#idk it’s just so much fun to me thinking of alternative costumes I could do it all day | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mortimer-writes-sometimes · 3 years

Note

Idk if this is a good prompt but im always a sucker for clothes swap fluff so 👉👈 smth with grillby wearing sans’ jacket maybe?

This is so freaking cute. I might have to write like, three alternate versions of this.

Once again, I think I strayed a bit from expectation writing this one. Also, it’s entirely off-season. And I think I got a bit sloppy at the end, so I apologize for that. If you can’t tell, I don’t think very highly of my own writing. In any case, here’s the one-shot that nearly turned into multiple chapters!

Grillby Looks Good In Blue

Word count: 4961 Summary: When it’s revealed that Grillby doesn’t have a Halloween costume, Frisk comes up with a great idea.

Grillby had never been particularly festive. Even after opening his new bar on the surface, the ‘holiday spirit’ people talked about continued to elude him. The older members of his family didn’t celebrate many holidays, and what celebrations they did have were never more than another family gathering. He enjoyed them, of course. Any opportunity to see his brothers and niece was a welcome one! But he’d never decorated his bar or hosted any sort of seasonally themed party. So, when he learned about the human holiday of ‘Halloween’, he didn’t plan to come up with a costume.

(He planned to close early and hand out candy, of course. He had a soft spot for children.)

The night before Halloween, Grillby’s bar was lively with excited monsters and humans alike. The anticipation for the big night was palpable as people chattered among themselves, talking about their costumes, the best places to get candy, and parties that were going to be held. The sun had only just started to set when the bell above the door rang, a familiar family of monsters entering with a single human child.

“Welcome back,” Grillby greeted with a small smile. The whole gang was there- Toriel, Frisk, Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus, Sans… even Asgore was there. Sans and Frisk made a beeline for the bar while the rest of the group discussed seating arrangements. Grillby started pouring a glass of apple juice for Frisk automatically, placing it in front of them as the child struggled up onto a barstool. “It’s good to see you all again. What’s the occasion?”

Sans shrugged and hopped up into his usual seat. “Well, we’re gonna have a little All Hallows Eve Eve party while we put the finishing touches on everyone’s costumes. Thought that since we’re all here, it’d be nice to go out to eat together. It was mostly Frisk’s idea.”

Grillby chuckled. “Well, I think it was an excellent idea. Now, what can I get the two of you started with?”

The night wore on with plenty of food, drinks, and laughter as everyone caught up with each other. Frisk and Sans went back to sit with the others during dinner, but when it was time for dessert, Frisk was right back up at the bar to talk with Grillby. They were excited to tell him about their costume. “Guess what I’m going as for Halloween!” they demanded, bouncing on their stool.

Grillby set a piece of cake in front of Frisk as he carefully monitored the stool’s stability. “I don’t know, what?”

“Nooooo,” Frisk whined, “That’s not how it works! You have to guess!”

“Alright, alright.” He pretended to think for a moment, tapping his chin. “You’re going to be… adorable,” he teased, ruffling their hair.

Frisk laughed, pushing his hand away. “No, I’m not! I’m going to be scary!”

Grillby shook his head. “Forgive me for being unable to imagine that. What scary thing are you going as, then?”

Frisk was unable to contain their excitement any longer, jumping up on the stool. “I’m going to be a zombie!” they yelled. As they did, the stool teetered beneath them.

Ding! You’re blue now!

Grillby had reached out and grabbed Frisk by the shoulders at the same time Sans turned them blue and levitated them, the unbalanced stool the child was sitting on hitting the floor. Sans walked up to the bar and righted the stool, chuckling as he found a seat of his own. “Careful, kid. Don’t want you partying too hard now.”

Frisk gave both of them a sheepish grin as they were set back on their stool, looking up at Grillby. “Sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m going to be a zombie for Halloween. It was Sans’s idea!” They shoveled a big bite of chocolate cake in their mouth as they looked at the skeleton.

“Yeah,” Sans said with a shrug. “I mean, a supernatural being that keeps coming back to life no matter how many times you’ve killed it? It seems appropriate.”

Grillby wasn’t sure what Sans meant by that, but at that point, he was used to it enough to not bother asking. He turned to Frisk and poured them a glass of milk to go with their dessert. “Well, make sure Sans sends me a picture. I’m sure it will look great.”

Frisk nodded eagerly, taking the glass of milk and drinking half of it in one go. Grillby offered them a napkin before they could wipe their mouth on their sleeve. Frisk took it, scrubbing at their face and smiling up at him. “So,” they asked, “What’s your Halloween costume gonna be?”

“Oh, I’m not really doing anything for Halloween,” Grillby responded as he moved to wipe some crumbs from his bar. “I will be handing out candy, though, if you’d like to stop by.”

“You don’t have a costume?!” Apparently, in Frisk’s mind, this was a horrible tragedy. “But everyone put a costume together! Even Sans made one!”

Papyrus, overhearing this, looked up from where he’d been enjoying a plate of pasta with chocolate sauce. “Wait, Sans, you actually made a costume?! I thought you said you were just going to buy one!”

Sans shrugged. “Yeah, well, everyone else was making their own. Besides, the costume I came up with is a piece of art. You can’t get that at a store.”

Frisk didn’t look impressed. “Sans, your costume is literally a shirt with the word ‘life’ written on it and a bowl of lemon drops.”

“Well, I didn’t really have much to work with. You know what they say- when life gives you lemons…”

Papyrus groaned. “SANS THAT DOESN’T COUNT AS A COSTUME AT ALL!”

Grillby chuckled from behind the bar, fond. “I think it sounds very you, Sans.”

Sans grinned up at him. “Heh, at least someone appreciates my talents. Anyway, Grillbz, the kid is right. It’s our first Halloween on the surface. You gotta do something more than just hand out candy.”

Apparently, everyone was listening at that point, because that was when Alphys stood up. “O-Oh! If, um, if you still n-need a costume, I, uh… w-well I have some material l-leftover from making mine and Undyne’s! I’m sure we can- um- c-come up with some ideas, haha…”

“That sounds like a great idea,” Toriel chimed in. “You should join us for our costume-making party tonight, Grillby. Then you can accompany Frisk with us for trick-or-treating.”

Grillby adjusted his glasses, a bit flustered by all the sudden attention. “I-i wouldn’t want to intrude…”

Undyne laughed, getting up. “Too late, fire dude! If Frisk says you need a costume, then that’s that. Now let’s close this joint and get going already!”

As Undyne and Papyrus began rounding people up and making them go home so Grillby could close the bar, the fire monster chuckled to himself. Maybe, just this once, he could have a little more fun with a holiday.

It felt odd, being in Toriel’s house. Grillby considered the others his friends, but he’d never actually hung out with any of them outside the bar before. Everyone was gathered in the living room, where multiple old bedsheets had been spread on the floor and furniture. The group spread out around the living room as they helped each put finishing touches on their designs with hot glue and paint. “The bedsheets are a clever idea,” Grillby commented lightly as he took a cup of tea from Toriel (he didn’t have the heart to tell her that he usually didn’t drink tea. It was basically just hot flavored water).

The motherly monster smiled, sitting in an armchair and watching the scene in front of her with a fond look in her eye. “Dr. Alphys suggested it. She’s very good at arts and crafts!”

“Speaking of arts and crafts,” Sans interjected from his spot on the couch, “It’s time to figure out what Grillby’s costume is going to be.”

Alphys had a lot of ideas. “Oh! Y-you could go as a gender-bent v-version of Sailor Mars! Or maybe, um, if you c-can burn blue for- for the evening you could go a-a-as Rin Okumura from Blue Exorcist! Oh, I b-bet you could m-make a great Kyoya! Uh, from O-ouran Highschool Host Club?”

...Grillby didn’t understand what she said, but was flattered anyway. Kind of.

Sans decided to step in and rescue Grillby before Alphys put him in cat ears. “While those are all good ideas,” he said thoughtfully, “Maybe we should think of something that we can, y’know, throw together overnight? Plus I’m pretty sure all those characters wear like fancy clothes and stuff. That’s what Grillby wears already. Hardly counts as a costume.”

Papyrus stood up specifically so he could put his hands on his hips. “Well the whole point of a costume is to dress up for the evening! What is Grillby supposed to do? Dress down?”

That gave Frisk an idea. They got up, walking over to Grillby and pulling on his arms to make him stand up. “Come here for a second!” Then, they went and grabbed Sans, pulling him to stand next to Grillby. Frisk took a couple of steps back, rubbing their chin in thought as they inspected the two side-by-side. Apparently, they liked what they saw, because they smiled. “Hey Sans, do you mind if I change your costume a bit?”

“Uhhh, what are we talking about when we say ‘a bit’?” Sans asked, unsure of where Frisk was going with this.

Alphys seemed to catch on, because anyone who has read lots and lots of fanfiction can guess where this is going. “Ohhhh, that’s g-genius, Frisk! But, u-um, Grillby’s a lot taller than Sans.”

Frisk’s smile only widened, the plan coming together in their mind. “Sans’s jacket is big enough! And I’m sure we can find him a white T-shirt that’s big enough!”

The skeleton waved a hand at them, interrupting. “Sans’s jacket is big enough for what?”

Frisk and Alphys shared a mischievous look. Sans looked up at Grillby (who was still confused and clueless) and came to a terrible realization.

He was going to have to tie his shoes for once.

“Do I really have to keep the shirt tucked in?”

“Yes! Grillby always has his shirt tucked in!”

“A-and don’t- don’t slouch. You have to, um, g-get into character!”

“When did this go from a Halloween costume to full-on cosplay?”

Sans tugged at his suspenders as he inspected the completed outfit. Somehow, Frisk and Alphys had managed to find a white button-up, dress pants, and dress shoes to fit Sans. Grillby’s suspenders could be adjusted down to fit Sans, and bowties tended to be one-size-fits-all, so Sans got to wear the real deal in those departments. Finally, Toriel had taken the lenses out of an old pair of reading glasses she didn’t use and set the frames on Sans’s skull (Frisk taped the sides since Sans didn’t have ears).

The skeleton couldn’t help chuckling. “Man, no wonder Grillby is pretty fit. Getting dressed in this stuff is a whole workout.” It didn’t look bad, though. He glanced upstairs, where Papyrus and Toriel had whisked Grillby away for his ‘transformation’. Sans had already managed to get fully dressed, and his usual outfit was way simpler than Grillby’s. What was taking so long?

The others seemingly had the same thought. Undyne crossed her arms, walking to the base of the stairs. “HEY PAPYRUS! WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?!” she yelled through the house.

Papyrus cracked the door to Toriel’s room open for a moment. “JUST BE PATIENT, UNDYNE!”

Toriel pushed the door the rest of the way open, sighing. “Please, both of you, no shouting in the house. We… had a minor issue with finding a T-shirt, is all. Grillby is changing in my bathroom, he’ll be down in a moment.”

Just then, Papyrus spotted Sans, eyesockets widening. “OH MY GOD! Sans, you actually have style for once!”

“Heh, thanks, I guess…” Sans felt nervous, for some reason. What if Grillby thought he looked dumb? What if Grillby got really uncomfortable with this idea? What if he got mad? Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to force him to-

The door to Toriel’s room opened again, a warm light filling the hall. If Sans could have blushed, he would have.

Sans’s shorts were wide enough around the waist to fit Grillby, although they didn’t quite go down to his knees. The old white shirt Toriel had found him was a bit more form-fitting than the ones Sans usually wore, clinging near his waist and the center of his chest. Amusingly, Sans’s slippers were a bit too big on the fire monster, if the way he had to shuffle in them to get them to stay on was any indication. What got Sans, though, was the jacket.

Sans’s hoodie fit Grillby perfectly.

Grillby had shot Papyrus a questioning look when he was handed Sans’s jacket, still unsure about the whole thing. “Will this even fit me?” he asked skeptically. “I’m quite a bit taller than Sans.”

“Well, it’s very big on Sans,” Toriel pointed out. “Just try it on. I’m sure we can go find a cheap blue hoodie in the morning to complete the look if that doesn’t fit.”

Papyrus nodded. “Or if it smells too much like ketchup for you to bear!”

The bartender still wasn’t sure, but it couldn’t hurt to just try it on, right? Blushing a bit under the attention the other two were giving him, he shrugged on the blue jacket. Papyrus was right, it did smell a little like ketchup. But…

As the weight of the fabric settled around his shoulders, something in Grillby relaxed. The fabric that lined the inside of Sans’s jacket was surprisingly soft, and the sleeves were just long enough that if Grillby wanted to, he could pull them over his hands. The fire monster’s face grew hotter, a bright blush spreading across his cheeks. He was wearing Sans’s clothes. He was wearing Sans’s jacket. He wrapped his arms around himself without thinking, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, he found that Toriel and Papyrus were both staring at him. He shifted a bit, fiddling with the hoodie strings. “...wh-what? Is something wrong?”

After a long moment, Toriel smiled, raising a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hold back laughter. Papyrus tilted his head, entirely bemused. “Grillby, why did you turn blue? Is it that overwhelming? I told Sans he needed to wash that old thing more often!”

Toriel lost her composure, laughing softly. “That’s not what it means when a fire monster turns blue, Papyrus.”

“W-wait, I’m what-?!” Grillby ran back into Toriel’s bathroom. Sure enough, the blush on his cheeks had turned a vibrant blue, along with some of the flames that made up his hair. “Oh. Oh no.”

“‘Oh no’ what?! I don’t understand! Ms. Toriel, why are you laughing?!” Papyrus frowned, unhappy at being left out of the loop.

Toriel was all too happy to clarify. “Fire monsters blush differently than other monsters. The flames that make up their faces change temperature depending on the emotion. When they’re embarrassed, they may turn red. When flustered, a brighter orange. The most dazzling display, though, is when a fire monster is-”

“You can’t tell Sans!” Grillby suddenly cried out, nearly shouting it. He went back into the bedroom, willing himself to calm down. “Fuck, I can’t let him see me like this…!”

