#also vector is a young adult

[mattypattypinky]

VECTOR'S PSYCHOPATHIC TENDENCIES

I'M GONNA CRY

This is so funny 😭

[jorrated]

i think porker and vector should have a situationship

[commitmentissue]

zombie aftermath challenge - adjusted

i'm absolutely obsessed with all things zombie related, and i've always been dying to try the apocalypse challenge. it looks extremely fun, but i find the original challenge to be a little too hard for my play style, and the aftermath challenge a bit too short. so here's my version of it based off the original apocalypse challenge and this one from cannibalcupcake. the biggest change i've made is that there are much less restrictions. if it's not listed as a restriction, you can do it. my challenge is also a little different, because it gets slightly harder as you move on. there's also only 5 generations because there's really only so much you can do until you're just playing a regular legacy again. i would highly recommend playing with vector if you want actual zombies, along with this mod and this one if you want weapons to kill them. you may use any other violence/weapon mods if you wish. if not, you may use cheats to get around killing them or any sims. this is pretty long, so everything is included under the cut 🧟‍♂️

to start off with, any surviving sims and heirs must have at least one survival trait. if they get any non-survival trait, they must be killed off when they reach young adult. you may only choose the founder's traits, the rest of your sims have to be randomized. any other traits not listed are fine, i tried to go with what the original list had and my own personal opinions on what would work.

survival traits

-adventurous -angler -athletic -brave -daredevil -disciplined -eccentric -eco-friendly -family oriented (all sims who give birth must have this trait, if they do not, they must be killed off after giving birth. the children may survive) -gatherer -genius -green thumb -handy -kleptomaniac -light sleeper -lucky -natural cook -never nude -nurturing (they may also have this instead of family oriented, but same rules apply) -perceptive -technophobe -vegetarian

non-survival traits

-absent minded -brooding -clumsy -coward -hates the outdoors -heavy sleeper -insane -loser -neurotic -couch potato -hot-headed -over-emotional -unlucky -unstable

stage zero - infection

the world as we know it has fallen- no more electricity, no more jobs, no more people. there's zombies roaming around, after all. however, you managed to survive the end of the world, and now it's up to you to rebuild it.

to survive stage zero;

start off with two young adult sims, can have any traits but must have at least one survival trait. these will be the only sims whose traits you can choose, so pick wisely!

must live in a fenced in lot, if a sim leaves the lot for any reason besides an expedition or killing loitering zombies, they must be killed off

must grow your own food, there's no supermarket

must produce a surviving heir, have has many kids as you need to until you can do this. you also must try for a baby every time your sims want to woohoo

your sims may not have a job or be self-employed. money is obsolete now. you cannot sell anything in your inventory

you cannot interact with any sims outside of the family, they're all zombies!

cannot use any electricity. a stove and refrigerator are fine, they just have to be the cheapest one, you also cannot upgrade anything to unbreakable. you cannot repair or replace anything unless your sim is handy or has mastered the handiness skill. once it breaks, it's gone.

if you can justify something as battery powered, it is allowed, but if it breaks it cannot be fixed or replaced

may use plumbing, but no showers (yes, even the outdoor shower unless you don't like mods). sponge baths only. same rules as electricity

may go on expeditions outside the lot once a week, but once you have children only one sim may go outside until you get a teenager

this stage will be completed once your heir has aged up to a young adult.

stage one - lawless land

you and your family thought you had this survival thing down, until other survivors came pouring into town. now you have to defend yourself not just from the zombies, but from other people as well.

to survive stage one;

your heir must join the criminal career and until they are level 5, they must pay a $300 tax to the gangs every week

you may only marry and talk to other sims in the criminal career

you can only join the thief branch, your sim isn't the big bad guy

you can no longer use any plumbing or electrical items, the gangs have tainted the water and have completely shut off all power

can still go on weekly expeditions, but now you must roll a die on whether or not the sim will die. even for life, odd for death

you may also only leave during the night now, as the gangs patrol the streets

you can only have two children, but if neither survive you can try again. your sims must try for a baby every time they woohoo, so be careful, any extra children must be killed off

master the athletic skill

master the logic skill

reach the top of the criminal career

this stage will be completed once you have topped the criminal career and your heir has aged up to a young adult.

stage two - military power

you grew up knowing that all hope was lost and the past was in the past, until one day the military rolled into town and announced they were taking over. they've vowed to wipe out all the zombies across simlandia, but can you really trust them?

to survive stage two;

your heir must join the military career, and until they reach the top of the career they must pay a weekly $100 tax for each sim in the household (5 sims = $500)

you may only marry and talk to other sims in the military career

you may now use plumbing again, but only from 2PM-5PM

you can use electricity after reaching level 5 in the career, the military provides you with a generator. they must be the cheapest items

you can now use the cell phone again, but only for calls (treat it like a walkie-talkie or radio)

all food must be rationed, you can only keep 5 of each type of produce/meat. the rest must be 'donated' to the military (aka just throw it out, no selling!)

you can have as many kids as you want, but keep the taxes in mind. you can still only try for a baby when woohooing

you may now go on as many expeditions as you'd like at any time of day, but you still must role a die on your chances. even for life, odd for death

master the athletic skill

master the handiness skill

this stage will be completed once you have topped the military career and your heir has aged up to a young adult.

stage three - the cure

the military has announced that the only way to get rid of the zombies is to set off bombs. but this means you and your family could die, and all that they've worked for will be destroyed. it's up to you to save simanity.

your heir must join either the medical or science careers, but these are no longer jobs- you are a volunteer and money earned must be given back to the career of your choice. you can save $50 each payday

every promotion you get you must roll a die to decide if you lived or died while attempting to create the cure. even for life, odd for death. after 3 successful attempts, the cure has been made

you can now marry and talk to sims outside of your career, but no one from the military

plumbing is now unrestricted

electricity is now unrestricted, but you can still only use the cheapest items

sims no longer need family orientated/nurturing to give birth now that the hospital has been set up. you also no longer have to try for a baby every time they want to woohoo

food is no longer rationed, but you don't trust the meat the military provides. your family must be vegetarian (does not need the trait)

have as many children as you can, you're trying to repopulate and also make sure someone else can take over for you in case you fail at creating the vaccine

master gardening skill

master handiness skill

this stage will be completed once you have successfully created the cure and your heir has aged up to a young adult.

stage four - survival of the fittest

your parent's cure has been spread around the world, and the zombies have been wiped out. the world is ready to return to normal, but what is normal? you were born into a world of survival, you don't know anything else.

your heir may now join any self-employed career

your sims will no longer need to be killed off for having a non-survival trait, but they must be kicked out at young adulthood

all plumbing and electricity has been fixed and you can now afford nicer things- but do you really want them at this point?

your sim must live off the land, no buying things from stores, you don't trust anything from outside your own garden or what you've caught yourself

you can leave the lot whenever you want and no longer need to worry about rolling a die- it's safe outside!

do not get married

master gardening, inventing, and fishing

reach level 5 in 3 other skills of your choice

raise a spoiled child, they don't have to worry about their life anymore, so they're nothing like you. do not have a close relationship with your children

as an elder, move to a city to see what the new world has become. it's up to you what to do next

this stage will be completed once your heir dies.

and then that's it! you're welcome to continue the legacy past this however you'd like, but that's where i'm going to end it at. if you try this challenge you can @ me, i'd love to see it 💚 any feedback is much appreciated

[thebluestbluewords]

Spiraling

TW for anxiety/OCD-like thoughts. This one is completely self-indulgent. Carlos-centric, because I like it when my badass characters also have brains that are a little bit broken. +

The stupid thing is that there's no trigger. 

