#giant lovable animal

[cosmophaunt]

got tagged by the lovely @sunymar to do a 2002 aol email chain (😋) and so here i am, gratuitously reliving the early millennia with this favorites prompt!

Share ten different favorite characters from ten different pieces of  media in no particular order

Then send this to 10 people (anon or not,  your choice) 🎥🎬📺

1. laurent de vere — captive prince

recently stole my heart and most likely upstaged the fool as my favorite literary character. i have loved characters before, but i have never sat and fiercely stewed over how much like a real person a fictional person felt until laurent de vere. from his sudden volatile moments of rage (which remind me of my sister), to his hidden shame (which he never reveals the depths of), to becoming his own biggest foil and his quiet, shattered, hopeful heart. gdamn.

2. charles xavier - x-men

you are allowed to call me a simp.

3. the fool - robin hobb’s fitzgerald verse

at first, verity caught all my attention. who doesn’t love an exhausted royal who sacrifices himself for the good of the kingdom? but reread after reread and i felt more and more interested in the fool.

4. asch/luke fon fabre - tales of the abyss

childhood trauma distraction

5. lisbet slander — girl with the dragon tattoo

bamf and total icon

6. yennefer of vengerberg — the witcher

you may call me a simp part 2

7. stiles stilinski — teen wolf

i spent way too long rping this dude so i’d be lying if he didn’t make this list.

8. john egbert — homestuck webcomic

i spent way too long rping this dude part 2.

9. vi — league of legends

you may call me a simp part 3.

10. rikku - final fantasy x/x-ii

token happy character who is way too cute

i had been dead on tumblr for a long time until last month! i am tagging new followers and also whoever i see on my front page. if i targeted you, sorry. if you don’t know who i am….. um…. also sorry…..

@chastillon @airebellah @lambergeier @thequietestlilbucket @dearericbittle @lantropy @nigelrickmanlawrence @bumblegremlin @knightwayne @bearfeathers

[galacticgraffiti]

❁ Sugar (I've developed a taste for you) ❁

!!! NSFW ⋆ 18+ ⋆ Minors DNI !!!

Summary: Astarion asks for a favour and ends up getting more than what he bargained for (or: I'm a lesbian but this fictional little vampire twink can get it)

Rating: Explicit (for eventual smut) Wordcount: 2.4k Descriptors: I try to keep my reader-inserts fairly neutral, but let me know if anything slips through the cracks! Astarion is his usual self, pathetic and awful yet somehow also lovable as fuck. CW: bad flirting, friends with benefits (and the benefit is bloodsucking lol), blood, blood drinking, biting, hint of praise kink, eventual proper smut, nicknames, so much innuendo

✦⋆ Main Masterlist ⋆✦⋆ If you prefer AO3 ⋆✦

༻────• ༻❁༺ •────༺

Chapter 1: My my, those eyes like fire

He could be lovely if he wasn’t so self-involved.

That is the first thought you have when you meet Astarion. He is not downright mean, but something about him just bugs you. He flirts with every creature on two legs (sometimes even those with more), but that’s not it.

Something about all his honeyed words just feels so… insincere. 

You think Astarion has something to hide, and you desperately want to know what it is. So far, he has shown no signs of weakness, and he is as much as self-entitled twat as when you first met him. And this continues to be your opinion of him… up until today.

The day has been hard. Your feet hurt, your hands have blisters, and you are smeared with blood pretty much all over. Your shirt has been ripped and frankly, you don’t know when you might find the time to mend it. There is a giant bloodstain on the thigh of your trousers, and you are pretty sure your hair has become completely encrusted in blood quite some time ago.

But you have made it back to camp and that is all that counts.

As you shake out your bedroll and try to ignore the fact that this is the seventh night in a row that you’ll have had bland stew for dinner, you catch Astarion’s eyes across the fire.

His gaze is… odd.

You have seen him in the heat of battle, you’ve seen the glint in his eye when he comes up with another of his devious plans. You’ve even seen him amused, shaking with laughter when Gale recited an - admittedly very ambiguous - poem to you.

But you have never seen him like this. It’s not affection, nor is it desire that lights up his delicate features. He almost looks… desperate. Like he is starving for something, and you can’t place your finger on what it is.

As soon as Astarion notices that you have caught him, his eyes flick away. He saunters off, way too casual to not be obvious about it.

You stare after him, vaguely confused. But then, Karlach makes her way over to ask for more stew, and you forget all about it. For the moment.

Her smile makes your belly flutter, and you wish you knew more about her, and so you do your best to make conversation, joking and asking shallow questions.

Astarion’s eyes haunt you through dinner.

Even though the day was exhausting, the nights in your little camp are starting to grow on you. Gale is funny in his own, book-wormish way. You have learned that Karlach is downright hilarious in her joy about the world outside of Avernus, and Wyll is always scandalised by her, which is admittedly quite fun to watch. Lae’zel and Shadowheart keep to themselves a bit more, but even they share the meals with the rest of you.

You laugh when Karlach imitates Wyll’s horrified expression, but in spite of yourself. your eyes keep wandering to the silver hair of your elven companion who is sitting across from you.

Astarion is staring at you again, his eyes focused on some point below your jaw. He is watching you intently, seemingly unaware you have caught him. He doesn’t blink, doesn’t look away - he just stares at you as your spoon scrapes along the bottom of your bowl.

Only when you get up to wash off before you go to bed does he move again.

Sometimes, Astarion reminds you of a scared animal in the way he moves, his eyes flicking back and forth, his hands trembling slightly whenever he is not in battle. He hides right out in the open, behind his swagger and his dirty jokes and innuendos, behind his beautiful face and his beautiful body.

