#i'd go more in depth but this got long oops

[missmitchieg]

i don’t go here but what happened to penelope garcia’s hair ? isn’t it like shoulder length ? did she cut it ? !

/lh , tell me about penelope garcia please ?

Yay! I love talking about babygirl! Ok, so it looks like she did indeed cut her luscious locks so rip to her long princess curls. They will be missed until they grow back. 💖

Ok, so season 1-15 Penelope was MY GIRL, ok? She was MY GIRL.

She's, like, a super genius super cutie and she's super sweet and kind and loves animals. (Seriously, one of the reasons she started working for the FBI is she was a computer hacker and hacked into the website of a cosmetic company that tests on animals and her options when she got caught were literally work for the FBI or her ass is getting thrown in prison. She chose the FBI. We love a queen that fights for animal wellfare. The other reason was she wanted to get away from her garbage, and I do mean GARBAGE, boyfriend and have a better life.)

I'm pretty sure she has ADHD. Maybe autism. IDK, but she's definitely some kinda neurospicy.

She's a walking sparkly neon rainbow. You know the way Flynn's bedroom is described in the one jatp book? Season 1-15 Penelope is that and I love it.

She went ginger once and it was a whole vibe.

Wow, I love her.

She was super nice to her ex boss all the way from s1 to his departure in early s12, and I'm 99% sure was the only one that actually called him bossman or sir bc everyone else just called him Aaron or by his nickname, Hotch. She was really good at making him smile, which actually wasn't that hard but people exaggerate the rarity of a Hotch smile for some reason.

After that, she was still really nice to the replacement he handpicked, Emily Prentiss, who she already adored after working with her since s2.

Hotch was literally physically incapable of saying no to this woman and she fully knew and took advantage of that shit, ok? Seriously, one time, Penelope made a joke like "who could say no to me?" and Hotch just smirked a little bit because he knew he couldn't say anything. Penelope does an incredible imitation of the pleading emoji. Or the Puss In Boots face. Whatever you wanna call this:

"Boss, I want you to hire Tara. 🥺" "Ok. Tell everyone else the position has been filled." "Boss, I don't wanna eat dinner alone. Do you want a veggie omelette? 🥺" "Ok. Do you have jalapeños?"

The hilarious thing is she doesn't even have to make that face. She does it to mess with him.

And then there's her, uh...... interesting little flirtationship with Derek Morgan. Or as Penelope calls him, chocolate thunder. He loves that name and encourages it. He calls her babygirl. They also have about a million other adorable pet names for each other.

*gestures at these gifs* They love each other so much, it's kind of gross. I've said before that before I actually started watching and only had the massive comp of him calling her that, I genuinely really thought Morcia was canon. Like, oh, my GOD, dude. These two are disgustingly obsessed with each other. The shit they say on work calls. He calls her sexy and brilliant Goddess and told her it drives him crazy when "she talks that voulez coucher stuff to him". Like, hello? Honestly, I'm amazed Derek only had to sit through one HR lecture about creating a hostile work environment. Or at least, we only saw one.

Then there's her very sweet friendship with baby genius, boy wonder, good doctor, Agent Doctor Spencer Reid.

MY BABIES. I LOVE THEM. I want them back. Gimme back my Penny², damnit.

And her very sweet friendship with Matt Simmons! Oh, my god. I love them. 🥰🥰🥰

They're cute and I wish at least Penelope mentioned Matt in season 16 more.

Penelope and Luke! Oh, my God. Penelope and Luke.

They are in love and both think it's unrequited and it's exhausting but at least s12-15 were FUN. Mostly.

Season 16 Penelope, though....

Season 16 Penelope got abducted by aliens. Or lobotomized. Hard to tell.

[skullsfigurepage]

Trafalgar Law - Banpresto Maximatic Figure

Note: I won this figure in a claw machine and it fueled my ego so much before I kept losing at every other claw machine I played. Stay humble.

Review and more photos under the cut :-p

If you follow my main account (@skullc0r3) you might know that Law is one of my favorite one piece characters so walking into an arcade and seeing Several boxes of this figure stacked in a claw machine felt like crazy luck even before I won. I'm so used to all the merchandise for things I'm into being rare or super expensive (persona 5 scalpers I hate you more than I can say) so getting into OP has been interesting because of the sheer volume of merchandise for it that's below $50.

Onto the figure!

For starters this is the first time I have ever seen a figure with such an obvious front and back to the sculpture. In this case it's because the back has significantly less painted details. In the last photo above you can see on his leg closest to the camera the back of his pants and the front have different shadow qualities. This isn't because my lamp was strong enough to cast such harsh shadows, its because the front of his pants (and the front of the rest of the figure) has painted on shading while the back does not. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, most people wouldn't notice or care since they were only ever going to display it from the front, but the box did hype up all the detailed painting that would be on the figure. In their defense though, I understand why this would be necessary from a production standpoint. My biggest gripe with this (still fairly small) is that on his back hand, Law doesn't have his signature (stupid) knuckle tattoos.

Here's his forward hand. The tattoos are all printed on and thank god for that because I can't imagine how miserable it would have been to force someone to hand paint them.

And then here's his back hand. I wonder if the issue was a matter of the tattoos being harder to place in this position, or at least to do it efficiently enough that it would be worth it. Again, not something that impacts the actual quality of the figure but I find it a fascinating insight into the production.

That being said the paint job on the front is super neat, it really does add so much depth to the figure (especially on the yellow and blue parts of the figure; it makes it look less like cheap plastic, lol) and I really enjoy it.

Next, the scale of this figure. I didn't realize when I won it, but this thing is huge. I can hold him like a small carp (and I have). He's huge. I'm guessing here, because I don't feel like finding a ruler right now but I'd say he's probably 10" tall? including the stand, which makes him one of the biggest figures I own. It also means the scale of the sword is perfect for just kind of, pointing at tiny stuff with. Which I have done. I have fun.

I think the figure's pose is super fun. It's dynamic and getting photos of him with a wide-lens is really fun. The actual sculpting details on the clothes and arms in particular are so fascinating to me, they're incredibly well done in my opinion. The composition is good too, the lines create a few triangles which really helps balance the figure.

(had to fudge it a bit here to show the triangle with his hands and head since one hand is hidden in this shot, oops)

The only issue I've had with the figure is it's kind of wobbly. I've fixed this by either putting his lower foot against a "wall" or putting something under it. It's not really a big deal if you don't disturb the figure too much.

From looking around online this figure is around 30$ including shipping (and that is a higher estimate), so as far as figures go this is pretty affordable and imo it's worth it (so long as you have enough display space).

Final Thoughts: I love this freak figure. It's fun, its got great details, it fueled my ego for a week, it has a pole going up the ass of the figure, what's not to love.

Thanks for reading!

[ladedanixie]

I'm just gonna address this under the cut.

I love helluva boss. Its not a perfect show, but I deeply enjoy it and have re-watched it to death, especially when I was in bad spot. So when I critique it, its not from a place of hatred or pettiness, its more from a place of knowing how good it could be with better execution and focus. Now that I have gotten that out of the way, onto what I wanna say.

Just because someone critiques the show, or dislikes something you liked, does not mean they lack media comprehension or are just a hater. For example, Western Energy and Ozzie's being addressed in texts on Stolas' phone or people not understanding Blitz also cares about Stolas. Or even Seeing Stars, or Queen Bee not giving time to have an awkward moment or two. They say it'll be addressed eventually or its subtext.

And I'd concur. The show isn't over yet, it has 2 and 1/2 seasons more to go. But, that doesn't mean everything done so far is perfect.

First off, I understand that Blitz cares, Truth Seekers proves that, Ozzie's proves that, but if you're defending the texts in Western Energy or even the picture Blitz has on his phone of him and Stolas in Ozzie's, I'd like to counter that with not everyone is as obsessed with the show as you or me. There are casual fans, who yes, will throw their hat in the ring and critique the show, they usually don't pause or go back to read or double check the photos. That and some world-building elements, like the difference between Sinners and demons and imps, aren't explicitly addressed in the show. Sure Season 2 has somewhat addressed it, but there wasn't clarity and most causal viewers only know because other more invested viewers tell them. I know this because I'm a huge fan, and my friend who I got into the show, often asks for explanations.