It's just. 

Everything. All at once. All the time. There's math class, which Carlos loves fiercely and completely, only today his usual teacher Mr. Gemble is out sick. Which would be fine. People in Auradon get sick all the time, and then they get better, and there's nothing to worry about, except-- 

Except for how sometimes people get sick and they don't come back. Sometimes a little flu turns into something worse, and it means fluid in his lungs and long term damage from the smoke and need to start an antibiotic course right away and if I thought it would get used I'd send them home, but with that family-- 

There's nothing to worry about. People in Auradon get sick, and then they go to a doctor, and they get better. Simple. A dependency. Mr. Gemble is out sick so that he can go to a doctor, and he'll get the treatment he needs, and he'll be back in school once he's feeling better. 

He's going to get better. 

The sickness isn't going to spread. 

Viral infection and endemic and need a higher sample to provide effective inoculation. 

But they're not on the Isle of the Lost anymore, and everyone at Auradon Prep has a course of vaccinations before they come into the school for the first time, and the only exceptions are them, and it's not like Carlos is that close with his math teacher. Not like he could be the vector, bringing whatever illness took out a teacher, an adult, a man who's always seemed strong and healthy and whole, back to his crew. 

He's not-- 

There's nothing to worry about. 

So he sits in his usual seat. Middle of the class, Evie at his back, both of them against the wall, door directly in their line of sight. He pulls out his notebook and his pencil that appeared in his room one day, and he does not burn them because they were contaminated. Nothing could be done. No disinfectant can get out the spores-- 

He takes notes. Doesn't touch his face. Eyes, nose, mouth. Clear. He'll wash his hands after class. His bag is contaminated now, if the notebook was inside it, but he can take everything out later, if he brings it in the shower, he can take everything out and wash it clean, and he'll run the ultrasonic bath for the metal pieces, he can use the key to get into the lab and borrow the enclave, and don't touch your face, that's how it spreads. 

Carlos lowers his hand. 

The movement looks like he's raising his hand. He knows with the rational part of his brain, which is why the substitute teacher Mrs. Sidney calls on him, because she saw his hand move and she's young, and her voice is high-pitched and a little bit sharp because she gets nervous around the four of them, because she's a good Auradon teacher, a nice young teacher, and-- 

He doesn't even know what the question was. 

She called on him because she's a nice Auradon girl fresh out of teaching school, and she's scared of his crew but she's trying not to show it, she's trying to take care to treat them equally and bring them out of their shells, and she doesn't know, she doesn't know. 

She doesn't know that Carlos isn't supposed to talk in class, because letting people know how much he knows is dangerous and he's small but he's fast and he's smart and he doesn't want to be tapped as a henchman for one of the adults, so he will keep quiet and slip out of school before anyone can catch up to him and he'll stay quiet in class and maybe answer one question a day, because that's a normal amount, that won't stick out, and even if he gets them all correct it won't matter if he's only getting one or two things right. That's a normal amount. He's normal. Nothing special, nothing worth noticing. 

There's nothing to worry about. 

He stutters out a non-answer. Stupid, stupid. He's got to pay better attention. 

"I don't know," he says, and it's the truth, but he doesn't know-- 

It's not safe to be too clever, but it's also not safe to be stupid, and Mrs. Sidney sighs like she's disappointed in him, and there's nothing he can do to play back the question and make it make sense, so he just ducks his head down and keeps his hands on his desk and doesn't move them again, and-- 

It's not safe to draw attention to himself, so he won't. He'll draw away and inside himself, and he can't feel shame if he can't feel his body, but he needs to stay aware of his hands so he doesn't touch his face and contaminate everything, so he can't retreat all the way. 

So. That's one thing. 

The bell rings. 

The bell rings, and Evie's getting her things together behind him, and Carlos needs to move, because everyone is moving, because passing periods are short and staying still isn't keeping him safe anymore, so he moves at automatic speed through the motions, pencil tucked in his shorts pocket, wash his clothes later, and notebook in his bag, don't touch your face, and textbook shoved in behind them. His bag goes over his shoulder. Don't flinch. His free hand goes in his hoodie pocket, so he can tap the handle of the knife he's got tucked there, small and close and safe. 

His shoulder throbs. 

That's another thing. He's got something fucked up about his right shoulder, something small and hot that burns down his arm through his elbow every time he picks up his bag and shoulders the weight of it. He's not allowed to check the anatomy textbooks out from the library because they're restricted to only people taking the A&P courses this semester. Idiot boy doesn't know what he's reading, he just likes the pictures. But. He's pretty sure that his shoulder isn't supposed to burn, and even flipping through the whole thing in the library, because people are always watching the Isle freaks and he can't linger on any one illustration for too long and reveal a potential weakness, he can guess that there's some sort of nerve damage. A pinch or a twist or something that can't be fixed except with rest and time and general good health. 

Chronic pain, the clinic doctor said. Bone shards. Too small to be worth operating on, not with this level of healing already. 

The barrier is a curse. 

"Gods," Evie says, and Carlos does not jump. "I'm starving today. D'you think they'll have the croissant sandwiches at lunch?" 

don't eat that. it's not safe. give it to mama. 

Carlos forces his face into a smile, because Evie loves croissants, loves flaky bread and soft pastry, loves them loves them loves them loves them. "Probably. If they don't have them out you can ask Janelle in the kitchen to get one for you." 

Evie sighs as she shoulders her bag, and Carlos is watching her face so he sees when there's no wince as the weight hits her shoulder, and Evie's bag is even heavier than his, so it's stupid that he's the one dealing with pain, but he's always been—

He's not weak. 

"Janelle's so sweet," Evie says dreamily. "I asked her for the recipe of that avocado dressing last week, you know the one, with the poppy seeds in it?" 

"Yeah." 

"She just gave it to me. Printed off the cutest little recipe card and everything. She said they have a school cookbook that they print out for all the seventh graders in the cooking elective, and she'll make an extra copy for me the next time they run it by the printers." Evie's hands flutter like little butterflies to follow the words, bright and slim like the printer paper that Carlos knows how to feed into the industrial size printers they use for the school paper. He could hack into the school computers and print off a recipe book for Evie. He can run the printer and the laminator and the spiral binding machine that Jordan uses to archive copies of the school newspaper. "She's so nice." 

Evie's got a crush. 

Highly contagious. Spreads through shared food and drink. 

