the brothers have also admitted s5 is going to delve into the origins of Hawkins Lab and how Brenner's program went from involving Henry, to evolving and including multiple kids...

Honestly that alone should be enough of an admission that the s4 lab scenes probably hold more answers than we realize. All those choices they made, were made with the truth about Hawkins Lab in the back of their mind.

And so if they're going to make those revelations about the lab in the final season, and s5 is apparently going to also spend a lot of time telling us about Will's disappearance, whatever this all entails has to fit nicely with those scenes of the lab in s4. Because those scenes were extremely recent and also presumably written and talked about beside their outline for s5, meaning that they had every chance to hide the answers in the details... which they've literally admitted to doing by saying the answers to the ending are hidden in the show already... why am I even rambling about this in long form. This isn't a reach if you're actually considering what is in front of us.

That's not to say that we have the full picture yet to comfortably support Twelvegate as a full blown guaranteed theory. Because even though the evidence is astounding, there's still so much missing.

I think the imagery of time/clocks over the seasons being built up, going into the end of the show, and still without really delving into the time/clocks aspect fully, is maybe why I'm so open minded to how they could go about Twelvegate.

What we know about the past regarding Will's childhood along with what happened to Will when he went missing, for all we know might not even be the full truth. And there is some evidence that the facts surrounding Will's disappearance were changed between season 1 and season 2 and so... why was that? Back then fans thought it was just a copy/paste error, but now within the context of twelvegate... it's quite fascinating...

There's also theories Will himself created the upside down? And so, if that were to be the case, in any capacity, I imagine that his role in everything is a lot bigger than we imagine. Like that would make him equally as well known at Hawkins Lab as El.

It's not like we've gotten any imagery like that before, with Will being the center of interest at Hawkins Lab... Oh wait--

It's not like Will has ever been 'the boy who lived' level well known or anything...

But maybe that's because he's literally 'THE BOY WHO CAME BACK TO LIFE' well known!!

WILL BYERS IS THE CHOSEN ONE? WILL BYERS HOLDS THE ANSWERS TO EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN OVERLOOKING AND MISSING FROM THE BEGINNING???

Then there's the fact that Will himself could play a role in how time is going to impact the last season and presumably our perception of the past itself, specifically in relation to Will and his time at Hawkins Lab (possibly).

Lots of fans predict time travel will be involved in some capacity. Though there is a lot of pushback both in the byler fandom and even in the ga at the possibility of this, because I think a lot of people associate time travel in storytelling with entire story resets and so they're scared that time will just start over and everything that occurred over the seasons would become meaningless. And I guess I could see why that would be disappointing.

However, even if time travel plays a role, and I do think it likely will in some way because the foreshadowing is too extensive to not have been intentional, that doesn't mean I think they'll do it in the most conventional or predictable way possible. I think it would have to be way more complex than what most people expect, and it probably wouldn't erase everything they've been through, assuming what they've been through is even the full truth to begin with...

[hopeaterart]

Aaaaand I'm done for busts of other characters in TMNT: From the Hidden City because I didn't feel like drawing fullbody refs! In order from left to right (and under the cut because this is long), we have:

Slash, the leader of the Animal 5, an amateur garage band/vigilante group in the Hidden City. He's a tortoise yokai, and somewhat hostile to the Turtles at first since they seemingly came out of nowhere during the Tournament. Nonetheless, his heart is in the good place.

Mona Lisa, a member of the Animal 5. She's a salamander/axolotl-like alien, and her temper (which matches Raph's easily) doesn't undermine her intelligence. She and Raph quickly bond over how much they have in common once the initial hostilities are gone.

Leatherhead, a member of the Animal 5. Unlike the others, he's a mutant, mutated from a baby alligator that was splashed in Mutagen the night the Turtles were made. Unlike the Turtles, he didn't get the luck of a caring parent when he somehow escaped back in New York, and was forced into horrible things by his captor. Nonetheless, he was eventually able to find his way back to the Hidden City. Despite his scary appearance, he's a sweetheart.

Mondo Gecko, a member of the Animal 5. He's a lizard yokai and an otherwise regular civilian in the Hidden City, content with living a simple life. He got in the Battle Nexus on a bet and for a chance at the prize money, but found a talent for fighting along the way. He's the more relaxed member of the Animal 5, and was the one who came up with being a band to cover their vigilante activities.

Miyamoto Usagi, an apprentice member of the Hidden City's old guard. He's very dedicated to his training, and his peers describe him as incredibly mature and talented for his age. The only person who's been able to get underneath his mask is Leo, who's earnestness and kind heart are able to drag out Usagi's own inner child. He has a strange power that allows him to peer in other universes, and often uses it to ask advice from a certain older, more experienced version of himself.

Shinigami, a sorceress who was born in the Foot. She's Karai's most trusted associate and long-time girlfriend. Compared to said girlfriend, she's much more laidback and casual, and more willing to have fun on missions. She's still very much loyal to her. Some could argue she's more loyal to Karai than she is to the Clan... her magic allows her to hypnotize people and transform into a cat.

Jennika, a member of the Animal 5 and a frog yokai. She's actually a spy for the Foot, having been recruited during the Battle Nexus by Karai. She keeps them updated of what's happening in the Hidden City, but slowly comes to questions herself as the story progresses. She fights like a boxer, and can secrete poison.

Koya, a bird Yokai and a recent addition to the Foot. She was recruited during the Battle Nexus by Karai, and is part of her squad as a scout, archer, and air fighter. She's quick to attack and dislikes hesitation, conflating it with cowardice. Once Karai leaves the Foot, she very quickly realizes how insane everyone in it truly is without a buffer (Karai), but she believes that leaving now wouldn't do any good.

Bepop and Rocksteady, two thugs who were mutated by Draxum during his test runs of the second iteration of mutagen. They were hired by the Foot as muscle before Donnie could administer the retromutagen, and they often serve as comedic relief to Karai. The both of them are also complete idiots.

Goro and Blaze, Karai's mentors and technically her adoptive fathers. When Shredder isn't around, they run the Foot Clan to the best of their abilities. Goro knows bits of magic, and Blaze possesses enough brute strength to level a building.

Kirby O'Neil, April's father. He's a comic writer and illustrator, and created a relatively obscure comic that's just popular enough to pay the bills. Even so, he has an additional dayjob as an editor for a journal so he can make sure his daughter doesn't miss of anything. He's a hardworking man who often worries for his daughter, but can clearly see that she's at her happiest being friends with four green weirdos. His necklace is a gift from his late wife...

Lou Jitsu, Splinter's former identity. Martial Arts master. Even better at improvising with things such as ladders and fish. Movie star and celebrity. Bisexual icon. Once yelled out 'Hot Soup' instead of 'Hatsu' during the heat of a fight and it became his catchphrase. Has had it enough with the casual racism and homophobia of the early 2000 that he ran off to another dimension to marry his girlfriend. Certified monsterfucker.

Dr. Honeycutt, a technical war criminal from another galaxy. Regretful of his past as a weapon maker, he escaped to Earth where he was found by the Hamato clan. He is a friendly being, who's regret over making weapons have made him take a vow of pacifism he swore not to break.

And the Crying Titan, also known as Venus. She crashed onto Earth a few millenias ago, and is responsible for a bunch of things. From creating Yokai-kind (accident) to giving the founders of the Hamato clan their powers (willing). Baron Draxum was her student, and his mourning of her death at the hands of a nascent Foot Clan quite literally resulted in him creating the Hidden City.

If you have questions about any of them, or the plot of TMNT: From the Hidden City, don't hesitate to send me an ask!

[blimbo-buddy]

You know what?

I'm actually happy that Henry was mentioned in passing and never brought up again. He deserves to be obscure and not because I don't like him. I actually do love him to bites and wish he and Purdy met.

