#I'm not even a big fan of the colour purple

[sisaloofafump]

Not beating the allegations <- immediately becomes attached to purple-themed comic characters

[wileys-russo]

love love LOVE your mary & Delilah fics! was wondering if you could do one where little delilah is brought to a match and she sees mary interacting with young fans who are about her age and gets a little jealous and clingy because that’s HER MAMA

part of the a date to remember universe

my mama II m.earps x reader

"okay which one lilah? purple, black or green?" you questioned, holding up the choices and doing a little dance making your daughter giggle. "i wanna dress myself today please." she informed crossing her arms over her chest with a determined nod.

"okay baby. but its cold, so dress warm!" you chuckled, hanging the jumpers back up and moving to sit down. "no mummy, by myself!" she pointed to the door and hurried over, pushing at your legs.

"okay okay! god i thought i'd get a few more years before i got kicked out of your room, this hurts lilah." you gasped dramatically as she shoved you from her room, only met with a door slammed in your face.

"was that-" you turned around and nodded to your wife. "she wants to dress herself today." you informed with a chuckle, moving into your wifes waiting arms which wrapped around you.

"we've told her she isn't allowed to grow up right?" "nearly every day since was born my love, she just does not want to listen."

~

"delilah grace earps are you done now?" you called out with a sigh, leaning against the wall by her door which you'd tried to open several times only met with a yell and it pushed closed again, your daughter firmly stating she wasn't ready and you weren't allowed to see until she was.

mary had already been picked up as to not be late for warm ups and you shook your head as you checked the time again already knowing the two of you would be stuck in traffic and miss kick off if you didn't leave soon.

"okay lilah we have to go, i'm coming in." you warned, though before you could even grab the handle the door it flew open and a bundle of colour and blonde hair came tumbling out.

"do you like it!" your daughter beamed, bouncing happily as you bit your bottom lip taking in her choice of outfit.

she had on a pair of black and white light up custom trainers alessia had gotten her for her birthday, pale yellow nike joggers with a pair of green man united kit shorts over the top. on her top half she on a bright purple hoodie with an orange lionesses jersey that was far too big for her with toone on the back and a bright red man united beanie on her head, with its matching scarf tied around her hips like a makeshift belt.

"well...i'm not going to lose you in the crowd, thats for certain." you smiled, knowing no matter what you said or tried there wasn't a chance you'd be getting your daughter changed without a fight and missing the game.

"you don't wanna wear mama's jersey lilah?" you tried, knowing your wife would kick off and ella would be absolutely insufferable in your daughters current choice. "nope! aunty el was sad last time i saw her so i thought this would make her happy, cause you and mama always say orange is a happy colour!" she grinned and your heart melted.

the last time she had seen her favourite aunt and godmother was after a particularly rowdy team night out where both had wound up crashing the night at your place, mary their designated driver and apparently a key influence in just how many shots they'd downed which you'd told her off for afterwards.

the two had wound up crying crocodile tears as mary and you both disallowed them to see delilah, trying to remind it was hours after her bedtime and the two of them were very drunk. which had in turn woken your daughter who'd come to investigate, not understanding why she wasn't allowed to say hello to either of her favourite people.

mary had practically needed to sit on top of both your adopted daughters to stop them racing after you, reminding them over and over that your four year old didn't need to see them in their current intoxicated state and they could see her in the morning.

"we do say that don't we." you agreed with her words, shaking your head in amusement but giving in, not wanting to squash the independence you and mary were trying to instill in her.

"at least you listened about the cold and did lots of layers babe, now time to go!"

~

you sent polite smiles to the strange looks you received walking your daughter through old trafford, meeting up with marys mum and wordlessly shaking your head at her questioning stare as she scooped up her granddaughter and the three of you made your way to your seats.

normally marys siblings and father would be in attendance but all had fallen ill with a stomach bug so you laughed at the way your mother in law was so relieved to be surrounded by 'healthy non whinging human beings'.

"do you like my outfit nanna?" your daughter chirped for the third time in the hour as you waved to your wife who was very clearly looking around stressed that she'd not spotted you, sighing in relief once she had.

"don't ask!" you mouthed to her perplexed look toward your daughter stood up in your lap furiously waving her and her team mates down. "els!" you cupped your hands over your mouth to gain the midfielders attention as she began to walk off the pitch after warm ups.

maya heard you and grinned before tapping ellas shoulder and gesturing toward you as you spun delilah around to show her last name plastered on your daughters back as her face lit up and you laughed as she raced right over to jump on your wifes back and no doubt lay into her about it.

now delilah was older she'd become a different sort of handful to take to marys games. gone were the earmuffs, dummy and baby blanket she'd needed to settle previously, where she'd often sleep the whole way through happily budled up in someones arms.

nowadays as your mothers both liked to remind you two she was just like you and mary had been as kids, a little unstoppable bundle of energy who often required distraction or bribery of some sort to sit still for prolonged periods of time.

which is how you found yourself racing off midway through the first half to sort out some food, having left in such a rush you'd completely forgotten the bag of snacks and toys you normally carted along with you whenever you left the house with delilah in tow.

thankfully with her grandma more than happy to listen to her chatter and answer her millions of questions you made it through the entire match without a single issue.

the problems started when the game finished and julie had needed to rush off to get back to the family, catching mary quickly before ducking off and leaving you and delilah to patiently wait your turn.

it would seem patience today though was not on delilahs agenda.

"i wanna see mama now!" the girl whined, wriggling furiously to try and yank her hand out of your grip as you sighed and took a deep breath. "mama's just saying hi to some people first baby, thats part of her work!" you tried to explain, even offering her an ice cream as a last minute ditch to distract her but it was to no use.

not even alessia could capture her attention for more than a few minutes as your daughter grew more and more fussy and inpatient the more time passed.

"go! it'll be fine." you forced a smile toward your wifes team mates who'd all taken turns trying to distract delilah as the two of you stood in the tunnel, mary signing autographs and taking photos with a larger crowd than normal.

"wanna go kick a ball tiny?" millie offered in a last ditch effort and that seemed to work as your daughter nodded eagerly and latched onto the taller girls leg, her giggles echoing around as millie zoomed off back onto the pitch.

you kept her in sight as you followed after them, hanging on the sidelines and waving to a few fans who called out your name, mary glancing over apologetically as you sent her a smile and a nod assuring it was fine.

but that tiny lapse in attention was all it took for delilah to break away from millie, maya and ella, sprinting off toward mary who had her back turned and ignoring the older girls calls after her which gained your focus back toward them.

intercepting her you scooped delilah up into your arms and sat her on your hip. "no! i wanna see mama!” you winced as she smacked your chest a few times and pushed away ella who'd appeared to try and help, and you could tell from the wobble of her bottom lip that she was a few moments away from a meltdown.

"hey lilah, look at me please." you dropped to your knees and stood her on her feet, your hands on her shoulders stopping her from running off. "we don't hit people, okay? i know you're having some really big feelings and you miss mama but-" you started, yelping as your daughter suddenly scratched at your hand, racing away toward mary.

