#I'm still mostly gonna be reading simplified

[hanzioftheday]

April 5th Today’s Hanzi character is 爱 (愛 traditional)

In mandarin pinyin it is pronounced “ài” and it means love

I'm not totally certain in my understanding of the description on Wiktionary of it's origin. However for people also learning simplified, my Mandarin teacher described it as "a special friend" since the simplified is 友 (friend) with extra on top. Do you like them as a 友, or do you 爱 them.

[trinketstreasuretrove]

I keep bouncing back and forth between interests like pong

Extra thoughts/details & sketches below cut

You have no fucking idea how much thought I put into this

Kremy: Changeling that disguises as a unicorn

Gideon: Kirin

Frost: Unicorn

Gricko: Earth Pony

Torbek: Abada

Twig: Breezie

There is going to be so much rambling so fucking STRAP IN

Okay so. Changeling Kremy. I realized like 80% of the way through I coulda made him a dragon but I wanted to draw horses soooooo... :| I imagine he is CONSTANTLY changing around his cutie mark. He could theoretically give himself a normal mustache but I think the idea of him being unable to do so is stupidly funny so he still draws it on. I tried to give him twists bc I thought it'd look pretty & I don't know how I'd translate the hair people usually give him in human designs onto a horse. I'm PRAYING that it's clear enough they're supposed to be twists (ref image below)

I'll be honest I think Gideon is the one I put the least thought into. Although that's mostly because his idea was the first one I just LATCHED onto and stuck with. He's a Kirin so he still has the connection to fire and whatnot. Instead of being imprisoned by hobgoblins it'd probably be diamond dogs in this au. He does still have a beard unlike usual Kirins but it just sort of melds into his mane.

Frost was a FUCKING NIGHTMARE (heh mare) to design I'm ngl. I kept having to redo his colors and had to heavily simplify his robes (and even then I had to redraw them when I got to the coloring stage because I hated them that much). But I think he'd turned out quite pretty in the end. I didn't want to just slap stripes on a horse and just call it a day though so desgining him to look recognizable but not just look like a zebra or a weird shaped tiger was difficult. He does have the saddle bags they have in MLP to stand in for his backpack & I tried to give it a similar pattern to his waist sash he has in his splash art. Also his mane is supposed to look like this under the hood.

It's supposed to have some strands coming out the sides to resemble the stripes on his face & I really hope that comes through in the design O.O

Gricko I also admittedly didn't think too much on because his design translated surprisingly well into a pony :] It was a little difficult to figure out his mane but I think it's quite cute. Figuring out his cutie mark was stressful. I wasn't sure if I should've gone with something music or animal related so I started sketching a harmonica with like. a music sheet? coming out of it? But after messing with the shape of the "wind" coming out of the top I realised I could make it into a paw to sort of combine music and animals and I think its verrry cute :]

Torbek! Torbek! Torbek! :D I'm crazy happy w/ how Torbek came out. He translates shockingly well into pony form especially when I found out ab Abadas in MLP. The incredibly lanky proportions fit verrry well. The leg designs are supposed to reference how his (witchlight-effected) arm in his splash art turns darker towards the ends and the stripes on his chest reference the straps from the straight jacket(?) under his coat. ALSO Abadas do have a cutie mark/cutie mark equivalent design on their flank (they represent their special talent and I think Torbek's OG mark would be about climbing) but I covered up where it would be with some witchlight machinery cause I thought it was clever :] it's specifically based on this plate(?) on his back

Anddd finally Twig :] I went into her design immediately knowing she was gonna be a Breezie. I originally just kinda slapped some colors onto a basic Breezie body and added a hat but it was really boring so I added some spots and gave her colored hooves to spruce it up just a little bit. The spots also gave me the ability to give her some AJ style freckles which I think are verrry adorable. :]

PS. as a treat for reading all that heres the OG concept I sketched up in MS paint (the designs stayed mostly the same [besides color palette] but I thought Frost look too tiger-y so I changed it up a bit in the end) You get a gold star if you can make out all of my handwriting btw

[dreamsy990]

GOD DESIGNS TAKE 2 im much happier with these ones. also calypso and circe here now. once again gonna discuss all my ideas behind the designs and the changes i made to the old ones THIS TIME WITH PROPER GRAMMAR. you guys should consider yourself lucky. so yeah closeups and explanations under the cut

(lineup for scale btw)

So some general notes before I get into the specific designs. These guys are mostly an excuse to make designs that can be just about anything! I operate off the idea that gods can choose how they appear (within some limitations), and so they can just look however they like. The big in-universe limitation with them is that any scars or injuries they may have can't be hidden in any way. For recognizability reasons, I try to always include their main symbols or some allusion to their domain in their designs, and for personal preference, I like to give all the gods weird looking eyes.

Aeolus

My Aeolus design hasn't changed very much at all since my first sketch of them. I like the idea of Aeolus as sort of fluid in shape, mostly just looking like a bunch of clouds that reshapes itself however they like. This sort of abstract and a little cartoony aspect of them led to me giving them a silhouette like an old cartoon character! Their design honestly isn't meant for coloring in this style, but whenever I do color them, I like to make it mostly light pink and blue. Subtly trans-colored Aeolus my beloved.

Hermes

Hermes mostly just changed with coloring. I have an obsession with very limited palettes, and I feel a little bad giving one to Hermes of all characters, but honestly I'm the most proud of his design. I gave him a messenger bag in some of my earliest sketches of him and I've loved that element ever since. The biggest change here is the jacket! Not period typical at all but it's so iconic to Troy and COME ON HE NEEDED IT. I think it makes his silhouette a lot more interesting, even if I simplified the rest of his outfit to compensate. I might do another pass to try and add some color back to him, but for right now this design feels very fun.

Athena

My Athena design has stayed very consistent since I settled on committing to the bird aspect, so thank @irunaki for being an owlthena truther (SOMEONE PLEASE REMIND ME TO DRAW IRUNAKIS ATHENA BTW). Not that I color her much like an owl. This pass at Athena I mostly used to simplify the blue. I needed to include it on her design, but I've been struggling with how for a while, and adding it as just a subtle accent on a mostly grey and black design felt very fitting. Visually she might read more like a magpie than an owl, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make!

Anyway, Athena here is meant to read as very visually closed off, with her face partially obscured and her wings wrapped around herself like a cloak. I want her to have a lot of distance between herself and others at most times, and I think that does nicely. The shadow over her eye was an aspect I added before I found out she lost an eye, which is a funny coincidence. I also designed her to both parallel and contrast my Odysseus design. They both have cloaks that partially obscure them, they both have scars on their faces (although Athena is able to hide hers), but they have opposite color schemes (Athena being mostly blue black and silver while Odysseus is red white and gold). On a personal note, I like the idea of Athena resembling Poseidon. Not for any thematic reasons, I just think it's fun. So she has a grey-ish skintone like him (to a lesser extent, but still) and long black hair, too. I love designs that resemble other designs.

Apollo

I believe I actually originally took inspiration from Gigi's Hermes, But I think he's different enough by now that the resemblance doesn't really exist anymore. He was also the start of my idea to draw the gods with weird looking eyes, so I refuse to change his. I don't actually have all that much to say about him? My original notes for him were that he should be a WHORE and I hope that idea has stuck lmao. He's probably the oldest design here (minus Athena, but my early sketches of her are pretty unrecognizable) and yet I'm still very happy with him. My biggest struggle with design is that I DESPERATELY wanted to color his hair like GinjaNinja's oc Kynthia but I have NO CLUE where to start with coloring like that. So we must suffer. Thaaats all I have to say on Apollo. I think a couple people in the Epic discord really liked him lol.

Hephaestus

I FORGOT TO DRAW HEPHAESTUS THE FIRST TIME OH MY GOD. I'M SO SORRY HEPHAESTUS FANS I LITERALLY FORGOT HE EXISTED. His design gave me the MOST trouble in coloring, I had to completely redo it partway through. I'm still somewhat unhappy with him, but oh well. I like Hephaestus looking very much like a sort of intimidating father who's actually really sweet, and I think I got that look across. He's got a resting bitch face but he is so nice. I gave him glasses on impulse, and it sort of completes the dad look to me. He's got some burn scars under his gloves from working in the forge, for an extra detail. I made all the other gods scars gold, but I think burn scars work differently than normal scars? I need to do more research, sorry! I love Hephaestus though. I'll probably end up doing another take on him if I feel like drawing him again, but it's nice to have at the least something down.

I liked the initial idea behind my Aries design, but it felt very poorly executed before. I'm a bit unhappy with this take still, but I like it better than I did before! I decided to make all the gods scars gold, so his are recolored accordingly, and I made myself bring the red back into his design. Again, he's meant to have a resemblance to Athena while still contrasting her. So he's also very animalistic, with him being more of a dog of some kind (I DEFINITELY took the dog idea from someone else but I CAN'T remember who). He's got roughly the same outfit, but a scarf instead of a cloak, so he looks less controlled and closed off than she does. Anyway, I dislike this specific drawing of him, but I like the general idea of this Ares, so I'll figure it out eventually. Definitely the one I'm least happy with here. I like the drawing without his helmet, though, I think he's cute :>

Aphrodite

So my Aphrodite design initially wasn't very thought out. I originally just sort of threw something together and called it a day, and I wasn't happy with it, but I also wasn't sure which direction I'd like to go with her. This time, uh, I actually have the same problem. I ended up liking this take on her a lot more, though! She takes a lot of inspiration from Rose Quartz, which WAS on purpose actually. There's also once again a lot of inspiration taken from Gigi's Aphrodite design, specifically in the outfit. I feel like with Aphrodite there's a lot of temptation to just give her a dress, but I like her looking a little too casual for any given scenario. I like this one a lot.

Hera

THIS ISN'T MY PEAK DESIGN BUT BY GOD I'M JUST HAPPY I MADE THIS STUPID DRESS WORK. The original inspiration for this idea comes from this video by June and their design for their character Hokoto in a Miraculous au. That specific design for some reason is INGRAINED into my mind and every time I draw a character in some way inspired by peacocks, that's what comes to mind. I think this design is pretty distinct from that one. AUGH I don't have much to say on her just look at my favorite old lady I love her she's so pretty.

Poseidon

ABSOLUTE CRYPTID!!! SEA MONSTER ENERGY!!!!!!! I was like "lets make poseidon a little cunty and a little bit of a weird creature" AND IT WAS THE GREATEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE. Cut out the blue from his design entirely to just be grey, and I think I like that decision. I also think the Epic discord liked him because I sent my sketch of him and someone responded with "why he kinda" so I TAKE THAT AS A WIN!! Absolute bastard man I hope Odysseus stabs him more.

Zeus

HATE THIS GUY HATE THIS GUY HATE THIS GUY. Absolute freak man I hope Hera brutally murders him. Anyway, I love this design, just not this specific drawing of it lol. I wanted his hair to look like clouds originally, but wasn't sure how to do that without stepping on Aeolus' toes, until I had the sudden idea that they should be stormclouds instead! So that's pretty cool. His scarf kinda looks like lightning. Also. Bro put your tits away. That is all I have to say on Zeus.

Circe

Didn't want to copy Gigi's design here, and I think I did a pretty good job of not doing that. She had brown eyes originally, but I asked the Epic discord what they thought and they decided yellow eyes looked better on her (AND THEY WERE RIGHT). I gave her yellow roses too (not sure if they read as roses though), because 1) aromantic Circe is real and true and 2) I just liked the idea of her having the least romantic version of a flower very associated with romance as part of her design. Her ass is not into you! I hope she kills and maims! Wanted to give her a snake earring but you couldn't see her ears here so. Just assume she has one of those.

Calypso

Okay, so this Calypso design basically appeared fully formed in my sketchbook a little while ago. I've changed very little except adding red flowers. Why? NO REASON actually there is a reason. I was writing a Calypso-centric fic and I mentioned her having bright red flowers in her hair and then I just made that part of my vision of her. Gave her uh, a weird fish net thing for lack of a better word? Because it made her more interesting and gave me island vibes. Which is what Calypso should be doing! I wanted to include more red on her design so the flowers didn't feel a bit out of place, so I gave her some red on her other accessories. I THINK SHE'S CUTE AND I LIKE HER. Man these notes got less and less design-related as I went along, huh. Oh well, I'm done now. Those are my god designs +2 because I consider nymphs their own category (Is Circe a nymph? I'm pretty sure she is but I don't care enough to check)

[frogletscribe]

Im back with more biodiversity rambling!!!