I am happy he's never brought up because this series is an absolute train-wreck and we were taught to hate kittypets and dislike anyone from the outside and love the clans despite glaring flaws.

Also, despite the clans being treated like a community, so many cats in the clans are like strangers to each other and don't have any form of connection and it's weird because they're all trying to survive and it's like, "Oh hey! You met Vineslash yet?" and they're all like, "Oh them uhh.. never talked to him outside of patrols and stuff."

Like I get it but also don't get it?

Also, I'm so excited to see Henry again from your sneak peek art!!!

I love your art and you give justice to the deserving and it's so goood!!!

Yeah I get that, as much as I would have loved more Henry stuff, I know that they'd only use him for more fatphobia. But it's funny you mention him and Purdy because I headcanon that they're brothers, Henry is the eldest brother and Purdy is the youngest brother. Not from the same litter though.

It's definitely odd that while they're viewed and treated as a community, they barely know each other. This is a fault of the writers of course, remember how much the deaths of characters impacted everybody in Arc 1 compared to TBC, remember how devastated FireHeart was when he sat next to a dying YellowFang and spent her last dying moments sitting by her and talking? You do? Good, now remember when RosePetal died and BristleFrost was just like "Oh no, RosePetal!" and didn't go beyond that. Do you notice the whiplash between the two comparisons? The Erins never write any meaningful relationships anymore and we're reminded of that anytime a character dies.

And it's so funny because when we see more into Twolegplace, they feel like more of a community than the clans do, cats actually know each other, they have pasts with each other, cats have reputations good or bad. Even with Warriorclan, you feel that great sense of community. Bone actually knew Boulder beforehand, most cats still knew about each other in Bloodclan. It's ironic that the biggest senses of community we get in Warriors are from groups of cats that are both not even real clans and have either brief appearances (Warriorclan) or an entirely antagonistic role in whatever story the Erins want to write (Bloodclan). The Twolegplaces we briefly see have more community than the clans ever had, which is sad because the entire series centers around the clans.

Also thank you so much! Henry is a major insignificant favorite of mine and I wanted so badly to integrate him into PineStar's Choice. I wish that book was a SE instead of a Novella because I would have loved to see more stuff in Chelford, we could have gotten a Henry appearance, we were robbed. Henry and Pine have a close bond with each other in the rewrite, and it's funny because it started out not the best. Basically, PinePaw scented a Kittypet and when he found the source of the scent, it was Henry who had caught a robin. PinePaw was furious and chased him out of the forest. Later on they meet again and Henry goes "Oh wait, I know you! You chased me out of the forest over a robin, haha!" and PinePaw's sitting there sweating nervously. Henry apologizes for taking the clan's food because he didn't realize it wasn't good to do that but PinePaw splutters out that Henry shouldn't be apologizing, and he says sorry to Henry. PinePaw, well, to say the least, feels really bad about that whole thing. But they grow closer nonetheless! If making art of insignificant Kittypets was a job I'd be rich, thank you so much again dude, I appreciate it!

[lloydfrontera]

wait but making Noviel stay in Lloyd's room with Javier instead sleeping in his own is genius, after an entire day with Noviel wearing a stuffy helmet that blocks off all of his handsome features, of course Lloyd would get to see him like how the others saw Javier when this scene happened

But of course, the same face but slightly older , and goddamnit i agree so hard on the fact that we think Lloyd's thought process is like:

Lloyd: Javier's already hot, i know that, but OLDER Javier from knight of blood and iron???👀👀💳💥💥💳💥💥💥💳

Hdhdhcbbdlisten i absolutely agree, lloyd, i just think that mr knight of blood and iron javier🤝🤝

Lloyd puts Javier to sleep first so that he and Noviel can talk freely later, and bc it's canon how Javier's Grandmaster senses can hear someone even beyond the rooms of the mansion, it wouldn't be very wise for Lloyd and Noviel to chat while Javier's still awake

Lloyd also definitely most likely uses this time to secretly(openly) stare at Noviel's features and lowkey fanboying inside(he's being so obvious), like imagine if Lloyd knows something like knowing exactly where every single scar is on Noviel from the novel, with Noviel jokingly asking if he wants to see them in person and I'm getting off track but MORE TEASING but it feels 10000000x more powerful bc Lloyd can see Noviel's teasing face

And though none of them noticed, someone's fuming in their sleep msnxnc

ASJKFHKASD YEAH EXACTLY lloyd is fighting for his life every time noviel takes off his helmet, like,,, the intimacy of noviel only showing his face to lloyd (despite it being obviously for practical reasons) would absolutely knock him out ahksjdhkas and there is just,,, just something about a character not showing their face so often that makes it all the more exciting when they do and lloyd definitely goes through that every time ajshda like very day they go out, he srot of forgets and expects noviel to llok exactly like javier and then the night arrives and its just him goin >:O over noviel looking older and more rugged than his own javier ajskdak

also yeah javier would easily be able to listen to them talk if lloyd didn't put him to sleep in his own room. tho i do love the idea of noviel and lloyd making obscure references to things that only they know and it driving javier crazy too ajsdka  ALTHO i was thinking of noviel mentioning something he's expecting to happen, like lupellan or something like that, only for javier to be like "??? what? we already took care of that?" while lloyd makes 'cut it out' signs being him because he sort of forgot to mention it to him and javier being slightly smug over finally knowing something noviel didn't. just a little. akjsdka

AND LLOYD STARING AT NOVIEL OH MY GOD like he'd probably be fascinated by him, because even tho he already knows who noviel is, he still spends more of the day with his face covered so lloyd doesn't get a lot of opportunity to compare him with his own javier. and look he's trying to not be creepy but!!! they're just!! so different and so similar at the same time!! i'm ignoring canon to say noviel has a few more scars than javier does. or well. a lot more. noviel got his assk kicked a lot more than javier did after all. and lloyd is soooo curious about it! like he read the book yeah, but it's completely different to see it in person! and asjsdhska just, noviel catching lloyd staring one time and sort of smirking before asking lloyd if he wants to take a closer look making lloyd go all flustered. GAAHH EVEN BETTER IF HE DOES IT IN FRONT OF JAVIER like imagine if they're in the middle of a construction and noviel takes of his shirt because it is Hot, and besides javier does it too, so its fine right? and lloyd just,,,, Stares, partially because he didn't realize just how much noviel had gone through and how much hardship javier had avoided in part thanks to him and partially because.... hot. and noviel notices and sort of teases him about it but javier is fuming. like it isn't enough for the knight of blood and iron to try to be edgy and mysterious by never taking off his helmet or mask, he also has to be so in shape and have what's probably a tragic past?? this is Bullshit >:[

but them doing in private is sooooooo much, i cannot deal with that i'm gonna explode ajksdhjksa

AND JAVIER BEING ANNOYED EVEN WHILE ASLEEP PLEASEEEE 😭

[yami-yomiel]

More GTMC sillies

OK SO, this is a part 2 to the other one i did a while back; this one is more daydream/idea based; anyways let’s get to it! This is a collection and no they’re not dated or in order. -

“Took you long enough.” Evelin muttered and opened the window, carefully walking onto Adam’s hand.

He was huge, and not like the ‘normal’ huge it was more ‘if he stood up his head would be obscured by the clouds’ type of huge. She took a deep breath of the cool air and flopped onto his palm, her head resting on his thenar (aka the soft squishy part of your hands). He took a (frankly large) finger and rubbed circles onto Eve’s back, being careful not to apply too much pressure here or there. “I missed you” they both whispered.

