#flawless comic narration

[teaforthotxxx]

Im sorry guys. But, make the villains as babygirl as you want so that fans can sympathise with them. But, remember whose narrative you are writing. If the main perspective in ATLA is Gaang that were hunted and harassed by Princess Azula. If we are meant to look through the lens of the older brother she bullied throughout her life, these people are would not have seen her insecure moments. These people don’t view her as a fourteen year old cog in a greater evil. In their head, she is evil personified (especially from Katara’s POV).

We, the audience, see her more vulnerable side in brief moments from her POV (which only occurs after Zuko’s POV somewhat merges with the Gaang) and in small moments from TyLee’s PoV. Even in the Ember Island episode, Azula’s vulnerability is never shown from her POV because plot twist guys AZULA DOESN’T see herself as insecure. In her own narrative, she is the monster, she is the villain. She is a fourteen year old with an over-inflated ego. She isn’t afraid of disappointing her dad or being the least favourite because SHE WAS BUILT UP BY OZAI INTO DELUSION.

She is beautiful. She is flawless. She is intelligent. She is powerful. She is THE true Fire Lord! That’s how she views herself. This ideal never crumbles- not even when she is cracks and her friends leave her. And, that is what Ozai did to her. Ozai (this abstract force in ATLA) hurt her by feeding into her delusion and manipulating her into a tool.

All of this could not have been shown if ATLA had been told through Azula’s POV. IMO the Netflix writers demystified a lot of plot lines (ie giving Ozai a face, introducing Azula too early, emphasising Kiyoshi). This takes away from the wonder of slowly introducing audiences into the ATLA world.

This brings me back to narratives. Katara is the best narrator because to some degree, she was isolated from the rest of the world since she was young. Through her lens, the ATLA world outside of the Southern water tribe is coloured in wonder.

If the series had been told through Aang’s POV (Aang who had already travelled the world), the world after the war would have become very small and dismal (we see this when he discovers the air temple grave yard). Furthermore, Zuko’s POV while still isolated serves to remind us of the horrors of war. He shows us a more adult-world but it is always tainted by anger and hate. He cannot be the main narrator (he is only a supplemental narrator) because it would make the show too dark and sucks out the fun.

The NATLA missed the most basics of narrative storytelling of ATLA. And, thats so sad because I feel like the actors put their all into their roles. Katara’s actress is so Katara-coded irl but the show did her so dirty.

P.s. if you want more ATLA content, please read the comics or the book, the OG cartoon was fine. We don’t need Carbon Copy nostalgia bait.

[riostwsty]

" I'll make up to you... "

Summary: Jamil does nothing but work all day, everyday. Luckily he can always rely on his partner at times when he feels beyond exausted. word count 1.6k + Keywords: fluff, scenario, romance, third person narrator, g/n reader (you/yours), established relationship, reader not implied Yuu/MC Characters: Jamil x reader CWs: none, just comfort I think

Your footsteps echoes in the halls of Scarabia, moonlight and the shimmer of a thousand stars illuminated your path by the windows beside. Kalim had asked for help with a big project for Astrology class, and there you were, only managing to finish a little before 1 am struck, and as you were heading back to your room, decided to pay a visit to the dorm's kitchen for a cup of water and a (post) midnight snack.

There was a strange sight however, upon arriving there, of a Jamil Viper standing unmoving behind the counter, staring expressionless at his feet.

—"Jamil! I haven't seen you all day, where have you been?"— you asked. He didn't even flinch at the sound of your voice, but you continued regardless —"You didn't read any of my messages, I was actually starting to get worried, haha... Jamil?"—

The lack of response made you reluctantly approach, getting nearer, you made sense of the situation at hand... more or less.

He stared at four pieces of bread fallen face down on the floor. Stared as if they had insulted him in seven different languages. Glancing back and forth to the floor and his face, all you could muster was a "Wha..."

—"I wanted toast"— he muttered to himself —"why."—

You picked up the bread, hopefully to break the weird trance your boyfriend was in, and looked for a garbage bin to discard them. He furrowed his brows, at last truly acknowledging your presence. You imitaded his expression back —"It's way past the five second rule, come on."—

He sighed, leaning on the counter with arms crossed and resting his head on them like a makeshift pillow, face down. It was fairly obvious what it meant, and a bit unease, you already knew what to do in situations like it.

—"wanna talk about your day?"—

—"hm."— Jamil grunted quietly, taking in a deep breath as he counted on his fingers —"Final history test. Didn't submit Crewel's project in time. Laundry. Dishes. Cancelled Basketball practice."—

—"That's quite the list..."—

—" 's only half of it"—

You leaned on the counter next to him, with a half embrace, rubbing circles on his back with one hand. —"I came here for a midnight snack before going to bed, but I can also make you some hot chocolate while I'm at it. How's that sound?"—

His posture changed to the offering, looking up at the ceiling as if carefully calculating his response, but then slowly shaking his head in hesitant disapproval —"...Must consume milk under three days... once opened.... Such a waste."— His speech was slurred from the sheer exaustion, stumbling over his words while you tried to make sense of the conversation —"... don' worry... I eat the floor toast. thanks."— he then let all the weight of his head fall at once on the counter with a comically loud thud to end the discussion right then and there.

Needless to say, this has happened a fair amount of times before. The vice housewarden often gets too caught up in his responsabilities to even remember taking breaks, and when his partner is not around to give reminders, well... the situation only escalates to the worst. In comparison to his usual serious, responsible and ever flawless image, he'd become completely out of touch due to the fatigue accumulated througout the day, walking and speaking as if his conciousness hang by a thread, threatening to give in at every second passed.

Jamil constantly fought to keep the solemn demeanor, but one can only go so far, after all, he's human too. He'd rather dissappear than ever be caught acting as anything but the picture perfect mask he held in front of others, and that drained ridiculous amounts of energy the longer he kept up the performance.

You took his face on your hands and brought him closer to inspect his drowsy state. He struggled to keep his vision focused, and it gave the impression of the bags under his eyes to be darker than usual. He noticed you press your lips in a thin line and squint your eyes as you observed with worry. Jamil hadn't even begun to lose himself in the tender moment, of your warm hands caressing his skin so affectionately, when you rapidly turned your attention to the kitchen cabinets to take all the ingredients for that previously mentioned hot chocolate offer, making him click his tongue in annoyance.

—"[name], I told you I-"—

—"Jamil, stop worrying about wasting ingredients from the pantry, and allow yourself to enjoy a well deserved treat for once"— you interrupted —"you're tense. you should relax before heading to bed, or else you won't get a good night's rest"—

He scoffed, approaching from behind and shutting with both hands another cabinet you were about to open, like that consequently closing the space between you two, as he glared as best as he could at your surprised expression now centimeters away from his face.

It was an embarrassing position to be in, between the cabinet and Jamil you couldn't move, caged between his arms so he was sure you'd look at him the eye. Yes, it would be almost intimidating, that is, if his mind hadn't gone blank from his sleep deprived state, only managing to muster a single "ssstop." accompanied by a tired pout.

—"Nop"— you pushed him back gently —"You go sit down somewhere. I'll take care of things now"—

==

Both of your hands were occupied as you made your way around the dorm. One holding Jamil's mug and the other holding his hand, guiding him like a lost puppy. By the time you reached the boy's room, he seemed to have finally given up complaining, and was resting his head on your shoulder, barely keeping himself up. You instructed him to sit at the edge of the bed, handing him the hot beverage, while you took a seat behind, and began to undo his messy braids and ponytail with care.

The quietness between interactions was by no means uncomfortable anymore, at this stage of the relationship, they were reassuruing moments that told words weren't needed when you two understood each other so well. It was true, reading a person like Jamil was no easy task, yet you did it so effortlessly. Still, that didn't mean he was a completely open book in any way.

After undoing the braids, you took a brush to untangle any knots left in his hair. Once you noticed the tension on his shoulders was beggining to dissipate, you decided to gather a bit of courage to ask something that had been bothering you for quite some time.

—"Why are you always so eager to refuse any help from me?"— you broke the silence —"You're barely managing to keep yourself up by the end of the week, yet you still..."—

You sighed, not feeling the need to complete the sentence. Jamil didn't respond right away, only tapping his fingers on the mug in hand as if counting the seconds passed from the unanswered question.