Evie's crush works in the kitchens. Where everyone comes through. Where there's a lot of shared food and drink, and buffet lines where it's easy to sneeze on the silverware cups, and—

Carlos needs to wash his hands. He needs Evie to wash her hands, but he can't touch her, because he's already contaminated and she might not be yet, she doesn't sit as close to the front as he does, so he can't touch her but they both need to wash their hands right-fucking-now, and he can't touch her to ask. 

Also because he’s— he’s being irrational. And Evie can’t be as dirty as he is anyway, because she’s Evie and she’s perfect and her hands are cool and pale and clean, and he can’t ask but he needs her to wash her fucking hands. 

Um," he manages. "Yeah. She's cool. I have to—“ he jerks his head towards the boy's bathroom. 

Evie nods. Waves a slim, graceful hand. "Go. I'll do the same. We can regroup after next period. Your class isn't doing testing this week, right?" 

Carlos has his English class next period. Woodland lit. Evie's in a different English class, but he's got— somebody. 

Jay. 

He's in the same English class as Jay, which means if there's testing he has to sit in the middle of the room, so that he can leave his left side open for Jay to read off his answers, not because he's stupid, but because he can't read fast enough to keep up. They've got a system. Carlos goes through the multiple choice section first, and then flips over to the short answer portion, and that's Jay's signal to stop where he's reading and flip back to multiple choice so that Carlos can go over his answers again, but slowly, dragging his pencil down the page as he really truly thinks about every answer. And if he just so happens to leave his left side open, so that maybe someone a little bit taller can see which bubble he's blacked in and which one's he's marked as not it, that's just a coincidence. Just like it's a coincidence that he and Jay rotate who gets to sit by the window and who sits in the middle of the classroom every few days. They're keeping things fresh. If they rotate seats themselves, the teachers won't rotate the seating for them. 

He dredges the class schedule up from the depths of a mind that feels syrupy-slow and very, very far away. "Nah. No testing this week. We're doing a discussion unit on poetry." 

Evie flashes him a perfect little smile. "Have fun with that. I'll see you at lunch?" 

wash your hands, Carlos thinks, and doesn't say, because he's aware that he's not thinking correctly right now. 

"See you at lunch." he echoes. “Bye, Evie.” 

He washes his hands. 

The pencil in his pocket is dirty too. He washes it. 

His pocket is dirty—

He can't get clean here. He's got to be normal, stay invisible, get to class so he can talk about poetry from three hundred years ago and listen to Jay making fun of Audrey under his breath, and stop washing his hands before the skin starts to go red and hot and raw under the water. He's got to stop. 

There's nothing to worry about. 

Okay, Carlos tells himself. This is Auradon. Nothing really bad happens here. 

But that's not true, because Mr. Gemble is out sick, and he could spread it. Carlos messed up a question today, and Mrs. Sidney could use that as proof that he's not smart enough to be here, that he should be sent back—

he's not being sent back to the Isle. 

Ben wouldn't let him be sent back. Because they're friends. 

Carlos's shoulder throbs. 

Class. Class, then he can run back to the room and change his clothes before lunch, and-- and Evie wants to check in at lunch, because he doesn't make mistakes, and she's got to know he's having a bad day, and if he doesn't show up for lunch she'll freak out. So he can't change. Or touch anything, because he's contaminated and—

Okay. 

This is a spiral, a bad one. He's going to class, because that's what he does. He's not going to spiral, because that's not what people do here. Kids in Auradon go to Kids in Auradon go to class, and they sit still-but-not-too-still, and they answer questions when they're asked, and Carlos can do all of those things. He likes class. He likes learning, and he likes hearing Jay make fun of the girls who write dramatic poetry about how their boyfriends broke up with them and he knows how to pretend that he's an Auradon kid who's nice and sweet and not a disease vector with broken lungs who's going to get them all sent back to the isle. 

He's fine. 

Nothing to worry about. 

Nothing is wrong. Nothing is wrong. Nothing's wrong. 

Just. 

Class. 

Yeah. 

He can go to class. 

Door. Elbow. Don't touch. Don't leave fingerprints. He's not— he's allowed to be here, but if he leaves fingerprints it'll be bad, because he's not allowed to touch the nice things unless he's cleaning them. His hands are always greasy. He can't afford to spend the extra time cleaning off his fingerprints, so he won't touch. 

He's allowed to touch. 

This is a spiral. It's not real. He's not— 

His shoulder hurts. 

His bag is slipping down his shoulder, so he lifts his arm to push it back up, and the pain spikes worse than before. Stabbing. Like hot needles all the way down the length of his arm. Shoulder to elbow to fingertips. It hurts, and that's the last thing he can handle. 

There's a thing, that happens sometimes, when his body hurts and his brain is spiraling and everything is too-much-all-at-once. A thing where Carlos puts his body on autopilot. Automatic functions can continue operation without him. He can—

He can leave. He'll get to class, and get through the day, and then when things are safe later, when he can curl up small-and-safe-and-hidden in the closet in Evie's room where she keeps her designs-in-progress, he can deal with everything.

[blueratgrmln]

🌟OPEN DISCUSSION about the 2020's era of shipping culture, Sonadow in the Sonic Fandom, and how well-intended activism can circle back to the language and violence of oppressors 🌟 (Broken down into PARTS for the sake of readability and my own attention span lol. >>>FULL ESSAY HERE<<<) (>>>PREVIOUS PART HERE<<<)

PART 5

LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE OF OPPRESSORS

Now is where I will delve into the connection between Sonadow shipping (and overall shipping) debates and how well-intentioned activism loops back into mimicking oppressors. Thinking about how Sonadow is historically important to the Sonic Franchise, the Sonic Fandom, LGBTQ+ Sonic Fans, and maybe even video game history as a whole, I feel major discomfort and even dread when I see so many people (particularly those that are young) throwing around very serious accusations at (fellow) Sonic Fans and (fellow) Sonic shippers. Accusations supporting pedophilia or pedophilia itself is one of the most egregious. I've seen it thrown at Sonadow shippers, Vector x Espio shippers because Vector is 20 and Espio is 16 (despite it being another extremely popular LGBTQ+ headcanon-ed ship due to lack of representation), and even Knuckles x Rouge because Rouge is 18 and Knuckles is 16. It strikes me as counterintuitive and unnecessary at least, and actively dangerous at most/worst, seeing fellow Queer people utilizing the morality-policing, fear tactics, surveillance methods, censorship mindset, and rhetoric/language of our oppressors and using those things against the people in their own communities. Realizing that long-time Sonadow fans who felt inspired to come out and be unapologetically Queer because of that specific ship have been facing harassment and slander from fellow Queer people (who are likely younger than them), getting called "pedos" or "dangerous" or "suspicious" or "unethical" over the mere act of creating representation and Queer Joy with fictional characters and seeking some sense of comfort while surviving homophobic environments...bluntly, my stomach is churned and my blood is boiled. The last thing we need in this rapidly backwards-turning world is more in-fighting within the broader LGBTQ+ community that distracts our thoughts, emotions, time, energy, organizing, education, community-building, and activism away from the oppressors who are causing us real-world tangible harm, suffering, and death.

