#i think that’s why some steampunk appeals to me

[chryzure-archive]

maybe i’m in the minority w this (or not, idk), but i think i love the mishmash of time periods that shouldn’t be mishmashed. love time being a fake concept. yes, piano man by billy joel would play in the 1910s. in the 1820s. time doesn’t matter. yes, these women will wear skirts with their trains and bustles, and yes, they’ll also wear trousers and men’s shirts and it’s not scandalous. this is all fake, it’s pulling from all time periods in our universe and it’s anchored by all these different time period reference points, and it makes a new universe. it’s not fantasy, but it’s not realistic.

[mcytblrsexymen]

Highlights from the Data Crunch Group Chat pt 2.

[ID: Screenshot reading Ethoslab but on a catgirl gf sort of way]

[ID: screenshot reading Can i say GoodTimesWithScar again (he was my bisexual awakening i wish I was joking)]

[ID: Screenshot reading xbcrafted. if not sexy then why giggle 🤨]

[ID: screenshot reading Dl pearl my beloved pearl, idk bdubs i guess]

[ID: screenshot reading tangotek yayayay bald hussy]

[ID: screenshot reading who are we to deny the carnal appeal of joe hills from nashville tennessee]

[ID: Screenshot reading please for the love of god cyberknife]

[ID: screenshot reading Love me some men in steampunk getup, what can I say.]

[ID: Screenshot reading If you put xisuma on the list i will literally punch you through a screen shit man is BITCHLESS!!!!!!!]

[ID: screenshot reading Zedaph as a rock, Zedaph as a cow]

[ID: Screenshot reading Groan hermitcraft]

[ID: screenshot reading Damp Wilbur Soot]

[ID: Screenshot reading Wilbur soot but in those events he put on where he plays god]

[ID: screenshot reading Hermitcraft S7 Xisuma - specifically StriderSuma]

[ID: Screenshot reading Hermitcraft (Life series)]

[ID: screenshot reading parkour tag (mcc) (misspelled it as fag by accident oh god thank goodness for autocorrect however it would have been a little funny]

[ID: screenshot reading Mayor FalseSymmetry of Cogsmeade. Wel love  girl covered in blood]

[ID: screenshot reading Surprise! its ZombeCleo again! but the s8 hydra8 outfit version when she commmitted to the bit of training keralis and suggested cheating as a valid method]

[ID: screenshot reading Goodtimeswithscar. this is the gtws sexy website, Im obliged]

[ID: screenshot reading Pilriffs. cant stop thinking about the ‘please guys youre drawing me too sexy’]

[ID: screenshot reading Hermitcraft S9 bdubs (i know that moss cloak is hiding those abs)]

[ID: screenshot reading S9 mumbo (we have a movie that didn’t exist, a sexyman with no body, now a sexyman who barely exists)]

[ID: screenshot reading Grain (Grian)]

[ID: screenshot reading bdubs when he is putting someone corrupt into power (hc 7 or 9)]

[ID: screenshot reading Eddie Empires SMP pretty please that’s all]

[gamfart]

i was looking at your robot master/ megaman oc ideas and i really love them its fun to look at the process do you have anymore to share?

I'm sorry for just seeing this! I don't get notifs about my inbox and I rarely go on here so seeing this was really swell to see.

But yesss I have so many megaman ocs!! I realized I didn't post any of them on here look back on my archives now so here's all what I can dig up and share! I'll probably be reuploading the same pics I used on my previous post, but there is wayyy more I kept away in the vault on this one.

I'll put a keep reading tab for those who are interested in taking a peek and a gander. I haven't went back to these ocs in a while, I'll see if I can make a proper ref for some of them in the future if I have the time..

Snow Woman (name pending)

An ice related robot master that's was created to try to generate snow to help prevent the ice caps melting. A lot of her concept art and design was based off of Chill Man's old concept art. I also just wanted to make a female robot master that was humongous. She's however tall Frost Man is in terms of height.

Last image is her most recent sketch

Steam Woman & Angel Man (name pending)

Both of them are one of the first robot master oc's I made. I lump them in together bc some of the art I have of them happen to have both of them in it.

Steam woman is very heavily steampunk themed hence the name and design. She's an old robot master model that operates with steam generation and was remade with the intention to show off that feature and as a possible alternative for robot masters to be built buy.

Her personality has changed over time, she used to just be sweet and cute, but over time she became a bit more zany and slightly more menacing.

Angel man I've been thinking about changing his name to Seraph Man or something else entirely. Maybe just make him a robot master with just one name and get rid of the ____ man motif just because in my own brain I made his role to be more important than just a simple robot master.

He doesn't remember his own origins or why he was built in the first place, but knows that he's built to help and save people. His eye is all fucked up because it ties into his memory issues.

Art from 2017 - 2019:

Recent sketches of Steam Woman:

Shell Woman & Pearl Woman

Shell Woman and Pearl Woman were both designed together as a duo to document the wildlife in the sea. They have more of a parental/mentor relationship with each other.

I used to characterize her as sorta shy, but over time I've revisited her, I dabbled with the idea of Pearl Woman being more bratty and abrasive to contrast her cute and bubbly design recently.

They're both interested in music but Shell Woman is more into Classics and Opera and Pearl Woman is more into Rock/Pop music.

Quarry Man

A robot master made to navigate the quarries. Honestly I'm really unsatisfied with his design so I've left it alone for a good while. I've been meaning to revisit it someday though.

I dabbled in giving him a possible romance with Shell Woman but that's about it.

Flamingo Man & Phoenix Man

Kind of a joke character I made a while ago. I thought about giving him ties to Phoenix Man in the story maybe? Like have them be the same robot but with a different alter-ego. But I like them better as separate character's so I dropped that idea.

I think the current lore is that the blue prints for Flamingo Man was used as a basis for Phoenix man to be made. Flamingo Man is a dance instructor and Phoenix Man's purpose was to take down Mega Man, but after he was defeated he reformed and is doing his own thing.

Ghost Man (name pending)

Have not revisited this guy in a while. For some reason the idea of the Yellow Devil's properties being used for other robot masters really appealed to me. I also just wanted an excuse to find a way to incorporate scythes into his design. All Ghost Man does is patrol around graveyards to make sure nobody vandalizes or causes trouble there.

Topaz Woman

A very recent robot master design I made. The idea has always been on my mind though, I just haven't had the chance to put it onto paper. Her theme is a psychic/clairvoyant. She's able to assets the probability of a future decision when asked. I just settled on Topaz just because I couldn't settle on any other name regiment that wouldn't make her sound awkward.

MISC. SKETCHES

Misc. Robot master designs that I explored but never settled on anything. Plus a bonus select screen that I tried to make.

That's the end of that!! Thank you for reading all of this if you had the chance. I reached the image limit, but I think I shared all that I had on me for now! You really hit a big hyperfix of mine that I never have shared until now because my perfectionist ass didn't want to share at the time. So I hope you enjoyed this master post lol.

[letterturner]

this post is just me going on a long tangent for an aesthetic im nostalgic for and a bunch of examples of it so click keep reading at your own discretion cause long post ahead

so what im talking is this sort of mid 2000s to like around 2011 neo-victorian aesthetic that also utilized a sort of gothic-circus meets cabaret style. the essence of the 2000s is there even if its not initially visible from the surface because its important to this aesthetic. i think some motifs for this are typical gothic elements like graves and crosses but also things like stripes, butterflies, ragdolls, playing cards, checker patterns, hearts (both whole and broken), chess, circus imagery, roses and rabbits. aesthetics like emo, gothic lolita, circus, goth, mall goth and even steampunk to a small degree are kinda like the cousins to this.

some artists that i think visualized this are mizna wada,

yoh

and gekidan inu curry

plus a whole bunch of others like hanamushi and dollcreep

i'd say the music genres associated with this style would be dark cabaret and baroque pop. the most popular examples would probably be panic! at the disco's first and third albums

but you also have other acts like emilie autumn

rasputina,

the dresden dolls,

and there were quite a few vocaloid song/mvs that also fit like dark wood circus, trick and treat and the riddle solver who can't solve riddles. plus i feel like a large amount of songs by kikou also match this sort of vibe

clothing wise i feel like thick stripes were really popular, especially as striped stockings. other things like victorian boots, fingerless gloves and corsets as well. i cant name just one specific clothing style but i def feel like gothic lolita and the neo victorian look really embodies this.