—"I'm used to... doing that"— he took a sip from the hot chocolate —"you feel bothered by it?"—

—"It's just that you do so much for everyone. You do so much for me and-"— you interrupted youself, wondering what words to use to accurately describe your thoughts on the matter —"and it feels like the efforts are unbalanced, you know? It's unfair."—

His eyes darted across the room, seeking to be fixed anywhere but to your direction.

—"...can't say I feel the same way"— he mumbled.

You sighed softly, letting the quiet atmosphere to sink in once more.

Growing up as a servant for the Asim family, constantly having to look after others and never prioritizing himself, barely taking any breaks- for sure these responsabilities took deep roots on his subconscious, wether he noticed it or not, no matter how much he believed he deserved better, there was always a voice in the back of his mind, telling the exact contrary. Ordering him to hold the act for just a little while longer, to work a bit more, and above all, to do it all alone. It was HIS duty and no one else's.

But among crowds you only had eyes on him. And among layers of deception you knew what he really felt. Saw the burden he'd much prefer for you to ignore it.

—"well, you know I love you very much"— you added weakly, taking the now empty cup from his hands and placing it on the drawer beside the bed, along with the hairbrush you had just finished using —"maybe we can talk about this tomorrow, once you're well rested?"—

In no time Jamil turned around from his spot on the bed and tackled you down on the matresses with him, hugging your frame like a body pillow.

—"promise to remind me-"— he added drowsy as he finally allowed his heavy eyelids to shut —"I'll make up to you tomorrow"—

—"yeah, promise."— in no hesitation, you lied. As you had done times before, in this scenario you felt no guilt in doing so. For there was no need to have your favor ever be payed back by Jamil. Taking care of him was no task, much less one to be returned in feeling of obligation.

It was something he couldn't wrap his head around. The fact that someone would do such things, all purely out of love for him. There was still a long way to go until he could even begin to truly understand, your adoration for him was not a matter of exchange, but one of heart.

You ran your fingers through his hair until he was fast asleep, and prepared yourself to join in soon, waiting for morning to wake you to another busy day, that by the end of it, you'd be willing to repeat the same nightly routine over and over again, if so needed, and if he would allow it.

[erithel]

I have read all of iybms fics like it’s the last drop of water in a desert. She’s a wonderful and exceptional writer and her love for Lance’s character really comes comes through bc she puts him through a heroes journey and actually gets the good the bad and ugly parts of him and working with them as just aspects.

But that’s another thing that bugs me about the difference in the way keith is treated and lance is in the fandom. The fandom kind of pretends Keith is flawless. And I am totally serious about this.

You will see Lance get criticized six ways from sunday about his looks, his attitude, the way he behaves etc etc. But point out that Keith had a bad habit in s1-3 of being callus with feelings and lives and desires of his team (willing to sacrifice allura to the galra, berating pidge for wanting her family, bringing his knife to the BOM hq jeopardizing his life and Shiro and the plan AFTER HE WAS WARNED)and uncaring about how his actions hurt the common cause and his teammates, you get the common line about his tragic backstory and why it was actually the team that is in the wrong! Like when he went AWOL abandoning post as leader of voltron to go blading and the rest of the team got mad when they almost died? The fandom blamed the team entirely for almost dying and, worst, making Keith sad!

Like yes Keith’s tragic backstory influence his actions, but they are still his to take and when he acts poorly great character interpretation is when fans understand how he is in the wrong and have him do better. The showrunner let him get away with it and the fandom does too!

It’s what leads to “keith is a noble character and lance isn’t” cracks and why it bothered me so much.

So I'm going to approach this one lightly, because I don't want this to turn into a Keith-negativity thing.

I'm not saying what you are saying is wrong, anon, I just don't want to open the floor up to people now posting asks just hating on Keith (because that has happened with other characters in the past).

That being said -

No character is or should be flawless. That's just boring.

The flaws and struggles in any character is what makes them interesting.

Keith is a flawed character. He made a lot of poor and single-minded decisions in the early seasons, and because of the time skip on the space whale, we never got to see him learn from those mistakes.

The real issue here with this for storytelling (and let's be honest, life) is that a tragic backstory is an explanation for certain behavior.

But it is not an excuse.

Using Keith's tragic backstory as a crutch for poor behavior comes across the same way to me as someone being rude and then trying to brush it off with something along the lines of "oh, I'm a Scorpio that's just how I am."

As for the scene you are referring to where the team was angry at Keith, and he ended up leaving...

Hear me out.

That scene was from Keith's POV.

So I can understand a bit more why people react to that scene the way you described.

It's harder to tell with animation or comics because there is no narrator, but when the camera lingers on an emotional response from a certain character, that is meant to put you in that character's shoes for a moment.

And in that scene we see Keith's face fall as he turns and walks away.

People get angry at the team for making Keith sad because you are meant to feel what he is feeling.

Our of anyone else, Lance has moments like this the most (which is why this whole "people disliking Lance's character" thing is so weird to me, still).

Both Keith and Lance are noble, just in different ways. As I said in a previous post, Keith is noble in a way that says "I will sacrifice myself for the cause because it's what I have to do." Lance is noble in a way that says "I will sacrifice myself for the cause because it's the right thing to do."

Characters are complex - or at least they should be. And they can't be complex without flaws.

[sr-stories]

Capture the Flag - A WordGirl Comic

1/??

Happy Pride Month, WordGirl fandom! (Hush, child. I’m well aware that it’s the last day of Pride Month. /lh) I’ve got another comic that I’d like to share with y’all! It’s a continuation of my previous comic Tobey Becomes Emo. If you haven’t read that comic already, feel free to do so at your leisure.

Now, without any further ado, I present to you... Capture the Flag!  🏳️‍🌈

Narrator: It has been a month since Woodview Elementary’s Class of 2002 has graduated. Former 5th-grader, Victoria Best, has been using this time to reminisce about her elementary school days. Minus the drama and emotional neglect from her overbearing parents, the blonde-haired girl still enjoyed her time at Woodview. Due to being a social butterfly, Victoria was able to make friends quite easily. However, there was this one girl that stood out from the rest. She was compassionate, pulchritudinous, and not to mention intelligent. The girl never saw eye-to-eye with Victoria thanks to her boastful nature, but she never loathed her company. Phone calls from this girl have been becoming more and more frequent these past few days. And the blonde-haired girl cherishes every conversation. As a result, Victoria has started to listen to her heart.

(Victoria clears her throat.)

Victoria: Dear Becky Botsford,

                         I’m putting my arrogance aside to write you this letter. Now, I’m not the best with words by any means (that’s your department), but I will say that you're the best person I’ve ever met. You’re ambitious, quick-witted, compassionate, and just downright-

(Victoria clears her throat yet again.)

Oh geez, my throat is parched. I shouldn’t snack on salty crackers anymore. I need to get a glass of water.

(Victoria exits her bedroom.)

(Victoria’s letter reads, “Dear Becky Botsford, I’m putting my arrogance aside to write you this letter. Now, I’m not the best with words by any means (that’s your department), but I will say that you're the best person I’ve ever met. You’re ambitious, quick-witted, compassionate, and just downright beautiful. However, I still can’t shake the feeling that you weren’t born on this planet. Your flawless vocabulary makes you stand out from the rest. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I admire your immense lexicon. During our conversations over the phone, you would use words that I’d never even heard of before. And when I would ask you to define a word for me, you wouldn’t hesitate to do so. Now, before I finish writing this letter, I’d like to ask you a serious question. Would you like to go out on a date with me? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other in person. Love, Victoria.”)

Victor:  Heh heh… Oh, Vicky. So naive. You’re in for an odious awakening.

Narrator: Meanwhile, at the Botsford residence, Becky “WordGirl” Botsford is currently working on a letter for a special someone.

Becky: Could you please pan the camera over to TJ? Having a camera in my face while I’m working on something is very cringe-inducing to me. Understood?

Narrator: Oh... okay.

TJ: What’s up with her?

Narrator: Just... stick to the script.

TJ: Alright. Now, what was my line again? Ah yes, I remember.

~

Greetings and salutations, folks! And welcome to the first episode of…

Cooking with TJ and Johnson

Volume Ⅰ: Sweet Treats

Episode Ⅰ: Rainbow Cupcakes

TJ: Johnson? Where did you go?

Johnson: H-Here I am!