A random teenager on the internet drawing fanart of Sonic and Shadow holding hands, or even random adults on the internet drawing suggestive art or outright porn of these characters, is NOT going to be the catalyst that rapidly or gradually normalizes pedophilia or inspires worldwide support for unethical relationships. And yes, this includes content about the "weirdo/unethical/dark" ships that are found in the shadowy fringes of the internet and Fandom spaces. I am uncomfortable with a lot of it myself. But those ships and the people that engage with them ALSO can't have the same level of impact and reach (key words: Same Level) that real life oppressive systems have to cause widespread suffering. The key difference that makes widespread abuse possible is that the real life oppressive systems are disguised as wholesome safe environments that develop trust and closeness with community members. Those oppressive systems and the harmful people that support them are usually NOT on the freaky/dark/weird fringes of society, they don't outwardly appear that way, and they demonize the "degenerates", not associate with any such label. The Catholic church institution is a big example, the institution covering up uncountable cases of their clergy members abusing minors while those clergy members are positioned as a pure, trusted facet of society that people actively look to for guidance, safety, and belonging.

At NO point am I ever going to say that everyone online is perfectly pure and that we should ignore everyone's behavior online. When we do encounter legitimate creeps causing harm to real people (not watered-down definitions of what being a creep means) we absolutely need to call them out and keep each other safe. HOWEVER, by pitting fellow Sonic Fans, fellow Queer people, fellow shippers against each other with this blanket "us vs them" mentality that overshadows the real life patterns and signs of how widespread oppression and real world harm happens, we end up accomplishing a lot of what our oppressors want anyway: divisions, distractions, and outright mimicking the violent language and behaviors that they display toward us at ourselves. This is the point where well-intentioned activism goes wrong and circles back around to oppression without meaning to.

Many people are super-duper-sure that they have dismantled all of their -isms and -phobias and now identify with labels and movements that are on the right side of history. But all of us STILL need to be aware of the fact that our thought patterns, behaviors, logic, and emotional responses can be tied to previously held beliefs and mindsets, and they can sometimes carry over and linger in our minds even after significant "character development". This is true even if we don't immediately realize it and think that we are a "safe person" within our own marginalized communities and for other marginalized communities. It can be really hard to identify if/when that is happening sometimes, but it is pertinent that we are actively checking in with ourselves, listening to constructive criticism, and cross-analyzing whether we are unintentionally mimicking the language, behaviors, and violence of our oppressors, and what effects that can have on the people in our shared communities and the people we care about.

PART 6 HERE

[sorenblr]

Gotta say tho, for all the positives of Chainsaw Man, it also boggles the god dangling mind to see so many people on Twitter thinking they're some kind of code-deciphering manga consumers because they have an average grasp at the idea of character development. And then they proceed to act like development is the only thing that can make a good character while waiting for the first opportunity to mention "media literacy" being at an all time low. As if the fucking Riddler wrote it, or some such!

Not aware of whatever discourse this is referring to, and maybe it's already passed, but "character development" is certainly one of those discursive bogeymen when applied to popular discussions of narrative, like "anatomy" wrt figurative art. That is, it's one of the only vectors of analysis that can find any purchase in the free-for-all discourses of shared social media spaces, and eagerly overemphasized. And it's a valid line of inquiry, but since the form of twitter et al. encourages mostly reflexive insights, the yields are usually undercooked. I think development is also more readily emphasized in these places because it reduces easily into big, repeatable patterns: this character ends up with a scar or a prosthetic, this villain undergoes a 'redemption arc' etc. Graspable signifiers intended to service mostly young adults or massive audiences.

Anyway, twitter is a wasteland. As of this writing we're observing a 15-year old discourse on the viability of turn-based RPGs regurgitated over a click-bait Kotaku headline. On other days we can probe into the really pressing questions, such as "was walter white a good guy" or "should all media model morally upright behavior"; what good is any of this shit? Look instead to the philosopher-kings of tumblr* for real, substantive insight...

*adults with dissociative personality disorder compulsively checking fandom tags for things to get mad at

[aeons-domain]

Madison's Character Inspiration

where I pick 6 characters to yoink their storyline and personality with and glue it onto my OC 🤓 (half-joking there, but, they did serve as my core inspiration for Madison in a number of aspects)

Tagging the friends who also did theirs in the Discord server, as well as some other folks to do this with their beloved OC(s) and S/I(s) as well! No pressure by the way, do it if you want to! 💖 @emproleon (the OG!! Thank you for sharing this in the server ❤️) @amberswords @anikasenkujo @funnyvalentineswife @hand-domain @jellyluchi @papersirens @shaylistic @sweetsparklerain @trashbabyart @uminozerol @werewuffgoth @white-cherries @whitespirit91 @zizalovesyou

Empty template + Character inspo blurbs under the cut

Ruby Rose (RWBY) - In the very early days of RWBY coming out I fell in love with the young female lead who had a strong sense of moral justice. We've all had our fair share of young protagonists who aim to do a lot for the world they live in and that especially rubbed onto Madison especially in her younger teenage years.

Steven Universe - Steven is described to be optimistic, outgoing, and soft-hearted but also naive and socially oblivious. His journey of maturing throughout the series was something that I got a huge chunk of inspiration from when I was writing down Madison's backstory from birth to the various stages of her life. Madison does go through a similar matter like Steven where she carries heavy burdens at a young age and struggles to keep up with the demands made of her due to her inexperience with life and lack of emotional control.

Nana (Elfen Lied) - If you see art of Madi with horns on her head similar to Nana then I'm sure you can piece two and two together to see that they're of the same species (and personality too ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡ – ✧)). Madison is exactly like Nana in the sense that her empathy for other people's pains is what keeps her from conceding to the part of her genetics that desires to be homicidal. You've also got that bit of lore where Madison has gone through a part of her childhood where she was raised as a test subject in a research institute which I'll share more in the future.

Nancy Drew - The inspiration I got from Nancy and put into Madison's character is her ability to stay determined and help others when she can provide such assistance. I adore how resourceful and independent Nancy is and so I try to emulate that onto Madison especially in her older years. A fun fact is that Madison has a love for books in the mystery genre and reading the Nancy Drew series lead her to be more curious and critical of the world, mentally solving puzzles in her head that she can apply when situations call for a solution.

Akane Tsunemori (Psychopass) - Fun fact here is that Akane's VA Kana Hanazawa is my voiceclaim for Madison and I just love love looovveee Akane so much that I had to put her here as one of Madison's main inspirations! You've got that naïve to callous pipeline characters go through when they soon face the horrific realities of the world which definitely happens to Madison in her late teen and young adult years. Generally polite and respectful thanks to several etiquette classes she took up in high school, Madison earns the respect of fellow peers when they find that she is also intelligent, insightful, and compassionate. Despite having the means to enforce violence with her Stand or her vectors from being a Diclonius, Madison does what she can to deescalate a situation and employ less destructive actions, just like Akane in her former years as an Inspector.

Misaka Mikoto (A Certain Scientific Railgun) - Along with Mikoto and most of these characters, I think I really like the trope of "Friendly and easygoing character with great powers has keen sense of justice and wishes to keep the world safe, but wants to do so with peaceful/harmless means as much as possible….But then gets cold and unfeeling in the process 🙃" way too much that you can see the similarities in all of these characters' backstories and how I'll be incorporating that with Madison too sdkjbsjkd but! the same can be said for Mikoto too with how she does her best to help others to the point where she sacrifices her own wellbeeing for their safety.

