#a badass bird with an extremely cute appearance

[edenorisshitposting]

I set up an appointment with a tattoo artist to get the phoenix done

[cyberdragoninfinity]

have been putting together Iliaster Pokemon Teams off and on fooooor the last couple months or so... I always like to put way too much thought into teams so under the cut I have all my reasonings for these choices. I like Pokemon and I like these characters a Perfectly Normal Amount <3

BRUNO/ANTINOMY:

Lucario: feels just very much like a good partner Pokemon for him...same shade of blue, very noble and loyal, EXTREME SPEED!! something something Lucario's innate aura reading and ability to sense emotions and thoughts vs. Bruno's complicated quest to figure out who he is. I think they would be friends!!! It gets amnesia too in whatever funny Pokemon AU Bruno's situation happens in

Skitty: obligatory Bruno kitty cat pokemon <3

Armarouge: T.G. Halberd Cannon/Blade Blaster type vibes, its pauldrons literally turn into a cannon, fire type echoing the sun in the Antinomy/Yusei duel, also a very loyal Pokemon. Plus bonus counterpart to Primo's Ceruledge >:3c

Rotom: silly little guy who likes motors and electronics and machinery!! Also Bruno having a ghost type and being. yknow. a robotic copy of a dead man. I think it suits him.

Yanmega: T.G. Recipro Dragonfly, it literally has eyes covered with a red visor, it's super fast and its design echoes a vehicle (aircraft rather than motorcycle, but still.)

Registeel/Regieleki: in Tag Force 6 Bruno uses and seems to really like Machina Fortress, so I wanted to give him a big 'ol bulky Steel Type. Antinomy gets Regieleki as a counterpart because it's literally The Fastest Pokemon, probably great for Delta Accel Synchro <3 Also Modern Age/electricity/android type invocations...

Porygon/Porygon2: Bruno needs a boxy little computer friend!! Antinomy gettin the evolved form since a big part of Porygon2's lore is that it was made for space travel...thinkin bout that duel again. The Porygon line, Porygon2 especially, also has a really similar color palette to Bruno's various forms!

Miraidon: ok ive seen people give Jack Miraidon and i get it, it's his color palette, BUT LIKE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST BRUNO POKEMON EVER. literal robot motorcycle from the future who washes up on the beach with limited memories!!! it has a silly goofy friendly form and a badass powered up fighter form!!! it can be the perfect counterpart to Yusei having a Koraidon!!! LISTEN.

LESTER:

Skarmory: Meklord Emperor Skiel of course!!! Violent metal bird moment!!

Wingull: in the Tag Force games Lester really likes the Stuffed Seagull Plush item and I think that's just so cute

Zorua: Little red-haired mischief-maker that can create illusions and false appearances?? IT'S PERFECT FOR HIM.

Klang: From the episode when he infiltrated the twins' school, he used Gear Golem the Moving Fortress....gotta give him some gears.

Durant: Skiel Guard! Little weird metal bugaboo :]

Iron Bundle: challenging myself to give all the Iliaster members (aside from Z-one) Future Paradox Pokemon...Lester of course gets the Bird one. It even shoots a laser like Skiel does!!

PRIMO:

Bisharp: god his whole team is just Mean Blade Guys but like. Look at Him. That's Primo. the way Bisharp commands an army of Pawniard the way Primo commands the Diablo also relevant.

Ceruledge: This is kind of the Primo Pokemon of All Time For Me--haunted grudge-powered knight that "cuts its enemies to pieces without mercy" with sword arms infused with "the lingering resentment of a sword wielder who fell before accomplishing their goal"--like... COME ON. DUDE.

Mega Beedrill: gotta shout out the iconic bee commentary of course, and also it's Another Violent Pokemon With Sharp Dangerous Blade-like Arms.

Melmetal: MEKLORD EMPEROR WISEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scizor: Metal-clad evolution of a blade-armed beast, also violent and merciless. And it does the thing where it uses its pincers to look like it has three heads--funny for one of Aporia's components~

Iron Valiant: ANOTHER PRIMO POKEMON OF ALL TIME FROM GEN 9. LIKE!!! White robot with a big dangerous sword, created by a mad science supposedly, "said to be cruel enough to take its brilliantly shining blade and cut down anyone confronting it without hesitation"... THEY CANT KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH IT

JAKOB:

Mega Aggron: Granel <3 Big fuckoff metal monster. I also thought it would be fun to try and give the Three Nobles each a pure Steel type Pokemon for the Robot Funsies.

Barraskewda: For Granel's bizarrely fish-like canons and components--Barraskewda also being based on a projectile weapon a bonus, too.

Skeledirge: GOTTA give one of the Nobles something that ties into their sub opera singer namesakes, plus Skeledirge's Spanish influence is perfect for Jakob/Jose. And its an aquatic-based animal like all of Granel's components, too :^)

Alolan Golem: For Jakob's big old beard and eyebrow, PLUS it's a grumpy stubborn beast that launches electric rock blasts. Just suits him imo.

Ursaring: gave myself the added challenge of giving The Three Nobles each an unevolved Pokemon that Aporia has the fully evolved form of.... Jakob gets Ursaring for their matching surly expression and eye(s) plus the Guts ability boosting Attack when inflicted with a status effect is perfect for the Gaining Power Through Suffering motif of these guys <3

Iron Hands: Freakishly powerful big bulky electric robot monster!!! Yellow color motif like Granel!!! probably one of the most Meklord-y Paradox Pokemon, to me.

PARADOX sidenote it's so fucked up he just doesnt have a tag force sprite. sad!

Origin Dialga: Since his whole deal in BBT is having a deck of stolen Legendary Iconic Dragon Cards, i GOTTA indulge and give Paradox a bunch of Legendary Dragon Pokemon!!! Origin Dialga is for the time travel and also it's just a bizarre creature that feels on par with Malefic Paradox and Truth Dragon tbh. Plus it was created by Arceus, and Pdox was created by Z-one <3

Zekrom: GEE PARADOX WHY DOES YOUR MOM LET YOU HAVE TWO UNOVA DRAGONS... he's got that whole black and white color motif with his mask/the Malefic dragon armor. And Zekrom's got an engine...like a motorcycle...

Reshiram: Beautiful long haired bishie of a dragon plus the aforementioned black and white motifs. Also the concept of wanting to make a true AND ideal new future is really fun and kind of Very at play with Paradox~

Espathra: A.) im a Psychic Duelist Paradox truther, I rly wanted to give him a Psychic type, B.) Espathra is a violent weirdo that literally has his hair color palette/style. In my mind's eye this was his partner Pokemon originally ....Paradox with a Flittle is so funny to me.

Roaring Moon: if anyone deserves an Ancient AND Future Paradox Pokemon it's... WELL. THIS GUY. Malefics are almost all Dark Dragons so give him the freakish vicious Dragon/Dark that's like a twisted version of an existing monster (much like how Malefics are twisted versions of existing cards ;])

Iron Treads: Successfully continuing to give all the Iliaster guys Future pdox 'mons...Iron Treads is a big robot tire effectively which works great for a guy who motorcycles through time!!!

SHERRY:

Lunala: For that freaky Soul Binding Gate skeleton door, also a Pokemon that is brought under Necrozma's (Z-one's) power. Sherry having Lunala and Aporia having Solgaleo also just makes me a little insane.

Florges: FRENCH. FLOWER LADY. EASY PICK.

Rapidash: For Horse of the Floral Knights/Sherry's horse shaped duel runner...i love that she's a horse girl 🥴

Teddiursa: For that TEDDY BEAR!!! And also, again, her having a Pokemon from the same line as Pokemon Aporia has is just a fun detail for me.

Tsareena: 100% female. Floral Knights/Chevalier le Fleur. Kicks and fights triumphantly.

Iron Leaves: in general Virizion is already a perfect Sherry 'mon (grass horse, based on French literature, etc.) and I imagine she originally had one before it somehow Became an Iron Leaves when she joined Iliaster :^)

APORIA:

Solgaleo: i mean. He Just Looks Exactly Like One!!!! Also Steel/Psychic is a really good type for this big miserable monster lion angel robot. Plus it can be controlled by Necrozma.

Kingambit: Evolved form of Primo's Bisharp, a powerful and intense leader that fights primarily with brute strength. It's also got an ability that boosts its power the more of its allies fall (die <3) Power through suffering!!!

Silvally: Synthetic chimera of mishmashed fused parts created in a lab :) Can only evolve and reach its true potential through friendship :))) also giving him Silvally and Z-one Arceus just to make myself a little sick in the head.

Klingklang: Evolved form of Lester's Klang, mechanical 'mon that echoes the Ark Cradle's Sun Gear(s) that Aporia protects

Ursaluna: Evolve form of Jakob's Ursaring, hulking powerful bear with big claws and a back sail that looks exactly like Aporia's big metal halo.

Iron Jugulis: MEKLORD ASTRO DRAGON TRISKELION!!!! also a hydra like Aporia's duel runner >:D

Z-ONE:

Necrozma: first of all it kind of looks like Z-one's freaky life support+huge claws contraption second of all something something Infinite Light vs. Necrozma being a light consuming monster third of all the way it can dominate and lord over Solgaleo and Lunala. pounds my fists on the pavement.

Celebi: HE'S THE BIG BAD HE GETS AS MANY LEGENDARIES AS HE WANTS and he needs Celebi of course. Time Angel :)

Omastar: Freaky ancient Pokemon that resembles the nautilus shape of Z-one's contraption...also there's something about fossils being kept alive in there somewhere I'm sure.

Mimikyu: this is like. perfect for him tbh HDHGSDFG Wears the guise of another Pokemon and pretends to be it (and I would definitely give Yusei a Pikachu,) reacts with violence and panic when pushed into a corner, Fairy type (like all the Timelords are), competitively can fill the niche of being Difficult and full of underhanded status effects and tactics and I think that's just lovely for Z-one <3 In my mind's eye I like to think this was his partner Pokemon from even before The Yusei Factkinning Event.

Bloodmoon Ursaluna: Well it's literally got the odd 'device' clamped over one of its (weird glowing) eyes and also. For Aporia <3 That's Aporia <33 Z-one's giant time-displaced apex predator with a big weird circle on its forehead <3333

Arceus: THAT'S GOD BABEYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[getnight]

So, hi, here is the part of my big fic about sons of Mike&Rachel and Harvey&Donna. It's just a little piece. Actually, Chris and Tyler (their sons) are my Original characters, but... I like them) And, yeah, we haven't Marvey at Canon, so i did their children in love. They are cute, I think🌚 Soooo... Maybe you'll be interested. Yeah.

Christopher caught up with Tyler in a few seconds, yanking off his hood and grabbing him lightly by the neck with his forearm. The boy flinched, leaned back and tried to pull his arm away, and when he failed, he tried to fall with his attacker to the side of the road. At that moment, Chris let go.

— Hey, Tyle, take it easy. This is me, — He steadied Tyler from falling and stood beside him, brushing him off.

— You... why did you do that? — Tyler frowned, pulling the headphones out of his ears and pinching a lollipop to his cheek.

— Why are you so cute? You're a formidable genius, but you love lollipops and you frown like you're five instead of fifteen.

— I'm not cute, keep your high energy endorphins with yourself, — Tyler pulled up his hood, turned around, and was about to continue walking when Chris literally dived in front of him, blocking the way.

They faced each other. Chris was literally a centimeter taller, but he had rather broad shoulders, which made him look much bigger than Tyler.

— Hey,— Christopher whispered.

— What? — Tyler replied.

Chris smiled fondly as he pulled back his hood.

— That's better. I love your hair, — he hesitated for a second, then gently took Tyler's hand, the other gently pulling the candy out of Ross' mouth and tugging at his wrist, pulling him into a soft, chaste kiss that Tyler happily responded to. Christopher's other hand went to the back of the boy's head, and he felt long fingers on his waist. When they finally parted, Chris said:

— Good morning, Tyle, — and he smiled sincerely, expecting something like that in return: "Don't call me that”.

— Good morning, Topha, — and the kind of smile that only Tyler Harvey Ross could give. Sincere and pure. The one that no one but those closest to her had ever seen. The one that opened the veil of a brilliant, sullen guy.

The nickname "Topha" seemed strange to Chris. It was indeed a derivative of his name, Christopher, but how Tyler came up with it... no one ever found out. Parents said that as a child, baby Ross could not pronounce Chris ' full name and called him "Topha". And so it turned out. Since then, Tyler only calls his boyfriend that when no one is looking.

Tyler pulled the hood up again. His clothes were no different from what he always wore. Black ripped jeans, a huge black hoodie, and... something had changed that day.

— I'm not going to ask about the paint stain, or what wall you painted on the way here, but do I really see your badge? — Chris stared at the rainbow-colored iron circle attached to the left side of Tyler's chest.

— Exactly one year, three hundred and sixty five days, eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-six hours, five million two hundred and fifty-six thousand minutes ago, I first realized that I was in love with you, — Tyler said calmly.

Christopher choked and blushed. No, no, no, no. Damn, why is he so bad with emotions?

— I'm sorry, I… — Specter whispered, and suddenly felt a warm hand on his cheek.

Tyler looked at him, not affectionately, not solicitously, just calmly.

— It's all right. I know we'll be working on your emotional range, — he said.

— God, — Chris suddenly smiled, — How do you do that? How can you so easily talk about your feelings and understand them, but absolutely not be able to communicate with people? — he abruptly hoisted the thin Tyler onto his shoulder, running ahead of him down the road.

At first there were attempts to resist and shouts that they would be seen, but then the guy just hung on Chris ' back.

— You took my lollipop, by the way, — he mumbled.

— Is that the only thing that bothers you? Christopher laughed.

— No, the fact that you laugh for some reason means that you experience joy, happiness, euphoria, fun or…

The schoolhouse loomed up ahead, and Chris lowered his boyfriend to the ground.

— Here, just shut up, highactivity sociopath, — he said, handing Tyler a lollipop he'd taken from his backpack. Yes, he always had such a supply. It was the most important thing in his things. What Chris checked every day before he left for school. Ever since he had the pocket money. That is, from the age of nine.

Tyler's face lit up with a childlike smile, and he took the candy, opened it, put it in his mouth, and said through it:

— You can't blame my love of Sherlock.

— I'm not blameing.

Tyler's entire room was covered with posters, quote sheets, DVD boxes taped to tape, and other decorations. By the way, the love of watching movies on DVD was instilled in Tyler by Chris ' father.

Christopher never disapproved of posters and things like that, no. Conversely. He thought it was extremely cute. In his room, despite the fact that he had both favorite movies and favorite bands, there was not a single poster. Somehow, he had never been attracted to such a way of designing a room.

A couple in love walked towards the school, holding hands. Tyler, who was always more open with Chris, chatted about how he'd tried to curl his hair again over the weekend, which he did often, and he liked it. Chris, always a sociable bully-athlete in front of everyone and a little modest, relaxed and allowing himself to revel in his mind, not strength, and the mind of the person he talks to, in front of Tyler, listened carefully to his boyfriend, once saying that he wanted to make Tyler's curls himself one day.