Went for a simpler style to doodle these guys out a little faster bc i have MANY thoughts always (warning this may or may not be coherent, i apologize in advance)

IMPOARTANT NOTE: the only thing even remotely canon here is the Forest and Reef Na'vi (debatable bc they are still my own interpretations), everything else is just my own musings and personal need for more variation among Na'vi.

In previous posts i think i mentioned the insane venn diagram that lives in my head of forever overlapping and endless combos of Na'vi yadayadayada, this is (LOOSLY) that.

SO, if you have seen my initial post (here) some of these guys might be familiar, but since then, i added Wetlands, Highlands, Glacier and Ash? people! And I have Thoughts ™️

Now I'm gonna hold off on Ash? people for the most part here, mostly because i am a creature that likes at least some level of "Canon Compliance" and we really won't know anything about them until the next film, so i have yet to form any solid headcanons. That being said, I do have a couple quick things:

The name 'Ash People' leads me to think that their generally building lives/evolving around volcanic areas, grey/darker skin tones from evolving around ash?

Thicker/rough skin (volcanic rocks are sharp!) and less fur/fluff on their tails.

Wetlands I imagine as clans that have evolved as a combo or River and Reef, but also Plains, as wetlands (at least as I understand them, i know that there's more to them than this but I am simplifying here) are effectively big wet fields.

I liked the idea of how if River Na'vi developed 'armor' due to swimming in constantly moving water with lots of rocks/fish/debree/etc, that Wetlands might be similar, but not quite on the same level.

Comparatively, Wetlands have no claws, and a thinner more paddle-like tail, more similar to Reef Na'vi.

Highlands I see as Plains Na'vi that evolved for colder biomes, so they keep the builds, maybe in general larger on average, closer coloring to Plains Na'vi and the longer tails, fur and claws of Mountain Na'vi.

Lastly Glacier Na'vi is the Mountain + Reef combo to create the giant spotted seal people of my dreams. I did not show it well here, but I think both Mountain and Glacier hold more fat in their bodies than other Na'vi, as well as Reef Na'vi being physically larger as well. That combo probably makes Glacier Na'vi massive (like 12-14 ft tall). Living in significantly colder climates, they need to be able to hold more heat in their bodies too, so they are physically much larger all around.

All of these are still just loose and I continue to be vague about a lot of it bc biodiversity and cultures that evolved around a given biome are two separate things to me. I like that these can be used as like umbrellas that the actual clan cultures can be born under, but not 'rules' or anything.

(I do have at least 1 (possibly 2) fan clan situations cooking in my noggin that i am slowly working on, but that's also something i want to be very conscientious about as I build it out.)

Anyways! Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Let me know your thoughts, I love talking about this sort of thing, hearing people's feedback and building off of it!!

[cheesecake-the-chicken]

Im going to try to simplify a lot of things here (big word is try). Because there's a lot. We're a traumatic osdd-1b system btw!

However, being a median system varies from person to person. So keep in mind my experiences aren't fact for every median system out there.

1.) Commination & Memory

Commination for us is very limited. We mostly communicate through feelings and emotions. If you will, pure vibes.

I can hear people talk from time to time. If I really focus. Or if the situation calls for it. (Ex. Someone in front is having a hard time. And someone speaks to talk them through it.)

If I do something someone doesn't like I can feel a general vibe which then can easily translate into words. (Think like a language translator). If I fuck up someone's art piece by accident I'm gonna feel that "fuzzy talk" and understand what they're saying.

We don't have massive memory barriers. So it's easy to recall what someone did last. However, we still forget things. Sometimes someone fronts, leaves and a new person fronts. The new person fronting might not recall what they did exactly. But, have a general idea of what was leading up before they switched out.

A really good example for us is Minecraft. Person B played a shit ton, took a break, and switched out. Person A fronted, got on Minecraft and tried to figure out what the fuck they were doing. Oh, they were mining for iron. We call it "Sticky Note Memory" because we didn't completely forget, but we need to do some reading into to remember. Sometimes it's harder for other people.

2.) Fronting & Identity

Fronting isn't what most systems think it is. It isn't a snap and you're no longer fronting. Because we're a median system we never collectively consciously leave the front. We're all here. Currently, I'm just closer to the front. I am aware of my identity. Whether that because I want too or because the brain has decided I'm the favorite guy.

Fronting and switching is more of a flow. I'm slowly melting into someone else. It might take us awhile to figure out hey, I'm someone new. Sometimes we have what are called "Fillers" where there's an in-between. Sometimes people can spawn sometimes it's a temporary thing. However, we're collectively the "same person." Here's a diagram I have of our experience.

Some of us are less distinct than others. Some have more identity. 90% of us are facets. The 10% are fully formed headmates. But, still melt in with us to create our epic system. But, I can't speak for them on their experiences since I'm a facet and they're not. Whether they ID to that term is up to them.

Most of us are copied and pasted but have wildly different appearances and maybe a little something else added to it. I may act like a lotta my headmates because we're the same people. But, also very different at the same time. It's hard to explain.

Think of icecream. Icecream is icecream. It isn't a sandwich. But there are different flavors of icecream! I'm just a different flavor and texture. But still icecream.

But yeah, that's all I can think of at the moment. There's a lot more but I don't want to go overboard on this ask lol. Again, happy to answer any questions and such!!

thank you so so so much!!!!! this is really relatable for me

definitely with communication, like there’s a difference between what i imagine us doing vs what we do lmao. like i’ll want us to agree on something but the others are behind me like “…ehhhhh” my thoughts are often shared with them though, and i only hear them speaking, not thinking

AND THE FRONTING THING!!! i thought “well i’m definitely not a system because there’s no switches and i’m always here to some degree” (except that time the other day when i had a crisis because i didn’t know who i was and then snapped out of it lmao 😂) but the others tend to come and go, most often being at least a little here except for when they’re asleep

we are definitely separate but share consciousness to some degree. there’s a couple fragments that are part of others (like puzzle pieces that complete them), but we all have distinct personalities, appearances, roles etc.

again thank you!!!! like i’ve said i can only say so much for the others’ comfort and our safety, but it really means the world that there’s others out there like us :’]

[kamenstranger]

Before I dive into this review proper I want to give a heads-up that I am about to get into book spoilers and will be approaching this review with the assumption you've read the source material, which the show also expects. Likewise, I cannot talk about the show without getting into spoilers, due to the very nature of it. If you want my one piece of spoiler-free advice; think of it as a spin-off. Cause it kinda is. You'll have a much better time in that "What If?/Elseworlds" mindset.

If spoilers are cool with you, let's jump into it.

So, I was pretty much obsessed with the series in 2010. I was about 17/18 when I first got into the series. The 6th book wasn't out yet, and I can't even remember how I got into the series to begin with. But I believe I ordered volume 1 followed by 2-5 as soon as I finished, or maybe I went all in. I know for a fact I preordered vol. 6 when I finished vol 5. Still have the receipt for it; July 18th, 2010. 10.58 total.

I followed the various video updates on the movie, fan art, fell in love with the game, bought a Smashing Pumkins shirt, and the Anamanaguchi soundtrack was even the first digital album I bought for myself. I was basically just at the right age and state of mind for the series to grab me and have a profound effect with its themes. I think it's something I needed at the time.

But as much as the series meant to me, it's something I mostly moved on from. After all, the book ended in 2010, and until recently I probably hadn't reread it since 2013 or so. My books are in remarkable condition, actually. I mostly kept up with O'Malley's other works, and preordered Seconds when that was announced. Sadly haven't been keeping up with Snotgirl as much as I'd like, but I digress.

So when the show got announced… well, honestly my first reaction was "That thing they should've done after the Adult Swim short" Because, yeah, animation is a better medium for it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the 2010 movie- one of the best theater experiences because the like 5 other people in the audience were massive fan girls loving all the bits. And there is a lot to love about the movie: its visual gags; the performances; the music selection; the overall direction- seriously, Edgar Wright doesn't get enough credit for how good he is at keying in on visuals. Dude knows how to translate comic panels and mimic the vibe of the source.

But it lacked the depth of the books. There's no major character arc for Scott and Ramona addressing their flaws. Hell, the books weren't even finished yet. There are a ton of great translations from comic to screen, but mostly the superficial. Moments like Scott's meeting with Knives in the alley showing that he's becoming more empathetic and confronting his mistakes are either absent or glossed over. Likewise, Knives' own journey of maturity isn't there. This isn't a complaint mind you, it's not like those cuts are unreasonable. I can hardly blame them for not cramming 6 (and incomplete) books into a two hour film. That just ain't gonna happen.

The biggest advantage in a series as opposed to a movie is the opportunity to properly explore the characters beyond a surface level. I'm not saying anything particularly revolutionary by stating the most universally agreed-upon element from the books is that Scott is a bit of a shit.

However, I think that statement is overly simplifying the situation and the character, one far too often invoked by hack frauds who don't truly engage with the work, because clickbait engagement is more valued than a nuanced analytical one. I won't sit here unpacking the full 6 volumes, you can check out someone like Popculturebuffet for that. But part of what works so well with Scott is that we don't initially know the extent of his baggage- and rightfully so. His worst aspect early on is ignorantly getting involved with Knives in the first place, stringing her along even after becoming enamored with Ramona, and being a bit of a slacker. This is something which is pointed out by literally everyone (sans Stephen) as being shitty. But otherwise, he seems fairly average and even endearing in a way. Scott's an affable character that's easy to like in spite of his very major flaws, and that's a statement that remains true throughout. The reader doesn't even get to simmer much on the scenario with Knives until later- and to some degree, this even applies to Scott himself. He's slightly oblivious to his actions, past and present. A prime example would be that we're initially under the impression that Scott doesn't like to drink, which is mostly true. Mostly.

It's not until volume 6 that it becomes clear he got into a drunken fight with Envy on New Year's, suddenly re-contextualizing that and other events. It doesn't negate how Envy was very much a bitch who treated Scott like complete garbage, cheated on him, and screwed his head up something fierce. She is unequivocally the worse person there. But it adds nuance that wasn't present before. I focus on the event with Envy because it's sort of a perfect microcosm of Scott as a character. Scott "doesn't" drink because of what happened, except on the 3-4 social occasions over the course of the 6 volumes, showing how he has a habit of just flat-out lying in various ways, including to himself. He's aware on some level, but simultaneously suppresses that awareness from memory and even re-imagines scenarios outright (Sometimes with a little help, unbeknownst to him) acting like everything was always fine on his end. This is even more true in his prior relationship with Kim.

Scott's solutions are half measures where he can pretend that he was always the victim in a breakup, or at least innocent and free of blame, thus never growing in a meaningful manner. Hell, that's the reason he ended up with Knives in the first place; he was trying to get over Envy, but not in a healthy manner. Change is seen as scary to Scott, and yet it's inevitable. That is, at least due in part to Envy changing into a hateful person. As such, Scott wants something simple where he doesn't have to put in effort. Knives is naive and doesn't see Scott for the dick that he is, she doesn't ask him to be better because he's already perfect to her naive mind. It's shallow, and a tad messed up, and everyone knows it, including Scott- hence his continued dreams about being alone. He knows it's not, cannot, and never will be serious. He's stupid, but not a monster- but stupidity can be a form of malice if one doesn't change their heart. It's not exactly like the story is even subtle about this. The entire existence of Nega Scott is that you can't fight the past, you can't run from it even if you hate that part of you. You have to confront it and accept it to move on, hopefully changing for the better. To say nothing of how Gideon is what Scott could become if he never owned up to it. That angle is why I felt Scott and Ramona worked. Quite frankly, Ramona is just as flawed of an individual running from her past. She's constantly trying to change herself, but always on a surface level. She's afraid of normalcy, of being stuck in a routine, of being happy. She makes out (Not that much) with her ex, Roxie, in anger because she sees Scott hanging with Lisa Miller and suspects the worst. She (rightfully) gets enraged at how Scott was still with Knives when he and her first went out, thus cheating- yet she did the same with the Katayanagi twins, and possibly Lucas. And, ya know, she never formally handed off the breakup letter to Gideon, so she's kinda doing the same thing Scott did with Knives and her. Ramona's past is just as checkered as Scott's. She's just as jealous, hypocritical, and nuanced. It just takes longer to realize that because she puts up emotional barriers and isn't the titular character/main focus. Neither one is evil, but they've wronged people. Often they've been wronged, and sometimes it's not a clean-cut scenario of easily blaming anyone. For all the great supporting cast, gags, fun references, and so forth, our two main protagonists being flawed yet likable is what makes the series compelling. The heart is two people gradually learning to get over their selves and their mistakes. To stop running away, and accept their faults and one another. Over the 6 books, we see them (albeit mainly Scott) put in the effort to be better, to build and maintain something special, and not just go with what's simple and easy. It's not about fighting the exes, it's about fighting for each other.