video games also were kinda influenced by this aesthetic but i dont think it was nearly as prominent. i think the path and alice: madness returns are probably the closest to what im talking abt

but interestly enough i think the kind of games that utilized this style the most were flash point and click games like gretel & hansel

and speaking of alice: madness returns it really does seem alice in wonderland and alice in wonderland inspired themes with a darker more gothic-y look became really popular (which think i also plays into the popularity of the neo victorian influence). this is why i think things associated with alice in wonderland like roses, rabbits and playing cards became such popular imagery with this aesthetic. i find it kinda funny when people say the 2010 version of alice in wonderland wasnt good because the color palette was "too dark/gloomy/whatever" cause it really was appealing to the aesthetics of the time which is why it did so well when it came out

for movies of this aesthetic i know tim burton is probably gonna be the most associated with this which is fair but i credit a lot of it to the costume designer for most of his movies, colleen atwood (who fittingly designed the costumes for 2010 alice in wonderland)

and even toy wise this aesthetic was visible with dolls like bleeding edge goth

living dead dolls too (and once again the alice in wonderland theme is present)

and while the style of pullip dolls is generally lighter they also produced a few dolls like this (*cough* alice in wonderland inspired yet agaain *cough*)

and last but not least,,VAMPLETS I LOVE THEM SO MUCH; i wish the original vamplets site was still up but i digress.

there are plenty of more examples like ruby gloom, black butler, the music video for fashion monster, trinity blood, shiki and monster high

[velvet-vox]

My first pipeline of future ideas.

I'm currently working on a part 2 to my "The complete and utter alienation of Tai Lung" post, and at this point in time, I've come up with various ideas for what I want to write in the future and wanted to share those ideas with you all to get a feedback on what do you want me to focus first.

Here's the list:

The dark side of Steampunk: Nox. (Made Qilby, made Oropo, so of course the mummy grandpa had to come out at some point. This one in particular is inspired by a Schnee video where he talks about the deeper meaning of Steampunk and why it is the way it is.)

My Murder Drones rewrite. (I've separated the show into three seasons and made season 1 self conclusive, thus fixing the rushed feeling of the current season.)

My top 10 favourite female villains of all time. (The counterpart to my male tier list, this one is even spicier as it contains some truly unusual picks.)

La mia top 10 migliori cattivi maschi di tutti i tempi. (The Italian translation of the aforementioned tier list, for Italian readers and learners.)

Oropo; the ideology of power behind being god: part 3 (I don't even know if this is going to be the final part, I actually have more to say about Oropo than I've ever expected.)

Also, while these are all of the ideas I'll be working on in the immediate future, I also have some more concepts that I'm not motivated about but could still tackle if I see there's some interest in the comments:

The paradoxical nature of Qilby: Part 3 (While I love Qilby, I don't have a lot of things to say about him when compared to Oropo; part of the appeal of Qilby, at least for me, is how much my interpretation of his character varies from that of other people. I could still gush about him if you all want me to.)

Theory+Analysis, is Cyn going to be redeemed? (I gave up on this idea when I realised I don't have the necessary understanding or interest of Cyn to pull it off, plus, I prefer to analyse what's already there rather than what might happen in the future.)

Why I think Doll prefers to kill children. (Wanted to write this before episode 7, I'm less motivated now but I could never say no to Doll content when it drops, even if I'm the one dropping it. It's about that scene where Doll thanks Khan for raising Uzi.)

More DuckTales 2017 content: despite being one of the highlighted interests of the channel, the only thing I've ever talked about was that shout-out to Lunaris fans. I could fix that if someone gives me any ideas.

[mishkakagehishka]

Hello! I've been wanting to ask you this for some time now... who is that Mika guy you talk about? Is it the anime cartoon thing you post sometimes? Is it a videogame? A comic? Why do you like him so much?

It makes me feel old haha because it is completely out of all the other fandom things I see around and I'm super confused, as if it came from a different universe lol

Oh no i hope it didn't make you feel old in a bad way or anything😭 don't worry about it, i feel like in our countries, ensemble stars isn't really much of a thing yet? Games like that in general. Even if they were, enstars is region-locked and all.

But yeah, Mika is from a mobile rhythm game! It's p much a rhythm game like any other, tho it being a "free" mobile game, it does have gacha mechanics </3 it's fun tho and Mika is my Absolute Fave because he's just so [holds him gently] [proceeds to squeeze him until his eyes pop out]

We had a survey that asked the same question of "why is your fave your fave" and it really is smth i could write essays on, but, to keep it short, he's a Freak and i do love creepy wet freaks in fiction. He has read the Mabinogion in middle English, but doesn't know who Chaplin is. He loves horror movies and is said to draw eroguro. He dumpsterdives in his free time, finding thrown away plushies, mending them and keeping them. All of his pajamas are similarly just clothes he got out of the rubbish and mended (thrifty king tbh) He speaks in a dialect commonly associated with comedians and considered a "hick" dialect and he's often talked about the split between what people expect him to act like (funnyman extrovert) vs how he actually is (shy introvert) and how he ends up looking because of that (aloof/stuck up). He is simply everything to me. And he's so weird... 😭💞 he thought he accidentally killed his roommate and proceeded to almost bury him alive in the dorm courtyard. Has said he sleeps better after looking at "scary pictures"😭

He's just my little meow meow tbh he likes creepy-cute and even he himself has that sort of gap going on, bc he's generally a rather adorable guy, he made a brooch for his best friend bc she wasn't able to buy one she liked, he really wants to prove himself as an artist both in terms of music and designing/sewing and he seems to be growing a spine as of recent (i don't wanna like. Confuse you by bringing up lore, but it's also one of the things that have me going heart eyes, in early stories he was fine being treated like a doll to be puppeteered, but he's "learning to be human" as of recent and has made really good steps, incl yelling at and threatening to throw away his former puppeteer's prized possession + implying he'll beat him up bc he threw away smth of his without asking), but he's also had those moments of "what the hell" like when he threatened to either kill himself or his unitmate's future spouse if he ever gets married, or when he threw a tantrum because said unitmate was paying more attention to a literal 15yo than him.

I think he's neat tbh a combination of his aesthetic being creepy-cute, his unit's aesthetic leaning into steampunk (both of which are so 💞💞 to me), him being a dialect-speaker, and then the fact that he's the "aww he's so cute [gets to know him] oh he's a little bit fucked up" type just really appeals to me. And his hidden intellect, there's a lotta moments where you can just tell that he's Actually Intelligent, but he's the first who'll say stuff like "sorry i dropped my brains somewhere" and call himself dumb. Personally, I interpret it as either him leaning into stereotypes associated with his dialect considering the "i feel like i let people down when they find out what i'm like bc they expect me to be totally diff bc of the way i speak" or him not liking having responsibilities so he tries to "i'm too dumb to do this on my own" his way out of the possibility of disappointing people by failing.

[qqueenofhades]

Hi!! If I may ask, what are some of your favorite and least favorite literary (and fanfic!) tropes to read and write about?

I am much more of a fanfic writer than a reader, alas. As for writing, I think that anyone who has been following me for a while is familiar with my genres/tropes that often transfer between fandoms, such as enemies to lovers, historical or fantasy AUs (especially steampunk and vampire, ahem), slow burn, mutual pining, The Love Is Requited They're Just Idiots, and other homosexual shenaniganry. (Even when it's a m/f couple, I write both of them as raging bisexuals, so yes.) There are plenty of tropes/fanons that I don't like and wouldn't personally write, but I believe that everyone has the right to enjoy what they enjoy, so I won't go into any detail or call anything out.

