#am i making any sense? it's like 1 am

[aenhanse]

something i find interesting, having watched atsv and read dark tomorrow pretty much back to back, is how the two stories approach the concept of a miguel that is past a certain breaking point.

in dark tomorrow he basically gets his spider-man no more moment after losing his brother and fiancee. the events leave him resenting the superhero side of his life, questioning if it was ever worth it if it cost him the people he loves and throwing that side away completely for years. though he can't really help wanting to help others once he started doing so as s-man so instead he loses himself in trying to get alchemax to become a force for good, a way to help everyone in need. and it's all just miguel trying to ignore the guilt and trauma that festered for like five years as he continues to just exist as a shell of a spider-man he was

and then atsv has kinda an opposite of this in a way that after losing his 'daughter' he throws away the miguel side of himself spending every hour of every day as a shell of the spider-man he shouldn't be. we obviously don't have details of his backstory in the movie so i'm just reaching here to comics for help, but if its anything like what happens in the 1992 run, and i'd love nothing more for it to be so, i find it fascinating how he shifts into a version of himself that resembles what he fought against way more than what he's learned and was pushed to become the more time he was spider-man. it's almost like he reverted in a way and was pushed just enough to the side to become that ever watching presence that enforces its rules over what it deems an anomaly. he tries to convince himself it's for the greater good, refuses the thought that he might be in the wrong, because at his core miguel still wants to help people but i don't think he realizes yet just how much he's lost himself there.

both stories have him lose his way but in a completely different matter while still making sense for him to end up either way. and it's what i love seeing when writers push characters over that ledge, a familiarity with just enough there to let you know there's something off, something that tells you they wouldn't act that way in other circumstances but because they were put there it becomes a believable exploration of a character reaching their breaking point (asm back in black my most beloved example of this done well). and then there is a question of how to bring them back from that brink

both versions of miguel still have lyla, a semblance of that life before everything went to shit persisting. but she's not enough and what is needed there is a fresh perspective and the mig from the book gets that in form of anya, reminding him what being a hero means and giving him that little bit of hope that there is something more than even more tragedy waiting around the corner. and i can only guess that atsv miguel might get that harsh reminder from miles, then i'll have two nickels

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[wardingshout]

Zelda goes mushroom girl

[palskippah]

Basically the magma drawing but it's the bros?? I just drew them and then their parents taking pictures, I didn't mean to copy myself alsdkasd

Anyways- BABY BROS

-They had their hats from when they were very young, and even though their mama wasn't very fond of them she still sews their initials in them pipipi

-Also, an idea I had a while ago but I never drew is that papa Mario took them to buy clothes with his brother (Arthur?? I'm gonna call him Arturo aksdj) and they had the full intention and orders from mama Mario to buy the twins matching dresses for a holiday party or smth, but they saw little baby overalls on sale and also hats AND also shirts and they were like- no way, we have to buy that, look how cheap yet good quality it is! They'd be idiots to not take the sale.

>So then mama Mario is like- ...? Where are the dresses?? 🤨

>And papa Mario says- These were on sale, my love!! 🤑 while both him and Arturo hold the babies in their arms, showing her their new little outfits for the christmas party (they're perfect bc they're green and red and also they're such good quality they actually keep wearing them until they no longer fit)

-Maybe their dad keeps buying the same color for each baby? Or he takes advantage of the christmas sales, so each year for a few months Luigi and Mario wear green and red, respectively.

>Mama Mario thinks they could switch which baby wears each color, but papa Mario says it's better that way so they can tell which one is which (which has mama Mario laughing to his face bc the babies are fraternal twins and it's not very hard to tell which one is which c'mon Carlo)

-Yeah their dad's name is gonna be Carlo in my mind bc that's the italian form of Charles, and for funsies what if their mom's name is Martina :y

-Also I don't care how it actually is, I'll say that Arturo is Carlo's brother and Uncle Tony (Antonio) is Martina's brother bc what do you mean all the relatives come from the dad's side?? Also, aunt Marie is still aunt Marie, love her. And the nonno is still Carlo and Arturo's dad ajskdja

-Carlo and Martina were the firsts to have babies and the uncles made fun of them bc they got too mushy sometimes with Mario and Luigi, like always trying to take pictures of them or being excessively congratulating when they did anything and stuff (also maybe they were kinda young parents or smth, having the twins not very long after they got married). When Arturo and Marie have their own baby Carlo (and also Mario and Luigi, who are like eleven and totally up to be annoying to their uncle) make fun of him if he's too mushy with his baby too.

