#discussion

[taniahylian]

Sonetto: The most voilent character in the suitcase

No, this isn't a joke... well, it kinda is? But I also have proof that Sonetto is very violent and impulsive, despite also being the by-the-book righteous girl we know her to be.

First of all, in the epilogue, Sonetto and Regulus fight, and then Regulus falls to the ground, clutching her arm and saying it's broken. Now, we know she was just pretending, but Sonetto didn't know that, and what was her response?

I mean... if your enemy is already on the ground, and seemingly injured, why ask her to fight you again??? Wtf Sonetto. Good thing Vertin had her own agenda and prevented further confrontation.

Then, in ch1, Sonetto and Sotheby are lost in the underground Laberynth of the Walden and then finally see a stage behind a brick wall. Sotheby even remarks it looks like there's a party outside. Sonetto's immediate response? She wants to blast the freaking wall.

Again, she has to be stopped, this time by Sotheby, who reminds her that an explosion could hurt ppl and they shouldn't act so impulsively. Starting to see a pattern here?

Then, after Forget me Not delivers the "good news" and the gang escapes through the Laberynth, they run into another pair of Italians.

Schneider is carrying Marian on her back and comforting her, not to mention that the two girls look very alike. Yet, when Sonetto sees this sight, she accuses her of being the one who had been torturing Marian and then, without waiting for an explanation, immediately attacks rather violently (the game even points it out).

Granted, there are also instances where this violent side of Sonetto comes in handy, like all the times she fights the manus, but especially when she's told Vertin joined the enemy and Schneider died, and she responds by seeking vengace through combat.

Schneider even remarks that Sonetto was rather fierce during the fight.

BUT we're not done yet with Sonetto's impulsiveness! In ch3 someone is following her around at the rehabilitation center and, after unsuccessfully trying to lose them, she grabs a trash bag and puts it on their head.

Now, imo this was very reasonable and smart, since she didn't know who was following her. What was a bit more problematic however, is that she then proceeded to beat this individual, whose identity was still unknown to her btw, despite the fact that Matilda didn't attack her and was just trying to escape.

And finally... the one impulsive act that almost cost Sonetto her own life:

She broke the vow of silence and attacked Arcana in the hall of truth despite the oath she made and the fact that Arcana didn't even try to get close to them; we just see her clapping and then putting a finger to her lips to indicate silence, yet Sonetto immediately casted a spell.

Now, I don't want to be too hard on her, I know this is what she was taught to do all her life, plus it's her nature as a protective doggo to act this way, but I do think it's something she should work on.

Plus, it's kinda hilarious that a character whose signature phrase is "may the peace be with us" is anything but peaceful, don't you think? XD

[artist-issues]

I don't understand the hype around "neurodivergence." I don't get it. I don't get what you guys are talking about. What do you mean when you say "neurodivergent?" Do you just mean "thinks differently than everyone else?" Okay, well, everyone thinks differently than everyone else. We're all unique; nobody's interior world is exactly the same as everyone else's. So what is neurodivergence?

Some people talk about it like it's meant specifically to refer to people who are on the "autism spectrum" but that's not how I'm seeing y'all use it. Online, people say "autistic" and "neurodivergent" in sentences and contexts where the word "creative" or "artistic" or simply "unique-personality" would work better as descriptive words.

And what's a little more perplexing is the...romanticization of it. I just made a post about Mulan, the character, talking about how well-done her character trait of "creativity" is, and someone reblogged it and said she was "neurodivergent." When the whole point of the post is that she was creative: she solves problems with her own unique spin. That doesn't mean other characters in that movie don't also have a unique spin--Mushu ties tomatoes to her arrows to cheat at training. Is he "neurodivergent" too, or just creative? Why do you say "neurodivergent" when you mean "creative?"

What's going on here? Explain it to me, if you're more knowledgeable than I am and I'm just ignorant. Because really, I'd be glad to hear that it's not just one more case of our internet-drunk society creating an exclusive sub-culture with no reasonably defined traits to idealize and identify with.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Are We Returning To 2000s Era Shonen Anime/Manga (A Discussion)

So this is going to be way more of a thinkpiece than I usually do for this blog, but recent trends in the space and niche that I devote a lot of time to, Anime/Manga, have been showing themselves that got me thinking. This is not meant to be a serious sociology case study taken as fact, it's going to be more a theory based on observations of the community that I, like many others, devote a lot of time into than a full on claim, but I do want to ask, is the anime and manga community is experiencing a resurgence in 2000s era shonen manga?