Toriel decided to let the language slide, focusing on calming Grillby down. “It’s alright,” she said soothingly, “We won’t tell him. You should tell him yourself.”

Grillby shook his head. “No, no no no no no. Sans can’t know about this. It’s entirely inappropriate, and it would ruin everything we already have-”

Toriel held up a hand to stop him. She tilted her head a bit, concerned. “Now why would it be inappropriate? You’re adults. If you both consent to a relationship, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Don’t phrase it like that,” Grillby groaned. “It’s- I’m a fire elemental and he’s a skeleton. We’re not going to be compatible.”

Toriel frowned at that. “Now that’s an outdated mindset and you know it,” she huffed. “You like him, don’t you? I’m sure even if he didn’t like you that way, you could still be friends after telling him.”

“Like him in what way?!?!” The Great Papyrus interrupted, starting to get irritated that the author seemed to keep forgetting he was there.

Toriel looked at Papyrus, then sighed, smiling a bit as she looked back at Grillby. Grillby groaned again, hanging his head in defeat. “Fire monsters turn blue,” he mumbled, “When they’re in love.”

Papyrus took a moment to process that. Grillby was in love… he’d turned blue when he put Sans’s jacket on… Oh! The pieces clicked in his skull. “HOLY FU-”

“LANGUAGE!”

Grillby took a deep breath as he walked down the stairs, trying to stay calm and, more importantly, stay cold. Sans would probably say I just need to ‘chill out’. Or be ‘cool’, Grillby thought to himself, his awkward smile becoming a bit more genuine in amusement. He stepped into the living room, holding his arms out in a sort of ‘Ta-da!’ motion. Frisk started clapping while Alphys took pictures, both of them far more excited about the outfit change than they should have been.

“Well if it isn’t the ‘hottest’ new fashion trend, Grillby casual.”

Sans caught Grillby’s attention, the fire monster turning to look at him. “Ha, funny, Sans,” is what he said on the outside. On the inside, he was screaming. Stay chill stay chill stay chill stay chill god damn it now that terrible joke is stuck in my head holy shit just stay chill!

“Y-you look nice,” Grillby managed to stammer out. “I never thought I’d see you wear a tie that wasn’t printed on the shirt.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sans replied with a wink. “So I guess it’s decided then? We’re going as each other for Halloween?”

Grillby nodded, barely trusting himself to speak. “I suppose so…”

Frisk jumped up on the couch. “WHICH MEANS YOU HAVE TO GO TRICK OR TREATING WITH US!!”

The next several minutes were filled with Toriel lecturing Frisk about jumping on furniture and yelling in the house.

The next day, the whole group met at Grillby’s to get ready, taking advantage of the fact that the restaurant had a total of four bathroom stalls. Grillby volunteered to put his costume on last, soul thrumming with anxiety. He was sure that the evening was going to be the hardest evening of his life (oh, the things he put himself through for Frisk’s sake).

Grillby was far from unaware of his feelings for Sans. He’d had a bit of a crush for a long time, and in the time since they’d been released from the Underground, that affection had only grown. There was just something about the skeleton that made him want to sit and talk with him forever. It would never work out, though. Relationships were complicated, and Grillby didn’t want to mess up what he already had. If he made a move and it didn’t work out, it would be hard to go back to just being friends. Needless to say, Sans’s new ability to turn Grillby’s flames blue without even being in the room was a huge problem.

“Hey fire dude, your turn!” Undyne pulled Grillby from his thoughts, thrusting the bartender’s costume into his arms. “Hurry up and get changed! It’s almost time to get going!”

Grillby nodded, a bit overwhelmed all of a sudden. “R-right. I’ll be back in a moment.”

He took his time getting dressed, carefully monitoring his temperature. For the most part, he was fine. He could forget that he was dressed as his favorite skeleton, even be amused by it. There was no problem at all… until he got to the jacket.

Slipping on Sans’s hoodie, Grillby felt his temperature immediately rise. He was never cold, but he could still appreciate that the jacket was comfortably warm. Between the smell and the weight, if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine Sans had his arms around him.

Oh god, there was no way he was going to make it through this night.

Cautiously stepping out of the bathroom stall, Grillby looked in the mirror and confirmed what he already suspected. That bright blue tint had returned to his face. He took a deep breath, willing it away, but some of the flames that formed his hair and cheeks wouldn’t cool off. The traitorous streaks of heat flickered and Grillby felt like he was being mocked.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened and Grillby panicked, pulling up the hood of the and ducking his head to hide his face. Glancing to the side, he wanted to scream. Of course, it was Sans.

Sans looked worried, dress shoes clicking on the tile floor as he walked over. “You okay, Grillbz? You’ve been in here for a while. I was starting to get worried.”

“I-i’m fine,” Grillby stammered, turning to look at the wall, the counter, anywhere but at Sans. “I’m just nervous. It’s the first time I’ve participated in something like this.”

Sans chuckled, a gentle sound that soothed some of Grillby’s nerves. “C’mon, you can’t mess up Halloween. Just ‘chill’ out and enjoy yourself.”

Sans was right. There wasn’t any reason to be this worked up. So long as he focused on the festivities, Grillby didn’t run any risk of being flustered again. “Alright. I’ll be out in a moment.” He straightened up, looking in the mirror again and sighing in relief. For now, the blush was gone.

Later that evening, the Halloween festivities were in full swing. Monster and human children alike were wandering up and down the streets with their parents, laughing and playing as their buckets and bags slowly filled with sweets. Frisk insisted on dragging as many people as they could up to each door with them, insisting that, “Larger groups of people get more candy!”

Of course, being a pretty big group of monsters, they couldn’t all fit on a doorstep at once. Instead, they all took turns. Two people would go with Frisk at a time, and the rest of them would just wave from the street.

Sans put his hands in his pockets as he watched Grillby and Asgore walk Frisk to the door of the next house, chuckling a bit as the former king stopped to admire the flowerbeds. His gaze drifted to Grillby. He’d been worried that the bartender would feel a little out of place, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, holding Frisk’s hand as the child cheered, “Trick or treat!”

The couple at the door stopped to ask about their costumes like any other house, putting a few pieces of candy in Frisk’s bag. Sans couldn’t hear what was said, but when Grillby explained his costume, whatever the couple said made him laugh. Sans smiled to himself, fond.

Undyne elbowed Sans, arching an eyebrow at him. “Dude, you’re staring again.”

Sans rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, well, he’s being really cute. Besides, anyone could appreciate a guy that hot.”

Undyne groaned. “Okay, but being serious, why don’t you just talk to him already? The guy obviously has a thing for you. Nobody would let you rack up a tab like yours if they didn’t want to cook for you all the time.”

“I know,” Sans admitted, “But he can be kinda shy. I don’t wanna scare him off by making the first move.”

She just rolled her eyes. “If he’s shy, he’s never gonna confess to you. Just go for it, man!”

Sans looked back at Grillby. In the time they’d been talking, the fire monster had picked Frisk up and put them on his shoulders, smiling as Frisk declared which house they should go to next. He was so good with the kid. He let Frisk hang out at the bar after school all the time, and he’d even helped them with their homework once or twice. The bartender was one of the sweetest guys Sans had ever met. How could the skeleton not like him? And Sans had to admit, he was getting a little impatient. “You know what? Fine,” he said, looking back at Undyne. “I’m gonna tell him.”

Undyne looked genuinely surprised. “Really?”

“Yup.”

“Tonight?”

“Right now.”

“Oh my god.” Undyne whipped out her phone, pulling up her camera. “Fucking finally. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this. Alphys! Alphys, it’s finally happening, come help me film this!”

Sans laughed, pulling his hands out of his pockets to fidget with his suspenders. “Thanks for the enthusiasm, but this is something I kinda want to do alone? Grillby’s a private guy. You’ll make him nervous.”

Undyne groaned. “Fine, but you better tell me how it goes!”

Sans gave her a thumbs-up. “Sure thing, captain.”

“I mean it!” she emphasized, jabbing a finger at his chest. “I want every detail.”

Sans chuckled. “I’ll make sure to ‘burn’ the moment in my memory. Now get out of here, they’re coming back.”

Grillby and Asgore rejoined the group, Grillby handing Frisk off to Toriel. “I believe it’s your turn, You Majesty.”

Toriel smiled a bit. “Now what have I told you about that? It’s just Toriel now.” She turned to the others. “Sans? Would you like to come as well?”

“I’ll c-come!” Alphys quickly interjected. “We sh-should all go! Except Sans and Grillby! G-Grillby just went, and, u-um… Sans, well…”

“I’m too lazy to go all the way up to the door,” Sans finished for her. “I’ll hang back here with Grillby. You all go on ahead.”

Toriel tilted her head, trying to figure out what Sans was planning before understanding hit her. She smiled a bit and nodded. “Alright, you two. Don’t fall too far behind.”

“This won’t take very long,” Sans assured her, waving them off. Frisk lead the way, and pretty soon it was just Sans and Grillby, walking side by side in the cool autumn evening.

Grillby adjusted his glasses, glancing curiously at Sans. “...alright. What is this all about? I can tell you’re plotting something.”

Sans chuckled. “Yeah, you’ve always been able to read me pretty well.” And somehow the bartender was still totally oblivious. “I just wanted to talk with you for a minute. Just you and me.” He stopped walking, looking Grillby up and down. “...y’know, you don’t look half bad in my jacket.”

Oh god. The fear of blushing and tipping Sans off returned at full force, Grillby swallowing hard. “Th-thank you? Um, I think you look nice, too. Dressed up, I mean.”

“Eh, you pull it off better.” Sans shrugged. “You know, you’ve been kinda quiet this evening. You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Grillby answered too quickly. He’d honestly been avoiding talking to Sans too much. Sans was far too good at flustering him and making him laugh. “Why do you ask?”

Sans huffed, fond as he tilted his head. “Well, I’ve been thinking. Hanging out with everybody is great and all, but I’d kinda like to spend more time with just you, y’know?” He rubbed the back of his neck, a little nervous. He didn’t want to make Grillby uncomfortable by being too direct, but he couldn’t be too subtle. Otherwise, it would go over the fire monster’s head. He took a deep breath and braced himself. “I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go get breakfast or something sometime?”

Grillby nearly choked. What was Sans trying to say? Surely he wasn’t asking what Grillby wanted him to thought he might be asking. He felt his temperature rise without his permission and reflectively pulled up the hood of the jacket, covering his face with his sleeves. If anything, remembering that he was hiding in Sans’s jacket just made it worse. He tried to say something, but to his dismay, all he could get out was a flustered squeak.

That was about the reaction Sans was expecting. “Grillby? You okay?” Sans asked gently. He stepped closer, trying to move into the bartender’s field of vision.

“F-f-fine…!” Grillby managed. He was dead. He was going to die. This was a disaster.

“Heh, sure,” Sans mumbled, giving him a small smile. “Alright, if you’re gonna be shy about it, let’s try this a different way.” The skeleton reached up and gently took Grillby’s hands in his own, pulling them away. Grillby’s face was burning with beautiful shades of red, orange, and blue, all mixing together. Sans chuckled a bit, putting his hands on the bartender’s shoulders and making him lean over. “Come here, you dork.” He stood up on his toes, pulling the fire monster’s hood down as he did.

The light show when Sans kissed him was spectacular.

Papyrus, who had been watching the whole time, jumped out of the bushes. “OH MY GOD, SANS!” He was shortly followed by Undyne, Alphys, and Frisk, who were all rewatching the scene from Frisk’s phone.

“That was s-so cute!” Alphys gushed. “You’re so adorable t-together! I think it’s my new OTP.”

Grillby groaned, covering his face with one hand as Sans laughed. “I hate all of you.” He stopped as a hand slipped into his own, looking down at Sans.

Sans smiled up at him, still chuckling a bit. His gaze softened a bit as he ran his thumb over Grillby’s knuckles. “So,” he said quietly, “What do you say, firefly? Coffee this Saturday.”

Grillby smiled, finally letting himself blush without panicking. He laced their fingers together and gave the skeleton a gentle nod. “That sounds lovely.”

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! If you did, consider leaving me a comment to tell me your favorite part. If you want to send me a prompt, my asks are open!

#dustywrites #sans #grillby #undertale #undertale fic #oneshot #ask answered #sans undertale #grillby undertale #sans x grillby #sansby #fluff fic #this got so long #and i wrote most of it past midnight

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jonathanrook · 3 years

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legally i have to give you intern 2

em you have awoken an ungodly beast inside me so i need to warn everyone that this post is. incomprehensible. but so is mymusic so i guess we're all used to it.

How I feel about this character:

i watched mymusic as it was airing/running/coming out specifically bc i'm a jack stannie, and as a kid melvin was my second favorite character (w scene being in first, obvs) for mostly that reason. he basically hovered around this ranking until my most recent rewatch in the summer of 2020, which was actually spurred by some events in my personal life that vaguely reminded me of scene's season two arc w jeff, and i thought it'd been a funny/nostalgic way to get my mind off things.