That type of character arc requires time for development. So, when it comes to this Netflix series, my biggest hope was simply that they would capture that element found within the books. In the lead-up to the show, there were some rumors about the exes having more to do, and I can see that working. As much as I do think the book does a fine job, Todd and Roxie are the only ones with a decent amount of depth. Matthew works perfectly because his simple backstory is a gag in itself. Lee is a fun character with a tiny bit of backstory, but it's barely there. Gideon I can forgive due to his mysterious final boss nature and his schtick is being the extreme opposite of Scott. But the Twins? They're shafted pretty hard. They're there to fill out a roster. Honestly, though, even Roxie would've benefited greatly from the smallest of backstories ala Lucas Lee. She's perhaps the most interesting because she and Ramona are on good enough terms to have coffee together. Hell, Rox genuinely cares for Ramona, and unlike Lucas Lee, she's prominent enough in the story that a simple flashback could have been the cherry on top of all that.

The other part is streamlining story elements. No surprise there. From the get-go, O'Malley said it was not a 1-1 adaptation, and honestly, it shouldn't be. Some parts should be changed for the sake of convenience, and frankly, the book has some superfluous parts. Does anyone even remember Jason Kim? He shows up like twice as "dude with car" and apparently dating Kim Pine until dorking her housemate. That gives the impression of each character having their own life and drama that we're not privy to, which is nice. But it's also not important to include outside the books. Kim (Pine) becoming self-conscious when Envy is brought up, smiling when Scott stays over, or her dead-eyed expression as she lies during the fight with the Twins. All of that says far more about her, her feelings, her love life etc.

Then there's Knives' dad. Fun in the book, wouldn't take him out. But completely unneeded for emotional and narrative development. Sometimes you gotta look at the source material and realize that even if you like something, tacking on an extra hour for the most obvious whodunit would kill the pacing in an adaptation. (That was a LOTR reference for those playing at home)

However, the above scenarios are a trepidatious path. How does one decide what needs reworking, cutting, or expanding? They're necessary for an adaption, but they're not always obvious. If you're not careful, you can completely undermine or mishandle key elements that made the original so beloved. You risk removing seemingly innocuous moments that add a lot to a character's growth. Above, I mentioned that the Twins got shafted in the book, but there isn't really a good place to expand upon them in the original story. They're not as important as Ramona's growing discontent. It's why Scott's fight with robot 01 is relegated to background gags while we focus on Ramona and Kim. You could put a flashback during the final confrontation with the Twins, but that would muck up the pacing and take away from Kim's far more important character moment in lying to Scott to bolster him. The Twins are just narrative scaffolding holding a spotlight on what we should be focusing on. That's what all the exes are to some extent. Shallow, sure, but only so the other characters get depth.

It's not an easy line to walk. If you push too hard on telling a more original story or focus too much on "correcting" various details, you can negate what were otherwise successful plot points. Do too little and the pacing falls apart because the medium is completely different. Would the changes made still contain a similar level of depth and satisfying character arcs, or would it merely be a shallow reworking of the broadest of strokes? The only way to not lose is not to play. These are the concerns I had in the lead up to the show, which is fairly routine. We also weren't getting a lot of information storywise, aside from that it would be mostly doing its own thing (This is something that should have been emphasized more in marketing) The trailers showed familiar set pieces; that Ramona delivers DVDs for Netflix now, which is a great and absurd change; You saw some of the streamlining by having Scott rent Lucas Lee films, thus inadvertently getting a head start on that and cutting out the No Account Video segment; there's a brief original bit where Ramona talks to Julie about how well the date with Scott went. Most of the setting also looked like it was from the first and sixth volumes, which was a tad odd. But other than that, they were tight lipped about the narrative. Most of the promotional focus was on music, the returning cast, and the animation. All great things unique to this medium that we will get into in due time. Speaking of, let's finally discuss

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

So you know how Final Fantasy 7 Remake emphasized the "Remake" part? Well, we kinda have that here with the "Take Off" part.

I'll just cut right to the chase. Scott seemingly dies in the fight with Patel in the first episode. Episode two is his absolutely absurd funeral. Almost the rest of the episode is centered around Patel wanting to take over the league for himself, and succeeding in doing so, gaining all of Gideon's assets, while the league dissolves once they realize Patel didn't even get Ramona back after winning.

This is uh, certainly a direction to go.

Let's put aside not following the source material and this being an original story. Why should I care about this story? I'll concede that he and Gideon have a great fight. The animation from Science Saru is great, and the voice performances are great: Shoutouts to Satya Bhabha, his delivery is impeccable, hilarious, and a major highlight of the show. But why should I care about these events, this retake? What's the hook? Thus far, the primary purpose of the show feels like a fake out, gags, and fights. I spent the opening of this review going over the emotional weight of the books, that's the anchor. So far, I'm getting moments without substance. Am I supposed to care because I have a prior connection to these characters? This is something I wouldn't figure out a proper description and answer for until the finale. My issues also felt exacerbated by both the advertisements not making the original story angle clear, and also how good the first episode starts off. Because Cera as Scott is truly perfect. Cera was a voice actor before transitioning to the screen, and his performance is top-notch in addition to being a great vocal fit to begin with. So it's kinda disappointing to not have him around for quite a bit. Anyway, the second episode ends with Ramona dreaming and hearing Scott's voice, meaning that Scott isn't dead, he's in Subspace or somewhere.

Episode 3: Ramona Rents a Video.

As if answering one of my questions immediately, the third episode finally gives a hook as Ramona starts playing detective, like Pikachu Columbo. That's the selling point, that this is primarily Ramona's story.

She checks out footage of the Patel fight, showing that someone pulled Scott through a portal (Hence the title of the show, wink-wink.) Ramona then heads to First Cup to get a person of interest list from Julie- which is a pretty damn funny sequence, actually. I'm starting to enjoy the show at this point, and it's kinda wild how much more enjoyable Julie is in both the movie and show compared to the comics. Sure, she's a bitch, but she's a fun bitch due in no small part to Aubrey Plaza's wonderfully riled vocals. After getting the necessary info, Ramona is led to Kim since she knew Scott the longest. We even get a cute story about the poorly drawn Sheep Scott did, which looks hilariously WAY worse in the show.

There's also a key comment from Kim that I think is to make a point for dorks like me. Kim mentions that she was once kidnapped by a guy named Simon and rescued by Scott. That was a false memory of Scott's in the books. In vol. 6, Kim pointed out to Scott that Simon was just a dude she went out with like twice, probably hugged, and Scott beat up. This is one of a number of clues that seem to be here to firmly establish this isn't the same continuity as the books being messed with, and should not be thought of as a sequel if that was a concern.

Anyways, their conversation is cut short when Roxie arrives in the hope of rekindling her former flame. But things go south pretty quickly and Roxie's hotheadedness takes over.

What follows is one of the best fights in the show, equal parts funny and clever. Hell, it starts with Rox drawing her sword and accidentally cutting the sprinkler line. It adds a dramatic pseudo rain that's completely negated by Kim's wonderfully deadpan expression as all the damn tapes in the store become soaked.

During the scuffle with Ramona, a shelf of movies falls on the two which… somehow transports them into various movies? I dunno, we're working off video game logic, I guess Gex counts. It's a sequence that I'm sure was done purely for looking interesting. To its credit, the visual styling is on point. From Japanese historical drama to a post-Matrix early 2000s green filter era, to a scratchy film-grain-heavy WW2 film. The backing track also flows into each film genre. I also love a quick gag where Kim watches the fight on a CRT and fucks around with the rewind and pause feature, allowing Ramona to counter an earlier attack. Roxie gets knocked back into the store, smashes the remote, and gets dragged back into the movies by Ramona. That's great.

As the fight continues, Ramona and Rox begin arguing about their relationship, and we get that flashback sequence! It's a small thing, but they show that Ramona left without a word and how that tore Roxie up. Good lord, someone hug that poor girl, she looks like a sad puppy. In a legit great moment, Ramona has to confront how she treated Roxie, sincerely apologizing for it, which Roxie tearfully accepts it. I gotta say, Mae Whitman really gets to shine in the role more than ever. She's one of those I point to when talking about just how perfect everyone sounds exactly how I'd expect.

After the fight, she hangs out with Ramona and Kim for a bit, being very flirty with both. Kim even smooches her for the hell of it, although both admit there wasn't anything there. But hey, they managed to still get a Bi-curious Kim in here, and in a way that was better than in the books.

Elsewhere, a beat-to-hell Gideon arrives in town, meeting with Julie, an old schoolmate.

I legitimately liked this, there's actual emotional weight going on, there's interesting shit being done, and I'm settling into the show's intent. I like the idea of giving Ramona her own story with a slight focus on how she feels about her past. I think her going out of the way as much as she does for Scott, a dude she just met, is a little flimsy. Again, it's really expecting the audience to care because we, in theory, care about them getting together.

Ep. 4: Whatever.

Things get really fucking meta in this one. Ruling Roxie out as the kidnapper, who didn't even know Scott was alive, Ramona turns her attention to Lucas Lee, who is starting a new picture in Toronto.

Turns out the movie is from Young Neil's screenplay, which "he" wrote back in ep 3, or rather a mysterious "sleep paralysis demon" he saw did. The movie is about Scott's life if he won the fight with Patel.

This toying with the universe thing is getting a little unsettling.

Most of this episode is one big meta gag about making a Scott Pilgrim movie with Director Edgar Wrong. I'm not even mad at this, I'm just completely flabbergasted at what the hell I'm seeing. And this will become a reoccurring bit throughout.

Also hope you like gags about Knives' age cause holy shit they reference this a lot throughout the show.

It's at this point in my viewing process I have developed a headache.

To give some credit, Lucas is fun in this episode. He's more in line with the film version, and Evans actually sounds better than ever, likely thanks to age and simply having more to say. And like with Roxie, Lee has a Flashback. There isn't much more than what was in the book, but I think the presentation is better. Seeing Ramona patch him up after a bad fall, and Lucas arranging his Locker (which is filled with photos of Ramona) as she and Todd walk behind him. Man, that stings.

Needless to say, Lee isn't responsible for Scott's disappearance and with the whole "controversy" regarding him dating a 31 year old actress playing a highschooler, he's hounded off the lot and has to be replaced by Todd, which seems to be a reoccurring thing for him.

Ep. 5: Lights. Camera. Sparks?!

I'm now starting to believe this entire show may have been an elaborate troll towards people obsessed with adaptation accuracy to a fault. I almost want to applaud the sheer audacity of it. Suffice it to say, 95% of this episode is done in a documentary style, and there are a lotta hijinks on set. Ramona is working as Envy's stunt double just so she can have easier access to the set and hopefully get a lead from Todd. Wallace also bones Todd. A LOT. Oh yes, Wallace shacks up with Todd, and Todd is really into it. Wallace, on the other hand, just wanted to hook up with a hot dude, leading to a whole excursion and depressive vegan breaking episode for Todd. Brandon Routh really gets to go full ham here, and it's wonderful.