"delilah grace!" you called after her, mary looking up a second too late as her daughter barreled into her. "my mama! mine!" she snarled at a young girl who mary was trying to take a picture with as the keeper quickly picked her up and apologised to the fan and her dad right as delilah started to scream.

apologizing to the crowd still awaiting her attention mary hurried back toward you, the two of you falling into step as you made your way into the tunnel and down the hall toward the change rooms. "lilah baby-" you started as her screams turned into sobs and she buried her face in marys neck.

"no, get off!" the girl snapped again scratching your hand as you inhaled sharply and paused, catching your wifes eye who nodded in understanding as you stayed outside and she dissapeared into the change rooms to try and calm your daughter down.

"hey, you alright?" you glanced up to meet concerned blue eyes and nodded, exhaling deeply as the taller girl pulled you into a hug. "thanks less." you mumbled as she rubbed your back, assuring over and over that you were the best mum ever.

promising her you were okay but that you'd need a raincheck on dinner plans you all had tonight both her and ella gave you another long hug and headed off to see their families.

with another deep breath you headed into the change rooms, only a few of the girls remaining as you spotted mary by her cubby. you caught her eye again and raised an eyebrow as she nodded, your daughter still tightly wrapped around her.

"lilah what do we need to say to mummy please?" mary started quietly, bouncing her knee up and down gently to gain your daughters attention as she pulled her head out of marys neck.

"im very sorry for scratching and yelling mummy." the girl apologised softly, climbing off marys lap and moving into yours, warmth flooding your body as she hugged you tightly and you kissed the top of her head.

you melted even further as your daughter grabbed your hand, carefully kissing over where she'd scratched you before clambering right back into marys lap.

"i'll shower at home, or else little miss is gonna wind up soaked." mary chuckled, gesturing to the way your daughter clung onto her like a monkey, refusing to loosen her grip as you took your wifes bag for her and the three of you waved goodbye to the few girls left and headed for the carpark.

"mama in the back with me!" delilah ordered with a frown once you reached the car, mary having gained a lift with alessia this morning meaning she at least didn't need to drive herself back.

"okay baby, just this once." mary gave in clearly picking up that delilah was being abnormally clingy after seeing her interacting with other kids, something the two of you would need to speak with her about another time.

and for the rest of that night it was the same story, your daughter refusing not to have some part of her in contact with mary at all times. so much so that she'd stayed in the bathroom while your wife showered, insisting you sit with her as well as she held marys hand through the shower door making you smile in amusement.

"my mama." was all that seemed to be repeated, the possessiveness also something new but a conversation for another day as mary waved off your concerns, too thrilled with having your daughters full focus and attention all night.

"oh for god sakes." you'd chuckled later that night at the sight before you. your wife having spent an abnormal amount of time putting delilah to bed you'd wandered up to check in, only to find her dead asleep in the tiny single bed belonging to your daughter, long limbs hanging off the sides with delilah curled into her still very much so awake.

"sh! mama is very tired mummy." delilah warned as you entered the room. "you should be asleep little miss, not mama!" you reminded quietly as she gave you a cheeky smile looking far too much like her other mother and held up the book which was previously laid open on marys chest.

"one more story, please?"

[starleska]

so 'The Amazing Digital Circus' has all kinds of fun references and wears its inspiration on its sleeve...

from Popee the Performer (the environment, slapstick, and especially Gangle's masks resembling Kedamono's), to Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (the inside of The Tent looking very much like the Daycare), to Deltarune (Caine's eye-glitching looking very similar to Spamton's, and of course them casting Alex Rochon as Caine, who is known for his Spamton voice!). but there's also another neat little set of references which may or may not be deliberate: the nods to Toontown Online!

Toontown Online was an MMORPG where you play as Toons (slapstick-using, brightly coloured, animal cartoon characters) fighting Cogs (evil fun-hating robots based on corporate businesspeople). the game still exists now in fan servers such as Toontown Rewritten and Toontown: Corporate Clash, with a thriving community contributing to new stories and preserving the original game. i noticed a few similarities between Toontown and TADC:

the name generator! when you first enter Toontown, you have the option to choose your name via a random generator. although you can type in your own name, and the names are comprised of separate words rather than letters, the silliness and randomness of it seems very similar to Caine's name generator...additionally, if you typed your own name, you would have to wait to have it approved (ensuring that the name wasn't offensive), much like Caine's quickly-spouted rules about naming!

2. portal travel! one of the big gimmicks of Toontown is that you're able to move between areas by jumping through a portable hole, also known as 'teleporting'. this looks quite similar to the one Gangle and Kinger are pushed through/Jax jumps through to find the Queen of the Gloinks!

3. Jax's appearance! in Toontown, you create your own Toon by selecting from one of the available species, and then changing their colour, height, clothes, and more. a tall purple rabbit is definitely a type of Toon which could be created in the original Toontown game, and his whole playful nature reminds me so much of the game!

as an old fan of Toontown i'm delighted to see these references, and am sure they're on purpose. given that this is The Amazing Digital Circus, i think we're going to see a loooot of references to older online culture, like games and videos 🥰💖 everyone, please do go watch The Amazing Digital Circus pilot and support them if you can. they deserve to be funded to create even more wonderful episodes!! and i'd love to hear people's thoughts on this. were there any references you spotted? 👀

[artichao]

wanted to make a lil "fun fact"/design explanation post about gape and grin cus i just like sharing stuff about my ocs :> figured this is the best place to do so!

apart from Red and Blue being very prominent and obvious "opposite" colours (like in team fortress), this actually has some deeper meaning. you see, i first started my animation journey with Flipnote Hatena on the DSi! what a time. and to honour that, i coloured grin red and gape blue.

"but artichao! their colours aren't correct if we're talking flipnote colours; especially gape, he's too purple-ish!"

it would be a very obvious choice to just colourpick the flipnote red and blue, but i decided not to. why? well, i wanted to replicate how the red and blue looked like in memory. all those years back on my brother's DSi; how did that red and blue look like to me? i remember the blue back then was purple-ish in my eyes, not as saturated/defined as the blue is in reality.

see, there's probably some other flipnote-inspired becker ocs out there, and i wanted to find a way to honour the flipnote roots whilst also putting my personal spin on it. changing the colours just a little was my subtle way of doing that. :>

"and why 'gape and grin' anyway?" well, did you know it was originally 'gape and gaze'?

grin was originally going to have a single large eye to compliment gape's single large mouth. but, it looked a bit too creepy n jarring and also kinda among us-y ??? so to avoid the ridicule i made it so that "gaze" had a big narrow grin instead to mirror gape's ... gape. i'm really good at words.

you might notice when it comes to my more "out there" character designs i love having a heavy emphasis on eyes and mouths. i'm a big fan of creatures that prominently display features like that. having stickmen with a prominent eye or mouth just felt very natural to me, and true to my brand as a designer. though, i wanted to keep them nice and simple just like alan does it. :D

"what's with grin's heels and gape's thumbs?"

i uh well . i dont actually have a smart answer for that. i just thought it was a fun complimentary design thing. :D also ties them together better as siblings.

lastly, they might've been based on flipnote but they're born and raised on krita. ;D it is nice to show them where it all began from time to time though.

even when relaxing, grin always has time to make fun of her brother.

and with that i'm out of talking points, but feel free to ask me anything if you're ever curious about these guys or any of my characters really. :3 i love gushing about my children huehue

[allthegothihopgirls]

it’s baptism anon again… thoughts on robin lives?