[based off the song Sweetness by Yes, thank @fruitysillyladofgt for this one ^^]

-The next two are about thatcher BUT it’s really vague lol

The bedroom was pitch black, You couldn't see anything besides vague shapes and light peeking from under the door. The only thing you could hear was light snoring, this immediately piqued your interest. You climbed up the draping covers (secretly jealous of the owner) and grasped at the mattress covers, making sure that every inch of your tiny body was on the soft bed. Your little moment of admiring your 'handiwork' was interrupted by yet another snore, this one louder than the last. Before you could properly investigate a big hand nabbed you and pulled you closer. Getting your bearings you realized the situation, the giant's warm body and soft heartbeat, his gentle breath upon your face. You turned as red as a strawberry as you tried to (gently) push his hand off, however it just wouldn't budge. It also didn't help that the more you stayed like this the more weak your efforts were, everytime you closed your eyes you 'risked' falling asleep. Soon, you just gave up and let your eyes rest, the warmth of the giant's hand acting as a cover and his chest a pillow.

[2nd one was related to something i drew, not the same day as above]

Imagine traversing over him trying your hardest NOT to wake him up. But every time he takes a deep breathe it feels like a rocking ship. I bet you can feel how warm he is under your hands (mine are cold rn so that’s why i say that LAWL) and you’re holding back all the urges to just lay on his stomach. Assuming he’ll stay in that position because i am a fan of the ‘character shift around in their sleep’ I’m not projecting i swear. Also to answer your question, HE WOULD. But not like in teh uniform, i imagine he just has the dress shirt and tie (loosed by a lot) and he just flops on the house, this is ALSO under the assumption that he CAN get good shut eye because you know <//3

[I think Thatchie deserves some shut eye mkay?]

-last one, this is based off something @/fruitysillyladofgt also drew MUWAHAHAH

I can imagine something like this; perhaps you and Jonah know each other, perhaps you feel self conscious about how small you are compared to him. You shift awkwardly under his gaze, standing on tall objects and what not- most often then not you get stuck up there and he has to bring you down. One day you get stuck and he just holds you close. “Why’re you like this’ he mutters. “I dunno, i just hate being small” you offhandedly comment, waving your little hands. “But why, i think it’s cool to be small, think of it like this” he starts to think of something simple. “You can get my trinkets from behind my desk!” It’s true, you’ve done that time and time again because well that’s what friends are for! Jonah starts thinking of another thing “uhh, you’re good at hide and seek?” He shrugs. “Well, i did win like 11-5” you smugly announce. “Shut up” Jonah held you up to his face, his lips pressing against your small body. “See, being small isn’t that bad, sides, it’s easier to give u all the kisses i want!” You giggle under all the affection, guess it’s ok to feel or rather be small.

[ok that’s enough entertainment for today, tune in Next time to hear more silly g/ting

[rain-lavender-rain]

Rose Colored Love- Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Fond Memories and Good Friends

Warnings: descriptions of violence, cussing, female main character.

Word Count- ~1.2K

Summary: Sam asks Rose for help. Angst and some sad moments incoming. Will she say yes or no? Guess we gotta find out!

Rose was unsure of what to say. Different responses floated around in her mind, floating until she decided to grab one.

"Help with what? "Is he serious? He can't be serious. Gosh, I missed him.... Maybe he just needs advice? No, if it was that, he would have called...."

All those thoughts swirled around, and Sam could see her carefully processing what to say.

"Help with what? She asked, trying to shield the tension she was already feeling in the air.

Her voice came out smaller than she wanted, and Sam picked up on it quickly. He knew Rose well enough, even after all these years, (plus the few years they spent apart) to pick up on what the girl was feeling without verbal confirmation. After they both returned from tour, she became a lot harder to read, but sometimes the pages of Rose would flutter open enough with the wind, that Sam could catch a few glimpses.

Sam's eyes softened, and he dropped the question for a moment.

"Remember that one time we went up to Minnesota?" He asked with a grin.

Rose hadn't said anything, knowing that when he said the word "we", he was referring to three of them, instead of two.

"You took us to that beach you loved as a kid. That one with Tombolo Rock, and we all sat there like absolute fools. We were sitting on those huge rocks when all of a sudden, the water came up and hit us all...point blank until we were a soaking wet mess." He saw her eyes sparkle, reminded of the good memories filled with laughter.

Rose nodded, fondly recalling the memory, even with the little bit of sadness that was sprinkled around it.

"Yeah." she said, pausing before starting again.

"And then the winds came in and...he looked miserable, kept sayin' that it was my fault. Thought he was mad, and he angrily chucked that blanket from the car at me and refused to take it once I offered it to him since he was complaining so much...but I didn't want it either."

Sam smiled, reminiscing on how both of his partners, and best friends bantered together. They were always there for each other, showing the most unexpected displays of love and trust towards one another, but found time to argue about the tiniest things. Sam always compared Riley and Rose's relationship to an abstract painting in his mind. Beautiful, with colors that clashed, but somehow still complimented, and blended together.

"That's because you and him were both stubborn as hell."

Rose rolled her eyes at that.

"Well, at least it added some sort of excitement to the day." Rose shrugged, letting a small smile through the curtain.

"Maybe in your world. In mine, it was extremely annoying. You two never knew how to shut up."

Rose smirked at that, before the tension and silence in the room returned. She knew the question had to be addressed, so she asked again.

"Sam, why are you really here? And what could you possibly need my help with?"

Rose finished the last of the coffee, waiting for his answer.

He sighed, realizing that maybe it wasn't right- what he was asking for. That maybe he should just go home, just handle it with Bucky instead.

"I wouldn't have come to you unless I needed to." He stated simply, letting it sink in before telling her.

She knew he was right. Regardless of how stubborn her and Riley were, Sam was stubborn in his own way. Never wanting to put others in harms way, even when he needed help and couldn't do it alone. She put away the coffee cup in the sink, standing next to him now, carefully watching him as he stared out the window. The sun was starting to come up, its golden glow only obscured by the tree branches outside.

"I'm working on something and I need your expertise. And before you say anything, just listen, please... I know you said that even though you were only on the fringes of my job- working with Steve, Bucky, and I when we were on the run, that after all that- you were done. But, it will be quick. I promise. I just need you to do that medical shit. Not to mention, it would be good to have my partner back, even just for a little while."

A pause, a beat, a moment of silence passed as Rose tilted her head, slightly confused, and not entirely convinced.

"There's this thing going on. We took care of the Flag Smashers, but there's something else. There's another chemical being tested. We don't know what group is manufacturing it, or what exactly the chemical substance is. We can't release it to the public right now, and we definitely can't trust the government after the Walker mess. I want this under wraps. I trust you, but I understand if you say no."

Sam finished with tug of anxiety, and worry, not knowing how she would respond. If she would be mad, upset, angry, indifferent, agreeable.

Her brow raised, as if to ask if he was finished. When it appeared he had, she finally spoke, while carefully keeping her emotions in check. Part of her was upset for sure, but that was her mind talking, not the heart. Leaning against the counter with arms folded across her chest, Rose looked at him, with a shake of the head.

"So, I'll ask again. Why me? You could have someone else do it. Banner?"

Sam quickly cut in. "Banner isn't an option."

Rose cut right back. "Sam, what is it that you aren't you telling me?"

He was avoiding her gaze, trying to keep his voice level, calm, knowing that it was a very real possibility, that if he revealed what he was about to say, the fallout and consequences could be something their relationship would never bounce back from.

He finally turned towards her, and shook his head, the tension so thick that it was suffocating.

"Rose. It's Frank."

Her eyes started to burn. A cinderblock felt like it was weighing down the heart inside her chest.

"What do you mean?" She asked, anger about to rush in and bury her in flames of aggression and pain.

"Rose- I know- I know you said he was gone- but his name was on those records- on those shipment forms... and we need to figure out why."

She shook her head in disbelief, unsure of what was going on, of what was even being suggested.