(i want to side note here that -- i know you didn't ask, but -- i love jeff. i have since i was a kid. like, obviously not as a person but i think he's honestly the best written character in the series, w indie close in second. idk what it says about the f*nes that their most interesting and well rounded characters are the villains, but i digress. to this day i'm salty that jeff never got added to the theme song and wasn't really included in promotional merch.)

however, in said rewatch, certain things about how he was written started to really get under my skin, and certain moments in particular have really stuck out to me in a negative way. like, for the entirety of season one and a good chunk of season two he's one person, and then he leaves mymusic and we have an entirely different person, but not in a nuanced character building sort of way.

i've said a few of these points before but i'll repeat them here regardless. at the risk of sounding like i've put on a tin-foil hat, it's my sneaking suspicion that scindie was supposed to be endgame, but since fan reception to it was pretty neutral, and scenechart stans were, at the very least, more vocal, changes were made to the intended finale, which is why in the last scene he's basically just. indie. like, if everything about the show was exactly the same but indie was the one who had ended up w scene in the end that would have made so much more sense since a) scene had a crush on indie that he/everyone knew about and b) indie was kind of a dick despite the half-assed attempts at redemption, so both combined make it slightly less weird/out-of-nowhere that he kisses her w/o her consent (since, even though like. implied consent is not real at worst and a fuzzy subject at best but you could argue that scene would want indie to kiss her); and this isn't even taking into consideration that c) melvin is heavily queer-coded in both seasons, with his friendship with nerdcore being, dare i say, homoerotic at times, and his arc about leaving the company and changing his name mirroring nerdcore's almost perfectly (with nerdcore being a character who b*nny [at least] has all but confirmed is actually gay).

i've also been on the fence about melvin's behavior in that final scene making more sense for indie's character being an intentional decision as a way of shoe-horning in a theme about the lasting effects of abuse/cycles of abuse/the corruption of power but i also don't think the f*nes are smart enough for that. however, for the sake of defending my straw theory, i also point to the scene where indie comes to visit the acid factory after melvin told him to shut up, and we see melvin use reggie as a foot-stool, going as far as to say that it feels good to do so (which, in all honesty, i think is a bit that was entirely improvised, since the f*nes were "notorious for never saying cut" [paraphrased from a bts video], but work w me here). he's also given a seltzer mug that perfectly resembles indie's kombucha mug. in these moment melvin is directly emulating the behavior of his previous abuser, purposefully or not, literal moments after being promoted to an equal position of authority, which was totally just included as a joke, but could also be argued is meant to show that he's becoming indie; or, if we acknowledge that the f*nes have no fucking clue what they're doing and were just directing like chickens with their heads cut off, it at least shows that melvin's new position of power is leading him to understand where indie was coming from, which is supported by their conversation in the finale.

the following contains a couple brief mentions of irl sexual assault so if that's something you'd like to avoid skip to the next section!

HOWEVER, that alone isn't what i have a problem with, since i think melvin is completely justified in being a dick to indie (and also reggie enthusiastically consents to being used as an ottoman so good for him i guess). the issue comes completely in how he treats scene in the scenes where the f*nes clearly thought what they were writing was super romantic. like, the fact that the only thing he's got hung on his cubicle wall is a single picture of scene taken from the fucking opening credits (like. how hard would it have been to have. literally any other photo[s] esp since there's an abundance of cute bts pics of the cast in costume that could have been put there) and him scrolling through her twitter at work really creep me out (and at the risk of oversharing the weird, like, social media stalking angle really fucks w me bc that may or may not have been the exact fucking thing i was trying to escape in rewatching mymusic in the first place). also, having him sexually assault scene as a means of comforting her after she had just been sexually assaulted in the same way by someone else was... a choice (which is also, uh, personally familiar).

again, i recognize that demonizing melvin wasn't what the f*nes were trying to do here, and i perhaps seem hypocritical for opening liking jeff, but what makes jeff work is he's intentionally "the bad guy." having melvin do the same things as indie and jeff uncritically only proves further that the f*nes can't write for shit, and ruins his character which had, up until he quit mymusic, been unironically good. like, it's obviously not beneficial that the exact asshole things he does are personally triggering, but the character would still be a mess and i would still dislike him regardless.

i want to say though that jack delivers a surprisingly great performance despite how shoddily his character is constructed and how little experience he has as an actor. like, it's clear he was having a lot of fun on set and i would love to see him in something, like, good; i think he could pull off even like, guest television roles, which is a lot more than can be said for other youtubers.

-----

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

nerdchart should have been canon i'm sorry. i know that close, nonromantic male friendships are valuable, esp between queer men, but also gd wouldn't it have been baller to have a canon interracial mlm ship. like. c'mon. and they could have been such a good friends to lovers story! we already got to see how melvin was the only person nerdcore could really be himself around so it would have been so cool if melvin's self-advocacy arc/flowchart arc had revolved more around nerdcore with a little role-reversal! and then they kiss! like god intended!

also i ship him and indie bc i'm a grubby little gremlin man ohoho. enemies w weird sexual tension? sign me up. not even enemies to lovers i'm not saying this one should have been canon i just love the vibes. do you think melvin and indie ever explored each other's bod-- *gunshot*

-----

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

i wish him and scene had just been bros. god remember in season one when they were just bros that was the life.

alternatively, i wish we'd seen more bonding w him and metal, as a means of reconciling that. uh. moment from season one. along similar lines i would have loved to see him get closer w rayna in a similar way to how she bonded w nerdcore in season two. i think that could have also worked to show how she'd grown between the two seasons.

-----

My unpopular opinion about this character:

HIM. AND. SCENE. SHOULD. HAVE. JUST. BEEN. BROS. (though i think my general dislike of him is pretty unpopular, lmao).

when the show was coming out i don't think it's unfair to say that scenechart/scenetern 2 was the most popular ship (aside from potentially techstep whatever) but luckily we're all gay and have better taste now. unfortunately i totally fell into this camp and scenechart was even my otp for years (until it was arguably more unfortunately usurped by reddie in 2019) and i didn't even realise that it's a hot mess until, again, the summer of 2020.

when actually watching the show the choices the f*nes made in regards to how the ship actually became canon are so odd and out of place, too? okay, so, on one hand everyone just shipped scenechart bc it was the whitest hettiest ship in the show (esp in season two when idol left) aside from scindie (and we already discussed what's wrong w that). but, on the other hand, lainey and jack clearly also just got along? and i suspect that lainey probably also admired jack's work and was happy to be working with him bc we have so many shots throughout even the first season when the ship wasn't the intended endgame of lainey scene looking really fondly at jack melvin at times when it doesn't make much sense at all, esp since she's smitten w indie? this trend continues into the second season which arguably works but it still seems really out of place for him to be the one to ultimately make the first move on her since it's clear she was the one crushing this whole time and also he's gay! this bitch is gay what the fuck!!

-----

One thing I wish had happened with this character in canon:

at this point i'm struggling to think of anything i haven't covered yet. oops.

i've talked at length before about how he should have been a woman/lesbian, but the tl;dr is that it would have solved a lot of the queer-coding "problems" that just didn't get resolved in the show. if he'd been a lesbian then not only would the friendship w nerdcore still made sense, but scenechart would have as well (not even mentioning that both of scene's other relationships w men make a lot of sense as comphet anyway).

#long post #this took me an hour to write i literally had to get a snack in the middle of it #mymusicshow #mymusic show #question #mlentertainment #also having a character named scene when you have to write about scenes like. in a story is an absolute bitch

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luuxxart · 4 years

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GIVE US THE NEW WARRIORS HEADCANONS UR REDESIGNS ARE AMAZINGJAKMAKWJDKSL💖💖💖

aaaa omG thank you!! :’D I’m actually strangely attached to these characters so I’ll try to do my best to explain the design choices I made and everything

ok so here we go.

SCREENTIME

* first off

* Not an entirely bad name??

* I would prefer Worm tho as a reference to the Morris Worm

* And I did make his design a little more wormy. Kinda Doc Ock-ish.

* So his tragic backstory... Well. Long long ago... when he was just a little kid... his dad fucked his mom.

* Jkjkjkjk. But it would be better than fucking “internet gas.”

* To take this in a darker route, I think it would be cool if his grandad had been experimenting with creating cyborgs and turned his dad into one. And then turned Screentime into one. So Screentime escaped sort of half-finished and is just trying to help others who might mirror his situation of abuse.

* I like to think his first superhero story was he was just like fucking buying bulk ramen and then hears a dude harassing a girl in the next aisle over and is like. huh. word. guess I can intimidate this guy by threatening to take his fucking social security and make it public knowledge.

* Bc he can hook up to the internet and updates his database frequently so he can just Mr. Robot people.

* He’s probably like 18 or 19. Never was schooled and college is kinda pointless when you have the whole internet in your brain.

* So he’s just living in a rundown apartment. Payin bills by doing odd jobs and doin bitcoin stocks.

* On the battlefield, he’d definitely be a mind games kind of guy, but he’d also use his worm limbs for dexterity and could probably discharge bursts of electricity at the cost of losing some information in his database.

* Also it’s probably really hard to tell, but Screentime is my favorite out of the original designs.

TRAILBLAZER

* again! Not a bad name at all!

* Made me think of fire though... and hiking... so

* We really don’t have much information on these characters so they were kinda fun to play around w and I think she was my favorite in terms of concepts.

* Also what the fuck are those red things on her head am I just fucking dumb???

* They look like devil horns. So I’m gonna run with it.

* Ok so she got a backpack from a god.

* Well that god was a god of Hell and also her godfather. Her actual father was another god of Hell. And idk how gods really work in the Marvel universe?? But I think there’s probably at least some high-ranking demons of Hell. I think Hell exists??? If I remember Doctor Strange correctly? (Maybe not Doctor Strange... bro everything is so hard to keep up with)

* Anyway, her dad was killed by some hero traveling through Hell at some point probably. And so she’s been preparing since to go avenge him.

* Then she gets to earth and is kinda like... well, avenging can wait.

* And the reason she can’t just get anything she wants out of the backpacks is because the backpacks are alive. But over time as she gains their trust, they start to become more and more useful. So, like magikarp to gyarados.

* her outfit was so fucking hard to redesign. like,,, I still don’t like it. The backpacks and stuff yes. Everything else no. But it’s better than the Neon Nightmare.

* Her powerset shouldn’t be limited to just her backpacks though. I saw a lot of people complain about that. Bc anyone could steal them from her and use them?

* So I think she should have superhuman strength. Also, her backpacks should only respond to her command. It’d be cute if they were also kinda cheeky about it. Bc yeah she’s a spoiled little brat. But she’s their spoiled little brat so they’re not opening up for anybody but her.

* She’s defo the youngest of the group

* Even if she is an immortal demon kid lol

bro I can’t even say it

I’m renaming them Shuriken. Effective immediately.

SHURIKEN

* So Shuriken is non-binary. Which I think is really cool! They’re not the first non-binary character that Marvel has,, bc Loki exists,, but while they’re not a good step forward... they’re a step forward nonetheless and I kinda commend them for at least trying.

* But goddamnit why did they have to go and name them S

* Sn

* please don’t make me say it

* So Shuriken has ice powers that are sort of threatening to take them over. Like if Iceman couldn’t control his powers ig. Their powers sort of came to them mysteriously in the middle of them already having a gender crisis and high school is happening and all that blah and now they’re just like,,, so ,, “superheroing seems to be a good venture right now. Maybe I’ll find myself in heroics and forget about everything else”

* And most of the heroic ideal is on their brother, ,,,, uh,,,, Quarterback,,, who idolizes the “classic” heroes like Cap, Iron Man, and Thor.

* Shuriken prefers reading news stories about Night Slasher and Punisher, Jessica Jones, and just generally, the other edgier heroes.

* But because their brother idolizes heroics so much, it makes it sort of a surprise when Shuriken takes up their mantle before Quarterback realizes anything is going on.

* And how does the ice stuff affect them? They’re sort of on the fence about finding a cure and whatnot. Most people speculate its like later-in-life mutation, but Shuriken isn’t satisfied with this answer.

*they sometimes chop off the spiky ice parts for convenience(they have no feeling in the frozen over parts of their body)

*(I’m toying with the idea of them having a crush on Ms. Marvel ngl)

QUARTERBACK

* not much to say about him? Other than goddamn that neon was terrible.

* Also I’ve seen jocks wear pink, so some youtube dudes complaining about that can fuck off. Maybe not that bright of a shade?

* But I figure with a defensive character, you would definitely want a bulkier frame. At least Power Man levels of a bulky frame? Like I’m not talking Hulk or Thing. Just.. yknow. At least a good Cap size dude.

* Also a blockier costume would make sense. Since he’s supposed to be. Uh. Safe. For people to like,, crowd behind. Like a safe

* Like a safe sp

* Like a

* safespace.

* I also like to think he was sort of a stereotypical jock and then here comes his little sibling (by like,, 7 minutes) who’s finally just like “yo fuck the gender spectrum” and so he finally opens up to his own interests that he’s been burying

* Like the color coral

* Which is definitely not pink my dudiest of dudes ;)

* He’s definitely more

* CHILL

* than Shuriken about the whole ice taking over his body thing. Like, at the end of the day, he’s still a jock even if he did turn out to be a mutant. Like , the world didn’t just end because he’s got some cool ice powers

* Also only being able to create a shield if it’s for others?? What a fucking joke man come on

* He can create platforms of ice and just mainly uses the ice as shields.

B-NEGATIVE

* OK THIS IS MY SON

* not the original he kinda just looked like he took one look at Welcome to the Black Parade and said “I can do that outfit. But crappier.”

* Listen,,,, I constructed a son

* It’s like that thing from that movie

* I was like

* “We can rebuild him...”

* is that fucking robocop

* At any rate, yeah yeah, Morbius stuff is still withstanding

* What if

* And hear me out

* His parents were sort of antivax sort of anti-mutant sort of folk. They get into some sort of car accident when he’s kinda young. He gets a blood transfusion against his parent’s wishes and in the end also gets adopted by this weirdass doctor who probably has some nefarious purpose, considering he used Morbius’ blood in the first place.

* This would explain how he could survive having vampirism since a doctor would probably have easier access to donated blood and stuff.

* Should the blood be going to people who actually need a transfusion? yes, however, this doctor is clearly ,, off his fucking rocker and corrupt as hell,, and what is his purpose?? The world may never know

* I don’t think B-Negative cares about anything. Like he just seems like that kind of character? Totally and inherently aloof and selfish because he’s just been fed blood on a silver spoon his whole life?

* Just does not care

* He does care about music though. Specifically rock(alternative, punk, hard, etc) and the history of it.