Background

Now let me get this out of the way, there is bias in these observations as I am a western anime fan, but also a North American anime fan. Meaning my gateway and gauges of pop culture are mostly determined by the history of my area of the world’s relationship with anime. From the OVAs of 80s hyper violent and hyper sexual sci fi that you had to purchase from the backs of video rental stores, to the Toonami era of 90s and early 00s programming block the centred around action anime and cartoons, the 4kids era of mass market japanese animated kids shows that were really just giant commercials with some of the earliest memetics in western sphere, and the explosion of shonen battle series in the western sphere in the mid to late 2000s marked by the rise of the colloquially named “Big 3” of shonen jump. I understand that continents like South America or Europe may have undergone a different exposure to the Japanese medium, but as I am going in with some bias in this observation, I would like to make it clear on where the formula is coming from. I also would like to lay down a certain clarification before making this, when discussing the topic of nostalgia I think a lot of people have forgotten what it actually means. If we go by the Cambridge dictionary definition, Nostalgia is “a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past.” This is often invoked when talking about pop culture because people from say 20 years ago don’t seem to enjoy or relate to the interests of today. The belief is that nostalgia is generational ergo if you grew up in the 80s you’re likely wishing to recapture the feelings of childhood that you associate with those trends from 20 years ago. In fact, most revaluation in media has often been catalyzed by a difference of those who grew up in an era rebuffing the opinions of those who didn’t. 

There is the well known “20 Year Rule” regarding pop culture nostalgia. That every decade it longs for what was popular 20 years ago. Probably no better example than “That 70s show” being popular in the late 90s, the return of many beloved 80s franchises like “Ghostbusters” returning in the 2010s as well as series like “Stranger Things” that wrapped itself up in 80s aesthetics. 

Now it goes without saying that the 20 year rule isn’t a “real” rule, rather an observation that certain trends make a return to popularity because the ones who grew up with a certain media will be the ones who add to the discourse when they come of age and will be the ones having a chance to create consumable art for the masses and that may just be revivals of once popular IP. This isn’t necessarily wrong in regards to nostalgia, but I do believe that one doesn’t need to have been born in a certain era to be nostalgic for something when we discuss pop culture. Pop culture is really just trends and preferences that become en vogue and people can acquire a taste at any given time. Sometimes it can be due to those who grew up with something now having the chance to create and drawing upon their own childhoods, sometimes it's just due to not being exposed, other times it can be a certain feeling of disillusionment of the now, and seeking something that peaks your interest, and even sometimes it can be major corporations or networks looking for things with existing audiences to draw upon that actually expand the audience. In fact one of the most prominent Netflix adaptations of the 2020s has been live Action Avatar the Last Airbender and One Piece, both shows that got their start on American televisions in 2004 and 2005.

So I want to stress this is not necessarily about how if you grew up with the original Mobile Suit Gundam show you are being replaced by the kids who were watching GetBackers. And or if you are a fan of shows that came out in the 2000s you yourself were born in the 2000s.

But what was the landscape of the English speaking anime community like back in the 2000s? Well let me paint a portrait for you.

What was the 2000s like for anime fans?

The term I used, “shonen boom period”, is somewhat mythologized in the western anime sphere. There was a glut of high profile shonen anime running around the same time that most people identified with this time period and was arguably when we saw the most influx of people getting into the hobby. One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach served as big series known for their massively large casts, MCs with a level of attitude, some of the most hype centric power supernatural/extraordinary power systems, and certain brand of “Japanese-y” humor. We can’t deny that it wasn’t just these series however, as series like Fullmetal Alchemist became many people’s introduction to more narratively intricate series interspersed with a somewhat gothic action style. The gothic and somewhat edgy Death Note became many fans' first ever “battle series that’s not a battle series” that also incorporated many biblical and gothic horror elements into its presentation. And things like Code Geass also incorporated this combination of hyper stylized cat and mouse with ornate and gothic aesthetics and fighting robots. 