"You're the only one left for it to trace back to, and I know you didn't do it. So, please help me- help us figure it out."

Some of the flames had died down, most likely because of the sincerity and care Sam held in his voice. She still had some of the old fire burning inside. Determination, perseverance, and maybe even a little bit of anger were imbued in her voice,

"When do we start?"

Chapter 3

Tags of course, for the one and only @playboystark

[xolborsaysstuff]

Prompt game: Of course, waking up in someone else’s body is always alarming, but (he/she/they) know what the previous person in their new body would do well enough, so (he/she/they) thinks it should be ok.

Ooo interesting one!! (Apologies for using an obscure au character of mine for this, only one I could think of a scenario for)

Of course, waking up in someone else's body is always alarming, but MP knew what the previous person in their new body would do well enough, so he thinks it should be ok.

He was very wrong.

Switching out with Point felt like a blessing compared to the chance of switching with Mark, the always angry potion brother would have been so annoying to deal with, especially if MP had to feel the same way Mark usually did.

But being in Point's body was also bad in it's own right. He had to help run the shop and act like nothing was wrong until this wore off (MP's pride was at stake more than anything, Mark would definitely mock him if he found out about this) While also having to guide Point to not do anything wrong.

Problem was, MP couldn't feel bad enough about anything in Point's body.

'Is this what it feels like for Point?' wondered the shop keep as he floated around the place, everything around him felt less...bad? It made no sense but every negative feeling towards the place felt crushed under the weight of positivity that didn't belong to him, but Point.

speaking of Point, he should go search for the optimistic side effect of a potion before he makes MP look stupid.

floating over to the stairs (which was weirdly easy, all he had to do was want to go forward) and towards his bedroom where Point would be most likely, he heard some muttering from the room that confirmed his suspicions.

MP floated through the door (it was still very off being able to do that) the potion host stared at the sight before him.

here was Point, in his body, staring at his reflection in the mirror blankly, touching where his eye sockets no were instead of the one large question mark in the middle of Point's face, and an actual mouth too.

"Point? Hi!" MP heard himself say, his words coming out more happy than intended for some reason. "Look, we switched bodies, that's awesome, as Atte would say!"

"...Yes." Point simply replied.

"Okay, so wanna pretend to be each other? It'll be loads of fun and you'll love it, we'll do it till this wears off!" MP had no idea why he was talking like this, but he couldn't get mad about it.

"...Okay."

MP helped Point get ready for the day, wearing the right outfit for today and remembering the usuals who came by this time of the week. If MP could feel worried he might have been questioning why Point was barely responsive, but he was too caught up with current events to care.

At least until MP realized that Point would need to respond more to pretend to be MP.

"Hmmm, Oh, Point! you're going to need to talk more! So you can act more like I do, haha!" something in the back of MP's mind attempted to wonder why he laughed, but was shut up by the positivity filling his mind.

"...You aren't yourself." Point said simply.

"Haha, good eye! Of course we aren't, we've swapped bodies!"

" ....You aren't used to the positivity hiding any real thoughts. We're closing the shop. "

"Nope! No need to do that, we can pull this off if we just believe in ourselv-" "Quiet, Papyrus."

MP tilted his head at the use of his real name. "Woah, no nickname this time! That's unique and cool!"

MP was ignored as Point went to MP's room.

"come on, let's go pretend to be each other! We've never ever closed the shop on a non weekend before, not in literal decades! So why start now?"

" you'll understand when you're out of my head, and I'm back in mine. "

Point, in someone elses body, felt way different from the Point in his own body, it was concerning funny to MP. Point was no longer chipper and always happy like MP was at the moment, but quiet and serious. It made MP giggle a little.

Point was sitting at MP's desk, writing something on a piece of paper that MP couldn't make out from behind the skeleton's arm.

"MP, turn around real quick for ten seconds, let's... Play a game.." Point said when he finished writing. MP was delighted to play a game with a close friend, and spun around, counting down slowly. He heard shuffling from behind him, but did not dare to peek.

"Alright, you can look now." MP turned around, Point just standing there without the paper.

"Ooo, what game is this? Find the paper-" "It's for me to find later, Papyrus... I'll... do the impersonation thing with you till this wears off.

'Yippee! How delightful and hilarious this will be! " Point quickly floated away down to the shop. Point took one last look at the hiding spot he had used for the letter, making sure to remember it before going downstairs to pretend with MP.

---

End, I might make more but my hand is in slight pain sorry!!! TY for the prompt, I loved working with it!!! Have a good one!!

[itsamepatches]

1, 4, 6, 12 and 13 (for the fanfiction asks!)

(From the "fanfiction asks")

What made you start writing fanfic? Let's see...I remember I was pretty young when I started reading fanfics, including through people's own personal sites outside of ff.net and DeviantArt and thought how neat it was that these people were writing their own stories about characters I knew and loved. Bonus addition to this: What finally made me start writing was reading these old and incredibly ooc D/BZ written by this really sweet person I remember commenting a few times. Last time I checked up on her (4 years ago?), she's still doing things including in that fandom :'B Another bonus!: My first "fanfic" was, of course, script-format since I didn't have a grip on writing traditional novel-style, and it was a PPG fanfic where Blossom and Brick got married despite the fact that I never cared for that ship? I vaguely remember that I noted in the fic that they married on a holiday so they didn't miss school or something...?

4. Do you think your style has changed over time? How so?  It's to be expected, the longer you write, but yeah I've noticed how my writing has changed -- and it's not good, to be honest.

An example is how I was re-reading an old, long VT fanfic I wrote a few years back. I was a lot more descriptive which in turn gave more of an atmosphere for the reader (well, I hope anyways ;; ) but I missed a couple of plotlines I had planned to add.

Compared to my more recent things, I feel like my writing is rambling on without giving much space for development and descriptions, if that makes sense? My only exception to my writing lacking is possibly a FNAF Security Breach story I wrapped up ("REC: Bonnie Bound"). I think the reasoning is that: 1) I took several breaks from writing due to lack of motivation 2) I've read some fanfics that just,,,use too many sophisticated words that the average person neither knows nor has used it in nearly 2 centuries and realized that I did not want to fall into that pitfall, so there's hesitation in what I write.

tldr; yes it has -- it's gotten worse instead of better.

6. Name three stories you found easy to write. 1) REC: Bonnie Bound - FNAF -- was I salty about Bonnie and Foxy not being in Security Breach? haha,,,goodness, no! It was, funny enough, going to be a short one-shot which evolved into a whopping 20k, 2 chapter fic. Safe to say I was inspired by something! 2) In Which Gynophoria Happens - Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass -- I love Linebeck and like every other Linebeck fan, I wanted to do more with his character after the end of PH. Oldie, but a goldie! 3) An Obligatory Starship Genius Epilogue Story - Ratboy Genius -- a fanfic for a semi-obscure fandom! The last time I wrote a RBG fic was around 5 years ago, and I definitely like this more than the previous one.

12. For E-rated fic, what are some things your characters keep doing? Uh...blink? Most of the stuff I write are slice-of-life-ish, so nothing too exciting ;;

13. Name three favorite characters to write. This one might be kinda hard, because I have a lot of fics still under "wip" so it's gonna be a difficult to notice just based on what I've uploaded at the moment...

Foxy -- he's kind of a dumbass but he's also a friend

Lady Parsec -- I'm still getting the hang of how I want to portray Her, but from what I've written so far, She's a bit of a "sneaky sneak" with a slight sarcastic tone, She's a mystery about what She is and where She's from~

Linebeck -- he's Linebeck

[itsclydebitches]

Hi! I was just watching good omens and I came up with some questions, but I didn't know whom to ask, so I was digging around for go analysis blogs and found you. *takes a breath* So, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on why Heaven's camera angles are the way they are. I noticed that, in heaven, the camera tends to focus on the characters' heads specifically, so they fill most of the screen. Either it's a meta reason or a reference to something (like Newt with the Office) that I'm not getting. That's the main thing, but I've also wondered why exactly Aziraphale uses the verb "fraternize" in the 19th century. It seemed an odd pivot from caring about Crowley's safety to Heaven's rules. Thanks so much!

