People don’t talk enough about this scene and what it says about Lucifer and Michael’s relationship.
Not only was his first thought of Michael, but look at him; he looks so DEVASTATED that it wasn’t him.
This man is desperate for a sign, ANY sign, of his former brother. He’s desperate to see him in something, for some proof that Michael still cares about him.
The new girl, Violet, sure is an odd duck. Perhaps it’s the fact that she refuses to give her last name, or the fact that she talks to things no one else can see. At least that’s what it seems like when she’s talking with plants and trees as if they could talk back. Although not technically that odd to Red, nearly everything talks in Wonderland. There in lies the problem, however, this is Auradon not Wonderland, nearly nothing talks here.
Yet oddest of all is how she keeps managing to run into Chloe and Red at the oddest times. Times that feel almost pivotal if it weren’t for these strange occurrences that would happen.
Like that time Red and Chloe got locked up in the Alchemy Classroom after school hours (long story) and after some banter combined with the acceptance of their fate, (apparently Principle Uma took her job rather seriously and after about a week of Red picking locks had decided to be a buzzkill and upgrade them, to the point where even if you manage to break in it will simply go back in place and more reinforced than before. What the heck, right?) Red had decided to, well not completely confess, but perhaps give an idea about certain feelings she may or may not have been having recently.
Only to be interrupted by the sound of the door opening and a purple clad girl making her way inside. Red thought there was something odd with the way she looked when she saw them, sure it was surprised but there was a kind of feigned quality to it that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
“Oh, you two are here too, that’s sure is weird. Good thing it was me who found you though, would be awful for you to have to get sent back home for a week and accidentally cause a catastrophic event.”
“…Yes…that really would be…awful.” Not as awful as she felt having her confession interrupted, but technically this is a more preferable outcome… although, how did Violet know what PU told her the last time?
Chloe, for her part, was simply stuck in her head with a frown, feeling like something very important had just been taken from her.
Oh well, there was always another time to confess to Red. Preferably somewhere where Violet couldn’t interrupt them like she did the last five times.
In Violet’s defense, however, they could really benefit from choosing moments that weren’t connected to life or death situations. She’s just saying.
You write unhinged Leo so well, and I really like how you write him. I was wondering if you had tips on unhinged characters 😂, or do you just get inspro from existing characters 👀
aksdakjsdh thank you so much ;w;
And honestly???? I’m not totally sure how to give tips— but I love, love, love unhinged characters in media, so I’ll use them as examples
(long rant below lol)
I’ve always been a big fan of silly, ‘crazy’ characters in animated movies and cartoons. I grew up on Batman the Animated Series and the original Teen Titans, which were full of silly, fun tragic characters.
Don’t get me wrong, i love a good edge-lord— but as a tot i thought the colorful, theatrical, insane bad guys were more fun to watch than the big scary serious ones (ESPECIALLY if they had a good villain song. A+ good shit)
(From left to right: Ratigan from Great Mouse Detective, Joker from Batman the Animated Series, Mumbo Jumbo from Teen Titans, Martin from Secret of Nimh 2, Bill Cypher from Gravity Falls, and Spinel from the Steven Universe movie)
And not just bad guys!! There are a ton of unhinged good/neutral characters that i absolutely adore.
(From left to right: King Bumi from ATLA, Clara from Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun, and, of course, our silly 2018 turtle boys)
((There are many more characters in both categories, but I’ll slide these examples in here for now))
My personal brand of “Unhinged” or “Crazy” characters definitely leans on comedy. That’s what i enjoy seeing and reading! I personally like it because it can help keep a story fresh and interesting. There’s an element of surprise and unpredictability with what a character might do, and i love that!!
I also really enjoy a touch of feral behavior in my unhinged characters. The lack of clarity and the danger that imposes can be a very fun tool to use, no matter the character’s moral compass. (I’m feral for feral behavior lol)
And impulses. Whether a character has a few screws loose or is generally a goober, they like to act on impulses. This often goes hand-in-hand with comedy, and that’s something I enjoy!! We get a lot of moments like that in Rise, and that was one of my favorite parts of that TMNT iteration.