Series like Ouran Highschool Host Club and and Haruhi Suzumiya were basically gateways to the more hyper extraordinary slice of life series that didn’t shy away from fanservice and loud comedy. With ecchi like Rosario + Vampire taking it to an even greater extreme. For people willing to go even deeper, series like Fairy Tail began to pop up and share a distinct similar flavor to series like One Piece and Naruto which arguably started the popular conception of it coming from the same magazine as the latter. That’s not also discounting the amount of holdovers from the 90s like Dragon Ball z, Trigun, and Yu Yu Hakusho, which also had an edge towards fantastical combat and comedic oriented series.

All of this is to generally illustrate the media diet of what an average anime fan was expected to have some level of access to. As this was far before the eras of Funimation or Hulu having online services. Not a homogenized spread by any means, and im certain plenty of readers could name more underground or smaller series like Mushishi or Elphen Lied, but generally the popular mainstream you could tell that there was a consistent theme of long form media with a very loud, very flashy, and very action oriented type of series. Which I think is fair to say had skewed some people’s perception. And while I cannot claim with utter certainty that Japan was the same in this regard, you can look at magazines like Shonen Jump and notice a somewhat synchronistic trend. With series like Hitman Reborn, Gintama, D. Gray Man, Eyeshield 21, Bobobobo, etc.making a clear marcation of what was commercially successful at the time. Even series not inside the magazine but had smaller nicher, Tokyo-pop-esque series like Rave Master, Flame of Recca, Air Gear, History’s Strongest Disciple Kenichi, Soul Eater, etc all had a similarity to the shonen jump magazine. To the point it was not uncommon to see so many jump characters in a collage and one from shonen sunday or shonen magazine in there as if this was all coming from the same place.

Changing Landscape

Now with the advantages of the modern internet, we have the ability to actually keep up with the jump magazine in real time as opposed to the common practice of relying on scanlation site and fansubs that were often devoted to the most popular works. But with simultaneous publication and services like Crunchyroll, being able to access a wider variety of shows and series that we may or may not have access to. I believe that the 2010s in the english speaking fanbase was the decade we saw a somewhat expansionism of what people perceived as anime. Anime could be One Piece and Naruto, but it could also be Erased, it could be the Promised Neverland, Attack on Titan, K-On, Haikuu, and Durarara. With the representatives of the 90s no longer being holdovers in syndication like dragon ball but rather full on revivals of the likes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure and Hunter x Hunter. 

All of these could be "shonen" but also other genres like Seinin, Josei, and Shojo all had their own varying layers of what they could be in their demographic

The mood of what was popular was also changing, not just in the fact that more flavors of anime and manga were becoming mainstream, but new works from shonen jump showed a rise in almost subversive series like My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer that seemed to consciously deviate or place new spins from traditional tropes of the 2000s characters, and we saw works that were derivative of previous serious like Black Clover drawing upon Naruto the same way it was known that Naruto had drawn upon Dragon Ball before them. Series like The Promised Neverland and Doctor Stone offered up more dramatic series that still infused a certain energy of the shonen genre. 

And of course the series like Attack Titan whose much more darker and gorey storytelling seemed to have become one of if not the biggest hit of the generation with a well regarded adaptation, but something that had felt so removed from what were once contemporaries like the then ending Bleach or Naruto. We can also note that the late 2010s saw the rise of series like Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen that began a trend of popular urban fantasy stories. Where fantastical concepts were now in contemporary Japan and the stories that focused on concepts like self identity and the harshness of maturing were juxtaposed to the real world inhabited by monsters. 

It seemed many tropes of the previous decade were still alive in the rise of Isekai anime. Which was particularly the only popular outlet for fantasy stories with an action orientation. But these almost felt disconnected from the wider world of manga as things like heavy harem action series had actually decreased in mags like shonen jump. There was also new tropes being established in this subgenre that became unique popularizations of tropes all on their own, such as the overpowered protagonist whose power everyone believes is weak. But many of these were based on light novels, a form of media that only in the last few years western readers are having official access to and not simply scans found on the internet.

We in North America truly have gone from anime being a niche that was primarily accessible through dedicated TV blocks like Toonami, to a full blown cultural relevance shift.