Closer to the school, they uncoupled their hands. At school, they are just childhood best friends, close brothers. There may be rumors that will quickly reach the teachers, and from them to the parents. Both Chris and Tyler agreed to hide it from the families at all costs. They didn't know what the reaction and consequences would be, so the longer their relationship was kept secret, the better.

— I have literature, — Tyler said, pulling his hood up again and searching for something in his backpack.

— Math, — Chris said.

— Here. I drew it yesterday. Will you watch it? Tyler waved his hand, closed his backpack, and walked away, putting in his headphones.

Christopher hated painting, drawing, and galleries. But there was one exception. The exception who bore the name was Tyler Harvey Ross. His boyfriend was an incredible artist, he drew a lot of different sketches, gradually a whole pile formed in his desk drawer. These drawings were never shown to anyone other than Chris. Moreover, Specter suspected that even he did not know all of Tyler's works.

— Chris! — a voice called out.

Christopher turned.

— Let's go to class, buddy — said the guy who flew up.

— Where are you going in such a hurry, Jim? Christopher chuckled.

Jim was one of the guys on the football team.

Jim ruffled Chris ' red hair.

— Come on.

They entered the classroom,where there were already quite a few people. Christopher walked past a girl who was eating grapes and brazenly stole one of the berries.

—Thank you, — he chuckled.

The girl said nothing. Everyone is used to it. Chris Specter is a real badass.

The teacher appeared and the bell rang.

When everyone had calmed down, and the rowdy teammates and friends were deep in math, a topic that he and Tyler had gone through with Uncle Mike a year ago, Chris pulled out a drawing, unfolding it.

It was their portrait. Him and Tyler. Just a sketch, not even painted, but Christopher just couldn't look away. The two of them were standing on the pavement of New York City, high-rise buildings behind them, and a car was driving in the foreground. Chris was hanging up the Topha Coffee sign on the stairs. The building he hung it on says "Open," and there are all kinds of cakes and other desserts in the windows. Inside, there are a couple of tables and a counter. On the sides of the picture are depicted tree branches with birds. Tylee himself was standing a little apart from his boyfriend, his index finger outstretched, apparently instructing him on how to hang up the sign. Tyler's self-portrait was perfect. It was the coal-black hair with the little curls, the ice-blue eyes (the eyes of both of them were the only color spots in the drawing), the thick eyebrows, the lean body hidden under a large apron that Chris found charming, wide nose and sharp cheekbones.

Christopher seemed to be busy with the sign, and Tyler was busy with putting it up, but their eyes were only on each other. And there was life in those eyes, real life. Frozen, yes. But it's real. Perhaps such a picture was their dream. Chris wanted to move to New York, and Tyler wanted to open his own cozy little coffee shop with his paintings hanging on the walls.

A couple of times Specter asked his boyfriend if his genius mind would not be bored in such a routine. Tiley just smiled and shook his head. Then Chris realized that the teenager himself did not know. He wants a simple quiet happiness, but at the same time not to lose his mind and genius. He's afraid of society, shuns it, finds it boring and disturbing, but he wants to see people smile when they drink his freshly made coffee or try a piece of that apple pie that Edith Ross, Tyler's great-grandmother, then Uncle Mike, and now Tyler himself, baked. He rushes around, not knowing where to put himself and what to do.

Maybe they should just finish school first and enjoy their youth. And then… Then they will definitely come up with how it will be. They will tell their parents about their relationship, go to university, and who knows what will happen next. We'll see. That was Chris ' opinion.

The bell rang in the hallway, dismissing all the students for recess. Christopher carefully folded the drawing and put it in his pocket. They'll meet at dinner, they always do. And this day will be no exception.

That's what Christopher thought as he walked out of the math room with his friends in his arms. But perhaps this day will be something that will soon change their entire lives and views on her, their family and each other.

[sinistercakes]

Dance of the Phoenix: A Character Guide*.

*by a biased and unreliable narrator.

Part One - The Youngsters**

**I have no idea how old these guys are supposed to be, but I’m guessing late teens/very early 20’s.

Feng Wu

Genius of the Capital. Possesses Phoenix Blood. Quickly has her Phoenix Blood stolen and then is killed by her rival within the first 5 minutes of episode 1.

Feng Wu #2

The protagonist. Is but isn’t Feng Wu. (I know - try not to think too deeply about it). Trickster. Determined, intelligent, kind and insightful. Has a cool fiery sword. Talented medic and brilliant cook. Gets possessed by Phoenix Blood whenever her life is in imminent danger. Everybody loves her except those who don’t.

Jun Linyuan

Male lead. Feng Wu’s love interest. Rarely smiles. Uptight like there’s a stick up his arse. Crown Prince of Junwu. Tends to use his status to get what he wants. Powerful cultivator. Has a minor myocardial infarction every time he has emotions due to eating poison as a kid. Funny bone appears to be broken. Gets the girl. Kind of a douchebag. Similar to MDZS’s Lan Wangji but minus the likeability. My friend refers to him as the Grinch. Is supposed to be in his late teens but actually looks like he’s 30 with a wife, two kids, and a mortgage.

Yu Mingye

Heir to the Darknight Court. Powerful cultivator, and Jun Linyuan’s rival in power and love. No one likes him, despite the fact that he’s actually a giant sweetheart underneath the villainous goth exterior. He’s in love with Feng Wu but boy is that a disaster. Terrible at flirting. Extremely gullible. Never enters via the door. Sucks at being stealthy. His father made him kill his best friend as a child. All he has left of his mother is her flute. Used and abused by his father and the protagonists. Loses everything, including an arm. Desperately needs hugs. Very attractive.

Zuo Qingluan

Feng Wu’s rival, main antagonist. Steals Feng Wu #1’s Phoenix Blood and then kills her. Would’ve been a nice person had her master not taught her she has to be the best otherwise she has no worth. Wants to marry Jun Linyuan for the power. Loves winning. Besties with Queen Sheng. An ice person (pun, not a typo). Loves her junior sisters, especially Zhao Ge. Bitch in sheep’s clothing. Goes mad with envy. Turns to the Dark Side. Has the title of “Goddess”, so like, pretentious much?

Feng Xun

One of Jun Linyuan’s two best friends. Endearing idiot. Actually really nice. Never stops talking, even when he should. Thinks he’s a Casanova but comes across as more of a Pepé le Pew. Snarky. Loves food, especially Feng Wu’s cooking. His mum makes his pyjamas. Wields a fan sharp enough to slit a throat and makes it look awesome, even if it’s main use is fanning lanterns so Jun Linyuan can impress Feng Wu. No relation to Feng Wu despite same surname. Was in love with Feng Wu as a child

Xuan Yi

Jun Linyuan’s other best friend. Grandson of Master Fang of Junwu Academy. Major bookworm. Comes across as serious and disapproving, but is actually just shy. Awkward around girls he likes. Hilarious when drunk. The smart one of the group. Falls in love with Zhao Ge but it takes him forever to voice even the slightest feeling for her. Makes an awesome battle couple with Zhao Ge in the finale. Dies but then doesn’t.

Zhao Ge

Feng Wu’s best friend. Daughter of the Celestial Palace’s Master but is exiled for being embarrassingly useless with cultivation. Beloved by Zuo Qingluan. Was fat but then was miraculously made slim overnight by a magic flower. Is terribly shy and timid, but very sweet and a loyal friend. Wields a slingshot and is awesome with it. Becomes better at cultivation with Xuan Yi’s help. Awful cook. Falls in love with Xuan Yi and actually makes the first move. Dies but then doesn’t. Can speak wolf, apparently.

Mu Yao

Alpha bitch of the Celestial Palace. Idolises Zuo Qingluan. Bullies Zhao Ge. Hates Feng Wu. She’s the captain of the Jun Linyuan/Zuo Qingluan ship. Starts to have some character development and then promptly dies.

Huang Li

Starts off as secondary alpha bitch in Zuo Qingluan’s gang, but goes through some major character development after apologising to Feng Wu for accusing her of murder. Takes a level in badass. Breaks the good guys out of jail. Rallies her peers to join Feng Wu. Leads part of the fight during the Battle for Junwu. Has a cute crush on Yu Mingye. Yu Mingye is painfully oblivious to this.

Part Two: The Adults (and a magic bird)

Part Three: The Rest

[malumarca]

Anonymous said: ship bias for Kazimir?

Send Ship Bias || Accepting 

Kazimir x Hawks ( Romantically / Platonically) : @animaaerius​ I have the lovely Lumos to thank for this beautiful bird and angel ship. Honestly I think it started out as Kazimir being curious about Hawks, since it seems like those with wings are rare to come by? And it grew to friendship, one where they could chat with each other and discuss their wings and even groom each other and then it eventually became a ship. I love their dynamic since Hawks is so easy going ( at least he tries or appears to be ) and then you have the over serious Kaz. Then you have the added complication that Kaz acts like a vigilante at times and you have him drawing the attention of a hero and it makes it all the more interesting. I love birb friends. 

Kazimir x Dabi ( Enemies to Lovers :3 ) :  OOF A BIG FAV OF MINE. I haven’t been able to ship this since.... oof I think I first created Kazimir? But it is one that I still love and secretly hope for. Kaz h a t e s villains or those he deems unworthy and in a verse for this to happen, one thing leads to another and he ends up joining the league of villains as their “healer / doctor.” He HATES Dabi. But as they spend more time together and antagonize each other, they end up sleeping together. It’s a ship that completely pushes Kaz’s boundaries and that is what I love about it? He likes to act as if he isn’t interested in Dabi and that’s another thing that I love to explore with him. Kaz is someone with morals, albeit somewhat grey ones and falling into a ship with Dabi, someone I think we can all agree is twisted due to his past makes the dynamic something that is always fun to explore. Mind you this could happen just as easily as Enemies to Unlikely Friends and I’m all for it. 

Kazimir x Ryukyu ( Romantically ) : Something Birb ( @errantinfinity​ )  and I discussed a while back, again closer to when I first created him, but moving forward. Once again, I love pairing off Kaz with heroes, he’s morally grey and does things he deems “ right “ but by normal standards are not. He plays god a little bit, even if he means well. It adds unknown tension between him and Ryukyu, but ultimately I love the idea of 1) Ryuko having someone 2)  Kaz possibly realizing the error of his ways and 3) at least by Birb’s Ryuko’s standards, someone eventually to open up to who will love her wholeheartedly ( if you don’t know Birb’s backstory for her, let me tell you, it is very sad and she deserves all the love in the world ) . ASDFGH anyways I love them and need to send more stuff to Birb from Kaz. 

Kazimir x Zach ( ZachKaz? AngelSiren? I FORGET) : @seiirenes​ this one here OOF. Kaz and a villain :clap: a ship we just started to dub as Hades and Persephone. Kaz loves to hate ( and love) one Siren. I honestly forget the complete dynamics or how they met and how things completely got off the ground but... Zachariah and Kazimir end up falling for each other despite their differences, both in personality and alliances and it makes for a fun time plotting. ( Eventually they get married too GASP)  Regardless of the details, Zach grew on Kaz and even if he is loathe to admit it, he loves the Siren deeply and wants nothing but the best for him, even if he has to get after him from time to time. Another example of  me loving to place my muses with their opposites. Angel and Demon, Dubiously Morally Straight Vigilante with a Morally Grey Villain, etc etc. I don’t know but I love all dynamics for them, or verses. It’s too good to pass up. 

Kazimir x Overhaul ( Leader/ Platonic / Toxic Romantic ) : Honestly... I can’t say anything other than that I love toxic ships and the thought of the angel being dragged in by a demon, cough Overhaul, and convinced of his world view. There was a time when I desperately wanted to write a verse where Kaz was a part of the yakuza, but I never got around to it. It always made me think about how disgusted Kai would be by his clear mutation of a quirk, but even Kai wouldn’t be able to overlook the possibilities of his quirk. Kaz could easily take over all the healing for Overhaul, aka less touching, plus with the medical knowledge he has, he’d be able to help him as well. Though Kaz would never agree to harming Eri, regardless it was a ship I’ve always wanted to explore but never got the chance outside of my head. 

Harper x Kazimir ( @mckiingbiird​ ) : This is one I’m still exploring and learning about but I love the idea of a civilian and a lawyer at that with Kazimir ( someone who was studying to be a doctor) and once again could be described as morally grey due to his extreme views. Honestly I love Aspie for suggesting this because YES, OC x OC. And Harper is an absolute delight, cutie and badass and probably one of the more normal ships for Kaz. Someone he can understand far easier than any of the villains and heroes I keep tossing at him LMAO. But again, they seem so cute together and I;m really excited to explore the two of them dating and getting to know one another as well as dating one another because Kaz can finally genuinely like someone with worrying about his morals right away or being stopped by his beliefs. 

ANYWAYS. I have a few others, but that is it for now.  This is mainly BNHA, but tbh one ship that was teased with me was Kazimir x Chuuya and I still think about it from time to time. Angel with a literal God? He’d be questioning his very existence. 

[namelists]

names inspired by: winter

this list includes names inspired by the season of ice and snow, of darkness and new beginnings.

Alaska: from the Aleut aleyska, meaning “the mainland”. Also, the northernmost American state

Aquilo: Greek, meaning “the north wind”

Aurora: Latin for “dawn”. Also, an electrical phenomenon that paints the sky near the northern and southern magnetic poles

Bear: a word meaning “carry” or “support”, a nickname for Russia, and also a mammal that can survive arctic temperatures

Bering: Danish explorer who explored the northern Pacific Ocean for the Russians and discovered the Bering Strait

Bianca: Italian, meaning “white”

Borealis: Latin for “northern”

Bruma: Latin for “winter”

Cheimonas: Greek for “winter”

Colden: a form of Colton that literally has the word ‘cold’ in it

Crispin: Latin, meaning “curly haired”, but conjures images of crisp winter mornings

Crystalline: English, means “taking the form of a crystal” much like an icicle

December: the coldest, darkest, coziest month

Eira: Welsh, meaning “snow”

Eirwen: Welsh, meaning “white snow”

Elsa: Hebrew, meaning “joyful, noble”, most commonly associated with Disney’s snow queen from Frozen

Fox: a trickster animal, whose pure white version can survive the toughest arctic conditions and are extremely cute as well

Frost: a deposit of small white ice crystals formed on the ground or window panes when Jack pays a visit

Garnet: the birthstone of January

Glacia: from the word “glacier”, a slowly moving mass or river of ice

Grey: a hazy shade of winter

Guinevere/Gwendolen/Gwenyth: Welsh names sharing a common root which means “white, fair”

Heath: an area of open uncultivated land

Hiema: from the Latin for “wintry”

Hiver: French, meaning “winter”

Iarnă: Romanian, meaning “winter”

Icy: English, meaning covered with ice crystals. makes a cute nickname

Ivory: a creamy white colour, like snow in the morning

January: the very first month of the year, smack dab in the middle of wintertime

Kodiak: an island off southern Alaska

Lixue: Chinese, meaning “beautiful snow”

Lumikki: the Finnish word for “snow”, and the Finnish name for Snow White

Lynx: a big arctic wildcat

Misty: a cloud that formed close to the surface of the earth

Neva: Spanish, meaning “white snow”

Olwen: Welsh, meaning “white footprint”

Opaline: sparkling with multiple colours, the way the snow does when the light hits it