But as far as writing goes, it’s been tricky for me. All of the characters I grew up or love have been visual— trying to find a good balance for reading has been a puzzle I’ve been figuring out as I go.
I read a lot manga (lol nerd) and comics, and I love how thoughts/dialog are depicted. Especially the really dramatic or impactful moments. (I’d add examples but I’m already at the Tumblr image limit LAME)
As strange as it sounds, I try to capture that “impactful visual” style in my writing. If I had ANY advice on writing unhinged characters, pay attention to pacing—
Short. Fast. A calculating thought. Perhaps a run on sentence that lacks punctuation to represent the rushing and disorganized thought process. A question? An answer with little thought. Is this moment amusing; describe how. Is it upsetting; describe how. Are the thoughts starting to scatter? M aybe s o…
Big moment statement.
Action or plan of next big move. Flow should never seem too uniform. Even in normal writing. Don’t be afraid of accentuating— but don’t overdo it. Remember, unhinged characters are impulsive. Have fun with that.
Just as a quick and dirty summary— when it comes to unhinged characters, I like to use comedy, feral behavior, and acting on impulses. I also like to keep it as visually appealing as possible for characters to give the eyes a little treat after reading walls of text. I like to use fun text formatting to help with the fun too (But don’t overdo it! Don’t make it feel like a chore to read) (<- says the girl who goes into way too much details sometimes lmao whoops)
But ultimately— have FUN!!! Unhinged characters are fun, so make sure you have fun writing/drawing/creating them!!
*puts on my Professor glasses*
Macky really knows EXACTLY how to talk to Wukong, let's dissect it!
M: Looks like things are going smoothly.
W: I say, you've been here the whole time, haven't you?
M: FFM is your home, but it's also mine.
W: Did you find anything?
M: Still nothing, however. Now the Jade Emperor is no longer present. The Celestial Realm already gives me an unsettling feeling.
M: Wukong...that kid.
W: I understand.
M: You have to go and talk to him.
W: I know! But...he still isn't ready.
M: I see. You're the one who isn't ready, yet. How did you even become a teacher!
M: He has to be. We all have to be realistic.
W: He's just a kid. We can't let him...
M: Who says he's just a kid! Why is it him? When you chose him, did you know?
W: I didn't know, I really didn't know! I just followed...a feeling.
M: Are you not the least bit worried?! This child has all of your special powers, and he always runs into trouble. Have you never questioned this before? Not a single person knows where he came from. Is it not strange?!
M: We still have no clue as to whoever let out Azure Lion. All your old foes returned in one swoop. Are you not even a little-
W: Then what about you? You also suddenly came back.
M: Argh-
M: I say, someone must be manipulating us behind our backs. Especially Xiaotian. But they still haven't succeeded.
W: Then tell me. What about you?
M: Tell me do you want my help or not?! / W: Not long ago you were still against me! / M: I see, you're just a- / W: ...after I assume you'll teach me how to train my own disciples?
~ Xiaotian Interupts ~
M: Look. That kid has made you his idol. You're his one true hero, but you...
W: But I what?
M: He has to understand, he doesn't need to carry these burdens. You have to do better.
You can really tell whose the chatty one in this relationship XD Wukong might be a lil annoyed, but he's tolerant. And Macky is a little playful turd as always. Where Wukong gets gloomy and concerned, Mac swaps between teasing and serious in a blink. Then things get a lot more strained and tense, but unlike their previous fights, it never escalates into violence. Never a growl, never a raised fist. They're right at the edge, and they drop it. I'm very much interested in the psychology of arguments and when it comes to people latching onto (1) thing a person says and relating it slightly off topic to avoid talking about that other thing, like Wukong is doing here. It's so cool seeing how physical they are in trying to visibly control their emotions around each other, and how they keep trying to hold themselves back from tearing in further, always pausing and halting, and switching to another thing. They're TRYING. Ugh. I think Mac was trying to give a comforting smile at the end, but it's kinda warped by the whole ~ everything else. ~
Anyhow, I like how this starts with Wukong establishing, or rather cementing to Macaque that he believes MK is a kid. And while Macaque argues against that, he did also say before that Wukong should talk to him. And they have their squabble, with Mac pushing Wukong's buttons to get him to say something, BUT the fact this gets resolved with he needs to understand he doesn't need to carry these burdens. YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER. Like of all things Mac could have chosen. He's playing right into what Wukong himself believes, that will overwrite the "MK isn't ready" thing. Because let's face it. Mac is right when he says Wukong also isn't ready for that talk yet. He's so down throughout all this, Wukong probably feels himself that he needs to be better. AND by appealing to the fact MK is a kid, without explicitly stating that, just a statement that cannot be denied, BUT is a subject that undoubtedly, even Wukong cannot avoid. Because he wants better for MK. For him to not walk down the same path as him. Macaque has basically nudged Wukong into having that talk he wanted with MK by reframing it differently from what Wukong wasn't ready for.