People nitpick sometimes sure, like in Oops, when most people asked why didn't they just shoot Fizz (my friend was one of them), whereas I didn't think anything of it (probably mostly because I play dnd and I accepted Fizz's song as a Nat 20 on performance). Or claimed the song was too long, I loved the song and how long it was.

But nitpicks aren't bad, nor is all nitpicks made by solely casual fans. And not all critiques are nitpicks. I personally think that some bring up good points. Such as Western Energy and how Ozzie's was addressed in a series of texts between Blitz and Stolas, which if you blinked, you could have missed it. That and in order to read them, you would have to go back and go by frame by frame to read it. Pausing in-between. I am not of the belief that the texts should have been cut, but I do believe it could have been acknowledged if only a little in Seeing Stars (which I do have my opinions on, but I'll that in another post.) Because that would have been better structurally and could have set up the texts better.

Now to address another argument people make against critiques. And I will use Season 2 as my main example. Most people argue that the reason why Season 2 has gotten so much flack is due to people's built up expectations, the fanon, they created in their head. And sure that might be true. I've seen it in the reaction to Stella, which Sarcastic Chorus on youtube did a fantastic video on that that addresses the issue about that far better than I ever could. So check that out.

But I'll touch on it here anyway. Season 1 Stella was barely fleshed out. All we knew was that she was angry that Stolas cheated. Some eagle eyed views noticed her anger seemed to be mostly about him sleeping with an Imp and not the cheating, but aside from that, a picture, and a few split second scenes (Pilot: Blitz apologizing to her. Her telling Stolas to get up instead of her. Octavia briefly mentioning her.) We didn't know anything else about her. Some folks theorized about her in ways that created a lot of depth, only for Season 2 to reveal she was purely one dimensional with no sympathetic virtues whatsoever.

She was an abusive wife bound to Stolas out of a non negotiable duty to the Goetia family. It absolved Stolas of any responsibility or fault. Western Energy took it a step further and then robbed her of any weight as a villain in the story by introducing her brother and making him the mastermind. While Stella was painted as a pretty, petty, short-sighted, spoiled, impulsive brat. Which that's ok. I'm fine with her one dimensionality. Since the show never promised more than that. But some folks were really angry about it, claiming that the show did promise more. Now, that is a good example of building castles out of nothing but a potential future. Not to say that people aren't allowed to be disappointed with Stella's lack of depth. Because while the show didn't promise more, the lack of concrete evidence to the contrary allowed the space for potential. Thus, this is also a good example of how the show could have avoided this, if it were only clearer about Stella's personality from the beginning. Perhaps a scene or two more illustrating this.

This doesn't mean, that I think the creators suck. I do think they are doing the best they can, and are putting a lot of effort into the story. No, I don't think that I could do it better. Which sidebar, sometimes dissatisfaction with the execution of a story, and wanting to do it better i.e. your way, can lead to some pretty cool things. Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao comes to mind (The author took inspo from Darling in the Franxx, they were unhappy with how it executed it's concept and they took it and made Iron Widow.) Or any multitude of fanfic. Or stories inspired by stuff in the public domain. But critique is ok, it helps with becoming a better writer/story teller. It tells you what works and what doesn't. Moreover, critique is always a suggestion not a command. Yes, haters exist, entitled fans exist, and people who completely miss the point exist. And yes, smaller projects tend to get more flack, especially when it involves queer stories, but that doesn't mean the rest is all noise. Multiple things can be true at once.

Claiming that people just don't understand subtlety or that they are plain stupid, is just disheartening. As though the only way to enjoy a show is to do so without complaint. I will admit I dislike negativity as much as the next person. I do in fact avoid it. Hell sometimes I don't like seeing critique. And yes, people are allowed to dislike, or express distaste with people critiquing the show. But again, it feels as though its being held on a pedestal, as though it can do no wrong, and its kinda a dangerous mindset to maintain. Nothing is above critique, nothing is perfect, and that includes your favorite shows.

Now does this mean that Helluva Boss is inherently a bad show? No. Are there problems with it? Yes. But, Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder though. Which means not everyone agrees. But I love this show. What's wrong with wanting to see it do its best, live up to its potential? (Oops is epitome of Helluva Boss's potential in my opinion, btw, and I look forward to more.)

Besides, Helluva Boss's creators are still gonna do what they are gonna do. Does it matter what someone on the internet says about it?

[scatterpatter]

This is a free invitation to infodump about Colorless! Go ham, bestie! I'd love to hear about him!! Pop off, king! /gen /pos

MY FRIEND I AM PICKING YOU UP AND SPINNING YOU AROUND /P

OKAY OKAY SO COLORLESS- mannnn man man i miss him i miss him!!! He's an oc "edgesona" I made back in 2017 and I just missed him! I ramble SO MUCH UNDER THE CUT

Also warning I have OLD ART HERE kjbdfkjbskjfbsjk HELP

Okay so Colorless started as just a spontaneous idea of "Oooo what if Scatter but Evil" waaay back in 2017- think Darkiplier energy

Imma be honest, there's sadly a lot around 2017-2018 that I don't remember, including stuff with Colorless (it's almost like I have the Forget Things Disorder), so going through his older posts is crazy because I don't rember making a lot of this stuff but he was just Evil!Scatter LMAO

Then I convinced Shrike, an ex-friend, and some other mutuals at the time to make their own edgesonas! I frequently did stuff with Shrike's sona Gregory "The Game", or just Gregory Game. Older posts you may also see an "Apathy.txt." but since I'm not in contact with Apathy's owner anymore, I no longer include him in any Colorless content

It was basically just "What if these edgelords lived together and did mayhem"

But then I came up with COLORLESS LORE so here's the rundown of the lore (or at least what I rember... bad memory is bad ;-; )

So it was revealed that C wasn't just some evil alter-ego of Scatter, but rather they were two parts of a fractured whole

Scatter, Colorless, and one other we'll talk about shortly all came from one original person. This person decided to run an experiment to see if he could split himself into different states according to Freudian ego states: Id, Ego, and Superego. The procedure was a success and split the person into Mikhail(Id), Scatter(Ego), and Nathaniel(Superego)

Nat is scratched out. Rip. Scatter was always represented by purple, Mikhail by red, Nat by blue.

Long story short, they decided that they had their time together and needed to fuse back into one person. Mik had his reservations, but Nat and Scatts pushed it. Things went wrong, and they never integrated properly, and even corrupted themselves from it, destabilizing them. I was GOING to give strong hints to this in a comic I was sketching in 2018, but I never finished/posted it. HOWEVER i DO still have the sketchbook so it looked a bit like this! (OOO never before-seen loooore~~~)

It's something C would regularly flashback to and would cause immense distress and generally disrupt his daily functioning

Afterwards all 3 egos shared a body again, but "switched" consciousness frequently, often abruptly and to the detriment of whomever was "fronting" before. Colorless would switch in and take over the body usually to cause harm to Scatter and Nat, or to anons who interacted with him

C would act out in retaliation to get back at both Scatter and Nat, moreso Nat, and during his time corrupted and sharing the body, he took on the name "The Colorless", refusing to go by his real name of Mikhail.

After a few mishaps, he found a way to separate himself from Scatter and Nat! ... It left him a bit... corrupted, still, in the process

It not only left his entire body... not right (see: humans aren't colorless and outlined in red with black tar-like stuff), and also messed up Scatter's and Nat's bodies too

I was GOING to do a whole thing on tumbles where I would've gone into his backstory in depth buuuut that fell through. Oop.

I... admittedly forget a lot of what I was going to do past this. Memory is REAL bad around this time for personal reasons I won't delve into, but C started getting more of a "stabilized" look, though was still able to be VERY evil

WAIT I JUST UNLOCKED A MEMORY TYPING THIS- IIRC, he installed a "chip" in the side of his neck to help stabilize his body- no more corrupted eyes/frame in all-red anymore- and left a scar there he covered with a scarf. Sadly all this part of the lore happened in a server that got nuked BUT I found another never-posted-to-tumblr art in the sketchbook!

These are probably late 2018? VERY early 2019 at the latest?

Thanks to personal life things, C took a back seat for some time, but around 2019-2020 I gave him a semi-revival, and Shrike and I really had fun revisiting C and Greg's whole dynamic together!