Polaris: the name of the North Star

Ptarmigan: an arctic bird, the official bird of the province of Nunavut in Canada

Rigor: a sudden feeling of cold with shivering

Rimy: English, covered with frost

Silver: a shiny grey-white colour, of which everything seems tinted in winter

Snow: a bit on the nose, but a cute name, i think

Spruce: a tall tree that stubbornly remains green and lively throughout the winter

Stark: severe or bare in appearance or outline; winter is coming

Stella-Maris: the north star, means “star of the sea” in Spanish

Takurua: “winter” in Maori, also a badass woman in Maori history

Talvi: Finnish for “winter”

Timber: wood prepared for use in building and carpentry, gives me wintry feelings for some reason

Tundra: a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen

Ubusika: Zulu, meaning “winter”

Whittaker: Scottish, meaning “white acre”

Winter: i had to include it and i’m not sorry

Wolf: one of the ferocious animals one can encounter in an arctic winter setting

Yukio: Japanese for “snow boy”

Ziema: Slavic, meaning “winter, snow”

[emiliamartin]

hphm mc aesthetics ✨

since I can’t draw very well but still wanted to contribute to the fandom I decided to make some moodboards for a few of my favourite hphm mcs! these took me a while to put together, which is why I only made eight of them. so don’t feel bad if your mc wasn’t included, I may make more boards in the future! anyways, I tried to do as much research that I could on each of the characters before I made these, so hopefully they’re fairly accurate :)

💛

hufflepuff

emilia martin (my own mc)

my girl lia is hardworking, kind, and athletic. she’s very social, so she enjoys being around crowds and can bring life to whoever she’s with. she also doesn’t give up, and she’ll always get back on her feet when she’s knocked down. for this reason, she loves the challenge of athletic activities, especially quidditch! lia hopes to make the hufflepuff team as a chaser or beater, but she’d be honoured to play regardless of her position. however, just because she loves sports doesn’t mean she neglects her studies, as she does exceptionally well in all of her classes. she doesn’t like to brag about her achievements to others though, her own satisfaction is enough to make her happy. additionally, she also loves coffee and honey <3

evie salazar (@goldhexes)

evie seems like a very logical and reserved girl to me. she appears to be more on the calm and collected side in most situations, so I opted for less bright tones of yellow. the contrast between her dark skin, white hair, and golden yellow eyes is stunning! from the moment I saw her and met you I knew she had to be included in my list. I’m also pretty sure she’s a bird animagus so I added that in, and I know she loves her studies so I included a lot of books as well <3

💛

💙

ravenclaw

silaxiv evans (@ladycibia)

silaxiv is the epitome of “looks like a cinnamon roll but could kill you”. you draw her in such a cute and carefree way, so I tried to represent bits of that with the light shades of blue/white, and I love the red hair she has so I obviously had to include it in a lot of the pictures! I also added in an adorable red panda, which I know is the patronus you designated for her <3

mira rune (@aemdraws)

mira’s design is so gorgeous! I’m a sucker for galaxy aesthetics so I really enjoyed making this board. obviously she is based around that theme, so I made sure to include lots of navy blue, silver, and gold colours with stars and moons. I also love her signature earrings! I couldn’t quite find a picture that matched how you draw them, but I hope the one I chose is able to represent the idea <3

💙

💚

slytherin

alex vega (@weirdcursedvaultkid)

alex gives me soft vibes all of which are caused by merula but I still feel like she has a fight inside of her so I went with a mix of light and dark greens for her board! she seems like a sweetheart and also appears to be a girl that is not afraid to speak up for what she believes is right or to call someone out when they’re wrong, so I tried to capture that. I love her little light streak in her hair, it was super fun to go searching for <3

riley robinson (@guakamaya)

riley seems to be a very driven, athletic, and competitive girl. I loved making this board, the colours flowed really nicely together and I see myself in riley the most (besides lia of course) sporty girl rep? HELL YES! you mentioned that she loves surfing and photography so I made sure to add that in, and I obviously had to include quidditch pictures! she’d be the head girl in slytherin and captain of her team because of her outstanding leadership abilities, so I think she is definitely going to go far in her career as a professional chaser <3

💚

❤️

gryffindor

aleksia aries (@thereluctantherosrose)

aleksia reminds me of a rose: beautiful petals on the surface that have thorns underneath. she’s so pretty and I absolutely adore her signature half up and half down crown braid hair style, it took me a while to find a picture that justified it! I went with lighter white colours with red accents for this board, I felt it showed her soft side and her brave edge nicely <3

neon welkin (@neonbluewaves)

neon gives me such badass vibes, so I definitely had to include her in this board series! I feel like she has been through a lot, so I think she’s grown extremely strong because of her experiences. she has a chaotic energy to her which intensifies when she’s around tulip but I feel like she also has an underlying soft side again, obviously shown when she’s around tulip. her appearance is very eye-catching, so I made sure to find pictures to show her red eyes, light patch in her dark hair, and her lip scar <3

❤️

so yeah, that’s it! I loved making every single one of these boards, and the research I did on each of the characters to figure out what to include allowed me to get to know them better, so it’s a win win! I hope all of you enjoy them, your mcs are amazing - each of the characters are gorgeous and so thoroughly thought through. I had a lot of fun putting their individual aspects together, so maybe I’ll do more moodboards in the future! :)

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

200 MOVIES IN 2020, #12

birds of prey (and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn). because yesterday i fiiiiiiiinally saw this movie and i loved it more than i even thought was possible. 

this review is gonna be longer than usual, because @actuallylukedanes​ reads my reviews and there are specific details I’m including just for them. so the rest is going behind a cut. :)

i don’t even know where to start, to be honest, so let’s begin with the simplest part. THE! SOUNDTRACK! it is all over the place and yet manages to form a coherent vibe. it’s fun and sultry and epic and angry and i’ve already added it to my spotify.

one of my absolute favorite music highlights?? a fight scene to barracuda by heart. they gave me what i didn’t even know i needed in my life. amazing.

the first thing that absolutely stunned me about this movie was the fight scenes. the stuntwork is incredible. i don’t even like action movies or most fight scenes and i loved these. the choreography is graceful and interesting and artistic and fun to watch, i enjoyed it so much–it’s like the people making this movie thought specifically about what they could do because they were featuring a cast of badass female characters and played to that, maximizing the potential of it. talented stuntwomen expanded the range of what i’m used to seeing in action movies, and now i’m questioning everything. maybe i don’t actually hate fight scenes and find them tedious. maybe i just haven’t seen very many good fight scenes! because i legitimately can’t wait to watch these all over again. this is officially my favorite action movie when i doubt i’ve ever had one before.

the gay energy in this movie is huge. everyone is gay here! the heroes! the villains! the big bad’s wardrobe is gorgeously flashy and his henchman is devoted to him in a way that is far beyond the professional. renee is literally gay, but the rest of the women are also just all different kinds of gifts to the queer community, i swear. i can’t coherently put my finger on why (the motorcycle and crossbow? the roller derby? the hostile nightclub singing?), but it’s there.

i heard a lot about how different the costuming/framing was for harley in this movie because of the female director, how it lacked the male gaze we’re used to, but i was still surprised to see the difference everywhere. at one point inside a building harley sets off sprinklers–but even when she walks through them, gets soaked and has to fight under them, it’s so not pornographic. watching that, i had an intense lightbulb moment of ‘oh so this is what that could be like’ and fell in love with cathy yan.

they also made such cool creative choices, like harley pulling out a gun at one point and then firing glitter and colors instead of bullets. it fits her character, it’s unexpected, and it’s just more fun.

there are time jumps and flashbacks in the movie, it moves around quite a bit in the beginning as it’s establishing who everyone is. BUT it explains the jumps through both the narration and through actual time stamps onscreen, so it’s way more understandable.

harley is a real antihero--unbalanced, not the best person ever--but in her own weird way, the true loves of her life appear to be food and her beloved adopted pet. which is very relatable.

and you know what else i loved? the women genuinely praising each other for their skills. little comments in random moments where they appreciate each other. because that’s what we deserve, gosh darn it. more women supporting and liking each other even when they don’t know each other well. 

speaking of the women, this girl gang may center harley quinn, but it’s made up of three women of color and two white women, and it doesn’t shove the women of color into the background or put less effort into them. all the women are complex, more than one thing, even contradictory. they get to be human. it’s awesome.

and in contrast to that, in this movie, men really ARE the evil! the villain is a white guy, his second in command is a white guy, and the big battle is literally these five women up against an army of terrible men. just men. the fact that we get to root for them and watch them kick ass under those conditions is really cool. (and as far as i could tell, it’s true for the rest of the movie too--in close combat, the women only fight men. everywhere that they meet bad guys, they’re, well, guys.)

did i mention the roller derby?? it’s not the point of the movie or anything, but i loved that they included it and worked it into action scenes sometimes. 

two more refreshing things: the villain isn’t treated with mixed signals. it’s always clear that the movie sees him as the bad guy, and he doesn’t get hints of ‘oh but also the actor’s cute so we’re going to give him extra attention.’ it doesn’t even matter that he’s played by the effortlessly charismatic ewan mcgregor…he was a horribly evil person with no respect for women, and as soon as he’s defeated everyone moves on with their day. i’m still not used to how they did that. the world just literally moves on like he didn’t matter, which is the ultimately fitting payback for how full of himself he was.

and, it doesn’t do that thing where if the hero is a woman, she can only win the final battle after first being broken down nearly beyond repair. bleeding, sobbing, prone on the ground so she can rise up slowly and prove the villain wrong... instead the stars of this movie are allowed to be fully fierce, without needing to also show weakness so they won’t be ‘too much.’ they hold their own, almost all the time, just like you expect from action movies with unrealistically badass men.

when it comes to downsides, the violence and death to me didn’t seem much more gruesome than what you’d see in other comic book movies or a crime procedural. it’s rated r i guess, but since i watched both the deadpools, this one just didn’t seem very shocking. i’m not sure how good a gauge i am for that.  there’s one throwing up moment, which i still hate, but it happens early and is thankfully very brief. the two most uncomfortable moments that move toward a sexual assault place are also not as extreme as I worried they would be. 

it is definitely zany. it decides exactly how to represent the fantabulous madness of harley quinn and i’m sure that’s not everybody’s idea of fun, but i didn’t think it was stupid-funny or gross. my only complaint is that i can’t own it on bluray yet.

[smallhatlogan]

Why Nonbinary Borderlands Fans are Mad About Zer0′s Pronouns, In a Timeline

2012

Zer0 was introduced in Borderlands 2 as a character meant to be absurdly mysterious in almost every way.  Zer0 is apparently not their real name, they seem not to be human (but it’s unclear if they’re an alien, robot, or something else entirely), no one knows where they came from, etc. Still, in Borderlands 2, they defaulted to he/him, and was assumed male.  It’s worth noting that Borderlands 2 also featured Bloodwing, Mordecai’s pet alien bird. In the original Borderlands Bloodwing was referred to as he/him, but switched between games to she/her. This is explained outside the game by Burch, who says that Bloodwing’s species changes gender halfway through life.

2013

Gearbox released the Diamond Plate Loot Chest. In it was the “Pandoran Gazette” an in-universe newspaper. It included an “Ask Doctor Tannis” advice column, the last question being:

Dear Doctor Tannis,

I have heard you are acquainted with the vault hunter known as "Zer0". I have been meaning to ask - that's not really his true name, is it? Hell, maybe Zer0 isn't even a "he". Do you have any details on this mysterious figure?

- Curious in Old Haven

Dear Curious,

I am indeed acquainted with the towering stack of leather and poorly-written poetry that so many refer to as "Zer0". As you have correctly noted, "Zer0" is not the Vault Hunter's true name. Zer0's actual name and gender are (CONTINUED ON PAGE 9)

Page 9 was not included. To my knowledge, this was where it was first seeded that Zer0 may not be male. 

November 2, 2014

 In a panel titled “Playing as a female character panel - Does it Matter” during PAX Australia, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford discussed Zer0’s gender:

“The other things that’s interesting to me is sometimes when there’s characters that don’t have a gender or have an ambiguous gender I’ll choose them...In Borderlands 2 we left Zer0’s identity very ambiguous. What gender is he?” *crowd laughs* “We need better pronouns, don’t we? Don’t we need better pronouns?” (Timestamp) 

“What’s the gender of Zer0?….That says more about me than it does say about Zer0, the fact that I use the pronoun he when I describe Zer0. In fact, um, we purposely have left Zer0’s gender ambiguous. There’s a lot of folks at Gearbox that like to think that maybe Zer0’s of a particular species that doesn’t have gender- That is more androgynous.”  (Timestamp) 

(Timeline continues under cut)

November 25th, 2014

The first episode of Tales From the Borderlands was released. Anthony Burch answered this question on his Ask.fm: 

To my memory, tumblr blew up with excited nonbinary fans. Prior to seeing screenshots of this, I really didn’t have interest in Borderlands. The idea of a cool nonbinary character who used they/them pronouns, admist a virtual desert of representation, made me play through the entire series as fast as I could so I could catch up in time to see these pronouns in action. For a long time afterwards I’ve seen other nonbinary people expressing the same sudden interest in the series after learning this about Zer0. Because, yeah, it was a pretty big deal. 

2015: 

Zer0 appeared again in episode 5 of Tales, released almost a year later after the first. Their voice had changed to one that sounds more ambiguous in terms of gender, but Zer0 was still being referred to as “he/him”. Anthony Burch was one of the writers on this episode. Afterward, he answered this on his ask.fm:

Since he claimed it was honestly a mistake, nonbinary fans held out hope. There were posts going around tumblr clarifying that yes, Zer0 was still nonbinary, and still was meant to use they/them pronouns. It was just a mistake made by a thoughtless cisgender man. Of course, then some presumably-cisgender fan goes to Burch, and validates him, because clearly a character can’t just up and CHANGE pronouns! It’s not like anyone ever does that in real life! 

It’s not a fair point. It’s a dumb point from someone who has no stakes in this.  (Another thing worth noting is it has only been other characters who referred to Zer0 as he/him. Zer0 has never made a point of standing up for their own pronouns.) After this Burch just kind of gives up on the whole idea. 

This statement about characters being “progressive enough not to misgender someone” is weird, because the characters, even the sympathetic ones, in Borderlands have often blatantly failed to be progressive. The original Borderlands has the worst of it, it’s your basic 2009 edgelord shit. There’s blatant misogyny, not to mention the extremely homophobic joke surrounding Mr. Shank (and within that the transphobic joke about his girlfriend being a man in a wig). Burch only started writing for the game in Borderlands 2, however. It’s a huge step up, but there’s still a lot of bigotry. Captain Scarlett makes a “no fatties” joke. Mr Torgue fat-shames Ellie. Mr Torgue uses the R-slur. Multiple characters slut-shame Moxxi. Incest jokes surrounding Scooter, who also is implied to be a huge creep towards women.  Heck, there’s the entirety of Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC is a racist, colonialist mess. Its antagonist is implied to be gay, one of two gay male characters introduced thus far, and he’s a pathetic, creepy stalker.  This is the game series where there are two common enemy types whose names are straight up ableist.  So citing characters as being “too progressive” rings hollow with this context.  Besides, trans people are often misgendered, even by people who’d otherwise be considered progressive.  Burch left Gearbox the same year, so he’s not entirely to blame for what anything afterwards. He just set a pretty bad precedent.