Some damn funny parts aside, Todd wasn't behind the portal, but it was certainly vegan in nature. Ramona is otherwise back to Square one until Patel, by happenstance, arrives on the lot to fire everyone. Afterward, Patel has a brief confluence with Stephen Stills and Knives, who manage to get an in with him. Since Scott's apparent death, Knives has taken his place in Sex-Bob-omb on Bass (and keyboard) making decent music with Stephen Stills. The importance of that will come into play next episode.

Patel then turns his attention to Ramona. Obviously, Patel wouldn't have any reason to keep Scott around, but it's entirely plausible Gideon, or rather his real identity, Gordon Goose, would as part of a revenge scheme.

Ep. 6: WHODIDIT. This episode starts with probably the best opening gag that I kinda don't wanna ruin despite spoiling everything else. I'm probably gonna be adding "I was gone for 90 %#&! minutes" to my quotes, though.

In any case, this is a fairly straightforward episode. Ramona interviews Julie once again, but it becomes clear that Gideon, Goose, has neither the mental state nor resources to pull something like that off. As an aside, we get a flashback with him as well, showing that he was the school nerd. He supposedly had no fear (No pain) until he aimed well above his status in asking a girl out, leading to him being laughed out of school, which Julie remembers all too well.

It seems like another dead-end, but when Ramona accompanies Julie back to her house, they both see a familiar Robot, the Twins' 01 Robot, which has been making very unsubtle appearances in every episode up to this point; Lee's place; outside the video store; the studio lot, etc. We also have a B-plot with Stephen Stills and Knives making music for a stage adaption of Neil's Screenplay so it doesn't go to waste.

Cute.

It's here where it becomes known that Neil didn't write the script, and upon checking the original file, realize something is off and that Ramona should be informed. All parties gather in Ramona's apartment as she goes over the pertinent information in whodidit (dunit?) fashion, including treating us to another flashback, this time with the twins. It's probably the least engaging of the flashbacks, honestly. Even in this, they get shafted. Regardless, the who and how are solved. But Not the why or where. Where Scott is remains a mystery, but it's likely the Twins know, which is where Ramona intends to check out.

Oh, and the information the gang has about Neil's Script? The metadata says it was written 14 years from now. But just as more questions are raised, another winds up on Ramona's doorstep; Scott, safe and mostly sound. The Twins were in fact behind it, and the robot, and… himself.

Ep. 7: 2 Scott 2 Pilgrim.

Yes, the one who pulled Scott out of Time was himself, from the future; a 37 year old Scott. The how is rather simple and already answered; the Katayanagi twins. Older Scott and them became friends in the future, even starting a band; Pop'n TwinBee (RIP Shatterband.) By the way, if you ever wanted to hear Will Forte sing a hilariously bad cover of Konya Wa Hurricane from Bubblegum Crisis as an older Scott Pilgrim, this is the show for you. I was laughing my ass off at this.

Anyway, the robot was disconnected from a fixed time stream, and being a vegan cause, ya know, robot, is able to create portals. Therefore Time portals. As to the why, Scott showed his past self using a virtual reality machine on the Virtual Guuy[sic], complete with red and black pixel art mimicking the style of the game. Past Scott sees memories on the not Virtual Boy; Defeating the Evil Exes, future marriage to Ramona, their honey moon at Universal… and divorce. Well, technically they're just separated after 13 odd years of marriage. Older Scott has since been living with Wallace and his husband.

Exactly what happened is never stated, just that the pain was so much Scott decided to follow through on a sarcastic comment from Wallace and prevent falling for Ramona in the first place. Old Wallace sums up the mental state of Old Scott to regular Scott, describing it as "Like after Envy, times ten." Which uh, yeah, no wonder Older Scott's a tad kooky.

It's at this point I have to bring up personal stuff, and it's something that I thought I might have to. So, when Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour dropped in 2010, I distinctly remember reading an interview with O'Malley about the ending. In the lead-up to the final book there was a lot of speculation from fans that maybe Scott and Ramona wouldn't end up together (there was a strong case to be made for Kim) maybe it would end badly since both Scott and Ramona have their struggles. Some people even thought he would end up with Knives, which is missing the entire point of her character arc, and also fuck no.

Ultimately we got the ending we did because, at the time, O'Malley was happy, so he thought Scott should be happy. But O'Malley divorced in 2014.

I dislike bringing that up, but that was leading me to speculate (and brace myself) if that would have an impact here. I mean, how could it not? And look, there is a good argument that Scott and Ramona needn't stay together for their journey together to be satisfying. It would fit right in line with the theme that things don't always stay the same. People can grow apart, even the important ones that change your life. I don't like that outcome, but it's not as if it's wrong to consider. Particularly for a story like this.

But I also think there's an element of overt cynicism to that. What's interesting is that the show doesn't go in that direction. In fact, it's actually insistent that Ramona and Scott can't help but be drawn to one another, there's a spark there. We even get a scene of Scott hooking up the 01 robot to the VR, and since 01 is connected across time, he can see into the past versions. The robot seen throughout the show was Scott seeing that Ramona was constantly looking for him, and that's genuinely sweet.

Still, the situation is bad, as Scott is trapped in the future and can't use the Robot to travel for reason.

On Young Scott's insistence, he and Older Wallace meet up with Older Ramona, discovering she was the one who went back in time and wrote Young Neil's Screenplay in a failed attempt to preserve their story and hopefully thwart Older Scott. (Let's not go crossed-eyed thinking too hard about paradoxes)

He's a misguided idiot, but Ramona still loves the moron, even if she has her doubts after her failed plan. But Scott's words of encouragement about his Ramona never giving up on him gives her hope. Importantly, she can time travel with her DeLorean roller blades, which is how Scott can and did get back to the past.

But even after Scott's return and reunion, their problems aren't over, as a force field prevents Ramona and Scott from kissing. Someone is still interfering, and the list of who might as well just be the entire list of exes. Thankfully, Stephen Stills and Knives have a convenient plan: The stage musical is going to have all the exes in attendance, so they've got one big gathering spot to get to the bottom of this.

This is one of my favorite episodes of the show. It's cool seeing older versions of the characters, and frankly, the presentation is just great. I do think that too much of that emotional weight is relying on events from the books for your investment. I know, I know. Can't enjoy a good thing without a critique. Still, this is a great episode, one of my favorites along with ep. 3, and our next and final episode.

Oh, and the end credits has a proper rendition of Konya Wa Hurricane, so that's fucking cool.

Ep. 8: The World Vs Scott Pilgrim.

So here we are at the big finale at the premiere of the Scott Pilgrim Musical.

The thing is, none of the exes seem to be suspect. Gideon is the only one with ulterior motives, but they're not towards Scott and Ramona, he just wants to blow up the stage and Matthew Patel.

But not long after everyone is seated something goes awry. A portal appears and transports all the exes and Scott's friend group (And also Julie and the robot) to a barren land.

The one behind this, and the force field, was an Even Older and very buff Scott (47) He slipped past Scott nano machines as a backup to prevent him from ever getting close to Ramona, but even that wasn't enough. So for 10 years he trained to take everyone out, as it's the only way to be sure. And so our final battle begins: The World vs. Scott Pilgrim. If you listen closely to the track during this scene "Big Bad" incorporates elements of "The Dark One" Nega Scott's theme from the game. That's a nice touch.

Even Older Scott is no pushover, he breaks Ramona's Hammer, and despite a fairly good comeback from regular Scott, he beats him pretty bad. The others come to his aid, Knives attacking with daggers, but Even Older Scott punches Knives so hard he knocks the highlights our of her hair.

Ramona begins handing out items from her bag, cyber broccoli for Todd, a cyber skateboard for Lucas, and a cyber sword for Roxie, just as the sub boss music from the game kicks in. Along with Matthew's mystic arts, they mange to actually lay into Even Older Scott, but that only causes him… to go… even further beyond, and One hit KO the four.

The Twins Robot is ineffectual and even Gideon's not quite the glow-douken has no effect. Even Older Scott just grabs it and turns it against Stephen, Knives, Kim, and Neil. This. This is actually fucking awesome. It's going full Shonen ham.

We're down to just Ramona and Scott, who team up and hit him together, followed by Scott and Even Older Scott literally butting heads. We get our obligatory speech between a younger Scott just wanting to live his life, and Even Older Scott saying he'll just end up where he's at if he does.

And it finally clicked into place what the hell Scott Pilgrim Takes Off actually is. This is like a Shonen spin off story. Your Broly Trilogy, Hunter X Hunter The Last Mission, Naruto Blood Mission. But with an X-men time travel plot slapped on. It's an excuse to play around and do different (mostly cool) shit with a set of familiar characters. Like a movie or OVA, the characterization isn't as deep as the main source material. It banks on you giving a damn because of the familiarity so they can mostly get right to the cool bits and not try as hard or waste time on the re-interpretative parts. Don't think too hard about the misgivings, think about Akuma Scott beating the shit out of everyone while the familiar music you're nostalgic for plays.

And goddamn that's frustrating because that's what they should've led with. All the damn trailers were dancing around the new material and making it seem like an adaptation. To keep on the Anime brand, if people are expecting a "Brotherhood" or "Ultimate" version with a Cast they like, and then they don't get that… well yeah that's not gonna go over well. I can't fault anyone for being mad about that. That's having the rug pulled out from under you. But once you realize what this is, and what it's doing, it's a lot easier to enjoy and be its own thing. It branches off a similar story to the books, but it's not like this is a canonical revision or sequel to them.

That said, just because it's "less developed" doesn't mean this is without heartfelt moments I enjoy. When it seems like Even Older Scott has the upper hand, an even older Ramona shows up to chew old Scott out for not even texting in 10 years, fighting people in the past rather than fighting for them, all because of one rough patch. It's funny, but it also confirms the biggest divergence. This is a world where Scott was never kicked out during the Roxie chapter, a world without Gideon's "Glow" mental manipulation, and presumably Scott never faced his inner demons because of it. This also means Ramona didn't run off after the twins' defeat because the glow wasn't affecting her mentality, and thus she faced her own. That one line snowballs into a lot of stuff not happening for their character growth. That- that is an interesting concept.

This all leads to a poignant scene where Ramona questions her older self if she should even bother. What's the point if it ends up like this? Maybe it's best to just keep moving. But, that's also Ramona's thing, isn't it? Running away from what she loves, which is presumably (along with his own stupidity) what set Older Scott down a spiral in the first place. In a scene that parallels Scott's own understanding within the books, Ramona comes to realize she's ran all her life.

In the end, Ramona chooses to stop running and embrace herself, quite literally. Both Ramona's combining into, as Scott puts it "Super Ramona" Able to see the situation for what it is, one Scott still in many ways a dumb kid, the other Scott just a sad mess. She simply sends Older Scott back to his time with the hope he'll straighten out. Meanwhile, the nano machines are still a problem with current Scott. But that's nothing a super form can't overload with a determined kiss. Daww.

Before things go back to normal and because she'll have trouble saying it later, she tells Scott she loves him, and that she tends to run away from what she loves. But who she was in the past isn't who she is now. She just needs help remembering that.

Everyone returns to the theater to enjoy the rest of the musical, and Patel's demon girls subvert Gideon's plans. After the show, he and Julie are apprehended, but Matthew instead begs Gideon to take all his crap back. He has no idea how to run a company, is stressed out, and has lost billions. All Matthew wants is to continue the stage show.

We then get an epilogue. Lucas Lee takes up a job at Second First Cup; Todd has returned to being a Vegan with coaching from Roxie; The rental store Kim worked at closes down; Wallace takes a vacation to Paris where he meets Mobile; Knives continues performing with Sex-Bob-Omb as their keyboardist; Ramona gives up delivery work and instead returns to being a stunt double.

We end on Ramona coloring her hair once again, before heading out and meeting with Scott and the others, as Plumtree's Scott Pilgrim plays us off.

Only for a mid-credits scene to show Gideon and Julie plotting revenge. Oooo.

And that is Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

s'allright, innit? Okay, joking aside- I think I'm gonna have a hard time conveying my feelings on this one. But I still have three more things to talk about before we get to my final thoughts.

