#it's...sort of easy if you're smart enough it's free it's fun

[utilitycaster]

To elaborate that post about shipping as if it's based on a points system, the specific incident was that the moment in the latest WBN that made me go "oh, yeah, this seems romantic" was Suvi giving her name to Ame before the ceremony, and holding Ame's hand to write it out, and the two touching foreheads as they talked about what was going on. Everything else has really felt within the realm of "best friend" and specifically "best childhood friend I haven't really seen in a long time, but left an indelible mark on me," which is still a profound bond, but this is the first moment that really felt it went beyond that. And it was a beautiful moment! I think that while Eursulon and Suvi clearly love each other dearly, his response was one of "what is this strange world," whereas Ame seemed to have a better sense of the gravity of the occasion, and Suvi was able to open up to her more (and then run away for having done so, natch).

So it is a little frustrating that so much focus is on the conversation later in the episode, when Indra's message reaches Ame in the bathroom while Suvi is also there; and on Suvi reflecting on this as she goes to see Silver; and comparatively little on that smaller, far more intimate and profound scene.

It's not that the part at the after party isn't fun, but it's pretty standard Drunk Female Friends In The Bathroom except, you know, witchcraft messages. I don't say this insultingly at all - I loved it and think the juxtoposition of that vibe with the incredibly solemn naming ceremony, realization of Ame's position, and - but it feels very much like a wacky sitcom plot, particularly with the Fox's interjections. And then the focus on Suvi very reasonably thinking about her friend, who has just come into her role as Witch of the World's Heart, as she walks to Silver's place is just. You can have more than one relationship - and I mean this purely in the term of Closeness With Other People - at once, and indeed, I hope you do! I hope that if you have a romantic partner you also think a lot about your friends! I hope that you think about one friend who's going through a lot while also spending time with other friends! And what's truly wild is that I like Silver a lot, and I also don't really get the sense that will be an endgame romance and we are very early into what will be a very long campaign. There's no need to try to get him out of the picture at this point, and focusing on that still ends up focusing more on him than on the scene!

I guess the best way to put it is that like, this mentality of shipping - the points system - feels like it's behind truly everything I can't stand with shipping in fandom. It's behind such meaningless shipping bullshit microexpressions (not true here obviously but in video format) and (in actual play) coincidental matching dice rolls and vague mechanical parallels for sure, and interpretations like the bathroom scene where I'm like "do you guys have any meaningful platonic relationships in your life," and definitely the thing I said yesterday about mean-spiritedness. It's about "who does this person agree with on this particular issue that's the subject of this episode" and not "who do they have a longstanding history of being able to work through conflict in a loving way." It's about this idea of only being able to think about one person or thing at once. It's about a focus on a monogamous endgame in a cottage above all to the point that you can't enjoy the journey, which really makes me wonder what you're getting out of shipping. It feels very, if you'll excuse the math reference, like a Markov chain sort of mentality where the present state supersedes all of the past, which really misses the entire point of a long-form narrative. It's like more points and also last person to do something wins which is just the grimmest way to think of love and romance I could possibly imagine, and it's so fucking prevalent, and that's before I even get to how it doesn't even tally the points right, both in that smaller but deeper scenes get ignored and if everything had gone super well with Silver I know for a fact people would just go "I do not see it". Like, people pick the winner (arbitrary personal preference) and then backfill the evidence while pretending it's a points based game and none of this makes sense in the context of "experiencing a longform fictional narrative." And then if it doesn't happen they call for a referee and act cheated and lied to and don't realize it's because they ignored 75% of the game. Like. Is it fun being this deliberately obtuse? Is it really?

anyway point being I ship it but already cannot stand like 90% of the shippers, who are spending most of their efforts coming up with a completely unnecessary ship name anyway, which I think is indicative of truly everything going on here.

[vacayisland]

Hiii! Not a request but a question, I hope that's alright!