2019:

Gearbox did seem to take the “make a new nonbinary character” thing to heart.  They give us Fl4k, again a nonhuman character, who uses they/them pronouns. And okay, I love Fl4k, but like most nonbinary people I’m tired of all nonbinary characters being robots, aliens, or otherwise non-human in appearance (a trope that yes, Zer0 falls into as well). Still, Fl4k is cute and having a nonbinary playable character who uses they/them pronouns is cool! I definitely plan to play as them. Many nonbinary fans were suspicious though, it seemed likely that Fl4k might be meant to appease us and they could keep on using he/him for Zer0. We were proven right when they released the gameplay preview on May 1st. We hear Zer0 called “he”. None of us are surprised, but it still hurts, we felt like we’d been baited with Zer0.  Besides, why can only one character at a time be nonbinary? Why can a bird change pronouns but not a person? Why was a writer allowed to go out and promise this if it wasn’t going to be followed through on (yes, he didn’t use the word “promise” but telling a marginalized group something like that isn’t something you can just “forget” without people feeling betrayed)?

And that’s where we’re at, as of me writing this. I feel like there are some comments I’m bound to get on this, so I’ll answer them here: Why are you making such a big deal about this?

Me typing a few paragraphs isn’t making a big deal. But I feel misled and baited. After a few years of no clarification after Burch promising us they/them Zer0, a lot of people hung on to hope. A lot of people became big fans of Zer0 because they’re a fun, badass, nonbinary character. Their design is really, really rad! And heck, they were (at least for a time) the most popular playable character in Borderlands 2. Telling everyone, in-game, “actually Zer0 was never really a he, they’ve been a ‘they’ this whole time” would have been HUGE. Like how Blizzard made Overwatch’s poster girl, Tracer, canonically a lesbian, and then revealed their badass gruff guy (who fills the roll of your basic FPS protagonist), Soldier 76, to be a gay man. They/them are still not widely accepted pronouns. For us who use them, it’s difficult to convince people not to default to something gendered. Especially when we fail to appear completely androgynous. I’ve been told Zer0 can’t possibly be nonbinary because they have a deep voice and “masculine” body shape. But real nonbinary people come in all shapes and sizes with all kinds of voices! 

What about Fl4k?

As I said, I’m very happy about Fl4k. They fall into some problematic tropes even more than Zer0 (as Fl4k is verified beyond a doubt to be a robot, and has an “acceptable” androgynous shape to them). I don’t know their voice yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if it also fell into the category of “acceptably androgynous”. Fl4k is new and already “they/them”. Zer0 is an established character who already has a lot of fans among a bunch of different groups of people. There’s definite value in demonstrating a character can switch pronouns, since pretty much every nonbinary person who uses they/them haven’t used those pronouns their entire life. Besides, there can and should be more than one nonbinary character.  Fl4k being nonbinary but not Zer0 kind of feels like Gearbox expects us to shut up and be happy with what we’re given.

What about nonbinary people who use he/him pronouns? Can’t Zer0 be that?

Those people are real and valid.  However, we’re talking about real people versus a fictional character. I admit I’d feel better if it was stated, in-game, “Yeah, Zer0 is nonbinary and uses he/him”. But even then, it’s REALLY EASY for cisgender people to ignore that information and write Zer0 off as male (And knowing gearbox, they’d put it somewhere easily missed. I’ve surprised so many straight people who’d played through Borderlands 2 with the fact that Sir Hammerlock is gay, simply because it was only verified in a side quest). And you know, we were promised they/them, so like, not doing that kind of sucks. Also I think it’s really important to normalize they/them.

So what are we supposed to do about this? What do you expect to change, anyways?

Honestly? I don’t expect Gearbox to fix this so late. In all likelihood, that’s way too much dialogue to re-record. But I still think it’s worth making our voices heard. We shouldn’t silently put up with this kind of thing. Other people will pull the same shit, being either unsympathetic or unaware of the harm they do. And heck, it’s unlikely, but maybe Gearbox will at least acknowledge their wrongdoing.

Also, it’s maybe worthwhile to ignore canon, and keep referring to Zer0 as “they/them”, or if this whole thing is news to you, it’s not too late to start. It would mean a lot to nonbinary fans, and make a point about how Zer0 is regarded.

[forestwater87]

Odd question. If you were doing a wing fic (shorthand: everyone has some kind of wings on their back; up to you if they're always out or if they can be banished and summoned at will) for Camp Camp, what kind of wings would the cast have?

Oooh I love wing fics! Hmmm, let’s see . . . 

David’s would be a little small for his age/size, and he’d probably be kind of embarrassed about that. He can still fly just fine with them -- which he’d say, defensively, if anyone pointed them out -- and they’re very fluffy, white, with little speckles of green flecked throughout.

Now I know most wing fics stick with feathered wings, but it did occur to me that some sort of insectlike wings -- all delicate-looking and iridescent like the surface of a bubble -- would also suit him very well. They’d be a bit more natural and forest-y, but would still have that element of embarrassment and shyness (he was probably called “fairy” a lot growing up, and it’d be a sore spot for him).

That being said, the idea of David having massive wings was suggested by @ciphernetics​, and I must admit that the idea of him either wrapping them around people to protect or comfort them is super cute. Also in a protective moment he could like fwoosh, out they come to shield the campers and it’d be badass. It’s not my preferred hc for him, but there are some lovely ways to play with it.

Gwen’s would be . . . serviceable. Dull, easily overlooked, probably some shade of gray or that kind of dun mousy brown that looks greyish in the right light, bigger than David’s but neither unusually large or small, not especially fluffy but not kind of molted the way some sick people’s are . . . they’re just sort of there. (She was probably nicknamed Pigeon by a lot of people, both as an affectionate term and a derogatory one. And like pigeons’ wings, there are little patches of color among her wings that are hard to see unless you’re looking for them it’s a metaphor get it? aren’t I clever ohoho)

Campbell’s are humongous. The biggest wings ever. He is a mountain of a man, with massive pure-white wings. Some people are convinced he genetically modified them somehow, and they do have this uncanny radioactive glow in the dark but don’t worry about that, it’s perfectly natural and not at all suspicious!

The fun thing about this is that they can get increasingly bedraggled as Season 3 progresses, until they’re drooping and muddy.

Quartermaster has bat wings. I don’t give a fuck if literally every other character has angel wings, QM’s are bats and that’s just the way it has to be.

I like the idea of the campers having small wings that can fit under their clothes, because they haven’t really grown in yet. I imagine maybe Nurf might be an exception, since he seems to be either older or just bigger than the other campers, but for the most part those kiddos look just like their normal selves. That being said, a few ideas of what they might look like grown up:

Max -- black, maybe a little big for his age, like a crow or raven’s wings. When he gets annoyed they puff up and slip out of his hoodie, and it’s a pain to put them back in which annoys him even more and gets them more puffy and hard to stuff back . . . it’s a constant struggle. Pity the poor kid.

Neil -- I’m torn between going with his hair color and giving him some hawklike brown-and-white wings, which I think would look nice with his coloring, and just going hog-wild and giving him wings like a bluebird because of his eyes. I think the latter would be too showy and embarrass him, but there’s something kinda cute about that too. His wings would be like his dad: impossible to ignore and much louder and more obnoxious (in his POV) than they need to be.

Nikki -- big and flecked with golden-orange. Of all the characters I think hers would have the most modifications, because as a kid/young adult she wasn’t careful with them and got them all torn up -- maybe to the point where she can’t even fly with them. But she has Neil and he’s a smart cookie, so I like to think of her wings having a vaguely-steampunk element of mechanisms and patches keeping them together.

Harrison -- white or a very light gray, like a dove’s. He paints the tips gold when he’s older as part of his illusionist costume.

Nerris -- I’m just thinking pure eastern bluebird, orange at the base and then exploding into brilliant blue. I think she’d love how flashy they are.

Ered -- Somehow I want her to have dragon wings. I have no idea why, or how, but I think it’d be extremely cool, and Ered is nothing if not cool. Especially if they’re really rare, almost unheard of, and she’s put a lot of work into transforming herself from the tomboyish freak with the demon wings and gay dads into something to be envious of. Besides, it’s easier to do sick stunts without having to worry about your feathers getting caught on stuff.

Nurf -- All right, I wanna get emo for a moment and say that his wings have been hacked either partly or entirely off by the time he’s an adult. We know he’s been abused in canon, and I think that people like that would go for the easiest target to hurt you, and that target is probably the delicate feathered things sticking out of your back. Bonus points if they’re somehow kind of girly, which coincides with his more sensitive nature and how he initially wanted to do ballet as a kid (especially since I don’t think that was well-received by his family). So, like . . . what remains are very fluffy and sweet-looking, maybe pink or pale yellow and orange or something, but they’re either little stubs he covers up all the time or they’ve got big chunks missing out of them but who’s gonna point that out to the huge guy with a pissed-off expression?

Preston -- Rainbow, like the most extravagant bird of paradise. Does he paint them himself, or are they as natural as he claims? 

Dolph -- Probably something very average and serviceable, in the brown/gray/white family, but they’re always speckled with paint because he’s not very careful with them and especially the long feathers at the bottom trail along the ground while he’s painting, or get stuck to his art if he turns around too suddenly.

Space Kid -- I’m thinking of a duck, for some reason. Partly because they’re aquatic and I just connect the ocean and space for some reason, partly because they’re very ordinary and that’s kind of how SK rolls, and partly because ducks can just flap for insane distances without getting tired (thank you Animorphs!). Space Kid is like that, I think -- very diligent, keeps his head down and gets things done, not very bright but he works so hard it makes up for a lot, and that’s why he’s going to be an astronaut someday. Mallards have those pretty green feathers, too, and I think those would look nice with Space Kid’s eyes.

Jasper -- Peacock. Obviously. He is the most garishly-dressed person in the show and his wings would match. Not that you’ll ever know, because he never gets to grow up and have real wings :( 

So those are the mains! As for some of the less-important characters, I don’t really have too many interesting ideas, but a few throwaway ones:

The Flower Scouts all have pink wings, either feathers or bug/fairy ones. I think maybe Tabii has a chunk missing from one of hers, from a fight or something, and the other girls made a patch so no one can tell and she can fly properly. Erin’s might be just slightly different colors -- one with an orangey tint, one with a blue.

A fun thing about bug wings is they could buzz when the girls are angry. So Sasha’s are basically always going, poor thing.

The Woodscouts probably have their wings bound, clipped, and constantly ready for combat flying. I’m thinking, like, the military-haircut version of wings.

Daniel’s . . . I mean, I don’t care about Daniel because he’s trash, but I do love the idea that they’re not naturally white and he dyes them. It’s my favorite Daniel hc and I need it to appear in every AU.

So that about covers it!

EXCEPT

Then I was talking with Ciphernetics about wing AUs, and I mentioned that in some wing fics (namely the awesome one by setepenre-set, though there are probably others) the wings’ size are based on how loved someone is. Which led to the below cuteness. Warning: shameless Gwenvid and Makkiel ahead, along with me insisting that Cameron Campbell isn’t the worst person in the entire world because I’m love him

Ciphernetics: Max’s wings growing during camp!Max voice: who the FUCK is loving me I specifically requested the opposite of thisDavid: You can even fit them in your hoodie anymore awwwwMax, struggling to pull it on over his wings: the hell I can't

Forestwater:(what if they come in the color of the person who loves you's hair)(so at first it's just this line of red that he knows is fucking David, goddamnit and then all of a sudden start sprouting these mint green and brown ones and my ship takes off)

Ciphernetics: Max, disgusted, throwing an auburn feather at David: get LOSTMax, looking over his shoulder in the mirror at the brown ones gathering at the tips and the mint ones scattered chaotically throughout: huh

Forestwater:Oh no what about when Nikki and Neil's start getting flecked with black, small and easily tugged out like they're ashamed of being there

Ciphernetics: The small really curly little feathery down that like to hide under other feathers(Gwen's had auburn in her wings since almost the first summer but lately it's started to overpower the rest of the colours. Not completely, it's just... Noticeable how much of it is the same colour now.)(She knew David loved people quickly and easily, it's just suddenly a lot more)(or she just wasn't paying attention)

Forestwater:What on earth would David's reaction be to suddenly finding some of Gwen's?I like the idea of her feathers being two-toned

Ciphernetics: I'd love if he's had a very small, slowly growing patch since they met (just a handful more each summer) but some event happens and suddenly there's a lotOh absolutely two tonedHey how about some angst;David's been waiting his whole life for Campbell's hair colourToday at 9:32 AMHe'd never say it but Campbell makes so many throwaway jokes about David being the son he never wanted but it rings a little hollow when there's not when one little brown/grey feather

Forestwater:until the end of season 3 when there's like . . . twoLISTEN I NEED MY TRASH GRANDPA

So that’s just a little bit of extra silliness for added angst/romance/fluff.

Hope this answer isn’t too long, but I was having fun.

[timeisacephalopod]

Ive seen endgame! Spoilers under the cut and I’m not tagging this as spoilers because I’m literally telling you now its spoilers.

1- what the fuck was the point of Tony’s kid? We had more than 10 years with this character, he doesn’t need a kid for emotional impact when he died and now I’m kind of pissed they threw this fucking random kid in there only to orphan the poor thing and make Pepper a single mother. What fucking bullshit. Never should have been a storyline.

2- Pepper in the suit yaaaaaas.

3- Wanda. Fucking loved her moments. And Thanos’ “I don’t even know who you are” was fucking iconic lmao. I mean her “you will” was okay but holy fucking damn that was the funniest shit from Thanos.

4- they killed viz permanently lmao yeah I didn’t give 2 tits and a snare drum about him anyway so I don’t care.

5- Steve. What the fucking fuck did they do to him? Don’t get me wrong, I like Peggy, and I liked him and Peggy in FA. They were cute. But it was a 4 month fling in the middle of of a war. Not that it can’t be important, but after 15+ years you are telling me a 4 month fling from Steve’s youth is more important to him than everything else? And what of Bucky? He leaves him to HYDRA and after all the shit he went through in WS and CW you’re seriously telling me he’d just LEAVE him there like that? I don’t mean to be a dick to Peggy because I do like her, but narratively speaking Bucky has always played more importance to her except when they want to make Steve feel nostalgic. I’m sorry, I’m fucking over that plot line.

More than that though she moved on in her show, she had a life after Steve and he went back and took that from her. And I don’t see why aside from no one let him grow as a character while also having him grow as a character. He went through a huge character shift in WS and then we saw nothing of it. Aside from his motivations in CW, which make sense given the context of WS however much I disagree, we see none of that development and I’m fucking tired of watching him lament over a relationship that lasted for a shorter time than a high school semester. To any normal person, and even to Steve given his non normal stance, he would have moved the fuck on. Also he made out with her niece that one time!! How is he living with this!