TJ: Hmm?

Johnson: I’m so sorry for the hold-up, TJ. I was having trouble finding an apron. The rest of the aprons were in your laundry bin, so I had n-no choice but to dart back home to retrieve this apron I’m wearing now. D-Does it look bad on me?

...

Hey, man. Are you feeling okay?

TJ: Y-Yeah, I’m okay! No worries! Haha!

To be continued...

~

Application Used: ibis Paint X

Time Spent: 41h 33m

 Have a nice day/night! 💕 🏳️‍🌈

[anouri]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ just anything really

(director's cut ask game!)

alright, for this i suppose i'll talk about an overarching theme in all of my writing that i hadn't realized i had been doing until like a month ago: i'm obsessed with having whoever is narrating notice another character's flaws and appreciating them, rather than loving others in spite of their flaws. this includes both personality & physical flaws; i just love having the characters find each other's flaws endearing/attractive/overall positive. (flaws are defined here as things that i grew up being implicitly told were undesirable, like wrinkles, scars, personality 'quirks', etc -- i do realize that different cultures regard these things differently)

in chapter 8 of l'éphémère i even explicitly state (via james' POV):

Revering something because of its flaws rather than in spite of them is the most authentic expression of veneration.

i just think there's something so... important and powerful about going against what society tells you is a defect, problem, or weakness, and deciding to adore it instead. i hadn't even consciously realized this until recently, but i even keep the 'flaws' that each character finds endearing kind of consistent throughout all my fics? (like reg tends to find james' laugh lines & crow's feet when he smiles and his wild hair endearing, james thinks reg's fidgeting with his jumpers & his general inability to take sincere compliments adorable, etc etc etc)

i think if media did this more often and more casually, we as a society would have a lot fewer insecurities. but y'know, i can't control all media that exists, ergo i simply have to incorporate the theme in my fics and that has to be good enough for me i guess lol

so, i suppose i'll end this with some examples... here we go!! in chapter 8 of l'éphémère, james thinking about regulus:

...but the flaws are intentionally crafted, a stylistic choice by the universe itself. Regulus is the nonpareil of flawed flawlessness. It’s a shame he tries so hard to hide it.

ch 23 of l'éphémère, regulus about james:

It’s hard to see in the dark room, but he doesn’t need to see it, for he’s memorised every line and curve, every endearing flaw and perfection that composes James’ face.

book one: chapter four of working for the knife, regulus daydreaming about james:

...and James must’ve grinned, that stupid, lopsided grin where his dimples pop and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

book one: chapter seven of wftk, the very moment before he invites james over for the first time, the last thing he thinks about is james' frizzy hair lol:

Tilting his head, Regulus regards the temporary antidote for a moment, its prominent dimples, perpetually smiling eyes, and previously unruly hair that has grown even more endearingly frizzy due to the humidity—and Regulus feels a bit as though his skin is buzzing, and he can’t discern whether it’s due to the caffeine, his abrupt realisation, or simply James himself. 

and in chapter 18 of l'éphémère, james might as well be cooing @ reg looking a hot mess first thing in the morning:

(The scowl is very ineffective at doing whatever it is that Regulus intends it to do, and this failure was manufactured by a multitude of reasons: firstly, Regulus’ curls have seemingly gained sentience during his slumber, for some tufts have more or less decided to defy gravity to social distance themselves from the rest, whilst other wisps are flattened comically against his head; secondly, he’s wearing James’ jumper and it’s swallowing him whole, and he really can’t glower at James successfully when he’s willingly in James’ clothing, can he?; thirdly, Regulus has an imprint on one reddened cheek, likely from a wrinkle on either his pillow or his sheet—James has to fight not to laugh at the sight; and lastly, even though his lips are frowning, his eyes are refusing to throw the daggers they are likely armed with—instead, they’re soft, and, dare he say it, fond. It’s all adorable, really, James thinks. And perceiving it as winsome means that Regulus’ efforts are nothing but futile.)

and this concept doesn't have to be romantic in nature!! it doesn't even need to be between people who even get on with one another; for example, regulus says this about peter's rosacea in book one: chapter four of working for the knife, and at this point of the story he's wary of peter/not comfortable with him at all:

...his face is flushed underneath his freckles, the red of his face almost flattering, as if his skin has strategically applied permanent blusher on his cheeks.

and then reg seeing remus, who he also isn't comfortable or friendly with at this point in working for the knife:

Somehow, the scars make him look all the more striking (is he allowed to think that?), and he can’t help but acknowledge that he can understand what his brother sees in him, at least superficially. 

anyway, i'll stop now because i could go on forever hahaha < 3

[poormeowmeowcollector]

About Lore Olympus

Before I start, may I list two huge disclaimers. ONE, LORE OLYMPUS IS NOT PERFECT AND FLAWLESS. NOTHING IS PERFECT AND FLAWLESS. And two, just so you know who's yelling at you. My town of birth and childhood is Eleusis, a small town outside of Athens with a huge pagan history especially on Demeter and Persephone, where the Eleusinian Mysteries took place and where the Well which Persephone uses to go from the mortal to the Underworld and vica versa. So, you may say that my life and experience and beliefs (since I'm also a witch) give me some extra knowledge on that myth and that's the knowledge I'll use below

Now, are the characters in Lore Olympus flawed? Yes. They are not perfect even though they're gods and they make mistakes and present human flaws. Why's that? BECAUSE IN THE ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE AND MYTHOLOGY, THE PROJECTION OF HUMAN FLAWS INTO DEITIES WAS SO COMMON THAT WE EVEN SEE IT IN HOMER!

Also, may I remind you that Greek mythology is that. Mythology. Not a Bible. There's no official text, only a thousand versions of stories that change from the time and place and narrator. There is not one official truth that's universally accepted. So, what if Lore Olympus is not 100% accurate? The myths aren't accurate either. And why is it so bad that Smythe made her work hers and not a Wikipedia page? It never says it's an accurate retelling.

Thirdly, STOP JUDGING THE CHARACTERS ON THE MORALS OF CHRISTIANITY. HELLENIC SOCIETIES AND CHRISTIANITY HAVE DIFFERENT VALUES. First off, there's no concept of good or bad because the gods are flawed. There are some unbreakable unofficial rules, such as never leaving a dead body without a funeral or the rule of hybris. But, several things which the characters do are bad in the face of Christianity but fairly okay in the Hellenistic moral compass.

In addition and especially on Apollo. He's not the villain (even though he's often depicted as such and that's some Christian bs), he's just another flawed character like everyone else. Calling him a villain is putting Christian ideas into something that not only existed before chirstianity but was deeply hurt by Christianity. And, because I've heard that, Apollo from Lore Olympus is not the deity Apollo that people worship. And if you hate on a worshipper of Apollo based on just a comic, you may set your router on fire.

And lastly, you ableistic shits. Rachel Smythe has admitted that her drawing style is dynamic and on the heat of the moment and not consistent and that she has dyslexia. So, YOU'LL SEE SOME INCONSISTENCIES AND SPELLING ERRORS. HATING HER ON IT IS NOT ONLY IGNORANT BUT ALSO ABLEISTIC AND, AS ANOTHER DYSLEXIC WRITER, I WILL FUCKING SMITE YOU. What you do there is not criticism, unless pointing at the disabled kid in the schoolyard and laughing at them is what you shits call "criticism".

And, if you hate a comic so much, why do you spend your time and energy on hating it and not on something you love? You will find that your mood will get better, trust me. And if you used to hyperfixate and now hate it, find something else. The fact that you now hate it means the hyperfixation ended and you have to move on and find something that makes you feel better and makes you genuinely happy.

And, lastly, I acknowledge that Lore Olympus has flaws. Some I can list are, the way Apollo is villainized, the way the s.a. is treated, the way the toxic and abusive relationships and friendships are treated and the way trauma is treated. Tho, it is obvious that those flaws are rooted in little knowledge and not bad intends. There are warnings every time those are there and it is not done with a bad intend but just a lack of proper knowledge. But throwing tomatoes is not how this is fixed, but by letting the creator know with a way that shows that our intend is to make the work better, not tear it apart.

[serena-inverse]

Meeting Macaque Part 3: Friendship with Mac

(Minor warnings for a character dealing with betrayal/abandonment issues).