[lloydfrontera]

i will always find the relationship between javier and the fronteras endlessly fascinating and compelling especially because of the way it's shaped by the required narrative of the original novel versus what we see of them as people through the plot of tged. let me explain.

the thing about javier is that. he's not. a person when we first meet him. he's supposed to be a character. he's just about to go through his tragic backstory so he can then go on to be the hero of 'the knight of blood and iron'. this is what javier is. all his life before that is really nothing more than a footnote. the fronteras themselves are nothing more than extras that die in the very beginning of his story.

and this shapes the way their relationship is meant to be like. because they need to strike the right balance of them being close enough where it's justified for javier to be so loyal to arcos that he refuses to take any master after his death but not so close that javier feels the responsibility or has the authority to take over the estate after their deaths or even remain there at all to help in any way he can. for the sake of the narrative javier isn't allowed to really be a part of the frontera family despite being basically raised by them, because that would interfere with the plot destiny has set up for him.

and if that were it, that would be fine, no one would really pay that much attention to it because why would they. the only things that matters is that they kept javier alive, they were close to him in some regard and now they're dead. that's all that was needed from them for tkobai.

but then. lloyd happens. and he immediately derails the plot and saves the fronteras from death and javier from having to become an errant knight and now everyone is alive and free to continue their own lives and then we get to know arcos and marbella, not as just tragic extras of javier's story but as actual people with their own thoughts and feelings and. what we get to know about them doesn't quite track with their previous actions.

the arcos and marbella we get to know in tged?? they basically adopt lloyd as their son. lloyd. an adult stranger who replaced their son, kept the truth from them for years and who then came back looking nothing like their own kid. and they still love him and accept him as their child. by all accounts they straight up give him their family name, centuries later he's still known as lloyd frontera and nothing else.

this is the kind of people they are. the kind of people who would welcome a stranger into their family because he's kind and good and he's trying his best.

but you mean to tell me that these are the same people who took in a five year old orphan into their home and then just. kept him around. not really being a part of their family. they just raised him for 15 years and then took his oath as a knight and that was it. they don't even call him by his name. he's always 'sir asrahan'.

it doesn't make sense!! that doesn't track with the kind of people they are in tged! except it totally does if you remember they were never meant to be more than just extras. they were never meant to be more than some kind people javier is very distraught to lose but not enough to fall apart for.

that being said. there are a couple explanations that could be given in universe to explain why javier was never made a frontera, despite being taken in by them.

one is that they simply weren't allowed to adopt him. like someone in the replies of this post mentioned, some countries could be pretty strict about who nobles were allowed to adopt. maybe in the magentano kingdom it's the same and the fronteras couldn't legally make javier their child and so could only take him in as a ward or something similar.

or maybe they didn't want to take away one of the very few things javier has left of his family. he was a really small child when his parents were killed, he once mentions he doesn't even really remember his father, just a memory of waiting up for him late at night and that's it. he never really speaks of them nor does he seem to have a deeper connection or longing for them. by the time we meet him, all he has left of them is his name really. maybe when they took him in neither arcos nor marbella wanted to take away one of javier's last remains of his family by making him take their name.

or perhaps they thought adopting javier would cause them more harm than good. after all. they did have a little bastard of a son who took offense at the very existence of javier, despite javier just being *checks notes* a five year old orphan they picked up from the streets so he wouldn't starve or freeze to death. can you imagine the nightmare it would've been if javier had actually been adopted and not just taken in. if og lloyd had not only been forced to share a home but also his own name with him. it wouldn't have been pretty! and the one to pay for it would've certainly been javier! so maybe they thought the risk was simply too high. maybe they thought not giving him their name was a price worth paying to keep the peace at their home.

or maybe they simply didn't think it was their place. maybe they didn't want to make javier uncomfortable or force him into a relationship with them that he didn't want. maybe they wanted to wait until the loss was a little less recent, until the pain had had time to settle into something more manageable and then they just. missed the timing. maybe by the time they realized it was already too late and walls had formed between them that they didn't know how to take down.

in any case i simply don't believe that arcos and marbella are the kind of people to take in a child, raise him his whole life and then just. not feel anything deeper than fondness for him. it doesn't make sense from what we actually get to see of them.

i don't think their relationship with javier is that of parents with a child, but i also don't think it's as distant as what it looks like at first glance. personally i think it must be a mix of,,, habit, formalities and the awkwardness of a missed opportunity hanging between them that doesn't let them be as close as they would otherwise be. like. they all wish they could be something more, they wish the distance was a little shorter, they wish the walls between them could come down but they simply aren't sure how to do that anymore. they don't know if they missed their one chance and this is all that's left.

i don't know!! i just!! it's fascinating to me and i think about it far too much for it to be healthy!! halp!!