Tonight, though, even in all his desperation, Astarion is not prey. He is a predator. And like any talented predator, he has managed to get his prey away from the protection of the group.

You are kneeling in the small stream that runs by the camp, washing your bowl, your clothes, yourself - everything is dirty and soaked in mud, sweat and blood. You are barely wearing anything, but your companions have seen you in much more precarious situations at this point.

Astarion approaches quietly, sneaking up on you in that manner where you can never tell whether it is intentional or not. He is just… there, suddenly, shedding his clothes next to you, blood still smeared on his pale skin.

He stops short of the water, watching you from the riverbank. You try not to gawk as he undresses, but something about him seems unusually anxious. The way he pushes hit foot forward so slowly, testing the water, makes you wonder if he might not know how to swim.

Astarion smiles suddenly, taking a step into the stream and towards you, then another, his smile growing the deeper he wades into the water. Dark red streaks appear in the water where the blood is washed from his pale skin.

He clears his throat and raises a sharp brow.

“And how are you feeling tonight, sweet thing?” he inquires. His eyes flick over your body, focusing on a point below your ear for a moment before he rips his gaze away again.

“‘M alright,” you answer, brow furrowed as you scrub your shirt a little harder than you actually need to. Why he has to be so infuriating with his nicknames, you’ll never know. “Today was… a lot. I wanted to have a quiet moment.”

“Ah.”

He doesn’t seem to get the hint. He merely wades further into the stream, shimmering pearls of water running down his back. When you don’t say anything else, he turns to face you once again.

“Are you not going to ask me how I am, darling?”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” you mumble, throwing your shirt to the side, Clearly, you’re not getting anywhere with it tonight.

“Tsk, so rude. Somebody should really teach you some manners.” He clicks his tongue at you like you are an insubordinate child, shaking his head until droplets hit you.

You press your lips together. If he wasn’t so beautiful, he wouldn’t get away with half the things he does, and it frustrates you to no end. You catch yourself forgiving him on occasions where you don’t mean to, simply because his face is the prettiest things you have ever seen, and you hate it.

Astarion watches you carefully, gauging your mood. You stare back at him defiantly. What the hell could he want from you, anyway?

The hunger in his eyes is back, you notice - that desperation that you can’t quite place. There is a pained expression around his mouth, and despite all his cockiness, he is clearly not doing entirely well - his skin even paler than usual, his hands shaking a little when he crosses his arms.

Astarion yawns, his gaze raking over you in a way that makes you shiver. You tell yourself it’s just the cold of the water.

“Well, I was going to ask you for your help, but you are in a terrible mood.” He inspects his fingernails, and even though you know exactly that he is baiting you, you can’t help yourself.

“You? Need my help? Never thought the day would come.” Your voice is biting, but you can’t hide the note of curiosity that sneaks in.

“Don’t make me out to be such a horrible companion.” Astarion takes a step closer to you through the water. You take a step back. He laughs, but his eyes catch on your neck again. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

You shrug.

“Sometimes you are.”

“Hm.” He raises his brows, and takes another step towards you. This time, you don’t step back. “Well, I suppose that can’t be helped, my love. We all have good and bad days, don’t we?” He cocks his head. “And today has been quite hard for me.”

You make a non-committal noise, staring him down. What in the hells is he trying to do? Seduce you?

Your body likes that thought much more than your mind does.

Astarion is watching you intently. He stretches out his hand to take yours, and in your surprise, you don’t even pull back. His thumb rests right against the delicate inside of your wrist, and he closes his eyes.

You wait for him to drone on about how he carried your group on the battlefield, to gloat that you now owe him your life seven times over, but he doesn’t. Astarion stays eerily still, breathing deeply as his thumb strokes your wrist, pressing against your pulse point.

You can’t keep quiet any longer, not with the odd way he is behaving. Maybe he got hit by a spell, or…

“Any reason today was particularly hard for you?” You meant to sound sarcastic, but the question comes out sounding sincere. You scold yourself for caring so much.

Your skin burns like fire where he is touching you. Astarion’s eyes open, and he looks at you like he was a million miles away. He is so close now - much closer than you realised. You can see the fiery ring around his irises.

“I…” To your surprise, his voice is hesitant and quiet. “It’s easier to just… show you. You see, I need something from you, my darling.”

You frown.

“Why ask me? You could ask any of us, and most of them would be more inclined to help than I am. I’ve seen the way that Gale watches you at the fire-”

“Gale?” Astarion sounds genuinely amused. “Darling, do you think I’m asking you for sexual favours right now?”

“I- yes?” Your voice is full of uncertainty. “I mean… is that not what you were going to say?”

Astarion smiles, small and sharp.

“No.” He is even closer to you now, his thumb still caressing the skin of your wrist. “Even though I would not be disinclined if you offered… you are quite beautiful, you know?”

“Mh. Thank you?” You wish your heart would not beat faster at the way he looks at you. It’s a look that doesn’t fit the words that fall from his lips, a look that betrays the desperation with which he needs this favour. “What-”

“What I am asking for is simple.” He is so close now he could kiss you if you leaned in. “All I want is… a taste.”

“I- what?”

His lips are on your neck, his hand in your hair. You are not quite sure when that happened.

“Say yes, sweet thing,” he breathes. “Just a taste of your blood and-”

“My blood?” You sound more distraught than you actually feel. You are… oddly resigned. You should have seen this coming - you knew something was up with him, you knew he wasn’t telling you the whole truth.

And now, here you are. With a fucking vampire. His lips graze your pulse point, and your heart beats faster. You can feel the heat of his breath when he utters a single word.

“Please.”