(Please note this comic takes place several months after Part 2, and Mac and Dragonfly have spent that time hanging out and getting to know one another better).

Read Part 2 Here

Click here for a Masterlist of all the comics/art in this series

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

*slaps Mac on the back* This Monkey can fit so much emotional trauma!!

*Ahem* On a more serious note, Macaque and Dragonfly’s relationship progression could be summed up as:

Macaque: Okay, I will hang out with this mortal and pretend to be her friend so she’ll like me and be willing use her portal abilities for me. This plan is flawless, there is no way this could go wrong.

Dragonfly: *Is a fun person that Macaque genuinely likes spending time with, who doesn’t appear to want anything from him other then his company.*

Macaque: *twitch*

Dragonfly: *Is a supportive friend that he doesn’t have to hide his less ‘socially acceptable’ activities from, as she see’s no problem with stealing so long as innocents aren’t harmed/targeted, or fighting to defend yourself*

Macaque: *clutching his chest* Dear Buddha, what is this feeling?

Narrator: The feeling was friendship, but Macaque had not experienced it in a long time.

(As a final side note, this comic recently popped up on my dash, and I think it fits Macaque in this situation perfectly!)

[shigeko-nobufusa]

Birds of Prey (2020) is good actually.

 Good narration, cool colors, funny moments, badass choreographed action, awesome costumes... Idk some people hated it, they have no taste. In comics there's always changing stories and characters, so what?

I swear you nerds treat comic movies like they were Citizen Kane, life changing obscure art and experimenting cinema or something.  Shut up, they're purely for entertainment and  escapism and they have to be ok, not excellent 100% flawless, just good enough.

[oosteven-universe]

Blue and Gold #2

Blue and Gold #2 DC Comics 2021 Written by Dan Jurgens Illustrated by Ryan Sook Lettered by Rob Leigh    Who needs the Justice League anyway? Our heroes certainly don’t! After a painful rejection from the DC Universe’s team of a-list heroes, Booster Gold and Blue Beetle strike out on their own. Thanks to the Kord Industries fortune, anything is possible for this dynamic duo…right? Little do they know, an alien assassin seeking revenge places Blue and Gold in her crosshairs, and The Omnizon never misses!    The power of friendship is real people and we see that with Ted as he turned down solo League membership because they wouldn’t take Booster too.  I’ll be brutally honest I liked the last Booster series where he was time travelling and really did grow up a lot and we see him here as if all that time he spent with his dad was just erased.  Don’t get me wrong there are few writers quite like Dan and he’s got this humour down pat but I'd like to see a more serious side of Booster coming out as well.  There's a flicker of that happening within these pages and I hope we see a lot more of it.  Fame and Fortune is what he wanted when he first appeared and I’m not sure how well that translates now, though let’s be honest the whole social media thing is precisely up his alley.    I’m really enjoying the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well.  The character development we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does a magnificent job in bringing their personalities to the forefront.  I love seeing the almost opposite personalities that make them such good friends and compliments to one another.  How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered.    I am a fan of how we see this being structured as well as how the layers in the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen.  The layers open up different avenues and while some will be explored others will not be but they all add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story.  The pacing here is extraordinary and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more you realise we need this book on a regular basis.    The interiors here are pretty flawless.  The linework is clean, crisp and sharp plus how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail in the work that we see is utterly phenomenal.  We see backgrounds utilised quite often, we could always see more, and do a wonderful job enhancing and expanding the moments.  They also work well within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling.  The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows this amazing eye for how colour works.  The colour work really enhances the visually sensationally. ​    I like that we’re seeing the influx of social media, the good, the bad and the ugly, in all its glory being utilised by Booster.  It does make sense for someone who craves attention and wants to be seen as more serious than he is, though this really isn’t the way for that to happen, but let’s face facts he has no skills to have a secret identity and get a job.  So being sponsored really is the way he needs to go to survive in the modern world.  With some extremely solid writing and great characterisation and alongside these stunning interiors make for some dynamic reading.

[linenflower]

Tangled alternate universe

Little clarifications.

I thought about this idea while in the shower

My first language is spanish, I apologize for any mistakes

The history is a lot similar to the original with some changes

This could be cringy

This is entierly my imagination and I'm not flawless

Finally, this is my first time writing an idea like this

I was thinking in some kind of alternate universe, like a parallel timeline and I came up with something incredible.

So, what if when Rapunzel traveled back in time during the episode "No time like the past" she created a whole new series of events and a new chronology. When she lectures Eugene, his personality changes and he mentally grows in another direction. He values friendship and companionship more. He reflects more on his actions, he's a little less egocentric, he's still with Stalyan but they are still a couple of thieves.

By the time Rapunzel is 18, Eugene steals the tiara with his girfriend/fiancee (during the years and a new point of view, they have grown closer and they are a more mature couple, they really know each other, and as we saw during the series, Stalyan isn't really a bad person). The pair arrives at the tower, followed by Max, they are knocked out by Rapunzel, the story continues in a similar way as the original movie: the deal about the tiara and the lanterns. During the I've got a Dream song, Eguene and Stalyan want an island filled with money away from the Baron (In this timeline, both had escaped Vardaron and the Baron hoping to create a new and free life, the Baron hires the Stabbington brothers to bring the couple back).

Following the reveal of Rapunzels powers, during a midnight conversation, Rapunzel is amazed by the love displayed betwen Eugene and Stalyan. Her dream now is not just seeing the lanterns but also falling in love. Gothel confronts Rapunzel, mother knows best reprise, and all that. By the time they arrive at Corona, Eugene and Stalyan had become like big siblings to Rapunzel.

During the day celebrating, Rapunzel sumbles upon a handmaiden from the castle, their eyes meet for just a second, both felt something in their chests for just a second, the woman became lost within the dancing crowd. Rapunzel was left confusied, only remebering those beautiful hazel eyes in a light blue dress.

In the night, the trio saw the lanterns, Rapunzel praises and thanks Eugene and Stalyan for everything, she gives them the tiara, they refuse it. In land, Eugene and Stalyan argue about the tiara and finally being able to live freely. Stalyan says that they can now leave everything beyond but Eugene is hesitant. Suddenly the Stabbington brothers appear catching them off guard. Like in the movie, Gothel had manipulated the brothers, the boat setup happens, Rapunzel is brought back to the tower and the death sentence.

With the help of Max and the Snuggly Duckling gang, Eugene and Stalyan escape prison and head to the tower. While climbing the tower, Stalyan is able to enter but Gothel stabs her and closes the window. Stalyan tries to crawl near Rapunzel but Gothel stops her. Gothel then tells Rapunzel how Stalyan was willing to leave her with the tiara. Rapunzel starts to cry but Stalyan, seeing the end near tells her about being scared, about how she has been scared of her father in the same way Rapunzel is scared of her mother, but unlike her, Rapunzel was willing to stand up and build her freedom.

Rapunzel then confronts her mother, saying that if she doesn't let her heal Stalyan, she will cut her hair. Gothe agrees and sets Rapunzel free, she aproaches her friend and when about to heal her, Stalyan apologizes and cuts Rapunzels hair. Gothel panics and taking advantage of the situation, Pascal commits murder opening the window and pushing Gothel out of it. Eugene finally enters the room only to find her love lying in the ground. He starts crying, making Rapunzel do the same.

When the first of Rapunzels tears land on Stalyans face, a light starts to emerge from her wound. Fine yellow strokes of the sundrop comence to flood the room. Stalyans eyes open and she thanks Rapunzel for giving her a the leap to have strenght in herself.

The trio travel again to Corona so that Rapunzel can reunite with her parents. They hug Rapunzel and shortly after Eugene and Stalyan too. Smiles and tears are shed.

The history ends with Rapunzel narrating her history, now wondering about her life in this new happily ever after. Eugene is seen holding the tiara and running in the palace halls trying to escape Rapunzel, only to trip over the new princess' lady in wating. She then gives the tiara back to Rapunzel, making their eyes cross again. Rapunzel thanks her and both share a smile.

The end

Congratulations to those who made it this far!! Well, so that's it, my reimagination of Tangled. Fell free to comment, I accept polite critique. Imaginig this scenario was awesome and if any one is curious, yeah, I made all this alternate universe so that Rapunzel is single when she meets Cassandra. In the future I'll try to expand in the history, maybe create a real fic or something, but only if the college lets me. Anyone is free to base more tales, draws, comics, or anything from this.