We also need to talk about this era in its perception of the past also shifted. The 90s and the early 00s often blend together as classics of the anime community. Somewhat encased in amber. However, there is no denying that “feels like a 2000s series” had become a bit of a shorthand for very goofy, Very horny, very action heavy series. Series like Fire Force and and Undead Unluck had their show what more problematic elements be equated to the problematic trends of the past that people just accepted as “a part of the medium.” But lets keep in mind, this is not really describing a time, more a trend. Superficial elements that invoke similar feelings of the past. 

Speaking of anime fans…

Fan Culture

So while I wanted to paint a picture of creatively the landscape has changed, there’s no denying that in the age of internet accessibility, the anime fan community has also changed. It is much much easier now to get in contact with people who are anime fans now than it was to rely on word of mouth like it was back in the day. I can still distinctly remember my anime club which wasn’t even really a club devoted to anime but rather other geek stuff like D&D and TCGs. Our hobbies just happened to have similar overlap.

Now though, anime fan culture is much more relevant and thriving. Going from just posting weekly reviews, to long retrospectives, comedy videos, abridged series, clickbait articles, fan theories, and podcasts. However, I think a defining feature of fans of the 2000s era of anime that were at their most prominent was hype culture. 

Due to many of the biggest anime series at the time being released weekly and focusing on action, many many many discussion boards and videos were often about staying in this cycle of wanting to see what happens next and the action made people very excited to see just how characters were going to win fights or even if they’d have fights at all. 

I want to make it clear that this type of activity doesn’t belong to a certain era, but you can see it shaped by the 2000s era. Especially when discussing “what is the next big 3.” As if it were a true position and title, rather than a moment in time where there were just three very distinct shonen series in the fanbase.This doesn’t necessarily have a “negative” effect on the discussion of anime/manga but you can see that certain genres lend themselves to hyping fans up more and more. 

Someone isn’t reading the most recent chapter of a romance like Blue Box with the same level of anticipation of who will face who like it was One Piece. But there have certainly been series that try.

The Present

Now we reach the 2020s and this decade is still young, so it is hard to say what the future will hold for certainty, but we can look at the last four years and notice some significant waves being made recently in Shonen Jump alone. I already spoke of Undead Unluck, a series that almost wears it would now be considered retro inspirations on its sleeve. With an opening chapter that establishes an MC that seems motivated by a sexual joke, A power system follows a verbal naming gimmick, and a loose enough world that allows for characters of varying aesthetics and to be incorporated into groups. With groups of these powerful characters splitting up to face each other and use their ridiculous power to the extreme. Even in the series' own meta arc about creating manga, the in-universe analogy for Undead Unluck’s manga is commented on as feeling retro. There is no doubt the biggest viral hit of the decade so far has gone to Kagurabachi, a manga about sword fighting and magical crime lords that seems almost indulgent in its stylistic slicing and or dicing of baddies. Its memetic success was primarily due to a somewhat sincere and somewhat ironic belief that it would be the “next big thing” as it promised to be a stylized action series. Another surprise viral success has been the manga Nue’s Exorcist which sees another supernatural swordfighter boy harness the powers of his sexy spirit lady while getting into harem shenanigans that echo a particular form of ecchi of anime’s past that had actually been somewhat absent in the past decade in jump. Both of these series have a somewhat noticeable similarities to Bleach, a long running shonen action series that has seen its own revival in the last few years of writing this with the long awaited adaptation of the final arc of the bleach anime. 

While the other members of the “big 3” never truly went away and became almost inter-generational, Bleach truly did feel like a “come back” as it was absent for so long. And unlike Hunter x Hunter and Jojo which were never really popular in the west and even their older anime are more regarded as anime deep lore. Bleach was one of the most popular series in the west at the time to never receive a conclusion animated. 

Speaking of anime of the 2000s Trigun Stampede was a reimagining of the original late 90s show. This errs a bit similar to Hunter x Hunter’s style of revival, but also seems uniquely its own in actually trying to find a balance between the original series but adding in things cut from its original late 90s early 2000s counterpart. 

And now we must examine other shonen magazines. Series like Gachiakuta created by a former assistant of Okubo, the creator of Soul Eater, carries with it much of the similar energies of that series. Its also noticeable as being a truly dark fantasy series. Not an urban fantasy, but rather a completely new world that had a very grunge and dirty world building. And then there is Daemons of the Shadow Realm, a series by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa. This series is also set in modern day japan with supernatural elements, however Arakawa’s style of writing is practically unchanged from her time on FMA. With an emphasis on action, intricate mysteries, and character building comedy with her trademark over exaggerated blocky style. 