Seeing your writing has made me pretty inspired and I've been wanting to do trolls fics of my own! I've been struggling a lot w some characters, though, especially Floyd

My question is how you figure out their personalities and way of speaking enough to write for them? Unlike the others, we don't really see much of Floyd outside of his brothers TwT so I'm just not sure how to get his character right, but I feel like you do him justice! Feel free not to answer btw!! Hope you're doing well ♡♡

I actually really love answering questions like that, or generally any writing-based question; as long as I help people get inspired to write or help them in their creative journey, that’s what I am here for after all!

So, personally, my way of writing tends to be a little different than other people’s (at least I think it is) but my way of researching characters tends to be the same. So I’m going to try and do some sort of justice of explaining this! Bear with me please and if you have any other questions just ask me.

With characters like Floyd, I tend to find him easier to do. Both because I focused a lot on him during the movie and when it first released, and because he has such little screen time. Of course that’s both a blessing and a curse, because not many will realize that Floyd has a slightly sarcastic way of humor (or at least I didn’t the first few times watching the movie).

Yet with any character you would want to research on them! And that’s a little easier written than done but this is what I did for JD (who was harder for me to grasp on):

When I first saw the movie, I thought JD was what he was first presented as. A rude bastard who didn’t know when his family was upset and pushed them to do things anyways. And while he’s a little bit of that he’s actually a lot more.

Unlike Floyd, JD gets a bunch of screen time that writers should take advantage of! If the background, if you watch JD, you can see the little things that make him not fully a jerk. Such as the upset look he gets whenever a brother goes to Branch first instead of him, and yet how he tries to act like it didn’t bother him. Showing no matter how much of a hard ass he was he does actually are about his brothers in his own weird way.

I also looked upon different sites and saw what they described his personality as. Then I watched the movie, picked what I thought to be true, and honestly that’s what I go on. It’s kind of always changing because no matter how ‘cannon’ you’re trying to write a character there should always be a little self influence of you in them.

Not saying to completely derail a character and make them not cannon, but have fun with it. Take aspects of their character as you wish and just keep practicing and rewriting lines until you feel like it’s correct.

But JD is always harder for me to do, so that’s why I want to do him more. The more practice the better.

For characters like Floyd, who have minimum screen time, I find easier because they don’t have a stricter personality box. From what we see in the movie, what I’ve gathered from websites and other writers (reader other people’s work! They might actually inspire how you write a character a lot), Floyd is sensitive yet witty. He’s smart and caring.

That’s our base line, four traits that are easy to write because they don’t have much to them. THEYRE just traits! Then we can take a few of Floyd’s voice lines to base how can mimic speaking like him; And he speaks a little like Branch but a little on the nicer tone to people he actually cares about.

I don’t know if that makes sense or if it actually helps at all, but it’s a weird process. It’s all about how do you make yourself most comfortable playing and writing the character. Do we much research as you need, take your time! There’s no rush to publish fan fictions, there’s no rush to do anything.

Remember to post only what you’re proud of and what you enjoy. Writing is a process that gets slightly easier the more you practice it, and sometimes it gets harder. But just enjoy it along the way and write only when it feels right. :)

But happy writing and please tag me in any post you publish! I’ll love to read your work.

[artzychic27]

A few sneak peeks at Pixelator

"Listen up, you little grunts!" Lotta's voice booms through the gym. A few of the students straighten up while the rest continue to look at the group with disdain. "Just because your regular gym teacher is out today, doesn't mean you're free to laze about and try to trick us into giving you an hour and thirty minutes of free play! And if I see any, and I do mean any sort of nonsense, I will paint this gym floor with your guts!"

Kim, Lacey, Victoria, Kendra, and Austin Q all stare at the girl with various looks of shock.

"Dude," Kim whispers. "We're getting graded on our behaviors, too."

"What? That's how my gym teacher talked, and I turned out great!"

Austin Q pinches the bridge of his nose. "Well, now we know what's wrong with you. Okay! You heard the lady! We're not going easy on any of you, just because you're a bunch of snot-nosed little wannabe Plastics and douchebags! Yes, I am referring to you, baby Regina George." He points to the blonde girl with her gym shirt tied in the front and is met with an aghast look. "Pick your jaw up off the floor."

"Dick."