Oh also there's another one of the "trio" whose name is Scoot Scoot. I am not joking. They call him Scoot or Scooter for short. He isn't one of the system's ego states- instead, he's a literal demon that looks like the other three. The lore for this was that the person who summoned the demon needed the hair of a human- and stole some from C because the summoner didn't want to use their own in case it went awry. Scoot was summoned and took a similar appearance to C and just... just... is chaos incarnate

SO around 2020ish, I took a pretty hard reboot on C and the egos- it's basically all the same lore, just with a fresh coat of paint... oh also we ship C and Game now. Their ship name is Colorgames.

During this time C decided to go a lot more tame, he didn't want to be a killer anymore, he wanted to be an edgy scientist. He also began patching things up with his brothers so now they're having a decent relationship! ... C also has a portal device attached to his wrist now soooooo... oops

I don't really know what I wanna do with him in the year of our lord and savior 2024, but it's just SO FUN to draw him again!!! Maybe I'll actually make a proper comic about his backstory, who knows!!! I just think he's neat

TL;DR: Colorless (Or "C", real name Mikhail) is one of three parts who consider themselves brothers. He is the Id, Scatter is the Ego, Nat is the Superego. A past event split them apart and they corrupted their bodies trying to put themselves back together. C grew resentful of the others and worked to sabotage them and lash out at them, but now has mellowed and is more of a chaotic scientist than a true villain. He dates @shrike-nest's OC Gregory Game, and they get into mayhem together. They adopted a demon along the way. His name is Scoot Scoot. Don't worry about it.

BONUS: SOME OTHER DOODLES I'VE FOUND IN MY SKETCHBOOK AND DISCORD HISTORY THAT I DONT BELIEVE EVER MADE IT TO TUMBLR:

... id post more that i found but i hit the tumblr image limit OOPS

[welcometogrouchland]

ok a curveball: manny/camila or caleb/evelyn

"curveball" both these couples are canonically married anon /j

Jokes aside BOTH OF THESE SLAP AND ARE HIGHLY UNDERRATED, ESPECIALLY MANNY AND CAMILA!

A for Caleb and Manny: Like, Camila and Manny's nerd4nerd romance is so sweet, so highschool romcom-esque, it's so incredibly fluffy, until you remember that Manny fucking died. Of a terminal illness. And like. You can tell how much Camila loves him by the way his things still litter the house. They are so incredibly sweet and sad to me and tbh as much as I joke about other ships w/ Camila (hiiiii darimila <3) realistically, I know that she is never really going to get over Manny. Not in an unhealthy way, just. He was her first and only love, and the joy he brought to her life is something that only Luz can even come close to replicating (Luz brings joy into her life in a similar but distinct and unique way, btw)

And Caleb and Evelyn...OUGH CALEB AND EVELYN

A+ and they only score higher bc of the weeks following and leading up to thanks to them where I was physically incapable of being normal about them. It was fucked up they had a GRIP on me

I'm much more settled about them now and I'd say that currently they leave me torn. Not on what we actually know- the tragedy of their relationship, the idea that they both represented a form of freedom to the other with their shared cardinal motifs, the way they've massively impacted the narrative and the lives of everyone in it and yet most of the world will never know their names, and yet you wonder if they'd be content with that so long as the couples and heroes of the modern era can be free and happy in a way they never got to be- that's all spectacular. Rich with potential and depth.

It's about what we don't know and whether or not I even want it explored in canon. On the one hand, yes, obviously, I want spin-offs and post-hoots dedicated to unlocking their past and telling us everything about them as people and their dynamic with each other.

On the other hand, I almost prefer the autonomy over their story that the fans have gotten. We don't have the constraints and considerations of the crew so we get to run buckwild! Personally I love the idea of Caleb and Evelyn meeting under false pretences, I love some lies and betrayals and some drama and then some making up and living together and oops! They're boning now! And oops! He's dead now. Literally this is riveting to me.

But the crew only has so many minutes to tell this story in, and has age ratings and audiences to consider. They probably wouldn't be able to give it the nuance and horror it deserves. So I think, in the end, as much as I wanna know what Dana thinks went down, I'm also content to keep exploring them in a mostly fannish context <3

Sorry the witteclaw section is so much bigger than the Nocedas section, they just have a lot more ambiguity to mine. I'll end this by saying though that I would actually sell my soul for on screen Manny content, in any sort of capacity. I NEED to know how he paralleled Luz, and maybe even Eda, how he kept that bright cheery smile we always see him with despite the undoubted hardship and pain he was going through, how proud he'd be of how far Luz and Camila have both come, how happy he'd be at the idea that his families grown with the addition of vee and maybe even hunter, how glad he'd be that his daughter and wife never lost their spark. I have to stop now or else I Will Cry

[nonbinarv]

3 linked universe characters of your choosing + 2, 12, 21, 22, 24? (for the ask game) :3c

under the cut bc these got kinda long!!!

wind

2: i love his dynamic with the others in general tbh!!! he goes from being the older of two siblings to the youngest in a large group of them and there is somewhat of a struggle with the transition especially with the others' protectiveness but it's so obvious how much they care for each other- special shoutout to his dynamics with time (timeline talk 1) and wild (kings of hyrule)

12: i don't personally adopt the hc that he's four's descendant but all the fanwork i've read/seen incorporating it has been adorable so i do want to give it a nod here!!! otherwise i think he and wild would have a good cathartic conversation about their sisters if wild ever remembers his own

21: i haven't tried writing any of these three actually oops. if i were to write wind i think it'd be interesting getting into his perspective :o he's a very optimistic character but it's also important to consider all the trauma he's gone through both before and during lu and i think that'd be interesting to explore, though it may be difficult getting his age down in my writing

22: age swaps or de-aging aren't usually my thing in fics but lu is a fandom i make an exception for because of how different characterization is during their adventures vs the one shared with the others in the comic. ones where wind ends up not being the youngest anymore are interesting bc he can tap back into his older brother role and it can be fun to explore the what-if. i do think people overdo it on his swearing sometimes though; i do think he would (he's a pirate come on) but i don't think anyone would get onto him for it and i don't think it'd be every other sentence

24: bonnie!!! bonbon is a little younger than him but they share in being the kiddos of the group who hate being infantilized and are more capable than they may seem at first glance and have sisters they love dearly and would go through hell and back for

hyrule

2: his fairy form is so cool!!! the design is so pretty :o but regarding his actual character can i just say his sheer determination. there are so many little moments this is expressed in but probably the most prominent is his words to twilight, on the verge of death, encouraging him to not give up… it breaks my heart in all the right ways

12: i haven't actually played either of his games yet!!! except for the first the tiniest bit as a kid- so i'm not really sure… maybe. actually. just bc i think it'd be funny he's a really good cook it's just that he can't make stew which is the complete opposite of most of the cast where there's some sort of soup or stew they've made in their adventures. imagine it

21: i think it'd be harder getting a grasp on his personality without the exposure to his games; i wouldn't feel very confident and would be referring to the comic itself constantly- but i'd be interested in exploring his era more through writing centered around him :o the events that happen between legend's time and his own, his relationship with legend as his successor, how his era shapes him and his behavior with its inherent roughness yet his deep and inherent love for it

22: i love his dynamics with legend especially in fics!!! but i don't like how he's reduced to just the healer of the group sometimes. the fandom isn't always bad about it (thunder is pretty common with occasional fire from the ones i've read- outside of his fairy form of course) but he has other spells and a sword too!!!