Thoughts? Critique?
*squishes you* anon…anon, you’re telling me..that this was the actual dialogue between SWK and Macky in 5x01. that what i just read is the translated version of the Mandarin dub. correct?
ok ok cool. i’m cool. gucci. feeling fantastic lemme just
WHAT THE FUCK LMK
ok so i ranted in the tags but realized i forgot to say more things (also i was worried i’d exceed the tag limit bc that is a real thing what do you know!)
so, anon, you said Macky knows how to talk to Wukong and yeah agreed but for me it’s for of the sense of “Macky knows how to get his words under Wukong’s skin”
he knows how to let his words sink in and fester in Wukong’s mind, making him reconsider things or another to help speed up certain decisions or choices Wukong is hesitating on. and ain’t it fascinating how despite how long it’s been since either character have talked or interacted with each other, they still know the ins and outs of their behavior and thoughts.
Macky knows Wukong needs to talk to MK but is holding back. Macky after one answer from Wukong realizes that it’s Wukong who isn’t ready for that conversation and switches tactics to try and breach that mental block
Wukong, in a need to avoid the conversation, brings up the questions surrounding Macky’s reason for even being alive again because that is information neither have talked about and oh hey! Macky is avoiding that conversation too! and it’s an important one to have so he pushes for it, but Macky knows it’s being pushed to avoid their original discussion and is annoyed bc “classic Wukong, never wanting to delve too deep into topics where he’ll need to be vulnerable for” (especially when said vulnerability is with his newly re-allied ex friend Macaroni himself)
yknow if janus is going to given a seat at the table (ok, place in the living room) it’s going to make it a lot harder for him to impersonate anyone. cus they’d be like oh he’s not here ok who’s been off today? then again maybe if they let him hang around he won’t bother to do so (which might mean we never get “him impersonating virgil” drama aw).
anon had a much different message I’ll try to get back to But it spiraled off in my brain and I think like, a character note about the twins especially in the beginning is that they’re very uncomfortable with (if not with most loud emotions) crying. exactly like my brother and I tbr alisaie is not comfortable with it even if it sometimes happens to her without her consent, so she stuffs it behind being snappy so it’ll stop. as the story goes on she doesn’t necessarily get more comfortable with it, she just gets around people who make her feel more okay about it. alphy just seemed unused to it in general - nothing in his life has ever caused emotion like that to overwhelm either reason or ego or logic, and so it just never happened, and even when he was upset he always always distanced how he felt about things from what his role was in the real world. like as a ten year old they were doing this. after hw it kind of starts happening to him wether he wills it or no, mostly around bittersweet or moments of stress release. which rly leads me to believe in the space between arr and hw was a lot more unmentioned (or obliquely mentioned, they kinda leave it to you) awful attempts at feeling really harsh emotions by someone who’s just genuinely never done it before than we hear about directly. he’s just never cried since he was tiny, and it probably sucked. anyways alisaie understands the emotional weight of events instantly and gets to react to them even if she dislikes it later and becomes determined to fix, while alphy still retains the habit of quickly separating himself from an event until it’s like, done with and either fixed or nothing we can do, and then falls apart. they both kinda try to hide it anyways
Sorry (not) but I find anyone who acts like Blue is making something out of nothing when she’s mad Adam’s first question is about the kissing to be like. Deeply suspicious. Of course she is mad that’s the first thing he asked her! They’ve been walking on eggshells around each other and not really communicating since the last aborted kiss attempt which is on both of them to some degree, but when he comes around to her it’s only for this and when she has so many fears and insecurities about not properly belonging in the gang because she’s a girl (which is founded based on the fact aside from Noah they’ve all been misogynistic towards her at some point even if it was passive) and not being respected, when she’s also an outsider