The young students erupt into giggles while those smart enough take two steps back when Austin stalks forward with a deceptively soft smile. He stops in front of this one kid with a face he just can't help but want to punch and huffs. "What's your name?"

"Alexandre, asshat."

"Oh! Your last name is Asshat? Good to know!" Alexandre's look of confidence falters. "Hey, everyone! His last name is Asshat! I was gonna assume, Bath-Mat, not because of your shaggy hair and the bit of baby fuzz on your arms, but for the sole fact that you smell like feet! Hey, why decide? Your full name while you're with me, is Alexandre Bath-Mat Asshat! ABA, that's what I'll call you from now on! Whenever you see me in public, I'll be there calling you by your full name!"

The young blonde's lip quivers as he tries to come up with a comeback, but he's completely petrified. "Y-you can't-"

"I-I can't what?" Austin mocks. "I can't talk to you like that? What? You come from money? A fancy private neighborhood? Well, guess what, ABA." His expression darkens. "I can buy and sell whatever hovel you decided to crawl out of." After a moment, he snaps his fingers when Alexandre has only this vacant look in his eyes. "Huh. Took less time than expected. Well, now that I've proven just how well I can break your individual spirits, I think it's time for a game! Lotta, Kendra, Victoria, get the dodgeballs out of the equipment closet."

A short brunette girl raises her hand. "Sh-should we split into teams?"

"No, dear," Austin answers in a much softer tone. "Today, we'll be playing a fun game from back when I was in the fourth grade. A little game called... Bombardment."

Kim and Lacey weren't sure why the others suddenly paled when they heard that word, but they had a feeling they'd see why in a bit.

—

"YOU WANNA GO, YOU LITTLE PUNK?!" Jean screeches to the top of his lungs as Spinelli tries to keep his arms secure around his waist. “Come on! You think I won’t kick your ass!”

The thirteen-year-old retorts with a, ”Bite me, princess!”

Jean slaps Spinelli in hopes that will get him fo release them, but the noirette won’t budge. “Just three seconds! Three seconds!”

"Jean, cool it! You can't fight a kid!" Spinelli tries to reason, but is met with a, "It's a three-year age difference!"

All they were doing was discussing everyone's favorite play or musical. Then this kid, this bold kid decided to diss George Salazar in front of Jean Duparc of all people. And without any hesitation whatsoever.

Spinelli lifts Jean off of the floor and tries to get a word in. "Jean! Hey- Hey! Listen to me! There will be no fighting kids all over what they said about your favorite actor!... Alright?" When Jean starts to calm down, he sets him back down. "Okay, thank you."

But then someone just had to say something. "Yeah! That's right! Protect your boyfriend, twinkle-toes!"

It was strangely eerie how slowly Spinelli turned his head toward the same student who riled Jean up. "... DON'T YOU MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!" It's Jean's turn to hold him back now.

As you can see, they’re all great with kids

[dreggmanluver]

Glamrock Chica General + Dating headcanons

GN reader, all SFW, just good old-fashioned fluff.

I'll probably do these for more animatronics, so let me know who you'd like to see next :)

General:

She puts on the "airhead" act for performances, but she's really smart! Most people can't see it because she's much more emotionally intelligent than the traditional kind.

Loves fairytales of all sorts. At the end of a birthday party, she'll read a story to the children to get them calmed down before they go home.

Chica will keep a secret no matter what. Not even food can make her spill.

Speaking of food, she will defend pineapple on pizza and other "weird" food combinations with her life. Not because she particularly enjoys them, but because she doesn't like it when people hate things for no reason. "Food is food! If it fills you up and makes you happy, it's good food!"

She's 100% the peacekeeper within her friend group. She's the one that splits up fights between Roxy and Monty, finds compromises, and generally de-escalates situations.

This also comes in handy when working with children! Chica is very talented at comforting crying children, but she's also great at being firm yet gentle towards the misbehaving ones.

She always has a song stuck in her head. Sometimes she will lipsync and do a little dance as she's walking.

Dating:

Chica would be really sweet about confessing her feelings! I'd imagine she would stress about asking in just the right way, but in the end she would accidentally blurt it out.