24: hmm maybe emma (mikhaylov not woods). idk how to put it into words but there's the same drive there, the same passion, a shared dedication to the land and the people around them

legend

2: his little subtle moments of vulnerability… his reaction to twilight being alright ;w; but also when he's turned into a bunny and he's thanking twilight and sky (only to be interrupted by sky's "nice hair" comment sgfdkhlj); there's so much depth to his character and so much he hides. there's a reason he turns into a bunny

12: ough i have so many palace of the four sword thoughts. not sure how in-depth timeline talk is gonna get (life spoilers and all) but he would struggle so much with the realization that he killed four since all records would most likely have vanished or be extremely obscured by his era (after all there's like. no more mentions of the minish or vaati or the four sword or anything about four save for a couple of references on wild's map). he already deals with nightmares but they would get so much worse starting the adventure with the chain after meeting four

21: there are so many good potfs fics out there already and i want to add to that. but also i want to give him a fucking break bc please this man deserves it. hurt/comfort perhaps for a nice even mix of both. i think it might be difficult keeping track of his inventory though in anything i write; between all his adventures he has so much gear and so many items

22: i love when people acknowledge his own special relationship with the master sword!!! especially when he gets to know fi; i always find those so sweet- it's clear he holds the sword in high regard and people mostly focus on sky's relationship with fi instead (not that that's bad, it's completely understandable, but legend deserves some too imo). but i feel people do go a bit overboard with his behavior sometimes compared to canon y'know; he teases but there's no real malice behind his words and he loves his family

24: okay this is gonna be mean of me and maybe a bit hypocritical since i just talked about him not being as mean as some people make him out to be in fanwork but. jax gave me legend vibes. like jax is significantly meaner towards the people around him but two bunnies coping unhealthily with their respective traumatic experiences…

[jennyandvastraflint]

C: How did you come up with the title to "Until the dance ends"?

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

P: Where did you find the most inspiration for your story "Halloween Wars"?

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories? Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?

:)

(I'm so sorry, I am too tired now to read the Strax fic. But I read the beginning/introduction and I already love him for wanting to conjur some celebration for Jenny <3 I am sure he'll do great!)

Ahhhh, thank u for the ask!

C: How did you come up with the title to "Until the dance ends"?

Well, originally I saw a TikTok of two people dancing and one of them not showing up in a mirror, and that kicked off the initial thought process, and since I wanted them to be dancing, it's basically "Until the dance ends, they're happy together". It kinda fits as well with them having limited time (and Vastra making the music last longer because she isn't ready to face it ending) and all, I think!

A: Of the fanfic you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

Gosh, I love Turn Loose the Mermaids because it's such a sweet AU and I managed to put so many other characters I love in! And mermaid!Vastra sparks so much joy (Hi, Jenny's obsession with mermaids, I see you <3)

A few other favourites would include Butterfly Queen (it's so fucking fluffy and adorable okkkk), Like Leaves Falling (the healing for me because I've put in personal experiences), a kindest heart made me believe the world as I wish it to be (I'm a sucker for hair braiding as a love language and I am a touch-starved bastard), and Your beauty never ever scared me (I do love me a good fairytale AU... There's a reason I have like four published on my AO3).

P: Where did you find the most inspiration for your story "Halloween Wars"?

Well, I had the concept of Strax throwing a party that escalates into fighting lying around since shortly after Halloween 2020, but I never got round to writing it (said WIP would have included Jenny trying to get Vastra to dress up as a mermaid with a wig of long golden locks btw, and Vastra vehemently refusing, and Strax stealing the wig because he thinks he looks awesome with it...)

Apart from that, it was a lot of spontaneous ideas in the moment. I kinda sat down and wrote 9k in a day, so I don't remember that much XD I did go through a list of Doctor Who monsters to find a whole bunch I'd like to include. Fitting them all in was a bit of a struggle at first (also, I noticed a lot of the ones I had show up began with "S".... Sontaran, Silence, Slitheen, Sea Devil, Skithra... Oops), but I think it turned out fairly well!

Y: What are your thoughts on your personal satisfaction with something you’ve written vs. the popularity of your stories? Do you tend to be most satisfied with your most popular stories?

Not at all. It might have to do with my most "popular" fics being in for instance Legend of Korra and The Owl House spaces, which is y'know, slightly annoying when my main business is Paternoster Gang. And from those, I know with archive locking lots of my stuff, I lost guest readers, so many of my older works will show up with more kudos despite imo being nowhere near the quality and depth in characterisation of more recent fics. It's a bit disheartening, honestly, to see the works for some side fandoms be my most popular ones, and it's actually made me stop writing for most of them entirely. Like sure, I do wish my fics were read more, but I am (painfully) aware that the Paternoster fandom consists of like. Maybe three dozen people? Compared to that, LOK with KyaLin has a huge following, and TOH or The Dragon Prince are fairly recent shows and thus receive more attention. But honestly, I treasure each kudo and comment I get, because I know the people who are reading my stuff are loyal readers! I see their names pop up repeatedly and I remember them <3 So, huge thank you to those people who read regularly!

I hope you are satisfied with my answers <3

[handinlovablehand]

Here are some thoughts/reflection/process things re: the Tallahassee comic. Since this is my art blog, I figured this was the best spot to put it! Lots of images and pretty long, so I've thrown it below a cut.

This is the first time I've seriously worked with Microns and a lot of 'em since... oh, lord, 2020. I'm pretty sure I've done some other stuff along those lines, but here are examples and an emulation of the style digitally:

(Respectively, May 2020, March 2020, and September 2020. Apologies for quality on the first two; I had to rely on old photos.)

Compare with this spread from the comic:

I'm still not super comfortable with backgrounds (or cars; all the shots at the beginning are framed VERY carefully so that I do not have to draw one), but you can see that they've gotten a lot better. The sparseness of the floor was intentional - I wanted to create the effect of an infinite-looking space, with the ceiling fan to provide depth. There's a bit more depth and weightiness than in that drawing of Karkat or the seagulls.

That's partially because the house is as much of a character in Tallahassee as its narrators. Aside from the space in the liner notes devoted to describing their environment, there's also quite a bit in the album itself. There isn't much physically happening in the notes, either, so I had to rely on shots of the house in order to fill panel space. Three cheers for symbolism and vivid imagery!

To pull up another page, I've also gotten A LOT better with natural environments in particular. I'm quite proud of that rose bush and the fence, although I could've taken a little more care while filling it in and the lighting leaves something to be desired.

Speaking of, my attempts at lighting are quite a bit more solid, but still not perfect. Consistency isn't great, and I have some qualms about the Alphas' hair and the shadow cast by the Alpha Male sitting up, but what can ya do? At least I'm drawing shadows being cast by things, haha.

I think the attic, the window shots, and "knocked down" panels look the best light-wise. I was trying to convey bright moonlight, and I think I did a pretty good job! I adore the curtains. A solid runner-up is the open door; I wanted to use it as a reverse light source, of sorts. In retrospect, I could have spaced the door shots out a bit more to make it feel more ominous.

Craft-wise, there's also a lot of improvement. Normally, I'd do a longform, easy-to-fuck-up project like Tallahassee digitally. However, I forgot my drawing tablet stylus in a very stupid place that I won't return to for a few months. So, I've been going back to pen and paper again.

I felt very confident right out of the gate, which is very strange considering it was the first time I'd used many of those pens for art in a hot minute! I actually did another casual-ish piece with Microns and gel pens in my sketchbook a few weeks before this, shown below:

but while I was VERY excited about my use of color, I wasn't super fond of the ink work. That's because I fucked up before I even started.

My sketchbook is, er, a sketchbook. The pages are pretty rough. I learned while working on the comic that technical pens are meant for use on smooth paper, and will often appear spotty/inconsistent on the rougher stuff. You can REALLY see it on the frame around the magpie. I switched to standard-issue copier paper in the comic, which plays much nicer with them. Sketch paper also frays brush pens. Oops! Guess that explains what happened to one of those poor, poor souls...

I got my first set of Microns in 2017-ish. I was really only interested in the fixed-width pens; I'd tried a brush pen earlier on and HATED. IT. With a burning passion. My hands have always been pretty unsteady, but it was worse when I was younger, so my lines looked godawful. The set came with a brush pen, though, and I made many valiant attempts to use it. In my sketchbook. Which inevitably frayed it terribly and rendered it unusable for most purposes.

I used the set quite a bit, but infrequently enough that I've still got most of them! My 005 is going strong, but the 05 is lost, and the 1 and 03 are not long for this world. I've known the 03 is on death's door for a while now, but the 1 just started giving out on me while working on Tallahassee. I tried to replace both, but instead ended up with a 2. It worked out, though; I used it to fill in large, dark spaces. I really should've been using an alcohol marker, hence the streakiness.

Back to the brush pen, I ended up getting another set in 2019 that was all brushes, but this time with colors! "It will be different now," I told myself. "I'm a better artist. I'm stronger, and I do colored lines digitally. So I will use a brush pen, and I will like it." I did not use those brush pens and I hated them. But I did end up with a mercifully unspoiled black brush pen thanks to those, and also a red.