Hello! Omg yes, let's talk Good Omens cinematography.

First, the obligatory Analysis Disclaimer: I doubt there's a specific interpretation that you're just not getting, some singular, "correct" reading of the scene(s). Two years past release, I'm positive the fandom as a whole has come up with plenty of ideas (I mostly hang on the periphery. I'm far from up to date with GO meta), but any and all of it will, by nature, be subjective. Thus, all I can offer is my own, personal interpretation.

So for me? It's about intimacy.

Not intimacy in the sense of friendship, but rather the broad idea of closeness. Confidentiality. Emotion. Knowledge. Understanding by means of literally getting into the thick of these conversations. I love the camerawork in Heaven (and elsewhere) because the camera itself acts like a person — an additional party to these interactions. And, since we're the ones watching this show via the camera, it makes it feel as if we're peeking into scenes that are otherwise private. Obviously all cinematography does this to a certain extent, the camera is always watching someone or something without acknowledging that we're doing the watching (outside of documentary-esque filmmaking), but GO uses angles and closeups to mimic another person observing these scenes, someone other than the characters involved.

The easiest example I can give here is when Michael makes their call to Ligur. Here, the camera is positioned up on the next landing of the staircase, as if we're sneaking a look down at this otherwise secret call. There's even a moment when the camera pans to the right to look at them through the gap in the railing, briefly obscuring Michael from our view.

Here, a standard expectation of any scene — keep your character in focus — is done away with to instead mimic the movements of someone actually hiding in the stairwell, listening in on the conversation. It creates that feeling of intimacy, as if we're really there with Michael, not just watching Michael through a screen. The camerawork acts like a person overhearing an illicit conversation prior to falling back on mid/closeup shots. We're spying on them.

To give a non-Heaven example, the camera helps us connect with Aziraphale during Gabriel's jogging scene. It's hard to show through screenshots, but if you re-watch you'll see that the camera initially keeps them both in the frame with full body shots, allowing us to compare things like Gabriel's unadorned gray workout clothes with Aziraphale's more stylish outfit; one's good jogging form and the other's awkward shuffle. However, this distance also creates the sense that we're jogging with them, we're keeping pace.

That is, until Aziraphale begins to lag. Then the camera lags too, giving them both the chance to catch up, so to speak.

Until, finally, Aziraphale has to stop completely and the camera, of course, stops with him. We're emotionally attuned to Aziraphale, not Gabriel, and the camerawork reflects that. Even more-so when we cut to a low shot of Gabriel's annoyed huff at having to stop at all, making him appear larger and more imposing. Because to Aziraphale, he is.

This work carries over into Heaven's other scenes. The closeups are pretty much a given since, whether it's Gabriel realizing Aziraphale has been "fraternizing" with Crowley (more on that below!), or Aziraphale choosing to go back to Earth, the scenes in Heaven are incredibly important to the narrative. Closeups allow the viewer to get a good read on each character's emotional state — focusing on minute facial changes as opposed to overall body language — and that fly-on-the-wall feeling is increased as we literally get an up close and personal look at these pivotal moments.

Compare a shot like this one of Gabriel to the line of angels ready for battle. We don't get closeups on any of their faces because their emotions aren't important. Yes, that's in part because they're background characters, not main characters, but a lack of emotion — their willingness to enter this war without question — is also the point of their presence in this scene. So they remain a semi-identical, nearly faceless mass that runs off into infinity down that hallway, not any individual whose inner life we get a peek at via a closeup.

I particularly like Aziraphale's conversation with the angel... general? Idk what to call this guy. He's just gonna be Mustache Angel. But, getting back on track, his scene has a lot of over the shoulder shots which, admittedly, are pretty common. From a practical perspective they're used to help the audience situate both characters in the scene — you're here, you're there, this is how you're spaced during this conversation — but it can also help emphasize that closeness between them. Keeping both characters in the shot connects them and though Aziraphale and Mustache Angel definitely aren't on the same page here, those shots help cue us in to the unwanted intimacy of this moment. They're both angels... even though Aziraphale no longer aligns himself with them. They're both soldiers in a war... but Aziraphale will not fight. This angel has a list of Aziraphale's secrets, including that he once had a flaming sword and lost it... but Aziraphale doesn't want to admit those circumstances to him. This angel wouldn't understand, even if he did. Intimacy here, connection and closeness, is something discomforting because Aziraphale can no longer embrace those similarities. They put him (and us) out of sorts, so when we get them both in frame, that connection creates tension, not relief.

And many of those over the shoulder shots are given sharp angels, or the camera is placed too close to the "off screen" party. Compare a shot like Luke and Rey to Aziraphale and Mustache Angel. Here, Luke is a clean, solid line on the left side of the screen, just enough there to cue us in to where he is in relationship to Ray, In contrast, Mustache Angel's mustache is Too Close and proves rather distracting. Rey and Luke are connecting here over being Jedi with responsibilities to uphold (or at least, Luke will acknowledge that connection later lol); Mustache Angel is forcing a connection with Aziraphale that makes everyone uncomfortable.

We are too close to him here. He feels too close to Aziraphale too. This whole conversation is upsetting and discomforting, pushing Aziraphale to finally choose which side he's on (his own with Crowley). The shots aren't meant to subtly keep the audience from getting lost and then otherwise be unobtrusive, we're supposed to be Very Aware of this angel's body and how close he's getting to the character we've come to identify with — both literally (he's leaning in) and in terms of forcing Aziraphale to finally make his choice.

When Mustache Angel marches forward and gets all up in Aziraphale's face, the camera positions itself behind Aziraphale in a way that makes it feel like we're hiding behind him, with Aziraphale taking up far more of the screen than Luke does. Like the scene with Michael or running with Gabriel, the camera often likes to mimic a "realistic" response to these events. This angry, shouty angel is getting closer, best take a step back and stay out of sight behind Aziraphale, holding his ground.

These closeups also serve as a nice contrast to the wide and longshots we get of Heaven. It's an imposing place with skyscrapers in the distance, lots of steel, immaculate floors, and endless white. It's overwhelming and it's cold. But then we cut to those mid-shots of Gabriel and Michael, telling us that they're in control of it all.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale is not in control. Not now, anyway. When he appears in Heaven we get a longshot to show off this endless void and he's just another, tiny speck in it. If he weren't flailing around — an acting move that likewise helps sell how out of his depth he is — it's unlikely you'd even notice him. Aziraphale's clothing and hair blends in perfectly with the background. He's forgettable. Easily overlooked. Someone to underestimate. And when he moves, he has to come to the camera. We don't cut to Aziraphale to establish control like we do with Gabriel. He's left to awkwardly shuffle up to Mustache Angel until he's finally come into view.

Yet when Aziraphale makes his decision, he aligns himself with the brightest, most colorful, most interesting thing in the room: Earth. Earth, with all its messy individuality, is the antithesis to Heaven's controlled uniformity and a bright blue orb hanging in the midst of all this white helps remind us of that. Aziraphale rejects becoming one of the identical soldiers and instead literally reaches out for the one thing in Heaven that doesn't fit in.

When he leaves, we get an extreme closeup for the first time. Mustache Angel is pissed and as such we not only get a good look at his face in the aftermath of Aziraphale's choice, but that extreme closeup on his mouth as he's shouting too. It's like he's shouting directly at us, the viewer who is currently cheering on Aziraphale's decision. There's a war, dammit... but we don't care. Not in the way he cares, anyway.