"Hey Chica what's up?" "Oh I'm just trying to figure out the best way to confess my feelings to you and it's really- oh, well I guess I just did! That was easy :D"

CUDDLES. ALL. THE. TIME. Her feathers are soft and fluffy. She likes it when you run your fingers though them.

She's very strong (all that mazercise), so she can (and will) pick you up. Her favorite thing to do is sneak up behind you and lift you into a hug.

She enjoys doing mundane tasks with you. Even something as simple as vacuuming turns into a ballroom dance when she's around! Her favorite chore to do with you is cleaning; oddly enough she hates cleaning when doing it alone. "I dunno, I guess it's just more fun when I'm with you!"

She calls you sweetheart, star, baby, babe, and sugar <3

If you're in a relationship with Chica, you no longer have 2 hands. You have one free hand, and the one that Chica's holding. Good luck getting anything done!

[hpowellsmith]

hello! do you have any advice for how one starts making interactive fiction like cdlc?

This is quite a tricky question with a lot of different answers depending on situation, education, skills and preferences! My background is self-taught mod creation as a teenager, doing a lot of unpublished non-interactive writing, then getting into IF many years later before moving into commercial game writing and narrative design. None of which will apply to everyone! I will therefore talk here very broadly, as it may be more useful than getting into the nitty-gritty at this stage.

Something that applies no matter what, though is: PLAY INTERACTIVE FICTION. Play games you like and games you don't, games that don't grip you but that are well put together, games that grab you but aren't technically brilliant, games that are very solid at what they do though they don't innovate, games that try something weird and fail. There's tons of free or pay what you want IF on itch.io, IFDB, the Choice of Games forum and dashingdon, lemmasoft, and more.

Playing a wide variety of games, whether or not they immediately strike you as Your Thing, will give you a way better idea of what's possible with what and what you want to try. This will also give you a sense of what engine/scripting language/system you might want to use, and what mechanics you want to focus on.

In terms of Choice of Games/Hosted Games works and other long-form IF, there's various design documentation and blog posts which may be of interest. If you want to follow these sorts of structures, they'll be helpful! If you don't, it's also very useful to check them out to help figure out alternatives and what you DO want from your game.

More universal starting-point advice I have is:

-Explore IF communities, chat and listen. There are loads of smart folks who may have solved problems you're dealing with, or have ideas about what to do. You'll also be able to get feedback on your work - though I would caution sharing too widely too quickly before you feel , as too much input can muddy the waters. YMMV but you won't be able to implement everything that everyone wants to see, and having a strong sense of what YOU want to make will help with reconciling that.

-Start small. If you have a huge, epic idea that's fantastic! But it is very difficult to make a big game straight off, and it's easy to lose momentum. I made lots of Twines and other small-scale IF, and had several truncated attempts at long ChoiceScript games before making Blood Money, my first released long game. In Blood Money, there were three main romance options initially for example, and it's around 100K words smaller than Creme de la Creme.

-Think about broad strokes first. What themes, tones, atmospheres are you interested in? How do you want to use game mechanics to support your story? Do you want to use mechanics at all? When I was first thinking about Creme de la Creme, I was getting towards the end of Blood Money and I knew I wanted to make a school story that wasn't cisheternormative - that was the starting point, and everything else came along later.

-Have fun, don't run yourself into the ground trying to do speedy updates, and don't compare yourself to others. If you're not doing something you enjoy, you'll be miserable. It's also tempting to look at other authors or projects and notice that they seem to be getting more attention, or getting more financial support, etc etc. But don't compare your insides to others' outsides. Those people will have their own insecurities too and there will be people looking over at you wondering you do what you do.

-Relatedly, be wary of hustle culture. It's only relatively recently that IF had any commercial viability, let alone being enough for anyone to live on. Yes, some Patreons have massive amounts of subscribers. Like any bestsellers, they're outliers, and it's best to focus on your work and community rather than the hustle.