All three of the brushes I've named make an appearance here. I used the frayed pen to texture the grass and the Spanish moss; it ended up perfect for soft, fluffy things. I used the healthy and whole one for the tree branches and the Alphas on the "knocked down" page to lend them a more organic feel. The red makes its appearance on the last page.

It's the staircase on the left. I drew the lines with the red brush, then VERY, VERY, VERY carefully colored around them with the black. The red lettering was done by writing it out in pencil, writing over them in red gel pen, then VERY, VERY, VERY carefully tracing around them with a black pen and filling things in. Do not do that. It is stupidly time-consuming. If I pull a similar trick next time, I'm just going to write with my white gel pen and then go over it again with my red brush.

For the sake of my sanity and yours, I will not discuss that process in any more depth. I will also abstain from telling you about the hellish nightmare that was trying to print copies to distribute as zines, because DEAR FUCKING LORD.

I've already spent an hour writing this, and I've got quite a bit to do today! So I'll end it off here. Thanks for reading this!

[mymadmedleyw]

For the fanfic writer ask game, 15, 20, and 29

For the fanfic writer asks: (link)

Huh, well... I have to say you challenged me, these are hard questions.

(Just as usual from me, prepare for a really long reply.)

15. What is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?

Definitely, this one is the evilest question, like ever. That was a low bow, shame on you, but seriously, I think I'd say it's WTPH (and even more once I’ll finish it - I'll certainly celebrate that day somehow I'm sure). After all, that one is my little child. Its development I follow eagerly as a parent looks over their firstborn. I watch it proudly as it stretches out into several one-shots and side stories with time. (Note: overall, I call everything belonging under the same concept as 'Heart AU', so all in all, I'm proud of my 'Heart AU'. 😊)

(For clarity, Heart AU includes (chronologically): CMOT, Seasonal Portal Cold (Happens Like Never) (whether it's the same for Dan in the past or just for Danny, I leave it open, because I can't decide it either sometimes), Huntress (Dan's Valerie, alternative timeline), WTPH (+BOTP), Portal (yes, this one belongs here too, oops, spoilers…), My daughter, my perfect base(same Dani as in GG), Core (Danny's Valerie), GG ones, LoD (soon…) (+Sailor), Dollhouse)

It's hard to choose only one though because every fanfic - if I exclude everything that is not DP - has its own beauty. GG is my second-born, which I treat as a bit more 'experienced'. Coming 'LoD' is my third child, which I plan, to prepare for to have but not my 'firstborn'. It's like having two boys, longing to have a girl once which you know you'd love from your heart the most wishing always to have a girl, but still you love your other kids too. Wrong metaphor, I know, but for a second, if I try to think about it, this is how I see them. For real, I can't decide which one is my favourite. But, let's play for a moment why I love (proud of) each of my fanfics:

Phantom: heart-wrenching concept, I'd never ever deny its existence, I love it, it's an AU, an existing version of things in my mind - also, the first thing that came to my mind while I was watching that episode with Amorpho. The moment I finished that episode I sat down, writing this. Also, this one is my first fanfic in DP. (Based on a comment I’ve got for it, I planned to write a just-as-short-one continuation for it, called 'Mad', about Maddie going to Vlad to get revenge on Phantom for Danny… - I have no idea why I never wrote it, but I guess time will tell if I come back to this concept once)

Seasonal Portal Cold (Happens Like Never): my attempt to write what happened before S1E1 - also, I needed something 'comforting' for myself after 'Phantom'. (Also, the title is hilarious, equaling Danny’s symptoms with a probable ‘cold’ got from the portal. This is where my hilarity has begun to give great titles to stories.)

WTPH: young parent's firstborn, first steps into something, surprised by its length (with originally planned 7 chapters - 7! how?! look at this monstrosity now…), and into what it developed with time. (To stay at the child-metaphor, this one right now a bit got neglected due to the second and third child… also, it's a 'teen' now, hardest to handle compared to spending time with its little, ‘harmless' sibling, GG…)

BOTP (aka short scenes from WTPH): exploring everything a bit more, giving more depth to things - also, as time went ahead, I realized I should have added more scenes to WTPH, so then, I did it in another way :) (messier this way though, I see it too…)

GG series (previously titled as BOT - Bonds Over Time): my second born, entirely different issues to cover up, an absolutely interesting mix of two different things (normal life and ghost issues), also a very much self-indulgent fanfic, if you love it too, I love you, if you don't love it, then I love it nevertheless. (If I need a bit of comfort, then I always imagine a scene with Dani and Dan, and then, if I have time, I write it down to. It doesn’t count if they have a ‘hard time’, their pair always calm me. It’s like a safe zone.)

CMOT (Certain Moment of Time): damn, I just love this, very short, but within those short chapters it tells a whole tale about Dan's Vlad. I'm still awed how it turned out. I could’ve never ever guessed I'd manage to seize everything just in some tiny chapters. Really short concepts but if you think about it… it's just much. (Also, I’m proud because it was for Angst Week and I did every day in time!)

My daughter, my perfect base: I'm sad it slipped back in the writing process because I have things to tell in this (things connected to GG), but I still love it from my heart - also it's my very first attempt to make something to someone - or at least in a way 😊. (Yeah, uh, sorry, Lena, I'm not sure if I said that or not - more like, if I had the courage to confess it or not back then - but this is not a 'good dad' Vlad one. It's how I imagine Dani's past with Vlad about the time we haven't seen in the series, so it won't be a 'happy one'. Even though, Dani’s past is known, but I have tiny interesting details in my sleeve. 😁)

Milkshake and Double-Cheese: my second attempt - my seriousfirst attempt - to write something for someone by a given prompt, I'm a bit proud I managed (sort of) to do that, especially with a character I've never thought I'd ever write. (more in the way to expand it more, not sure though when exactly)

Possibilities & A half of a half(a): ideas and prompts that don't belong under 'Heart AU' at all. (Except, the controversial ending of the latest one helped me a bit to use it for something in the future… 😁 I'm really proud of that idea, I have to say, but no more words, my lips are closed…)

LoD: if WTPH is my love-child, then LoD is my planned one, born in a 'stabile' background for it to exist safely. I fell in love with darkgray stories with Deliverance, so I wished for a long time to once write mine, I wasn't sure how, but I always wanted to do it. Well, LoD is my version for Valerie and Dan. :) Far away from Deliverance level, and I'm not sure if it could be counted then as darkgray one strictly, but I'm really looking forward to getting into it more once I can. (I have its first 4 and ½ chapters - the first one needs a very strong editing - but mostly it is prepared to share once WTPH is done. Also, I have 3 chapters in the middle, so when I manage to write the gap between the two written parts, then I'll be okay for a long time. Note: Sailor plays somewhere in its third part. Also, I have its entire main plot points so then I 'only' have to sit down for it and write - once, I don't have anything else to do.) (Note: missed yet to write Damon-one for Side Hoes Week gives a bit of start point for it.)

Dollhouse: definitely wrecks the 'innocence' of GG, so deny it, if you don't want it to be connected that. It's my messy child, my beloved black sheep in the family, and I'm proud of it too - though debating with myself constantly to continue working on that or not.

I think I listed everything that exists, now comes my ideas that are not out there yet, but in the line to exist soon:

20. What feedback makes you the happiest to hear?

planned InvisoBang one (no idea how to title it): if I could write it, then I'd be very proud. It's about an 'alternative' Dani, where she has her parents, getting into a similar situation like Danny when he got his ghostly powers, but of course, this story won't be the same as things that happened with Danny. I'll play a parallel game, many things will be the same at the same time, but different. Mostly it'll be about how things turn out if someone at some point decides else. If I could write it, then I'd the happiest person on Earth, not just because this idea wanted to be written, but also because I participated in an event to write something for a schedule, and I managed to do that. It's a big step, and not just writing something when I 'feel like that'.

All in all, every kind. I'm not getting much, so then I appreciate what I get - very very much. ^.^ I know there is a reader count but a feedback doesn't feel for me like a void. Any feedback is a note for me that someone not just 'accidentally' clicked on it or something. But if I could confess it from my heart, it's maybe when someone enlightens what they liked in something the most. It might be a really small detail, what they saw behind it, or an entire scene. I'd be glad to hear what effect a scene made. (Was it too much? Too lame? Did it make you wonder why that certain character said that or reacted the way they did?, etc.)