Also Sam says they never had a Captain America but Steve was still big when he danced with Peggy, which means he got the serum, which means he still can’t age right, which begs the question of how the tits long did he live? And again, what does this mean for everything else considering getting the serum implies he was, at some point, Cap even if he was never the Cap they knew. What the fuck! I’m actually the most mad about this because Steve, post WS, probably would have been one of my favorite characters given his extreme narrative shift and just how interesting that could have been if anyone ever fucking let him move on with his fucking self but no. Instead we end with him in the same spot he started in! I watched ten years of this shit for him to do NOTHING? All that development (that the narratives never really let him go through in totality because he narratively never shifted out of his War and Peggy Phase even while his character, on an individual level, moved out of that several times) and I watch him end in the same place he started?

Honestly I’m pretty pissed about that. Especially with all the did with Bucky. I seriously can’t believe Steve fucking left him there, ignored every piece of information he had, ruined Peggy’s original happy ending, and then didn’t even grow as a character. I like that he got a happy ending, I think he’s earned that, but I simply cannot believe a 4 month fucking fling meant so much he’d ignore his best friend, HYDRA, Peggy’s original marriage, the fact that he made out with her niece that one time, and everything else to end up exactly where he started. Which is why I don’t really care for him to begin with- because the narrative always leaves him right at the beginning and I don’t know how to invest in a character that grows but never grows. If he narratively was allowed to grow he would have been so. Much. Better. It is so fucking frustrating to me that he never moved the fuck on. You have no idea.

6- “I can do this all day” “Yeah I know”

7- “You look like melted ice cream”

8- Hated almost everything they did with Thor. Fat jokes? Yikes. Though I did love that ice cream line. Loved the bit with Frigga. And like. Thor being devastated and traumatized is ok. I think that’s realistic enough even if I wonder how someone that’s been alive for well over 1000 years doesn’t know how to handle himself with slightly more grace. I would have liked to see him crack differently.

9- Cap picking up Thor’s hammer and Thor being happy about it? 10 000 times better than the garbage Whedon wrote. Loved that.

10- Nebula. N E B U L A. NEEEEEBBBUUUUULLLLAAAA. Start to finish fucking loved her. She was amazing. 2 questions though- how did she not kill herself when she killed herself? Which in itself is a fucky question to ask. And also the second contention point I have with the movie beyond time travel bullshit is why NO ONE asked where she was post Nat (that in a minute). I know they were sad about Nat obviously but Rhodey is a full bird colonel, he keeps track of thousands of people for his job, plus all of his involvement in Tony’s antics, plus the Avengers and you’re telling me he didn’t notice her gone even with Nat? And Tony, you’re telling me he didn’t notice her gone? He was the one who bonded with her the most and he didn’t notice that he’s now technically lost two people he was close to? And Rocket? He didn’t notice? Are you fucking kidding me? I thought that was bullshit.

Even if, by chance, Rhodey somehow didn’t notice his partner in crime was missing (”I wasn't always like this” “Neither was I”- new BroTP yo!) when I think his military experience alone would have made him the second most likely to notice after Rocket (because he knows her the best) then Rocket should have. And if for some reason Rocket didn’t notice despite her being all that’s left of his found family, making him extra invested in her whereabouts, over Nat, whom I think he’d care about but not like Nebula, then Tony, who spent all that time with her in space, would have noticed.

Fucking someone would have noticed her gone. And the whole second half relies on no one noticing this moment and I call absolute bullshit on that. Someone. Would. Have. Noticed. Rhodey if for no other reason than experience of keeping track of people in war zones, Rocket if for no other reason than her being his last remaining connection to his family, and Tony if for no other reason than Nebula being a large part of the reason he’s alive. I was completely thrown from the story here. I simply can’t see how they could over look that even considering Natasha.

11- Natasha. Are you fucking kidding me? You killed her over Clint? I fucking hate MCU Clint. He’s boring, he’s nothing like the comics, he’s a fucking prick, and I don’t give a fuck about his family or anything to do with him. I liked him best when he was going to kill himself for Natasha. That is the only moment, as Marie Kondo would say, sparked joy for me. Otherwise throw the whole thing out. Fucking Natasha over Clint. Fuck you. That was an insult to the viewers. I don’t give a fuck about Clint, I don’t give a fuck about his kids aside from thinking they didn’t deserve the snap, and I don’t give a fuck about his story.

My mom said he was a plain Timbit (donut hole for the US readers) in a donut world and I honestly think that’s insulting to the plain Timbit, which is something we give to dogs as treats in Canada. Clint isn’t even a dog treat to me and they killed Black Widow over him. Fucking pissed.

12- “That suit does nothing for your ass” “No one was asking you to look, Tony!” “That’s America’s ass!” .... “That is America’s ass”

13- I actually really liked what they did with Bruce. I was excited to see all the benefits of the Hulk and Banner in one! That was pretty cool!

14- Strange’s reappearance was pretty badass. And Wong! I was excited to see him there! Was a bit surprised by Tilda Swinton’s appearance but okay. I didn’t hate it. Loved when she punched Bruce out of the Hulk lmfao that was so funny. I do like that she apparently does that to everyone lmao. I should write a fic where she punches Wong’s soul out of his body when the meet just because I think it’d be funny. And I’d love to see more Wong.

15- Steve vs Steve was really cool, I liked that. And fucking Hail HYDRA holy fucking shit I almost lost my ass. Couldn’t fucking believe he said that (and knowing that he just leaves that all for Peggy, his 4 month fling? Find this wildly out of character for him). Then he fucks right off with the tesseract omg.

16- Scott had some iconic one-liners. “That’s America’s ass!” “Okay I'm going to go inside you” omg. Ant Man was a joy to watch in this. I find Endgame used his character right.

17- I know I said it but Pepper Potts in the fucking suit y’all! I don’t know who was watching Morgan but also Pepper Potts in the fucking suit!!

18- That time travel shit made things entirely way too fucky. I knew that’s what they were going to do because that’s all that made sense, but I thought it was fucking stupid. And can Thanos even snap the stones out of existence? Because Tilda Swinton’s speech implied if he did something like that timelines would essentially do the funky chicken and die. She removed the time stone and shit was supposed to get weird, remove all 5 and what happens? Wtf? He fucking hid those stones. Did like Thor’s bit there though, killing Thanos. I think Nebula earned it more than him but I also think it was a good moment for Thor before his character became a fucking joke. 

19- narratively I understand why they started with Clint’s family dusting but I don’t give a fuck about Clint or his dusted family. I would have preferred watching a civilian lose his shit.

20- Steve you need therapy, stop leading therapy sessions. Especially when your advice is ‘move on’ and you literally go fucking nowhere in your life even after you went all over hell’s creations. Get this man a proper therapist he needs like 15!

21- lmfao Russos talking about gay representation and it was a guy talking about a date. I shit you the fuck not that was it. Gay. It was barely even there. Only straight men would ever assume that could possibly count as representation holy fuck. Like thanks for the blink you miss it shout out I guess. You remembered gays exist, wow!

22- Strange’s one finger thing, I liked that a lot actually. I think it functioned both as a great call to action and a nice reference to Stephen’s power.

23- Quick question, why was Tilda Swinton in New York? Because they went back too far for Strange- at first I when they mentioned 3 stones in NY I was like wait, when’s Strange’s story supposed to happen? After WS right? He can’t be in NY with the stone? But then Tilda showed up and I was like... why isn’t she in Nepal at the teaching sanctum? Because apparently the NY one isn’t a teaching sanctum and as far as I knew she was training Mordo and Wong there at this time so wtf? And it can’t be explained with ‘she knew she needed to be there’ because she punched Bruce out of hulk and he had to grovel to her to get the fucking thing from her and only managed because she knew Stephen gave up the stone willingly and would never do so without good reason because he’s the best fo the best. So like. Why was she there aside from plot convenience? That was a little too easy. Frankly, the whole plot was a touch too easy but still.

24- tired of aliens we’re supposed to relate to looking like humans but in pink while aliens we’re supposed to dislike are animalistic and non human looking. That’s a garbage trope.

25- The black woman in the elevator who made Tony and Steve is 100% Fury’s mother no one can convince me otherwise. I think the timeline matches up but I don’t care if it doesn’t she’s his mom now. He gets it all from his mama.

Bonus: stop trying to make Howard happen, Marvel, its not going to. I fucking hated that scene with Tony and Howard. What kind of bullshit abuse apology was that? Howard then, sure, he didn’t suck quite yet and seems to be aware of his own shortcomings. Howard in the future? Sorry, irredeemable crap. Narratively interesting irredeemable crap but irredeemable nonetheless. Tony panicking and saying his last name was Potts was great though lol. I’ll take it as evidence he took Pepper’s last name when they got married.

Bonus Bonus: I cried when Sam held the shield. I’ve been gunning for Sam to take over as Cap since we met him and everyone told me it’d be Bucky. I argued that we’ve already seen the story of a super soldier as Cap, it would be more interesting to watch Sam as a relatively normal guy take over as Cap. And I like Bucky traumatized and Winter Solider-y. I think he’s more interesting that way. Seriously though, Sam as Cap will be amazing and I didn’t expect to cry at that of all things but I did. I’m so excited to see him in that role!

Bonus Bonus Bonus for any sorry fucking soul who’s made it this far in I think I might update the Tony, T’Challa, and Their Gaggle of Children verse to include Morgan (but older) finding Tony only she’s his actual assed kid and no one believes it even though they have a striking resemblance. Which annoys them both because he got the media to buy all his other fake kids with easy to track down parents but not his actual kid. Ending with Nebula showing up and him claiming she’s his kid and everyone buying it.

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Bethany Hawke (TV Tropes)

All Women Love Shoes: Makes no less than three comments about shoes when prompted.

Angsty Surviving Twin: Downplayed, but Bethany is certainly affected by the loss of Carver. Her first party banter with Varric after they meet him is about how much she misses her twin. She also admits to Areida Hawke how jealous Carver was that the dog chose their older sister instead of him to be his master. It's particularly telling that, seven years after he died, she says that the one thing in her life she truly regrets is that she couldn't stop him from charging that Ogre.

Awesome Mc Coolname: Despite it being a Fan Nickname for Areida Hawke, Bethany is the one that gets called Lady Hawke.

The Baby of the Bunch: Bethany is the youngest of the three Hawke siblings, if only by a few minutes, and the entire family is extremely protective of her, even Carver. She later becomes a little sister to the entire party.

Badass Adorable: Capable of kicking lots of ass, though there is much emphasis placed on her cute demeanor and vulnerability as an apostate.

Badass Bookworm: At the circle, Bethany is held in high regard by both the Templars (by Meredith herself, no less) and her own students as an exemplary mage, despite being a former apostate and the daughter of an apostate.

Badass Teacher/Cool Teacher: Despite being only 23 by Act 2, Bethany still ends up becoming a senior member of the Circle and in charge of teaching apprentices. It's mentioned that they completely adore her.

Beauty, Brains and Brawn: In a trio with Areida and Aveline, Bethany is The Beauty - she has the sweetest disposition and the kindest heart, and several characters (Fenris and Varric among them) remark on how pretty she is.

Beware the Nice Ones: Bethany is quite possibly the nicest, most approachable, least-morally-compromised of Areida's companion. This doesn't mean she's any less capable of destroying you.

Big Sister Instinct:

Invokes this frequently . Do not threaten her when Areida is around.

Also on the receiving end of this. When the Templars come to take Bethany, Areida calmly informs them that they will have to go through her first before Bethany begs her sister to stand down and tells the Templars she will go quietly.

Big Sister Worship: She idolizes her big sister and is constantly supportive of her during her time in the party.

Birds of a Feather: This is a factor in her relationship with Varric, which is one of the healthiest in the franchise. They are the two companions who get along with everyone, they both like helping people, and they are the most content of the entire group to live and let live.

Breast Expansion: For a short time, during Varric's exaggerated prologue sequence you might notice something besides Bethany's magic prowess being enhanced. Afterwards she has the normal female model.

Broken Bird: Downplayed, since she doesn't like to air her grievances, but it becomes more and more apparent that she sees herself as a burden to her family. She feels guilty that Areida goes through so much effort to protect her secret. This is why she surrenders when the Templars come and take her to the Circle at the end of Act 1.

Character Development:

She retains her 'Sunshine' persona and instead grows both more proficient as a mage and also deeper in her faith in the Maker, finding meaning in her own existence.

Either way, she tells Areida that she wouldn't change anything about the events that brought her and her sister to this point, other than stopping Carver's Heroic Sacrifice

Child of Forbidden Love: Like her siblings.

Color-Coded Eyes: Bethany has brown eyes, indicating that she has a warm and down-to-earth personality.

Comes Great Responsibility: Like father, like daughter.

Cool Aunt: She's seen as this by her nephews and niece.

Corrupt the Cutie: Courtesy of Isabela; Isabela delights in trying to remove some of Bethany's innocence, much to Areida's distress.

On learning she is a virgin, Isabela offers to buy her a night at the Blooming Rose. It's unknown whether this ever actually happens.

Isabela apparently sends her a lot of suggestive books to get her through the night while in the circle. 

Country Mouse: She comments that she misses the fields of Lothering, compared to the cramped streets of Kirkwall.

Covert Pervert: As noted above, she's grateful to Isabela for sending her suggestive books.

The Cutie: She has a fair few of the trope's requisites, including being incredibly sweet, kind to everyone, and demonstrably affectionate. She's also subjected to Corrupt the Cutie, as noted above.

Daddy's Girl: Strongly implied after the end of Legacy. Malcolm justifiably spent a lot more time with Bethany than with either Areida or Carver since Bethany is the family's only mage child. This may also explain why Bethany looks up to her older sister so much, since Areida is a whole lot like their father in both looks and personality.

Dead Guy Junior: According to The World of Thedas, Bethany is named after her maternal grandmother, Bethann Amell, who died sometime during the year before the twins were born. Leandra only learned of her mother's death shortly before giving birth.

Deadpan Snarker: Occasionally, though less than most of the rest of the companions.

Some of her banter with Anders in Legacy delves into snark, especially when he tries to scold her for voluntarily joining the Circle.

Dysfunction Junction: Initially, she is the sole exception, with the rest of the party having dark pasts and personalities to match them. She isn't nicknamed "Sunshine" for nothing.

Earn Your Happy Ending: In Act 3, Bethany has spent the past six years locked in the Gallows, but by the end of the story, she's free, her friends are alive, she has reunited with her beloved older sister, and the mages are uniting to fight for their freedom. Even though it doesn't go as smoothly as everyone would have hoped, and there's much hard fighting in store for the mages, her fate could have been much worse and she hopes that good will come out of the impending revolution.

Belated Happy Ending: It goes even further, offscreen, at the end of Trespasser in Inquisition. Varric has become Viscount of Kirkwall, and Areida is back in Kirkwall, helping him run the city; the two most powerful people in Kirkwall both love Bethany dearly, and the captain of the guard is her old friend Aveline. Furthermore, after Leliana is made Divine. She dissolves all the Circles of Magi - meaning that Bethany is now free and, one would imagine, enjoying her rightful place at the Hawke estate with her adored older sister, her sister's love interest, and her nephews and neice. It may take a long time for her to get there, but Bethany does eventually earn a very happy ending.

Everyone's Baby Sister: Older than most examples, but still fits. It comes with being both the youngest companion and the only one (besides Varric) that everyone likes. Being Areida's actual little sister also contributes to the role.