This to me shows that we are  seeing a bit of a combination of people who are now entering the workforce inspired by creators of the past, but also that creators of the past still exist 20 years later and are still making content that hasn’t really undergone significant change. 

Of course, we can’t also forget the implementation of the Manga Plus/J plus service which has opened up a very interesting ground for creators to have some of the most creatively out there series than what you may have expected from the shonen jump brand. I genuinely don’t think series like Make the Exorcist Fall in Love or Fire Punch would’ve ever been acceptable in the pages of a weekly shonen series. However one series in particular does feel like it could've and boy its been quite the success. Kaiju no 8.

Kaiju no 8 almost feels as though it is the AoT of a new generation with the amount of anticipation this one series has as well as the similarities between the series superficial elements. However, I'd say the key distinction between the two has been the tone. AoT took a dark and practically dour tone on its titan infested world. With an MC declaring war on all of his enemies. The pain was realistic, with human bodies being brittle and vulnerable. And the belief that just because you were a good person you weren't going to make it out alive. Kaiju no 8 instead opts for a more action oriented tone. Down playing the bleak realism for more "Hell yeah!" moments. With super science weapons that feel more akin to a tokusatsu show and fights and battles between humans an kanji the feel like the Dragon Ball style wrestling matches of old.

And of course, that’s not to say Jump hasn’t continued with series that feel more modern like the realistic and mellow romance of Blue Box or the dramatic coming of age story of Akane-Banashi. 

But the presence of these series has caused somewhat of a friction with the popular conception of the magazine. Its safe to say that while “shonen” tends to think of action male oriented series, it can really just mean works aimed more at adolescents. But I think many tend to associate this familiar feeling of “what is shonen” with their popular introduction of the magazine. With a saturation of action and brash comedy series. This is further complicated by the fact many action series in jump are actually ending over the last decade. With new ones not popping up to replace them as frequently and series like One Piece and MHA and Black Clover basically stretching out across an entire decade or longer. In fact, I don’t think it's unreasonable to believe that the hype for something like Kagurabachi was in part a belief that it signaled a return of a type of familiar series and genre that had been missing. Or at the very least, looked to fill an inevitable gap the magazine was obviously going to be facing. Followed by the other commercial success of Nue’s Exorcist, we are likely to see these series last for a long time. At the time of this writing, Tokyo Revenger’s author Ken Wakui has released Astro Royale, a series that feels very similar to his previous work yet infused with this almost GetBackers flavor.

So that leaves us with the question at the start, are we seeing a rise in 2000s nostalgia in anime and manga?

Conclusion

So I'm sorry if I disappoint, but the best I can say is, I’m not certain. I do believe that from my observation I think it is reasonable to say that we are seeing a rise in creators in the shonen space being ones inspired by series from 20 years ago. However, I think we are also seeing creators who are from that time period also returning to write how they have always written. 

On the consumer side, I think we can see that fans of anime and manga have changed in the sense their tastes can now be shaped by a much larger catalog of series at their disposal. But in the case of shonen, I think we are simply seeing those who likely got their start in anime at around the 2000s resonating with newer series drawing upon those series, but also with younger fans now likely to grow up with the tail end of what was popular in the 2010s now being influenced by the 2020s. I also believe that one of the defining features of the anime community in the last decade is hype culture. And currently we are seeing a rise in series that actually feel more catered to hype, be it a revival of a series they liked or predicting what will be the next success. 

All and all, this piece was trying to tunnel on the shonen demographic in general, which is more likely than not going to have similar traits relative to itself. I do see us as a community endorsing trends of the past and there’s an excitement for these things to “come back” even if they may or may not have left. If you liked this please drop a like or reblog because I may do more of these think pieces in the future.

[rottenpumpkin13]

Hey, so do you think Buster sword is better quality and sturdier than random standard issue swords SOLDIERs get?

Do you think Angeal asked himself what would have happened if he wasn't so obsessed with his sword and used it instead of whatever broke apart and injured Genesis?