As for published books, I am a voracious and eclectic reader. Below is a screenshot of (some of...) my current library holds, which shows approximately what I tend to read, including imaginative historical and/or literary fiction, historical and narrative nonfiction, modern novels, bildungsromans/family sagas/coming of age, sprawling fantasy sagas, etc. I am especially keen on diverse and/or female authors, LGBTQ characters and themes, books informed by their cultural or geographical setting, witty, funny, and well-written prose, and so on:

In my overall reading, I don't go in for "tropes" the same way as understood in fanfic, since we all hate it when a BookTok (shudder) tries to talk up the Tropes of a newly published book without ever explaining what the plot is or why we would like it. Tropes work in fanfic since we are already familiar with the characters and setting, and just like rewriting them/sticking them into a variety of situations/changing up the dynamics of how they meet and interact, but they are less informative for a story that you don’t know at all.

I am, however, always open to the one-liner description or highlight of particular thematic content that might appeal to me. But I don't necessarily insist on these before I read the book, or base my enjoyment of it solely on whether or not they're present, because indeed, the fun of reading is that you can explore lots of different things solely on the grounds of "this looks interesting to me," and that's how I do it. Very scientifically. Ahem.

[hak]

OKAYYY. I’ve been playing final fantasy x and here are some preliminary thoughts after like a hard won 4ish hours in 🫠

It was a huge leap to start this game just because 1) I don’t play games like this period (rpg fighters) and have even less experience than any other type of game I ever played and 2) there’s truly nothing more intimidating to me than the final fantasy franchise.. like it only won out over me trying out kingdom hearts because I didn’t feel like doing the punch _ button for _ move type fighting in a game just yet lol. BUT WHATEVER! It has been my goal this year anyway to try games out of my comfort zone (80% of games out there lol) so here I am…

I think the world-building is very appealing!! look I have never in my life even tried looking up final fantasy lore or anything I think I just know Sephiroth and the big ducks maybe but regardless I loved the 5 seconds we got in Zanarkand just because a fantasy steampunk-esque world can be charming.. and exploring the 1000yrs later world and it’s differences is also very interesting. I think I spent half of my hours just talking to everybody I saw and looking at the world textures lol it’s nice and peaceful most of the time

I love the cast a lot.. playing as Tidus kind of surprised me because I think I’m not used to fully formed playable main characters like him (was thinking Link or a fire emblem protag rip) but I LOVE HIM!!!! HES SO GOOFY AND CHARMING and I am so endeared by the voiceover narration (ummm his future self??) and where the story is taking him. He and Yuna are so sweet and cute. I actually really love that not ever cutscene was there to move the plot??? Like the one first boat scene where Tidus stole some guys binoculars and was monkeying around on the ship. Or this one 🥺😭💗

SO PRECIOUS!!! It’s how I know something horrible is going to come regarding them 🧎Well for now I’m just in for the ride. The other guardians are definitely a ragtag bunch but I really appreciated how they were fleshed out in this narrative. I like the big wolf beast guy and I will tell you every time I get a chance I try to get Tidus to go talk to him and every time I get ignored 🥲 ONE DAY!!!! And I love theeee goth woman supreme Lulu even her name is so cute. Love her little doll. She saves my ass every single fight I swear. Wakka is also charming in his own way lol he reminds me of a character I just don’t know who.. he and Lulu having their josei romance drama in the backdrop of this story also gets meeeee. Like!?? Look at them wtf…

Ok ok now about the fighting itself: it’s not as bad as I thought. It’s still not something I really have come to look forward to though, and I really really despise the mechanic where you’re walking and get a randomized battle out of nowhere. The Pokémon grass effect whatever you call it…. IM SICK OF IT!!!! LET ME RUN AWAY!!! especially when I’ve had like 3 fights in a row and that stupid breaking glass effect comes and I have to fight again. Oh save me. im not built for this. HOWEVER. Besides that. It’s okay. Figuring out what moves I should be doing isn’t all that difficult even if I do kind of just guess most of the time. I’m lucky I’m using an emulator and saving as much as I can in case I need to reload during a battle. I’ll be okay lol I just want to complain sometimes just cuz. 😖

And finally…. The one thing I did not expect to encounter in this game and genuinely made me want to QUIT this game for good despite everything positive above: BLITZBALL. WHY DO YOU EXIST. WHY. I CANT STAND THIS SHIT!!!!!!!!

This funny scene made me laugh when I first saw it because I literally thought blitzball games would play out like that first cutscene in Zanarkend - AS A CUTSCENE!!! TIDUS YOULL LOSE I HAVE NO SKILL YOULL LOSE TIDUS!!!!!!!

I will admit now I didn’t know wtf I was doing on that boat and totally failed at getting the Jecht shot but how??? Was I supposed to know????? I THOUGHT IT WOULD JUST LEAD TO A FUN MINIGAME how was I to know it was life or death (in blitzball)…. I did Google whether I needed it to win and results varied. But before I get judged I spent about 40 min trying to grasp the entire blitzball tutorial and things still didn’t wrap around until I began playing and EVEN THEN I wanted to cry and rage quit. Something I have never needed to do in all my life!!!!!! Then I thought fine whatever I’ll just let the game do it’s thing and maybe try to give the ball to Tidus as much as possible if that’s my only shot and lord almighty I couldn’t even get one point in. The ai would score so much and I swear I paid attention. Imagine me mid game pausing just to google 10+ year old forum answers on whether I can just do the bare minimum and still win. I don’t even think I needed to win??? But the other team was so mean to us …. LIKE I WANTED TO WIN….. but I’m not capable of it. I knew it when I first started the tutorial too versus the real game I truly am so disinterested in this kind of minigame (the least mini of mini games I’ve ever played ever) that I don’t care. Like I’m just so so frustrated that it’s 3am im writing this post just to vent about how I want to keep playing ffx but not at the cost of this stupid side game that shouldn’t even take me more than 15 min to play!!!!!

I should’ve known from this part in the tutorial that this was bullshit fr. Look I know its not like all of the mechanics were rocket science, if I took 1 day to actually study the game I would BUT WHY WOULD I DO THAT. WHY WOULD I WASTE MY TIME AND DO THAT. I am just so put off at this point from this game simply because of blitzball. Sorry to Tidus and his quest for home and all but it will not come true because I cannot stand playing blitzball. 🤬

Where i am now: I paused at the end kinda when Wakka comes in at the end of the game. I couldn’t score a single point so it was just left at 2-0. I really don’t care anymore I will just lose the game because I’m sick of it. But damn I was really trying okay. Kinda. I hate being petty but we’ll see if I want to even pick it up as a whole game again when I wake tmrw after this experience lol

To be extremely honest I kinda began ffx as a total “wouldn’t it be funny if?” type game for me because I know what I like and dislike in games and this one bordered that for me so I was genuinely curious to see how far I’d last. But this blitzball game is so far into my dislikes that it actually bums me out because the storytelling is so in my lane. I don’t want to quit just yet but I will say now if blitzball gets any worse I’m out. That truly is my last straw lmao. Also it seems like a very long game otherwise and even that is a struggle for me to comprehend. Plus battles are even going to get worse and I can barely slide by during those… idk it is looking grim for the mariel partakes in final fantasy era 😭

[booksandwords]

Let There Be Light by R. Cooper

Read time: 2 Days Rating: 4/5 Stars

The Quote: “My father, like many others, had a belief—tikkun olam—contribute to the world. Perfect it. Leave it a better place,” — Karol

Warnings: from R. Cooper herself "References to violence, torture; Onscreen sex; Facial scars/public reaction to them." And I have no notes.

Let There Be Light is a character-driven book with Karol does not pretend to be anything he isn't. Hart is a soldier, a good one and loyal to his men. He has never had an experience quite like the ones he's had in the company of Karol. His extensive and easily recognisable scarring is treated with respect. It is set over 24 hours it is a delicate balance of deception of self and truth. They have a history that much is made obvious from the outset but the truth isn't revealed until later in the piece. It is essentially only the two of them for the entire story and given the exceptionally short time frame that is a good thing but the plot is simple enough so it is more about the characters for me.