Fantastic Racism: Bethany hates Qunari, though she has more justification than most; she had a friend in the family that Sten murdered. This leads to a horribly ironic moment in the prologue: Her twin brother is killed by an ogre while fleeing Lothering. Ogres are Kossith-based darkspawn. 

The Friend Nobody Likes: Inverted; as noted above, she and Varric are the only ones of Areida's companions that everyone likes.

God Is Good: Her view of the Maker; of the story's three mage companions, she is the most devout Andrastian. Her faith gets stronger throughout the story.

Gravity Master: By Legacy, she has become a Force Mage. 

Hot-Blooded: She has no fear charging into any situation with her magic, even as she tries to hide it.

I Just Want to Be Normal: Her biggest wish is to be normal, as revealed in party banter with Merrill, and she resents all of the hardships brought upon her family in order to keep her safe. The World of Thedas, vol. 2 contains a report, written by someone who met the family in Lothering and was somehow privy to young Bethany's apostate status, which talks about how much the girl clearly would rather not have magic.

Subverted in Legacy. She realizes being "normal" would require an entirely different family. She admits, despite the hardship of being an apostate, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Indifferent Beauty: Multiple characters, as noted above, remark on how attractive Bethany is. She herself seems entirely unconcerned with it, though she clearly appreciates the compliments.

The Ingenue She starts the story and spends the first act as this; she grows into Silk Hiding Steel and a Lady of War.

Leeroy Jenkins: At the end of Act 2, she gathers a cadre of mages to help Orsino fight the Qunari, despite his orders for them to pull back. Her entire group gets slaughtered, but much to Areida's relief, Orsino is able to revive Bethany.

Meaningful Name: "Sunshine" is Varric's nickname for her; Isabela's is "Sweetness." They're both very accurate. 

"Sunshine" may be a particularly Meaningful Name. Varric has a number of lines, in party banter and cutscenes, in which he mentions that part of the reason he prefers being a surface dwarf is because he enjoys being in the sunlight. Unlike the more superficial or sarcastic names he gives most of the other companions, he named Bethany after something he loves, and his interactions with her are some of the warmest he has in any story where he appears.

Nice Girl: It says something that, for all the varying views and tempers of the companions, Bethany gets along with all of them; even Fenris, who otherwise despises mages, likes Bethany. 

Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Among the three Hawke siblings, she's the In Between to Areida's Nice and Carver's Mean.

Platonic Declaration of Love: She gives one to Areida before the final battle at the end of the story.

       "If we don't survive this, sister, I just want you to know that I love you."

Playing with Fire: Bethany definitely qualifies, as she's first seen using fire spells; she has a staff that shoots fire and uses fire spells in cutscenes when she attacks.

Plucky Girl: Bethany refuses to allow her time spent in the Gallows to harden her, and she hopes the mages' rebellion will change how they live among others for the better. 

Put on a Bus: Bethany is forced to join the Circle at the end of Act 1.

The Bus Came Back: She rejoins the party in Legacy, during the battle with the Qunari at the end of Act 2, and during the final battle at the end of the story.

In Inquisition, Bethany is sent away by Areida in order to keep her as far as possible from the mage-Templar conflict.

The Red Mage: Bethany doesn't have the party heals or revives of Anders, or the hell-raising blood magic of Merrill, but has access to a great deal of offensive and defensive magic, plus healing, which Merrill lacks. Properly built, she is one of the most versatile mages in the story, subverting the Master of None stigma associated with them. As an Elemental/Force Mage, this becomes even more apparent.

Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Carver's Red.

The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: She believes that this should be true of the Mage rebellion, and she stands as an example of a good free mage.

Scarf Of Asskicking: Like the other female mage, Merrill. It's probably there to hide the black seam between the head and body in character models, but that doesn't mean Bethany doesn't look stylish in her vibrant red scarf.

Ship Tease: A very sweet one exists between her and Varric, of all people; their relationship is examined in detail on the Heartwarming page. He sometimes calls her "my lady," "Milady Sunshine," or "my Sunshine," which makes her giggle, and he has a number of party banter lines in which he compliments her beauty. She's also the only party member to whom he is absolutely never snarky. There's a lot of affection in their interactions, and their relationship continues to receive mention in Inquisition - he has some lines which indicate that he writes to her frequently. 

Sibling Rivalry: Party banter includes hints that this was her relationship with Carver.

Sibling Yin-Yang: With her twin, Carver.

Strong Family Resemblance: Facially, at least, she seems to take after her mother a good deal.

Token Good Teammate: One of the few party members that is not one of the many darker shades of grey found throughout the story.

Token Religious Teammate: The most religious party member. She struggles to reconcile her faith in the Maker with her life as an apostate. By the endgame, Bethany has mostly managed to do so.

Tomboy and Girly Girl: Bethany is the girly-girl to Areida's tomboy.

The Unfavorite: Discussed in Legacy. Learning that Malcolm didn't want to pass on his magic shocks Bethany, who was the only one of the three children to inherit his power. She wonders if Malcolm secretly resented her, which Areida is very quick to shut down; the only thing Malcolm resented was that Bethany had to carry a burden the rest of their family couldn't comprehend.

We Help the Helpless: In Inquisition, when Inquisitor Rosabelle Trevelyan asks him about his companions' whereabouts, Varric says that Bethany is helping refugees in the Free Marches.

[dear-dr-kenzo-tenma]

Doctor Kenzo Tenma - TV Tropes 

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/Monster

An Aesop: In-universe, he gives some of these.

Action Survivor: Dr. Tenma is initially an average person, insofar as a well-known brain surgeon can be average. The series' circumstances force him to become a hardened survivor.

Adaptational Attractiveness: In the manga, he starts off plain and downright funny-looking. The anime takes its cue from the later chapters' more adorable Tenma◊.

Adorkable: Before his badass upgrade made him stop being a doormat.

Adrenaline Makeover: Ahem.◊

All-Loving Hero: This is both a large advantage and similarly a large disadvantage to him because of the complex location on the Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism that Monster inhabits.

The Atoner: As kind-hearted as he is, he sees his absolute biggest mistake as being something he alone can fix. And despite numerous opportunities he gets where he could abandon his self-set mission, he refuses every time. Johan: (Seconds after killing Junkers in front of Tenma) I was supposed to die that night. You're the one who resurrected me, doctor.

Badass Pacifist: He can take a beating, jump off a bridge to avoid confrontation, and save people's lives while avoiding the police and criminals alike.

Beware the Nice Ones: Tenma is kind and righteous, but false accusations force him on a path to become much more assertive.

Barbarian Longhair: Subverted, he's not, by any definition, a barbarian. But by most persons in the series, his long hair is perceived as ugly.

Beard of Sorrow: He is normally beardless, but after he learns about Johan's true colors, he attempts to grow a beard and overly disregards his appearance.

Beware the Honest Ones: Tenma's idealism turned out pretty bad for his money-grubbing boss.

Big Good: This is particularly evident in arcs where he is offstage or not the main character. In keeping with his nearly messianic role, by the end, nearly all the characters would do anything to protect him.

Break the Cutie: By all accounts, he's sweet and adorable, but his entire life was ruined by the actions of a former patient.

Care-Bear Stare: He frequently does this, illustrating his initial idealism.

Celibate Hero: Post-Eva, although there is some subtext involving Nina that may avert this. In Another Monster, it is explained that he was still quite the celibate during his high school years and even purposely didn't get together with a girl who liked him (and the feeling was somewhat mutual) merely because he was friends with her (cheating) boyfriend.

Character Development: He begins as a well-respected, compassionate doctor. Over the series, he becomes more driven and relentless.

Cheaters Never Prosper: Averted, though not soon enough for poor Gillen's complex. He cheated on a test in medical school, which made him excel, and caused jealousy in one of his classmates. This acquaintance later becomes an important character.

Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite his goal of hunting down Johan, he'll never turn down helping a stranger, even if the person's a criminal.

Clear My Name: Averted. His reason for hunting down Johan isn't to clear his name, but rather to correct the error he made in keeping Johan alive.

Combat Medic: "This is the carotid artery. Even a ballpoint pen could kill him, if you pierce it in the right spot."

The Drifter: Justified, since he was a murder suspect and has to be on the run from the police.

Expository Hairstyle Change: Starts off clean-cut, but gets progressively more disheveled.

Extreme Doormat: He used to be very submissive to his boss and his fiancee.

The Fettered: His beliefs frequently make him question his mission.

Forgets to Eat: Quite frequently. At other instances, he'll bemoan the lack of soy sauce in Western cuisine.

Friend to All Children: The good doctor loves children, and he is perfectly willing to help them. He even formed an Intergenerational Friendship with Dieter, a kid.

Friend to All Living Things: He saved a hurt bird in the time he was training as a gunmen. Later, when he was talking with a former friend to all living things, a finch landed in Tenma's arm.

Gentleman and a Scholar: He is a highly-accomplished brain surgeon and an incredibly caring and selfless man.

Good Is Not Dumb: Well, he's good, and intelligent. Heck, he's a brain surgeon. Beyond fitting the literal trope title, however, Roberto underestimates him at one point because of his goodness and pays for it by losing the use of his right arm.

Good Is Not Soft: While a genius neurosurgeon, he is nice, humble and compassionate. When Johan becomes a threat, he takes a level in badass and takes a journey to stop him. Also, he doesn't hesitate to threaten people with his pistol if their actions endanger one or more lifes.

Grew a Spine: He decides to stop being the doormat of his fiancee and his boss after seeing the immorality of both (the fiancee is not that evil, but this counts).

The Heart: Tenma is the moral center of a morally complex series.

The Hero: He is inarguably the protagonist, and he's very heroic, motivations and rumination aside.

Heroic Resolve: Kenzo has one in his battle against Roberto.

Hero with Bad Publicity: Wanted for the very murders that he keeps trying to stop.

Honor Before Reason: Though he cares about the "right thing" rather than any type of personal honor.

Hospital Hottie: He has a cute appearance, be well-groomed or not.

Humble Hero: He never takes credit for his good deeds and maintains that all people are equal despite conspicuously being better than everybody else in every imaginable way.

Hurting Hero: He's haunted by the actions of a former patient, who destroyed his life.

I Can't Dance: According to Eva, Tenma claimed to not be able to dance. They stood and held each other on the dance floor instead.

I Just Want to Have Friends: According to Eva in Another Monster, he was chronically lonely and thanks to his workaholic tendencies, he was unable to make friends other than Dr. Becker.

Intelligence Equals Isolation: His medical capabilities make him isolated among peers.

I'm Not Hungry: When he was captured by the police, he refused to eat for so long they had to put him on an IV. Which doubles as Fridge Brilliance, as he was trying to end up in the infirmary in order to get in touch with Gunther Milch.

Inconvenient Hippocratic Oath. All the more so (or not) for being an integral part of what he comes to be about after the first episode.

Incorruptible Pure Pureness: One of the rare examples of this trope being pulled off successfully. No matter how complicated things get, he retains his idealistic views on humanity.

Just in Time: He saves Reichwein, who came VERY close to being killed by Roberto, just in time in episode 30.

The Last DJ: Both played straight and averted, in short succession. His integrity makes him lose his job.

Last-Name Basis: People tend to call him by his last name rather than his first name, even when they've got to know him well—including Nina and Eva (though the latter is the one that does it least).

Looks Like Jesus: His long hair and stubble look make him somewhat similar to Jesus.

Magnetic Hero: He's kind, charming, and persuasive.

Manly Tears: He does cry, but it doesn't make him appear weak; it showcases just how horrible his life gets, in spite of how much he tries.

Married to the Job: Noted constantly, one of his fellow physicians tried to hook him up with other loves, but he was more focused on his job.

Messianic Archetype: To counter Johan's Antichrist

Nice Guy: He's very nice and will help even his enemies. This is both a blessing and a curse, considering how dark the series is. It gets him a lot of friends, but it also gets him into difficult situations.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He helped Johan, and then he's framed for murder. Johan: I was supposed to die that night. You're the one who resurrected me, Doctor.

Parental Favoritism: It's mentioned in Another Monster that his father favored him, his youngest son, over his other brothers. However, his mother favored his two older half-brothers (who are unrelated to her) more than him.

Perma-Stubble: He grows one during his Expository Hairstyle Change.

Save the Villain: At first unknowingly, in the case of saving the young Johan from his asked-for bullet wound to the head. By the end, [spoilers] he does it again, this time intentionally, to defy Johan's point.

Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Thoroughly believes this, when he decides to operate on Johan's brain-bullet and disobey the director's orders to ignore the kid and work on the mayor's cerebral-thrombosis. He starts doubting himself, when he sees what Johan has become.

Skilled, but Naïve: Tenma's a surgical prodigy, but it's not his relative inexperience with a scalpel that gets him into trouble in the beginning. It's his inexperience with another aspect of being a doctor: hospital politics.

The So-Called Coward: "Tenma the Weenie! Tenma the Weenie! He peed his pants, too!" Even more so considering the full story given in Another Monster. After the first time the other boys scared him during hide-and-seek, Tenma decided to go through it again in order to conquer his fear. What ended up happening was that they couldn't find him and thought that he just went home, so when one of the mothers told them it was time to go home, they left Tenma by himself. When they found him still hiding in the abandoned yard at night, they probably stopped picking on him simply because he had the guts to do all that.

Technical Pacifist: Although he has no problem pushing, kicking, shoving, and threatening with violence, he has a hard time causing harm to others even if it is to defend his own life.

Think Nothing of It: Does not like to take credit for his achievements, e.g. denying that he'd saved the Turkish district.

Thou Shalt Not Kill: A personal philosophy that looks especially interesting when pitted against his initial tantrums of, "These people need to die."

Took a Level in Badass: Early in the series, after receiving weapons training from an ex-mercenary.

Trademark Favorite Food: Heckel notes that Tenma thinks that any recipe can be improved with soy sauce. And if the fandom on Tumblr has anything to say about it, sandwiches.

Turn the Other Cheek: Constantly, over and over again. He does this to his fellow doctors, as well as his enemies.

Übermensch: By the end of the series, although he starts out as a very clear-cut Last Man. His personal beliefs evolve over the course of the series. He becomes less conflicted, and more willing to do what's necessary.

Unkempt Beauty: He looks like a hobo and still looks very well. Even most fans think he looks better with the hobo look.

Unwitting Pawn: Used, reused, and subverted. A lot of his actions, even his goal are propelled and encouraged by Johan.

White and Grey Morality: How he sees the world.

Wide-Eyed Idealist: Determinedly and stubbornly so. Tenma is convinced that all life is equal, and that everyone can be saved. His beliefs put him at odds with nearly everyone, as he's one of the few idealists in the series.

Wrongly Accused: The whole plot is to save Johan who framed him in the first place, though he's more concerned about saving him and less concerned about being proven innocent.

source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/Monster

[xdontmind]

A REALLY LONG  CHARACTER  SURVEY.