(I'm not blaming him, he didn't do anything malicious. Still, I wonder if he blames himself)

Considering it survived the combined forces of both Zack and Cloud and lived to tell the tale, it's safe to say the buster sword is pretty sturdy. We've seen a standard broadsword break on two occasions (that I can think of) in Crisis Core and both were due to impact during a fight, while the buster sword survived the Masamune countless times. I don't think Angeal should've been too worried about wear tear and rust. It survived Zack Fair, it could survive anything lol.

Oh definitely. It probably killed him at one point when he realized just how bad Genesis' condition was, and realized that it was caused by the broadsword he was using at the time. He might've known it was prone to breaking since he saw it happen with Zack when he was fighting the Sephiroth model in the training room. But it's not something he could've foreseen, and using the buster sword was likely the last thing on his mind at that moment. No single person is at fault for what happened in the training room—or better yet, Angeal is as much at fault as Genesis and Sephiroth. I think it was a really shitty set of events that would've transpired either way, because something was bound to trigger the degradation at some point.

[ohno-myfeefees]

Just curious to know why watcher never consulted with ex Buzzfeed members try guys or GMM who are longtime YouTubers with a fairly large staff count and many business ventures outside YouTube including paid subscription such as the GMM tiers. Could have saved them some trouble.

[thatslytherinbitch54]

What's something the fandom does with this character? (George Weasley) + I think you're lowkey either breeze or tangerine ngl

mb if im bothering you

Hey! What’s something the fandom does with George Weasley?

HOT TAKE: I think the fandom is overlooks his character a bit. Okay, hear me out… both him and Fred were kinda… bullies. If I’m being completely honest, I think the Weasley’s bullying is kinda in the same level of (if not worse than) Draco’s bullying… God, I can tell people are gonna hate me for this lol 😅 No, but for real, The twins experimented their prototypes on first years, gave Ron fear of spiders, almost made on a unbreakable vow, tried to trap Percy in pyramid, stuffed Montage in vanishing cabinet, all these these things that I have listed just gets brushed off as a “joke”. I’m not saying that Draco didn’t do awful shit, please, he’s probably the school’s biggest bigot but, at least his bullying, doesn’t go this far (most of the time at least). So, I think the fandom glosses over George being some what of a bully and kinda makes him like this hot ideal person, I don’t know, just me?

NOTE: I STILL LOVE HIM THO, IM NOT HATING ON HIM, I JUST WANTED TO SHARE MY OPINION! LOL

(Jaja thanks! I’m pretty sure I’m both lol)

(Also, don’t EVER apologize for “bothering” me, I like it when people “bother” me 😊)

Thanks for the ask! ILYSM!!! 😘😘😘❤️❤️❤️

[rikas-things]

Twisted Wonderland and Color

Recently I've been coming across the Twisted Wonderland official art for reference photos and something hit me- their colors are quite striking, no?

But what made me curious were the meanings and associations of such colors, as each color alludes to the vices and virtues each dorm leader/house warden possesses.

Let us discover them together!

Riddle Rosehearts

Most obviously his main color is red ♥️.

Red is a color of passion, power, courage, and dominance and one that commands attention.

Most warning labels and signs usually have this color because our eyes are naturally drawn to it.

However, the negative connotations of such a color come just as clear:

Aside from the obvious association, anger, it's also a color of violence, as blood comes to mind, danger, and can be associated with hatred and war.

But let's look at the other colors, shall we?

Gold- a color of generosity and wealth but also self-centeredness and lack of trust

White- purity, perfection, honesty, and cleanliness but also coldness. Another meaning that is mainly associated with Eastern interpretation of white can also mean death.

Black- similar to red, it can represent elegance and authority, but has associations in death and darkness.

Next up is...

Leona Kingscholar

His main color is yellow 🟡 with hints of brown🟤 , silver🥈, and black 🖤.

Yellow is an energetic and cheerful color. But like gold, it's also associated with luxury and warmth.

But of course, negative connotations aside from cowardice, are deceitfulness, jealousy, and egotism.

Brown- the color most associated with the earth, it can mean sustainability, health, and, like yellow, can also mean warmth, but also loneliness, isolation, sadness, and drought (the last one is my interpretation, as most dying plants tend to have this color)

Silver- similar to gold and yellow, it represents wealth as well as wisdom and spiritual purity. Dunno how that could correlate to Leona but what do you think?