I appreciate how the elements come together. There is something appealing about a man written as Karol is, unknowingly in a way user, with an extremely high IQ with an equally low EQ. Hart's nature is more balanced, able to understand people's emotions but still able to nearly keep up with Karol's intelligence. A genius scientist who takes his pleasure where he can find it (he is essentially a manwhore) but never lets his heart get involved. One night and then he never wants to see you again. The refrains that are used multiple times to tie everything together. This is an author who knew her limitations and chose not to exceed them. I feel it shows a remarkable respect for the characters and the reader. When writers attempt to eclipse their writing skill when it comes to intimate scenes I find it can damage a character, or alter their whole character type. I

Some quotes I liked

He was something to see in action, fearless where the pursuit of knowledge was concerned. — This is about Karol. As a librarian and someone with a strong interest in sociology and research, I totally understand this trait. I really like that it is written as a positive trait here. Then again R. Cooper is a strong supporter of libraries. (Hart)

Acts between men had only been officially decriminalized for ten years, but Karol had been taking advantage of the Crown’s willingness to overlook the misbehavior of its top minds—provided they produced results—for years before then. It had been yet another reason his assistants and security details had never lasted. Each man might have been hoping for more, but all they’d gotten was one night. — I don't know why I feel the need to include this but I do. It adds context to the book, but I also really like the phrasing and what it says about Karol. It is a polite way to call him a manwhore. (Hart)

“If you were mine, Hart, and not Victoria’s, I would treat you better. If you were mine, I would not allow this.” — Victoria is Queen Victoria, as is common for a steampunk setting. Hart is in her service. This is something of a refrain for this book. It is because of his duty to Victoria that Hart is covered in scars. Those scars make Karol angry. (Karol)

Karol loved him. Unbelievable. But Karol did not come in pieces. He was wonderful and terrible and Hart wanted all of him. — When Karol is in he's in. It suits his character type, more academic and quite bitter. (Hart)

“Run away? Or to you?” Karol raised his eyebrows. “I can take care of myself. You try to remember that, and watch out for yourself.” He handed the patch back to Hart, smiled slightly as Hart took it and stuffed it into his coat. His smile faded when he met Hart’s eyes. “Don’t hide from me again. Please.” — There is a strong sense of tenderness to this line. Or as tender as I think Karol can get. (Karol)

During the day, during nearly every moment of waking, he was Victoria’s. He was service. — Does anyone know Babylon 5? This reminds me of the line associated with Psycorps. "The corps is Mother, the corps is Father." It was a knee-jerk reaction of a thought. I always associate that line with pure duty, duty to the detriment of the rest of their life. (Hart)

“Fiat lux,” he said, ignoring Isabel’s puzzled exhalation. Let there be light. — Going to be honest these are the best last lines I've read in a while. They are perfect for the story. Though these are only the last lines of the main story, not the last lines of the book. The phrase is Latin a language Karol despises. (Hart)

At the end of the main story, there is a bonus called A Day Like Today. It is a fantastic addition the the original. I'm so glad R. Cooper chose to include it. It is a switch in perspective. It gives the reader an idea of exactly what Karol suffers through as what is essentially a military husband leaves. His near sincere jealousy of the queen and not a little anger and fear. Karol is a jealous, jealous man. The idea of Karol playing with pleasure/pain just works, it suits him. Robert/Hart is so different in this to the original he is still arrogant but we see his loving partner and devoted soldier sides in absolute combat for domination. With the soldier victorious, as Karol expects. But it is the altered perspective that makes this. Seeing the difference between how Hart perceives Karol and how Karol perceives Hart.

Some quotes I liked from the bonus.

But all of that had been before. Before he had Robert in his bed, and Robert’s scars to kiss, and Robert’s mocking little smiles replaced by private, glancing, surprisingly tender touches. — I appreciate the switch in perspective. Though it is difficult to write as a far more analytical mind such as Karol's. There is a beauty is this writing. (Karol)

“I love you,” he said, unoriginal and raw as he was only around Robert. He could not have borne it if Robert had died, could not have borne it no matter what Robert hoped in his brutal yet idealistic mind. — That idea of a brutal, idealistic mind is one that I don't come across often. (Karol)

I adore the cover of this. I likely would have gotten to it eventually given it is Cooper's first published work. But It was the cover that drew me in. I like steampunk and the cover is just fantastic it is one of the few that actually very, very nearly aligns to the characters too.

I really enjoyed this, more than I was concerned about. This was R. Cooper's first piece of professional writing I was concerned about seeing something I didn't want to see. As a first publication, this is nearly exceptional. It is clear to see why R. Cooper has the fanbase she does with this as a launch point. Honestly, a must-read for her fans. Not a bad steampunk the elements aren't overused combined with reasonable romance for those who like character-driven over smex-driven arcs.

[otterpedia]

I think I'm gacha fatigued. I played quite a few games with gachas in them this year and after having my soul crushed repeatedly by my crappy pulls in DTW while my friends and my wife pulled characters I desperately wanted and gleefully showed them off to me (which is valid, and I'm genuinely excited for them too), I decided to reexamine why I was even playing some of these.

I want to begin by making it absolutely clear that I know gachas are gambling. I am aware of my gambling addiction, which I'm pretty sure is equal parts hereditary on my mother's side as well as a kind of mind game these activities trick your brain into. I have a lootbox problem and I am especially vulnerable to costume collecting.

I saved up tons and tons of gems or orbs or tickets or whatever for this game and that game, and because one game in particular had such powerful hooks in me, I didn't notice that my expectations for every other gacha were unrealistic.

I spent actual, real-world money that I needed for new clothes or a haircut or funds for going out and touching some fucking grass on the teeny tiny chance that I could get just one more character or costume or event prize for my digital harem simulator or whatever.

I like to collect things. (Hoarding is also a genetic failing on my mother's side, come to think of it.)

That's why these games are so dangerous in my opinion. I'm glad I don't like any other form of gambling games, and that cute anime girls were the motivation instead of the temporary thrill of winning.

Genshin Impact appealed to me because it felt like a "real" game that just so happened to have a gacha. The way the odds worked for the banners were also very F2P friendly, or so I told myself, with a guaranteed 4-star character or weapon every ten pulls.

The story was robust and the music was gorgeous. The fandom seemed pretty chill in my little corner of the internet, though I did hear the occasional rumblings of shipping drama. I read quite a few fanfics that were cute or funny or even spicy. It was a nice break from other games, or something interesting to do when Final Fantasy XIV had longer maintenance periods and I was anxiously waiting to log back in.

I truly love the world of the game still, even though I haven't played in probably at least a month and a half. I was super hyped for Sumeru, and I pulled my favorite character on my birthday last year.

That being said, I wrongfully assumed the new area in Genshin Impact would make me feel as before. The newest chapter of the main story dropped last week I think and I barely even noticed.

I felt nothing.

There were adorable cat people and steampunk elements and underwater exploration things and I. Felt. Nothing.

I decided that was enough of a reason to quit the game. If I'm not emotionally invested anymore, then why keep playing? I tried to quit before a couple times, but then I convinced myself that it had become a money sink, an investment.

That's not how games should make me feel.

Logging in started to feel like a chore. Grinding for ascension materials or talent scrolls or artifacts was tedious and boring. There were too many characters to keep track of, and they kept adding more and more stupid gimmicks. If I missed even one day of an event I wouldn't be able to finish it in time and receive rewards that would never come around again.

If I didn't log in, I told myself, I would get left behind by the friends I play co-op with. I would waste everyone's time because they would have to go back and redo stuff because I was lagging behind again because I play a lot of other games besides this one.

If I stop playing, I can't stay in the discord server we made for Genshin and I can't see all the funny memes and cool screenshots and drawings and fanfic recommendations.

Somehow I convinced myself that I had to keep playing this game that no longer held my interest or made me happy because if I didn't, then I'm letting my friends down.

This isn't the case, of course, but my brain likes to bully my heart a lot. I'm not letting anybody down. If anything, Genshin Impact has let me down. I have the power to uninstall the stupid thing and never touch it again. It's my damn computer, my phone, my life!

I like Genshin Impact still, but I don't play it anymore. If my friends are disappointed by that, that's okay. They're not disappointed in me, hell, they probably sympathize with my disappointment in the game because they are my friends, duh.

There's no reason to stress myself out over this. Which is why I needed to just write it out and be done with it.

So, there you have it.