That's all for now! :D

[brindaneer]

7th July, 2021 shall go down in history as the day India lost one of her greatest stalwarts, the legend himself- the unimitable Dilip Kumar. Possibly the best actor Indian cinema has ever had, Sri Dilip Kumar was an institution in himself, teaching aspiring actors the art of nuanced acting through his varied works. Originally known as the 'Tragedy King', he excelled equally in comic roles, thereby proving his versatility to the world. Today, we dedicate this special blog to him. If not for 'Mughal-e-Azam', 'Jodha Akbar' would probably remain unmade. Had there been no Dilip Kumar, who would have inspired the next generations?

For every movie buff, the dvd release of a favourite film has great significance- the extra reels!! Scenes that were edited out, 'behind the screen' actions, interviews- there is a lot of stuff that we get to watch on the dvds and nowhere else (until some kind soul uploads them 😉😛).. However, a lot of the times, we are left wondering if the dvd was indeed worth our money. Of course, we get to watch the film whenever we want to, but what about the rest? If there is one dvd that gives buyers their money's worth, it is Jodha Akbar.

Ashutosh makes history even here; he is probably the only director who has had to edit out so many fabulous scenes from his film. Others are less unfortunate- they usually edit out unimportant bits, and even if those are good, most of the times, they are dispensable. In Jodha Akbar, most of the deleted scenes seem just the opposite. Once you have seen them, watching the edited version of the film feels somewhat incomplete.

The first scene that comes to mind is 'Jodha talking to her friends about Ratan Singh'. Yes, yes, we do not like Ratan Singh either! However, he is not the reason why we are mentioning this scene here, Jodha is. While the rest of the scene seems totally editable, Jodha's answer to her friend's question about whether she will willingly surrender to Ratan Singh proves that no matter how unimportant a Gowariker scene seems at first, one must never judge before it ends. In the film, we see a bold and opinionated Jodha breaking the stereotypical norms of her society and daring to express her unwillingness to surrender on the very first night. Naturally, when we saw the scene for the first time, we took Jodha's words at face value; we assumed she was not ready because of the forced marriage. However, the deleted scene proves that she would have done the same even for Ratan Singh. She would never have loved someone unless he gave him the resepect she deserved. What a woman!

Next in line is the 'Bidaai' scene, whose essence can literally be summed up in the question that Raja Bharmal's aide asks- 'Ye bidaai hai ya bali?' Jodha indeed is akin to a sacrificial lamb in this scene, and Aishwarya's tears express it all.

Of course, we are interested in Jodha and Akbar's interactions more than anything else, and in all honesty, that was why we all were so impatient for the deleted scenes to come out back then. And thankfully, we do get some unseen moments, although it would be wonderful if the entire 'deleted scene' reel had been just them! 😄😂🤩🥰

Horrified after witnessing Jalal's abject cruelty towards Adham, Jodha confronts her husband and reprimands him for his actions. She is shocked that he never even spared a thought for Maham Anga before taking such a drastic decision. Jalal, however remains adamant as well as furious, and maintains that Adham got what he deserved. Although initially unable to come to terms with it, she soon realizes his reason for doing whatever he did. As a broken and helpless Jalal confesses that if Maham Anga has lost a son, he has lost a father, Jodha understands the agony her husband is going through. Hrithik is brilliant, first as the incandescent Jalal, and then as the heart-broken one. As Jodha places her hand on his shoulder to console him, one can't help but wonder why this scene was edited out of the original reel! What harm would an extra few seconds or even minutes do? 😭

Then comes Mahesh Das aka Birbal. The two scenes through which Ashutosh narrates the history of Mahesh Das's transformation into Birbal are undoubtedly the jewels in the crown of the deleted reel. In the first, Jalal and Jodha meet Mahesh Das who cleverly prevents the emperor from hunting, much to Jodha's pleasure (and ours too). When he claims to know exactly how many birds there are in the land, Jalal tells him that he will be punished if he is wrong. However, Mahesh Das's wit is unparalleled and he rattles a random number. As Jalal and Jodha both look at him with surprise, he explains. If his answer is more than the actual figure, it will mean that birds from the neighbouring land have visited; if less, it will imply that birds from Agra have gone to visit their relatives. Naturally, both the emperor and the queen are impressed. Jalal gives his ring to Mahesh Das and asks him to visit the Deewan-e-Aam.

In the second scene, Mahesh Das visits the Deewan-e-Aam but encounters a corrupt guard who refuses to let common people enter the court without a bribe. When Mahesh Das shows him the emperor's ring, the latter allows him to enter on one condition- Mahesh Das must share half of whatever gift he receives from the emperor with him. Little does he know that he is talking to one of the 'would be' Navratnas of Akbar's court, incidentally one of the most famous ones! Mahesh Das agrees to his condition and asks for a prize of 50 whip shots from Jalal, much to his and evryone else's shock. When he explains the reason for making such a strange request, Jalal calls the guard and orders him to be whipped 50 times instead as a punishment for corruption, which he insists shall have no place in his empire. Fascinated with his wit, Jalal invites Mahesh Das to be a part of the Mughal court. However, Mulla Do-Piyaza objects, and Jalal gives him permission to test the former. If he is able to answer Mulla Do-Piyaza's question, he will be accepted in court. If not, he will be punished. That is the deal. Also, if Mahesh Das wins, then Mulla Do-Piyaza promises to bow before him every day. Jalal agrees, and so does Mahesh Das. After much deliberation, Mulla Do-Piyaza asks Mahesh Das to guess what he is thinking at the moment. Of course, it is an impossible task. However, Mahesh Das is not someone to give up; nor does he need to. His intellect is ready with an answer. He tells the court that at this moment, Mulla Do-Piyaza is praying to the All Mighty for the emperor's long life, good health and prosperity. Is there anything left for Mulla Do-Piyaza to do except accept defeat? 😂😂 Having proved his cleverness to everyone, Mahesh Das attracts appreciation from one and all, and earns a priceless reward from the emperor himself- the name 'Birbal' (meaning quick-witted or 'dimaag mein taaqat'). Having these excellently scripted, directed and enacted scenes in the film would have been worth the extra time!

Two more deleted sequences deserve mention. The first is the moment of Maham Anga's death. Jalal comes to see her as she lies on her death bed, frail and ill. We understand this is the first time he is interacting with her since the betrayal. If not for anything else, this scene should have been included only for Hrithik's exceptional performance, and of course for Ila Arun ji. As Maham Anga finally admits to Jalal that she had wronged Jodha on account of her overpossessiveness for him, and asks him to call him like he used to one last time, we see a completely devastated Jalal, not the Shahenshah of Hindustaan, but just a grieving son. As if she was waiting for that one word from him, Maham Anga passes away the minute Jalal calls her 'Badi Ammi' again. The scene is a strange mixture of melancholia and poeticness, and Hrithik's wonderful emotive capacity makes it one of the best bits of the whole film, both the edited and the unedited versions. On another note, how does someone look so handsome and flawless while sobbing? Is Hrithik even human? 🙄🤨😐😑🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

The second is the scene when Jalal comes to meet Jodha and his mother before departing for the war with Shareefuddin. Jodha says she is praying for three lives- her husband, her brother Sujamal, and her sister-in- law Bakshi Bano Begum (Shareefuddin's wife). Nonetheless, Jalal vows to protect Amer, no matter what it takes. The scene is poignant and yet another example of the magical on screen chemistry between Hrithik and Aishwarya. Seriously, we deserve them again!!

In conclusion, we reiterate that we would not have minded had the film been half an hour longer due to the inclusion of all the scenes mentioned above

With that, we have come to the end of this blog. Hopefully, you will join us on our next too. Stay safe. Stay well.

Once again, this one is for you Dilip Kumar Saab. You showed the way; so, we have Jodha Akbar. Thank You Sir. May you Rest In Peace 🙏🙏

[socialisthedgehog]

Movie Review: “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World”

(This essay was optional for English class, so naturally I wrote about Scott Pilgrim)

      A terrible, criminal tragedy occurred in the year 2010. The feature film “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” released in theaters, a movie based on the hit comic series, and directed by the famed Edgar Wright. The robbery took place when it only received 48 million at the box office, with the budget of 85 million, it would be years before it became viewed as a cult classic with a massive following and appreciation. Audiences didn't know what they were in for; a movie that had style, substance, and is a film worth remembering and thinking about.