(also ya boy is still working on that reveal art… and also i got all three issues of the boy wonder so. autism won last night)

congrats baptism anon u actually just got me to read my first comic in weeks.. god's work

i liked the first issue. it felt a bit underwhelming but i guess that's to be expected of a series not meant to be a standalone, rather a piece to an overarching story.

the colouring is super cool.. the contrast in the rich colours of bruce's scenes, to the muted blues and purples of jasons. additionally the brightest colours of the issue appearing when jason puts the robin suit back on.. very nice.

i'm not a big fan of the narration perspective really at all. it would be much more interesting to me if it were alfred or something. hell, i'd even take clark narrating over that doctor.

i did like this little comment though (who would have guessed):

on another note.. angry dad bruce wayne i did not miss you at all. what a dick.

and can i just point out how jason's dialogue here literally just sounds like the same rinsed and repeated takes i see abt ADITF on here daily.. like he just went and tapped into the 1 collective fandom braincell over in those parts and spoke his mind..

something about jason being told to join her in the grave.. and the zombie connotations... he's literally destined to resonate with monsters i'm sorry

yeah okay i don't really have anything else to say abt this issue. do look at the tiny skrunkles though.. and ivy who got her 1 panel cameo

[pinehutch]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤

Thank you for tagging me!

I should be honest: I am not much of a fic writer. This isn't self-effacing; I've been reading fic since the early aughts but only have 10 works on ao3. One of them is a poem. One of them is a few hundred words of something I've never finished.

That said, fic is important to me for a lot of reasons, but one is that in 2016 I started following a tumblr for a Dragon Age fic exchange, and in 2017 I wrote the first fiction I'd written in almost 20 years. I had been struggling to write poetry for about 10 years before that, too, and fic writing was part of my path back to writing at all.

This isn't to say that I think fanfic is valueless unless it results in 'original' writing; every story happens in context, and we all know how the lines between fanwork and original work blur, both in fan spaces and in commercial ones. But my particular, personal fondness for fic is because it gave me a path back to the first best thing of my life, which was language, and what we do with it.

With that said, my personal top five (links in titles):

Fundamental Forces (or, Root Causes)

Literally my first fic. This was when I remembered that writing can be fun. It's Dragon Age fic, femHawke/Varric. It's also written with a focus on Hawke's POV, a thing I think I pulled off quite well and have never attempted again. It's very silly. It features a 40-year-old and a 35-year-old being profoundly bad at emotional honesty. I riff on turnips for a while. It has a happy ending, which should surprise no one.

She breathed in through her nose and her eyes fluttered shut. “Kiss me, you idiot. Before they think I’m horrified.” Their first kiss. Quick and mostly chaste and part of a joke. She thought it was fitting.

Chapter Last

This is also T-rated Hawke/Varric, written for the same exchange, a year later. It's about near-misses, and trying again, and not being able to pick up where you left off, and it's stumbling back onto the path later, unexpectedly, and after having found another way. It is about stories, and why we do them.

It's fic of the games, of course, but in a way it's also fic-of-fic: there's a novella that's both a tie-in novel and a diegetic book in the Dragon Age setting, and it was printed irl the summer before I wrote this fic.

What I'm proud of, with this story, is character voice. Whenever I share any Varric-voice writing, even years later, people always say very generous things. Varric's also a writer, canonically, and I had fun mimicking 'his' style in passages of this, and trying to keep in mind how his writing and his inner narration would align and diverge. (Lots of Dragon Age fans are understandably thirsty about Varric; I think I've always found him relatable, in many ways, and it didn't occur to me to thirst. But I love him.)

I don't love the structure; I chaptered this, and way more than I needed to. I'd love to rewrite it, someday, but I also think it's good for me to sit with the awareness of its imperfections and the knowledge that people have loved it anyway.

Afterimage (there are two colours)

The Magnus Archives fic, E-rated. Basira/Daisy. This was meant to be a single installment in a series - I think I have a 20,000 word 'outline' in my gdocs, still, but I'm unlikely to ever finish it. The point of this story is self-indulgent, purple-prose, dreamy smut. Wanting the thing and having it, but not keeping it.

This was baby's first E-rated fic ever written. I have no explanation for this, either.

Transformative Work

Written for the 2022 OFMD Big Bang with @mia-ugly. Mostly Frenchie/Jim, a bit Jim/Oluwande, a bit Frenchie/Oluwande, a light sprinkling of polycule potential.

Transformative Work is my favourite thing I've posted to ao3 for three reasons.

It's 40k! I never finish longer works, so 40k is a big deal to me.

I think it's actually brilliant. Clever as hell, at minimum. But mostly brilliant.

It's collaborative!

Writing has always been a solitary thing for me; one of the things I love about Mia is how we can get on a wavelength about a story. (This is mostly a them trick: they're an excellent collaborator and instigator, in general.) I wasn't at my best when we were writing this, dealing with undiagnosed health issues and workplace burnout and an accumulation of grief, but it was beautiful and joyful work, in the end.

Also, I think it is almost exactly what we wanted it to be, and that is such a high.

Number 5 is a bit of a cop-out but still:

Remember when I said "we all know how the lines between fanwork and original work blur"? This is a poem I started writing when Succession 4.3, "Connor's Wedding" aired. I was in a worst spot than I had been the previous year, health-wise, grief-wise.

The title of this poem, "My Father's Dead and I Feel Old," comes out of Connor Roy's mouth in the episode. I had to pause the episode and just get pummeled by that perfect, simple line of iambs. I was a wreck, just generally. Yeah, man, my father is dead and I do feel old! That sort of thing. (The aforementioned health issue? Still not identified or addressed when this aired in spring 2023, btw. My brain was not braining well.)

But there were words for it. I was off work on medical leave at the time. I had just made the transition from crying like it was a full-time job to sleeping like it was a full-time job. The sleep wasn't helping. The crying hadn't helped, either. It wasn't something people could help. But words, and what we do with them - that helped.

Anyway, I'm actually quite proud of this poem, both as an original piece of poetry and as fanwork. It's not on ao3 for reasons including 'I haven't gotten around to it' and 'I don't know if this is sufficiently transformative, by the invisible guidelines I've just set for myself.'

Thank you for sending this to me, it was a lovely thing to think about on my Friday eve! <3

[thethirdromana]

My thoughts on Deathwalker!

Is it me or does the red, ridged docking bay look a bit like... something else?

In general B5 lighting is fun: lots of pinks, purples and blues that remind me of TOS. I wish more sci-fi was as colourful.

Dilgar eyes are terrifying. Make-up and costume design on this show continues to be great; I love the variety of alien designs.

Dr Handsome Dr Franklin continues to be the least developed recurring character. I would like to request some actual personality for him soon.