It’s that one word that changes everything. Just like that, he has you. All the arrogance, all the superiority is gone from his voice, and what is left is just hunger and the fear that you might reject him. For a moment, you are sure you must have imagined it, but then, Astarion repeats himself.

“Please.” His hand tightens around your wrist, though he is trembling more than you are. “Just a taste, no more.”

Your lips are numb when you answer, your mind screaming at you not to let him- this is dangerous, this is stupid- you have already lost so much blood in the fight today and-

“Yes.” Your hands are on his shoulders, then in his silver hair. He smells so good; even after this horrid day. Your voice is softer than you intend for it to be, but his desperation makes you weak. “If you need it, it’s yours.”

Astarion makes a sound that shatters you, and before you can think too much about your own colossal stupidity, his fangs sink into your neck. 

It’s not painful.

It’s uncomfortable, but the fear that bites into your heart ebbs after mere seconds. Astarion’s hands are surprisingly warm against you, keeping you upright. Your head falls to the side, granting him easier access and - oh.

Why does it feel so good?

You become acutely aware of your blood flowing from the small puncture wounds in your neck, and for a moment, you panic, stiffening in Astarion’s arms.

“There, there, sweet thing.” His lips don’t raise an inch from your neck. “It’s alright, just trust me. Just a taste, all I want is a taste…”

Your head is swimming.

“You have tasted me,” you whisper, trying to pull away. When you look into Astarion’s eyes, there is a red glint in them - and a sadness that overwhelms you.

��No taste of you will ever be enough.” Astarion looks up at you from beneath long lashes. “You are divine, my love.”

The tip of his tongue wets his lips, licking up the small droplets of blood that linger.

You stare at him, trying with all your might to focus.

“You said… just a taste. No more than you need.”

His finger traces your jaw, down your neck, and your whole body is on fire.

“If it were up to me, I would need all of you,” Astarion sighs, his lips on your neck again, his tongue lapping at the blood that flows from the wound he has given you. “I would take and take, and give you so much in return. I would have you in ways you did not even know you wanted. Taste everything you have to offer.”

You shiver when he raises your wrist to his mouth, soft lips pressing to delicate skin.

“I would cherish you, keep you. My little pet, so perfect, so beautiful in every way. So eager to give what I need. Would you give me more if I asked?”

“Of course,” your lips say even though those were not the words you were planning to utter. But how could you ever say no to him? “If that’s what you need.”

Astarion’s sigh is one of rapture and delight.

“So obedient for me… You know, all these days I thought you hated me.” He chuckles to himself. “I suppose even I can be wrong sometimes.”

His teeth sink back into your neck, and the world goes dark.

༻────• ༻❁༺ •────༺

>> Next Chapter

HELLO MY DOVES i finally found time to format this for tumblr so here you go, for those who are not in love with the bear, you can get the twink, as a treat.

@deewithani @ficsbynight @kote-wan @ariadnes-red-thread @rescuethewretched @twistedstitcher27 @kakashibabe02 @writingbylee @purgetrooperfox @basilbumble @witchklng @lackofhonor @ashotofspotchka @sailor-blossom @misogirl828 @amyroswell @darkjedipoptarts @pinkiemme @sleepingsun501 @fett-djarin @samanthacookieone @tortor-mcgee @corrabell @queen--kenobi @elegantduckturtle @felinaone @palpipeen @wild-karrde @obeydontstray @nomercyforthewarrior @dream-alittlebiggerdarling @thefact0rygirl @everythingyouwanted @equalityforcats @cagrame @ladykatakuri @snakerune @shadesofshatteredblue @100lxtters @damerondala @tachyon-girl @rintheemolion @pickleprickle @mando-amando @certified-anakinfucker @baba-fett @ulchabhangorm

[malicedafirenze]

OPLA is fascinating to me because they‘ve managed to make a show that is so fundamentally weird and goofy and colorful, you see the anime bullshit vibes in literally every character design and every costume and every location, and that is wonderful in itself but I‘m additionally awed by how the commitment to this silliness has somehow also ended up making everyone look cool and hot in some way????

Like by all means, Zoro putting a third sword in his mouth should make him look fucking stupid and it kinda does but he‘s also cool and hot. Luffy‘s naive optimism could so easily be annoying and childish, but nope, he ends up being charismatic and lovable as fuck.

Fucking Mihawk‘s design is so ridiculously over the top with his dumbass coat and his dumbass giant sword and his goofy ass beard but it still works somehow???

This show takes so many things that by all rights should turn out cringe when applied to live action film/tv and just fucking steamrolls over them by sheer force of commitment and determination and by fully embracing and loving the silliness of its own source material.

And I absolutely adore it for it. What a time to be alive.

[bestfictionalplant]

Round 2 Group 3

Propaganda and spoilers under cut

Deku Tree:

The Deku Tree is guardian of Kokiri forest and protector of the Kokiri Emerald. He's so big that the entire first dungeon of Ocarina of Time is inside him: he summons Link to find and slay the giant parasitic monsters inside him. Despite being a tree, he somehow has a huge moustache.

Vash:

VASH!!! He's a notorious gunslinger with a huge bounty on his head for causing destruction wherever he goes, everyone either fears or hates him. But he's a huge peace-loving goofball when you actually get to see him. I think it's cool because at the beginning of the anime, they leave it up to you to figure out which side of him is the true Vash (spoiler: it's the second one and all of the destruction he causes is unintentional). Despite all of the pain hes gone through, Vash still loves and protects humans and values peace more than anything. He's just a lovable and selfless dude and I don't think my explanation does the anime/manga justice with how amazing it is.

[cineflections]

You know, if there was one manga that would be adapted to live action and succeed, I never would have guessed it to be this one.