So there's a lot! And I could probably go on, but apparently I'm only allowed to add 10 images per post now (tumblr what the actual fuck if anyone knows a way around this please share!) and I've already had to merge a bunch of images like an animal. So let's awkwardly finish up with the duck pond scene.

...without a GIF because they apparently count as images too 🙃

Simply put, I don't think Aziraphale bringing up fraternizing is a pivot from one to the other — from caring about Crowley to caring about Heaven's rules. I mean yes, Aziraphale is lagging behind Crowley in terms of rebellion and a part of him is, at this point, absolutely concerned with how he'll come across to the higherups, but that worry doesn't stem solely from a (now very shaky) desire to obey for the sake of obeying. The thing is, Aziraphale's disobedience is, by default, also Crowley's disobedience. If they're friends and they're ever found out, they'll both get in trouble. Which, we know from the end of Season One, basically means being wiped from existence. That's horrifying! And it's a horror that threatens them both. I don't think Aziraphale cares about rules for the sake of rules; after all, he started off by giving away his sword, lying to God, is currently meeting with Crowley anyway... this angel has always ignored/bent the rules — established and implied — that don't suit him. Rather, he cares about the rules if he thinks they have a chance of being enforced. If there will be consequences for breaking and bending them. This is still about caring for Crowley (as well as saving his own, angelic skin). If they're found out, Crowley dies. And, as we the viewer learn, Heaven was indeed observing them that whole time. There was always legitimate risk attached to this relationship. Aziraphale's fear, hesitance, and at times forceful pleas to stop this stem as much from Aziraphale worrying about Crowley's safety as they do a learned instinct to obey the rules without question. He pushes to end the relationship because the relationship threatens the only thing Aziraphale cares about more than that: Crowley himself.

As for the term "fraternizing," that's a loaded one! I won't go into a whole history lesson here, but suffice to say it has military roots: to sympathize as brothers with an opponent. That is literally what Crowley and Aziraphale are doing. They are an angel and a demon, supposedly innate enemies, supposedly poised for an inevitable war... yet they've formed an incredibly strong kinship. They've both learned to love their enemy, the thing every army fears because, well, then your army won't fight (just as Aziraphale won't). However, beyond the enemy implications, "to fraternize" eventually took on a sexual meaning: to not merely love as a brother, but to lay with the enemy too, usually women from enemy countries (because, you know, heteronormativity). Nowadays, "to fraternize" often implies a sexual component. I've been rewatching The Good Wife lately and in one subplot, the State's Attorney cracks down on fraternization in his office. He doesn't mean his employees are forming bonds with assumed enemies, he means his employees are having sex on his office couch. So Aziraphale's phrasing here carries a LOT of weight. He's both reminding Crowley of their stations in the world — you are a demon, I am an angel, us meeting like this can have formal, irrevocable consequences for us both — as well as, given the fact that this is a love story, drawing attention to the depth of this relationship. They love one another, as more than just friends. Though whether Crowley's scathing "Fraternizing?" is a response to Aziraphale falling back on the technicalities of their positions, or acknowledging a love he's yet to overtly admit and commit to — or both! — is definitely up for debate.

[ultraclops]

Day 3: Be True To Yourself

Aka me literally just infodumping about my Ocs because I love them ♡

Brought to you by Colorvision! Yep, I decided to get off my lazy butt and color traditionally today :)

First off, Tiara Depurrnaire (She/Her)! A Sweetypie cat who's partially related to the Snugglemagne family and, in my timeskip AU, Adorabat's future girlfriend. Like Adorabat, she lost her leg to a monster while wandering the King's dungeons. She aspires to be just as brave as Adorabat but lacks the gall, being content to watch and learn from the sidelines. As they both get older Tiara realizes that she is a lesbian, and develops a mutual crush on Adorabat that turns into a relationship. As she ages, Tiara' aspirations to become a hero fade, and she settles for becoming a ballet teacher. She learns to be brave in her own way and unconditionally supports her monster-slaying adventuring partner, no matter how their paths diverge.

T H E Y (Also I need to post my full adult Adorabat design sometime)

Next up is Sherbet (They/Them), a Sweetypie rabbit who makes ice cream for a living! I don't really have a backstory for them but I believe they realized they were nonbinary in their younger years (around early middle school age) and have fully embraced their identity! They don't let anything get them down and are eager to cheer up the citizens of Pure Heart Valley, one ice cream cone at a time. They're also good acquaintances with Badgerclops and Adorabat, for obvious reasons. Their eyes function similarly to Badgerclops', as they only open when they feel strong emotions.

Next (and honestly one of my favorites) is Moa Nola (Xe/Xem), an agender Oriental Shorthair cat who, surprisingly, isn't related to the Mao clan. Xe originally started off as a joke character based on the misspelling of Mao Mao's name in "I'm Mao Mao", but I eventually grew attached to xem and gave xem a full-fledged backstory. Xe comes from a family of fishermen, but after xyr father was killed in a monster attack, xe decided that xe wanted to become a legendary monster hunter. Xe created xyr cloak after xyr first successful monster fight. After being mistaken for the son of Shin Mao too many times, xe used it to xyr advantage and began going under Mao Mao's title for a while. However, after being stopped by Mao Mao himself, xe dropped the act and began looking for a new sense of purpose. Ironically, xe starts collecting antique ventriloquist dummies similar to Mr. Din Danalin.

Following up on the "based on a misspelling" theme is Rhapsody (She/They), a femme-aligned nonbinary Sweetypie vampire bat inspired by Adorabat's name being mistranslated as "doorbat" in YouTube autocaptions. She is Adorabat maternal cousin, as their mother is Sonara's sister. Rhapsody was heavily impacted by Sonara's death, but rather than becoming tough like Adorabat or overprotective like Eugene, she became more reserved out of fear that they could be next. In other words, she became a doorbat (haha funny). With the arrival of Mao Mao and Badgerclops, plus the defeat of the monster that killed their aunt, Rhapsody begins to come out of her shell and indulges in their biggest passion - music. Like Adorabat she learns to use their voice as a weapon, but hers is more of a siren's song than a sonic screech. In my timeskip AU, they leave Pure Heart Valley to become a popstar, writing songs inspired by her childhood memories and their home. It's obscured by the flag but the marking on her chest is a bleeding heart, emphasizing her passionate drive.

(Rhapsody's kid and adult forms [kinda old])

+ OCs of mine I didn't feel like making alternate drawings for:

Buzz-Buzz (Zhe/Ze/Zhey), a demigender Sweetypie bumblebee bat who protects the bees of Pure Heart Valley! Despite zer small stature, zhe is actually an adult, just naturally small. Zhe also grows herbs on the side and volunteers at the Pure Heart Valley hospital. Primarily because zhe has a crush on the head doctor there... (I did not make zer to selfship with Cuddlestein. Nope. Not at all.)

My Badgermao "fankid", Sai (They/He/It)! I say "fankid" in air quotes because they're from an AU where Badgerclops' spare arm became corrupt and gained a conscience. Their robot arm is actually their body - the rest of their body is a projection of light, similar to the gems from Steven Universe! They have masculine programming (as their AI was made using Badgerclops's DNA a la Cortana from Halo), but identify as agender and use they/he/it pronouns. Originally they began as a blank slate with no personality aside from the programmed personality Badgerclops gave them, but they eventually grow their own personality and moral compass as they analyze the Sheriff's Department's work. Just like Badgerclops, they have a passion for building robots and weapons, and can even modify themselves to fit the situation! Most of their creations are usually for fun, though.