I shouldn't have watched this before dinner, because most of what I could think about in the first scene with Abbut is that a pastrami with a little mustard and an Antarean pickle sounded really good.

Well, that and finding the whole psychic attack thing implied here frightening.

I love it when Babylon 5 briefly turns into a workplace comedy, e.g. Sinclair: "I thought it best to handle this quietly"; Londo, looking around at the chaos: "Great job!"

Susan's quiet pleasure at being told that she's done a good job is adorable.

I'm a big fan of the alien spaceships that are actual flying saucers.

It seemed pretty obvious that Jha'dur wouldn't survive the episode, but I wasn't anticipating the mechanism.

This feels like another episode that sets up a bunch of things for further down the line: learning Talia's weaknesses, whatever's going on with the Vorlons, the concept of VCRs, the unhappiness of the non-aligned worlds, maybe even a demonstration of how disruptive a potential new technology could be to the fragile peace.

I'm genuinely enjoying that we're nine episodes in and I still don't have a sense for the overall arc of this show. Just looking forward to finding out how it's all going to come together.

Quick note: I'm a first time viewer, please don't add spoilers if you're reblogging my posts.

[tagedeszorns]

How I once almost started my Heresy-obsession as a gigantic Ultramarines fan

When I was thinking about something @varanguard tagged me in, I ended up in a roundabout way where the obsession with the Horus Heresy started for me.

Buckle up, dear children, story time!

Back then, I was a big fan of the Space Wolves - something that continued for a long time. I've since known to have moved on from them, as the content for them really leaves a lot to be desired in terms of quantity and quality. Poor blokes.

But at the time, I was all about Ragnar Blackmane and his absolutely crazy, silly, sometimes very juvenile adventures.

And then came my friend M., my partner in crime when it came to history geekery. With whom I hiked the raetian Limes, with whom I talked my head off all night about the War of the Federates and the background to Roman electoral law. With whom I wandered around the underground of the ancient Roman neighbourhoods in Trento and with whom I waved my arms in sheer delight as I looked at the Mythraum in the Saalburg and raved about the torsion weapons on display there.

And he acted all innocent and asked: "What if there was a legion in the Heresy where we could discuss the influence of Dionysus cults from southern Italy on politics and culture in a very abstract way? I mean, look at Syracuse …."

He had me there. Subtly slipped me the parallels, grabbed me by my fascination for niche events, especially in the art historical sense.

I mean, you can easily see the Maraviglia on the wall of the Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii. The house of a very internationally active olive oil merchant who had contacts around the Mediterranean (as can be seen from the seals on the amphorae) and who had no problem putting bacchanalian scenes in the most garish colours on his walls.

From there it was a short way to the Greek cult of the hero and in the other direction to the worship of the solitary genius in the Renaissance.

Genesis of an Emperor's Children fan. Put me in a shell and wash me ashore at Cyprus.

And here it could as well have been blue instead of purple. Because I'm actually more fascinated by the Roman late republican period than the imperial era. I actually enjoy the political entanglements of the Equites more than their decline under the emperors.

As much as I was interested in the turmoil and conflicts of loyalty from the second century onwards, the reforms of Marius are more exciting in my opinion.

Virtutes and their interpretation? My thing! The organisation of public life? Wow, that's great!

Sounds more like ultramarines. I'd say that today.

But he didn't like them. For whatever reason. So he turned me in the direction he thought would be more interesting for me and let me run off - well fed with bait.

And of course, the Emperor's Children were right up my alley! In terms of art and military history as well as philosophically.

But still: @ladymirdan and I could almost, yes almost, have even better lore boxing matches today! It was very close! If he hadn't had that irrational but very typical "Ultramarines are boring" attitude. So it became Florence instead of Rome. The rest is history.

Thanks to everyone who has stuck it out this far. Text structure is not my strong point!

[front-facing-pokemon]

On the whole "Shinies are picked manually from gen 6 onwards, early shinies were auto-generated" - its... Debatable. It definitely seems like a lot were - which is why a lot of blue Pokemon become pink, such as Vaporeon and Kingra, while it would make sense for Pokemon like Gengar and Dragonite to get such horrendous shinies.

But there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. The same colours get swapped differently on different Pokemon, and no one person has figured out the formula for how shinies are determined. Then there's the "gen 6 onwards are manually coloured" theory - and that is all it is, a theory. It does seem to be the case, as some shinies are phenomenal and would definitely not get randomly swapped like that (Pallosand is one of the big arguments for that) but then there are others that are... Just not very good shinies, like Talonflame.

There's absolutely zero confirmation from Game Freak as to how shinies are decided, and there definitely a TREND that we can see involving it, but they're all just theories.

Lockstin & Gnoggin has a video called "Is This How Shiny Pokemon Were Made" which covers a LOT of information on shinies and the speculation behind how shinies are made.

i am seeing a LOT of mixed opinions on what is actually the truth here. compelling evidence from both sides, it seems? though two mentions of lockstin & gnoggin by now (though with seemingly two differing opinions about the fate of shinies pre-gen-6?) so i'm going to make a solid bet that we're all just grasping at straws and patterns for how we Think shinies are determined. is that fair enough to say? i always thought they were all deliberate and the ugly ones were just a matter of taste, with the ones that barely change being a matter of someone being lazy or something. but also i guess the "ugly" ones can be a matter of taste even in recent gens—i don't think indeedee's is that bad, and tandemaus… well, they could've done to change the actual body instead of the li'l pants they're wearing. togedemaru is definitely underwhelming. it would make sense that there's some sort of algorithmic approach to choosing shinies, especially considering how we have seen some shinies change in color over the years (see: the shiny ralts line, for example, in which they appeared purple back in the 3d gen 3 spinoffs, pokémon colosseum and gale of darkness), but then doesn't entirely track once we get to pokémon like sneasel, whose original appearance was completely different, but even after its body colors were changed in pokémon crystal and onward, it still retained the same shiny. and yet sylveon is still the only good shiny out of all the eeveelutions (sorry bleep blorp espeon and pink vaporeon), which was the eeveelution released in gen 6 (umbreon is still good, i guess, but doesn't change a ton), where we're all supposing they started "manually picking." i think all this was sparked from an ask about helioptile's shiny, which seemed to be a reference to something—i'm sure there's plenty of other shinies that fit that bill, but with over a thousand pokémon out there to come up with shinies for, are we ever gonna be able to prove that it's not just a coincidence? like i thought the nacli line was a very obvious minecraft reference but i don't think anyone agrees with me on that one. then again, they did go out of their way to name a pokémon fucking "lechonk" which i'm still not over being one of the most annoying names they've ever created. so sorry lechonk fans but i swear toby fox had a hand in naming that one

[hinamie]

Hina, I apologize beforehand if you already asked something like this!