* me personally I really like Pink Floyd and I’m not going to,, shove my beliefs onto a character but

* I’m going to shove my beliefs onto a character and say his favorite song of all time is probably Welcome to the Machine

* And he probably will not shut up about how righteous of a song it is and how pertinent the message is

* Bc I think it fits,,, a lot of things about the stuff I’ve wrote with the backstories of these characters

* and yes

* he can perfectly mimic Great Gig in the Sky. the man!! has pipes!!!

* I also think it would be cool if he’s the oldest of them? Like, younger than 21 but he’s out of high school. Just trying to get a bachelors in music history at fuckin uh. NYU probably.

* he unironically likes twilight

#marvel #new warriors #ask #ik it looks weird haha i wrote this all in my notes and just copy pasted

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cryptocism · 5 years

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So since pretty much everyone agrees that Tim needs a name change, and I think most people dislike the first two RR costumes (I dislike the pretty much Robin one too, because it seems like he hasn’t accept losing Robin, when I feel a lot of his comics right after Bruce W died was about that?) which leads me to: What do you think Tim’s costume would look like if he got a good outfit, and what name?

o yeah i was not a fan of the cowl. and the n52 design is just… so busy and excessively accessorised (excessorised???) - i drew it a couple times for this project im workin on and the whole process was me squinting at reference panels and whispering softly but passionately “what the fuck” - and i agree on the rebirth RR design, it looks more derivative of dick and jasons retconned robin costumes than inspired by tims og 80s design (however. the unternet costume - its simple and appealing and clearly nightwing-inspired and i am a fan, also the giant scythe/halberd/mace thing was so ridiculous i loved it)

which is why i thank pat gleason for my life bc tims new outfit is such a good modernisation of his original robin design. so i mean to answer ur question i think tim has a p good design right now (although not for long i guess since they announced hed get a new look/codename soon) BUT if i were in charge of debuting a new design and name… hm……….

whatever his new name is, it’d preferably have something to do with wherever his personal storyline is headed, which i dont know, and for all my complaining abt how red robin is a shit name i dont actually have great alternatives lol. i did see somewhere the suggestion for the name “Cardinal” which i dont hate, so ill use that as a placeholder for now (although “Halcyon” is an interesting option)

tangentially, my personal preference for his robin graduation would be a miniseries featuring tim and damian both as robin, begrudgingly having to work together to fight some greater enemy and becoming true brothers along the way. ending with tim giving damian his blessing to be robin (a post-mantle blessing but still) with the first amicable passing on of the robin title literally ever

as for Look: his new design should a) accurately reflect his character b) mesh well with whatever tone his personal storyline is going for c) be a natural progression of gleasons newest iteration while still d) able to stand as its own iconic look

i always thought tim would do really well in a more grounded noir-style detective story, both using and especially subverting the tropes of the genre (for instance tim befriends every femme fatale and romances absolutely zero of them. theyre pals and have weekly movie nights or smthn) obvs using some of the mystery elements to springboard into classic comic wild times etc etc. theres also a great opportunity to include some more cyberpunk aesthetics to the look and feel ofthe story

i.e. tim is part of the waynetech r&d teams, working with them to develop new technologies, and proceeding to test out some of the prototypes while doing vigilante work (bc terry had to get his rocket boots from somewhere ok). gotham is still gotham, but its starting to see some of that neo-futuristic/blade runner flavour from batman beyond.

so. cyberpunk detective story starring cha boy tim drake. im not gonna draw it rn but lemme just gather some ref elements here in case i ever do

first off - motorcycle, obviously. redbird is back babey and this time its a two-wheeler. all his gear would be modded the hell out of, but the motorcycle itself would be an approximate balance of 70% ducati and 30% tron lightcycle situation. a speedy bike with ample room for the edgy overkill batfam aesthetic, with maybe a little akira in there who knows

same goes for helmet; 70/30 on this modern/cyberpunk situation. heres a quickly photoshopped “cardinal” helmet lol

although theres totally room for some daft-punk leds in there. serving as a heads up display AND a fun neon aesthetic. I really want to play into that John Wick neo-noir situation.

besides that… ive got a preference for street style over the superhero spandex, so… detective jacket. every detective has a good jacket. norm breyfogle made a comment on his early tim robin designs that itd be pretty either/or on jacket vs cape, merging the two looked a little silly. for robin they probably decided on cape to keep things classic, but for cardinal i can do what i want

and i want to bring back some of this popped collar.

which i basically did for that other tim design i drew, which i still like, so this one would probably be at least a lil borrowed from that.

attempting to merge cape/jacket might end up smthn like these:

which admittedly i like.

admittedly… i do also like the concept of wings introduced in tims n52 design, i just think they couldve been hidden/incorporated better

greig rapson had a sweet robin design that had a sort of flight-suit (which dove into the actual mechanics??? i love) and since id want to dive into tim testing out waynetech prototypes, its a pretty good natural progression from him to terrys glider thing

the whole ensemble would be fairly understated however - enough to semi blend in with any crowd, hero or civilian. after all the story focus would be just as much about solving the mystery as it is punching the bad guy

the various interchangeable gadgets would be both prototypes of terrys eventual batsuit, and also all the failed prototypes that never managed to get off the ground. just to add an element of tension/plot devices wherein tims gear could break or malfunction pretty much anytime.

im fixated on this rocket boot situation though so itd be a paired down version of terrys eventual seamless/invisible design. still noticable and clunky, but working with the sleek modernish style outlined by gleason

smthn almost similar to the prowler actually from spiderverse - as in: Clearly Rocketboots, and clearly diy’d the shit out of, but still working with that Aesthetic

(most of the screencaps of prowler are dark af so im taking this from jesus alonso iglesias concept art)

im debating on the addition of more overtly birdlike/cyberpunk elements, so ill add this here cause its dope as fuck (from ahmet atil akar).

and a lot of batclan capes tend to end with that concave spiked look, which works great for bats but not really for birds. a tailcoat might emulate the bird tail, but it also might evoke Penguin a lil too much idk.

also in the interest of keeping everything within the same sort of design language, i would Love to see some new villains emulating deconstructionist/architectural kawakubo fashion:

like could you imagine the supervillain potential

so uhhh yeah. budding cyberpunk detective story with a little noir and a little technological advancement progressing in fits and starts. taking from the gleason foundation with heavy black featuring brighter coloured accents and modern sleekness, made a little dorky via prototype technology, with some extra neon blade runner shit thrown in there.

depending on how much i love or hate the new codename/design reveal i might draw this via inspired motivation or spiteful motivation lol

#asks #tim drake #tim redesign ref #tim scarlet redesign

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aahsoka · 4 years

Text

So having been on tiktok for a bit I wanna talk a little about it.

What I like

It’s actually rather entertaining to scroll through up to 30 second videos one after the other. Sometimes the humor falls flat or it’s not your taste, but the algorithim is quite good at recommending the kind of content you will like.

I joined right when there was a big trend going around about sharing your culture, and soon after a Blackout trend where non-Black creators stopped posting for a day & spread/supported videos by Black creators. So I ended up with a fairly diverse fyp or “for you page”. It also quickly gathered that I am bisexual, so I get plenty of lgbt+ content. There’s some art mixed in there, some cosplay, some historical costuming/seamstresses, lots of avatar jokes lately, musical theatre content, fashion, girls in bikinis on rollerskates (in outer space), commentary on political issues, body positivity, all the kinds of stuff I like. To get a feed that caters to your interests you just have to watch & like videos you’re interested in & eventually it gets a feel for what you’ll watch and what you won’t.

Theres a trend where people say which ‘side’ of tiktok they’re on and I get ‘science side of tumblr’ flashbacks but I’ve mostly avoided the “straight” and conservative sides of tiktok. I would be considered a part of “woke”, “alt” (as in alternative) and lgbt+ tiktok (there are separate ones for each letter of the acronym). Possibly also “theatre” and “cosplay” tiktok. These categories are nebulous and you’re usually part of multiple communities; its just as arbitray as ‘science side of tumblr’ was.

The format reminds me of snapchat a little, and I love to talk to myself on video & post dumb thirst traps for my friends (none of which I’m attracted to so idk what my goal is there) and make stupid jokes. So this app is kinda perfect for my attention seeking side & hyperactive tendencies. Its very easy to consume on a short attention span, though not as easy as vine was.

Being in quarantine, its a way for a lot of people to engage in hobbies that involve community. Cosplay is pretty popular, as its a fun way to show off a costume & dress up & have fun without having to attend a convention. I enjoy the way lip synced audios can be used to emulate the character someone is dressed as; that’s something you couldn’t really do unless you were really good at impressions. Its a nice succinct way to show the process of creating a cosplay as well.

Those who enjoy theatre, but cannot perform in shows at this time, are able to create mini-monologues & sketches as well as sing parts of their favorite songs. Its an avenue through which to perform without putting anyone at risk of the virus. It’s also an easy way to show off your talents without having to go through the audition process & actually get cast in a show as a prominent enough role that someone will notice it.

It’s a convenient format for discourse and educational videos. Nice, short, easily digestible tidbits that stay in your mind. This extremely catchy song, for example: “Black neighborhoods are overpoliced, so of course they have higher rates of crime, and white perpetrators are undercharged, so of course they have lower rates of crime. And all of those stupid stats you keep using are operating off a small sample size. So, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up”.

As well as other videos where people take the time to explain historical events, satirize racist arguments to demonstrate why they are wrong, talk about prevalent tropes in movies, teach a few signs in ASL, share facts about their culture, etc, etc. I have found there are quite a lot of people there from unique and fairly unknown cultures and backgrounds- and this is a place where they’re able to share their culture & existence with people all over the world. There are a thousand different viewpoints. Their videos are doing far more for diverse representation than any other platform, I’d argue, as everyone is extremely visible on the app. (‘Their’ as in the creators, not the app itself).

I also have enjoyed coming across new artists on the app. It’s really fun to watch the process they go through, as most art videos deal with the whole creation of a piece. It’s inspiring. I have also come across a painter who’s work I’m in love with, and a woman who makes and sells the CUTEST ceramic mugs, and I need to purchase some stuff from them both.

Now onto the bad:

Unfortunately, the app doesn’t have much in the way of a filtering or warning system. I talked about that tiktok of the kids coming across human remains? That was just on people’s fyp. Just popped up. No warning. No reason for it to still be up. Traumatizing.

You can click on a video and say ‘not interested’ (I do this to literally every video I get where some girl is thirsting after kylo ren 🤮..... like I want the star wars videos just not THOSE videos). However, it doesn’t seem to know exactly why you weren’t interested, because I still get those videos from time to time. There’s no content filter where I can blacklist the kylo ren or any other hashtag.

There’s some very shitty content. There are racist conservatives. Misogynistic teen white boys. Really weird thirst traps. Videos where people lip sync to something with a straight face and tag it with #acting. Harmful body image trends. I thankfully stay very clear of this, but this kind of content makes me worry for the minors on the app. The one’s who don’t have enough of a concept of self yet to realize they don’t need to be able to do the newest pointless beauty trend to be beautiful, to realize it’s ok for them to be gay, to realize how predatory some adults can be, etc etc.

It is extremely easy to come across minors on the app who don’t look like teens. One time I went to a girl’s page and it said she was FIFTEEN. I’m usually good at guessing ages but something about this app messes that up. I wish there was a way to separate people under 18 and adults. Where I don’t have minor’s thirst traps popping up on my fyp. Where pedophiles don’t get a chance to curate that fyp intentionally. If anyone reading this has kids, I highly recommend they make their tiktok private or only viewable to friends.

Just like any site, there are plenty of bigots. Lots of racist comments. Plenty of transphobia. Any hatred you’ve seen elsewhere, of course it exists on tiktok. I have actually zero clue if you can report people & if it works. Most people seem to send a video commentary to their haters or duet a video of a racist pointing out their racism. I’ve heard of creators blocking people, however. I remember a tiktok of a Black woman who’s video somehow went fairly viral in Poland and now she gets a lot of racist comments from this large group of random racisf Polish followers she has and its extremely time consuming to block them all, as there’s no mass block feature.

The rumors about what works with the algorithm and doesn’t abound. I’ve heard well lit videos get more views. Many people suspect they have been shadowbanned for speaking out about current events. TikTok will remove the audio from videos sometimes if they deem it controversial enough. Most of us know they were criticized recently for intentionally keeping Black creator’s videos from being seen (a catalyst for the Blackout, actually). Or you may also recall when it was criticized for widely removing lgbt+ content. Those creators are fighting to be seen the same amount as straight cis white creators are allowed to be seen with no effort.

The effects some trends could have on teen girls. So many of them are already so uncomfortable in their own skin simply because of societal standards, but the absolutely meaningless challenges people come up with on tiktok make it so much worse. One trend was based around whether your finger touched your lips when you put it in your nose. Or if you could get your clasped hands around the back of your legs and over your butt (if they get passed, you have a flat ass, if they get stuck, its big). These completely arbitrary signifiers of the things you need to have in order to be pretty, are far more ridiculous that anything I have seen yet in my life. I worry about little girls taking these ideas to heart. There is a very kind body positive community on the app & I hope more people can find that.

There’s also that thing where they steal your data. Like most apps. But apparently they got a lot more invasive than usual, so I would look into it before making an account; if you want to do that.

I think the apps users can be great & its a pretty intuitive set up. It certainly deserves its popularity solely as a creative form of social media. That being said, its owners are so so insidious & do the worst things. Just like all other social media, its controlled by the worst kind of people. Who can never figure out how to effectively get rid of nazis or keep kids safe from adult content.

These are my less serious gripes with the app:

1) Lip syncing

When people lip sync and don’t do any kind of skit, joke, etc, just look as if they’re saying what someone else said; I hate that. I have to go back and find the original tiktok so I can like it instead. You literally did nothing interesting by ripping off someones audio and moving your lips along to it. So many people on this app are creative and so many others lack any semblance of creativity.