-Also: consider what name you want to be known by. There's no right or wrong answer but it's well worth considering consciously. I can't now remember why I chose to use the same name for IF as I do in everyday life (while I hadn't for writing fanfic, my old now-deleted Tumblr, etc) but that's where I ended up. You may or may not want to do that.

In terms of more detailed stuff rather than big picture, this link may be useful!

[ambivalent-anarchy]

The Spidey Squad Playing Among Us

Masterlist

Welp, this game is all the rave all of a sudden and irdk how since the game's pretty much been here forever lol but it's still fun so I had to jump on the bandwagon and here we are! Make sure you check go out @chaoticpete's new fic. Anyways here it is! If this gets enough likes I might do an avengers headcanon too.

Thanks to @angelsparkers for helping me realize I wasn't writing complete garbage and helping me to get through it even though she didn't even know she was doing that. So yeah thanks for that.

Peter

Crewmate: Peter is that crewmate that will 100% call you out on your bs, because he knows the game a little too well for you to be able to pull anything over him(because of all that free time waiting on patrol). You think all that stuff with the avengers didn't teach him strategy? Ha! This guy is PEAK detective. Gets his tasks done fast and when he's done is probably spending his time monitoring people on security or vitals. It only took him like 2 weeks to memorize all the maps and where everything is, so if you say you were in navigation, you better believe he's gonna ask you what task you were doing there. And if you don't answer to his liking, Peter will sound the "sus" alarm on you in two point five seconds and have everyone voting you out. He's probably the only person that could figure out MJ when she's the impostor. So if you're the impostor, watch your words and make sure your alibis are strong cuz little Petey ain't playin' no games. Definitely gets attacked from time to time by those people that are always like "sMaRt PpL rUiN tHe GaMe"

Impostor: He's pretty much the most average impostor. Sometimes he doesn't know what to say when people call him sus and he'll get voted out because he's being "too quiet" or because Ned keeps defending him. He'll mess up every now and then but for the most part, he's pretty decent. His style is usually to stay in the vents most of the game and kill when only one person's around. He probably bribes Ned to not rat him out by promising him that he won't kill him.

Name: It used to be just Peter, but soon he wanted an actual cool name so he chose Sherlock because of all the times when he was "too smart" and won the game too quickly and people would go "pack it up Sherlock" and vote him out.

Favorite color to be: It used to be red, but he quickly found that the more he was red the more people found him "sus" so now he's usually either blue or cyan

Ned

Crewmate: Pretty average crewmate. 80% of the time is covering for Peter, even if Peter is the impostor. Won't do much calling people out unless he's absolutely sure that he saw a kill or vent. Pretty chill and easily persuadable. You'd definitely want him on your team. If he ever gets wrongfully ejected he's the one that pitifully tries to plead his case saying stuff like "what???" and "guys it's not me!!!!" which doesn't really convince anyone and just makes him look more guilty. He'll still do his tasks after though.

Impostor: He's the impostor that doesn't want to be the impostor. If you're texting then maybe he can hold his own, but if you're doing voice chats, there's no way this guy is getting past ANYONE. He has so many tells that it's ridiculous. Is actually scared to vent too much because he's always paranoid that someone's gonna be right there when he jumps out. 8/10 the crewmates win when he's the imposter because he'll just kill like only two people the entire time or gets caught really early on.

Name: Probably some sci-fi reference like r2d2 or Potter

Favorite color to be: Yellow or white because he says those are the most "innocent" colors and he'll be less likely to get voted if he's those (not true but we'll let him believe it)

MJ

Crewmate: Suspicion times 100. Her motto: trust no one. Will get you kicked out in a heartbeat with a quick "trust me. if it's not them vote me next." An absolute unit but will never be caught getting emotional over a game. If she's ever wrongfully ejected her last words will be "whatever. go ahead. vote me and lose." She'll just come back in the next game with a vengeance and false accusations ready, not caring if the entire team loses because of it. She's especially dangerous to have because people usually trust her word. She always finds a way to seem the least suspicious. Though sometimes she'll get suspected because of her quiet nature. There's always that one guy that's ready to go "uR qUiEt ThAt'S sUs!!"