Also, it might be a constructive criticism too, I'm open to hearing that kind of feedbacks too. Like, if someone would be brave and tell me that they disagree with something, I'd like to hear it too, and explain how it was valid for example. (We even could get into a debate if you wish, but keep in mind, I'll always protect how I see my characters in my stories.) And I'd be happy to hear the 'turning point' too, what decided the fate of an actual story - closing the tab ('not my type'), or reading further (because something was catchy or you just want to see where it goes). And even more, a third option: if you read further, giving it a try what made you change your mind (same two ways apply here too - hate it from that point or it became catchy). In short, I'm curious. I'd love to hear anything. 😊 (Anything means, anything, if you want to write an essay about how much I misinterpret and picture a character who shouldn't be redeemed at all, then do it, it's okay too, my mailbox is ready for an intellectual battle to defend my choice of characterization.)

29. What part of the writing process do you enjoy the most? (Brainstorming, outlining, writing, editing, etc)

(Side note: I’d be happy to hear suggestion/feedback in case I use a word or expression wrong. Or to note me a typo. My not native ass begs for correction, and (polite) explaining to things. 😊. It’s okay to correct me. I’m okay with that too.

I guess, for me, it is the brainstorming and outlining process. Writing is fun too, after all, that's the part when everything gets on paper (document), and getting to live from one's brain, to then grow up into a chapter, but it is not always 'fun'. If the flow kicks in, then it's okay, but mostly it is just a struggle, over and over again. During the 'writing' process, I mostly write as things come into my mind, using brackets for words that don't come to my mind at that moment, or stopping constantly to look after how it is written (I have near to a dozen opened tabs for vocabulary if I sit down to write, that's my average number).

If, somehow the 'writing' process is okay, and everything is done from the beginning of a certain chapter to the end, then I call it the first 'draft'. I have for everything at least four-five drafts (in case of a ‘short’ story), before I start editing. Editing is my second torture. Sometimes, the plot shifts as I start correcting things. Sometimes, it stretches into more words, even as many that I have to cut it into parts. I'm not getting into it now, but you can imagine, it’s a damn circle, the writer’s devil wheel. Sometimes I just want to be a bit more familiar to use English, to avoid this endless circle during writing anything - funny though it is still easier for me than writing in my native language. So, my masochism is necessary and unavoidable.

In fact, brainstorming and outlining is not the best part of the writing process, if I think about that. The best part is (for me) when somehow, entirely unexpectedly something comes in and it clicks. Let me explain it through an example.

During the very beginning of WTPH, there was a comment that made everything betterbecause it made me realise I forgot about one certain basic thing during outlining my story - and believe me I took every single question what will happen that could lead everyone to the end and I answered them before I started writing WTPH, but still, somehow I overlooked this tiny detail...

I'm talking about this, the absolutely first comment to WTPH:

I forgot about the C.A.T. retake. I looked at my notes, and tried to search for the answer to how I could have forgotten it, but I didn’t find anything. I didn't write things that it was already written, nor that it wasn't written, so then I sat down and tried to figure out how to use it, because the part 'so soon'gave me a ring that it should be 'soon' after the C.A.T, but not after the retake… then it just clicked, and it clicked with many good ideas: the retake hasn't happened yet. It led then to many other questions, and soon it affected many things in the later chapters too. Like, Jazz thinking Dan is still there because of that - even though he said to her that he came because of Vlad (but it could have been a lie…). Dan having no cognition that there was an option to a retake, and against him, Danny was given that opportunity - creating the gap between them even more, how different they are. Then, there was an entire chapter about Danny and the retake - which was a great blink to 'avoid the shadow of the future' thought, and then as Danny got home, the 'future' (aka Dan) was there. And let's not forget the (untold) part that Dan got jealous that Danny got a second chance by doing a retake, feeling it unfair, doubling it with the truth that Jazz didn't 'remember' him, because Danny was a poor little puppy for Clockwork who 'retake' for him everything considered as faulty – cutting of everything that could have equaled with Dan or his timeline, how things happened, turned out, and everything... It is just a twist in the heart. And could have guessed this all came from one single part-note that just got stuck into my mind? No, of course not. Or could you imagine everything now without these parts and depths? Either. That is my best part, when from out of blue, something just clicks, making everything you have planned before, turning upside down and giving everything an even better background.

Anyway, thanks for the questions, those were hard to answer – especially the first one. 😃 (Seriously though, could anyone tell what is the story they are proudest of? Of course, it’s always the latest – or something… it’s an evil question, like asking what’s your favourite scene you’ve ever written – okay, no, surprisingly, I could give an answer for that 😅)

As I said, WTPH was officially outlined for 7 chapters. Now, you can imagine how much everything has changed with time by that (Just by numbers: it is standing now at 18/21-22 + 13 chapters in BOTP - it speaks for itself I guess). In conclusion, no matter the early brainstorming, or any attentive outlining, everything shifts to its final form at the editing - for me at least. Sometimes entire concepts got rewritten at the final part because the pace requires it to change into a completely different path. Mysteries of the soul of the story, I reckon. 😄

(I wait for the day when I won’t answer to something in a novel length…)

[ascalonianpicnic]

Sending u caithe and rox :v

yeah!!! rox goes under a cut because this got long lmao oops

Caithe:

First impression - I can very succinctly say it was 😳😳😳😳😳😳

Impression now - I love her and I love her depth, I love how she's imperfect and still learning and growing, especially with a sylvari commander, she just interests me so much very cool character

Favorite moment - it's the opening of All or Nothing, Scion and Champion, where Caithe says Aurene needs both of you, and Caithe finally ackowledges and accepts her own importance

Idea for a story - I've wanted to write about her time raising Aurene with the exalted in Tarir for a while, either along side one of my characters or just as herself and the self reflection and healing she worked on while away from the Grove

Unpopular opinion - the Grove was an unhealthy environment for her and her relationship to the Pale Tree was also pretty unhealthy with the expectations that were put on her

Favorite relationship - Caithe and Trahearne, their sibling relationsip and the way the two seem to understand each other, trust each other, and try to protect each other is always very sweet to me

Favorite headcanon - she's very close to and trusted among the exalted at this point. Tarir feels more like home to her than anywhere else, even the Grove or the Eye of the North

Rox:

First impression - I missed out on season 1 so my introduction to her was lws2. I thought she seemed pretty cool but could use some more screentime and fleshing out because she didn't have much going for her

Impression now - please gods bring her back anet bring her back please I'm begging I miss her let her be our main charr again please 😭

Favorite moment - watching her find a place she feels welcome and accepted among the Olmakhan during a Bug in the System is very very good

Idea for a story - I'd be really interested to see what happened up north during PoF from her perspective specifically. Also I would kill for a version of lws5 where we brought Rox along to deal with the charr instead of rtlock. @mystery-salad has said it before, but Rox and Ryland could have been extremely interesting foils

Unpopular opinion - She should be allowed to punch rtlock as hard as she can for the shit he did to her and put her through for the promise of a family that he never ending up giving her

Favorite relationship - Rox and Braham, the two are so close, it was really nice to see them find family in each other after losing so much and being mistreated so much

Favorite headcanon - She and Braham keep in touch regularly and have a place together in the Sandswept Isles. They take turns on whether she'll follow him on an adventure or he'll help her and the olmakhan out

[pinguinosentado]

heyo, quick question about your writing process. do you tend to really plan each chapter in depth or do you just... go with the flow with a general idea of where you want to the chapter to go? i find going with the flow works better for me but i always end up deviating from the plot and/or stumbling onto a whole other subplot, which isn't a bad thing but having to make it all connect to the main plot is becoming a pain, so i thought i'd ask you because your writing always seems to flow well :P

Great question. It depends on the story. After working through Nightfall a couple times and actually trying this strategy with Spiralling, I think I have a decent idea going forward of how I want to write big stories and it involves going through multiple drafts as follows:

Draft 1 I just eyeballed it and let plot points work themselves out. This is where I do the "wouldn't it be cool if..." stuff and your story kind of looks like a DnD campaign. Things don't have great continuity, you've got murder hornets in there for one chapter for some reason, but you also have great moments that crop up because you're not too worried about the little things.