[littlealeta]

Migration + Mooned Review

Before I start this review, I'll just have you know that the director who made this also made a movie called Ernest and Celestine. Pretty obscure film, but it was one of the very few films I actually gave a 9 out of 10. Now, granted, I was young back when I first watched it and I could think differently now, but I'm just saying.

Which is why it's pretty amazing how Migration is actually quite the step down from Ernest and Celestine. It's still a decent movie, but it isn't anything to write home about.

Story

If you thought the Mario movie was simplistic, I'd say the Mario movie had a bit more going on than this one. On one hand, it's a basic adventure film and on the other hand, things happen that don't make sense. Like how the plot of the film gets started by Mack turning a 180 and deciding to migrate. The mallards get caught by these giant birds that they think want to eat them, but actually don't. During action moments, the birds would be screaming but nobody is alerted. And then the film loses its footing toward the end when they introduce a villain who wants to cook the birds. Nothing really special to say about the story. It's that weak.

Characters

The characters have their charmingly quirky moments, but like the story, they don't really feel meaningful. Mack is your average overprotective parent for some unexplained reason, the mother (forgot her name) is just a mother. Characters like the pigeon, parrot, and the uncle didn't really do much and probably shouldn't have been there in the first place. I do think the thin story hurts the characters somewhat. I do like Gwen, Dax, and the uncle personality-wise but I wish they were in a better story.

Overall

Clearly a movie made for children and I'm sure slice-of-life fans would like it, but it's no Despicable Me (another simple film by Illumination that would appeal to both adults and kids). Nothing much special, that's why this review is so short. It's cute, but it's not going to stick in my head after a while. I think it would've done better as a short or it could've used some more drafting in order to structure the story better.

I give Migration 6.1 bells out of 10.

Mooned

I always wanted to know what happened to Vector on the Moon, but idk, man. Like Migration, it just seemed like it was made to entertain the kids. Vector is not as cool as he once was in the film, and jog my memory, but I don't remember his suits having abilities besides flying? (And I just recently rewatched the first film). It's good for a laugh, but that's about it. Maybe it didn't really need to be made.

4.1 bells out of 10.

Both films have .1. Ain't that interesting?

[gotshadowbanned-feralfungii]

One of these days im gonna go feral and rabid and write a full tredis on The Outsider and his role as a representation of The Other, of the one blamed, of the odd one out who is easily condemned by the majority. A young, abused boy is twisted and turned into something else by adults with foul intent, and ever since he's been ostracized, made into a scapegoat, and blamed for the worlds ills when those ills are caused by the very society that blames it all on him.

Their rules, their arrogance, their cruelty is the root of all the evil in Dishonored, and yet to keep the masses from realizing their pain is caused by the callousness of those in power, they point fingers at the strange and mysterious and unknowable creature who is literally just floating around and watching. He's just watching.

Even when he "interferes," it isn't direct. He just bestows power onto a few humans, and they do with it what they will. The Abbey of the Everyman, their tenants and the things they claim as sin... it all comes down to human nature. None of it is truly caused by The Outsider, but he is constantly blamed, and in the end (depending on the choices you make in Death of The Outsider) he receives the ultimate retribution, his own utter destruction, for an act that he did not commit, order, or even encourage.

He bestowed power onto Daud. Daud made his own bad choices, but it's easier to blame it on The Outsider and target an external vector for his guilt rather than face the reality that he is fully responsible for what he did.

There's also some parallels between The Outsider and the whales in that the whales are deemed monsters of the sea. Their viciousness and fearsomeness is emphasized and whispered about, and yet... the human's are the monsters. The human's are the one's that literally torture and butcher the whales. The whales look fearsome, and they're largely a mystery, so it's easy to paint them as monsters instead of animals that feel pain. It's easy to paint The Outsider as a heartless devil instead of facing the truth that he is a product of the cruelty of humanity, and that the things he is blamed for are typically results of that very same cruelty. They made him, they blame him, and in the end they kill him, and none of it is really to do with The Outsider himself. It's all about the idea of him, the caricature they've made of him, the myth of the black-eyed demon preying on the righteous.

Anyway, one day I'm gonna go off the fucking handle about this shit and it'll be a million words long and then it'll be all over for you bitches.

[misty-lake101]

Sonic LGBTQIA+ headcanons:

These are part of an upcoming and totally plotless college AU I’ve been tinkering with, in which Sonic, Shadow, Silver and Amy are all roommates navigating the young adult life. Subject to change, but also enough to establish who I’m pairing up 😉

Sonic: Aromantic/Bisexual

Shadow: Demiromantic/Gay

Silver: Pan

Espio: Gay

Amy: Panromantic/Asexual

Blaze: Lesbian/Asexual

Tails: Aroace

Rouge: Bisexual

Knuckles: Straight

Vector: Straight

[sonic-gallery]

Isekai Ogiri May 2023 [What are Vector and Vanilla doing...? ]

“Give me five!” It was my father who dashed into the sales line with a smug look on his face.

Two characters appear every month in surprising outfits and situations! Let's enjoy Ogiri together with illustrations that will make your imagination run wild!

This time, Vector, who looks like an American comic book hero, and Vanilla, who looks like an adult, appear! Who is this mysterious giant robot that is approaching far beyond the night city?

What kind of lines or narration would you use?

You can style it based on the atmosphere and world view of the two of you in the game, or you can create a bold arrangement! In the example, it's a disappointing father who is trying to buy 5 items without interrupting... Any kind of free gleeful material is also OK!

Please enjoy it and tweet with the tag "#Isekai Ogiri" on Twitter ♪

We will introduce the good ones in a reply from Sonic's official Twitter account.

We are looking forward to your fun Ogiri posts!

Act5: “My Vectorman”

``Vectorman's accomplishment! Save the city again! ”

A lively downtown area at dusk. There was a beautiful rabbit woman in a glamorous outfit slowly walking past a newsstand distributing special editions of the mysterious hero ``Vectorman.''

she is vanilla She is the famous mama of a very popular bar, and the bar is crowded every day with customers looking for her home-cooked meals. Then she enters a room in a dirty multi-tenant building that doesn't match her beauty.

On the door was scrawled in magic marker the words ``Vector Detective Agency.''

"Daughter...couldn't you be of help?"

Vanilla tilts her head slightly and opens her mouth with a look of sadness in her eyes. The man who was asked the question answered awkwardly while straightening his tangled suit.

“No, the young lady is very talented.”

A giant detective named ``Vector the Crocodile'' used Vanilla's daughter Cream as his assistant, but the other day he gave her some free time. Vanilla had come to talk to him directly to get him to reconsider.

"After all, most of my work is done by my daughter...Gosh! Anyway, detective work is hard work that comes with danger."

I quickly stand up, bend the window blinds with my fingers with a grim expression, and stare aimlessly at the night view. decided......! Vector thought that, but Vanilla continued regardless.