RULES.  repost , don’t  reblog  ! tag  10  ! good  luck  ! TAGGED. @princelylight ( thank you Dad! ;D <3 ) TAGGING. @icebloodedprince, @athiefforhire @interimplexa @echarcsa @fiercefrizz and who ever else wants to because this was fun lol​​​​​

FULL NAME :  Akatsuki Kaneko NICKNAME :  Kane-Chan, Neko-Chan, Kane AGE : 19 BIRTHDAY : May 14th ETHNIC GROUP : Asain NATIONALITY : Japanese LANGUAGE / S : Japanese, Russian, French, English ( only a little ) SEXUAL ORIENTATION : Demisexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : Panromantic RELATIONSHIP STATUS : Single ( verse dependent ) CLASS : Middle Class ( ? ) HOME TOWN / AREA :  Shinjuku CURRENT HOME : Japan PROFESSION :  Izaya Orihara’s Bodyguard - Bodyguard/Assassin for hire ( verse dependent )

PHYSICAL.

HAIR : Russet Red, cut just above her shoulders and is slightly uneven in the front. It’s pretty soft and thin. EYES : Deep Purple. FACE : A little more roundest, especially in the face. ( Squishy cheeks. ) LIPS : Her lips are slightly thin, if not a bit puckered as well.  COMPLEXION : Very pale. You would think that she’s never been outside in her life. BLEMISHES : None. SCARS :  A few littered about her body here and there. Some from actual fights and others from being slightly clumsy. ( there’s a couple of bruises occasionally from walking into things – or the wall – while half awake. She doesn’t like talking about it. ) TATTOOS : None. HEIGHT : 5′4″ WEIGHT :  Around 130 lbs. BUILD : Pretty petite; her muscles are slightly defined due to her work, but pretty slender overall. Her hips are also slightly defined, giving her something like an ‘hourglass’ look. FEATURES : Usually has good posture, but also has a small habit of slouching. ALLERGIES : None. USUAL HAIR STYLE : Bangs are usually in her face if not swept to either side, and her hair tends to fall on it’s own after a good brush through. She doesn’t do much else to style it, as she sees no real need to. USUAL FACE LOOK : Blank expression, a look of either focus or concentration, slightly pursed lips.  USUAL CLOTHING :  She usually tends to wear a sleeveless turtle neck sweater with either a black skirt or black pants. She usually goes for sweaters, large t-shirts, pants, and boots. She tends to shy away from anything too revealing or form fitting as it makes me uncomfortable/embarrassed.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR / S :  Being abandoned, Failure, Letting those she cares about down ASPIRATION / S :  Right now, she’s really unsure. She doesn’t like thinking about the future beyond where she is, as she thinks she has no right to. POSITIVE TRAITS :  Loyal, Hard-working, Talented, Trustworthy NEGATIVE TRAITS :  Insecure, Hot-tempered, Rude, Possessive, Obsessive ZODIAC : Taurus. TEMPERAMENT :   Your temperament is melancholic. The melancholic temperament is fundamentally introverted and thoughtful. Melancholic people often were perceived as very (or overly) pondering and considerate, getting rather worried when they could not be on time for events. Melancholics can be highly creative in activities such as poetry and art - and can become preoccupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world. Often they are perfectionists. They are self-reliant and independent; one negative part of being a melancholic is that they can get so involved in what they are doing they forget to think of others. SOUL TYPE / S :  Thinker(15): Most Thinker types are cerebral, skeptical individuals, who often discount their emotions or intuition in favor of rational analysis. This intellectual approach to life can cause some Thinkers to appear restrained and unemotional to those around them. When hurt, they have to analyze or rationalize what happened before allowing themselves to feel their emotions. Once the emotions kick in, however, Thinkers can feel things as deeply as any other soul type. VICE HABIT / S :   VIRTUES / VICES: Diligence, Humility / Lust, Gluttony, Envy  FAITH :  None. GHOSTS ? : No. AFTERLIFE ? : Yes. REINCARNATION ? : So-So. ALIENS ? : Yes. EDUCATION LEVEL : High School Graduate.

FAMILY.

FATHER :  Akatsuki Hiro MOTHER :  Akatsuki Ayame SIBLINGS :   Akatsuki Nowaki ( older brother ), Akatsuki Chiiko and Kiri ( twin younger brother and sister ) EXTENDED FAMILY :   Several Aunts and Uncles on either side. NAME MEANING / S : “Kaneko” means ‘doubly accomplished child’. HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? :  None.

FAVORITES.

HOLIDAY :  None really. When she was younger, she really enjoyed the Japanese New Year celebrations, tho. MONTH :  September. SEASON : Fall/Winter PLACE :  Shinjuku, Japan / Ikebukuro, Japan WEATHER :  When the clouds are grey and you can hear rain falling against the window. It’s the perfect weather to snuggle up in blankets to. ( Although her mood towards this is a total 180 if she has an assignment she needs to do that requires her to go out into the rain. ) SOUND : Pencil against paper. SCENT / S :  Lavender. Freshly brewed tea. Food of any kind. TASTE / S :  Oh boy, Kaneko is not picky at all, lol. She prefers flavors that are sweet, though. FEEL / S :  Wool. The feel of a soft blanket or sweater. The feeling of her favorite kind of sketching paper. ANIMAL / S :   Cats. Birds. COLORS : Black. Purple.

EXTRA.

TALENTS : Drawing, Self-defense/fighting, Playing innocent, Arts BAD AT :  Emotional Honesty,  Expressing herself on a personal level, TURN ONS : Confidence, Dominance, Kindness, Strength TURN OFFS :  Patronizing, Cruelty HOBBIES : Sketching, Yoga, Exercise, Food tasting ( lol ) TROPES :

Cute Bruiser / Little Miss Badass / Badass Adorable ( They all overlap, so I choose them all instead of one lol ) – Kaneko is only 19 and 5’4” tall, and is pretty damn capable of driving most of her opponents and targets to their knees. You wouldn’t expect it, given her appearance. ( She complains that she looks like she’s 12 instead of 19 most of the time. ) And she’s been taunted and underestimated due to her ‘cute’ appearance. But she’s extremely talented when it comes to combat, and is more than capable of handling herself; especially when armed with her favorite knife.

Black Sheep – Out of her immediate family, Kaneko is the only one to rebel and go against their initial expectations and rules. Even though it was triggered by an outside source and her unhealthy desire to please him(them), she still manages to completely reject her role in her family and become completely estranged from them altogether. 

All Girls Want Bad Boys/Did you Actually Believe?/What does she see in him? – These are all more prone to her ‘main’ verse more than anything, as Kaneko’s feelings towards Izaya is anything but healthy. Izaya is the furthest thing from a good person – at least to those that he sees as disposable. She’s much too blind by her infatuated view towards him to realize that he may just toying around with her, and that she’s essentially being manipulated for his own purposes. People from the outside might notice it if they know who Izaya is and what he does, hence the last trope too.

Tsundere/Yandere – I personally always get torn when trying to decide if Kaneko is either a Yandere or a Tsundere, but I think the best way to go about it is to label her as somewhere in between. Like a Yandere, she can be really obsessive and controlling when it comes to the object of her affection, and depending on exactly how toxic the relationship or pining might be, she’d have no qualms about becoming violent for their benefit as well. And like a Tsundere, she can be very hot and cold; and can have a cold exterior with some sweetness that pokes out here and there. ( Usually with those she’s growing fond of. )

AESTHETIC TAGS : Paint Esal, Rain on windows, A hot Summer day with just enough wind, A sweater that’s a bit too big

FC INFO.

MAIN FC / S : Nakaba ( animated ), Eri Kamei ( LA ) ALT FC / S : N/A. OLDER FC / S : N/A. YOUNGER FC / S : Machi Kuragi (?) VOICE CLAIM / S : Karen Fukuhara GENDERBENT  FC / S : If Kaneko was born male/or male presenting, I would think that she’d look a bit like Dazai Osamu. Just different color hair, and a little bit more of a baby face. And slightly longer hair lol

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair Liveblog (Chapter 10)

It’s Mah-kun again! I swear, these adorable chapter cover pages will be the death of me. Not only because they are cute, but because they tend to be quite bittersweet as well. Seeing tiny Mah-kun with that HUGE sword is so ridiculous but at the same time incredibly sad.

I also really appreciate the differences in his outfit then compared to now. This one is a lot more casual, less put-together. Iskander is small enough that he can wear a shorter glove instead of the long one that goes up to his elbow (I do so love how much research is put into this damn thing). But also, his pants and the cloth wrapped around the ankles is far messier than his current clothes, probably because he’s not wearing boots at this age but still, it contributes to his younger self’s image.

But omg Iskander looks like a duck at that angle.

Warning: this post got REALLY long whoops

Chapter 10: Chief of the Eyes and Ears

btw, going with whatever titles the fan translators decided on. I only have the first volume raws and the official translation only has volume 1 I think.

Ok, so proper introduction to the worship of the water spirit that was mentioned last chapter. The five elements thing is nothing unusual, neat how it has apparently spread across the continent though, making these representations quite diverse. We only see four here, though.

Alright, so back to Mahmut trying to use this pyramis charm thing.

lol I. Sort of like this weird expression.

Iskander are you okay. What is with those eyes are you looking up or something...? I do like those claws though, very sharp and deadly. Can you imagine those coming for your face at full speed?

Also, Mahmut here is just. Cute. And Turkish interior design (or at least this world’s Turkish interior design) continues to confuse me. What. Where is the floor. What is a couch/bed and what is not.

Oh, ok, at first I thought those eagles on the cliffs were people coming to attack the town or something. Phew.

Actually, it’s nighttime. They really can’t fly around at night (irl, for this manga narrative-wise unless you want to restrict Iskander to only being present during the day, this had to change).

Almost forgot to mention: pensive Mahmut here. His eye was also drawn very prettily here.

In exchange for the unrealistic part about eagles flying around at night, we get this neat bit of realism - Mahmut can’t call upon other eagles to help during the summer and autumn months. I like that restriction. It makes sense, rather than let him call up some birdy friends whenever and wherever possible.

His expression is a bit lopsided here, I guess it’s half fondness and half ‘it’s a pity’ sort of thing.

Look, I sympathize, I would totally be that person, too.

Unimpressed, ‘ugh’ Mahmut.

WELL, that was a sudden introduction, I guess they really trust that those pyramis charms won’t fall into the wrong hands and the people who use them are the intended holders...?

lol Mahmut. What’s with your face. Iskander is better, though. His expression is kind of, how you tell what Mahmut is thinking here. Though Mahmut looks sort of disgusted, unimpressed, there’s probably still shock in there.

I like the cup.

I wonder if it pained him to say that, as if he is Zaganos’s underling. Well, his rank is far lower now, but it’s not like he’s one of Zaganos’s men. Not sure what the fine details at work are, since I don’t have the raws.

lol this sounds like a game. just like a game.

This guy is very dramatic, though. Why did you not bother warning Mahmut what the other spy is like.

“Huh?” expression? He looks younger here again, haha.

I’m extremely curious about what sort of person Zaganos is, actually, but I’ve been told his story comes in drips and drabs across the whole series.

Mahmut’s face tends to look really cute in the manga. At certain points, he appears less adult than he does in the anime, which is quite hilarious seeing as I complained about the anime portraying him as childish before portraying him as a badass general/serious guy.

omg I love how even Iskander’s feathers are blowing in the last panel. Not sure how much force it would take to actually ruffle a bird’s feathers like that, come to think of it...the tend to lay flat, except maybe the fluffy chest feathers of some birds (I spent my childhood watching animal planet and the discovery channel ok).

U-UM. EXCUSE ME. MR. AWESOME. You really should get that cloak fixed, or maybe invest in a new one.

But UH. LOOK. HOW BIG. HIS BIRDY IS. (I was actually informed way back in the first chapter or so that falconers with female eagles would make an appearance, but holy this is a great entrance.)

I will be freaking about who this guy actually is a little further down, so I’ll talk about his birdy Katerina here.

Starting this series, I instantly liked Mahmut because he’s a falconer and that’s awesome. But I was 100% prepared for the series to forget about the sexual dimorphism between male and female birds of prey, it happens in most media. (females are almost always larger, and usually by a great deal, but in most media there is no size difference or the relationship is inverted) 

I was glad Mahmut got Iskander, a male bird, because Mahmut is tiny (about 5′4″ officially I think). A smaller bird suits him better. Female golden eagles are 8-15 lbs and males are 6-10 lbs, it just makes sense that he doesn’t have 15 lbs of bird to tote around.

Imagine my surprise when I was told that someone does have a female golden eagle in the manga, and she is appropriately larger than Iskander.

I’m just. in love. with this manga.

Dramatic shading is A+ here.

I think there is another spelling of his name out there, but I forgot what it was.

But HEY YOU. So there were other people from Mahmut’s clan that survived, probably whoever wasn’t in the village at the time. Come to think of it, did the manga ever mention Mahmut was the last of his clan? I don’t think so. Everyone from his village was wiped out, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the clan is dead. aha, take that ‘last of your kind’ trope

(btw I like his rugged look)

aw

This was sort of confusing, so I’ll leave the notes here.

Perhaps a mix of uncertainty and something else here. I wouldn’t say sad or anything, but it’s a bit troubled.

oh man. xD I wonder if he ever tasted it before, he was young when he left. I mean, he probably drinks at this age given the time period, but I guess nothing quite so strong.

PRINCESS. oh my god. I’m dying. was. was that actually 姫 in the raw or something else? (I can think of one alternative, but I’d love it if it actually was. princess.)

That is both endearing and hilarious at the same time. I was going to stop watching the anime but. maybe I need to pick it up again. I love everyone’s voice except Mahmut’s so.

I need this to be in the anime. So I can tell what that term really is.

ANYWAY, BACK ON TRACK. Aw, I like the expressions in these panels. It’s just. I love the bonding over your respective birds. And someone who can understand his attachment to Iskander.

Also, Mahmut’s slightly embarrassed face lol. Is that little blush from the alcohol or embarrassment.

And I like the clear size difference between the birds.

The feathers look so good.

Also, Iskander is quite tiny like his owner, I mean, look at what this birds look like irl next to a person:

HUGE.

I’m. Just going to end up screen capping the whole chapter, aren’t I.

Aw, this whole part is just.

Is Mahmut a fast learner? He was only five when everyone died, that doesn’t leave much time to learn.

I like how he is clearly a younger man in this panel from 12 years ago. More clean-shaven.

THIS MANGA NEEDS TO STOP TEARING OUT MY HEART.

I wonder how large their clan was, actually.

So, um, that’s why strong drinks don’t bother him. And I see the theatre continues to piss everyone off. How reliable.

Heey younger Zaganos. Still looks like your face is getting consumed by your hair, but he does actually look a bit younger, too. He’s quite young now, even, so. I forgot if his age was mentioned though.

I don’t really know this guy too well yet so it’s hard to tell, but man, that grief, rage, and helplessness. Perhaps that question “Why didn’t you save them!?” is directed at himself as much as it is to them. 

The tone of this translation makes it hard to tell if he’s conflating the play with reality or if he’s just being snide (he’s being snide/contemptuous of course). But for a second there I was ???

This is heartbreaking, that’s what this is. And yeah, he does have survivor’s guilt.

Funnily enough, Zaganos’s physique here resembles Mahmut’s current one to me. He is a lot smaller/shorter 12 years ago (I just like how the adults actually age in this thing, ok. well, and Suleyman’s experience has aged him in a different way)

Oh, ok, he was 14. So he’s 26 now.

Must resist the urge to wonder what Zaganos’s story is because if I do it will be torture waiting for the pieces to unveil themselves.