Draft 2 is where I make it look like this was the plan all along. Rewrite pretty much everything, make dialogue more snappy, clean up TODO tags, all that stuff.

Drafts after this are for editing and have much more minor changes.

It takes a long time to go through the process but I think it really helps me trim down parts of the story I don't want to pursue and expand the more interesting parts. Sometimes the only way to know if a story is worth telling is by writing it down. That's how you get halfway through and realize there's no endgame so you don't end up bogging down your main story by trying.

At the end of the day I think planning each chapter in depth isn't quite as important as broadly planning story arcs and making sure they intertwine meaningfully. If the reader can see progress and feel like thins are happening, they're more likely to stick around for the next chapter.

Or just do what I did for Better Lucky than Good and just send it. Radroach? Uh, chocolate bar! They're friends now. Raiders? More competent raider kills them! Oops, made her too competent, now people are simping for her. Guess she's a mainstay now. I feel like it's worked out. Maybe continuity isn't all its cracked up to be and people are just looking for a good time. Take the Hitchhiker's Guide approach - be weird and have fun.

Sorry for the rambling answer. Thanks so much for the question and for implying my writing has any semblance of direction.

[mochuelovelli]

Aaaaa! Thx @a-real-chicxulub-vibe for the tag! :D!!

1. Favorite Color? Red and pink have been my go to colors lately but I feel like it changes so much XD

2. Currently Reading: Lots of fics in general (mostly Sashannarcy/Sasharcy/Anne or Marcy-centric fics) but as far as on going reads I've been keeping up with @rohad93 's Paper Therapy which is a really sweet Lumity fic that's got my heart rn.

As far as novels, I just started Dune bc I saw the movie and I finally wanted to read it to understand more of what the hell happen. Literally 30 pages in rn but I like it well enough jajaja.

3. Last Song? Sksksks basic bitch moment but That's What I Want by lilnasx cuz he's on my workout playlist

4. Last Series?

Arcane the League of Legends series on Netflix. My friends convinced me to watch it cuz they play the game. Animation is super steller and I care about the main sisters drama so there's that. (Seriously the Voice Acting is also amazing, especially in ep 3. If yanno u know). Also it has gay shit which is always a plus! Check it out if u like pretty animation and people with blue hair and pronouns /copypasta

Last series I finished was Inside Job and honestly I couldn't recommend it enough, super funny AND I care about 80% of the characters! Win-Win.

5. Last Movie?

Dune lol. I really liked it but it was long as hell so if u can't sit thru it I don't blame u. Still don't like that willy Wonka mother fucker lmao /lh

6. Sweet, Savory, or Spicy?

I LOVE spicy. But usually that's a treat for me cuz I don't live around places that serve good food so usually shits bland. I eat a lot of sweet stuff too.

7. Craving?

The Semester to be over Korean BBQ bc half the time I just eat frozen chicken tenders

8. Currently Working on:

lol I've been drawing a lot of amphibia (specifically sasharcy oop) cuz I've been planning out how to end my amphibia series centered around the calamity trio. I had a desire to write a Fix-It Au that tried to stay in line with the shows general tone but then I realized that I'd personally enjoyed if I just did what I want (which means I get to have the characters say fuck and face some tougher consequences). If you haven't read the 1st chapter it's up now! Make sure to read the tags!

Other than that project I've also got a very long series project for The Owl House that basically serves the purpose to make the series darker (more horror and gore), have more in-depth world building (with a strong focus on the Magic system and politics of the BIs), and basically have Luz and the other protags struggle with making tough calls in a more Urban-Fantasy version of the Boiling Isles while still trying to be good people (with mixed success). THAT'S gonna take a while I hope once I finish the amphibia series I can work on it again and get the 1st part out sometime in the 1st quarter of 2022 (god I hate school)

Lol definitely don't got 9 mutuals but if @georgiarose @katikacreations @fermented-writers-block @ravenconspiracy or anyone else wants to participate u can!

[bakugaykatsukii]

I Talk About Bakugou Because I'm Bored

Bakugou. He's best boy. My son.

No, actually, I'mma explain in as few words as possible why I absolutely adore his character.

Oops this got long.

Okay, so it's the first chapter/episode (I'll go off the anime because it's practically identical and more widespread) and it opens with Deku narrating. This is to establish an immediate connection between the audience and the main protagonist; it conveys how important Deku is. Plenty of shows do this so it's not really a big deal, just common practise. HOWEVER, the second character we hear speak is Bakugou, who is insulting Deku.

This is framed in a way that's supposed to make us dislike him, and continues all throughout the first episode. He's presented as a four year old trying to beat up our main character, and then his next scene is being ten years older and Still Trying To Beat Up Our Main Character. This makes him seem rotten to the core, as his character hasn't changed whatsoever in that time, and as an audience we know very little information about him.

On top of that, within this first episode he is deliberately made to have no redeeming qualities, nothing that could make him sympathetic in any way. The Sludge Villain fiasco isn't until ep2, and in this one he literally tells Deku to kill himself, reaching peak middle school bully. He destroys something the Main Protagonist clearly treasures and is privelaged in every conceivable way, even his (later obviously intense) desire to be a hero is simplified to monetary gain, with "I'll be even richer than All Might himself!!!" (or something to that effect). Later on I'd explain such a line to be a result of young Baku trying to quantify his future success, something he never mentions again after the Sludge Villain.

In these first twenty minutes of the anime, he's been absolutely dragged through the mud. Not only is he this arrogant, selfish, mean bully, he's also the sort of bully we can all relate to having, making him even more dislikable! It's so easy for an audience to write him off as irredeemable almost immediately.

But then comes ep2. Seasoned anime watchers likely brush over some small details, but the fact that the Sludge Villain attack happens when Bakugou is 14? Wow. At this point no one likes him, and to many people seeing this happen could come across as a sort of karmic punishment, deserving and therefore less sympathetic. And so Horikoshi succeeds in continuing to make him dislikable but also adding depth to this character who so clearly believed he was invincible.

However, any such depth is pretty much ignored by the audience. I've watched many reactions, and, at this point, due to Bakugou's sub par personality, most people don't care about what happened upon first viewing. To be fair, it's treated as background until Deku steps in and proves himself a hero, at which point he's promised a quirk and That's all anyone can think about.

(also there's some symbolism in this ep because Bakugou and Deku were both attacked by the Sludge Villain and saved by All Might, showing they are actually equals in character and have a lot in common.)

Anyway, so for the first few episodes no one gives two shits about Bakugou because he's meant to be dislikable. He's set up to be as bad as possible without needing to be arrested/never being redeemable. Yet, he's also not clearly set up to be redeemed whatsoever. Let me explain:

Quick break from bnha to head over to atla, Zuko is the perfect redemption arc. And some of that can be attributed to his presentation in the first few episodes: where he's portrayed as antagonistic but still honourable, and has a tragic past. He's the sort of character you know isn't actually bad at heart. But Bakugou hasn't got any tragic back story to speak of, and certainly isn't honourable, so we don't expect a redemption.

That's so interesting to me, because it basically means his character could go in any direction but most shounen fans expect him to be the typical rival. He's mean now and will be mean later, nbd. Will probably betray Deku in order to gain more power. That sort of stuff.

But, as the first season progresses, we're shown that Bakugou (on top of all of his anger issues and cruelty) is also so incredibly determined, to the point where it's harmful. A lot of people, even in season three, expect him to accept the LoV's offer, but as early as ep7 he's shown to be dedicated to being the best on his own. He utterly fails at pretending to be a villain, and doesn't manage to work with his "villain" teammate. When the USJ attack rolls around, he fights alongside Deku.

I feel like I've just word babbled for a while so here's a picture:

Isn't that adorable? Anyway, I continue.

Okay, recap: Bakugou is presented initially as bad and in no way sympathetic, but throughout season one some of his good qualities do get highlighted.

The Sports Festival is probably when I was most on edge about who my favourite character was. Todoroki vs Deku vs Bakugou was a whole internal debate. We all know who eventually won though. Point is, this is the first time Bakugou is supposed to seem likeable.

Like, yes, he helped out at the USJ, but he was still reckless and angry about it. In this arc his flaws stop seeming so antagonistic (even though he's now more at odds with 1-A than he's ever been) and are framed humorously; if you think about it, the only times you're not rooting for Bakugou in this whole arc is when you're laughing at his antics. He stops seeming like a massive unforgivable bully and becomes a secondary threat behind Todoroki, even though he ultimately wins the Festival.