What are your favorite colors to work with in your art? Lately, when I'm writing, other than purple (favorite color) I find I really like describing red into scenes.

no need to apologize!!! i don't think i've ever been asked this specific question but even if i had the chances that my answer will have changed in the time between r fairly high gHJDK

overall i think its very safe to say that my tastes lean Warm and obviously red is my beloved my best girl my backbone etc etc :') i sketch exclusively in shades of red and in the vast majority of pieces it makes an appearance in some form or another. i have !!!! so much love in my heart for red !!!! like beyond being a rly good tool fr grabbing the eye and setting the mood it's also just so strong and adds such an Energy . like u see red and u go ! fr me using and seeing dark reds in art feels like a push (?) 2 the chest n vibrant reds feel like when u take too big a gulp of a hot drink but u feel in in ur throat not on ur tongue . i love u red i love u i love u

tho lately !!!! BIG fan of moss greens and teal-toned or navy blues. keeping that generally warmer hue on traditionally cool-toned colours helped me so much in terms of becoming more comfortable branching out with my colour choices (bc as much as i will love and defend red to my grave, I had been using it as a crutch fr a long time). with cooler blues it feels like a bright inhale through the nose straight 2 the sinuses stings a little but with teals/green-toned blues it feels more like. silk fabric . still cold but Easier and softer. and MOSS GREEN omg i owe her my life shades of warm green and brown-toned greens are so versatile (thank u lmhs fr showing me the light mwah) . like. i find if i'm in need of a neutral that's not a neutral a desaturated green-grey or green-brown is so reliable. warm greens r like wood that gives under ur fingernails they r like shag carpet or warm stones

also this is less about the colour and more abt the rendering process in general but i LOVE rendering skin so i guess i can give an honorary mention to the concoction of flesh tones that "skin" encompasses. love layering those bad boys on top of each other like i am making a cake

[starwarsmum]

Day 19! @maribat-calendar-events has done such a good job with these prompts, I've really enjoyed writing these ❤️ today is Glitter

The inhabitants of Wayne Manor were up late. It wasn't that unusual an occurrence but the reason was out of the ordinary. Marinette had insisted that everyone be available to look over the clothes she had made for the gala that weekend. 

They had all gathered in a lesser used drawing room, even Damian who had always scorned the idea of getting new clothes for a gala unless he had outgrown his previous suit. Most were doubly surprised because they hadn't seen him go to Marinette for measurements when she had specified that she needed them.

There was a clothing rack laden down with suit and dress bags, each with a name embroidered onto it. The first one in the row was Tim's and he gave an excited squeal when she pulled it down to show it to him.

“Okay, so I couldn't go full Jagged for any of you, because he would be so upset if I let anyone borrow his look,” Marinette said, bringing the suit over to Tim. “But I did give a slight nod to it, since you're all such big fans. So, for you Tim, I've gone with a dark navy suit and the lining has little purple guitars.”

Pulling out the outfits one at a time, she highlighted individual aspects to each of them until she pulled the next off the rack and revealed Steph's behind it. With a squeal, Steph jumped forward and pulled the bag from the rack.

“Wait, Steph, don't-” Marinette was too late. Steph had opened the dress bag with her name on it and an explosion of glitter rained down upon the ground. She sighed, smiling apologetically at Alfred who looked stunned. “As I was saying, your bag needs to be in a separate room before we open it. Sorry Mister Alfred, I'll get this cleaned up once we're finished.”

“It's perfect,” Steph said in awe, eyes shining with glee. She was slightly more careful moving it as Marinette explained that, because she wanted maximum glitter, she had used a shimmery thread but also added extra in between layers of sheer fabric.

“It's also made of biodegradable fabric and glitter, so when you're done with it it's not going to have as big of an environmental impact,” she concluded, before moving on to the remaining outfits.

When they reached the last two bags, Marinette proudly pulled out Damian's new suit. It was an ink bottle green colour with a pastel pink lining and pocket square. They looked stunning together, and everyone voiced approval, although they eyed Damian nervously.

“And this one is mine,” she said, pulling out a dress with a camisole bodice and skater skirt. It was the same pastel pink as Damian's pocket square and had an ink bottle green sash around the waist. There was also a shrug in the same green and most of the family side-eyed the two obviously matching outfits.

“Um, Marinette,” Tim said hesitantly, frowning at what was likely a faux-pas. She looked at him expectantly, head cocked gently to the side and he swallowed before continuing. “I don't know if you know this, but you don't generally colour match with someone at a gala unless you- unless you're there as a couple.”

There was a pause before Marinette said, “You think there's an aspect of fashion that I'm not privy to? Especially such a well-known aspect? Tim, I come from Paris, the most iconic fashion city in the world. I know what it means to colour match and I'm using it correctly.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Eyes swiveled from Marinette, to Damian, to Tim and back again. It was broken when Jason let out a cackling laugh, bending over double as he wheezed and pointed at Tim's horrified face.

“I…told…you. I…told…you!” He was saying, eyes streaming. Marinette made a concerned sound but he waved her away, still laughing. Damian made an annoyed noise but merely moved to stand with Marinette. It took several minutes for the large man to calm himself but he eventually straightened and wiped his eyes. “Aw man, I told you he was at least trying to date her, but you just wouldn't listen!”

“But…what…when? How is this even happening?” Tim cried, staring at Marinette in horror. She blushed delicately and Damian scowled at Tim from her shoulder. “No, wait, that- a little help here,” he said, looking around the room imploringly.

“You're dating?” Dick said, excitement obvious in his voice. Marinette smiled at him, nodding and leaning back into Damian. Dick bounded over to them, pulling them both into a hug and just about holding back a squeal. 

“Tt, this is why we did not tell you immediately,” Damian grumbled, resting his head on top of Marinette's. “I have been courting Marinette since she visited the first time. We decided that we would inform you before the gala so that it is not a surprise when we attend together.”

The room erupted as everyone asked questions, except for Tim who just stared blankly at the pair. 

[so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed]

2023 writing self evaluation

I was tagged by the lovely @neondiamond, thank you!! I was also almost tagged by @lululawrence who texted me but I was already asleep lol.

1. List of works published this year:

In order of posting, these are the 17 fics I published:

April: saw some things on the other side [61K, Larry, written for @onedirectionbigbang]

May: (now I realize that the world outside) it's bigger than me [3,5K, written for @faithinthefutureficfest]

let's get naked and explore (our inner secrets) [8K, Zouis, written for @wankersday]

June: the missing piece that makes me fit [17K, Zouiam, written for @zouisfics]

we will get another day (to begin again) [1,8K, Ziam]

July: rain makes the flowers grow [1,1K, Larry, ficlet friday]

a life that's lived without you [1,1K, Ziam, ficlet friday]

August: and there's no one to blame [1,8K, Larry, ficlet friday]

You don't have to say "I love you", to say I love you [1,5K, ficlet friday]

I'm falling again [2,2K, Larry, ficlet friday]

like a moth into a flame [5,4K, Zouis, written for @wordplayfics]

September: I'll Run (Run to You) [1,1K, Larry, written for @wordplayfics]

like a bridge over troubled water (I will lay me down) [6,4K, written for @wordplayfics]

(don't you ever) hope for something else [5,4K, Ziam, written for @wordplayfics)

you try to stop it tumbling (but on and on it goes) [2,7K, Lirry, written for @wordplayfics]

October: when love gets involved [666, Larry, written for @1dtrickortreatfest]

find a way (to send me a sign) [666, Larry, written for @1dtrickortreatfest]

December: Santa Baby (one little thing I really need) [3K, Larry, written for @parmahamlarrie for the @1dcreatorclubhouse holiday exchange]

In total, including works that I haven't published yet, I've written 129.843 words in 2023.