[oozeandgoo-art]

had an odd dream that i was reading a comic book. sketched a couple of the pages i could remember.

[lunarharp]

tsukigumi..

[andthen-light]

okay girls im going to be a little hashtag critical here but i have been ruminating LONG ENOUGH and i really really do not like that scene in the graphic novel murder on the rockport limited where lucretia recognized the umbrastaff. i understand what they were trying to do and i understand you have to change things for the medium but its kind of a disservice to both lucretia and taakos characters imo. lucretia works so hard to keep the boys from questioning things like why would she have a reaction like that. like they couldve alluded to her recognizing it but a scene like that is so in your face and it takes power away from the scene in crystal kingdom where red robe barry recognizes it. and wrt taakos character like. hes never Particularly trustful of lucretia like on a personal level but overall he trusts the bureau and lucretia until reunion tour. adding in a scene like that at that point in the story makes no sense like u cannot convince me taako would not start questioning what the directors really up to and why she had such a personal reaction.

[kitsunabi]

I keep reading the lore and like I am absolutely doubling down on the idea that DF in the animation is 100% not the actual personality of DF. It contradicts like all the lore we’ve received of him.

It is 100% a representation of DH’s personal fears and viewpoints as shaped by his time in the Shackling Prison and skewed perspective from the ones who inundated him with the knowledge of the crimes of his predecessor

[creativitwin]

“i don’t want the orange side to be patton’s brother,” i say. and then i make my interpretation of the orange side represent wrath AND justice

[strrwbrrryjam]

for all my grievances with tangled the series, one thing i cannot criticize them for is their songs, i mean, sure, not all of them make sense in context (let me make you proud comes to mind), the songs are spectacular, from the vocals to the instrumental, all of them are a joy to listen to, whether they are just incredibly goofy, like the buddy song, to heartbreaking, like waiting in the wings, whether its a solo, a duet or a group, they are wonderful to listen to

[risingsunresistance]

i wanna know like... skyblock lgbt statistics. how many of the players identify as some form of lgbt and what is their favorite part of the game. i want to know 1) to make me feel better for the amount of hate i see in various places bc i know there's more of us than ppl assume and 2) it could be biased bc i'm in the mines most of the time. but i have noticed A LOT of people in full divan with trans capes. and i want to know if there's something about mining that trans people happen to gravitate towards jkhfgjkd

[thecodeveronica]

Annnnnnnnnnnnd I'm done! Met my self-imposed writing deadline with only 1/4 of the day left, phew.

Not 100% satisfied with the end, but there IS an end, and now I can agonize over editing.

Trying to decide if I achieved my goal of avoiding my dangerous habit of... shall we say, "soft boi-ifying" characters yes i know i complained about cinnamon rolling in the past, but this is a different issue, or if in my conscious effort to do so I ended up going too far in the opposite direction. Gonna mull it over a bit about one part in particular.

But by and large, the first big piece to resolving my writing issues puzzle is in place, aww yeah.

[aiilurociide]

…….. Thinkin’ about….. Making “Redtail” and “Spottedleaf” into one character……..

[xmoonlitxdreamx]

tbh i feel like confirming any romantic relationships is probably a challenge (?) for a game like ovw, since there's a lot of ships & a lot of varying interpretations of those characters/ships. Feel like it'd be hard to confirm any ships without stepping on some ppl's headcanons or wtv. (I do think it's possible they'd confirm some relationships eventually tho idk who knows)

[hummingbird-games]

this sounds extremely fatalistic and especially insane to say during BHM from yours truly, but I'm spiraling and looking at data and the state of the world (& my country specifically) and the stories I want to tell and the people who stories are centered and...

I don't think I ever want to charge money for my games. ever. they'll be free for the unforeseen future because I'm not tanking my health further by stressing out over what hateful, racist, insane players think. I'm already catching strays from trying to have f!MC protagonists??? can you unpack why that makes you wanna lash out and be nasty?? but preferably with someone else that's not me.

people talk such a big game about diversity and being inclusive and listening to Black voices and then turn around do the exact opposite. every single time.

ugh, I have a queued post going up...tomorrow?? that's a reblog from last year, but a warning: I was a very different person with a very different well of energy when I wrote it and when I scheduled that reblog.