      What immediately becomes apparent in all Edgar Wright films is the fast pacing, rhythmic editing, and visual comedy style (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz).  The movie is immediately fun and charming, there is dramatic narration and little comic symbols when actions like opening a door or playing guitar happen. There are also flawless transitions into the new scenes. For example, when Scott is zoning out thinking about girls, the scene cuts from band practice to walking to the Rockit theater to show his state of mind. The back and forth dialogue between characters is sharp and witty, whether it is Scott just talking to his boy - crazy roommate or fighting evil exes, there is constant banter, punches and punchlines. All of this is fine and good, but what is happening in Scotts fight against the world? What is in Scotts precious little life? 

      We follow a young man out of his teenage years with no goal, ambition, and whose only job is being in a sucky rock band. He is childish and blissfully unaware of how he makes people feel. Exhibit A: He has a  17 year old girlfriend (Knives) whom he doesn’t really care about and only is with for comfort, and then cheats on later in the film with a mystery girl that makes him feel something. There is initially no reason to route for him, but this will change. This mystery girl (Ramona) has a past, and he must defeat 7 of her evil exes with mystical powers and karate. He now has an objective, a goal, someone to fight for. Throughout the battles, much is learned of Scott and Ramona, they go back and fight their demons, their jerky past selves, their poor choices, and their evil exes. Scott goes from a wimpy man-child to the most confident in the group: Ramona learns to open up and not be so cold. The movie is a fun and lighthearted experience yes, but also touches on something more. 

      The themes and implications of the movie are certainly something to look into. Perhaps the arcade-like nature and wild theatrics of the narrative are purely in Scott’s imagination and he is in reality just an average guy dealing with relationship problems. Maybe the flair and comic lens are meant to illustrate how we shouldn’t take life so seriously and be so bitter, just like how Ramona changes during the story. Any story can be over complicated and overanalyzed, and this film won’t make you evaluate your view on life or anything, but there is more going on under the hood. This is a movie that is fun and meaningful. 

      There is plenty of reason to revisit “Scott Pilgrim Vs The World”. It is a fun, charming movie that has style, substance and meaning. It is the kind of film that never lets up for a moment and gets better with every rewatch. 

PS: It’s free on Netflix

 SO YEAH

[mbtiofwhys]

Persona 5 and how MBTI can expose writing (in)consistency

Disclaimer

We’re studying writing and narratology as self taught, we are passionate about narrative in general and we believe in MBTI as a tool to analyse things and frame both reality and fiction in a different way. These are our opinions on the matter of how MBTI can be useful in approaching plot and character consistency, but don’t take it as a scientific paper;

We’re writing this article after a good 3 runs and various hundred of hours spent in this game per mod. We’ve already analysed the whole main cast and tried to explore everyone of them more in depth, so please don’t take anything in this article as an attack to a certain character or the game as a whole. We love P5 and P5R wholeheartedly - for this reason, we can’t overlook problems when they arise;

Big huge enormous spoilers for both P5 and P5R.

Premise

Characters are the most important element of a story - yes, even more important than the plot. Especially if you consider that a plot is, basically, characters doing stuff to reach a goal. Lots of stories revolve around a particular event or atmosphere, a fictional world to explore, or an issue, but there will always be characters in them because, as human beings, we’re attracted to people, their flaws and their problems.

So, if characters are the basis of a story, going deeper we see how fictional works tell us about how and why people overcome hardships and become a better person in the process (tragedies surely exist, but they aren’t the norm). That’s what is called the transformation arc.

That being said, how do we use MBTI? Since cognition is essential and behaviors mean nothing, we tend to look at characters both from a narrative and metanarrative standpoint. This means putting aside what characters do or what they like, and focusing on how they gain information, make decision and what are their motives. Since stories tell us about people and their struggles, it’s interesting to understand why characters act in a certain way, what really moves them forward. 

This approach, inevitably, must compromise with the fact that fiction is made by people, and people can make mistakes. Works of fiction aren’t flawless and sometimes, trying to find what type a character is, is a way to bring light to those problems. Rules are a social construct, they’re fluid and constantly change, but they also provide useful tools to analyze stories, discovering their strength and their flaws. So, stories aren’t defined solely on strict rules, however MBTI can push one to better understand what is a good story or a well-written character and, vice-versa, why stories can fail to amaze us.

Why Persona 5?

Because it’s an excellent case study to show both how our typing process must adapt to face different situations, and what means to analyse a wide cast of characters that aren’t always perfectly written. The cast, though, is diverse enough that you can have characters with similar or opposite types that interact for 100+ hours, and this creates a very interesting setting for comparison and conflict.

Moreover, the confidant system can be a golden source MBTI-wise, because, if properly developed, a confidant can give us great insights about the character, or show other sides of them outside the main plot. 

Tropes and typing

Persona 5 offers really great examples of what means to differentiate between typology and tropes when typing. Since we’re talking about fictional characters, we must acknowledge that sometimes there is a correlation between certain tropes/archetypes and certain types (mbtinotes on Tumblr talks about this more in depth here: https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/spotting#fiction ). This, though, isn’t a rule and mustn’t become a limitation when typing, because cognitive functions work regardless of tropes, exactly as they do regardless of behaviors. P5 has both types that follow the tropes they are often associated with, and types that are completely different. 

Ryuji is one of the main example belonging to the first case. He matches the Book dumb and Dumb blonde tropes, alongside with the Hot-blooded and Idiot hero ones. Those traits are usually linked to Se doms: always hungry and with lots of energy. In Ryuji’s case, though, he’s not an ESFP (only) because he’s loud and reckless, but also due to his approach to life and general cognitive process. That being said, it’s also true that he embodies the most common conception of what an ESFP looks like.

A similar example also applies to Akechi: he’s presented as the smart ace detective (The Ace) and later on as the mastermind traitor. He possesses many traits often linked to ENTJs, especially when they’re the villain, antagonist or anti-hero of the story. This doesn’t serve as a limit to his character though, and Akechi shares the majority of a young ENTJ’s cognitive process, alongside with some of its tropes.

On the other hand, P5 also offers characters belonging to the second case, for whom only looking at their tropes and role in the plot can be misleading typing-wise.

It's the case of Futaba: she’s an INFP according to our typing process, however the game always stresses her quirky and antisocial side, something so strong it defines her as a person even after her narrative arc. This is why many people type her as INTP, since those traits are often linked to Ti doms, high Ne users or rationalist types.

Another example is Yusuke: we typed him INTJ even though the community often refers to him as an ISFP. Our main complain regarding Yusuke as an ISFP is about how this type is justified only using the tropes he’s associated with. Since Yusuke is a bizarre artist and a weirdo, he must also be an ISFP in love with painting, art and beauty, right? Well, this is true, but not because he’s an ISFP. His behaviors don’t stem from an ISFP cognition, rather from the one of an INTJ, in our opinion.

Narrative arcs

Narrative arcs define the plot, but (following a shonen structure) they also sadly tend to be too much stand alone in the game, especially when it comes to character development. This leads to a situation where characters shine in their narrative arc, but then just sit in the background for the rest of the game, as a part of the Phantom Thieves. This isn’t entirely a bad thing, since Persona 5 revolves around a large cast of characters and tends to focus more on the group as a whole, so this structure suits the game’s leitmotif appropriately. However, narrative arcs surely enhance what we said about tropes and stereotypes, not always in a good way. 

There’s also the problem of characters following the plot/comic gags instead of the opposite. A story may undoubtedly be full of gags and fanservice without it compromising its characters and their purpose inside the narration, but problems arise when said characters must adhere to rules set by the plot, rather than being realistic people freely taking actions and making mistakes.

More specifically, we’re referring to:

Ann and harassment

This, in our opinion, is the most emblematic case about narrative arcs and how they tend to be isolated from the rest of the game. Ann’s arc doesn’t revolve around a big issue, differently from others later on where the Phantom Thieves face threats against the entire Japan. However, Kamoshida feels like a real villain and the pain inflicted to his students isn’t less relevant than other issues. The firs arc tells us a story about harassment, how it may lead to victim blaming, social exclusion and extreme actions like Shiho’s attempted suicide. So, the game surely starts with a realist and captivating take, but what lies after it? Sadly, not much. From that moment on, Ann still remains the most sexualised member of the group and is often the one whose body is used as a tool to gain intel or other useful things - Yusuke’s modeling affair and the second letter of recommendation on Shido’s ship are just two blatant example.