2. Work you are most proud of (and why):

I always really struggle with my Big Bang, and this year was no different. There was a lot of math involved, and a lot of schedules to make sure that the time travel all worked and the dates were accurate. I am really proud of how it turned out though, and the art (by the wonderful @monpetithl) is absolutely stunning.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why):

I suppose by default I'm 'least proud' of some fics, since I'm more proud of others, but in general, I'm very proud of everything I published this year.

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

This is from (now I realize that the world outside) it's bigger than me

His throat feels dry and his face looks flushed, and there’s a moment where he contemplates dunking his head under the tap, but he doesn’t want to keep the fans waiting, even if he knows that his band is excellent at keeping the crowd entertained.

Or at least, they usually are. But right now, heading through the hallway back to the stage, all he can hear is silence.

Louis feels his heartbeat kick up a notch, and even though he knows that it’s ridiculous and highly implausible, there’s a brief moment where he wonders if everyone has just up and left. Maybe they’ve had enough. Maybe they only came here to see if he was willing to confirm the rumours, and now that he hasn’t, they’re leaving.

His palms are sweating, making him wipe them on his jeans, and it’s only when the band starts playing the intro to Bigger Than Me that they had come up with for the tour that Louis has the courage to step back onto the stage.

He has just opened his mouth for the first line – when somebody told me I would change – when it sinks in what he’s looking at.

Where the crowd is usually colourful, little rainbow flags showing up throughout the songs, or being held up en masse during a fan project for Only the Brave, it’s almost muted now, blacks and whites and greys.

And purple.

It is a sea of flags. A sea of ace flags.

Louis is vaguely aware that the band has started the intro for the third time. He can hear the cheers, the chants, can see the banners that are being held up by people on the balcony. We love you Louis, they read. We need you and you’ve got us.

His blood is rushing through his ears and he’s pretty sure he’s about two seconds from crying, and there is no way in hell that he’s going to be able to sing this song right now. It’s not even because it’s one of the harder songs in his set and he can feel his throat closing up. But he feels like he needs to acknowledge this. Because while he might not acknowledge it in the press, might play coy, these are his fans. These are the people that get him. The people that understand and support and love him, and they’re right. He’s got them. No matter what else, he’s got these people in his corner.

5. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

So my favourite review wasn't actually written. It was a friend of mine, at the concert in Paris, locking eyes with me during Bigger Than Me, and the two of us sharing a moment because we knew.

6. A time when writing was really, really hard:

Honestly, a lot of the year. I've written on something every month, but I've had months where I barely made 5K, if that. I've also had periods where my health was just utterly shit, and periods where I was too busy (like in November, which I mostly spent hanging out with the amazing @chaotic-bells)

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

Well, it is written but not published, but something happened in my Big Bang for 2024 where I was like "really?? this is what you're going with??" and I guess you'll have to find that moment in my fic when it posts.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year:

I'm honestly not sure I did, though I feel like I wrote a lot more short fics this year, so I suppose in that regard I grew by being able to write shorter things.

9. How do you hope to grow next year:

I mostly just hope to continue being able to write, continue loving writing, because for a while this year I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue being a writer in this fandom. But I got lovingly told that there was no way I wasn't doing the Big Bang next year, and then I got matched up with an amazing artist (hiii @whatagreatproblemtohave!) so that definitely helped in getting my mojo back.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

I had wonderful guidance in the form of @londonfoginacup who told me a) you are not dropping out of the big bang and b) how about you rewrite the fic in Zayn's perspective, which has helped A LOT. I've also had an absolutely wonderful friend in @beardyboyzx who has read through a lot of my fics, has offered advice, a sounding board, and anything I could ask for. My beta, as always, is the wonderful @foullovehideout who is just the best person I could ask for. I had such a wonderful time seeing them again this year too.

And then there's the people that I've written with! Most notably, @jacaranda-bloom who is my standard writing buddy, though we've not been able to write together as often as last year, she's still helped me stay committed to my writing and I wouldn't have been able to publish as many fics if it weren't for our sprints.

Lastly, there's the beautiful people from the @1dcreatorclubhouse who have been just wonderful and a great source of joy and comfort.

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

Honestly it always does. Mostly this year in the aro/ace characters, because they are me and I am them.

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

I don't think it's new, really, but a) write what you want to write and b) don't forget that writing is a muscle, it needs to be trained just like anything else. You can't expect the same ease that you felt while writing daily when you end up not having been able to write for a while. Give yourself grace, and above all, believe in yourself and the stories you want to tell. They'll be loved by so many people!

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

Definitely my Big Bang for 2024. It's a struggle and really outside of my wheelhouse, but I'm excited to see where it ends up going. I am also super intrigued by the possible 1daroacefest that @red-pandaaa was running a poll for (you can vote here) so depending on when it runs I definitely want to participate. And I'm thinking I might dabble in some F1 fic next year!

14. Tag three writers whose answers you’d like to read. ;)

I am going to tag the wonderful @beardyboyzx because I need to read their answers. And I am tagging @voulezloux and @reminiscingintherain too!

[myrmyrtheorca]

Myeeeeell! Hi, hi~!! I hope you're doing well, dear! I'll ask about my personal favourite: Lidija. "What would your character wear if they were told they had to gussy up?", "Would your character prefer something bought or made personally?" and "What type of environment does your character like best?"

Hello Momo 🩵🩵 boredom at work strikes again so it's time to be productive and keep answering questions~

Putting this under the read more jail because Lidija has a lot to say about dresses LMAO

- What would [Lidija] wear if they were told they had to gussy up: ok disclaimer, I've never heard of this expression before so I had to look it up, hopefully I understood the assignment here and answered correctly if not please feel free to tell me if I missed the mark 🙏 if there are any subtle meanings to the phrase I'm pretty sure I didn't catch them lel

After freaking out from the excitement of being invited to some event where she can dress up and taking approximately one week (in the best case scenario) to choose what to wear, our little princess will be up and running ready to blind you with her sparks! This sounds like PR and it is, this is a Lidija-sponsored post here we celebrate the marshmallow

Her favourite choices include long dresses, because she feels really uncomfortable when her legs are showing, even if it's just the ankles. The puffier/larger/more full the skirt is, the better: anything too tight will show her silhouette and hinder her when it's time to ✨dance✨ (she's convinced it's an established part of every social gathering) So no cocktail or sheath dresses, and mermaid ones only when she's super confident about it.

She has much less problems with showing her shoulders and arms, though, and this makes her a big fan of strapless dresses! I'd say her perfect fit would be a strapless top with a gown-like lower half, and an empire or basque-style waistline.