Anf the last one I have a reference for but not the least, Karma Vesper (She/They)! This one is actually my self-insert, lol. She is a biro-ace demigirl Javanese Cream-Point Cat! Her necklace was a gift from her family, and her hood was a gift from her mentor. After her village was ambushed by criminals, she became a wandering hero, and accidentally stumbled upon Pure Heart Valley while following a report of increased monster activity. At some point during her adventures alone she realized that she was biro-ace, since she felt no sexual attraction but still felt romantic attraction. Around the time she came to Pure Heart Valley she realized that she never really felt, like, 100% a GIRL girl (if that makes sense) and began identifying as a demigirl. (Yes this is my hidden self-actualization story :>) She enjoys researching gemstones and ancient artifacts, and the Ruby Pure Heart immediately caught her attention once she laid eyes on it. While she is still a wandering hero, she has a temporary residence in Pure Heart Valley, where she stays to research the Heart's powers as well as assist the townspeople. Her and the Sheriff's Department didn't start out on the best terms since Mao was worried she was trying to replace them, but they tolerate each other now.

+ the OCs I don't have references for:

I did have a reference for these guys but idk where it is rn ;-;. Anywway, my most recent OCs and also some of my favorite OCs are Bernard and Pierre, a black bear and polar bear respectively (both use He/Him)! They are both gay and in a healthy relationship & live in a cabin in the forest together. They are just. Two old gay granddads and I love them. Anyway! They both met after an accident which caused Bernard to blow out his left knee and Pierre to lose his left hand; they had been best friends since, and boyfriends later on! Bernard is a baker while Pierre is a wood carver, although they indulge in each other's interests as well. For the most part they just stay in their cabin in the forest, but they leave to buy groceries and sell their products.

And the final OC I'm gonna talk about is Storm Mao (They/Them)! They're from an AU where Mao was born in a litter of five, like his sisters. Ever since Storm were young, they felt like weren't "normal" compared to their siblings. They didn't feel like a girl or a boy. After Mao came out as a trans boy, they began questioning themselves further. Eventually they decided to ask Contacts Sister for help, as she was among the smartest of the Mao children. Contacts explained to Storm that there are people who don't identify as a boy or a girl, and Storm realized they weren't alone. Since then, they started identifying as nonbinary and began using they/them pronouns, and their family supported their decision. Aside from them and Mao, their litter siblings are also LGBTQ+ - Mamoru (He/Him) is AroAce, Bernadette (She/Her) is bi and Zhijun (He/Him) is gay. I'd talk about the AU more in a separate post, if anyone wants me too^ ^;;

If I remember any other LGBTQ+ OCs I have, I'll reblog with them ✌

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “The Ballad of Duke Baloney!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Colleen Evanson

Storyboarded by: Jean-Sebastien Duclos, Mike Morris, Sam King

Directed by: Jason Zurek

Not full of balogna.

Here’s an interesting way to start this "ballad": begin with a scene from the season finale that didn't really have a conclusion. I just saw as a good way to include a beloved villain in a montage filled with cameos from previous episodes. There was clearly more to this story, but it wasn't important compared to the whole "sorceress just took over the entire town" plot.

In particular, Glomgold’s shadow ends up throwing him into the ocean. As he shouts “curse you, me”, he ends up nearly drowning, only to be saved by some fishers.

Specifically, he wakes up to find himself caught in a net. Glomgold reacts as well as one would expect, telling these fishermen to get their hands off of him. Turns out, that's not the right word to say.

Lady: Whoa, fisherperson?

The "gag" with her is that she wants everything to be more socially conscious, though I'm not sure if this is supposed to be one. Their names, from left to right, are Fisher and Mann, something Fisher point out almost immediately to defend this stranger's wrong word. Glomgold isn't having it, and asks them if they knows who he is. They don't, as they're simple fisherpeople. He tries to exclaim in a dramatic way, until he realizes...

...even he doesn’t know. Yes, this episode starts with that cliche where someone loses all of his memories after a bump in the head, or a bunch of water going through it in this case. However, they use this as an excuse.

After the theme song, we cut to a report showing what exactly happened between Glomgold’s disappearance and now. A new CEO just barged into Glomgold’s absence, as she literally pushes away his silhouette to reveal herself. Her name is Zan Owlson. I swear, I misheard it as Van Owlsing, and that still made sense. Glomgold is practically a vampire compared to her.

Even the newsreporter decides to tell the viewers that this new CEO is not insane. We get a small bio of her past: she was the top of her class, and she ran a charity called Change for Chicks! No, Johnny Bravo, she means literal chicks. Unlike her predecessor, she cuts a lot of funding dedicated to revenge and sharks. Even moreso unlike her predecessor, she is completely open to make deals with long-time rival company McDuck Enterprises, as we see her shake hands with its CEO.

In other words, she’s exactly the opposite of Glomgold in every way, as enhanced by the news cutting to a Simpsons-esque file photo gag of him eating shrimp in an unflattering manner at a charity auction. Maybe the one from The Golden Lagoon from Agony Plains?

It’s also shown by the old Glomgold logo being replaced by a treasure chest filled with a bunch of people. She doesn’t even include herself in this, definitely not something Glomgold would do.

Zan Owlson: At Glomgold Industries, our community is the greatest treasure of all.

She even makes an outright reference to the Glomgold motto that Glomgold just made up to get those henchmen he hired to like him in Woo-oo. What happened to those guys?

We cut from the newsreport, which we barely get back to, to a fisherperson's wharf, where Louie and Webby are planning on going fishing. While it’s a day in the limelight episode for Glomgold, that doesn’t mean we don’t get to see the nephews and honorary niece.

Webby is all about hunting fish in a more barbaric way with a stick, while Louie just wants to fish with a fishing rod. Louie is more of the straight man here, though they seem to swap back and forth between scenes depending on one's viewpoint. They do realize that they forgot one thing that would help them immensely, and there happens to be someone with a South African accent.

While his beard was dyed by several unfortunate squid ink-related accidents and his accent has changed, it’s clearly the duck that attempted to kill them and their uncle several times over. They react very similarly to Bart and Lisa Simpson reacting to Sideshow Bob, but this bearded guy has no idea who this Glomgold guy is.

He rechristened himself “Duke Baloney”, just like the humble sandwich meat, in his words. This does not go well with Louie, who already makes the obvious quip about his name. Webby has to take him aside to talk about this.

Webby and Louie get into their conflict, though for Webby, it's a little less defined and more just "she doesn't agree with Louie's idea". Louie thinks this is all just an act, and he even says he should know because it takes a con artist to know one. Webby, on the other hand, thinks that he really is suffering from this and needs to go back to his old self. Either that, or maybe this is Glomgold turning into a good person like a reverse werewolf, her reasoning changes throughout the episode.

They do humor the idea that maybe this guy is just a different person altogether, but then he gets caught in his own rope trap.

Duke Baloney: Curse you, rope!

Louie & Webby: It’s him.

This is a slight hint that this will probably not be permanent. That would be an odd way to write off a huge arch-nemesis!

Glomgold invites them over to what I now realize is the closest TV-Y7-FV equivalent to a bar, offering them a bucket of fish heads, to Louie's disapproval. I’m sure real ducks eat a lot worse than that.

Webby tries to show off a Missing poster with Glomgold on it that also seems to function as a wanted poster due to tax evasion! Oh, how unrealistic, everyone knows rich people always get away with that. Unfortunately, all this gets is scorn from Baloney’s fellow crewmates for even suggesting he’s related to that tyrant. This is a "bully-free zone" according to that one fisherperson, after all. That's pretty much it for the socially conscious aspect of her character.

Even Louie joins in on this chants along with everyone else. Sure, he was totally against the guy, but the boy just wants his free Pep! However, Webby notices the money happens to have a very fancy money clip. They decide to stay back to investigate this from afar.

A general theme that pops up in this episode is that Duke Baloney may have amnesia, but his inner Glomgold continues to show more and more. This especially comes in once we see a McDuck Enterprise company get involved. While this doesn't entirely revive his memory, he does get a sudden dislike for "that boat."