First off, the voice acting is great, shockingly great. I'm a person who is very much of the mindset that you should hire voice actors for voice roles BUT, in this instance, I can understand why. It's incredible they got everyone back and how well they work. I've already given my praise to Cera, Bhabha, Plaza, Whitman, Routh, and Evans in the story portion of this review. But I'm drastically overdue to talk about Winstead's performance. I think this was the one people were most curious about because in the movie there was this aura of Ramona feeling more "cold" in her personality. This was due to the original direction they wanted to take that version, and sadly it meant we didn't quite get a more angles. Here? Yeah, this is pretty great. We hear Ramona full of regret, angry, annoyed, sentimental. It's a much more well-rounded version. My one nitpick is Winstead needs to work on her battle cries, it really stands out in the Roxie fight opposite a veteran VA like Whitman. But otherwise, this is how I imagine Ramona sounding. And I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up how anytime Ramona has a vulnerable moment talking about Scott, she genuinely sounds smitten. The Future Ramona (the first one) in particular stands out to me. That's a version of the character that's older, clearly hurt, and weary, but still very much in love. I can't help imagining that being applied to scenes from the book. In Vol. 5 the part after The Twins are defeated and Scott returns. That scene always tears me apart when I read it. I'm fairly certain if I heard Cera and Winstead's performance of that it would rip my soul out. So maybe it's best we only have this original story. So yeah, I'm happy to see that she fits right into the role better than ever.

Another performance I've yet to mention is Ellen Wong, who is just as perfectly energetic as she was in the film. It's a shame we don't get to hear her do a somber Knives in this setting, but it's hard to complain with how pleasant it is hearing her chipper over the top excitement. Alison Pill's Kim Pine is as sardonic as always, and much like Routh and Evans, I think she's even better now. Johnny Simmon sounds exactly the same, no complaints, 10/10. Jason Schwartzman is an experienced VA, so no surprise he sounds fine. He doesn't get to stretch out much since Gideon isn't super prominent here. Although episode 6 did show a lot of range and potential for what you could do with him. Maybe next season? Similarly Brie Larson's Envy doesn't have a whole lot of screen time, but she's equal parts charming and manipulative. Honestly, for a small as the role is, it made me realize just how much Larson is good at the role and how that level of emotion is often subdued in roles elsewhere. Honestly, I hate to say it, but Mark Webber's Stephen Stills is probably one of the weaker performances on the show. It's not even that it's bad, it's fine and works- except for the animation. That's the one caveat. There are a couple of moments where Stephen Stills is pantomiming, and the voice doesn't match that energy. Truth be told, I even sorta have a similar issue with Kieran Culkin's Wallace, which I swear looks like the syncing was off in the earlier episodes. The saving grace is that Wallace has more scenes than Stephen Stills and therefore Culkin got more opportunities. This is sorta the area I mean when I think it's best to get trained VA. It's a completely different medium and hard to jump into immediately.

I don't wanna end this segment on a downer, so I'll once again mention Will Forte sings Like a Hurricane. OH, Segue.

Soundtrack

So I did not know what to expect going into this. I mean, I was a fan of Anamanaguchi, but I hadn't kept up since Endless Fantasy, sans the Miku single- which is really good by the way. And Joseph Trapanese I was most familiar with from his collaboration with Daft Punk on Tron Legacy, so no worries there. But I did wonder how well a chiptune heavy sound would work. As much as I dig it, it's a very upbeat vibe. Even some of Anamanaguchi's more dramatic tracks have a charming bubbliness to them. How would that work within a series? Well, the short answer is they don't have as much chiptune going on as you would assume. There are a few that incorporate chiptunes to a limited degree, others a bit more, but most not at all. The vast majority of the OST is more traditional fair and Synthwave, and in a way, it sorta mimics my own evolving tastes. I still listen to Chiptune stuff, but I'm also really big into synth music nowadays. It feels like a proper bookend to my late-teens early twenties listening to Anamanaguchi, and later Dance with the Dead and Midnight Danger, and now Anamanaguchi's synth offerings. One of the tracks, Yet Another Winter Again (Calling back to the first stage in The Game) has a Redbook audio sound with a hint of Chiptune, but not the NES/GB Anamanaguchi is known for. It sounds like a SNES. In fact, I would compare the track to something you'd hear in VA-11 Hall-A. So even when there are chiptunes, we're branching out quite a bit in both sound fonts and style. Of course, there are a couple of vocal tracks as well. Like the movie, there are universe songs for Sex-Bob-Omb. They have a unrefined roughness to them, which is perfect for a small unprofessional indie band. As for some of my favorite tracks, the aforementioned Yet Another Winter Again; He's You; And They were Roommates; Blame it on the Goose; Big Bad; Bad Guys; Knives & Kim; and God Only Knows. I'm sure that'll change as time goes on. I'm really digging Lucas' flashback music, and Fond Memories, nice parallel between those two. In fact there's quite a few pieces that, in tandem with the animation, do a lot to sell those heartwarming (or wrenching) moments.

Animation.

Oh right, the animation. So, if you read my Castlevania Nocturne review, you know I went on a slight tangent about how I think it's silly that they labeled it an anime despite it being produced and partly animated in goddamn Texas. It was just a label because they're embarrassed to call their super serious animation what it is because they think anime sounds more mature. I swear some people still think it's 1985 and Vampire Hunter D is the wildest shit cause blood.

Funny thing about Scott Pilgrim though, it's just straight-up animated by Science Saru. I'm not here to get into semantics, because then we'll be asking if Batman TAS counts because Sunrise. I just find it funny. At the very least Takes Off certainly fits the bill more than Nocturne does. But back on topic, it's fucking good. I mean, I don't think that comes as any surprise. Science Saru has made a name for doing really impressive work from Devilman Crybaby, to Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and the shorts Akakiri and T0-B1 for Star Wars Visions. Not to mention supplemental work for the Garo anime, OK-KO, and Adventure Time. So Scott Pilgrim is perfectly in their wheelhouse, and they do an incredible job capturing O'Malley's illustrations while adding their own unique flare to the styling.

Sadly Tumblr's gif size limit means I can't easily showcase some of the fights as much as I'd like, but suffice it to say the level of fluidity and cinematography is astonishing. Again, episode 3 is an amazing showcase in itself.

To say nothing of how expressive everyone is in the show.

Also this is a weird one, but I think with the exception to episodes 5 & 7, each episode has Ramona going through a bleaching and dye routine. It is bizarrely satisfying to watch, like the tea making in Samurai Jack.

Final Thoughts.

Takes Off was both a confusing shock and a pleasant surprise upon first viewing. It's impressive in its existence, and has moments that I fucking love. Like the Shonen it emulates, it does also come off as a tad superfluous or melodramatic in many respects. But it is fun to bust out old toys and play with them again. The fact that in 2023 I'm seeing a new work related to Scott Pilgrim is fucking incredible. I'm happy that this exists, I'm happy to hear the cast together again, and happy to hear some great music tracks. And I do love the characters of Scott Pilgrim, I love the performances in this show, I love numerous parts of this show. But, I also think it's fair to say what I love most aren't these characters. And that's okay. Those characters should remain in the series that ended in 2010, while these are easily malleable versions for an animated series to have fun with. Maybe you could never capture or replicate the exact magic of the books again, so it's better to just do your own thing. Takes Off was, in the end, a fun time that I think works best when you know what you're getting into. Once you're armed with that knowledge, I think you'll find a show much easier to appreciate.

All that said, as backhanded as this is going to seem, I still think the nicest thing that Takes Off did was get me to re-read the book series for this review. I got to re-examine a profound series from the perspective of a 31 year old, but still find all that I originally loved as a 17 year old. When it comes to adaptive works, no matter what, the nice thing is you'll always have the originals to go back to. You change, maybe your tastes change, and certain things hit differently or don't hold up when you go back. But it's nice to revisit. I think nostalgia can be a poison. Too many people get caught up in wanting to relive the exact moment, to be trapped. But I think it's more fun to see something you love still remain a love even after so much time has passed. I'm happy with how I felt as a teenager reading a story about emotional growth. Some personally, some apart, and others closer. In my 30s, I still appreciate that, and it still affects me and resonates. But just because I cherish that above all else doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested in more Scott Pilgrim. And if O'Malley and Grabinski wanna make more people sing 80s anime songs badly, I'll be on board for that alone.

Or Roxie flirting with every woman. Seriously, she's so much fun.

As always, thanks for reading. Reblogs are appreciated and you can find me elsewhere on the worldwideweb at: Bsky Ko-Fi

So does Gideon still have his exes frozen somewhere, or is that another difference?

Oh, and now that we have a Netflix Series, can we get a Nendoroid Ramona? There's been like no high end merch since Mondo in 2017.

[undefinedscribble]

My DA:O Modlist

(this post is likely to keep changing. I don't imagine if anyone's looking at it, but in case you are and it's been less than a month since it was posted)

It is 2024, and I'm starting a new game of Origins after almost 8 years, and I'm starting from scratch on mods. A good part of this is just for future me to look back on, tbh, to stop me from looking at all these redundant mods I've been combing through just because "well, I remember I used to use that." It's messy and I'll clean it up as I go, I hope. I'll be using Kinlochhold's list (who I'll be referring to as "kh" if it's necessary to do so later on) as a jumping off point. Historically, my intentions have been to fix things and add mostly-lore-friendly stuff (I'll be trying to adhere to the visual style for hair and things - probably) as well as trying to keep from making the game too easy (via either avoiding certain tweaks or trying to add difficulty-increasing mods - though if anyone ever creates a "skip the wilds" mod, I'm jumping on that one cuz early-game nightmare mode is hell).

I'm noting things I would not even start the game without installing with 2 asterisks.

Tools: **Not a mod but LAA patch to allow the game to use more than 2gb of memory and the unencrypted game exe to allow LAA to work.

**DAO Modmanager - I tried the DAUpdater that comes with the game this time around, and it was not being friendly, so here we go. For installing .dazips.

DragonAge Face Replacer - I haven't tried this yet, got it from kh's list. For, uh, replacing your face. And also you can extract the morphs from your saves, which sounds cool.

CharGenMorph Compiler - was gonna do stuff manually, but I'm burned out rn, so screw that. Be smart and not stubborn, folks.

Fixes: **Qwinn's Ultimate Dragon Age Origins Fixpack - Renders most dialogue fixes redundant (or incompatible). Fixes, not tweaks. It fixes and restores content that the author believes was meant to be in the game but was cut for time, etc vs because it was intentionally cut content. Does not include DLC fixes. **Dragon Age Rules Fixpack - A modular combination of gameplay bug fixes and annoyance/QoL tweaks. Renders the "helmet hack" and "party command - unlock" mods unnecessary (along with many other fix mods). Includes auto-looting. I've deleted a few tweaks (XP on all deaths and VFX tweaks) but may add them back in if those effects start to bug me, lol. I also deleted the autoloot tweak (kept autoloot kills but not the basic autoloot) bc I wasn't sure it was working correctly.

Golem Registry and Shapers Life Reward Fix - fixes no-reward bug.

UI:

**FtG UI Mod - Doesn't change much in terms of overall UI usage, but it is good for such an old game as it allows you to have the menus change size for higher resolutions so you can read them as well as allowing you to change the placement of the subtitles More Detailed Tooltips - Extension of Detailed Tooltips, which gives in-depth info on what abilities actually *do.* Includes DLC. Note: Not installing the fixpack included in the description as comments have noted incompatibilities with QUDAOF.

FtG Quickbar - Can't remember if this is what I used to use or not. Shows all 50 quickbar slots at once. Is stated to be compatible with other UI mods.

Easier to Read Font for DAO - Enchantment for your eyes? Enchantment for your eyes! How do you not download something after reading that? Makes the over-stylized font simplified while still fitting in theme-wise. Specifies compatibility with FtG UI. I chose the serif version.

Gameplay: Advanced Tactics - Fixes some party AI bugs and gives extra options for the tactics system.

**Advanced Party - I always used to race to the mage tower even if it didn't make sense for my character to do so because I didn't want Wynne auto-leveling. This lets you level up abilities manually so you can roleplay without worrying about it ruining things.

**Two Specializations Sten - Gives Sten a second specialization point so that he gets two specializations like everyone else.