Also people are too easily impressed by lip syncing to kinda-fast songs. I lip synced to like....10 seconds of the devil went down to georgia and two people praised my lip syncing abilities. Like, I can also sing and talk fast, out loud, isn’t that more impressive? more skillful? The fiddle playing in that song is impressive, not the fact I can lip sync ‘the devil went down to georgia, he was lookin for a soul to steal, he was in a bind, cause he was way behind.’ Have you ever seen someone play Johnny’s fiddle solo????? It’s insane!!!

Rather than see someone lip sync to the verse in Stressed Out 2x faster than normal (which is, extremely simple and the song was overplayed and ingrained into our collective consciousness) and go WOW what about someone.....doing the verse out loud. You can litterally just mouth random words and look like you’re saying the right ones. It’s driving me crazy lmao. I’m set to become a God of tiktok because I have a repertoire of fast songs and rap verses memorized. It’s not even an uncommon skill to speak or sing quickly, people literally make rap music for a living! Listen to it maybe.

2) “Acting”

I am begging you to stop making me sit through those horrible POVs. I cannot take another girl not quite fake crying towards the camera as she lip syncs the words from a song that apply to the random situation she decided she was in. I cannot take another boy who thinks its sexy to stare into a camera and smirk in every single situation he creates.

Back to lip syncing, making facial expressions along to words isn’t really acting. Try saying the words out loud perhaps? The inflection you use with your lines is a pretty big part of acting. Like you can lip sync all you want, just stop tagging it with #acting.

3) Comedic timing, or lack thereof

You don’t need the entire intro to sit there looking at the camera waiting until the first line starts and you can lip sync to the part that’s the joke. You could cut off at least 15 seconds. Brevity is the soul of wit.

When your joke involves both reading text on screen and listening to the song for the punchline, if it isn’t done prefectly, its so difficult to follow. I can’t read a paragraph in 5 seconds. Paraphrase.

4) self deprecating artist audio

the audio thats like ‘this wont get views’ ‘I suck’ ‘you probably won’t see this anyway’ LOVE YOURSELF

It sucks when people dont enagage with your art but it sucks worse when your value in yourself and you art is based solely on receiving that validation. Please find a healthy medium.

Also you’re asking for pity, and you don’t want that. You want people who genuinely love your art for what it is.

5) editing videos is really hard how do you make such cool & smooth transitions????

please help me I don’t understand

Finally

here’s my account if you’re interested

#this long ass opinion article no one asked for #tiktok #social media #jordan talks #long post /

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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1069

survey by dragonov

What is your favourite dinosaur? I’ve never been into dinosaurs... I’ve always found the T-Rex costume that goes viral every now and then absolutely hilarious, though.

Would you rather live with wolves or tigers? Wolves.

Have you ever forgotten what a certain kind of pain felt like? I have only gone through the loss of an immediate family member once. Of course my grandpa’s death will always make me feel as sad as I was on the day that I found out; but it’s been a while since I’ve been hit with news that heavy. I don’t quite remember the feeling of being slapped in the face with such a tragic update, and I’m not looking forward to the next time.

Do you prefer water from the tap or bottled water? Bottled. We can’t drink tap water here; though some rich households will put some fancy purifier thing hooked to their sink so that they can drink ‘tap.’

Do you actually use any of the shampoo hotels provide? Yeah haha. We always buy the same products at home and it gets boring, so it’s fun to try out and experiment with the different shampoos and body washes provided in the hotels we stay in.

What do you remember the most about your childhood? My cousins, siblings, and I largely alternated among three channels - Disney, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network every day. We would also play outside from around 5-6 PM. It was the same, simple routine every weekday, but we were happy kids nonetheless. Also, watching wrestling every single day, back when it was a lot bloodier.

Do you feel as if someone has robbed something from you? I feel like it would be selfish of me to claim this, since I never like to point fingers...but this does feel like the case when it comes to a few people.

Have you ever stared at the sky and wondered if it was all worth it? I get into such a mood at least once a month. I just did this last Monday.

Would you rather have a pet dinosaur or have mythical creatures be real? Erm, neither. I’m wary of dinosaurs’ temperaments and I’m not too fond of mythical creatures.

What age did you get your first hair cut? I think I was around 3.

Do you have a favourite toy from childhood still? I didn’t even get to keep any of them. I knew I had a favorite cash register, toy laptop, and Blue’s Clue’s toy telephone, but my mom threw each of them out the older I got.

What are your thoughts on the end of the world? I personally wouldn’t have a problem with it as I don’t think much about existentialism and things like that. I’d be more concerned with people panicking and panic-buying all over the place, and the possibility of the end of the world being hugely destructive. If it ever does happen, I wish it’d come calmly.

Which sports do you enjoy watching? Wrestling, tennis, and volleyball. Sometimes basketball when my university’s team is playing lol, but I never understood the different rules. I love playing table tennis, but I never particularly enjoyed watching the sport.

Would you ever have a breed of dog that is considered aggressive? Like pitbulls? Yeah, for sure. I personally do not like chihuahuas though.

Have you ever made bread? I think...we have?? In home ec?? Back in Grade 6? I have a vivid memory of playing around with yeast and dough, but I no longer remember if it had been bread we ended up making. I do remember making rainbow cake, apple pie, and macarons from that year though, so it’s likely we also made bread.

Would your childhood self be disappointed? I say this a lot, but she would probably be surprised I’m still here. She’d also be surprised I managed to be in a long-term relationship, regardless of its failure. One of my biggest worries as a kid was that no one would ever like me, and I was so certain I’d end up being single forever lol.

Do you think in the future you'll have done yourself proud? God I don’t know. I hope so.

Did you read The Great Gatsby before seeing the movie? I have done neither. Idk if it’s my kind of content.

What do you feel about movies made from books? I wish the entertainment industry would take them more seriously. There are hits, of course - like how Harry Potter fans seem to like both books and movies - but there are misses that have been embarrassing like the Percy Jackson movie adaptation. But idk, I have a bigger bone to pick with other movie types (aka live-action adaptions of Disney animated classics lmao), so movies made from books aren’t much of an issue with me.

Has anything ever fallen asleep on you? A few dogs here and there. My ex also used to.

Do you have to use the bathroom? Not at the moment, no.

Is the above question too invasive? Not even remotely. I’ve encountered more intense questions on surveys.

What do you feel about surgeries? Do they worry you? Ugh, yep. I hope I’ll never need one. Needles just freak me out.

Do you have a tumblr? :))

Would you rather have an open book shelf or one with doors? Open. If I had an impressive collection of anything, I’d want to show it off.

Do you need a large or small place to live comfortably? Large. I get uncomfortable if I’m in a small room for too long, which is why I have to take work breaks every now and then and leave my room (which doubles as my workspace) just to pace around the house and play with the dogs for a little while.

Would you ever consider moving to another country? Yeah, but I’d prefer an area with a considerable English-speaking population, practicality-wise. I feel that a language barrier would just stress me out and would keep me from getting fully excited about being in a foreign land.

Have you ever dropped everything and reevaluated? That’s what the last three months have been about, haven’t they?

Do you play minecraft? if so, feelings about servers? No I don’t play Minecraft, though I did use to watch Pewdiepie’s Let’s Plays of it haha.

Do you long for easier times? Not always. But this is where I’m at right now, given how tough life has been for me in the last few months. I just want a break, no matter how tiny.

Do you believe that life gets easier or we just get stronger? The latter. At least, that’s what I tell myself to cheer myself up and to encourage myself to keep going.

Does it weird you out to think that humans are just more advanced animals? It fascinates me, it doesn’t weird me out.

Do you ever wonder why religion came about? I have no clue. I’d love to learn why.

Would you ever consider shaving your head? If it was for a cause that’s close to my heart, this would be no problem at all.

Would you rather belong to a cult or a religion you feel is wrong? I guess religion? so I could at least get out of it. Also, I’ve already personally abandoned the religion I was baptized in because it never felt like a good fit, so this is coming from experience.

Have you ever considered murder? Never.

Kill a man or a woman? Again, no.

Would you like to live in a realm where the zombie apocalypse is possible? Nope.

Are you afraid of any animals? Reason? Wild animals likely to chase or attack humans, because duh. And cockroaches, because everything about them is just bleck.

Someone knocks on your door three times right now, do you answer? I’d tell them to come in, yeah.

Do you read creepypastas? Not really. It was never a pastime of mine when I was younger either.

Can you sleep afterwards? I can, but I won’t. It’s only 5:20 and I’ve still got 40 minutes until the end of my shift. I also want to hang around with my family after work, so.

#survey #surveys

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hideandseaking · 6 years

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could you please expand on your kacchako matching theory?? it's too good and it'd be great to see all your thoughts ;;

Thank you for sending this! Let me elaborate, this is just a theory on kacchako’s basis within the manga, and I am in no way saying that it’s canonical evidence for kacchako but it’s just a weird and fun theory I have based on what I’ve seen! Also, this is no way to bash on other ships, I’m just a kacchako shipper trying to make sense of a pattern I’ve seen! You do not have to agree with it and that’s okay!

First of all, these come from mostly splash pages and promotional artwork, but keep in mind that most of these are digitally drawn and can be color-picked. So let’s start with what made me double take in the first place. This picture:

So in this picture, you notice that everyone is dressed up in colors matching their hero outfits/themes/both from the manga. Some of these make sense like All Might wearing yellow (we see this a lot with suits), Kaminari’s hero outfit is black and white with his blonde hair accenting this, Koda is wearing green to represent nature and trees, Aizawa is an abosolute madman as usual, etc.

One of the weird things about this is only five sets of characters potentially match in this picture. Todoroki and Momo, Kirishima and Mina, and Ochako and Izuku are the obvious ones. TodoMomo, KiriMina, and Iz*ch*, are all potential ships or at least character sets with significant connections between each other, as we know now where we are in the manga (189 as I’m typing this.) Todo and Momo are a little iffy cause it could just be them matching the other’s hair colors, so I’m not sure if it counts. Kirishima and Mina are definitely wearing the matching outfit to the other, as it’s blue and orange in the same colors and shades, and these are not colors present in their hero outfits. So it’s obvious they’re matching each other. Ochako is wearing a green armband that matching Izuku’s suit. This makes sense because she is the projected love interest with Izuku. Perfectly fine, because they’re probably going to be the canonical ship at the end!

Deku and Tokoyami also match, which is pretty funny in itself. But they are friends so idk what’s really going on there. But hey, it’s a cute ship so if you need something to push you, here it is! It could also be used a red herring for the last of the five matches.

But here’s the thing: the fifth set is hidden but it’s Ochako and Katsuki. They’re both wearing maroon. And not just any maroon, but:

These are almost the same shade of maroon. Almost exactly the same shade of maroon. Bakugou is wearing orange to represent his hero outfit, and Ochako is wearing pink to represent hers. But why are they both wearing maroon as their base color, when that color is not present in their own outfits? Because they’re matching too. Kirishima and Mina are matching in the same way, but Bakugou’s blue and Ochako’s pink divert from the mainpiece maroon on their outfits. And Kirishima breaks it up. But this is a digital piece and the colors are almost identical. Horikoshi could’ve picked a different shade of maroon for them, but he purposely did this for them. Or this could be the red herring for Tokoyami/Deku! Who knows!!

So that’s a little weird right? Well here’s my next picture:

I love this picture, it’s so dynamic and fun. Anyway! Here we have the characters in alternate outfits again. Izuku is in a similar outfit as the first picture, as is All Might, which is to keep the focus on them of course and keep them in consistency with character design. Everyone else looks like they’re in non-matching outfits though. Except Kacchako.

Now this is more of a stretch, but it won’t feel like it after my next example. Anyway, both are wearing buttons down the front in two sets, and both are wearing orange, though the orange does not match as much as the maroon in the picture beforehand. Katsuki is wearing orange loaders and Ochako’s entire outfit is orange, and black, with pink accents. Where have we seen orange and black before?

Katsuki’s hero outfit is black, orange, and green. The green would match with Izuku, and if Horikoshi wanted them to match, then he would put Ochako in anything but army green right? But no, he put her in orange. And furthermore, Katsuki’s boots have the “double button” design going down, and mimics it throughout his hero costume, which both of their outfits in the current example picture are presenting. And if you look at the first example as well, Ochako is wearing the double button down design on her dress there as well.

Some strange coincidences here. But I can’t say they’re not intentional, as we’ve seen Horikoshi’s character designs and they’re all very well-researched for the character. He is intentionally designing the outfits this way. There is no way that he got just lazy enough to design Ochako and Katsuki similarly.

My third example is from the recent movie promo:

We’ve all seen this one recently, which is really the nail in the coffin for me here. This is harder to see so I did crop it out, but I want you to look at Ochako and Katsuki here:

We noticed recently that Ochako is wearing the same flower in her hair as is embroidered on Katsuki’s vest. After seeing the last two examples, it isn’t weird that they are matching. But here’s the second kicker that I didn’t notice since people were cropping out their feet: Ochako’s shoes match Katsuki’s red shirt.

UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that the flowers symbolize “waiting”. Which may indicate more about the future of the ship that I put in the closing paragraph of this post. Source: https://vanillafriedlover.tumblr.com/post/175412600634/mystery-of-white-flowers

Now the lighting is iffy here, and Deku is wearing a burgundy/reddish suit, which could indicate that she is matching with him. But looking at this:

It looks pretty damn close with Bakugou and Ochako but also Ochako and Deku! Now, a disclaimer to this is that this is a very pixilated picture with some color issues (look at Deku’s hair) so we’ll need the movie to come out to really fathom what’s going on with the colors here. But Deku’s does lean towards brown whilst Kacchako looks… matching with reds….