I'm ofc talking about the One Piece Live Action on Netflix

A whole day binge right after release, I was READY, and thankfully, I was not disappointed. There are cuts and streamlining of the story, characters coming in earlier than in the manga/anime, and some of the emotional bits don't hit as hard as in the original. Still, I can feel the love the production team has of One Piece. The characters are goofy and lovable, but they are also serious and straight-faced.

One thing that I noticed throughout was the constant close up to faces and sometimes straight on, as if almost breaking the 4th wall. The very first scene with Luffy is like this, but there he DOES look into the camera directly, but the pov of the camera is revealed to be a newsbird. It's like a statement that they know this is a silly pirate romp, they know that some people will not take this seriously, but they will not do 4th wall breaks silly, but in-universe silly. Does that make sense?

I laughed at several points in the show, big and wide smile on my face and pointing at the screen several times...

But I do wonder how much of my laugh was on the show's on merit or if I was only calling back on the the source material. At times I did feel the straw hat crew not being as iconic as in the manga/anime. The extreme reactions, the over the top noises and actions, at the same time I realize that real people generally don't act like that.

I appreciate the show runners attention to details. Putting stuff in to tease future arcs, adapting some cover stories, some of the complete unhinged behaviors of characters (Garp I'm looking at you!).

This show adapted Romance Dawn, orange town, syrup village, baratie, and arlong park.

There are so many moments that are almost scene by scene taken from the manga. Luffy in the barrel and meeting Koby. Alvida with her giant spike club. We got to see some pre-captured Zoro moments (particularly him killing a baroque works agent!), Nami being a sneak.

Then we meet the one and only clown Buggy! They hammed him up, they made him a showman and a real clown (with a real bulgy nose as well, props!). I loved Buggy. Goddamn what a show stealer. Excellent casting, his devil fruit was show cased so well and it looked good!

Usopp's introduction is the most changed. The kids are gone and the Black Cat pirates never call in the entire crew or Jango. Instead of the fight on the slope by the beach it's instead in Kaya's house from which they cannot escape. The actor for Kuro nailing the mannerism and hand movements, altho his "teleporting" looks a bit wonky.

With Baratie we are finally introduced to Sanji! Who's British now 😆. And Mihawk's introduction tho! Badass and just so over the top and goofy. I love him so much! This is where we got the biggest change where we instead get Arlong and crew coming in smashing the place up (a tiny bit). Arlong may not be as tall as he should be but I love the practical approach instead of CGI, which means he actually feels present! All the fishmen we see are guys in costume and prosthetics!

Arlong Park felt a bit more rushed than the earlier parts, but I do think they nailed *that* scene tho.

If the bar for live action adaptation was below the ground, I would say now there's a new bar, which is on the ground 😅. I think it's a solid show but it might be my bias talking. I do have some gripes tho.

One thing that was constant in East Blue Saga was how much village people hate or are scared of pirates. I think they got the marines right, and the pirates, but they failed to really have the village people be a character in their own right. In the manga and anime the villagers are mostly a monolith who will think and act alike in situations and be part of the happenings either by watching or fighting. We got just about none of it here, except a mention in Arlong Park. They did some really good and cool world building with lots of people populating the sets in the background - but that's it, they're just extras to fill out the screen. There are ofc a few exceptions but I felt it was not enough.

I wish they had Luffy be more agile when using his gum-gum powers. Whenever he springs a pistol or a whip is stands in place, which I found boring (and they did so well with Zoro's fights!). I do think the explanation is that they decided for Luffy to be coming into his powers as we go. That we will learn with him all the things he can do (him not knowing he can blow himself up like a balloon proves this). I hope that in season 2 (please netflix!) they show the growth in his fighting!

But to end this long post. I just wanna say how much I fucking love the dude playing Mihawk. Goddamn he's so fun. MVP.

For the straw hats, I would say that Usopp feels the closest to manga version, and Luffy feels the most distant from it. But I don't dislike this, and I think the actor for Luffy has so much potential to really make the role his own.

It will never be "just like" the manga and anime, but that's ok! It's a new adaptation (in live action) made by people you can tell loves the source material and really really tried to make it work! I respect that, and I respect this show. Please watch it on Netflix! It's a fun and silly time, just like it should be!

[chaifootsteps]

as a queer teen with a bunch of other queer teen friends, oh my god they’re all GIANT fans of hazbin and it infuriates me. i really want to be there to talk about their interests with them and to be involved in what they enjoy but god, i cant even pretend to like this show. i enjoyed the pilot (and speaking of, good god did the animation dip in quality) but almost every fan i talk to is like “oh the pilot is the worst episode imo” NO ITS NOT??? it’s the only one competently written, with cool animation and an interesting premise!! and then the writers (cough viv) abandoned it to make their “messy queer media” which reads like a MHA fanfic written by a thirteen year old who just learned what character archetypes and gay people even are. For the record, i wouldn’t even consider myself a fan of the pilot, it 100000% has problems and got criticism for a reason, but GOD did the show just lean into all the pilot’s worst elements. Sometimes i wish i could live in the fantasy world my friend’s do where hazbin is a good, funny, mature, competent show with lovable characters and compelling arcs, but alas.

sorry to rant in your inbox but oh man. this show definitely has a demographic and my friends (unintentionally) make me feel like i’m the crazy one for disliking it

No apologies, my inbox is here for rants!

You have my sympathies, Anon, and you're a good friend for even trying to be there for them. Sometimes it's a lonely world loving the pilot and the people who were involved with it, but on the whole, I really do think you're better off. My guess is that time's not gonna be kind to Viv, and by extension HH, and you'll be ahead of the curve.