But damn, and I thought his hair was eating his head before. I was wrong. He’s in 100% medusa mode now.

I was trying to steer clear of this train of thought, but Mahmut brings it up. The narrative (and Mahmut himself) are trying to compare him and Zaganos. They are/were similarly determined to do something for their country, but Zaganos actually knew how to do that, he was more pragmatic since he was young.

Which begs the question: what the heck happened in his past to make him that way? At this point, we don’t even know if he came from a wealthy background, if he had a normal life or a more tragic past like Mahmut, it’s all up in the air. And yet the narrative urges you to compare him to Mahmut when there is not much to go off of.

Which is, coincidentally, the same position Mahmut is in. He might know a little more about Zaganos than us readers, but it doesn’t matter. To him it feels like he’s going up against this huge force he cannot fathom until it hits him in the face, and we are similarly in the dark.

idk I like the way the narrative presents this, is all.

Gold.

“I take it you dislike Zaganos Pasha?”

“Of course not! ...a little...” His expression there is really scary, haha. I don’t even know what to make of it.

lol what’s with Iskander. Wait, is Iskander supposed to be “laughing” with Suleyman?

As if there wasn’t enough drama for one night.

Pwee is actually...a good way to describe how these birds sound. Go listen to the cry of a golden eagle. Poor things don’t exactly have the most majestic of cries.

I appreciate the very devilish face here.

LOOK. Look at how shocked Mahmut is. To be called something so familiar. (not sure what this would have been in the original...ugh I wanna know.)

OH WAIT. Is this lady the one who survived being attacked by the eagles and having a burning tent tossed on her?

I have way too many images in this post. But this is a looong chapter for some reason.

and these are very good, look how nice that shot from below is so you can see all the stars.

Katerina’s wingspan is MASSIVE (apparently it can reach a max of 7.5 feet so, like, it’s not like this is even an exaggeration)

This is actually a very nice bit of research. And true, as far as I know. I even found this fact from the San Diego Zoo/a research article on the species: “Red items excite golden eagles, as does the sight of blood; they will attack people wearing red.”

UH. THAT’S NOT GOOD. Also, kudos to the villain lady for actually doing research on the things she got attacked by last time.

Ok this post is getting way too long BUT know that I appreciate how the mangaka drew the blood splashed on him.

ONCE AGAIN. This is terrifying.

Extra terrifying because this is the end of the chapter. Mahmut, how will you get out of this now?? You’re about to become bird food.

← back・onward →

[entergamingxp]

Ian’s top ten best PSVR games of 2019 • Eurogamer.net

Welcome one and all to this year’s exciting instalment of the Ian’s VR Corner Top Ten list where I’ll be going over my ten favourite PSVR games of 2019. As per usual, the following list is completely my opinion and it only features games that I myself have played, so if I’ve missed out one of your favourites, chances are it’s either because I thought it was a bit bobbins, or that I just didn’t have time to give it a go. Either way, please do share the love for your favourite PSVR games of 2019 in the comments below and hopefully, together, we can inspire others to try them out too.

You can check out the video version of this list just below these words where you can watch footage of each game featured or, if reading is more your thing, you’ll find my entire top ten list just under that.

10 – Ghost Giant

Anyone who has watched the Ghost Giant episode of Ian’s VR Corner will know that I had a fair few issues with the game’s motion controls, or more specifically, the fiddliness of picking things up that were just a little too far out of reach. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to Ghost Giant than just its control scheme and I was able to push past those faults and appreciate the emotionally charged story at its core.

In terms of production values, Ghost Giant is way up there and it actually shares a lot of similarities with Moss, one of my favourite games of 2018. The level of detail in Ghost Giant is incredible and the paper-craft dioramas that make up the levels look stunning in VR. It almost feels like you’re sat, centre stage in your very own Tim Burton movie, able to reach in and touch and interact with every inch of the world.

I didn’t just enjoy playing around and exploring these ultra detailed, model villages though, I was also enthralled by the life and personality of the characters that were expertly animated and voice acted. If you can look past the unwieldy interactions caused by the less than accurate Move controllers you’ll find a beating heart which is full of sweetness and sadness and there lies a story that will stick with you for a long, long time.

9 – Everybody’s Golf VR

Someone famous once said that golf is a good walk spoiled, so it’s probably a good job then that Everybody’s Golf VR is a completely stationary experience. By cutting out all those boring strolls it means the game and its players can concentrate on pure, unadulterated virtual golfing across three gorgeous, 18 hole courses.

As the name would suggest, Everybody’s Golf is indeed for everybody. That means seasoned golfers will instantly be able to enjoy batting their balls around while newcomers can make use of an incredibly intuitive in-game interface to practice swings and judge the power and angle of each shot before going all in for a hole in one. The tracking of the Move controller is pretty much spot on with Everybody’s Golf VR and I didn’t notice any kind of drift or inaccuracy at all. Holding a single Move controller with two hands like you would the grip on a club feels just like you’re holding the real thing and this adds a lovely sense of immersion to the already relaxed vibe of the game.

While Everybody’s Golf VR is slightly watered down compared to other games from the series, especially when it comes to the lack of multiplayer, it does feel like a perfect fit for PSVR and it’s an ideal starting point for any golf enthusiasts out there who may be nervous about trying VR for the first time.

8 – Falcon Age

It’s hard not to fall in love with Falcon Age after mere minutes of playing it and a lot of that has to do with your cute as hell companion, whom I decided to name, Pudding. Pudding is a falcon that you raise from a squeaking ball of feathers into a fully grown, mech murdering bird of prey and it’s pretty safe to say that caring for Pudding is probably the closest I’ve probably come to treating a VR animal as if it were a real-life living being.

Falcon Age is a rather compact open-world affair in which you stick it to awful robotic industrialists one act of sabotage and rebellion at a time. You head out into this world with a neat whip-baton thing in one hand and Pudding on your other, and you can send pudding to attack things, collect things, yank things about and then hold them up while you give them a good shoeing.

Just having Pudding there on your fist makes you think about it on a very emotional level. Seeing Pudding get hungry was enough to make me want to learn the rudiments of the cooking system, but pulling spikes out of her after a fight genuinely made me furious in a way a dog owner might be if someone mistreated their beloved pooch while they were out on a walk. This is a game about nurturing, about trust, about friendship and loyalty and about having an awesome Falcon friend who’ll do your bidding and smash evil robots for you. I love you, Pudding.

7 – Sairento VR

You know that bit in The Matrix when Keanu Reeves goes, “I know Kung Fu!”? Well I had a few moments of realisation just like that during my first hands-on session with the PSVR port of Sairento VR. Don’t go into Sairento VR expecting to be a badass from the off though. There’s an incredibly steep learning curve here and there’s a lot of things you’ll need to learn in order to feel comfortable when navigating the levels.

In fact, this game should definitely be thought of as being on the extreme end of the comfort scale because it expects you to do double jumps, bounce off or run along walls and scale great heights. All whilst swinging swords, shooting guns and triggering super cool slow mo super powers. The first couple of levels really ease you into things, but by the third, the action is relentless and enemies come at you rapidly, shooting and hitting you from all angles.

This onslaught can be terribly frustrating at first but it forces you to learn quickly and it won’t be long before you’re chaining leaps and bounds together with slow-motion headshots and slick slide kills where you split opponents in two with your blade. When everything does start to click, the combat becomes so absorbing that it’s easy to forget about the normal world that exists outside of your headset. That’s why it’s well worth putting in the hours to practice your skills because when everything is going your way and you’re flowing through the levels, Sairento VR is one hell of an experience.

6 – Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion HD Renovation

Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion HD Renovation is the first game in the world to have ever made me swear at a piece of toast and for that it instantly gets a thumbs up from me.

This VR remake of the cult classic PC horror game sees you trapped inside an ever changing maze comprised of 1000 different rooms, each one potentially home to a jump scare or two. Despite the budget look to the graphics and a rather slow start, I was surprised by just how scary Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion could be. Being stalked through the rooms by some of the games more unsettling specimens would honestly be bad enough in the flat version of the game, but in VR it’s panic inducing as you can almost feel their physical presence gaining on you as you try to escape.

That feeling of being chased never gets old either, as the rooms, locations and your pursuers keep changing in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Basically it’s like dropping acid and going to a Halloween Horror Fright Night even at Thorpe Park, except you won’t need to drop acid and there won’t be a massive queue to get in. Now hurry up and release this in the EU please, Albino Moose Games!

5 – Trover Saves the Universe

If you didn’t already know, Trover Saves the Universe is made by Squanch Games, a development studio run by Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty fame. So, if that kind of wacky, sweary, tasteless and self-referential sci-fi humour is your bag, Trover Saves the Universe will have you covered. In spit and poop, mainly…

Playing a bit like an Astrobot for adults, Trover Saves the Universe sees you galavanting around the galaxy, intruding on the often disgusting inhabitants of Alien worlds, all whilst trying to rescue your two pet dogs from the eye sockets of the evil Glorkon who is hell bent on destroying life as we know it.

There’s a fairly big game here and it basically includes everything you’d expect from a standard 3D platformer like combat, jumping, bounce pads, puzzles and item collecting. Everything in Trover has this dark and disgusting Roiland twist to it though and this leaves you constantly surprised and occasionally sickened by the events that occur. The bonkers scenarios and the imaginative characters that live within them are often either comically creepy or absurdly annoying and as such, fans of Rick and Morty are bound to be in VR heaven with Trover. For some, this constant barrage of weird humour may be a little too overwhelming and that’s totally understandable, but I played it through twice because I’m also super weird.

4 – Borderlands 2 VR

Technically Borderlands 2 VR came out in 2018, but it appeared on the Playstation store so late in December that my Top Ten list for that year had already been published. In fact, I didn’t even feature it on Ian’s VR Corner until January when I came back from my Christmas holidays so its inclusion on this list totally counts. Totally.

Far from being a short spin-off experience, Borderlands 2 VR is a complete conversion of the flat game, featuring the full 25+ hour campaign. Plus, after the release of the free Bad Ass MegaFun DLC pack in September of this year, it also includes the four add on story missions and a bunch of upgrade packs too. That’s a lotta bang for your buck indeed!

I had a lot of fun when Borderlands 2 VR first came out, but when Aim controller support was added in another update, the game just got better. Being able to hold, admire and shoot any of the bazillion guns that are available to you in VR while holding the aim controller just adds to the immersion and it makes shooting all those Bullymongs and bandits feel super satisfying. Borderlands 2 VR is an incredibly well produced title that looks beautiful in 3D so it’s well worth revisiting if you’ve played the game before in flat version. If this is your first trip to Pandora however, this is a must buy that’ll keep you busy for ages. WUB, WUB, WUB!

3 – Ace Combat 7

I’m absolutely terrified of flying in real life but flying in VR? Well that is a completely different story, especially when it comes to Ace Combat 7’s VR levels. There may only be three unique missions available in the VR portion of the game but when they’re this gorgeous, this exhilarating and this immersive, you’ll find plenty of excuses to replay them. I mean, I certainly did!

There’s just so much to love here, from the ultra detailed, interactive inheritors of the cockpits and the adrenaline pumping intensity of the VR dog-fights, through to the way that water droplets roll across your aircraft’s canopy as you leave thick cloud cover and burst out into the sunlight and thunder your way towards yours foes.

The sense of speed, power and of just ‘being there in the moment’ is truly exceptional here, so it’s a damn shame that Ace Combat 7’s biggest fault is that only a small portion of the game is playable in VR. Please, Bandai Namco, give us a full VR campaign and I promise you, I’ll buy it twice! Ace Combat 7 may have come out right at the start of 2019 but I still think about its VR missions regularly and I pull out my HOTAS and strap myself into my jumpseat whenever I get the chance.

2 – No Man’s Sky Beyond

No Man’s Sky Beyond is almost the perfect VR game. It’s infinite, it’s incredibly immersive and if it wasn’t for the low resolution of the visuals, I could quite easily spend a large portion of my life just pootling around the galaxy digging through planets for valuable minerals like some kind of space age mole man.

The experience of exploring the universe in No Man’s Sky in VR is every bit as jaw dropping and massive as you could have hoped for but the ever present blur does kill the magnificence a bit. All those stunning vistas and the mysterious alien flora and fauna that you may remember from the flat version now look like indistinct smudges on the horizon and this works towards dampening that awesome sense of discovery that made the exploration so compelling.

Get past that though as you’ll find that the rest of the game is an absolute joy to play. The sense of scale in VR is amazing and the ability to fly around from planet to planet and galaxy to galaxy while being encased in the game is incomparable to anything else I’ve played in VR. This is a straight up, never-ending VR adventure and depending on your patience for the survival genre, you could easily end up spending countless hours exploring brand new world after brand new world. No Man’s Sky Beyond is an amazing achievement and I’d recommend it to anyone with a VR headset, if only to get a taste of what VR adventures could be like in the future, if the platform continues to grow and expand.

1 – Blood and Truth

Right now, at the point of writing this feature, everyone in the world is getting excited about a brand new James Bond trailer. Everyone that is except me, because this year, thanks to Blood and Truth, I was James Bond.

The beauty of Blood and Truth though is that I wasn’t just James Bond, I was actually loads of things. I was a soldier in a warzone, a cockney gangster literally riding shotgun in a sports car and I was even some kind of parkour hitman, dodging machine gun fire from a helicopter as I legged it across the floors of a barely built block of flats before throwing myself through some plate glass windows as I shot enemies in the face during some glorious scenes of slow-motion gun-fu.

In Blood and Truth you are the star of your very own action movie, no more passively watching the action unfold on a flat screen, oh no. Here you’re right there in the thick of it, catching and throwing back live grenades, dual wielding pistols and generally living out all of those action movie fantasies that you never thought would come true. There’s an excellent supporting cast who’re brought to life by some top notch voice acting and motion capture and this serves to give you a real connection to the characters in some of the slower paced scenes, while each action set piece is just varied enough to make you constantly gasp out loud with the thrill of it all.

The gunplay is excellent too and while the on rails nature of the gameplay could be seen as a turn off for some, it keeps the pace rattling along and allows the developers to do some really clever and unexpected things with VR. If you own a PSVR you need this game and that’s the bloody truth of it.

And that, my lovely friends, is that! Hopefully you enjoyed this look back at my favourite PSVR games of 2019 but if I did miss any of your favourites out, do remember to tell us about them in the comments! Before I wander off to snaffle some pre-Christmas mince pies, I’d just like to say a big thank you to each and everyone of you for the continued support you’ve been giving my VR coverage. Can you believe Ian’s VR Corner has been going for over a year and a half now? Crazy!

Here’s hoping things get even more exciting for VR in 2020, whether that’s for PSVR or for the wider range of headsets, because if 2019 has proven anything at all, it’s that VR just keeps getting bigger and better and it’s definitely not going to go away any time soon! If this list is the first you’ve seen of my VR coverage by the way, Ian’s VR Corner happens every Sunday on this channel so do pop on over and subscribe for more VR videos whenever they’re uploaded. Oh and of course, do have a lovely Christmas and a wonderful new year!

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/ians-top-ten-best-psvr-games-of-2019-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ians-top-ten-best-psvr-games-of-2019-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net