And while Ryuji’s confidant is simple and straightforward yet still works properly, Ann’s one can be dull, revolving around characters less interesting and engaging than the ones we see during Kamoshida’s arc. Moreover, her confidant takes place while Shiho is still recovering, so we see her mentioned only few times.

Makoto and duty

Every awakening in Persona 5 is thrilling and moving but, speaking for us mods, we think that Makoto has one of the most galvanizing. Her arc embraces the leitmotif of rebellion and it works even better than the others since she always appears as a diligent and polite student. But is there something more after her awakening? Sadly, as we saw for Ann, the answer is no. Makoto’s confidant is plain, a simple solution placed by developers to show her personality while introducing new characters. It works, but it doesn’t give a further twist to the premise the game showed during her awakening. Not to mention that, despite her decision to less blindly follow the rules, Makoto is often relegated to the mom friend/dutiful student role, reminding others of rules and schoolwork and stuff. Yes, she has a relevant role in Sae’s arc, but we still find her confidant lacking what is shown during Kaneshiro’s arc.

Futaba and self growth

Futaba’s arc is interesting on many levels, especially because we see how a hikikomori undergoing severe traumas can overcome them, thus becoming a healthier person. Even though her arc is one of the most emotional in the game, Futaba quickly resets to a stage where she’s more of a comic relief than a vivid character and she often kicks in just to mock the other thieves or to solve problems tied to computer science and technology. Yes, this is coherent to her character, at the same time it often closes her in stereotypes since Futaba is limited by those roles rather than showing her new and mature side.

Kasumi and Sumire and the lack of closure

Sumire’s arc and confidant deal with finding acceptance and a new balance between her old and new self, since Sumire slowly accepts her sister’s death. Or, at least, this is what the game tries to convey to the players. We love what Persona 5 Royal added to the main game and we played both versions for hundred of hours, however we must admit how both of us mods found lack of proper character development throughout Sumire’s confidant. Her arc does a great job in showing how much pain she had to endure and how she begins to live with her sister’s death. But at the same time her confidant doesn’t give her a new starting point, in our opinion. Why? Because reaching rank ten with Sumire means that she just finds a new way to be tied to Kasumi, and not in a completely healthy way. Sumire admits how gymnastic was a way to be together with her sister and how she loved accessory activities tied to the sport, like eating ice cream after training, more than the sport itself. So, Sumire never really cared about the competitive side of gymnastic and, at the end of her confidant, it seems like she sticks with it just as a way to be tied to Kasumi again. Yes, this is surely a healthier way than the one she took with Maruki’s help, and we know how our opinion regarding Sumire can be controversial, at the same time we don’t think her confidant truly ends her arc properly.

What has typing every character highlighted?

After 3 playthroughs, two platinum trophies and many hours spent discussing this group of punks, we used MBTI to give a structure to our articles and, unexpectedly, we often had to slightly change our approach in typing the main cast. It’s been a huge project of analysis, research, reading online discussions and further learning. In the end, we’d like to write down our own conclusion about these characters. This specific section might be a bit more about our personal opinions, though.

Protagonist (ENFP)

Typing the protagonist was the wildest part of this project. Since he’s mostly an avatar controlled by the player, we knew everything had to be taken with a grain of salt. We separated canon from player’s choices, as a way to find what makes the protagonist a real character (sadly, not as much as he would have deserved). We also tried not to rely too much on gameplay mechanics in typing. In the end, we progressed by process of elimination, discarding the option that surely didn’t fit. We agreed on ENFP for him, but ENTP isn’t a bad match either. Even if a character so malleable by the player can’t be associated to a single type so easily, we do believe that a starting point somehow exists. Our hope for the future is that in new games we’ll get to play a real character, though.

Morgana (ESTJ)

Morgana was pretty hard to type, especially regarding the perceiving axis - which is a pity, because he’s not the stock ESTJ type of character. But since he’s the mascot of the Phantom Thieves, Morgana is often even more stereotyped than the other characters. He decently shows his dominant function during the game, but way less his auxiliary and tertiary ones, since his personality gets subdued by his function as the sidekick of the protagonist.

Ryuji (ESFP)

We talked above how tropes aren’t always detrimental and Ryuji is the perfect example of this concept. He was the easiest character to type, due to his simple (yet defined) personality. Ryuji demonstrates how a character doesn’t have to be complex or multifaceted to be interesting and loveable.

Ann (ESFJ)

Ann is the opposite case of Ryuji: a character driven by plot rather than by being a vivid person. We aren’t saying we dislike Ann (honestly there isn’t a thief we properly dislike), but we must admit how typing her was really difficult, and not because she’s too complex. It’s safe to assume she’s a Fe dom, however the game doesn’t give any solid clue about her perceiving axis - we traced down Si only by elimination and because her confidant show a clear FeNe loop, but otherwise the game offers nearly no clue of her Si (or Ti). Ann’s personality can’t shine properly in a game where, outside her narrative arc, she often has to follow the role of the ‘attractive/supportive character’ assigned to her. 

Yusuke (INTJ)

Yusuke is an interesting case: typing him wasn’t easy, but, contrary to Ann, just because he’s more complex than he may appear. Under the ‘artist’ trope (that misled the majority of the community towards ISFP) there’s a character with less predictable sides and a well-written arc. Also, a very nice example of a non-textbook INTJ, since these types are often associated with science and/or greater battles in life. Yusuke was a nice surprise to find.

Makoto (ISTJ)

Typing Makoto was a bit of a slow process, since there isn’t a popular type assigned to her by the community. At the same time, identifying her cognitive functions wasn’t too hard, so we can at least say she’s a relatively solid character, meaning that even if she’s mostly a textbook ISTJ, she still shows the development process of her inferior Ne and tertiary Fi in her confidant. Her growth is pretty linear, and the problem lies precisely in the lack of a proper twist in her personality, since she could have been far more interesting and less predictable.

Futaba (INFP)

Futaba was hands down the hardest character to type, since she’s tied to all the stereotypes of being quirky, asocial and nerd, usually associated with INTPs. Futaba perfectly shows how a theoretically well-written character can’t shine under specific circumstances: she has an emotional and complex arc, which was in fact our starting point in typing her, since it’s a pretty clear example of a FiSi loop. Yet, she acts more as a comic relief or as a source to solve IT-related problems, and her functions aren’t properly shown.

Haru (INFJ)

Despite the meme of Atlus hating her and not giving her the proper screen time (which isn’t untrue), Haru was pretty easy to type. She’s a nice example of how a character doesn’t have to follow his type’s tropes to feel real. Haru isn’t the typical daydreaming INFJ with a saviour complex, and in fact she gets sometimes mistyped as INFP. Unluckily, as for Ann, the game doesn’t do a good job in giving her a well-rounded personality, and in fact finding evidences of her third and fourth functions was pretty hard.

Goro (ENTJ)

Akechi is probably the most multifaceted and complex character in the game, at least in P5 vanilla - we believe Maruki lowkey stole that record in Royal. However, since he’s a well-written one (even if he still lacks a proper narrative arc, to a certain extent), Akechi wasn’t hard to type. The most interesting thing is that he may seem the classic ENTJ with a psychopath/killer personality, but in reality, he probably doesn’t suffer from any mental illness, and his character revolves around what happens when functions are used unhealthily, or are excessively underdeveloped. For this exact reason, though, we find a pity that the game doesn’t properly address the consequences and aftermath of a teen that had to commit severe crimes and murder people to find a place in life.

Kasumi (ENFP) and Sumire (ISFJ)

There’s a lot to say about Kasumi and Sumire, especially regarding their role in the plot and their confidants. Typing them wasn’t easy, since we only see Kasumi through Sumire’s actions, and both of them have a half-confidant instead of a proper one each. So, with both sisters we had to proceed a bit by process of elimination, since they appear for a relatively short time and without super strong evidences of their types despite a few functions. Sadly, they highlighted how writing characters for plot’s sake rather than by making them vivid may lead to incomplete narrative arcs.

We’ve come to the end of this article. Thank you for reading!