And the meaning for black is described in Riddle's color meaning.

I've noticed most colors have similar associations with one another as well. Hope that doesn't take off points 😂

Azul Ashengrotto

His was the most tricky since his dorm color is somewhat similar to Pomefiore's in that they both use purple (tho Azul's uses a lighter shade) and that the "grey" used here is more bluish than a straight gray color.

Nonetheless, I shall try my best in finding meaning in it!

What I think is it could be a pale version of lavender 🪻

And lavender is associated with purity, silence, grace, elegance, calmness, and devotion but can also be linked with feelings of frustration, sadness, and evil.

Gray- it can represent neutrality, balance l, professionalism, and calmness, like lavender, but can also represent blandness, coldness, and gloom.

Again, see above for black and white.

That's it for right now! If this gets popular, I may do more in the future. If this came across as boring or redundant, pls lemme know and share me some meanings and interpretations I might have missed!

Thanks for reading

[an-excellent-choice]

I just realized another sign on how much being a god changed Gale so much is that won't actively help his followers. He chooses to inspire but not help.

This is so jarring and the complete opposite of how he was before. He always, i mean always offers to help. His greetings always starts on how he can help even when he disapproves of you.

Like look at these greetings, he was fundamentally a caring and helpful person.

Negative (-10): 

"Yes?"

"Did you need something?"

"What is it?"

"You need me?"

Neutral and up (above -10):

"How can I help?"

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"What's on your mind?"

Flirting:

"Always a delight to speak with you. What can I do?"

"I do enjoy our conversations. What do you need?"

"Tell me - What can I do for you?"

Partnered:

"My time is yours. What do you need?"

"Whatever you need, you have only to ask."

"Anything I can do for you - consider it most enthusiastically done."

This man's core and passion has always been to help and centered in acts of service. From cooking for the camp, teaching magic, even offering blood to Astarion. All of these love and care he has disappears when he becomes a god.

Elminster was right. The Gale we all knew and loved is now lost the moment he ascended.

[nickpeppermint]

Now that classic Mickey is getting more attention, i think it's about time to talk about one very annoying design misunderstanding

Has anyone noticed how Mickey Mouse eyes are COMPLETELY misinterpreted in coloured version? 👀

He has a mono eye like Sonic, which was changed into two small eyes inside his pupils

Also for example, notice the placement of Minnie's eyelashes that went from her eyelids to the top of her pupils

Yet Goofy retained normal eyes for some reason

Does anyone know why it's the case? 🤔

[wileycap]

Go see the new Dungeons and Dragons movie. Just run. Don't finish reading this post.

That was SO REFRESHING. GOD.

Some minor spoilers ahead, but frankly nothing that would spoil your enjoyment of the plot:

A man and a woman who are friends and co-parents, who don't constantly belittle and snark at each other and who aren't falling in love? Mwah! Fucking finally. A genuine friendship where they BOTH respect each other! FUCKING WHEN IS THE LAST TIME

And the humor doesn't get in the way of the characters! It's funny, but in a funny-for-real way, not in a research-shows-1-joke-per-48-seconds-is-optimal way.

Like: the barbarian woman goes to visit her halfling ex. Oh boy, here we go, right? WRONG. They have a mature, respectful, heartfelt and open conversation about where their relationship went wrong, and wish each other well.

Afterwards, the barbarian walks out to the bard, who gives her a Look. Oh boy, THIS is it. This is where the dumb jokes happen. WRONG AGAIN. The bard sees that his friend is clearly hurting, and just starts singing Their Song until she joins in. Like. An actual friendship moment. No jokes. It's cheesy but in the way that actual people are cheesy.

It doesn't depend on you being some ultranerd for DnD, either: it's not like Marvel's obsession with pointing out that yes, Steve the Intern WAS forced at gunpoint to comb through the entire run of Waffle Ass Man from the 80s in order to find you a Reference. It's just place names and some tropes that all stand on their own while showing that yes, they are adapting DnD and they are earnest about it. (I've played like 3 times, I didn't know shit going in.)

Earnest is actually a great word. The whole movie feels so earnest.