Now I just came across this while looking for something else, and I did make the argument earlier about if Ochako were to match Izuku, they would use green, except for the army green. And here is this picture:

Ochako is wearing army green in this page. I know that one character doesn’t own any colors, but Horikoshi knows what colors represent and again he’s deliberate on the colors and outfits he chooses, but these two seem to match with lots of reds and maroons as a sort of “color” that represents them, and Ochako is wearing army green (Katsuki’s outfit) with a red inscription on her shirt, and Katsuki is wearing a maroon belt. Not the strongest thing, but it’s there.

Like any good thesis statement, I must put the antithesis. So here is a picture that could offset this theory a lot:

If you recognize this splash page, that’s great! It’s from chapter 23, and that’s the chapter after when the Sports Festival Arc starts! It’s my personal favorite that’s been done so far. But Ochako is wearing a green bandana around her neck that does match Izuku’s hero outfit. This did come out when the sports festival arc was being drawn, and the Iz*ch* hints were very heavy at the time, so that may be what it’s referring too. Though Izuku is not wearing his hero outfit in this picture, but Katsuki is wearing his green as well. So it could be referring to either/or, but I think it’s probably for Iz*ch*.

But I’d also like to point out, in an off-topic manner, Ochako does look like she’s enjoying the explosion from Katsuki, which probably hints at their fight in upcoming chapters. But this is a digression paragraph.

Next up on some weird and iffy choice is this picture:

Ochako is wearing a bandana, which is orange and green. Funnily enough, this matches Deku’s outfit in the splash picture, but also matches Katsuki’s regular hero outfit. Also, her clip going across her chest matches Katsuki’s clips on his pants, and no one else has a clip that matches similarly like this.

Another strange matching example:

Ochako is clearly wearing a black tank top here, which is canonical and part of her style, and Katsuki is wearing some random black armband? Sure, Momo is wearing black too but Katsuki and this random black armband? A little suspicious

Finally, here are some common examples that people reminded me of, in case you weren’t aware of these already:

We all know that the Two Black Dots are the symbol of Katsuki and Ochako’s designer.You can argue that the dots on Ochako and Katsuki’s outfits in the previous examples are a callback to their designer, but… to stan a designer that much… both of them? Strange.

Also, they are the only two characters who match in the Volume 13 introduction page, which has them both wearing black tank tops. Sure, it’s a common fashion choice, but no one else shares any other outfit design so clearly.

Finally, in a personality swap AU, Katsuki is in Ochako’s body. A weird choice when it could have been anyone out of anyone in this series. But he chose to put Katsuki in Ochako.

They also tend to stand next to each other frequently, even if they’re not matching:

I’m sure I might be missing something here, or the colors are a little off or something, but that’s pretty much my post! If more stuff comes out, I’ll add it in here, but that’s my kacchako matching theory! Horikoshi is very delierate about what he is doing and why when it comes to this series, and it seems a little suspicious that they’re almost ALWAYS matching each other in some way in the pages, even when no one else is matching, and with little potential for anyone to be matching with anyone else. It’s honestly got my brain-gears turning. Even if it doesn’t indicate towards canon shipping, I definitely believe that Ochako and Katsuki may get a deeper friendship eventually in the series! If not, well, hey this was still fun. (:

If you want to see the original thread that started this, look here: https://twitter.com/hideandseaking/status/1012943972329762816

#kacchako #kacchco #bakuraka #bakugou x uraraka #hero academia #Anonymous #kacchako matching theory

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theluckiestlb · 6 years

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@whatarubberchicken I usually don’t respond to comments/other responses---but yours in particular were rather condescending. I don’t mean to offend, but they struck a nerve. My apologies for the delay, I was on vacation last week. I won’t respond to each point. So let’s begin!

1. “Marinette is not shown speaking any other language in the show, not even a language her mother might’ve used at home. To have her suddenly speaking a bunch of languages would seem out of character to most people after Kung Food. (You could probably get away with English, since most people know about the translations.)”

I’ll have to point blank disagree with you there. In Kung Food we clearly see her taking time to learn Chinese. As Flavia/ @marinette-buginette also mentioned, most Europeans are bilingual. Being trilingual is also quite common. I can guarantee the kids of the show are taking 1-2 language classes at school, it’s just the norm in Europe. Here in Switzerland, we have four national languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh)—and children are expected to be fluent in at least two by the time they finish high school. I live(d) in the German region, so we had to learn French starting in elementary school (2/3rd grade). English came shortly thereafter. This doesn’t even factor all the elective languages one can take later as well.

2. “Great, could you maybe list a few stores that you do have?”

I’m not an expert in regards to France, but there are a number of similarities between European countries. Some fast fashion stores include C&A, New Yorker, Mango, Zara, HM, and Primark is starting to expand from the UK. In terms of (French) grocery stores there’s Carrefour, Casino/Géant, Auchan, Aldi, and Lidl. (Anyone who’s actually french should add more).

3. “Adrien’s rich. He could probably get any of those items with ease if he really tried.”

Yeah I’m sure he could, but the boy won’t have a clue as to what Cheez-its and Poptarts are, so he won’t feel the need to. It’s better to stick with local snacks/dishes.

4. “Teenage drinking holds the same dangers over there as it does here. Our parents can give us some at home too.”

Again, I have to disagree. Studies have shown the rates of teen binge drinking are higher in the US because of its strict laws. I’ve also noticed my American friends tend to go overboard and use fake IDs, while my European friends are more controlled and don’t need fakes to drink a beer. Alcohol feels so much more taboo over there and adults are quick to scrutinize.

5. “Marinette is usually shown taking the bus or train. Adrien has his car. I think Wayham’s the only one I’ve seen with a bike.”

Animating a bike is slightly more tedious, but I can assure you it’s a very practical and popular mode of transport here. I encourage everyone to use it in writing. A lot of Europeans don’t need/own a car, so it wouldn’t make sense for Sabine to drive Mari to the movies for example. Cities in Europe were built before the car came around, so they’re quite walkable/closely knit. Otherwise yeah, the métros, trams, and buses are quite reliable.

6. “Thanksgiving I’ll give you (that one’s ours for sure), but Halloween? We’ve already gotten concept art with Ladybug and Chat Noir surrounded by Halloween-themed monsters. Sorry, I’m gonna give this one to any writer who wants to use it. No problemo. Is canon.”

ML has a large American audience, hence why Zag caters to it. I’m telling you it’s not a thing (especially with older generations and smaller cities). So, realistically it’s best to find some other holiday. There are a lot of parades/costume/mardi gras-esque celebrations in the springtime. Idk about France but here in Basel we have a thing called “Fasnacht”.

Fun but mildly terrifying.

7. In the English translation, they do use miles. I know because I caught it and thought “that’s not right!” But some people won’t know it’s not right. And it’s right there in the show. Gotta let it slide if it’s canon, guys.”

Fun fact the English translation isn’t the end all and be all of what’s canon! Americans can’t handle the metric system (apparently), so the translation caters to that. Every other dub uses the metric system. Do 👏🏻 not 👏🏻 use 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 imperial 👏🏻 system 👏🏻 if 👏🏻 your 👏🏻characters 👏🏻 are 👏🏻 European 👏🏻 and 👏🏻 live 👏🏻 in 👏🏻 Europe

8. “Y'all might not need hall passes, but we do see them asking permission to use the bathroom. Just tell people to stick to the show.”

If someone over the age of fifteen needs still needs permission to use the restroom, that’s rather sad. While attending high school here, I never had the issue. In fact it would actually have been more disruptive had I interrupted the teacher in the middle of a lecture and derailed the focus of the class. Teachers don’t police the halls either to ensure every student has a pass. I’m just pointing out a difference, that’s all.

9. “Prom may not be a thing, but we all love the pretty dresses so EVERYONE PLEASE KEEP MAKING THEM WEAR FORMAL WEAR, I LOVE IT.”

Nobody is stopping anyone from creating work featuring formal attire. Some schools have dances, but it’s not as common or as grandiose as it is in the States. It’s just slightly irksome to see fics featuring it.

10. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that you’re trying to help, but when it comes to research for fanfiction: I say take it easy. The canon show trumps any conception you or I might have of the setting, after that, researching should be for little details. And if they don’t care, they don’t have to care.This is an alternate universe with magical jewelry, after all.”

Nobody is blowing a fuse over someone using the wrong brand of toothpaste. Fiction or not, one should respect the culture being adapted. These things take two seconds to Google—as mentioned it’s rather irksome to see someone Americanize everything with the exception of an Eiffel Tower in the backdrop. Any effort and research are very much appreciated. It’s not your place to dictate how people of other cultures should feel about their portrayals in works of fiction. I’m not here to police anyone, people can do as they please. Just be mindful and take a moment fact check your work. Again, it’s very much appreciated.

If anyone is struggling with regards to writing/finding information, feel free to ask questions! I will try to answer to the best of my abilities. I also encourage other Europeans to add further suggestions.

#ml #miraculous ladybug #mlb #long post #thoughts #10/10 ok to reblog

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ana-annotated · 6 years

Text

128 THINGS I LOVED ABOUT CROOKED KINGDOM (WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!) Part 1

1. It has WYLAN’S POV

2. Jesper is one of his biggest reasons for committing to being a member of the Dregs and he knows it

3. Kaz breaks into the house of a wealthy and probably dangerous lawyer in the middle of the night but first things first, he’s gotta give the guard dogs belly rubs before robbing their owner.

4. Nina is still facing the consequences of ingesting parem and yet here she is undercover, charming this lawyer out of his whistle.

5. Wylan’s dark side just gets darker

6. Kaz having a rare soft moment and telling Wylan where his mother is buried cause he knows what it’s like to lose someone suddenly and not get to say goodbye

7. Matthias trying to understand Kaz’s sleight of hand and still failing to see how he does it

8. Matthias wishing Wylan or Kuwei would wear a hat so he could tell them apart

9. Wylan blushing at Jesper’s touch

10. Wylan Van Sunshine

11. Leave my grandmother out of this

12. Jesper’s dad is so innocent and precious and must be protected at all costs

13. Are you all students? Of a sort

14. Matthias has a little sister

15. Matthias comforting Alys cause she reminds him of his mother when she was pregnant

16. Nina whining over Matthias sacrificing her biscuits to keep Alys quiet

17. Matthias jealous of Jesper making Nina smile

18. Inej laughing in Van Eck’s face for thinking he outwitted Kaz

19. Nina expecting Matthias to rub her feet from now on whenever she wants him to

20. Matthias longing for a domestic life with Nina

21. Nina longing for the comfort of family relationships like the one Jesper has with his father

22. Jesper as a kid

23. Jesper’s mom was the sweetest most badass person ever and taught him everything he knows at such a young age

24. The WYLAN’S MOM CURVEBALL WHO THE HECK DOES THAT TO A PERSON MY POOR BABY HOW DARE JAN DO THAT TO HIM AND HER?!

25. Wylan’s motivation to get revenge

26. Kaz giving Wylan a pep talk about strength when facing a weakness

27. Matthias’s relationship with his wolf

28. Matthias pretending to be a happy go lucky Fjerdan

29. Nina having to explain every single dirty joke to him and convince him they’re not insults

30. Nina and Matthias’s first kiss being straight out of a Disney movie 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

31. Everyone points guns at each other in Ketterdam it’s basically a handshake

32. Matthias going into full military general mode and leads a two-man Grisha army in a victorious mini war against the Dime Lions

33. Kaz literally CRASHING Van Eck’s dinner party

34. Dunyasha: “I am Dunyasha, a white human blade, a ruthless assassin princess, and my sole purpose is destroying you. Prepare to feel my ninja stars.”

Inej: “New phone who dis?”

35. Colm Fahey adopting his teen gang member son’s five gang member friends

36. Nina finally getting her waffles

37. Only to realize Matthias Helvar is possible better than waffles (just barely, but still)

38. Matthias believing waffles is Nina’s one true love instead of him

39. What’s new? Nm, Nina can raise the dead to do her bidding, Inej plummeted 20 stories and nearly died at the ninja stars of some assassin chick with a huge ego, and there’s a huge gaping hole in Jan Van Eck’s dining room ceiling. Hbu? Who wants waffles?

40. They’re all crazy but Wylan realizes there’s nobody he’d rather have by his side cause the Dregs are HIS CREW

41. Kaz Ankle Breaker Brekker sliding past a pair of Van Eck’s guards and knocking them off their feet at once with his cane

42. The Crows trying to outdo each other with the highest rewards offered for their execution or capture.

43. Kaz winning that contest in a landslide

44. Nina flipping off their Wanted posters

45. Nina changing out of her Fjerdan costume with Matthias’s “help.”

46. Jesper and Kuwei’s haunting the Dime Lions

47. Little Inej stopping hearts and scaring her family to death on the high wire but wanting to keep going back on no matter what

48. Inej only falling when a net is underneath her

49. Wylan’s first impression of Jesper

50. Jesper’s flair for neon fashion

51. “Mother, father pay the rent! I can’t my dear the money’s spent!”

52. “On a dare I ate a literal trough full of waffles doused in apple syrup and almost went back for seconds.”

53. Kaz treating Jesper like a brother, even yelling at him and calling him Jordie because he’s so protective of Jesper and wants to keep him from making a mistake too big because of his gambling addiction. Seeing Jesper get carried away with his best worries him and he just wants him to be smart and not make the same costly mistakes Jordie did.

54. Kaz and Jesper arguing like brothers and then proceeding to fight like brothers while Inej, Nina, and Matthias sit around bored, waiting for them to snap out of it cause they’re definitely not going to kill each other with their bare hands, and there are bigger things to worry about.