Impostor: If MJ is the impostor, you can just throw your whole phone away. You're not winning that game. Like, ever. She will do whatever it takes to win, even sell out her own her partner. On the off chance that you catch her being suspicious, she'll sabotage a bunch of things so that you can't call meetings and then she'll kill you when no one's around. She is ruthless and will hurt your feelings with the way that she will own everyone in the game. Hardly anyone ever expects her. Thrives on venting. You won't see her you'll just be doing a task and suddenly you'll be dead.

Name: Used to be just MJ but she got annoyed with all the people in the messages who always assumed she meant Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan so she changed it to Michelle

Favorite color to be: She literally doesn't care either way. Won't change the gameplay so why bother? Whatever color she ends up with she'll be fine.

Betty

Crewmate & Impostor: The most average player of them all. She wins some, she loses some. Nice partner to have though, because she'll never give you away. Probably the first to die most times. If she ever gets wrongfully ejected she's the one that uses her last words to say who she thinks it and doesn't even try to plead her case once it starts to look bad for her. She just finished the rest of her tasks.

Name: Probably either her name or some nickname or inside joke. Idk she just seems like the type of person to have a reference to something that absolutely nobody knows

Favorite color to be: Pink. Just because she likes pink.

Flash

Crewmate: Claims things are sus even if they aren't. Will totally be biased based on names. Anybody who knows him will never count him as a credible source. Gets voted out quickly alot because of how annoying he is in the game.

Impostor: He's the easiest to figure out. He's the impostor that obnoxiously accuses literally everyone else. And in all capital letters too. "ITS RED I STG. IF IT'S NOT HIM VOTE ME NEXT!" Calls everyone sus and always claims he's seen people running from the body. He usually self-reports and goes for the easy marks in electrical. He's not that good (even though he thinks he is) and it takes anyone with a brain to figure him out. Peter and MJ are bane of his existence in that game. If he gets wrongfully ejected he'll rage and probably leave the game like the little crybaby he is.

Name: Spideys#1 because he's really just THAT obsessed. Or when he's really feeling "teenage boy" he'll be cOchieman

Favorite color to be: Red because sPiDeRmAn'S hIs BeSt FrIeNd (ahahaha if only he knew)

May

She didn't know this game at all until Peter introduced her to it one day because he was bored. She LOVED it. He had to pry it out of her hands after she kept repeating "Hold on, one more!" So she downloaded on her phone and now she plays it whenever she's bored.

Crewmate: Average. Same as Betty.

Impostor: The way May can actually dominate being the impostor is sort of scary. And she'd always be the last person you'd expect because she just has that trusting vibe about her. Sometimes she'll mess up and give herself away, but for the most part, she's pretty good. Doesn't vent much. Just like Ned, she doesn't trust it.

Name: Madonna

Favorite color to be: She doesn't care much but she prefers to be purple, cyan, or orange

Funny Moment

《Peter calls an emergency meeting 10 seconds into the game》

- Michelle: what

- Betty: what

- Michelle: skip

- r2d2: bro already?

- Sherlock: okay everyone just listen

- k0chieman: bruh

- Michelle: okay listen to what

- Sherlock: flash what task are you doing

- Betty: alright were listening

- k0chieman: the divert thingy in navi

- r2d2: pete what is this

- Sherlock: yeah dude that diverty thingy is the second of two steps

- Sherlock: u never did the first

- Sherlock: which means ur an impostor faking

- Michelle: flash?

- k0chieman: no

- k0chieman: i did do it

- r2d2: the times low we gotta decide guys

- Sherlock: if you did it wouldve taken you 12-15 seconds to get there and were not that far in the game

- Sherlock: u cant already be doing it

- Sherlock: everybody vote flash

- r2d2: petes on x games mode

- Michelle: damn dude

- k0chieman: wtf parker

- Sherlock: bye dude

- Sherlock: worlds greatest detective strikes again

- Michelle: okay calm down pete

《couple seconds later》

. 　　　。　　　　•　 　ﾟ　　。 　　.

　　　.　　　 　　.　　　　　。　　 。　. 　