"But this town is protected by Vectorman, so it's safe, right? Besides, it seems like you have a lot of free time to work... My child just wants to play with you and doesn't need a paycheck. No. Could you please reconsider?”

After he finished saying that slowly, he looked at Vector with a smile that had no trace of malice in it.

"Vector Man, that's just a fake urban legend. Besides, I'm a rootless beast. There will come a time when I'll have to leave here... It's definitely not because I'm behind on my rent... ..”

Although Vector was upset, he reluctantly tried to make a decision...

<< Gugyurururu~... >>

The relentless rumbling of his stomach makes all of your efforts come to nothing.

"Actually, I haven't eaten anything since yesterday..."

Vector sinks while playing the second and third notes. Vanilla let out a gentle sigh and placed the large paper box she had brought on the table.

"Please enjoy it. It's a bento box that we serve at my restaurant."

“Don’t hold back!”

He immediately puts his hands together and begins to eat heartily with tears in his eyes... Seeing this, Vanilla decides to go back and let Vector eat slowly.

"You have to eat properly, right? If you're too hungry, you'll feel drained to the core, right?"

Vector had no words to respond.

The next night.

“Shh, it’s an attack!”

The city is engulfed in flames and roars... A giant robot suddenly appears and attacks the city! People were running away...and in the midst of them was Vanilla, who was on her way to work.

Then the robot swings its giant fist. The moment when her legs trembled and she couldn't move, she lowered her eyes...!

<< Gakiin! >>

Heavy impact sound.

"It's okay now, ma'am."

When Vanilla realized she was safe and opened her eyes, what she saw was...

It was the image of the hero of justice ``Vectorman'', who blocked the robot's fist right in front of his eyes and stood valiantly in his bright red cloak!

"Hey! That big robot egg guy!"

Vectorman shakes off the robot's fist and dashes. The robot tries to crush the two with its giant feet, but Vectorman doesn't dodge...

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

A flash of justice gathers into a fist!

"Vector's V is the V of victory! Special attack! Victory punch! Huge!"

<< Boom! >>

The light fist pierces the robot's torso and explodes! It looked like he was going to look cool with the flames behind him, but...

<< Gugyurururu~... >>

As soon as Vectorman hears the sound of his stomach, he loses his transformation and collapses.

"Hara, it's so bad..."

Vanilla ran towards her and saw Vector's weakened form.

"Huh...hey ma'am, what a coincidence."

Vanilla asked with some confusion as Vector was still trying to hide his true identity.

"No way... nothing from yesterday's lunch box...?"

When Vanilla hands him his lunch box, he begins to gulp it down absentmindedly. And she understood everything.

Vectorman's true identity is Vector. Vanilla is saddened by the fact that he was secretly in trouble while protecting the city without being paid, and that he kept it a secret and continued to fight alone.

He must have kept Cream away because he was worried that she was in danger.

Vector shyly laughs to himself next to Vanille, who wants to do something about it.

"I can't help it...I have to eat properly after all...sigh."

At that time. When Vanilla heard that, a wonderful thought occurred to her.

"Vector-san! I have a suggestion..."

Since that day, Cream has returned to work as a "lunch box attendant." She goes to Vector's office every day.

Vector (Man) protects the city and Cream, and in exchange for Cream's help, Vanilla provides him with a nutritious lunch box. This promise is a secret exclusive to Vector and Vanilla.

``Vectorman's accomplishment! Save the city again! ”

Vectorman's activities are being reported on TV today as well.

His popularity has skyrocketed as his face has recently become more radiant. Now I'm a big fan of Cream, and I'm always watching the featured section on my favorite show, ``Next Show.''

And sometimes, whenever Cream would ask why Vectorman was so strong, Vanilla would proudly answer,

“I wonder if it’s because I’m eating properly!”

"The matter is settled..."

A nice guy who lacks money and is full of manliness, and a kind ``mom'' who loves cooking. Vector and Vanilla's personalities remained the same, but they also seemed to be greatly affected by the change.

What is the source of Vectorman's power? Is there some secret behind that belt?

Where did the attacking robot weapons come from? Even as new facts emerge, the mystery continues to deepen. Is it possible to resolve this situation...?

[rosyrosethorns]

“… Uhh…” When Madi entered the room with Maxime and Valentina, she was admittedly stunned to see two unfamiliar faces. “Are these… new ‘Revenge on Gru’ club members?…”

“Yep!~” Balthazar Bratt replied confidently. One of them was a large middle-aged man with black hair and a red shirt with a neck cut low enough to show part of his chest, and the other one… looked like a science nerd twink around her age, wearing an orange jumpsuit and reclined in his seat with both hands behind his head.

“Ahh, Maxime Le Mal! Is this the señorita you and Bratt mentioned?” the larger man spoke with a Spanish accent. “A bit on the young side, isn’t she?~”

“Well—“ Maxime was about to remind him that Madi was an adult before the girl spoke up:

“I’m 24…”

“Hmm, I rest my case,” the large man replied in a teasing manner. “It’s still nice to meet you, Miss Madilyn—me llamo El Macho, and this is Vector!”

The girl turned to the nerd in the orange jumpsuit as she took her seat. The rest of the villains had jumped right into discussing Gru, but Vector seemed curious about her… With a push against the table, his chair moved closer to hers as he looked up at her with a smirk.

“Heyyy~”

… He probably didn’t realize that Madi was socially awkward. But also, she wasn’t sure what his behavior was implying. “Um… Hi?” she muttered in reply; her eyes shifting.

“So your name’s Madilyn? You’re close with both Bratt and Maxime?—wow, you really get around for someone who’s not even a villain~” Vector seemed to jump right into an attempt to initiate conversation. “You wear glasses too?—I like your frames, they’re super elegant; they even match your whole elegant style you’ve got going on, it’s not really my own vibe but it suits you pretty damn well~”

… The girl blinked as she quietly processed all that for a moment. “Uh…?”

“Oh!—yeah, you wanna see something that is my personal style?~” Vector pulled out one of his weapons. “EEL LAUNCHER!! Oh yeeeeah!! Fires live electric eels!”

Seeing the eel’s awkward face pop out of the weapon, the girl looked simultaneously baffled and awkward. “Uh—??”

“Vector…” Maxime had interjected at this moment, looking mildly irritated as he and the other villains turned towards him. “Are you going to contribute to the conversation, or are you only here to make poor advances?”

“Pfft! POOR??” The extroverted nerd seemed offended. “Listen, I totally have enough rizz to keep a lady’s attention!! I mean, I doubt she’s ever seen anything like THIS—there’s literally no way she could, I invented these kinds of weapons myself. Name one other person who has weapons that fires aquatic animals!!”

“Don’t mind him, Señor,” Eduardo interjected. “Let’s get back to what we were saying and he can catch up.”

Maxime rolled his eyes, but heeded El Macho’s words anyway. Vector let out a humph before turning back to Madi, holding the eel launcher up again. “Would you like a demonstration?~” he inquired.