[avillanappears]

godzilla x kong: the new empire

"For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet. What else were we wrong about?"

okay, I kind of fell off doing this, but we’re back! the best ever tumblr review series that’s written by avillanappears.tumblr.com! I came in not expecting much, but it turns out I really, really liked it, actually! I’m more pleasantly surprised than anyone, godzilla vs kong rubbed me very much the wrong way. godzilla and kong beating the ever-loving tar out of each other was fun, sure, but I have WORDS for the human stuff. I could fill a whole post with those, probably, but we’re not talking about that! we’re thinking good thoughts, about the one I liked!

it’s definitely a fun adventure film. hollow earth was a much more fleshed out setting this time, I loved the varieties of locales and creatures. giant, flying flamingo fish that shoot electricity? kong crossing a rickety bridge made out of the spine of a monster so massive, that it’s kaiju sized compared to him? this is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to see! it was fascinating seeing kaiju sort of “on their level”, in a whole giant sized ecosystem made for them. we got some of that in the atomic time of monsters by @tyrantisterror, and I think it’s such fertile ground to explore. godzilla’s flirted with the idea before in both its netflix animes, but this is them really committing to it. it makes my worldbuilding and specbio freak heart happy. we even got to see more hellhawks! I love those guys.

lookit that face

okay this is going pretty long, but anyhoo, I liked the character stuff too. kong was as lovable as always, you really feel for the big lug. even though he’s a living god the size of a mountain, there’s a real vulnerability to him. he’s just a sad, lonely guy who wants purpose and belonging.

he and suko had some kind of fast, but still very nice bonding. the human side was fun too, they fixed a lot about what I didn’t like from the last movie. jia had more of an arc going instead of just being “the one kong talks to”, bernie was a lot more enjoyable since they cut out the weird conspiracy theorist stuff, trapper was a fun guy. it was nice just seeing someone who loves monsters and weird nature stuff.

skar king surprised me with how personal of a threat he is, they really let him feel like a horrid, nasty piece of work. he’s more than just a big evil overlord, he’s a bullying control freak who wants everything his way, and it makes his wretchedness more tangible in a way.

shimo didn’t get all that much, but I love shimo. I love her, and I can barely even tell why, there’s just some kind of Vibe to her I resonate with. I think it’s how mythical she feels. the oldest of a line of gods, a great being of ice, controlled by a wicked devil….in fact it all felt very mythic. I appreciate that, I love it when kaiju works play out like weird mythological epics.

probably the most tangible complaint I can think of right now is that the godzilla stuff was pretty underwritten. it honestly felt like he was just….doing video game sidequests or something. like, it didn’t have Impact up until the very end when he finally meets kong and SPOILERS SPOILERS. and it feels a shame to kill scylla and tiamat off this early, I liked those two as unpredictable wildcards. with rodan and the others still mia, and two titans unceremoniously dead, it’s starting to feel like the monsterverse is sorta….flattening itself? now that kongs arc is done, I think we need to get back to a godzilla solo or two, flesh things back out a bit. but that’s for future peter to talk about, today we’re leaving things off on a high note. fun characters, dynamic locales, some great monster brawling, this one was a good’un!

godzilla cast monkeys into hell for their sins

[copiouscouples]

Bridgerton - A Dissertation

Chemistry is subjective and that's why I love Bridgerton. If one couple isn't your bag, then there are others to choose from.

Personally, I've enjoyed all the seasons. I just love to see love unfold.

Season 1 was such a new animal. It was the novelty of it all. Nothing had been done like this before. You either had the adulterous, explicit, and/or violent sex scenes of Outlander or Game of Thrones or you had chaste Austen (which j'adore but still). There is no other show (even though there have been attempts) that combines the sweet romantic side of love with sexy times. And on top of that you have the costumes and the humor and the diversity.

Simon and Daphne's love story for me was so beautiful watching it simply because it was like they'd turned the historical romances I love reading so much into a tv show.

Season 2 I was so pumped for. The first 4 episodes were delicious. The looks, the stares, the verbal sparring, the passionate declarations, and almost kisses. Be still my heart. The wedding episode was a giant buzzkill. It ground all that momentum to a halt. Edwina deciding not to marry Anthony should've been a 5 minute scene max. That episode took up time when we could've seen them make progress on their relationship. After that, the plot did bounce back. Then, we got their love scene in the garden. I think the most apt description I've seen of that is that it was like a hot music video. It was fine and all, but I was wanting more. It wasn't rewatchable like the Simon and Daphne scenes.

Then Queen Charlotte came along and wowzers did I love that show on so many levels. It was gorgeously done, funny, sweet, heartbreaking, and sexy. George and Charlotte were a good couple but knowing their ending wasn't so happy definitely put an asterisk next to it.

Season 3 came along and at first I was a little indifferent about it for multiple reasons.

1) I hadn't been fully sold on Luke and Nicola's chemistry. It seemed too friend-like (which I know is the point but still). On top of that, there's their real life age gap. Luke N. is super attractive but I was envisioning someone older and more mature (because I know the books have Pen and Colin as older).

2) Friends to lovers isn't a favorite trope of mine.

3) I really wanted Eloise or Benedict's season to be next.

But oh my word, guys, I am really digging this season. Probably more so than even Queen Charlotte.

Things I Love:

Colin being the pursuer and driver of the relationship instead of Daphne in season 1 or Daphne/Edwina/circumstances in season 2. It's delicious to see Colin chasing Penelope. And yeah, she did ask him to kiss her but home skillet didn't ask him to show up at her house for a late night rendezvous. That was all him.