You'll probably notice I've only talked about dresses, and that's because it's her favourite thing to wear. Long palazzo pants are the most daring piece of clothing she'll wear. She's a big fan of blouses knot right under the bust though! So if it's a more informal type of gathering, she'll probably attend with one of those and a long high-waist skirt.

As for shoes and accessories, high-heel boots are her go-to for anything. In general the higher the heels are, the better. She likes to style her hair a lot and has scrunchies/pins/circlets for every occasion. She must stand out, she's royalty!

Favourite colours: pastels, shades of red, ABSOLUTELY NOT PURPLE.

Favourite patterns: polka dots, Scottish,plain with sparkles/small shiny decors, lace.

- What type of environment does [Lidija] like best: the bustling streets of a big city! Much like Myr, Lidija likes places full of stimuli (and shops). She's very extroverted and feels at ease in the crowd. Bonus points if it's one of those picturesque villages aimed at tourists like Cortina d'Ampezzo.

- Would [Lidija] prefer something bought or made personally: if you make something for her with your own hands she'll find that very sweet and thank you profusely.

Having said that, if you bring her to one of those fancy malls and there's a Celine or Yves Saint Laurent boutique... she'll find that VERY sweet and will thank you PROFUSELY.

May the lord himself financially help whoever she ends up with.

Ok memes aside, she really values it when someone takes the time to make stuff for her, because it doesn't really happen often. But if given money, she's a menace and spends it in the blink of an eye, so letting her indulge in her shopping habits by giving her a hand would also make her super happy.

[theraggedygirl11]

New analysis on the way. As soon as I saw the new Bojan's photo, I immediately searched for the flowers and their meanings, as the self-proclaimed flowers expert of this part of the fandom.

I'm pretty sure the flowers are hydrangeas/hortensias (like @anxious-witch already said in his analysis).

Hydrangeas symbolize so many things based on their colours, and the meanings may change even based on the country or the historic era!

So prepare yourself for a dive into hydrangeas meanings (everything is from the internet, I will link everything I've found)

It's a long analysis, I'm sorry

Also, this is my opinion on this specific photo, feel free to add anything you want

Brief history facts here and here. In these links you'll find also other facts about this flower, and its meanings too, which I'll summarize down here.

White Hydrangea

They symbolize purity, innocence and honour, but also arrogance, vanity and boasting (maybe from the Victoria era, when this flower carried a negative meaning since it was gifted from men to women who rejected them and it was a way to indicate women's frigidity). Besides, these flowers are well known to have a huge inflorescence but produce very few seeds.

Blue Hydrangea

In ancient Japan this flower is linked to apology and remorse (there's a legend about and emperor who neglected the woman he loved, so he gifted her these flowers as an apology), nowadays it also means serenity and gratitude.

Pink Hydrangea

It symbolizes thoughtfulness, grace and love. It's the perfect gift to express affection and admiration for someone special.

Purple Hydrangea

It represents the desire for deep understanding. The colour purple is usually associated with royalty, pride and gratefulness across many cultures.

Brief summary from this website:

Unfortunately the photo is in black and white, so we can't really know the colour(s) of the flowers in it, but we don't care.

Let's go through every colour and connect it to Bojan.

White has pretty conflicting meanings, for sure. This colour is linked to purity, but, as I said above, it may also mean boasting and vanity. Let's focus on this last meaning. Bojan never showed himself to be openly vain, except for one thing: his hair. He complained about his gray/white streak more than once (cue to Plastika "koža ni več sveža in sivijo mi lasje,/ pa triindvajset jih imam šele"-"my skin is no longer fresh and my hair is going grey/ and I'm only twenty-three", then corrected to twenty-five in Groningen), and I'm pretty sure he's used to dye his hair because the white streak sometimes magically disappears. Now, white/grey hairs are a sign of old age and it's not unsual for younger people to get them (I'm turning 27 this year and I too have some random white hairs). Bojan's complaints, even in a jokingly way, show though that he's in some way affected by this. Beauty is linked to vanity, both in art and in literature.

Blue hydrangeas carry/carried a specific meaning in Japan, as already stated, which is linked to apology and remorse. Is he sorry for not reaching some of his goals, like winning Eurovision? Is he apologizing to us, his fans? To Slovenia, the country he so proudly represented at Eurovision and failed to make it proud of his work with their lower position in the final chart? To someone else we don't know about? We also know that they became a phenomenon despite the fact that Eurovision was a "disaster". Slovenia became famous, now people want to visit this country or even moving there to live. People are learning a language that only about 2 million people speak (it's still a pretty big group of people, but compared to other European countries, like Germany, France or Italy, it's a small amount of speakers). Is he grateful for the huge opportunity that Eurovision gave them to let the world know that Slovenia exists and that it's a nice country that deserves to be known? Is he saying "thank you" for other things?

Pink is often linked to nice feelings and emotions. In this case the flower symbolizes true feelings and sincere emotions. Bojan is a lyricist, he pours what he experiences and feels into his lyrics, and thanks to this we have Padam, Novi Val, Vse Kar Vem, and so on. Is this a wish for him to be even more open and truer on what he writes? A wish for him to be more free to write what he wants and feels and not what the public wants him to write? Being true and honest with yourself has always been a focal point in so many artists and has affected their work thoughtout the centuries. They have to live thanks to their art, so what do you do? Do you listen to your heart or do you please the people who give you the money to live?

Purple is the last colour but not the least important. It's a royal colour, also linked to pride. Being proud can be a double edged sword: one can be proud of what he's doing and achieving, but the line between pride and arrogance is narrow and one can easily slip into arrogance. Personally, I've never seen Bojan as arrogant, but this colour might remind him to be proud of his work, also the future one he'll do, and to not let arrogance conquer his spirit, to stay humble like he is now.

[ikamigami]

Okay so what if I told you that Ruin isn't Jigsaw?

But he's actually Billy the Puppet?

A few days ago this thought came to my mind once again. I remembered that Ruin has weirdly similar face to Billy the Puppet.

When we still tried to figure out whether we can trust Ruin and if he was cured or not I made a post on Discord comparing Ruin to Jigsaw cause he was called Jigsaw by many fans at the beginning and he was even called that once or twice in the show.

(sorry cause I won't be able to post this comparison here cause I'm not in Discord server for shows anymore)

But when Eclipse returned Ruin was working at arcade trying to repair machines. And we learned about a detail that led people to believe that Ruin was manipulated by someone.

We were informed that some arcade machines had weird glitchy screens. We also learned that someone was helping Ruin with checking out which machines worked and which still didn't.

Thanks to that some people believed that Ruin is cured or half cured and either it's Dark Sun or a virus who maipulates him. But later we found out that neither is true because Ruin never met Dark Sun (at that point) and he wasn't cured because in fact he was never infected to begin with.

Many fans felt disappointed that Ruin turned out to be the one behind Eclipse's return. Some because they were hoping that Ruin was cured and some or maybe most people found it boring that Ruin was the big bad once again considering that he was suspicious most of the time. It made the reveal to be not that satisfying.