I'm excited that my friends are excited, and that's good enough for me right now. If that changes in the future, then I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

And if my friends come across this post, I just want to say:

Thanks for playing with me, you guys! ❤️

[laser-teatime]

May I ask why abide in the wind is your favorite webtoon? I’ve tried to get into a few times but I always lost interest after the first few chapters. I really want to get into it because of the yandere content.

I acknowledge that Abide has flaws. The second half is 100% depressing. The art isn't stellar in the beginning. The "secondary male lead" is annoying with a capital A. The romance is incredibly slow. There isn't a single kiss until chapter 85. These things are downsides for most people.

I like all of these aspects.

All of that appeals to me, but it's not for everyone. It has everything I want in a story. Down to the last detail.

I love to hate the prince. The pastel color palette in the first arc is literally all of my favorite colors at once. I also really enjoyed the steampunk aesthetic, even though the art wasn't masterfully shaded. You see these colors? Yeah. They were specifically combined for me I think. Who cares if the lines are a little wonky? It looks so soft. When monsters appear in the pink forest and start eating people it still looks pretty.

When I started reading it I was super young and I loved slow romance. Kairak's childish design made him less intimidating to me. I found him cute and I couldn't wait to see what his grown up form was like. People have said his child form is boring, but his observant attitude made me curious. I couldn't guess what his personality would be in the future. When Kairak actually has an expression or a frown on his face I know something dramatic is about to happen. He grows and changes. Literally. His body matures when he gets more power, and I think that's neat. He becomes sassy and kind of smug after he learns how to act like a man.

I absolutely love it when a love interest isn't perfect. Reana was almost too perfect for my liking, but I didn't stop liking her at any point because she changes too. It just happens later. After she gets beat up one too many times she goes through an emo phase...and that makes sense. Emo phase Reana says some cringe things, but she rejects godhood to save the one she loves in the end.

She's cool!

It takes a while but dang she is cool!

I'm sure you've seen an anime character reject godhood before, but Reana gives up the chance to become a dragon because she's not interested. Her emo phase didn't make her a cruel person. It just made her less naive. Giving up the chance to be all powerful and immortal was easy for her. It's not her jam. She's not that kind of woman, and that's cool.

Here are her three character designs.

They're all good don't argue with me.

The romance is not a thing until you make it through all the world building, but that wasn't a problem for me. I love high fantasy, and I love detailed world building. If you're tired of reincarnation isekai or high school fantasy settings Abide is a real breath of fresh air. None of the characters are tropes. Nobody is a tsundere. Nobody is randomly a pervert for laughs. Kairak is a yandere of course, but he does alot of other things. The second half of the story also contains his emo phase and it is messy. Also very gory. I didn't think of him as a yandere for a while. I thought he was evil and I was kind of right. You really shouldn't read Abide for the yandere moments. There are lots of characters. Kairak leaves for like fifty chapters. The world almost ends. Reana almost becomes a god. This is not just a romance.

It's a long story. It's dialogue heavy. The author makes up their own magic and monster terminology...so you have to learn that. You can't open this up and expect to see a yandere moment. You have to earn it. The unhealthy dynamic between Kairak and Reana isn't interesting unless you read every chapter. He doesn't just walk on screen and laugh evilly.

He does stuff like this.

He changes his body shape to become more appealing to her. He learns how to do facial expressions, and he learns how to lie at the same time. Reana is the responsible one. He has to be the one that does the seducing. It kind of feels insidious because at this point we know that Kairak his heartless. He has no regard for human life. He isn't a nice boy. He's a giant scaly monster that can conveniently morph into an attractive young man.

Kairak never, ever feels like a human being in the series. Ever. I think that's brilliant. Way too many monster stories end with the monster crying because they want to be human. Lame. Kairak doesn't dream about having friends or anything. He is attracted to his bonded partner. His riyenas. His feelings are abnormal. Having feelings isn't normal for dragons. Emotions corrupt their purity. Kairak's human body doesn't make him human. I think that's more engaging than watching a supernatural being sob about friendship.

Idk.

Maybe I'm weird.

Shin wol created some pretty hateful villains. There are tons of backstabbers and murderers in the cast. I'm sure you'll find someone to hate if you make it to the apocalypse arc. I...hated only one particular man. The worst man in fiction. My nightmare. The guy that stole a bunch of Reana's screentime. Reinhardt. The prince is the secondary love interest and he ALSO falls madly in love with Reana. He puts a slave collar on her and makes her pretend to be his wife. He does that to keep her alive for plot reasons...but he also has feelings for her. He annoys me. I finished this series years ago and thinking about him still makes my skin crawl. He is a self righteous loser that pushes Reana to the brink of insanity. If I had a gun with three bullets in it I would disassemble it and shove every piece of the weapon into his brain. I swear I'm not blinded by shipping. He's unbearable. Reinhardt is a yandere though so if that's what you want surprise there are two yandere love interests.

I feel like Kairak and Reana earned their happy ending. Reana learned how to be selfish, and proactive. She fought her own battles without Kairak's help in the second half! Yay! Kairak didn't end the world in the end. He calms down when he realizes that he doesn't need to manipulate Reana. She genuinely loved him the whole time. How sweet! Their happy ending felt earned. They had to work really hard for it. Time travel was involved because the apocalypse had to be reversed, so if you don't like time travel maybe you'll feel cheated. I didn't feel cheated but I felt like the finale was too short.

Also the dragons are space dragons.

Who could possibly hate a webtoon about space dragons?

Impossible!

[alicenpai]

Hi :) I just discovered your art from your big long recent character post and wow their designs are so cool!! Idk if it’s my computer or the resolution of the image itself but I couldn’t read the names/descriptions under their headshots. Would that be something you’re willing to show? I would like to know more about them they all seem neat!!

hi!!! thank you that means a lot TT since ive been working on a number of the characters since I was 13 and I want to publish a comic about them sometime in the future.. hearing it means so so much to me

I added a bit more information about the stories, so it's under a Read More - it's Very Long. (trying not to spoil anything HAHAHAA)

heres 1 image to interest u right Now (designs/info subject to change)

 * READ MORE STARTS HERE *

The first story is Lost and Found Children.

Synopsis: A search for their missing parents lead twins Flynn and Nate to fall into a deep darkness, unraveling secrets about their family and the country they once trusted.

It's a story about mystery, overcoming trauma, and family. The story is set in a fictional world, about the equivalent to our 1920s in the west, but I borrowed elements from various surrounding eras and mixed them. If they appear to speak English... they actually don't haha. Think of like Violet Evergarden and how they may have real world names, but the script they use is definitely not German or English.

Character roster (above) drawn summer 2021. It displays their ages at the beginning of the year. Jack will turn 25 in a few days, then Terence will turn 19, Calem will turn 10, etc.

Nate Lockhart, Terence Nightingale, Flynn Lockhart. Regency fashion

Trent Nightingale, Eva Ying, Jack Lockhart. Eva dons a ball gown reminiscent of the 1840s-1850s, and the boys are supposed to be like vampire butlers. suits have hardly changed in 100+ years and i think thats why people love that timelessness of them so much. The last 2 drawings aren't canon compliant. think of them as like. fashion shoots.

Jaime (?) for now. repurposing a character design from 2010 that I really liked, and wished I had developed more throughout the years. In illustrations (like in the past.. I hardly drew them in recent years LMAO) I tend to get more elaborate with clothing designs, but in character designs I tend to simplify designs, because drawing all those details would make me go nuts, and it's just not practical to see them run around the city with ball gowns. With Jaime (?) I wanted a character who would be fancy no matter what. Her fashion is inspired by the steampunk lolita style.

Another lineup I did, in 2020, with character names below each.

Vita Calligaris, Terence Nightingale, Athena Nightingale, Trent Nightingale, Eva Ying Jack Lockhart, Nate Lockhart, Flynn Lockhart.

-----

My second story is The Magician's Protegee (temp name but it's been named that for 3 years now so we'll see how I feel later)

Synopsis: In the distant future where robots and humans coexist - a faulty healthcare android tries to recover its purpose and searches for the meaning to life, by volunteering at an idyllic countryside clinic.​

TMP is a sci fi story outlining the day to day life of an android doctor, his patients, and adoptive daughter. This actually used to be about the Victorian occult/gothic horror (hence the title), but I couldn't find any appeal in the story, besides the cool backdrop. Now it's inspired by works like Astro Boy and Aria (Kozue Amano) that feature a distant world in the future, governed by what seem to be a dreamy and utopian society. I hardly watched Astro Boy as a child, but watching the 2003 show as an adult, I was surprised to see how emotionally provocative the series was... and for that I cried a lot HAHA. it really changed me as a storyteller from that point onward.