55. Jesper’s dad breaking up the fight with a single threat

56. Jesper Llewelyn Fahey

57. I KISSED THE WRONG BOY

58. Inej and Jesper’s friendship

59. Matthias being very okay with PDA with Nina

60. Colm’s presence making the Dregs feel like kids worn out from a rowdy birthday party

61. Kuwei being a straight up savage and lying about his language barrier

62. KANEJ WOUND BANDAGING SCENE DESTROYED ME EVERYTHING ABOUT IT I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS NOR DID I EXPECT HIM TO EVEN GET HALF AS CLOSE TO HER AS HE DID

63. Kaz trying so so hard to push away all memories of his trauma to be in the moment and touch Inej and just show her how much she means to him

64. She followed him anyway

65. Kaz reclaiming his rightfully EARNED Dregs throne

66. Inej watching him kick out Haskell and kick traitor Dregs ass with pride

67. “I suggest a cane”

68. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Same thing that’s always wrong with him, he’s Kaz Brekker.”

66. Nina constantly trying to get Kaz to warm up a little, whether by joining a group hug or letting someone help bandage him up post-fight for his life

67. Colm willing to do anything to help the gang without question

68. Wylan’s cute anger at Jesper for mistaking Kuwei for him (let’s be real tho he was pretty mad at himself too for not being more upfront with his feelings since he had no Tailor to fix him)

69. Wylan getting mad at Nina for failing to mention she found a refugee Tailor that could change him back

70. Colm feeding into Nina’s waffle/food in general addiction

71. The politics in the story are so intricate and it just continues to be built upon in Crooked Kingdom. It’s detailed enough that honestly, Leigh could probably write a whole Grishaverse history textbook. It’s pretty interesting to read from everything we get from the Dregs discussing their home nations, their histories, traditions, and relations with other countries. Leigh put in so much effort to build not just an authentic country in Kerch, but an entire alternate world. Really fun to read about.

72. Wylan’s offense for Jesper not being able to tell him and Kuwei apart in that moment

73. Jesper stealing a portrait Wylan’s mother painted of him to help them reconnect once Wylan’s features are returned

74. “I told you, I like your stupid face.”

75. Jesper helping Genya tailor Wylan’s “stupid” face because he remembers it quite well

76. Jesper nearly losing it when he returns to find the boy he had fallen for at first sight has returned to his original appearance

77. JESPER KISSING THE RIGHT BOY

78. “I really hope we don’t die”

79. Colm giving an award worthy performance in front of Van Eck to rope him and the Council into falling for Kuwei’s fake indenture auction

80. Nina’s underlining threat to Van Eck for messing with Kaz, only a fool would try to scheme against Brekker

81. Colm telling Wylan that he’d be good for Jesper ☺️

82. Wylan taking an actual beating from other Dregs to make Jan Van Eck believe the Dime Lions were going to kill his son for him

83. Wylan’s on point acting making everybody in the chapel believe his father was a conniving scumbag all along

84. THE FACT THAT JESPER CAN ACTUALLY USE HIS POWERS TO AIM HIS BULLETS

85. Kaz lying like nobody’s business to the Merchant Council and everyone bidding on Kuwei to throw Van Eck under the bus

86. Kaz freaking BLOWING UP THE MENAGERIE IF THAT’S NOT A DECLARATION OF HIS LOVE TO INEJ IDK WHAT IS

87. Kaz and Inej hand holding

88. Nina pretending to be pregnant

89. Matthias believing Kaz could fake a birth

90. Genya teaming up with Kaz and Nina to fake Kuwei’s death

91. I haven’t even read the Shadow and Bone trilogy yet but I love King Nikolai and his alter ego and I can’t wait to read more of him in the series and in King of Scars!!!!!

#kaz brekker #six of crows #crooked kingdom #inej ghafa #kaz x inej #nina x inej #grishaverse #ketterdam #leigh bardugo #dregs #also matthias is still alive and no one can convince me otherwise #matthias helvar #nina zenik #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #jesper and wylan #wylan van sunshine #kuwei yul bo #kuwei

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stranger-who-writes-fiction · 6 years

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Oh ho ho HO my friends. We have much to yell about discuss.

REALLY BIG SPOILERS FOR THE SUPERGIRL FINALE UNDER THE CUT. And comics spoilers.

Alright. ALRIGHT. So, there was...there was so much in that finale, I could ramble at length about...basically all of it. But y’all know what I’m about--we’re gonna yell about that last second reveal, my dudes.

So, full disclosure: I saw the location caption, and I literally thought: Oh yeah, that one comic where Superman’s Russian. ...Naaaaah.

Like. I thought it was a cute (...if we’re being generous and nerdy with our definition of ‘cute’ XD ) little nod to comics continuity, and that they’d ultimately end up going with Superman Red/Blue, with a dash of Dark Supergirl thrown in because Black Kryptonite. But then @thatsjustsupergirl kindly informed me that no, they are in fact, doing Red Son.

MIND. BLOWN.

Mostly because every now and again, comics internet gets excited about a rumored film adaptation that never materializes. And also like. On a list of stories I’d expect this show to tell, Red Son is NOT ONE THAT IMMEDIATELY JUMPS TO MIND.

But oh man...THIS COULD BE FUN.

Because Red Son is a little less...messy? Than the Nazi!Kara we got in the crossover. They could expand on those themes without a lot of the...dicier aspects of...that.

(Though it will be interesting to see this story unfold in the modern world; Red Son is, obviously, set quite firmly in Stalinist Russia, during the Cold War.

Not that’s there’s a shortage of stuff to...um. Discuss, regarding Russia these days.)

It will ALSO be interesting to see what, exactly, the Black Kryptonite has done. Traditionally, (and particularly in one of the more infamous Supergirl comic arcs) Black Kryptonite splits off all of your BAD personality traits into a separate, evil entity. Which we...kinda saw? Sort of? But it’s vague enough (and also never actually called Black Kryponite) that they could easily hand-wave any new abilities they want to give the rock.

SO WE MIGHT NOT HAVE AN EVIL CLONE ON OUR HANDS.

(Stating for the record, right now: I do not believe, in the slightest, that ‘evil’ Kara is back home with Alex. Didn’t we see the menacing black cloud of doom dissipate over the Siberian border?)

(Okay literally the only shred of evidence supporting that crazy theory is that when Reign and Sam split, Reign kept the costume while Sam was left sans clothes. So the fact that the Kara in Siberia just has that convenient blanket could maybe mean SOMETHING I guess I DUNNO MAN IT’S WEAK. WEAK, I SAY. Evil Kara’s not at home with Alex. So there. XD )

SPEAKING OF EVIL: Red Son Superman isn’t totally evil. At first, anyway. He’s just really into communism. (That probably sounds glib, but I’m very serious.) He doesn’t kill (just like our Superman) he wants to help people (just like our Superman)...

But he does so by creating the perfect totalitarian state.

Honestly, he’s a little like Astra? Right down to mind control as an acceptable means for the end goal of peace. SO WE COULD GET SOME INTERESTING MORALITY HAPPENING HERE, IS WHAT I’M SAYING.

IDK if they’ll lean into the nature/nurture thing. It’s...kinda there, in the comic, but not nearly as much as you might think, for a story like this. Certainly not enough for fandom, because they need everything spelled out otherwise it’s a plot hole or bad writing or OOC. (So that will be a fun trend to deal with next year. Hoo boy.)

WHOA WAIT HOLD UP: Kay. Some crazy speculation here, but Brainiac plays a key role in Red Son. Kal admits that he kind of became like Brainiac as he devolved into Communist despot.

Brainiac got a mention in the finale. I’m thinkin’...perfect set up for the inevitable ‘but who was REALLY the REAL BIG BAD this WHOLE TIME’ switch up late in season 4. XD

ANYWAYS it’s all just nonsense speculation and, if I’m being entirely honest, I suspect we’ll get the barest bones of the Red Son story, because DCTV likes to play fast and loose with comics story lines, BUT HEY. WHAT IS FANDOM FOR, IF NOT TO YELL ABOUT NERDY STUFF AT ALMOST ONE IN THE MORNING.

Parting thoughts: Boy howdy was that last five seconds or so more gripping and compelling than any pod could ever hope to be. XD

(Also anyone else find it amusing that the team that brought us "Falling” is potentially setting up an entire arc dedicated to an alternate Kara?)

#SG post #season 3 spoilers #seriously DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED #supergirl spoilers #spoilers #comics spoilers #speculation #for season 4 #it's all just nonsense really #long post

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eldritchsurveys · 6 years

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12o.

Do you wish you could paint your bedroom walls? >> Not particularly. I mean, it’d be cool, but I can live without it until we move into a more permanent place.

What’s your favorite musical? >> Repo! the Genetic Opera, full stop. Phantom of the Opera after that, and Jesus Christ Superstar third.

How do you get to sleep? >> I don’t really do anything special, I just read or play phone games or hang out in Xibalba until I’m sleepy.

What happened at the last party you went to? >> I’m not sure what the last party I went to was that wasn’t just some family event that I went to with Sparrow.

Have you ever smoked a cigarette? >> Yep.

What’s your hair like at this present moment? >> Freshly shorn and washed (well, yesterday, but that’s still pretty fresh to me).

Are you more comfortable sitting or lying down? >> It depends on what I’ve been doing more of at the time. I like to sit up but sometimes reclining is a relief if I’ve been sitting too much.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? >> I don’t know, but one movie I absolutely didn’t enjoy was Napoleon Dynamite.

Are you an untidy person? >> No, but I live with a person that isn’t entirely tidy and I have resigned myself to it (because the other option is madness).

Have you ever been a fan of N*Sync? >> Not really a fan -- I liked BSB more back in those days -- but I do still think some of their songs are absolute bangers.

Do you watch a lot of television? >> Not a lot, mostly because I don’t binge-watch like I used to anymore.

Do you think you’re fat sometimes? >> Nope.

Do you like to flex your muscles? >> Sometimes. What little I still have, haha.

Have you ever completely misunderstood what somebody was saying? >> Yep. One time Sparrow was saying that a place was too bougie and I swear my brain heard “boobily” and I was like “it’s too boobily???” and she was like “babe WHAT. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN” and I couldn’t stop laughing.

Favorite kind of cake: >> Red velvet.

Was it a boy or a girl to text you last? >> It was a woman.

Name something you are doing tomorrow? >> I’m not doing anything special tomorrow, so I don’t know... playing FFXIV? Like, probably.

Where are you going to be at 4 PM tomorrow? >> Home, barring any surprises.

Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 months from now? >> Yeah.

Did you have any unread text messages this morning when you woke up? >> No.

Do you think you would be a good parent? >> I don’t know. I think I would do my absolute best, which is all you can ask from anyone, I guess.

Who was driving the last time you were in a car? >> Sparrow.

Are you tanned? >> No, I’m full-on darkskinned.

Did you get any compliments today? >> No. I also have only been awake and online for like an hour.

Do you get jealous easily? >> No.

What were you doing at 3 AM this morning? >> Sleeping.

Are you any good at math? >> I think I was fairly okay at it. I just never developed an interest.

Any plans for Friday night? >> Hopefully we’ll do the Cafe Boba meetup again, with West Michigan Geeks. Last time was pretty fun.

Do you have a little crush on someone? >> Yeah. I don’t know what it’s about, but it exists, so I guess I’ll just deal with it until it finally passes.

How old is the last person you kissed? >> Ageless.

Why did you kiss the person you last kissed? >> No special reason, I just like kissing him.

What is your middle name? >> Frey. I don’t know if I’ll have a middle name when I change it for the [hopefully] last time. I’d like one, but I can’t figure out what flows well. IDK, maybe I’ll just keep Frey. It’s like “Ann”, sounds good in between almost anything.

What are you passionate about? >> Storytelling and mythology.

Do you have any fears? >> You know, my thanatophobia problem has been a little quieter lately. I still have “oh shit” moments, but not like before. And the major change has been... not sleeping in the second bedroom anymore. I maintain that there is something about that room -- either because of the last occupant or because of something I can’t suss out -- that is just toxic for me. So I’ll just keep my stuff in there but not myself, and deal with Sparrow trying to kickbox in her sleep -- it’s better than the alternative.

Where are you from? >> Good question.

What’s your sign? >> Gemini Sun.

What is your favorite color? >> Gold.

Are you a procrastinator or do you get things done early? >> I’m a procrastinator with executive function issues, so I actually sometimes don’t know whether I’m just garden-variety procrastinating or whether I need to be approaching a task from a “let’s fix/cheat my executive dysfunction” angle. When my executive function is in tip-top shape, I can get a task done in no time.

TV Shows and anime you watch regularly: >> Grey’s Anatomy, mainly, because I still have so many episodes left.

Halloween costume idea for this year? >> I don’t have any ideas, because I have never properly dressed up for Halloween and I still don’t know if I’ll ever get to.

Is there anything purple nearby? >> There’s one of those bag clips on my desk and it’s shaped like a purple monster face.

Do you usually leave voicemails on other people’s machines? >> No. I also don’t call people, so.

Do you know somebody whose christmas lights stay up all year round? >> I don’t think so. Aside from people (like me) who use Christmas lights as regular lighting.

Do you always shut your computer down when you’re finished with it? >> No, I usually set it to hibernate or sleep.

Are most of the pens around your house from random companies or plain? >> They’re just random pens, idk.

Sixteen Candles or Pretty In Pink? >> Haven’t seen either.

Do you want to have a big family in the future? >> Er.

Do you get embarrassed when talking about things like sex and periods? >> No.

Do you often write people’s moods off as ‘PMSing?’ >> I don’t recall ever doing that.

Do you think that men endure too much? >> I think that humans endure a lot, period. Men included. It’s unfortunate that it’s in fashion to diminish the struggles of men now in the name of “feminism” or whatever, because not only is that petty and unfair, it’s actually a roadblock to equality. But, you know, who cares, right?

Are there any towels in your house with cartoon characters on them? >> No.

Do the half sheet paper towels annoy you? >> No.

Ever been in a mosh pit? >> No, I watch them but I refuse to participate.

What was the last thing you did that gave you a rush? >> I’m not sure.

Is Vegas one of your must-see places? >> I’m into the idea of going, but it’s not a priority.