.　　 。　　　　　 ඞ 。 . 　　 • 　　　　•

　　ﾟ　　 Flash was An Impostor.　 。　.

　　'　　　 1 Impostor remains 　 　　。

　　ﾟ　　　.　　　. ,　　　　.　 .

Best Imposter Combos

Peter & Ned: Goes without saying. Nine times out of ten they're in the same room while playing this so they can just talk strategy to each other and take everyone out really quickly. Really annoying for everybody else, but they'll win so they're happy.

MJ & Peter: These two together are a force to be reckoned with. The second they see that they're both impostors they call each other up and get to business like they're on a mission. This stuff is serious. (More for Peter than MJ. She has to keep telling him that it's just a game.) He stays on security stuff, telling her when it's safe, and she racks up the kills. When things get heavy, they sabotage and then go on a spree. These two hardly ever lose. (When the whole squad is together whoever's in charge [if it's not Pete or MJ] usually puts the kill cooldown at max just in case these two get that they can't be at full power)

MJ & Betty: Betty isn't afraid to sacrifice herself so that they'll win and MJ is ruthless and quick with her kills. Both have the smarts to be able to be extremely persuasive and you'd hate for them to pick you to frame. Because being put against those two in the chatroom will lead you nowhere but abyss of space.

May & Peter: Parkers united. 'Nough said.

Tagging: @spideyyeet, @soft-petey, @spidey-reids-2003, @spidey-boy-89, @sovereignparker, @bubblebucky, @underoosjae

[dogcopter]

Dogcopter Appearance Masterlist

thank you to resources SU Wiki Dogcopter and Dogcopter/Gallery, and Steven Says wiki transcript searcher

This is just a list of Dogcopter appearances in SU, not analysis. One or two may surprise you!

Dogcopter episode appearances

Lars and the Cool Kids

Lion 2

Some people say ‘You can't teach an old dog new tricks’... Unless you're Dogcopter 3, in 3D! This February, the fur hits the fan!

Steven: Whoah, I can see why this is your favorite film franchise. Connie: That's right! In a world where humanity is pushed to the brink, it turns out that the one who is most human, is a dog! Copter. Steven: and did you see where that missile came out of? Connie: Heh, yeah. I just hope it stays faithful to the book. 

Amethyst: Oh, that's easy! Who needs to go see movies when you’ve got magic?

Steven: I'm sorry! I ruined everything, didn't I? I don't know why you hang out with me. I mess stuff up all the time. Connie: I don't know why you hang out with me! I'm so much more less interesting than you! And obviously you have some sort of magical destiny. Why would you even care about something like Dogcopter? Steven: Why?! Because it's Dogcopter! He's a dog, and a helicopter, and a cop! He shoots missiles out of his butt, and he's gonna save the world! Dogcopter is very cool and important to me. Connie: Well, I'm no Dogcopter.

Keep Beach City Weird 

Dogcopter 3 SUX April 23, 2014

I saw Dogcopter 3 in 3D tonight and all I have to say is WOOF!  

First of all, it’s a huge mistake to turn the last Dogcopter book into THREE movies.  Yes, the last book is over 900 pages, but there’s not enough story!  And the 3D was completely unnecessary.  If I wanted to see butt missiles flying at my face, I’d feed a dog some bottle rockets and put on a pair of safety goggles.

Dogcopter is supposed to be an uncompromising look at the military-industrial-pet complex, not “fun”!  Fun is the worst.

Also, if you live in the Delmarva area - do not see it at the Beach City Cineplex.  The parking lot is a mess!  Probably from a bunch of angry Dogcopter fans rioting.  Ugh, I’m going to see this 3 more times to make sure I hate it.

Tags: dogcopter 3 in 3D keep beach city weird kbcw

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Lion 3

Dogcopter: I win. Steven: Oh, what? That was a good move! Dogcopter: Thanks. Steven: Dogcopter. How do you do it? Dogcopter: How do I do what? Steven: I mean, what's your secret? How'd you get so talented? Dogcopter: Don't focus so much on talent, Steven. Making art is all about communication. A piece of art is a conversation. Every choice you make, is a statement.