This story also deals with some complex topics like AI and existentialism, but it won't be as dark as Lost and Found Children.

Lunar New Year 2021 drawing (the text reads "Good luck in the year of the ox")

Promo poster thing

Iris is about 5 years old and around 3'5"

Dr Lee is also biologically 5, but mentally in his 30s, and an android. About 6'5". the motivation behind Lee's look is that I didn't want him to look robotic at all. I haven't drawn it, but I think perhaps if he's not wearing anything (or like short sleeves), he might have some joints visible. like a ball jointed doll. ill think about it.

I wanted the designs to look sci-fi, but appealing enough that they were not off putting or something that wouldn't age well. Greatest insps for me were Kenichi Yoshida's art, Osamu Tezuka, Takegarou, and 60s fashion surprisingly. I really liked the simple, yet appealing emphasis on silhouettes and shape.

I hope these little snippets may interest someone to my OCs!

[thebutterflyprince]

rating undertale aus

but theyre only the ones from this school desk ink video(s) cause im lazy

undertale the original game - the man the myth the legend. 10/10

undersail - the concept of undertale as pirates is really funny. 7/10

underfell - i dont know why undertale but red/black color scheme and edgy  and everyones an asshole is so funny to me but its SO funny to me. 9/10

inktale - im like 90% sure this is a sans-only one but when i was like 11 i fucking LOVED ink sans i had an ink sans minecraft skin at one point he gets a 9/10 for nostalgia and also an epic design

dancetale - groovy moves also the art of this one was really pretty. i think this would make a fun game 9/10

errortale - another sans only one im like fairly sure most of errors design is just sans but colors inverted which is super funny. 7/10

aftertale - i gotta be honest most of my knowledge of this fucker is from the christmas party dub but gets a solid 6/10 anyway

sugartale - i never knew what this one was?? i dont think it has a undertale au wiki page? but im like fairly sure its just undertale but with candy designs so like 7/10 i think its cool

outertale - 10/10. its undertale in space i dont need to elaborate

mafiatale - another 10/10. why is the cast of undertale in the mafia? who fucking knows. but its funny as hell

core!tale- i think this one was just frisk but aside from seeing them on like random askblogs i have no idea what this one is about? like 5/10 im so neutral on this one dude

reapertale - the designs for this one fucking slap the concept is also epic 10/10

westerntale - again ive never heard of this one outside of this fucking video but the concept of cowboy undertale is enough for me to give it a 9/10

freshtale - what the fuck was up with this one. sans was some 90s skater guy in rainbow outfits. i ahve no idea if any of the other cast was here. i think sans was posessed by some evil parasite? literally no fucking idea. 10/10

underlust - 0/10 im aroace

chesstale - i dont cvufckng know what this one si? i dont know if they ARE the chess pieces or if they PLAY chess? the art doesnt help?? 3/10 i dont know how to play chess

horrortale - this one had interesting lore but i dont actually rmeember it. what happened here. idk. 6/10

mettatale - this one might have been that one au that like mettaton takes over the underground after a neutral run? but why does everyone have mettaton legs???????????????? 7/10 it has comedic potential

flowerfell - automatic 0/10 for the ship otherwise couldve been a cool concept

underswap - dont know what happened here there was some nuclear explosion in this fandom. about 90% of the explosion was sans. solid 8/10 i think they all have fun designs even if people only cared about sans and maybe papyrus if youre lucky. you guys are not tapping into the potential the temmie and flowey swap has??

storyshift - this one holds a place in my heart i used to LOVE storyshift but like mostly chara and asriel i thought their designs were SOOOO cute. 9/10 for nostalgia points

nightmaretale - i honest to god forget what this one is but the cover image for it its weird. its giving me 4/10 vibes so 4/10

birdtale - another one ive NEVER heard of outside of this video but i think undertale except they all have sick wings is a great concept. i love wings 9/10

pokétale - i love pokémon aus. 8/10

fantasytale - i dont know fucking anything about this one dude 3/10 just cause i dont know ANYTHING about it. it doesnt deserve that low im sure but like i just dont know ANYTHIGN about it

traveltale - i gotta be honest i like have 0 idea what this is. the name doesnt convey much either ?????????????????? 3/10 until i find out more

underland - i assume this is like alice in wonderland undertale but tbh... i dont care for alice in wonderland. 4/10

littletale - i never liked it when i was younger and i still dont really get the appeal honestly 2/10 tho cause some of the art was cute

undertone - i assume this is a music one??? i dont know anything about this one 6/10 tho i love anything music based

understeam - steampunks not my favorite but its pretty cool 6/10

thank you for reading my undertale au reviews. im going to forget about this post in like 5 minutes

[makeste]

Open for movie speculation? :) The new key visual was released today and if you don't want miniscule spoilers then I'll gladly spend the time asking how you're doing in these times and how you light up my saturday with your posts that never cease to make me laugh haha. I do hope you're doing well :) So here's the wee spoiler (or should I call it a spoiler?) the antagonist(?) is called "Flect Turn", hope you have a nice week :)

so as usual, I'm late in responding to this, but I just wanted to clarify that my "no spoilers, please" policy pretty much only applies to the new BnHA manga chapters, and that's specifically because of the weekly reaction posts. I know part of the appeal of a liveblog is watching someone else's reactions to all of the surprises and twists and wtf moments, and so I try to preserve those each week. if I wasn't liveblogging the series I would probably be reading the leaks along with everybody else to tell the truth lol.

so that said, feel free to send me spoilers about the upcoming movie! out of respect for those who do want to avoid being spoiled, I'll tag those posts (and this one) with "bnha world heroes' mission spoilers" and "bnha movie 3 spoilers" so people can blacklist those tags if desired. but I personally have no objection to them; back when Heroes Rising came out I already knew all of the plot points and had read detailed spoiler summaries well before I finally got the chance to watch it myself. it definitely did not take away from the experience at all, and in fact I'm kind of glad I knew about the end twist ahead of time because I was able to devote more mental energy to analyzing and appreciating it rather than still being all "!!!!" from the shock lol.

so yeah, I've been trying to stay up to date with the news about WHM as well. here's everything I think we know so far:

the movie will take place during the Endeavor Agency internship, as expected.

the bad guys are a terrorist organization called "Humanize", who believe in the Quirk Singularity Doomsday Theory we first learned about during the Remedial arc. as a refresher, basically the idea is that as quirks continue to evolve with each new generation, they'll eventually grow too powerful for humans to control and will destroy the world or something lol.

anyway so Humanize hears about this, and they're either like, "man that sucks, we should just kill everyone with a quirk so it doesn't happen", OR they're like "man that sounds awesome, we should totally expedite that." like, I'm really not clear on this part lol. but either way, they apparently come up with a plan to cleanse the world of quirk users by planting magical plot bombs called Ideo Trigger Bombs, which make people lose control of their quirks.

as mentioned, the bad guys' leader is named Flect Turn for god knows what reason lmao. I'm guessing it's some kind of weird play on the word "reflect" (especially given his character design), and based on that, as well as the Ideo Triggers, I suspect this guy has the ability to somehow turn people's own quirks against them. you can see him at the bottom of the key visual anon mentioned, here.

anyway so the heroes are all "hmm, pretty sure the end of world = bad" and so they all decide to band together under this "W.H.A." umbrella (which I'm still assuming stands for either World Hero Agency or World Hero Association or something like that) to deal with the bombs.

as shown on the key visual, in addition to the Endeavor Agency trio, the movie will also feature the kids from Ryuukyuu, Fat Gum, Gang Orca (who has Jirou and Shouji interning under him for anyone who lost track), and Hawks's agencies.

the movie will also feature a new character named Rody Soul, who's this weird steampunk Dickensian urchin-looking guy with a ponytail lol. he apparently teams up with the trio following one of the bomb incidents.

most of the movie will apparently take place in a fictional country called Oceon (this is why nobody could quite place where that bridge in the trailer was from lol).

at some point Deku gets framed for murder idk. just Deku things.

and last but not least, as usual there will be a special manga tie-in release, in this case titled "Volume W(orld Heroes)". looks like the initial release will be exclusive to theater-goers in Japan, but I'm sure someone will get their hands on it and post it online, and Viz will eventually release it in English as well (they did the same with the previous two tie-ins). it'll include behind-the-scenes sketches, a new Horikoshi interview (probably the part I'm most looking forward to), and of course, the new movie tie-in chapter. as with the previous tie-ins (Volume Origin and Volume Rising), this will be written and drawn by Horikoshi himself. I'm hoping that it will feature the trio, but the other movie tie-ins featured All Might and Nine, respectively, so it's probably more realistic to assume this one will focus on Rody. ah well.