But with Solar's death, New Moon's descent into insanity and Dark Sun making his moves people rolled with Ruin's reveal and forgot about it (not all fans though especially not Ruin's fans but you know what I mean).

And when I remembered my comparison between Ruin and Jigsaw the thought about Ruin's face being similar to Billy the Puppet came to my mind and then I remembered what Moon told Sun that Ruin didn't do that himself. And he meant built that whole machine and put each part in those 5000 dimensions.

Also I bet that Ruin didn't get that piece of wither storm himself. Or even if he got it himself for example from his dimension I think that someone was indeed helping Ruin with his plan to get rid of Creator's Council.

And then it dawned on me. The glitchy screens had purple colour. And who else seems to look more purplish nowadays? New Moon.

Now, I'm not saying that New Moon is infected with Ruin's virus because I think that's not the case. But this is interesting detail that I remembered.

And then there was another thing that I remembered but this thing was stated quite some time ago. I'm talking about Ruin's AR vision. We know that it allowed him to see things differently from anyone else. We know that the vision is associated with colour purple. And we also learned some interesting detail that was never brought up again and was quickly forgotten - in "Origins of Ruin Eclipse" episode Ruin told Bloodmoon that the weird thing he was able to see thanks to AR vision and Bloodmoon thanks to the Vanny mask is none of BM's concerns.

And remembering that Solar also had AR vision made me realize that this detail might be important but because of how many things happened since Solar's death I completely forgot about it (and let's better not talk about my poor mental state that wasn't helping me with focusing on anything but I digress QwQ).

I think that Ruin was working with whoever the person he saw in AR vision is. This individual was the one who helped him built that machine and helped him with arcades which were a part of the plan. The glitchy purple screens were a sign of that person whoever they are.

And I don't know if any of you remember that I think that Creator put something in New Moon or "fixed" the killcode's issue but the thumbnail for "Origins of Ruin Eclipse" episode had something behind Ruin who was in the tube. Something that looked a lot like our Creator.

Now, I'm not saying that Ruin worked with our Creator because he obviously hates them. But what if Ruin worked with Triangle Man formerly known as Trashcan Man? He knew a lot about magic. He was working with Creator and only after Ruin's plan succeeded they parted ways.

So what if Ruin was indeed manipulated (I'm not saying that Ruin is completely innocent though) but not by who we previously thought?

What if either Triangle Man or Creator himself wanted to get rid of Creator's Council?

And getting back to my first two questions if someone indeed was steering or manipulating Ruin in direction of destroying 5000 dimensions then it makes Ruin a puppet in some way. Hence why Ruin isn't Jigsaw but he was Billy the Puppet this whole time.

And maybe that's why we didn't receive full Ruin's backstory yet.

Also what if New Moon being purple in thumbnails hints that whoever helped Ruin is also behind New Moon's descent into insanity?

My bet is that it's either Creator or Triangle Man or both cause who knows with those two actually.

Maybe this is a stretch and I'm exaggerating but I crave for more Creator's content. I really hope that he's done more than just trying to kidnap Lunar once.

[turtlethon]

Hi there!! I’m such a big fan of your reviews, you did a great job with them!! 😄

My biggest questions would be;

Who’s your favorite turtle? And if you had to choose just five episodes from the series, which ones would be your all time favorites? 😁

Thank you!! Have a great day!!

Thank you so much for the kind words! For the record, I'm Team Donnie, always a big fan of the inventor/scientist archetype. (Also my favourite colour is purple, so he gets an extra point right there.)

I feel like when it comes to picking the top five episodes the natural inclination is just to pick the first five, and with good reason; nothing that came after S1 had as much time, care or money afforded to it. So just to make things interesting, I'm going to set everything from season one aside and pick five more episodes that I think also deserve to be celebrated.

5. THE DIMENSION X STORY

The Turtles having to fight their way into the Technodrome (and back out again) somehow never fully lost its allure. This one and "Shredder's Mom" both rank highly in my estimation, and while this is the less visually impressive of the two I think it wins out for how willing it is to mix things up, sending the Channel 6 regulars to Dimension X while two of the Turtles remain behind. Wild, far flung adventures that tap into the more sci-fi aspects of TMNT, and the cherry on top is that this is easily Vernon's best episode - it turns out he's more interesting as April's rival when he's doing well and she has to work to regain the upper hand.

4. THE NINJA SWORD OF NOWHERE

This one gets few points for innovation - Shredder and his crew jostling with the Turtles for control of some ancient magical artifact or high-tech invention is standard stuff for season three, and in this case, it's a dimension-hopping ninja sword. But rarely, if ever, has it been done this well. Splinter and Shredder battling in dimensional limbo is great, and the animation team handling this one really went above and beyond. Ninja Sword of Nowhere almost feels like it should have been held up as a textbook example of what a Turtles episode circa 1989/90 should be, a reference point that could be shown to writers or animators for what the show should be trying to acheive.

3. SPLINTER VANISHES

The intended 100th episode, even if it didn't turn out that way, and one that I remember feeling like a big deal while watching it as a kid that still held up upon revisiting it as an adult. I always know it's a really good ep when writing the entry for it takes hours as I agonise over it, trying to make sure I articulate everything I want to get across to the best of my ability, and I remember dwelling on this one for a looong time, thinking about how the story compels the Turtles - and us - to consider what happens when the adventures end, when it's time to grow up and move on. Probably the most emotionally resonant episode of TMNT '87, and even though Splinter does not come across well by the end of it, the journeys we go on with each of the Turtles as they explore their post-hero lives easily outweigh that. The fact that "Splinter Vanishes" accomplishes all of this and is a non-Shredder episode - when let's face it, they're more often than not filler shows - makes it all the more remarkable.

2. SHREDDER TRIUMPHANT!

I have mixed feelings about the show continuing into the Red Sky era because this episode, the season seven finale, felt like it had brought TMNT '87 to its natural end point. I love how it plays upon the sense that the Turtles (and the viewers) have that they've seen and done this all a million times before, and it quickly becomes apparent that this time things are different, that finally Shredder and Krang are competent and have learned from all their previous losses, setting the stage for one final showdown. All the main characters - the Turtles, Splinter, the Technodrome regulars and the Channel 6 crew - get their chance to shine and show how they've grown over the course of the show's run. A milestone episode for sure.

1. TURTLES ON TRIAL

I think for me this is still The One, the single episode outside of the first season that I'd consider peak TMNT. It's also the first episode I remember seeing on TV, which I think set me up to have entirely unrealistic expectations about how good Turtles would be; fortunately the rest of the run was still a good time even if we never quite got here again.

I like to see my heroes really have to go through the wringer, to have everything thrown at them and somehow just about make it out victorious, and so the environment we see the Turtles forced to contend with here, a city full of people who have been conditioned to be actively hostile towards them, while they're also dealing with the usual Shredder/Krang stuff, makes for compelling television. Yes, Clayton Kellerman and "On Trial" are a perfect encapsuation of the media landscape at the time - which still feels relevant today - but on top of that this is a gorgeous episode with some terrific battles between the Turtles and Shredder's bunch. It's simply the bee's knees. (Or should that be the turtle's knees?)