at home because of a different thing she can’t control. And you can not say that her feeling Adam is treating her like a thing to have and not a person he connects with is unfounded he again literally “I got Blue without you!” screamed at Gansey, consistently going to her after they fight (he did it end of TRB after repugnant too) to validate himself or just generally when he’s falling apart looking for validation from her like in the apartment scene. It’s not a bad thing to seek validation from your partner and in TRB before I’d say the last quarter I think Blue and Adam were genuinely connecting and developing a friendship while also exploring their feelings/attractions to each other, which did always have elements of seeking escape or validation for both of them in different ways, but it’s dissolved into that so much now. And I do think Blue is to some degree mad at Adam because he’s here and available to be mad at when she’s also mad at Gansey for it (I don’t think they’re *in the wrong * for not inviting her but they are in the wrong for not even considering she could want to go or at least want to be in the loop, also even though it’s Gansey’s party if Adam is trying to be her *boyfriend* it was kind of his place to ask her) so she’s conveying anger at Adam when the anger is for both of them, and also more general factors she’s frustrated by, but also Adam has the exact same response of channeling emotions that aren’t solely about Blue through their fights (and to his credit he is self aware that he does this) so again crucifying Blue for it is whack imo. Also to check myself on shipper-brain for the Adam-Gansey aspect of it, well obviously I read that here as a factor because I’m me, but for arguments sake on the premise Adam has No feelings about Gansey that are anything other than platonic Blue would still have a right to be mad about him prioritizing his platonic male friends over her and treating them with more respect, obviously, because misogyny exists (also these are not two contradictory readings in that I think they’re both factors. Signed an Adam Stan).
When I cry for Claudia, I’m also crying for myself. Abusive father who we share too many traits with, mother who chooses abusive men again and again. Frozen in a moment of childhood trauma, made into something monstrous by her parents. Fighting for survival at every turn. Finally loved by someone who puts you first. I can’t help but see my own story in hers, and I want so desperately to give her my ending. I’m laying here cuddling my sleeping wife, who could not care less about iwtv but listens to me babble about it anyway, and I just wish I could give this fictional character the same future that I see stretching out before me.
I hate to make a random mega man ramble about a technical thing rather than about the games themselves but it’s dawning on me more and more how Capcom bundling Zero and ZX was like- a double edged sword.
From what I know Capcom expected a rerelease of Zero to not sell super well, I only imagine they released it because Zero isn’t super niche-it’s like middle in popularity in terms of the MM series-and they probably wanted to tackle something smaller before releasing the BNLC given how long that took. However it’s noteworthy that the LC port of all the Zero games are just the source code of the Ds collection, they likely did it since GBA games don’t have a easy way to rip their source code unlike Ds. (Hence another reason BNLC took so long) But they realized they couldn’t just port a slightly remastered version of the Zero games to consoles as no one would be interested, so they likely slapped ZX on as a bonus.
Why do I say this? It’s because the double edge factor of while ZX got more exposure, it feels like they only did it as means to further tie it Zeros identity. Think about how in that anniversary art awhile ago there was a protag for every series BUT ZX, or how most of the merch post LC is just Zero, hardly anything ZX related in sight. On top of this, ZX is a sequel series to Zero-even though Zero in itself is a sequel to X, and X is a sequel to classic…-so they figured from a marketing standpoint it makes sense to tie their identities together.
This was the only feasible way to rerelease ZX as no one would buy a collection of two games even if they priced it super cheap, but man. Does this fucking suck to realize.
I’ve doodled ideas for redesigns before, but I’ve never just sat down and done it. By god these designs are so cluttered that there’s so many strings to pull for a redesign!