“UH—no. No, no, no.” The girl had hastily replied before he could pull the trigger. “You might… damage Bratt’s stuff…”

“… You want a demonstration later?~”

His immediate interest still baffled her. “Wh… Why are you… asking anyway…?”

“Aww, c’mon, I’m just making conversation; are you not used to that?” Reclining in his seat once again, he waved his weapon around as he continued: “Is that part of why you barely said a word the whole time?—Do you let the other guys do all the talking also?”

“No—I mean…” The girl was getting shy again as she struggled to look at him directly. “Why… are you making conversation with me in the first place…?”

“What do you mean by—? Ohhhhh.” Vector’s eyes widened for a moment in realization. “Ohhh, I get it~ You’re the insecure type, huh?~”

Flustered, Madi opened her mouth to speak—but no words could come out.

“Alrighty then. How about this?” The strange nerd held out a hand. “Hiiii. I’m Vector. Let’s be friends~”

… The girl blinked; still visibly stunned. “Friends…?” She hesitantly reached out for his hand, still unsure what to think about him… Vector had grabbed her hand after a moment’s pause and shook it firmly; looking rather proud of himself.

“Theeeere we go—no worries, am I right?~” he assured her in a confident tone. “Nice to meetcha~”

[nova--spark]

Thinking more about the Timeskip AU and how Russell would react, to meeting the Jasper Trio.

Cuz Bee, far as I recall, never really MENTIONED the three of them to Team Bee, which is a crime truly.

Like, can you imagine what he would say, think, etc when meeting these now young adults and teens who faced even more horrendous and dangerous situations than he and his father had.

Yes sure, there was the time in which the team had to evac from the scrapyard and hide out in the cave systems but...y'know there was also the nuking of Outpost Omega-1, in which the kids were ALL separated from one another, no comms, nothing but their guardians to rely on, not even able to tell anyone else around if they were alive.

The time Jack went to CYBERTRON and had to seek out Vector Sigma.

Rafael and Ratchet sending a counter virus to the Decepticons to gain the final Iacon relics locations, or when Raf was inflicted with Dark Energon.

Hearing of the Phantom Zone, or Jack's scuffles with Airachnid.

Russell, by comparison, had much milder dangers. Dangers still, but much much milder !

It makes him humbled, and thankful really that yeah he's...a lot safer thanks to things the Jasper Trio and Team Prime did, way back when.

[abysshare]

This is probably a hot take. But as a fat person, i hate when fat characters are drawn with the little half circle or line on the side(s) of their mouth

An example drawn by me:

Like ?? This doesn't read fat/chubby/baby faced to me. The left looks like its chewing and the right looks like they are either sucking on their lips, or ate something sour ( i know the eyebrows i gave them doesn't help, but regardless ).

As someone with a fat face, my cheeks dont squeeze my mouth, even when i was more baby faced. It looks weird, hampster like and i do not appreciate that.

It also feels like a cheap way to not draw a double chin. Which if you really want a simple way to do that, it would be something like this

And yes, i have an actual example of a character who does this...

Willow Park from The Owl House. I adore her, and while she is technically chubby and Not Fat due to the character designs in general, chubby folks also can have a chubby/fat/baby face and she is also, considered a fat character. I was so happy to have her and I'm NOT shitting on the designers or writers. She's never treated as a joke and is actually very strong in her own way.

That being said.

Her younger self ( tween/teen ) and her olderself ( older teen / young adult )

Now.. you may say "oh thats just vector art surely not-"

And this is just the few i grabbed.

Like i said, she is sweet and she is awesome rep, i do hope a lot of fat and chubby folks ( kids especially ) idolize her to some extent.

But the mouth design- its just. Why? She looks like she's trying to hold gum in her mouth as she speaks, or that shes chewing something constantly. Its severely annoying.

And to be clear, its totally fine if another fat and/or chubby person disagrees and prefers the other way, this is a PERSONAL opinion.

[simstorian]

The residents of my version of Bedrock Strait in Oasis Springs!

"Residents of this delightfully kitschy neighborhood take pride in their billboards and lawn gnomes. And who wouldn't love getting to say hello to Barry the Brontosaurus every morning?"

From top left to bottom right:

Living in a van at Sandtrap Flat trying to make it as a comedian after being disowned by the Landgraabs, Johnny Zest.

Brandy Broke wanted a change of scenery after the drama and trauma of Pleasantview, so the Broke family moved to a mobile home at Pebble Burrow right after unborn baby broke, named Skip Jr. after his father, was born. Dustin Broke has already got himself involved in crime and mischief, while Brandy attempts to raise Beau Broke in what she hopes to be a happier environment.

Still having big trouble getting that artist dream off the ground, Darren Dreamer has fallen into debt and had to sell the house in Pleasantview. buying the smallest mobile home in the neighborhood at Agave Abode. Out of shame he sleeps in the storage room and gave the only bedroom to his soon-to-be young adult son, Dirk Dreamer who dreams of a much different life from his father.

Ousted from the FutureSim Labs Institute for his radical dislike for aliens and advocating for a stronger focus on rocket science and servos, mad scientist Dr. F has set up a rival lab a short distance away at Slipshod Mesquite, just close enough to spy with a not-so-subtle scanner or three. While most scientists stayed with FutureSim, Dr. F managed to recruit ambitious robot scientist Alexa Lexington, as well as a janitor/astronaut/maintenance guy called Vic Vector to his cause. The lab also has two servos, Dr. F's first prototype, a slightly paranoid tree-loving one who is called Proto-Makoto, as well as the second prototype, a hot-headed chef-bot called T.O.B.O.R.

[poplohours]

feeling annoyed by fandom again so i just want to think about the agony of narcissistic abuse in AA4 and how all the fathers/older figures (yes including nick) ultimately show negative behaviors that have harmed the younger person they have cared for or mentored lol. i think i remember someone getting really mad about me mentioning covert incest in the context of AA4, but Boy what the fuck is the point of media if you don't talk about what's difficult in life, if you don't find vectors to seriously discuss complex relationships between adults and children, fathers and daughters (nick and trucy).

When I say 'covert incest', I don't mean hidden incest in the literal term, but rather emotional incest. Emotional incest is a really meaningful term, even if people despise having to look at the word incest, because the issue of emotional abuse wherein parents overly depend on their own children is not something many people are able to broadly conceptualize! It isn't something that is usually done in a malicious way, either -- many parents who do that are frequently themselves struggling with trauma, lack of direction, insecurities, and other struggles. However, the issue therein is they depend on a child for support rather than an adult of their own age or social position. This often coincides with a condition that we do call Parentification -- something I think is more well-known as a term, as it is when a child is forced to grow up too quickly as extreme responsibilities beyond their years are placed upon them.

I realize it may seen strange or extreme for me to discuss this in the context of such a silly series as Ace Attorney, but it is an issue that frequently appears in the game. Mia is left to be a parent figure to Maya before leaving to become an attorney, leaving Maya primarily in the care of their aunt who loathes them both. Maya ends up being a major caretaker of Pearl, despite herself still being a teenager, after Morgan is imprisoned. Maya ends up managing many office affairs on behalf of Nick because while he is an adult with a law degree, he simply accepts her help and aid rather than actually engaging with her as the child she is (something he will frequently do through the series). Kristoph appears to have somewhat of a parental relationship with Klavier (though I recognize this is up for debate and open to interpretation), actively gaslighting and undermining him in a court of law as well as using Klavier's teenage desire to feel equal to his older brother for his own benefit years prior.