Fucking finally, a fun adventure movie. I could watch like 20 of these. Just give me, in alternating years, one Benoit Blanc mystery and one DnD movie, and I'll be happy.

[taniahylian]

Thoughts on the Revival of the Uluru games event

Alright, first of all, I'd like to start by saying that I did like the event. It was a fun little adventure, with interesting characters and complex interactions, and it actually made the laugh at some parts. Plus, it's a nice breather from all the angst of the main story. That said... I also think it's very weak on some parts and it could've been better done. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that The Theft of the Rimmet Cup (my least favorite story event) had slightly better writing than this.

(Spoilers under the line!)

The story itself has many problems, but I think the main one is the lack of a proper villain. Sure, we have Mr. Papparazi (forgot his name tbh), but his connection to the story is only with Dessert Flannel and his motivation is rather vague up until the very end of the last episode. Imo the story would've been better if we didn't have a villain at all and we instead focused on the conflict convincing the foundation to bring back the Uluru games and getting people exited for them again or something. We didn't need Mr. Papparazi and the story suffered a lot because of his existence.

Then we also have the ending... and, well... I don't dislike it? I think the message of "humans and arcanists coming together to compete, not to fight" is a nice one, and very needed in this universe. That said, I actually hate the execution. Let me explain.

So, we had Flannel telling Ezra about how Arcanists get injured more easily than humans, but because they heal fast, what they do is take an unhealthy amout of painkillers to bare with the pain until they get back to health like 15 minutes later, and they do this to be able to compete against humans in contact sports. It's even implied that Spathodea herself has likely done this as well, since she practices boxing, and it's obviously a metaphor for irl drug abuse in athletes.

Now, my problem is that the above stablishes the need for an arcanist-only sports festival, and the importance of the Uluru games... but then they say humans will be competing in the Uluru games as well! Do you see the problem?

Imo if they wanted the message to be "humans and arcanist should do sports together", then the problem with arcanists in human sports should've been different. Like, idk, arcanists having to hide their identity in order to not be disqualified from human sports, or maybe not being allowed to compete professionally because they're viewed as "too volatile" or something. But the problem they presented goes against the message of the ending of the event.

Idk, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh on it because it's a clear drop of quality compared to 1.2 and 1.3, but please let me know what you think!

[charlies-hotel]

I’m doing a rewatch and I just noticed that the makeup covering Angel’s black eye comes off after he opens up to Husk! It also makes sense within the context of the brawl and implying it came off then. After having just fought alongside one another as equals (eating shit together).

It's a nice detail!

[theeroticlover]

The Outcome....

[heyimcelery]

GO2 SPOILERS

ok I know everyone is still freaking out over the kiss but theres like 5 and 3/4 episodes worth in the rest of the season that have barely been touched.

Forget the kiss for a moment so we can talk about Crowley mentioning Alpha Centauri when the LOVERS Gabe and Bee needed somewhere to go

Crowley mentions that it's a place he'd always like to go whilst also implying to aziraphale (however intentionally) that he thinks it's a great place for LOVERS to run off together

And he had asked AZIRAPHALE to GO WITH HIM to this place only a few years ago

You can see it on his face, aziraphale doesn't notice at first but then it clicks for him and he DOUBLE TAKES

and don't get me started in the expression he gives. Just so surprised and hopeful as if to say "did you really imply what I think you did"

He WANTS it to be true or else he wouldn't have noticed and he's clearly a bit unsure and hesitant but he he's HOPEFUL

It's straight up an overlooked almost fanfic "oh OH" type of moment.

These are the things we need to be talking about now guys. We've had a day to cope over the finale, it's about time we ramble on about other cute moments too

[omrarchive]

i was looking at episode 2 for my simon gif series and i came across this small moment:

and i just had to make a separate post to talk about it because simon is so painfully endearing here. he just told his friends that he has bigger dreams than staying in his bjärstad forever, and you can tell he feels out of place when the awkward silence follows and his friends react in a way he wasn't really expecting. simon has a very selfless, kind and pure heart, and it's clear that he really values the opinion of the people he loves - seeing him feel down or inadequate when he believes he's "disappointing" them is just like a kick in the guts because my son my baby you're perfect and good and good enough. and it's okay to have your own dreams and be your own person, you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. it's such a small moment but i think it really shows a lot of who simon is