One of the first things he does in the season is tell people messing with their class go away, albeit bluntly, and is then complimented for it by Kirishima, who is the nicest guy in the class! No longer are we supposed to necessarily dislike him, as he's being developed after all of season 1. Him saying "I'm gonna win" as his speach is expected by the audience and laughed at- absolutely nobody watching was scared he'd hurt Deku in some terrible way due to it.

The cavalry battle demonstrates that he can work in a team after some adjustment time, and he gets his own antagonist (Monoma) who we all root against! This makes us closer to his character, as in a way we have a common enemy.

Then obviously the single battles are super interesting, his one against Uraraka especially turning people to his side. Since Aizawa, who as an audience we trust after his actions at the USJ, backs up Bakugou's actions, we accept them as the right thing to have done. Especially since Bakugou later calls Uraraka "not fragile", demonstrating that he can respect people and actually isn't as discriminatory as his earlier actions against Deku might lead one to believe. Everything about this fight is pure gold.

The rest of his fights are also very interesting, so let me go off on a little tangent. He's the only person to 1) be uninjured by the end of the festival (he did win tho so...) and 2) he's the only person to win all of his fights by forcing his opponent into submission. He knocks out Uraraka and Kirishima, goes to knock out Tokoyami but has him give up instead and then knocks out Todoroki! His fights are so much more violent than the others, who are primarily trying to win by pushing their opponent out of the ring or by immobilising them, which could make him come across as more aggressive (which he is). But it actually works for his character considering the way he demonstrates respect is by giving his all, therefore in order to show he cares about these fights he has to go for absolutely decimating the person against him.

Also, interesting side note to all that, out of our main three festival contenders, Bakugou is the only one who actually needs to use the festival for its intended purpose: impressing scouts. Todoroki, as the son of Endeavour, is already known throughout the hero community as a promising young talent, and could even get the No2 hero to coach him if he so wished. Deku even says himself that he doesn't necessarily need to get scouted when All Might is already teaching him. Out of the three Bakugou has the most incentive to actually show off here, no guilt/baggage required.

Anyway blah Stain arc blah. Bakugou picks Jeanist to intern with, which many might think makes him shallow. Their quirks are in no way similar and their images are almost diametrically opposing, and Bakugou only chose him because he's such a highly ranked hero. However, I believe the creators crafted this pairing in order to convey how good of a future hero Bakugou promises to be. BJ, in these episodes, is all talk. He's such a superficial hero that, in order to rectify Bakugou's foul personality, he gives him a haircut. He demonstrates the arrogant nature that Stain hates so much. Meanwhile, Bakugou ignores him and is still arrogant in his own way, obviously, but not for anything other than his own pride. He, when you break it down, spends all of his time working towards a genuinely good goal, just to prove to himself that he's worthy- no desire for fans or fame in there, he wants success but isn't actually looking for any of the perks that come with it. This, imo, makes him better than BJ. Also, Bakugou never actually says he is working with BJ due to his rank and could be doing it because their quirks botha require so much time, practice and effort.

Okay, so, now for the final exams. This is where I decided he was my favourite. He works with Deku etc and proves to the audience that he can work with him and won't necessarily become a villain, plus All Might lets loose a little and proves he too can be violent and mean.

What I really love is about ep24 s2 is actually the bit that makes a lot of people chuckle: where Bakugou bites AM's hand. This kid has been giving his absolute all, putting every ounce of strength into beating his idol, because, lbh, his self worth depends on his success here, until he literally cannot raise his arms to punch anymore. And yet, he still refuses to go down, despite every odd against him. Something about that tenacity is just so incredible to me.

It's almost 1am, let's have another break, shall we?

Idk I thought it was funny when it came onto my dash.

Btw, it's now I wish I knew how to hide most of a post lololol.

Season three is just Baku's season, ngl. Like,,, so many of his Stans got their start here, and it's not hard to tell why. A big reason why Bakugou felt irredeemable was because he had no reason to be so mean, but the narrative makes up for that by then putting him through so many bad experiences.

There's been a million metas on why he's so perfect in this season, and this is already abhorrently long, but ah well.

Okay so he's captured by the League through no fault of his own. As the audience when we find out Bakugou is missing we immediately think he's done the dumb thing and gone off on his own, but it's quickly revealed that he's already been kidnapped. Tokoyami is also taken, cementing that the LoV are looking for kids with some villainous feature, but also showing that their perception of what makes a child villainous is skewed, since we know Tokoyami is good.

At the hideout Baku is entirely restrained and silent, so clearly against his will. If we remember every other time he's been restrained (so goddamn many) we'll think back to the Sludge Villain, finding out Deku had a quirk, after his *win* against Todoroki and his internship with BJ. In this way, it's obvious to tell that this is all a Bad experience for him, as those were all very negative times in his life. There's no way he'll join them.

None of the pros even consider it a possibility. Aizawa defends him against the press (and, once again, we like Aizawa! So we trust him) and none of his classmates think he could be evil, they're all primarily concerned for his safety. Even BJ, who insinuated that Baku could easily become a villain, doesn't appear to believe he'll turn down that path.

Also Baku is pretty cool when he fights of the villain like I'm ngl.

And then, when he sees All Might? And his face screws up? With his lip trembling? It's undercut with a joke but he's so obviously just a scared/relieved kid in that moment and it's gut wrenching to remember that.

It's really getting late and I'm at 11% here so speed round through the provisional licence exam.

He can tell Shindou is two faced

Even though he's blunt he's still got the instincts and smarts of a hero

The class looks up to him

Aizawa has a lot of favouritism for this child, y'all, how did I not notice this?

His failure here is intrinsic to his character growth as it means he hits absolute rock bottom and we can move onto:

Deku Vs Kacchan 2

Where to even start. The guilt and pain he experiences has made me tear up several times just from thinking about them, and that GODDAMN VOICE CRACK AS HE YELLS nope it hurts too bad.

It's sort of the culmination of every emotional issue Bakugou has exhibited throughout the series. He can't find self worth without constant praise and pressures himself to be unimaginably perfect, to a self destructive point. He has no support system in place to help him with these issues. His anger stops being repetitive/funny/annoying and is finally, clearly shown to be more damaging to himself than to anyone else, as he feels the only way he can deal with his stress and hurt is by lashing out at those who try to help him.

In this fight we also learn why Deku, even though he's Baku's victim, still looks up to him so much. And the whole dynamic is so perfect I might cry rn.

I am annoyed, though, that further than that Baku's mental health has been pretty much entirely ignored for 200 manga chapters. Probably my only complaint about him.

.

.

.

At an entirely selfish level, I can relate to Bakugou. Obviously I'm not a teenage boy with explosion powers who bullies people in order to feel any self worth, but the high standards for himself? The pain at any failures? Being told through childhood how great you are only for it to be torn away in your teens? That's all so painfully relatable to me, and so I feel an even deeper connection with his character.

One last picture to finish off:

[pseudorecovery-blog]

i'm back? + update

sorry if you thought i was dead lol

sooo i stopped posting here in july because i got a bit too obsessed with netflix (oops). i've been quite busy ever since school has started again, and tumblr isn't exactly one of my top priorities. but i'm going to try and start posting again because some of my posts were helpful to others i THINK?

anyway, here's an update on my mental health, not that anyone really cares that much, but it only makes sense to update after such a long period of absence ya know?

i've been off my renfrew meal plan since the first day of school, and i've made an agreement with my nutritionist to hit x amount of calories every day to maintain my weight. only i've been struggling & restricting portions a bit, but it adds up. so i've had to trick the scale during weigh-ins but not too much. i'd say i'm relatively stable (physically).

things have still been messy mentally. ed thoughts still control me, and my anxiety has increased a lot due to school. BUT depression has taken a backseat (definitely still there, currently not as loud as my worries). i feel like i can't have the "i don't care" mindset and the "i care way too much" mindset at the same time, which is a good thing. i'm on the opposite side of the struggle spectrum if that makes sense.

i don't want this post to be too long, so if anyone here cares about the more in-depth life events stuff, i'll make my next post about what i've been up to. i hope you guys are doing okay!