I could very likely go on in this matter, but I do think that these issues are most encapsulated by Nick and Trucy. You could also engage with this at the level of Drew and Vera, Lamiroir and Machi, Klav and Kristoph (as previously noted), and Zak and Trucy.

However, while all of those are relevant, Drew wants to protect his daughter despite his failures in depending on her, even if it means the two of them completely shutting themselves off from the world. While Lamiroir is travelling with a 14 year old that she is utilizing as her primary music partner before essentially ending her parental relationship after Machi is imprisoned. Zak does still act as a father to Trucy in the midst of being actively blackmailed by Magnifi -- while it is unreasonable that Trucy has to perform as an eight year old, she is also the granddaughter of Magnifi and (from Magnifi's perspective) the one left to inherit the Gramarye name. Zak's situation has a deeply complicated nature because Magnifi is playing a part in Trucy being a performer -- this is one of the reasons why I don't read Zak's influence as 'parentification' in the same way, even though I do think he and Magnifi did ultimately groom Trucy to be too accepting of this role from a young age.

That brings me to Nick. I do believe it is easy to play off many of the lines that come up. Trucy "takes charge" of the situation, saying that she can take care of Nick even if he doesn't have a job anymore. She's already done shows and is prepared. However, we already know from the future that Nick did take her up on this. She calls herself his 'sugar daddy'. Again, this can be taken as a joke. But Trucy does regular shows at the Wonder Bar advertising her 'Magic Panties', which comes up frequently as something that makes Apollo actively uncomfortable. It is, of course, another 'joke', but the fact that the game does lean so much into Apollo being uncomfortable about Trucy's 'panties' frankly speaks to me as Shu Takumi failing to recognize the discomforting implications of his supposed gag.

Especially when you do have to find an adult woman's actual underwear.

I'm sure people would call me insane for this, but Trucy's Magic Panties show reads to me as a light form of sex work. That's how her show is "sold" and "advertised". The funny joke is that it isn't at all what people would expect -- the funny joke is that people expect it to be the underwear of a 15 year old girl that they are willingly coming to see. "It's a joke", someone would gladly tell me, "Don't read into it so much." And yet this is the kind of thing that matters to me. The implications of this matter and the fact that Apollo is the one sane person in the room who says, "What the hell, don't talk about this, she's a kid" stick in my brain and vibrate with such aggressive intensity that I do feel insane. It feels like horror. It feels like tragedy.

There are so many lines that come up about Trucy and Nick's relationship which border this sense of Nick's unhealthy dependency on her.

Apollo: So you're his, er... you're Phoenix Wright's daughter? Trucy: That's right! After Daddy quit law seven years ago... ...I promised I would keep him fed! So I'm kind of his sugar daddy! Get it? Apollo: No. Trucy: I'm in charge of this whole office, too. Pretty amazing for a young lass of fifteen, wouldn't you agree!?

This early exchange from 4-2 immediately presents Nick and Trucy's relationship as one that centers Trucy's caretaking for her father and the office. It is a talent agency where she is the only one good at her "actual talent" (though she is careful not to mention her father's Poker job), it is an agency where she is meeting new people by herself, it is an agency where a 15 year old girl is managing the office at 9:00 AM rather than being at school. "Well, that doesn't matter, because Takumi didn't intend for it to be like that." What is the point of engaging with a piece of media if we cannot consider the serious implications of that which an author (especially one as misogynistic as Takumi) failed to consider?

Apollo: Mr. Wright's bed... It's really messy. Trucy: Look how messy this is! You're just hopeless without me, aren't you, Daddy? Apollo: (Yikes! She's attempting to clean up! Look out!) Phoenix: Ah ha ha. You got me. What can I say? I was raised in a barn. Try not to let word get out, Apollo. If you don't mind.

There are several bits at the hospital that broadly feel improper for a child and a parent -- again, I know someone could say to me, "This is part of the act that Trucy and Nick are putting together to hook Apollo into working for them." The problem is, these things are already rooted in the very moment that Nick took in Trucy. "You're just hopeless without me" alongside 8 year old Trucy saying, "I'll take care of you" speaks to that exact idea of emotional incest of which their interactions remind me.

Phoenix: Yeah... That's the problem with such a tight operation. It's a symbiotic relationship. When one of us falls, the other, too, must fall... Apollo: Hey! This isn't exactly a suitable conversation to be having with a 15 year old kid!

"It's a symbiotic relationship." This is one of the lines I always come back to when thinking about the issue of emotional incest. There's one aspect here wherein Trucy has taken on a maternal role for Nick. However, there's another aspect in the inappropriate way that Nick refers to their relationship. There is no such thing as a 'symbiotic' relationship to this context -- he's talking about dependency. At this point in time, Nick is aware that Apollo is Trucy's brother. Due to that, he would also know that Apollo grew up as an orphan. When Apollo pushes back, it feels like Nick wants to play into that potential for insecurity. There's a double-pronged horror to me within this, using the potential well-being of an adopted teenager against a young adult man who himself was never adopted.

Phoenix: Sometimes when magicians vanish, they leave something behind... That's how Trucy became Trucy Wright... my daughter. To be honest, I was pretty lost those first few days. Thinking back on it, it was a pretty dark time in my life. But Trucy... happy, smiling Trucy... she was my light.

"She was my light."

There's a way within emotional incest that a parent or adult figure will frame their child in the lens of a relationship inappropriate for their status. Oftentimes, this is akin to a 'romantic' projection, but it can have similar ranges within the idea of placing a child upon a pedestal as a savior. I recognize that a parent could say this without meaning for it to be an unhealthy projection, but this is inherently dehumanizing. I find it further frustrating because Nick also frames himself as the "one person who understands how she really feels". He knows that she's forcing a smile and hiding her true feelings, but he still engages with her ability to hide her own heart as a thread to hang on. Is that love? Yes, of a sort.

But Nick's love is self-serving. It is one that expresses need rather than external concern. His own feelings and goals come before her safety and well-being. He leaves Trucy on her own, he knows the very core of her magic panties act, he actively allows her to manage the agency, he assigns a greater responsibility than anyone should to a 15 year old, and effectively replaces her with Athena once the option arrives. Nick wanted to "restore" his reputation -- at least, that is one of the major assumptions made by fandom -- and so he did. He no longer needs her in the same way because it can now be a law agency again, he has the respect he wanted, and ultimately her "reward" is being relegated to the side. The people he wanted to have back in his life have returned. That isolation he once felt that led to his complete dependence on her has disappeared, but that means she no longer has the same use she once had. Enmeshment, emotional manipulation, the covert nature of it all -- it is a tragedy and it is one I find compelling as she jumps into the deep-end as she tries to take on the Gramarye name once again. As her father goes his own way and the Wright Anything Agency is subsumed by him.