Pet rat ; Yay or Nay? >> They’re adorable and I love to play with other people’s, but I’m not sure about keeping one myself. Mostly because I’m a poor caretaker.

If given the chance, would you ride a unicorn to Iceland? >> Uh, yeah, sure, why would I pass that kind of opportunity up?!

Have you ever washed a cat in your bathtub? >> No.

Ever seen the movie Max Keeble’s Big Move? Opinions? >> No.

Would you call yourself a writer? Written any stories lately? >> I suppose. I wrote a short thing with my Fallout 4 Sole Survivor and Preston Garvey a week or so ago.

Are you good at reading people’s body language? >> I don’t know.

Ever ask a random stranger to pretend to be someone for you? >> No.

Are needles something that you’re afraid of? >> No.

Have you ever been prescribed medication? >> Yes.

Did you ever have those glow in the dark stars on your ceiling? >> No, but Sparrow used to, and I actually have a set of them that I got in a Reddit Secret Santa exchange but I never actually got around to sticking them anywhere.

Do you have a Friday night routine? >> No. We might now, though. We’ll see.

Do you kind of have to pee right now? >> No.

#survey #surveys #random survey

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whatdoesthejstandfor · 6 years

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Cool Smash Possibilities #3: Captain Toad

Welcome to another edition of this cute Tumblr series I’m writing! While personally, I would love to play as both Funky and Alm, I don’t actually think they’ll even be logically considered for Smash. But for today’s entry, I actually have a little bit of hope for this little fungi. Not only being one of the more prominent WiiU Mario spinoffs, but also being featured in quite a number of Mario games himself, there’s no better time to include Captain Toad into the Smash Brothers roster.

The Origin:

Toad’s been a pretty reoccurring character/species since the start of Mario’s Mushroom Kingdom adventures in 1985. They usually assume a minor role in the series, while also appearing in literally every spinoff game as a playable character. They even appear in Smash, though the use of Peach’s Neutral B special. I believe this makes sense, as Toad joining the Smash roster would be equal to a random Goomba or Koopa Troopa joining. Yoshi’s a special case, as the dino is sort of one of many, but he’s also starred in numerous games and has a much larger presence in both the Mario and Nintendo world. Plus, the Mario franchise sure does have a lot of playable characters as is, so having the Toad character as a special move tied to Princess Peach makes sense. So, you may be ask, what makes Captain Toad so different? Well, here’s some more backstory. During 2008′s Super Mario Galaxy on Nintendo Wii, Mario will sometimes encounter a wandering group of Toads, assisting the plumber thoughout the level. Sometimes they will give him the power stars he seeks, others they just sort of whimsically commented on the galaxies they explored. Regardless, the red Toad of this brigade wore a light on his head, and is essentially the prototype Captain Toad. They appear again in 2010′s Super Mario Galaxy 2. This exact group of Toads appear again in the next big console Mario Game, 2013′s Super Mario 3D World, with a major redesign. Not only do they show up during some stages, but you take control of the leader (now officially dubbed “Captain Toad”) of this brigade during special challenge levels. These levels have you control the Captain though diorama like obstacle courses, using the gamepad to control the camera. Captain Toad cannot jump, so he can only run to avoid obstacles in order to collect the 5 Green Stars and complete the challenge. These levels were ridiculously popular on the Miiverse Social Media community, and thus, the developers ended up using these as base for their next game. Thus, comes 2014′s Captain Toad Treasure Tracker! Captain Toad’s very own game that feature a comfy collection of diorama levels to complete, including even boss levels. Captain Toad is of course joined by Captain Toadette and the rest of the Toad Brigade, on their quest to find lots of treasure. It was announced like a month ago that it’s getting an updated port on Nintendo Switch, including levels featured in 2017′s Super Mario Odyssey... Which Captain Toad was also featured in! Hidden in the many Kingdoms, Captain Toad will give Mario a single Power Moon when found and talked to. Mario can also find Captain Toadette residing in Peach’s Castle after the game is completed, and gives Mario a Power Moon for every achievement he completes.

Smash Statistics:

So okay, before I start this, I want Toadette as an alternate skin for Captain Toad. I don’t think this should be a problem, as Corrin, Robin, and the Wii Fit Trainer have both sexes as Alternate Costumes. Now that that’s out of the way, Captain Toad should be similar to Little Mac in ways. He doesn’t have the jumping power that other Mario series characters have, but he should be very fast on the ground. That doesn’t mean he CAN’T jump, because that would cripple him severely in a game like this, but he has a hard time lifting off the ground. Captain Toad’s basic attacks would mostly involve him using his head and his feet, as they both have prominent size. Captain Toad’s Neutral Special would be a variation of Peach’s Neutral B, though while Peach’s spores shoot in front of her, Toad’s would cover his entire body. I guess it’d be similar to Corrin’s stupid Dragon counter, but not nearly as much knockback. I’d make his Forward Special a powerful Back Pack Swing. Not only would Toad use this to propel horizontally in the air, but also as a hard hitting swing attack with pretty decent range. I’m bringing back the Propeller Block from Mario 3D Land to be his Up Special, giving him a predictable recovery that causes slice damage from the propellers. Finally, his Down Special would be Turnip Pluck. While Peach’s turnips have different faces and gimmicks, Captain Toad would pull out a predictable turnip. He’d do it much faster than Peach, just to toss in a cute little nod to Super Mario Bros. 2. When Captain Toad gets the Smash Ball, he pulls from the ground his mighty Super Pickax! This cute little item is actually based off of the Hammer in Donkey Kong, and therefor will give Captain Toad all the benefits of said item, as well as invulnerability. The Pickax disappears after a while, so score your KOs!

Home Stage:

I feel like fighting on top of one of those Diorama stages would be really cute. I don’t really know which one, though. Maybe something with cute shy guys in the background, as well as the rest of the Toad Brigade hidden somewhere. Maybe the stage will change as it’s rotated around, meaning you have to adapt to new hazards you might’ve seen in the background, like those said Shy Guys. That, or toss Captain Toad’s stage into New Donk City or an Odyssey themed stage. IDK, I’ve never designed a video game before.

Reasons For!

-Captain Toad perfectly aligns within that timeframe between Smash 4 and the new Smash, and Sakurai heavily drew from that timeframe for the last game. -I feel like Captain Toad just appeals to everyone. Old School fans would love to see Toad in this game, newer fans get the major Captain Toad fanservice. Guys would find his hard hitting fast playstyle hilarious, gals would think he’s hella adorable. I can imagine all the memes just sprouting up like shrooms including this little guy. -I don’t think Captain Toad has much competition from other Mario franchise characters. Like, Pauline MAYBE, but Waluigi and Daisy haven’t appeared in as many mainline Mario games as Captain Toad has. Plus, Toad has been in the spinoffs since Super Mario Kart, I think he deserves a little more priority than those two.

Reasons Against!

-Sakurai’s usually super adamant on his choices in Smash. Toad has been Peach’s Neutral Special since Melee, and it’s unclear if Captain Toad will be enough to change his mind. -Toads have always walked that line between an Actual Character and Generic Series of Characters. I think Captain Toad is an Actual Character, but y’never know what the developers think. -Mario as a franchise has six characters and a clone already, while also semi encompassing the Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario franchises. The Mario franchise has a lot of characters in Smash as is. Maybe after Rosalina and Bowser Jr., Sakurai would want to simmer down on those Mushroom Emblemed guys?

Overall, I think Captain Toad has potential. He could be really fun, if added! It just depends if Sakurai is willing to give the fungi the 12 Part Video Game franchise + Anime Adaptation he deserves. Anyway, my next Cool Smash Possibilities will be out on Sunday, but I’m going to provide an interesting twist: you guys can vote for the next Cool Smash Possibility. If you guys have any characters you’re dying to see, feel free to DM me, and the most popular one will be done on Sunday! I’m familiar with most Nintendo franchises, the 3rd Party characters I might have to do a bit of research but I mean y’know, that’s it. See ya Sunday!

#super smash bros #nintendo switch #super mario #captain toad #toad #captain toad treasure tracker

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pikakeet · 7 years

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Thoughts on Star Trek Discovery

So, Star Trek Discovery. It’s taken me a while to really come to grips with my feelings on the subject. Like a lot of people I have some problems with it:

The new Klingons. Like most long time Trekkies I can’t really see why they didn’t either go with the first series Klingon design or the Next Generation one. I guess maybe they wanted to make them seem less human, but it was unnecessary IMO and the makeup looks weirdly plastic, at least on an HDTV, and all the Klingons looked alike without recognizable human actors under the latex. As an added bonus, this way they don’t have to cast a lot of Black actors to play Klingon characters on the show. Is it just me or is it weird that they needed to give the Klingons a special reason to be at war with the Federation? I would think a country that was focused on battle and conquering all the planets it came across and another country that was focused on exploration and building colonies on all the uninhabited planets it came across would naturally come into conflict sooner or later. The Holy War aspect made me think that they were trying to make reference to our current conflicts, which could be good or bad depending on how ham-handedly they handle it. But they also could have used a completely new species and we could have had the fun of discovering and exploring a completely new civilization. Or an alternate timeline version of the Bajorans.

Fun fact for those who didn’t know: the reason the Klingons changed so dramatically between ToS and the Motion picture was that when they were making the movie someone in wardrobe grabbed the wrong costumes for the Klingons and nobody caught it until it was too late so they decided to roll with it. The moral of the story: always check your work.

The tech: It looks way too advanced for something that’s a prequel to the original series, but on the other hand tech IRL has advanced a lot from the days when ToS was made. On the other hand... I just can’t like the habit of making display screens on transparent windows. It’s like, who would actually like looking at those? They’d be a total headache to focus on, and I get that maybe the idea is that you’d be able to see what’s happening through the screen while you’re reading it, and that might be useful for some things. But bridge crew display screens? Not really. This isn’t the first point when I’ve felt Star Trek’s technology was going backwards. With TNG we saw the crew go from a control setup that used physical buttons to one that used touch screen panels. The problem with that being that it makes it impossible to use controls by touch. Think about how much faster you are typing on a keypad where you can touch type vs. a virtual keypad on a smartphone and think about that applied to a ship to ship battle. I also had to headdesk during the space walk scene. I know, it looked spectacular, but is it really a good idea to send your crew in a space suit into unexplored asteroid infested irradiated space with nothing but a high tech space suit when you could put them in a shuttle craft and have more radiation shielding?

The Crew:

More specifically the uniforms. It looks like someone either forgot about the uniforms being color coded or thought that was a stupid design decision. The thing is, those uniform colors were actually useful, in ToS between the uniform colors and badge insignia you could tell roughly what division someone was in and what their area of expertise was, as well as their rank. With the new uniforms you can only really tell rank and that’s because commanders have more gold striping and I find myself missing the ability to tell at a glance who’s doing what.

For the most part I didn’t have a problem with the crewmen themselves. But Michael is an exception in a big way. Part of it was that as the formerly non-existent adopted daughter of Sarek and Amanda (Spock’s parents) who was adopted after being the sole survivor of her destroyed colony she tripped too many of my Mary Sue sensors. Part was her name, Michael, I know it’s a habit of that particular writer to give all his female protagonists male names, but IDK I find it distasteful. It’s like “What? Can’t you write a strong female protagonist unless you pretend she’s male on paper?” Part is that I think I’m just over characters with a “dark and troubled past” - that was fine the first time but now it’s everywhere, plus if you’re sending people out on a long deployment, like on a space mission you want them to have all their shit together because the lives of their crew may depend on them being able to keep a cool head at all times. If they’d had the same character but given her no background, with the implication that she had an ordinary boring background, I’d probably like her a lot better.

The storytelling: I’m not really a fan of them going from stand-alone episodes to long form storytelling. Part of that is that it really didn’t work in this case. In this case the first episode was all we got without having to pay extra, in that case it’s particularly important that you bring your A game, and for me that means showing you can tell a good story, including a satisfying ending for your pilot episode. Ending on a cliffhanger is not satisfactory, again it’s one of those storytelling conventions like the “dark and troubled past” that’s been done to death and I’m well use to stories that keep using the cliffhanger to conceal the fact that they’re on a meandering road to nowhere. But part is also that I don’t really think the long form story arc style works for Star Trek. Yes, Star Trek’s been slowly evolving in that direction, but for me the best series were ToS and TNG, before they adopted the story arc style, and even with DS9 and Voyager my interest waned as they went from mainly stand alone episodes to more tightly knit larger story arcs. The way DS9 got bogged down by the Dominion storyline, and Voyager got bogged down with multiseason long conflicts with Delta quadrant species really killed it for me. With ToS and TNG yes there was always an ongoing conflict simmering in the background, but the show wasn’t one long war episode after another either. I guess the truth is war movies bore the shit out of me and always have, so I don’t want to watch a Star Trek that’s just one long war movie set in space.

I also feel like the fingerprints on this new series, like the ones on the recent movies, show a distinct lack of Trekkie influence. Which is weird to me. I mean can you imagine if Disney set out to make new Star Wars movies and said, “You know what we don’t want in any of these? People who watched and enjoyed the original Star Wars. It’s not like the lore obsessed fanbase is going to notice if we get anything wrong, besides it’s just a swords and sorcery story set in space, what exactly do we need to know?” That would be stupid, and yet it feels like that’s what people are doing whenever they try to produce a new Star Trek.

On a related note I didn’t really like the new opening that much. Now to me again the opening of any series sets the tone for how that series is presenting itself. With the original series the opening was just the Enterprise traveling with Kirk giving the mission statement about exploring new worlds. For me, that was very exciting. By contrast the new opening showcases various Trek gadgets, like it’s saying “look at me, I’m Star Trek!” without really understanding what that means. To me Star Trek isn’t about the gadgets, it’s about exploration, both seeing new sites and new ideas that challenge my current perceptions.

#Star Trek #star trek discovery #sorry for the rant

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