I think that's it. I haven't really done much speculating about the plot either tbh, though what we've learned seems pretty straightforward. Deku probably either gets framed for one of the bombs, or gets caught up in one of the blasts and loses control of OFA. or maybe they'll save that part for his fight with Flect at the end. god, if we get a scene where he goes on a Blackwhip rampage with a big screen budget I will lose my whole damn mind. especially if Kacchan and Shouto have to work together to stop him. can you imagine omg. but I should really rein myself in before I start getting way too hyped up over a bunch of wild hypotheticals. this is why I try not to speculate lol.

[sofiamantegafan110]

RATING HELLFIRE GALA OUTFITS (LONG POST ALERT!)

EMMA FROST- 1. I LIKE THE ONE-PIECE OUTFIT AND THE HEADGEAR. PLUS, THE SHOES ARE PRETTY. THIS IS MY FAVORITE LOOK OF THE THREE. 10/10

2. I LIKE THE CROWN AND THE POWER-GIRL-STYLE BOOB WINDOW BUT THE OUTFIT COVERS EVERYTHING. IT’S SO UN-EMMA. 5/10

3. I LIKE THE BEAD-STYLE DRESS AND THE GLOVES BUT THE SIDE-SLIT THINGIES REALLY PUT ME OFF. I MEAN, DOES SHE EVEN HAVE LINGERIE UNDER THERE? THERE’S A LOT OF PERVS IN THE X-MEN. WHAT IF, LIKE, TOAD OR FABIAN CORTEZ TRY TO TAKE A LOOK UNDER THERE? PLUS, NOTHING CAN BEAT THE FIRST OUTFIT. I GIVE THIS A 8/10

ROGUE- I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS OUTFIT. THE PERM, THE SUNGLASSES AND THE COLLAR. IT’S SO FITTING. 9/10

ANGEL- I MEAN, I LIKE THE HAREM PANTS BUT THE REST JUST DOESN’T LOOK THAT INTERESTING. 4/10

RACHEL SUMMERS- 9/10. I LIKE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS ONE TOO BUT I JUST DON’T THINK IT’D SURVIVE THE COMPETITION.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN- 9/10. IT’S A GOOD OUTFIT BUT I DON’T LIKE THE ARMORED CHESTPLATE.

STORM- EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS OUTFIT IS AMAZING. I LOVE THE HAIR AND THE STORM AESTHETIC. 10/10

KATE PRYDE- 6/10. I LIKE THE SLEEVES, THE COLLAR AND THE BONE-PIN THINGIES BUT IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE SOMETHING SHE’D WEAR.

PENANCE- 10/10. MONET IS FASHIONABLE AS ALWAYS. I LIKE THE HEADGEAR, THE HAIR, THE PANTS AND THE GLOVES.

MARVEL GIRL- ALSO 10/10. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE HAIR, CAPE, SHOULDER PADS, SLEEVES AND THE CROWN-THINGY RADIATING AROUND HER HEAD.

CYCLOPS- 6/10. CYCLOPS ISN’T THE MOST FASHIONABLE X-MAN BUT I DO LIKE THE VISOR AND THE COLOR SCHEME.

MASTERMIND- 2/10. THE VICTORIAN ERA DOESN’T SUIT HIM. NEXT!

SELENE- SOMEONE COMMENTED THAT SHE HAD A NICKI MINAJ- STYLE PONYTAIL WHICH I LIKE AND UNLIKE MASTERMIND, THE VICTORIAN LOOK IS A BIG HIT FOR HER. BUT MEANWHILE, IT DOESN’T MATCH UP TO THE OL’ CORSET AND LINGERIE. 7/10

MADROX- 5/10. NOT SURE ABOUT THIS ONE.

SUNSPOT- 9/10. IT’S PRETTY GOOD. AND I DON’T LIKE A LOT OF HIS LOOKS.

WOLVERINE- 9/10. IT’S NOT AS GOOD AS THE OTHERS BUT I LIKE THE YELLOW AND BLUE COLOR SCHEME. THE GLOVES ARE GOOD TOO.

SYNCH- 10/10. THE JACKET IS THE ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS OUTFIT BUT IT’S TOO GOOD TO PUT ON A LOWER SCALE.

CANNONBALL- 3/10. THE COLOR SCHEME’S THE ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS.

SUNFIRE- 4/10. THE MASK IS THE ONLY THING APPEALING TO MY INTERESTS.

POLARIS- 10/10. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT NOT LIKE THAT IT LOOKS LIKE SHE’S BEING STRANGLED BY A POOL FLOATIE BUT I THINK IT LOOKS GOOD.

NORTHSTAR- 3/10. THE HAIR’S THE ONLY THING I LIKE ABOUT THIS.

DAKEN- 2/10. REALLY, DUDE? YOU’RE WAY TOO GOOD-LOOKING FOR A TUX.

AURORA- 10/10. THE DRESS IS A NICE TOUCH.

PRODIGY- 10/10. WORK IT, DAVID! HE LOOKS PRETTY GOOD PULLING OFF A DRAG QUEEN OUTFIT. I ESPECIALLY LIKE THIS WINGS AND EYE MAKEUP.

EYE-BOY- 9/10. NICE WORK, TREV. LETTING YOUR EYES SEE THE LIGHT. I LIKE THE DRESS-THINGY.

BISHOP- 8/10. I LIKE THE RED. AND THE SUNGLASSES.

SEBASTIAN SHAW- 1/10. NO. YOU WEREN’T FASHIONABLE BEFORE THE EYEPATCH AND WHEELCHAIR AND YOU CERTAINLY AREN’T NOW.

PYRO- 5/10. IT’S ALRIGHT BUT BASIC.

BANSHEE- 4/10. NO COMMENT.

ICEMAN- 3/10. NO, BOBBY. JUST NO.

PSYLOCKE- 10/10. THE DRESS, THE PURPLENESS AND THE HAIR ARE ALL JUST SO AMAZING.

MISTER SINISTER- 2/10. BASIC.

EXODUS- 7/10. GOOD BUT IT JUST LOOKS LIKE THE STUFF HE USUALLY WEARS.

HAVOK- 8/10. THE COAT IS SO STYLISH. IT’S A NICE TOUCH.

MYSTIQUE- 10/10. THE EVIL QUEEN LOOK ALWAYS SUITED HER AND THE FEATHERS HELP.

DAZZLER- 10/10. I LOVE THE SPARKLES. ALISON ALWAYS TRAVELS IN STYLE.

LOA- 9/10. THE LIONFISH DRESS AND SPINES ARE GOOD BUT SHE’S MAKING A MOVE ON MERCURY AND IS TRYING TO RUIN THE BEST RELATIONSHIP OF KRAKOA.

MERCURY- 10/10. SHE’S LIKE A PSYCHEDELIC RAINBOW. IT’S SO COOL THAT SHE CAN PULL OFF NAKEDNESS. HOPEFULLY SHE WON’T GET TOGETHER WITH LOA. REALLY, LOA JUST NEEDS TO SHOVE IT. GO CESSILY! YASS KWEEN!

NIGHTCRAWLER- 5/10- BASIC. NEXT!