Quality of Life, etc: Camp Storage Chest - Puts a chest in camp to get rid of the need for the one at Warden's Keep. Keeps the limit on storage capacity (bc otherwise I'd keep everything I'd ever found).

**No Ladder Comments - "CAN I GET YOU A LADDER SO YOU CAN-" NO. For the love of all that is holy, please stop. A mod to keep you sane (removes this line from the game). I refuse to use the violent voice without this mod installed.

Lore Fixes, etc: (I have not installed any of the lore fixes but the codex one yet cuz I was just eager to start the game) Accurate Codex History of Ferelden Chapter 2 - Changes this codex entry to align with the events from the novel TSM Connor Epilogue Fix at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

TSM Elfy Ghost Boy at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

TSM WTF Lyrium Dust at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Misc: Non Alcohol Oghren Gifts at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

TSM Better Bannhammer - Teagan tweaks and fixes at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

maybe list:

Auto Swap Quick Slot Bar at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Statistic Fix - Bosses Killed at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com)

Second Drain life bug fix at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com) - gets rid of a duplicate skill that doesn't do anything (need to see if this even is a problem first)

Less barking dog at Dragon Age: Origins - mods and community (nexusmods.com) - May end up needing this

will probably install later (after remembering what the original looks like)

[jorrmungandr]

(￣﹃￣)

Ugh, man, I slept okay last night, but I was interrupted by a cramp.

It's so embarrassing to go from horrible, agonizing pain back to feeling compeltely fine in like 30 seconds. Still have a little twinge, it was right on the back of my calf, very odd.

Workin' from home again today. Don't know how much I'm really gonna get done in these last two days before my long vacation. I get 11 days off in a row! All next week, and then monday of the following week for New Years Day.

I've been getting back into Warhammer 40k lately, just a bit. Someone I follow on tumblr (you know who you are :P) got really into it recently, mostly Necrons because of some books (The Infinite and The Divine, I believe). That got me curious, so I looked up what's new. Apparently they're on the TENTH edition now, which is wild. There are a bunch more Imperial factions... and exactly one new Xenos faction (space dwarves are back!).

I was super into Warhammer when I was like 7-10 years old. Not, like, playing the game, obviously, but reading rulebooks and lore and whatnot. I remember I somehow had a Citadel Miniatures Catalogue for like 1997, used to just sit around looking through it. Plus a bunch of issues of White Dwarf, of course. I was way into Chaos Space Marines, I got that codex and absolutely loved it. Had so much cool art and little snippets of fiction.

40k was in its second edition, and I remember with third edition came out and started introducing these wild new plastic model kits. Almost everything was metal back then. That edition change was the first big attempt to simplify the game, as it was wildly complicated before. The vehicle rules were incomprehensible, many units had whole pages of special rules, there were tons of percentile tables to roll on, scatter dice, etc. But third edition slimmed everything down and introduced a lot of suffocating structure to army rules that I didn't like.

Looking at the new rules, it seems like things have swung back in the other direction a bit in the intervening years. Or, at least, they've ended up back there in the latest course correction. Army-building rules are very loose, and all the rules about resolving combat are very simple now. The focus of complexity is on these like... tactical maneuvers, which I still don't quite understand. Seems to works similarly to how magic worked in Warhammer Fantasy back in the day.

Speaking of, I'm still mad that that game is essentially dead. Age of Sigmar is lame. Lame, I say! It seems bizarre that GW decided to kill it when that Total War game was gaining steam, but whatever.

Anyway, I haven't like bought any models, I'm not going crazy. Just bought an Adeptus Mechanicus codex. I like the look of their models, it's really cool that they're finally a proper army faction. Especially the Kastelan Robots, I love the idea that they just... found these ancient, invincible robots and strapped guns to 'em. In 2nd edition, there would definitely be some insane rules where you had to roll to maintain control of them or they'd wander in a random (scatter dice!) direction every turn....

[mangle-my-mind]

Hi! I found you because of Velvet Goldmine, but now I find out you like the Beatles and used to write for them? I'm intrigued, if you're willing to disclose that.

"In Berlin" is the best thing. I'm obsessed with the three of them, and. It really hurts at times, and then there's Jack and a cup of tea, or a soft word, the willingness to be patient, and to talk out anything. He's such a darling. I love Curt in your writing, too. How he's trying and him trying is enough even though it's really not perfect. My heart has broken a couple of times while reading, because you write them so well. And you bring realness to these characters, to their emotions. You don't simplify it. Curt's feelings about Brian are complex. He doesn't just hate him. And what he feels won't go away in just a couple of days. And Mandy is a sweetheart. She deserved better. They all deserved better. Curt and Jack together in Berlin was so intriguing to me, when I watched it. I wanted more of it, and I was left wondering what could have happened for them (mostly Curt, I admit) to be at the place of releasing that album after all that went down. I also found it interesting how you were writing about Brian after his fake death. I've been curious about how Curt and Jack and Mandy really reacted to that after. And his flower stunt was such a Brian thing to do. Anyway. Just a lot of random thoughts.

I'm so curious to "These Vintage Years". First of all, you get Velvet Goldmine so well. All of the characters, their lifestyle, their complicated feelings. Second, more of Curt? (And maybe more of Mandy and Jack, even if a little?). Third of all, Arthur. I actually really like him. He's sort of the easiest character to relate to. Because he was a fan. So starstruck with these apparently bigger-than-life artists that the toxicity of it all just pulls him closer, actually. His curiosity lingers anyway, and it might just kill the cat (or his relationship with Curt, it seems). I like them together. Do you? I'm all for them being complicated, though. And fifth or sixth, I don't know anymore: Shannon. I'm weirdly, very, very curious about her. What the fuck happened to that woman. She begun so differently. And why was she crying about Curt and Brian? And maybe you'll be touching more on how Brian became Tommy Stone? Seeing that through a modern lens, it seems kind of unbelievable he could have pulled it off for as long as he did. Honestly, it hasn't been long since I've watched Velvet Goldmine and, if left me curious to more, you know? I wanted to know more about everything that was explicit or implict in that movie. So I'm really glad for your writing.

Hi Anon! Thank you so much for this message - I was reading it at the dinner table and grinning to myself hoping my family wouldn't notice lol. I'm gonna respond to your random thoughts as best as I can, but also feel free to message me if you ever want to discuss any of these things more.

First of all, yes, I did once write Beatles fic. It's on Wattpad, and it's highly cringe, because I started it when I was 14 (and never finished either of the two things I started). The Beatles are still my absolute favorite band and I still love reading Beatles fic, but I'm no longer interested in writing it, and the stuff I wrote is just so childish that I'd rather not share it here. It's still up on Wattpad, but I don't feel up to bringing that era of my fangirl-ness into this era lol. Very grateful, however, for having written it and for all the people that read it!

Your thoughts on "In Berlin" make me so happy. I wrote this fic because, like you, I wanted to know more about that period. How do we get from Curt leaving Brian to the Curt we see at Death of Glitter? The one that hugs Mandy in the wings? How do he and Jack meet? Or do they already know each other? How do they decide to work on a record together? How does everyone react to Brian's fake assassination? I needed those questions answered for myself. It's so wonderful to hear that you appreciate the emotion in the characters, and that you said it felt so real and un-simple. Hearing things like that make me feel so accomplished as a fanfic writer; these things I imagined and tried to bring to the page are actually coming across? That's insane.

You're so right - Curt, Jack, and Mandy all deserved better. They deserve to heal, and they deserve happiness and love and family. They're my favorite characters to write for (especially Curt) for that reason specifically. I get sad boi hours with them, but also so much tenderness and sweetness that they don't get to exhibit in the movie.

As to "These Vintage Years," I agree with you wholeheartedly about all the questions and plot points. How does Arthur's relationship with the 70s counter with Curt's, and how does that affect their relationship? (Don't worry, they'll definitely be together, because Ewan McGregor said so in a tweet. That's canon now.) I think Arthur and Curt is such an interesting relationship to explore particularly because of how different their experiences of the 70s were. I also am very curious about Shannon. There's so much there to unpack. The only problem is, for some reason right now I'm not feeling motivated to work on this story, so it'll unfortunately have to linger for a while. In the meantime, I started working (yesterday!) on another Curt/Jack/Mandy (aka The Berlin Polycule, as a few of us on here have dubbed it) story. That one might be out relatively soon because my brain is currently very invested in it. No promises though :)

One of the gifts of Velvet Goldmine is how many threads there are to pull. Todd Haynes injected so much detail into the movie, whether it's the characters, the costumes, the background sets, etc. There's just so much to dig into, and thus so much fodder for fanfic. I'm so glad my writing gave you an opportunity to explore the VG world some more, and I hope you dig through all the amazing fic that's out there, because what the VG fandom lacks in numbers, it more than makes up for in incredibly high-quality storytelling. Last year, before I started writing, I spent days just going through each fic I could find, and it was so much fun. I'd also recommend The Whole Shebang, a minute-by-minute podcast of the movie, because the hosts' deep look into the film definitely fueled my interest in it.

Thank you again for such a thoughtful and sweet message! I'm always down to talk about Velvet Goldmine - literally nothing would make me happier!

[stockyardsyndrome]

I was gonna put this in the tags, but it was getting long, so fuck it, here we go. Just my semi-relevant rambling.

When people ask for languages that are easy to learn, a lot of the time they're looking for a language that is "simple". And yeah, that makes sense, because the idea that some languages are "more simple" (or "more ugly") than others is still such a widespread thing. But the only way that works is if language supremacy and bigotry (racism, ableism, etc) are also still a fundamental part of the public consciousness. So that's upsetting.

I'm about to finish undergrad with a major in linguistics, and the number of times these arguments have apparently had to play out in respected academic spheres is also legitimately distressing. Like, you come into a linguistics class and on day one they tell you: Rule #1: be descriptive, not prescriptive and Rule #2: every natural language is equally complex and valid and no language is better or worse than any other. Because keep in mind, historically people calling another language simpler or less complex than their own were trying to say that the people who spoke that language were less intelligent or civilized (though sometimes they went the opposite way and tried to portray another language as being unnecessarily complicated, but still with the same goal of proving their own language was superior).

So then you read the historical documents of (attempted) linguistics and find some racist nonsense and you think okay, glad we got rid of all that.

And then you read some more modern stuff and find out that no, it's all still here.

Here's a list of shockingly recent bad takes I've come across, from published experts and respected professionals (and some of my classmates), in no particular order (and please if someone who knows more could correct me on stuff I get wrong, that would be great because I'm not digging any of these documents back up just to make sure my nonsense Tumblr rant is 100% accurate)

1. "Creoles (languages that are usually a mix of a European colonizer's language and the languages of the locals or slaves they ruled over) are simpler than the languages they came from" No they really aren't

2. "Creoles are just a version of the lexifier language (usually the European language) than has been simplified enough that the speakers of the substrate languages (usually the non-European languages) can understand it" sir are you perhaps a time traveler from 17th century Europe

3. "Okay maybe creoles aren't simpler, but pidgins are" again, no, also I'm gonna need you to define "pidgin" in a way that doesn't assume unequal levels of complexity and also doesn't rely on "data" collected by slave traders

4. "Sign languages are less-" NO.

5. "-complex because they're just gestures-" who tf do you know that is able to have entire arguments about complex topics like philosophy or biology or whatever entirely through gesture

6. "-and are more basic and universal because they're mostly iconic"  if signs were actually mostly iconic, you would be able to understand sign languages without being taught. Also, being iconic doesn't mean it's not complex, and doesn't mean it's universal. See also: onomatopoeia

7. "That whole idea about all natural languages having equal complexity is just a truism" if that were the case, we wouldn't have to keep having this argument

8. "Equality of language isn't proven" well it sure as shit hasn't been disproven. We have tons of evidence for it, and the only evidence against it comes from racists and religious fanatics, which makes it about as well-proven as the theory of evolution at this point

9. "Certain phonemes are objectively too difficult for an entire population to waste time learning to produce" yes, and those are the phonemes that no language uses. If it's in a natural language, then it's not too hard to produce, it's just hard for you because you didn't learn it as a kid

10. "Certain languages (or aspects of them) are just objectively ugly" so are you, but apparently your mama didn't think you were ugly enough to eradicate. For real though, you might have a couple phonemes or rhythms you just personally find less attractive, but none of them are universal. The rest you've been culturally conditioned to dislike

11. "Information density is potentially a good measure of efficiency" information density is a good measure of information density. Hope this helps

12. "All languages are valid... Except French, hahaha!" *Heavy sigh*

Idk man. I just wish people would stop trying to be bigots about language, because I study language because it's beautiful and intricate (but yes also terrible and will kick you in the nuts) and I love them all.