This is especially shown with disagreements with his fellow crewmembers. The crewmembers are okay with being #2, However, considering #1 is owned the richest duck in the world, I wouldn't blame them for not wanting to fight a battle they can't win. Duke Baloney, on the other hand, doesn't see that as impossible.

One clever bit is that he does the cliche “look at me, I’m a pretty lady and not a trap” gag, and realizes he could get more fish if he did something for the ladies, too. He never does realize that, if this plan did work, he would get some really messy fish guts. All in all, aside from the dynamite, he just seems like this misunderstood guy who’s down on his luck.

At least, that's what Webby thinks. Louie accuses her of being naive about this, as that’s what she assumed when she was a humble deliveryman and a humble pastry chef. Yeah, Louie, you invited him to a party, if I remember correctly.

While looking at Baloney trying to convince his fellow co-fisherpeople to do a plan that is oddly similar to that Scottish guy. Webby & Louie, continuing to spy on this kind fellow to confirm their different suspicions. Louie says that he's going to be thrown in a pit full of sharks with bombs strapped on to them. Webby says that's ridiculous...

...and we immediately cut to Duke Baloney's plan to get fish, which just happened to get to the part involving sharks with bombs strapped onto them. They don't have womp womp music, they're not that blatant most of the time.

This whole scene is funny, though; it's just like that scene from The Infernal Internship of Mark Beaks where Glomgold details his plan with similar drawing. Speaking of plots that weren't resolved in the episode that could use a continuation...that one. Louie and Webby still can't see what any of this could prove, so Webby has an idea that Louie is not a big fan of: record investigation!

Granted, Louie getting hit in the face probably didn't help in any way. I like how the next scene shows Louie walking into Webby’s investigation room. See, anything can have a consequence, even slight gags like that one.

She gets out her board, with a drawing of the moneyclip, a picture of Glomgold, and a picture of Duke Baloney, and...nothing else. She couldn't find anything. Not only is there no record of Duke Baloney, there’s no record of Flintheart Glomgold before he came to America.

In order to find more information and possibly either reveal Glomgold's evil plan or bring Glomgold back to normal, they decide to do a plan involving a certain rich duck. If one can ask why would they want to bring Glomgold back to his former self to terrorize the McDucks, just wait.

Meanwhile, in Duke Baloney’s dreams, we see a bizarre sequence full of odd imagery. Some of it is obviously referencing what will happen in the future, some of which possibly not even in this episode. One of the big ones that isn’t addressed again is that shot on the bottom left. Everyone knows Glomgold is evil, but…is there a more spiritual reason we don’t know about?

That’s not the only unanswered question, either. The shortest description I could say is that he constantly gets a message from what looks like his younger self that the boiler room is out, who slowly turns into Zan Owlson. No connection is made to how Glomgold would be familiar enough with the new CEO to have her appear in his dreams, since all of this happened after he got amnesia.

While most of this dream sequence's symbolism is subtle, there is one line that just whacks you right in the head.

Duke Baloney: This GOLD! It’s GLOOMING onto me!

Yeah, that’s pretty forced. It's at the end of the dream sequence, they may have felt that they needed something blatant at the end to make him wake up.

He wakes up, and his final reaction to all of this? To essentially tell himself to "never mind all that." Hey, it’s not like those dreams mean anything, anyway!

While Duke Baloney is getting welcomed into the family of fisherpeople and telling himself that nothing can possibly ruin this day, in comes Scrooge McDuck. He was invited by Webby and Louie the to talk it out to see what's really going on.

We don't get to hear their conversations, and neither do Louie and Webby, so Webby tries to read their lips. Of course, she does it in a way that makes it seem like she was right all along, even making them say "oh, that Webby was correct all along, huh? I wish I was his housekeeper's granddaughter!" However, while she may be able to read lips, the next move shocks both her and Louie. They look like they're going to fight...

...and then they hug it out. After all the time of Webby seemingly succeeding at everything she does throughout Season 1, it’s a little refreshing to see her actually be wrong for a change. Nobody’s perfect...I learned that with the last episode. Scrooge tells them he's far happier this way, and they should just let him be Duke Baloney.

Webby and Louie accept this, and decide to go back to their initial plan of fishing. However, a storm is brewing.

Duke Baloney, who somehow has that missing/wanted poster, decides that even if he was this Glomgold fellow, he wants his life at the sea. He throws the paper, but it hits him right in the face, symbolically proving that any kind of face turn with him is ultimately futile.

The storm starts happening, and Baloney sees Webby and Louie in trouble. Being the hero that he is now, he tries to. However, he gets hit by, and ends up nearly drowning in the same way he did in the beginning of the episode.

We get another scene from Baloney’s subconscious, but this time we get an outright memory rather than symbolism. In particular: this one is right from one of Baloney’s repressed memories. I decided that outright spoiling it wouldn’t add anything to the review, but the best hint I could give is that I really do mean Baloney’s repressed memories. That shot from the dream I had on the top right is a pretty good hint of foreshadowing this, too.

I will say this: the first thing I did after watching this episode was look up whether or not any of this had any basis in the original comics. The simple answer is not really. While Scrooge first meets Glomgold in South Africa, Glomgold was already grown-up and clearly evil from day one. This flashback adds another dimension to that entirely.

There is one important-to-the-plot takeaway from this, a literal one, I might add, but I’ll talk about it later.

Everyone’s cheering him on to save the kids, and it appears that maybe, just maybe...no, of course not. What did you think was going to happen? No, he made his decision. He says it in such an epic way, that I decided to make this a GIF. A really small GIF to fit Tumblr's restrictions, but I had to keep that animation as smooth as it was.

Duke, er, Flintheart Glomgold: (in his usual Scottish accent) Because I'm Flintheart Glomgold...and I always will be! Ha ha ha ha ha!

I know I implied that I didn't want to spoil, but this scene is just so amazing. It's a lot smoother, they needed to animate it on the ones. It's an impressive sight seeing him laugh with all that lightning behind him.

I did give him a little bit of a That seems to work in his favor, as he happened to have his a spare grey beard in this pocket this whole time. It makes more sense when you watch the episode, trust me.

We somehow fade to him being surrounded by his crewmembers and their friends under very calm weather. This is the one scene transition that doesn't really add up to me. Was the storm in his head the whole time? These former crewmembers only accuse Glomgold of stealing from children rather than attempted murder, which seems to go with that theory.

One thing's for sure: Duke Baloney has left the building, and now it’s Glomgold’s time forever. He starts a Glomgold chant that even he expects no one will join in, as he dives into the water.

This chant continues with him going into his formerly owned organization, where Scrooge was talking with Zan Owlson about how using nickels would save more money than dimes.

Scrooge and Glomgold making a big deal, mostly due to Glomgold still having an all-important money clip, referenced. Yeah, Scrooge treats it like it’s this big deal, suggesting there’s something more to it than just gold. Honestly, considering the Number One Dime twist in The Shadow war, it could be anything at this point.

Also, I am so glad they apparently didn’t decide to push the reset button to prevent any potential plots with Van Owlson, since she barely did anything in this episode other than show her apparent benevolence. Quite a few plot points to this new story arc...at least, I hope it’s a new story arc. I have no reason to believe it’s not.

Oh yeah, and no Dewey in the episode for the first time ever. Not even a mention. How weird!

How does it stack up?

Despite only having an A plot, it is indeed an A plot this time. I can’t wait to see what happens next with this future plot this time. There's some very interesting twists to the classic Glomgold character, and I’d say it could pay off in the future. No bologna here, that’s for sure.

Next, America may not be getting their cartoon, but they will be getting their DuckTales 2017 appearance!

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