A less angry/bitter male lead. Colin likely has daddy issues too, but he is just more emotionally in-tune (when he allows himself to be) and doesn't take it out on others. He's sweet and lovable and a perfect cinnamon roll when he's not posing.

The Sexy times are back! That carriage scene was 10/10 - no notes. And it was sexy because of the feelings component. And we're getting more! I'm gonna pass out!

Even though I wish they'd hurry a bit and get them back to being friends, I do enjoy seeing the Eloise and Penelope friendship aftermath. I love seeing how much they care about each other despite being angry/hurt by one another.

That height difference, tho!

I feel like we can all take enjoyment from different couples and different seasons. We're all different and different tropes resonate with us. There is something to be enjoyed by all with Bridgerton.

[mmprviolet]

Why I love Earthspark

Spoilers ahead

Female characters treated like people and not weird or afterthoughts

The child characters act like children and not mini adults to please boomers

The Decepticons have more than just Card Carrying Evil

Starscream's abuse is finally taken seriously for once and without woobifying him

Megatron is Scottish

The terrans are cool

NB rep for both terran and human

The main human family are Black American and Filipino

Seriously when was the last tine we saw an interracial pair where both parties are nonwhite?

Dot is a badass, we learn about her as a person, disabled but treated with agency

Alex is also a badass and a bumblebee fanboy, yet we also learn a bit about him

Dot and Alex 🤝 Tom and Maddie = healthy relationships in classic kid properties

Elita is also a badass she's also closer to her personality than the weird trope of making her a villain or fridging her

Bumblebee is a struggling young adult and not a infantilized annoying caricature

Actually his arc seems to be one giant rebuttal against the trend of making him Kid Appeal by having him struggle with being a mentor and dealing with kids

Breakdown is Sonic the Hedgehog

The main human villain is a legitimate threat without being a villain sue or boring

The other main villain is literally named Karen (and also a legit threat)

Optimus Prime is back to being funny and not a overly serious messiah, angry old man, Nerd or cop

Soundwave's revenge bod

Skywarp and Nova Storm are girls and can put up a fight they also have more relevancy than u can say with TFA Blackarachnia

Scratch that Skywarp in animated media again and gets to use her powers

Dot and Mo have natural hair and even wear bonnets

If you look past Mo's rather uncanny design she's actually really cute and lovable

Robby is cool too

Thrash and Twitch hmmm love seeing two characters of both worlds embracing all their heritage

TWITCH'S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT especially her dynamic with Megatron

He calls her little bird

Nigthshade. Just Nightshade. Cool altmode cool personality, doesn't sugarcoat their identity (it's not 5000% perfect but still very great to see)

Really good message about respecting history while also thinking for yourself and new generation not making those same mistakes

the old generation gets to learn and grow too, the only ones who don't refuses to

Bringing in characters like Tarantulas, Hardtop, basically characters we haven't seen much of

Love how the experiences characters go thru aren't easily wiped away a la Grimlock and Hashtag both experiencing PTSD from the harm inflicted on them and allowed to feel those emotions

Steve Blum is Starscream again but still sounds fresh and not rip Prime beat for best

The cultural details while not 5000% perfect are pretty great like league above past shows

Like you can tell more than one writer of color is in the room

More nonwhite VAs instead of the usual 3-4 max

Angered the ultra conservatives

Thrash is Hunter and Kid Andrias

Jawbreaker is funny as hell I also liked his abilities and dynamic with grimlock.

[truetogaia]

Recom!Mansk headcanons✩

Random headcanons because i am stuck with Mansk BRAINROT. Likes and reblogs greatly appreciated ✩

Here is my navigation for further exploration ʕ•́ᴥ•̀ʔっ♡

SFW! Headcanons

He absolutely HATES being dirty. Once when Lyle was eating one of his massive greasy, oily toasts he “accidentally”, quotations by Mansk, dropped his food on the poor man. He got up as fast as he could, yelling a bunch of American insults at Lyle, and ran to the bathroom to clean himself off.

He likes small animals, secretly of course, he’s a marine! Marines don't love puny, pathetic, lovable, adorable animals. (shh, his favorite one is the chinchilla)

He sleeps in an I position, just full on, vampire style. Lopez once walked in on Mansk sleeping, he quickly alerted everyone of the comrades death. 

He is a clean freak, idk, there's something about him that just screams: I can't deal with mold or soggy food in the sink so I clean it out the second it appears!! He also likes having a neat and made bed when he gets back from a mission (: 

He has two older sisters and one younger sister, so he knows a lot about women and gives surprisingly good advice, despite being so quiet. 

He deals with constant migraines and headaches, sorry big guy. 

He doesn’t have a favorite weather, he likes the sun, he likes the rain, but he HATES THE WIND. How it always seems to be fighting him when he's walking and sometimes even winning.

He doesn’t do physical contact, it's just not his love language, his love language is gifts and spending time together and that's that. 

HE IS SO BAD IN THE KITCHEN!!!! Can’t cook for SHIT!!

NSFW! Headcanons ✩

Mansk has a monstercock. Like one of those giant ones where you need to use both hands, even as a blue alien. 

His sex drive isn’t very high, quite the opposite actually. But one thing that does turn him on is when you kiss his body. I don’t think he's very insecure or anything, just that he likes the idea of being worshiped. 

He moans and whimpers a LOT, being such a quiet individual does come with its quirks I suppose.

He’s a soft!dom, always caring about how you're enjoying it and thinking mainly about your pleasure. But with a new body, comes new phenomena. When he's in heat he is absolutely feral, sometimes not even caring about your pleasure, he just needs to breed. He is a king at aftercare though, so after he’s used you as his cumslut, he will take his sweet time praising you and cleaning you up! <3

[tragicbeauty1991]

Hemophiliac Dog in Need of Donations

Hi all,

Any of you who know me in real life know that animals are a huge part of my world, and I tend to take on the ones who need a little extra TLC.