Also, I would like to join the very-large-fish brigade. Minority languages are cool. Be nice to them. Learn them if you're lucky enough to get a chance.

Here’s how to tell if a language is easy to learn

None of them are easy

They’re all stupid and terrible and will kick you in the nuts

That being said

Languages similar to ones you already speak

Languages you have a lot of motivation to learn

Languages that have a lot of resources and media to watch and/or listen to and/or read

So, if you’re reading this with relative ease (aka you speak English fluently) probably French or Spanish

Do whatever you want though idk

Don’t just choose a language based on how easy it is

Unless that’s what it takes to keep you motivated idk

Go learn Frisian or something

[doing-poorly-doing-well]

On Erik Lehnsherr...

Hey, so, this is way less dramatic than the intro (we just chatting lol). This is the overview of Erik's general timeline, essentially. I wasn't sure if I wanted to just write the 78' incident first without context leading up to it, slowly reveal his past, or just spit it out. But I'm just gonna yap about it now, since it'll be good for those that want the previous context on how things get to the incident, and to the present of the world. Granted,this is still pretty simplified, both to give me room for later, but also because writing stuff is hard...

If you want to wait until I get my lazy butt to write some fics (if I ever do...) then ig don't read or whatever!

Also, I was going to add his personality and my general take on him... But I feel like I can't get my thoughts super straight on him just because there's a lot. There's so many thoughts... And like, I don't think it's super revolutionary... (Like, y'know, he's angry and driven on the outside, has a soft interior to some degree, a generally complicated guy... Same shit, basically, but also it makes my brain fuzz over because of the thinking thoughts).

Erik's Timeline...

Born in 1926 to Jakob Eisenhardt and Edie Eisenhardt, he was the older brother of Ruth Eisenhardt living a middle-class lifestyle. While not very liked at school, his parents loved him, and he was a good older brother to Ruth, who was just a few years younger than him. During his early years, he met a Romani girl named Magda, who worked as a cleaner at his school with her mother Anya. He'd give gifts to Magda, mostly small bits of jewelry he seemed to find often, one might say he attracted them (like… like a magnet…). Then at the age of 10, he joined his father to see Major Jurgen Scharf in his offices about rumors of anti-semitic sentiments on the rise. His father couldn’t believe it, and wanted to talk to the man whose life he had saved in WW1, but was promptly beaten by Nazi soldiers. They beat him for hours, and were stopped by Scharf on the brink of death, calling them “even” now.

Shortly after, the Eisenhardts family moved to Poland, to try and stay safe; but they didn’t move far enough, and when Poland was invaded they were moved to the Warsaw Ghetto. Max/Erik became a smuggler at the age of 14 to help his family, but two years later, at 16, his family were captured while trying to escape Warsaw, and were taken to an extermination camp. At the end of a firing squad, Max’s powers manifested and prevented him from getting shot, but not his family. The soldiers tried again, and again, until they were stopped by Josef Mengele. Josef was a geneticist who worked with Mr. Sinister on mutant experimentation in the camps, believing that mutant powers could be used and possibly transferred to humans. Erik was experimented on, but deemed that his abilities were best used on a successful transfer, and was instead turned into a sonderkommando where he is reunited with Magda at Auschwitz in 1944. After months of cleaning and smuggling extra supplies to Magda, during a revolt, he flees with her to the Carpathian Mountains, in a Romani village. Max changed his name to Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, and took on a new life with Magda, marrying her at 21, having their daughter shortly after.

The trio lived in the mountains for 6 years, until Erik grew tired of the mountains, of not being able to provide more for his family, and convinced his wife to move to a Soviet led Ukraine. Life was peaceful for another year, until Erik learned he was being shorted on his pay, and nearly killed his boss with a crowbar, exposing his mutant powers. The KGB knocked at his door later that night, and while Erik tried to stop the police from harming him and his family, a scuffle broke out, and then a fire. The house burned quickly, killing both Magda and Anya in front of his eyes.

Going by his middle name, he forlornly fled to Germany; trying to find meaning to his life, he began to work at a hospital for Holocaust survivors where he met Charles Xavier. Charles was brilliant, if a bit naive of human nature in Erik’s eyes; a good doctor, psychologist, geneticist, and one of the brightest minds on mutants. The two often chatted over chess, and despite not getting a proper education, Charles can tell that Erik is witty, tactical, contemplative… and incredibly bitter. The two were thick as thieves, surprisingly enough, with Charles lending Erik books on philosophy, history, biology. The pair spent most of their time together as Charles studied and worked with patients in Germany. While Erik was fond of Charles, Charles was in love with a patient named Gabrielle Haller, and so the feelings were buried and left unrealized. In 1959, the hospital was attacked by Hydra, and Gabrielle was kidnapped to reveal their cache of hidden gold. The two teamed up to save her, revealing that they were mutants, and when Erik tried to kill a Nazi, Charles stopped him. Angry, and hurt by this action, Erik decided to leave (taking the gold with him).

He left and started killing Nazi’s, though more like beating and containing them for the United States government after being contacted by Arnold Dane, a general. Erik traveled the globe, but mostly South America to hunt down ex scientists and ship them to America. In between the moments he wasn’t hunting, he was sneakily entertaining Arnold’s wife, Suzanne. Towards the fourth year, Erik realized what he had been really doing; THIS INFORMATION HAS BEEN REDACTED FOR NATIONAL SECURITY. Upon learning this, he destroyed the research facility, and fled, now a terrorist of the state.

He didn’t leave though, instead biding his time and gaining less than savory contacts. Some worked out, such as Mastermind (who he recruited to erase his daughter Lorna’s memories of her parents dying in a plane crash), Sabretooth, Mystique, and others… Some like the Scarlet Witch did not, despite a rather steamy partnership. He built, for the next thirteen years, a decent empire for his revolution, to save mutant-kind from the fate that awaited them under humanity's boot.

THIS INFORMATION REGARDING THE 1978 "MAGNETO INCIDENT" HAS BEEN REDACTED.

Life for the next two years was utterly humiliating, it destroyed him, being human. He hid his face, as everyone seemed to know something of the Magneto name. Every day, he tried to manipulate an object, on the off chance that he could regain his abilities. In a year, he could only weakly move a coin. Then one night, a person recognized him, and called the authorities. He ran, but was cornered by the police in some alley. It would be his end, dying nameless and alone, murdered by the enemy. The ultimate defeat. That was until, in a sudden burst, the heads of all the officers popped, like fleshy water balloons. Then out from behind the trash crawled out a miracle...

[daunsun]

TUNNELS UP THROUGH YOUR FRONT YARD

DAUN YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD YOU ARE THE REASON

I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT

THE LOGISTICS

OF KISSING A SUNFLOWER, DAUN

CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE ALL THE SEEDS POKING YOUR FACE, DAUN? BECAUSE I HAVE. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MORTIFIED YOU WOULD FEEL IF YOU WERE MAKING OUT WITH YOUR SUNFLOWER BOYFRIEND AND YOU GOT A SEED STUCK IN YOUR TEETH? I HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS EXACT SCENARIO. YOU MANAGED TO MAKE A SUNFLOWER SO ADORABLE I HAVE SPENT A NOT-INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME FROM MY ONE AND ONLY LIFE TO IMAGINE HOW THAT EXACT SCENARIO WOULD GO. I'M NOT EVEN GONNA GET INTO THE SEVEN STAGES* OF GRIEF YOU'D GET INTO IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY HORFED UP SOME OF MOON'S SPECIAL STANK

YOU MAKE THE BOYS LOOK SO DAMN APPEALING I WANNA CRY. ANYTHING YOU DRAW WITH THEM USES THESE REALLY GORGEOUS, SIMPLE SHAPES THAT MAKE THEIR DESIGNS EASY TO UNDERSTAND, BUT THE DESIGNS THEMSELVES ARE SO UNIQUE THAT THEY'RE INSTANTLY MEMORABLE. also, this is kind of a weird thing to point out, but I really like the way you draw folds in clothes? it's something I've always struggled with, and you just seem to add a little scribbled loop or two at the armpits and elbows and suddenly that shirt that character's wearing looks hella comfortable. AND THEIR COLOR PALETTES ARE GORGEOUS AND PERFECTLY ACCENTUATE THEIR PERSONALITIES SUN ALL WARM AND GOLDEN AND MOON CHILL AND COOLER THEIR COLORS MAKE THE CHARACTERS FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE A TEMPERATURE

I LOVE YOUR SHORT LIL COMICS WITH THEM AND I WOULD HAPPILY READ A HUNDRED MORE and your short story with the flower boys was cute as hell too I'M A HUGE SUCKER FOR ANY STORY WHERE ONE CHARACTER SEES ANOTHER CHARACTER WHO'S A COMPLETE MESS AND IS LIKE "oh I'm so gonna fix you" IT'S LIKE MY CATNIP AND THE FACT THAT YOU DO THAT WITH REALLY GOOD ART AND CUTE STORIES AND A HINT AT A TRAGIC BACKSTORY? YES YES YES YES YES KISSING YOU STRAIGHT UP FROLICKING I AM THROWING HANDFULS OF THOSE WEIRD MUTANT RED MARIGOLDS THAT STARTED GROWING IN MY PORCH FLOWERPOTS AT YOU

*the extra two stages of grief are "Regret (Bass Boosted)" and "Evil Sleep"

HFSGJGKD I COULDN'T KEEP THIS ASK TO MYSELF ANY LONGER

ORDINARY YOU EXTRAORDINARY BASTARD, THIS IS WHY EVERYBODY IN THIS COMMUNTIY LOVES YOU.

Honestly I don't think kissing Sun would be that weird, since sunflower seeds are a bit dusty feeling, but rather tender and firm otherwise. If it gets in your teeth...

Chew it, spit the casing out into the trash, and swallow it. He'll lose his mind. (Y'know like because??? That's not a normal thing that happens during kissy kissy smooches and somebody not being upset by it would just reassure him that okay they DO like me, even my bad or weird parts, y'know??? It'd send him over the moon)

And I mean... I've discussed this before but you CAN kiss Moon. I made a loophole for the simps.

If he wants to, he can just (mostly) nullify his effects so that those in close proximity can't really feel them like they normally would. He just doesn't most of the time because it's helpful and Sun isn't really affected by it. However, the mostly part is still there, so you're gonna get HELLA good sleep after smooching this dude.

Did I also mention he'd totally hide the two of your faces with his petals whenever you kiss??? Did I did I?? It's just the two of you in those moments, nobody else.

Jsjsjsj thank you for all the praise I'm gonna shed tears

THE BOYS ARE JUST SIMPLE BECAUSE I HATE COMPLEX CHARACTER DESIGNS WITH A PASSION LMAO, IT'S FOR THE REDRAWABILITY and I have no idea how I did those colour palettes but I agree they do look really good (even though sun gets called eclipse sometimes heh)

I draw sleeves the way I do because it's just a simplified version of the way loose sleeves tend to fold (and I draw loose sleeves much more than I should) plus I've just stared at a lot of artists that do that over the years

AND IT WASN'T A SHORT STORY LMAO I'M JUST REALLY BAD AT WRITING CONSISTENTLY

Maybe... they can fix each other?? Teehee

BUT ALSO AGAIN GKJTSKS THANK YOU SO MUCH

Your flowers were spicy but they went down alright (a bit crunchy too, but that could've been the pot)

[hldailyupdate]

Foreword and Introduction of Helene Hørlyck's book Just Sing, by Louis Tomlinson:

I watched a documentary once of Yoko Ono and she had done this ceiling artwork that just said YES, and as a cynic ten years ago I would have hated that, but I fucking love it now. It's the least passive-aggressive thing and it is just so factual. This book has that same thing, because sometimes on some days you just need to read something, you need to see that something that inspires you to say to yourself... fucking go on then... I know Helene's words can inspire because they've inspired me, so I'm buzzing she finally got there and wrote this book! One thing that I find interesting is that it's a small book and almost simplified. But the point that I see from all Helene's training is, to say it's simple, would be the biggest understatement of the world! If I could put into a nutshell what she has taught me amongst all the technical brilliance, it's that if I believe in myself I will get the best out of myself. And that doesn't matter where I am on the ability scale. It just means that if I believe in myself I'm gonna maximise my potential. As a singer, performer and artist, I have one major rule and that's to trust your gut. For me this has been to stick to a musical genre that I love and know I can do well, intertwined with that feeling of knowing, self-belief and confidence.