This officially concludes our journey with the P5 main cast - it’s been a wonderful experience to learn more about both MBTI and the characters of the game we loved so much. If you want to discuss things with us, we’ll gladly listen. You can reach out here on Tumblr in comments, asks and dms, as well as on Instagram.

(And, if you’re interested, we’ve also wrote about Maruki, Sojiro and Tae).

[ducktracy]

i always talk about how fun, wacky, and creative animation needs to make a comeback and it DOES but at the same time if it’s just PURE cartooniness and nothing else that’s when it lands in the “stereotypical annoying cartoon” area. i don’t think there’s such a thing as too much cartooniness, but such a thing as mistaking what a cartoon is and oversaturating that misunderstanding.

cartoons are great. they make the impossible possible. that’s what stands out about them from sitcoms, from real life, from everything else. literally ANYTHING can happen that you put your mind to. but that’s not thoughtless as some people think it is. it requires a lot of imagination, creativity, and control. slapping together a bunch of jokes and visuals, while it can be fun, doesn’t really sustain the cartoon.

acting is really, REALLY important. you need a good voice, a good personality, and of course good visuals. it’s hard to define what acting really is. but the best cartoons combine good, effective acting with fun, impossible visuals.

because it’s what i do best, i’ll make this about looney tunes. specifically, my favorite cartoons of all time, the great piggy bank robbery and baby bottleneck.

baby bottleneck is a fun cartoon. both TGPBR and BB are VERY fun, that’s what makes them so entertaining, but the priority is moreso on fun and spotgags than plot and storyline.

look at these:

they’re fun because they’re impossible, they’re weird, they’re appealing. this is a short that takes advantage of being a cartoon to the fullest and i highly recommend it if you want to watch something in your face, fast, weird, and funny. the exposition seems to take forever and then the climax happens all at once and it’s that much more satisfying.

okay, BACK TO ACTING. the great piggy bank robbery has some of the best acting i’ve seen in a cartoon.

there’s no dialogue, but you can tell he’s aggravated, anxious, and impatient. this is conveyed purely through music and body language. multiple elements make up acting—a good musical score is extremely pivotal to the mood you’re trying to set.

again, more acting. mel blanc’s flawless voice characterization is the cherry on top and a crucial element, so this is hard to demonstrate in gifs, but it’s also nice because you’re made to look exclusively at the body movements without the distraction of music or dialogue.

it would be so boring if he just stared at the comic book and narrated his reactions with a slightly puzzled expression. he even goes as far as to look at the audience and talk to them, to make sure you’re right there with him. now, it would be pretty weird if all of your characters talked directly to the audience. but that’s not what makes it believable in the first place. what makes it believable is how he moves and expresses himself. it feels human and it’s very believable, but it’s also exaggerated and a bit of a lampoon (the cartoon element comes in), and that’s what makes this so immersive.

another blend of good acting and cartoon shenanigans. daffy’s face at the beginning is SO FUNNY because it’s so believable. what is it? disgust? relief? fear? nauesea? it’s a combination of emotions that we’ve all felt but can’t quite identify, and those make for the most realistic and most effective expressions. but it wouldn’t be complete without him shrinking lower and lower into his flesh and running away.

i could go ON and ON and ONNNNN but i’ve already derailed myself and taken enough left turns to make a race car driver sick (that’s a new one) so i’ll end it now before this turns into some other completely unrelated aspect but

tldr: cartooniness, fun, and imagination is very very very important to cartoons, but acting is just as important, and together those elements make for some of the best scenarios you could ever watch

[sr-stories]

Tobey Becomes Emo - A WordGirl Comic

I can’t believe I made this cursed WordGirl comic. What has my life become? However, you have to give credit where credit is due. A fellow WordGirl fan inspired me to create this whole damn comic. That person is @ramenbubblespop on Instagram. I recommend checking out their page. Their art is flawless. With all that said and done, I present to you “Tobey Becomes Emo”. This comic was meant to be more elaborate. Cons to being a lazy f_cker.  💀

Narrator: This is the moment Tobey has anticipated ever since he first laid eyes on our pint-sized powerhouse. He’s finally gathered enough courage to ask WordGirl the cliché question, “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” Little does the blonde-haired boy know; the logophile has something that she’s been wanting to tell him for quite a while now. Will her response impact Tobey positively or negatively?

Tobey: Can I say the line now? It’s been well over half an hour already. Narrator: Whoops! I’m so sorry, Tobey. Go ahead. Tobey: Thank you. WordGirl. Before we head back to my place, there’s something I’d like to ask you. - Do you want to be my girlfriend? Tobey’s Mind: Please say yes. x 4

WordGirl: Tobey. I always knew you had a crush on me. You made it blatantly obvious. But I chose to act oblivious to your so-called hints. Do you want to know why I did that? Well, the answer is quite simple. I didn’t have any feelings for you back then, and I still don’t. Don’t get me wrong, though. I don’t loathe you by any means. I’m just not comfortable with being in a romantic relationship with you. You’ll always be a close friend to me.

WordGirl: However, if you still feel obligated to use your robots for destructive purposes to earn my affection, we’re going to have a serious problem. That’ll put our friendship on the rocks, and I know for a fact that that latter won’t sit right with you. Quite frankly, I don’t want to cut all ties with you either. Oh, and before I forget, I won’t be able to spend the night at your place. My family will be heading to the airport at five o’clock tomorrow morning. I just don’t want to be that pessimistic family member who drags the rest of the family down. Sorry for the inconvenience. Narrator: One week later...

Becky: Tobey, you’re just going through a phase. Tobey: I MOST CERTAINLY AM NOT! ~ Application(s) Used: ibisPaint X and Canva Time Spent: 7h 15m Have a nice day/night! 💕

[kittykatrattie]

Out-Of-Context Quotes Writing Prompts

"Please don't make me rhumba. I don't have the hips for it!"

"Can I stop dancing while I work?" "No."

"He cut them with scissors." "That's the dummy version, but yes."

"Why am I wet? Where are my pants?"

"You're coming with me." "Why?" "Because you're my blood type."

"My skin is on fire. And this cold medicine isn't making it cold. It's making it sticky!"

"I just gave you the cold shoulder if you pretend the door is a shoulder."

"What are you doing?" "Cooling my scorched flesh with cold cuts, what does it look like?"

"Avacado! Nature's aloe vera!"

"I'm sorry, but did you just "boysplain" scavenger hunts to me?"

"Thinking, thinking, now I'm thinking about lunch, ok back to thinking about your thing, thinking."

"I always thought my life would end in a vortex!" "That was number 2 on my list behind game show!"

"When did I get butt rockets? Not a complaint, just a question."

"Know your enemy, keep your socks dry, and pee before the movie. Rules to live by."

"That was my air supply you land whale!" "Well why don't you just breathe water like dolphins?"

"You richies are all the same with your fancy mustard, your monocles, your koi ponds, and your socks."

"Yes that's my signature but I didn't order an elephant."

"That was the last time I saw him." "Ever?" "Until Thanksgiving."

"My low expectations for myself for warranted."

"I never got to drive a car!" "I never had a tuna melt!"

"And now, the cardboard box story."

"These trees are all the same. Why aren't there roads in forests?"

"To thank me, the star guys taught me how to turn into a star."

"Your flossing was flawless."

"They tricked us! And now they're mocking us in a catchy song!"

"That ghost was its own boss the moment the toaster went "ding"."

"No fun, no freedom, and no folk music."

"Guys, I found the dice! No, wait, these are just old croutons."

"Eagles carrying sharks? Honestly I've seen weirder."

"I'm all soaped up, and I'm gonna slip underneath that door like an eel."

"A potato with a bunch of your heads on it? Woah, this episode is off the rails."

"You never had a wedding! And if you did we would have RSVP'd no!" "You were there, you gave me tongs."

"How did you get in here!" "The door."

"Sports are hard, outside is hot, and I have no idea what beakers are."

"Those are narrator lines! Why are you doing my job?"

"Never ask a genius to do a man's job."

"I'm only human." "Are you?" "Yes!"

"You're the bumbling comic relief, and I'm the villain you love to hate."

"That half-naked dude got smoked, yo!"

"Like a pretzel made of dirt!"

"I've always wanted to be a fart and I have no idea how to turn this off!"

(Tag me if you use these!)