A little over a year ago, I posted on here asking for some assistance with an emergency situation with one of my dogs, Rufio, who ended up getting a diagnosis of EPI. I’m happy to report that we now have his situation under control and he is doing so much better!

Unfortunately, we have had another emergency come up with Patrick, my hemophiliac dog.

This was Patrick as a baby. Animal control brought him in after finding him wandering on the streets with a large lump the size of a potato on his back between the shoulder blades. When I was fostering him, the vets initially thought it might be a tumor or something and sought to operate. It turned out to just be a giant hematoma (basically a bruise) instead and he nearly bled out from the surgery. It took three blood transfusions to get him stable. Hemophilia, however, isn’t super common in dogs so that’s not immediately where their minds went.

Fast forward a few months to when the rescue did his neuter…and he almost bled out AGAIN. Neuters are usually quick and simple and heal up easily. He bled for three days. I had pee pads soaked through with blood. Parts of my house looked like a murder scene. This was even AFTER the vets had tried cauterizing and stapling the area. It just WOULD NOT stop bleeding. His entire underside turned BLACK from all the bruising. (The pic below is from a later bruise but you can get the idea.)

Patrick has been fortunate in that since we adopted him, most of his issues have been manageable at our local vet up until this point. A few days ago, however, my hyper, lovable goofball who usually will dash for a piece of food the second it hits the floor decided that he did not feel like getting up for breakfast.

He went from “I am going to drag mom after this squirrel across the yard” to “I don’t want to even get up to pee unless I REALLY have to.” And then he stopped showing interest in CHICKEN. And even though there weren’t any outward signs of a bleed, I knew something was VERY wrong. We rushed him to the emergency vet yesterday where they did a bunch of imaging (x-rays, ultrasounds, and a CT) to determine the possible cause of the bleed in his abdomen and gave him some much-needed blood transfusions and cryoprecipitate.

He’s on the mend and will hopefully be coming home soon…but the total cost for this is going to be somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000. Fortunately, the rescue we worked with when fostering him—Too Broke Girls Dog Rescue basked out of upstate South Carolina—has been willing to help fundraise. If you can help donate ANYTHING we would be incredibly grateful. You can donate directly to the rescue’s PayPal (toobrokegirls19@gmail.com) or Venmo (@toobrokegirls) and specify that it’s for Patrick. You can also go to their Facebook page and use the donate button on a post they shared about him.

[bogleech]

what do you think of melibe viridis/melibe nudibranchs in general?

They're my favorite nudibranchs and probably one of my ten favorite animal groups!

The ones that perch on stuff with their mouths open are the most "famous," even if the group overall is still kind of obscure outside marine biology. I do love that a slug evolved into basically an underwater fly trap!

But, the ones that crawl around in the muck are my favorites, I think. Even if it's a little more conventional for a slug to crawl around in the muck rather than larp a satellite dish, it's still such a bizarrely shaped animal with a giant, stretchy butterfly net for a face and that lovably "rotten algae" surface texture. This may actually be the #2 sea animal I wish had a common counterpart on land. I wish I could walk into the woods and find exactly this crawling up a tree, hunting for bugs.

[enriquemzn262]

I still like how hard Twitter and Tumblr got baited by the latest Gundam anime.

No you lesbian-obsessed motherfucker, The Witch from Mercury is not about a cute yuri couple in a school setting, it’s about space racism, space politics, child soldiers and Eva-tier giant robot fuckery, the lovable red panda character even began the series with a body count in the double digits!

[maplesamurai]

Been marathoning the entire Showa Godzilla series this month for Godzilla's anniversary, and when watching Godzilla vs Megalon and re-experiencing what a lovable dumbass Megalon is, I weirdly thought back to Twisted Kaiju Theater's series of monsters girls based on Godzilla kaiju and and how the Megalon girl was characterized as a nerdy glasses girl. Now, far be it from me to tell the guy behind a shitty South Park knockoff webcomic with Godzilla toys how to characterize his giant monsters turned anime waifus, but if you're reimagining Megalon as a brainy girl, you have completely misunderstood the assignment.

...Wow, this rant must sound so weird to anyone who did not experience that particular corner of mid-2000s Godzilla fandom. And even to most people who did.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Moto Shotzo

Debut: Kirby Super Star

Hello! Welcome, welcome to another post about a Kirby enemy as I am known to do. Right this way please! The post is under this box. Please go read it now.

THUNK

Heehee! You’ve fallen right into my trap! This was never REALLY just a Kirby enemy post. Now I have you as a captive audience to listen as I talk at length about an obscure Game Boy game! Heeheehee! Let’s begin.

Name: Tank

Debut: Trax

Moto Shotzo is merely a cameo, a reference, to one of HAL’s earlier games, even before Kirby! Ever since learning that, I had been so intrigued, but unfortunately they never released it on the 3DS eShop for some reason, which was my only way of playing Game Boy games at the time. But now I have played it a bunch! And now I know about it and I like to know about it and I like to talk about it!

Trax is a top-down shooter game starring Tank, the lovable tank. Are you wondering how a tank can be lovable? Maybe not, because you can clearly see that this tank is dang cute. But there is more than it just being cute, because it has hopes and dreams and a heroic heart! Tank is the only one of its kind in a peaceful country village, and is old and worn-out to the point it can only turn its turret in one direction. However, a military empire invades, and Tank is the only hope of its home and friends! Could it possibly defeat an entire army of countless more powerful and efficient machines all on its own! Yes! Because it believes in itself and loves and is loved!