Nobody knows who you want to be better than yourself, so my general advice is to start working on your self belief, because the more you work on your self belief the more you'll start sticking to your gut and the gut is always correct for you because it's instinctive. With singing and when we look at our own voices, we sometimes see a very complex picture. What Helene has done really well with this book, is to pick out the little things that you need to see and the little techniques that are important amongst so many. Especially when you're younger the feel is more important than the technical side, and for me, Helene always understood that because how she coached NEVER felt like school. Thinking back to our early days with One Direction there are a million different moments! You know, I could talk for hours about her patience, like that one time we had to record at rehearsals and we just dossed around all fucking day.......that time I came in hungover and she had to be very disciplined .......but mostly making sure all our vocal practice regardless of our circumstances would be done, ie the hundred different toilets around the world we've done vocals in! Not only for the acoustics but also because she wanted us to be in our own space when we were working. She always created that little undisturbed bubble around us.

As time has gone on and I see how much hard work goes into the specifics and the technicalities of singing, you see that very rarely is it a God-given talent, a lot of the time it is work and it is confidence. When I first started playing guitar I watched this great video and it basically listed all the guitar greats. And this guy from Red Hot Chili Peppers that I like, John Frusciante, said something so simple ... you've heard it a million times, but he just said; “All of these greats have sat exactly where you are now". So while I'm learning my guitar and even though I still know that, you sometimes need to hear someone say the words. You remind yourself - I am no different to them. I am human just the same as them. And so I can do my version of what they do. Remembering that idea gives you power. With this book, Helene has created a similar common ground between the superstars and the reader. So, I ask you to picture your idol – whoever and from wherever that might be. And remember that they have sat where you are right here right now, and read books similar to this – that encouraged the same feelings, the same idea of believing in yourself and believing in your own voice. Because sometimes you just need the words and you just need the guidance. So my most important message to all you readers, from me to you as a singer, boils down to one word for encouragement ...

Louis

BELIEVE

Support Helene and get your copy of Just Sing HERE!

[sympathytea]

Fun fic related stuff about the diamond sword goobers below CW for: References to body horror, paranoia and a bit of unreality? hopefully using that word right

So keen eyed viewers might notice that this image has..some things in it that are a bit off. Most obvious one being Ferre, so we'll start with him. (And how convenient! He's first in line!) Ferre in my fic's universe has respawned more than a few times. Less than Evbo overall but did it over a longer period of time. Respawning in my fic has some consequences if you do it too many times. Kinda like Emesis Blue's respawn machine but not as heavy into the body horror. We're still getting into body horror territory, but nothing super extreme. Think of say, zombification. Or perhaps vampirism. A little bit of both. Its a bit hard to tell (mostly my fault for overshading him whoops.) but Ferre's skin has started to turn grey-ish in some places. Its blotchy. Scars and sewn parts of his clothes are typical of respawning, but the skin turning grey is not. We're gonna simplify this and call this process Respawn Degradation. Respawn Degradation is not fully understood, mainly because Ferre is the only lad who is actively experimenting with it (until Evbo comes around, who is also, undergoing said degradation) He documents his work in a language that only he and MinuteTech can read. Wemmbu and Julie cannot read their work, and probably shouldn't for their own sake. The way Ferre figures this stuff out is disconcerting to put it lightly. Ferre is handling this about as well as one can handle something like this happening against their will, and still has an active support group now that he is on the diamond sword level, its still not great. Just because he's stopped respawning as often doesn't make the process stop happening.

Ferre's ears look similar to MinuteTech's, and that's on purpose. MinuteTech's species is a shade, rather than a human. They come in a few varieties, and are locked to the grayscale in terms of skin color. Shades always have white eyes, and while MinuteTech resembles smoke, they can be fluffy, smooth or scaled. I'm probably gonna make them their own post. The final form of full Respawn Degradation, according to Ferre is highly suspected to be a shade. Shades naturally spawn into various civilizations, but Ferre notes that this probably isn't the only way they can occur. He's dreading the day he loses his humanity fully, but his friends that he considers his family loves him regardless, even if he thinks otherwise. MinuteTech reminds him that he isn't alone, even if he doesn't fully understand what he's actually going through. Speaking of not fully understanding..

Wemmbu is an interesting case. I have partially made them out of character, mainly because when I was characterizing him, I was going off of the finale and the gold sword level interaction. But he's still a supportive friend and sociable, but quieter and less likely to suggest bad ideas. Being the defacto therapist friend of the group, he talks with their friends and offers up advice where he can, although their knowledge is pretty thoroughly limited and also, not as reliable as it may appear. Wemmbu is also, notorious for not taking their own advice. He tends to keep to themself. And also never tells anyone anything about whats going on with him and handles himself by taking sips of slowfall potions every now and then as a form of self medicating. They've all murdered to get to paradise, but Wemmbu took the rules of the sword civilization horribly. Someone with as much compassion and empathy for others simply should not be able to handle doing the things he did. But he did them anyway. Occasionally hearing whispers, and seeing things out of the corner of his eye, feeling hands where there aren't. For awhile Wemmbu rationalized this as "being haunted". It wasn't. Despite being in a place that is safe, he sees danger where there isn't any. And when they first met Ferre, Wemmbu wasn't in as good of a spot as he is now. Occasionally hallucinations will get worse, sometimes they go away for awhile. Its generally not easy to tell what is actually there and what isn't. How do they cope with this? Writing everything. Anything. Small things, details, anything to make it easier to differentiate between reality and fabrications created by the mind. This isn't foolproof, but its been working for them so far. Wemmbu takes notes on his friends, too. This in turn also helps stave off things that don't seem to align with how they are established within their interactions. "Julie is clearly planning to poison me one day!!!" Why would she do that? She cares about him. There was nothing that would indicate this before. Disregarded. "I think Mint is planning to kill us all and run away for another civilization." Definitely not. He's insecure about that even becoming a possibility. Ignored. "Ferre is going to jump off of something. I just know it. I feel it." While he does relapse once in awhile, they know the signs of that coming when they see it. Put on hold. In the background of the image there's a faint shadow, isn't there? Its not actually there. Julie would've most certainly noticed since its pretty close to her. Its still worth documenting the appearance of it, or lack thereof. To make it less scary if it comes back later. Disclaimer btw: My writing isn't perfect. Nobody is, really. So hopefully how I characterize Wemmbu is. Okay at worst? I've personally had occasional tactile hallucinations and paranoid thoughts, but I'm not a medical expert and thus not. particularly diagnosing him with anything specific. Mainly because I too, am not diagnosed with anything specific for this. Funny, isn't it. There are things planned for Julie and MinuteTech (who goes by many nicknames in the group, for fun) but this reblog is already kinda dragging? So perhaps they'll be a future post. Preferrably not a meme one.

To explain the crime i've just committed: Drew the diamond swords in a row because I thought it would be cute. Added the color band that appeared in the diamond sword level. Realized I accidentally made Weezer's blue album cover. Went through all 5 stages of grief. Decided to double down and add the font in there for good measure because there was no way I could unsee this. You have to live with this now.

[dreamscape-popstar]

Aeris's reference sheet in 2023 real! I forgot to add some important information to his sheet so I added it now, but deleted the original post as to not have literally the same thing but with a minor fix.

I added his height in feet/inches and in centimeters, as well as him being plural! And, I'm gonna bring back the silly doodles I made of him and Gyro because they're still good! And perhaps his old reference sheet in a read more so you can compare the art growth I've been through!

-Karina Chai

I mostly simplified things in the new reference sheet because I want my characters to be easy to draw! He does still have the nose piercings, but since I don't draw noses anymore due to how... inconsistent they are, I just exclude them. But he does have the piercings!

[ry0chann]

Any nsfw headcanons for the bsd bois? Kunikida, Ranpo, Atsushi, Oda, am curious if you can do the four! If that's okay by you! Thanks!

yes ofc, you could say i think about these often

Kunikida / Ranpo / Atsushi / Oda NSFW hcs

warnings // ⚠️ nsfw!!

notes // here's the nsfw alphabet i did for kunikida on my main, which pretty much says everything i'd say here, plus some (so read that if you want details). however, i will still add some simplified hcs here

Doppo Kunikida

Kida's favorite sex position is doggy and this is simply because it makes him feel dominant over you (also he's an ass-guy, so it gives him a nice view)

his thrusts are steady but their speed varies. he likes edging you, so he'll move slowly just to be a tease, but then get rougher and faster to make you lose your composure

beg for him! he loves this!! again, it's a dominance thing, and hearing you repeatedly beg for him gets him off (call him Sir occasionally, he likes that too)

Kunikida has a breeding kink and that is all i'm gonna say. elaboration in the link above

he keeps his mouth really close to your ear a majority of the time so you can hear all the noises he makes. he'll moan your name a lot, plus tons of profanities and grunting (oh god- *deep breath*)

Ranpo Edogawa

his favorite position is cowgirl. Ranpo's a bottom like 90% of the time and he'd really rather not waste his energy being on top of you, so he makes you do all the work

however, he does thrust up into you the closer he gets to finishing. his hands usually hold your waist or run up and down your chest

i hc that he's into pet play. maybe not the dressing up part, but he'd definitely get off on calling you "puppy," and perhaps he'd like being called "puppy" as well

Ranpo totally degrades you, but it's not on purpose; he's just being blunt. if he says you sound like slut, he's saying it because he believes it to be true, not because he's trying to turn you on

he makes a lot of noise. there's a lot of whimpering and moaning. he's very whiny honestly and he's pretty loud, but it's so- ugh it's so nice to hear

he's got huge praise kink, in case that wasn't obvious. Ranpo won't ask for it, but he expects it, so just feed it to him every chance you get (call him a good boy! and tell him he's "the best you've ever had," he'll get a kick outta that one)

Atsushi Nakajima

precious Atsushi, his fav position is probably missionary because he gets a lovely view of your face, however, he likes when you cling to him as well; arms and legs wrapped around his body so your chests touch

his face is red the whole time! (please that's so cute). he's just so overwhelmed and he feels so good that he can't help but blush

you have to reassure him sometimes because he may get a little insecure. just tell him he's doing a good job, and moan a whole lot for him; the sounds you make show him that he actually is doing a good job

Atsushi is very intimate. he kisses you a bunch and he holds your hands!! he'll pin them above your head, weaving his fingers with yours as he thrusts into you at a steady pace

he constantly says how much he loves you, and he makes lots of noise aside from that. it's mostly whimpers and quiet moans; very sweet sounds

Oda Sakunosuke

missionary is his favorite position too. he sees it as being the most intimate, therefore, he likes it very much. his arms are under your back while yours are draped over his shoulders, bringing your bodies close together

Oda is very romantic. he's the definition of slow and sensual. idek how to explain it, it just feels like time stops when you're with him and he makes you feel so loved

his lips are almost always on yours. he kisses you so much it makes you lose your breath, but it sends a shock of electricity through you every time

he'll moan in your ear and tell you he loves you, but aside from that he doesn't make a lot of noise. it's mostly just grunting and soft sighs

he's never rough and he tries not to overwhelm you. you could argue that he's pretty vanilla, but i don't see anything wrong with that. (he tends to move pretty quickly when he's eager though, and that's when the profanities come out and when his moans become louder)