PIXIE- 10/10. I NEVER THOUGHT I’D ADMIT THIS BUT THE GOTHIC LOOK IS PRETTY. AND LET’S NOT FORGET ABOUT THE PERM AND BUTTERFLIES IN HER HAIR.

MIRAGE- 6/10. NOT SURE ABOUT THIS BUT I DO LOVE THE SKIRT.

KARMA- 9/10. I LOVE THE PINK.

MAGIK- 10/10. SHE’S REALLY PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS. IT’S AMAZING.

WARPATH- 4/10. THE SPIKY SHOULDER PADS ARE NICE BUT THE REST; NO.

MAGNETO- 6/10. I LIKE THE STEAMPUNK PIMP STYLE BUT IT’D LOOK GOOD ON SOMEONE ELSE. LIKE WIND DANCER. WHY COULDN’T SOFIA GET DRESSED UP FOR THE HELLFIRE GALA?! WHYYYYYYYYYY?????

THE UNIVERSE IS HORSESHIT.

FRENZY- 10/10. LOVE THE BLUE, THE HEADGEAR AND THE DRESS AND SLEEVES. SHE’S JUST SO AMAZING.

WIZ KID- 10/10. ONCE AGAIN, HAVING FEMALE ATTIRE WORKS PERFECTLY. ARE WE SURE WIZ KID ISN’T ACTUALLY GENDERQUEER?

KHORA- 10/10 OUR NEWEST ADDITION IS WORKING IT. THE HAIR AND THE LOLITA-STYLE IS SO AMAZING. IT’S TOO BAD SHE DIDN’T ACTUALLY APPEAR IN THE ISSUE. WHY COULDN’T KHORA APPEAR IN S.W.O.R.D.’S ADDITION TO THE HELLFIRE GALA CROSSOVER?! WHYYYYYYYY???????

THE UNIVERSE IS HORSESHIT. AGAIN.

MANIFOLD- 10/10. I LIKE THE JACKET.

JUBILEE- 8/10. THE DRESS IS GOOD BUT MAYBE SHE SHOULD DO MORE WITH HER HAIR.

GAMBIT- 5/10. JUST NO.

MONARCH- 8/10. I DIDN’T LIKE THE OUTFIT BUT I LIKE THE MONOCHROME LOOK.

GLORIANA- 9/10. PRETTY DRESS, PRETTY WINGS, PRETTY COLORS BUT I’M GETTING KINDA BORED OF THIS.

RICTOR- 8/10. THE VINE IMPRINT ON THE CLOAK IS HOT.

DOMINO AND SAGE- BOTH 9/10. I THINK THEY SHOULD’VE DONE MORE. I’M NOT POSTING THE PICS OF WOLVERINE, BEAST AND KID OMEGA BECAUSE THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME.

WELL, THAT’S THAT. ENJOY!

[historyman101]

Fena: Pirate Princess First Impressions

I watched the 1-hour premiere on Toonami with my friends on Discord. After sleeping and having a chance to collect my thoughts, I have a few things to say about it, both positive and negative.

Toonami has fallen by the wayside for me in recent years as they did not have any anime that grabbed my interest. This is actually the first time I’ve watched Toonami in many months. Fena: Pirate Princess and Uzumaki, first announced back in 2020, caught my attention as potential shows to latch onto.

It’s obvious to me that Adult Swim is investing heavily in this anime’s success and I thought that was one reason why we had a 2-episode premiere on Saturday night. However, after watching, I realize that it was also strategic: the two episodes don’t really do much other than set up the main conflict going forward and introduce the core cast of characters. Episode 3 seems to be where the action kicks off.

I’ve noticed a lot of people compare Fena to One Piece, and while I can see why given the importance of pirates and the vaguely 18th-century world, but beyond that initial aesthetic, that’s where the similarities end. If I can compare this to anything, it reminds me more of Scrapped Princess or Yona of the Dawn, especially the pirate arc of that story. In fact, the anime hits a lot of the same beats from shows of the late ‘90s and early 2000s from the animation, character designs, and overall plot.

Fena: Pirate Princess follows the titular Fena Houtman, who escapes an arranged marriage to uncover the secret of her deceased father’s final mission and become an independent woman. She’s accompanied by a troupe of ninjas who are all sworn to protect her family. I will say that it’s a fun, clever way to put an end to the eternal ninjas vs. pirates debate and I can’t help but think the folks at Adult Swim had a hand in that. 

Starting off with the positives, I’ll begin with the center of the story: Fena.

We’re only two episodes in and I already love Fena. She’s cute, funny, upbeat, and clearly has a wild, independent streak to her. That being said, some people may be a little chafed to see her largely being a distressed damsel for the majority of the first episode. However, that was never really a problem for me, as it’s obvious the anime is about her personal growth to being a take-charge woman. Her positive personality is also a good contrast for the world around her, since she starts off initially treated as an object to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Fena’s introduction also serves as another positive for me in the series: the comedy.

I’ll be honest: I was rather taken aback to see the use of comedic slapstick in this anime when it looked to be billed as an action/adventure anime, but I never found it so overused that I started rolling my eyes. The comedic lighthearted moments weren’t too obtrusive for me to stop watching it, but it did catch me off-guard to see so much comedy in what I thought would be a serious show.

Speaking of disparate elements, there is some romance in this anime. The reason for this might be because of who’s directing the anime: Kazuto Nakazawa. In the runup to this anime’s premiere, Nakazawa cited one of his influences for Fena as shojo manga and it’s obvious that those elements are very present here, from the very first episode. And that wouldn’t necessarily bother me if Fena’s love interest wasn’t so cold and distant.

That brings me to my first criticism: Yukimaru.

I’m sorry, I just don’t like this guy. At one point I even called him “bargain bin Sasuke” in the stream and people immediately agreed with me. I get that he’s supposed to be this cool and aloof tsundere type who undergoes growth, but for someone who is supposed to be Fena’s oldest childhood friend, he treats her more as a nuisance than as someone to protect. For god’s sake, the first thing he does when they reunite is knock her out when she gets too chatty (a potential running gag that may turn off some viewers). I’m willing to give him a chance since we’re only two episodes in, but he still has a long way to go before he gets into my good graces.

Speaking of Yukimaru, the other problem I have is the other ninjas don’t really stand out to me in any meaningful way. Karin is the only one who I could potentially like as she’s portrayed as not only a gun afficionado and a gearhead (channeling some Winry Rockbell here) but I could also see her as a good friend and foil to Fena. The twins Kaede and Enju I see as either the funniest characters of the crew or the most annoying, depending on who you ask. Shitan is another cool hot guy that could provide grounds for a love triangle. Again, we’re only two episodes in, but if this starts going into shojo romance territory, I may be turned off. I can’t even really say anything about the others as they lack any kind of presence for me.

Let me circle around to another positive: the art direction. This anime looks visually striking and has some interested and varied locales so far. The island Fena escapes from reminds me a lot of sets from Pirates of the Caribbean. The entire island is covered in this purple light which gives it a foreboding air, especially in the red light districts. Fena’s room was packed with a lot of intricate details that tell me a lot of work went into the backgrounds and sets. 

The animation is no slouch, either. All the action sequences are eye-catching, the opening and endings are gorgeous to look at, and even the comedic asides looks visually appealing. If nothing else, this anime is pretty to look at, which is to be expected from a studio of such high caliber as Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!). 

My last criticism I have is the pacing of the show, which is rather breakneck and could cause some problems later if it continues at the current rate. Even the dialogue moves at a fast clip. I never felt like I got a chance to know all of the characters in this anime (except Fena) or understand the world. It might be because Jason DeMarco (VP of Toonami) has said this will only get more seasons if the first one does well in ratings, so they might just be going at the pace of a 1-cour anime to play it safe. However, I think that might work against the anime since there is only so much you can hope to accomplish in 13 episodes.  

Overall, Fena Pirate Princess doesn’t get off to a perfect start, but it’s sure a fun ride along the way. Fena is a cute and endearing protagonist who has the potential to be more, the world is a visually beautiful and interesting blend of 18th century steampunk, and there are even some moments that will make you laugh out loud. The potential love story might turn out to be lacking and the pacing may be too fast for some, but I’ve learned to never say never and always give everything a fair chance.

Can’t wait to see Episode 3.