The story becomes even more wonderful, however, when you consider how the enemy army’s main troops are tanks identical to Beloved Tank. There is no doubt that Tank was originally created for this very army, before somehow becoming peaceful and friendly! This is my favorite kind of story ever: when a machine created for evil purposes ends up, through its own willpower or through the kindness of others or whatever, rebelling against the circumstances of its creation, and even actively fighting back against it! I love love love to see this any time it happens, and for this reason Tank is such a special little thing! Usually this sort of character is on the side, but here it is the star, and I would like that to happen more often!

Trax is a very short game, but very fun and cute and replayable! This image is not of Tank being haunted by a vision of its own fiery demise. This is Tank having destroyed the weapons factory that happens to also be a giant tank. They use the tank design a lot in this game, but can you blame them? It’s so cute with its bulbous body and bulbous orbs it rolls around on! They can even move around independently in a way that looks like a creature’s legs!

And NOW we shall actually get to Kirby! Moto Shotzo’s only main appearance is in Super Star and its remake as an enemy, and since it is an enemy, I think we can safely assume these are the ENEMY tanks from the game. Dear Tank would not do this. Moto Shotzo is a weird name, since Shotzos are invincible and Moto Shotzos are not, but it’s fine. It’s fine!!! Really!!!

Moto Shotzo’s OTHER most notable appearance is in Kirby Quest in Mass Attack, where one of the Awesome Attacks has Kirby ride on one while being chased by the first boss of Trax. Now THIS is Tank! THIS is our friend! Appearing as an ally to Kirby, and an enemy to the empire’s army! The Mass Attack minigames are basically Fanservice: The Games, but they cared enough about their history to make it beyond just Kirby, and that is wonderful!

Lastly, look at this concept art for Dream Land 2! Rather than Animal Friends, Kirby was originally going to have a tank as a friend, and though the design is pretty different, this absolutely channels the spirit of Friendly Neighbor Tank. Look at it galloping like a jovial mammal!

No matter how much HAL grows, they always love to celebrate their history, and I love that about them! No one is forgotten. Not Shigesato Itoi’s No. 1 Bass Fishing, not Pinball: Revenge of the Gator, and no, not Trax! Even if there has only been the one game to its name, My Biological Child Tank will be beloved forever!

[twistedtummies2]

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum!

Hee, Hi, Ho, Hum!

I'm a most amazing guy!

A most amazing guy, am I!

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum!

Hee, Hi, Ho, Hum!

I'm the stuff, I'm tellin' you!

For here's what I can do!

I can change myself into an elf!

Fly up high, like the birdies!

I can disappear into atmosphere...PEEK-A-BOO!

'Cause I know the Magic Wordies...

"Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum," Billy Gilbert.

-------------------------------------------------------------

My next image in my “OCs & Inspirations” series for Disney’s 100th Anniversary! This time, I present to you Billy Géant and his inspiration, Willie the Giant from the “Mickey and the Beanstalk” segment of a personal favorite Disney film of mine, “Fun & Fancy Free!” The art here was done by @twisted-brainrot.

Billy came about because I wanted to do something with one of my favorite fairy-tales, “Jack and the Beanstalk,” which is a big part of what I think “activated” the more macro/micro side of my many, MANY kinks and fascinations. My thought process was I could do one of two things: one was create an AU for Twisted Wonderland with some characters as giants and others as “Jacks” (which I eventually did for “My Hero Academia,” and may do again for another couple of anime-ish franchises I love). Two was to create my own OC based on a Disney giant - and I went with Willie for a LOT of reasons - and do something with them. Obviously, that is the choice I went with, and I have not seen a reason to regret it: alongside Nakoda, perhaps even MORE than Nakoda, Billy is my most popular OC for Twisted Wonderland. I think there’s more art and writing for him than any of my other major characters for this universe.

He’s also the closest to his source material. Willie the Giant, in his initial appearance (and most other antagonistic roles he’s had since), is essentially a villain by incidence rather than choice. The film actually states this in black and white: “Willie was a nice giant…he just got too big for his britches.” He’s not really EVIL, he’s basically just a big, dumb kid. He’s selfish and has a bad temper: when he causes trouble, it’s not because he’s trying to actively hurt anybody, but simply because he either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the consequences of his actions (or both). When you push him the wrong way, he then shows his dangerous side, as he can go from cuddly and silly to a terrifying titan of rage. Billy is the exact same way. As well as having a lot of Willie’s superficial elements as a character, the main takeaway between the two is that inherent childishness, and the dichotomy of danger and sweetness it provides. Billy is a lovable dunderhead who only becomes truly cruel and vicious when someone REALLY presses his buttons, and typically is only an antagonist because circumstance has sort of put him in that position. The big difference between the two is what they seek: Willie’s problem-causing is usually a result of greed or ignorance. Billy, however, is someone with a LOT of personal issues: he’s lived a large portion of his life being neglected, rejected, abandoned, and betrayed. He’s effectively a very lonely person who just wants some affection, some respect, and above all some companionship. Show him those things, and you’ll probably be fine.

As to the art…I asked Twisted-Brainrot to do this one because he’s actually made more art for Billy than anybody else, and because he’s also a big fan of Willie the Giant. I’m not sure, but I think this might have been his first (public) outing with the Disney original, and he did an absolutely MARVELOUS job. Seeing the big guy paired up with Billy is truly a treat, and speaking of Billy, I just love how cute he is. TB always draws him with this really cuddly “extra plush” appearance, and it’s truly beautiful to see him that way with his great-great granddaddy. Good big bois, both of ‘em. <3