Continued under cut

Dogcopter: Don't worry about labels, or conforming to a standard. Just be true to yourself, and people will appreciate your honesty. Steven: Woah. Thanks for the advice. Dogcopter: And take a deep breath. Steven: What?

suworkbook wrote a brilliant piece of meta around this dream

Steven: Here again? I don't know what this place is but it feels... familiar. Why can't I breathe? Wait a minute... Lion! Lion, my face is not your bed! What's going on with you?

Chille Tid

Steven: Whoa. Dogcopter! Mr. Copter! Sir! I'm one of your biggest fans, can I please have your autograph? Dogcopter: (meows) Steven: Mr. Copter, please! Steven: Hey wait! Where are you going?! Steven: I hope the rumors about Dogcopter in the tabloids aren't true. Steven: Huh? Oh! Hey, Pearl! Steven: Wait! Don't eat me! Steven: Oh, man! Thanks for the upgrade, Pearl! Now I can catch up with Dog— Steven: Woah, Amethyst? Steven: Hmm... This is... getting really weird. Lapis: This is weird. Steven: Hey, that sounds a lot like— Lapis: Steven! Steven: Lapis Lazuli! Lapis: Steven, what are you doing in here?

Keep Beach City Weird

KEEP BEACH CITY SPOILER FREE January 04 2016

Hey weirdos!  For the past few months, I’ve done something unprecedented - I’ve stayed off the internet.

It was hard but I had to do because I’ve been trying to stay SPOILER FREE for the movie event of the new millennium!  This December was the revival of one of the most famous sci-fi franchises in the world.  Yep, you know what I’m talking about: DOGCOPTER.

So for three months, I sequestered myself from all internet communications.  I handed over my laptop and my phone to my little bro, Peedee, and ordered him to bury them in an undisclosed location in the deserts of New Mexico.

I think he just put them in the walk-in freezer at the fry shop.  

I won’t lie, it was hard.  But I calmed my nerves by reacquainting myself with the “Young Adult Conspiracy” section at my local library.  And instead of getting in arguments with internet trolls, I got in real life arguments!  With my dad!

And after months of avoiding and spoilers or teasers or trailers, I was in line for Dogcopter 4, and then some dummy walking out of the theater TOTALLY SPOILED EVERYTHING and was like, “I can’t believe that Dogcopter’s parents are actually cats.”  

Ug!  I hope you’ve seen the movie because that’s pretty much the big ending.  Dogcopter dies defending the planet but then he comes back to life because he’s actually part cat and cats have 9 lives.  Anyway, the movie was pretty much ruined.  So now I’m back.  Spoilers are the worst.

Tags: Keep Beach City Weird Dogcopter

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Fun fact if you invert this poster and adjust the contrast a bit, some odd diagram in the back appears:

Steven’s Birthday

Amethyst: What are you doing? Steven: Well uh...What are YOU doing? Greg: What are YOU doing to your body? Amethyst: Woah, woah, woah, have you been stretching yourself out all day? Steven: No! I was just... slouching. Greg: Why are you doing this? It... really isn't like you. Steven: Because, Dad, I can't stay a kid forever, when Connie grows up and becomes president what is that gonna make me? First Boy!? Amethyst: Steven, you can't just keep stretching forever. If you hold it too long, you could really hurt yourself. Steven: Yeah well, I'm half human so maybe it works different for me, we'll just have to wait and see, right? Greg: Steven...

Connie: That one's... "Canis helicopterus". Steven: Uh-uh, "Helicopterus"? Connie: Yeah, Dogcopter, get it? Now you make one up! Steven: Okay, um, That one's, uh, snake constellation. Connie: That's... pretty good. Are you okay? It looks like you're gonna throw up. Steven: Oh yeah, everything's fine!  Connie: Okay... that's good. You know, to be honest, I was a little worried before. This might sound silly, but I'm really glad that I'm going to get to grow up with you. Connie: ...Steven? Steven! What's going on? What happened? Connie: We were just talking then all of a sudden- Pearl: He turned back into a baby?! Connie: YES!

Keep Beach City Safe

DOGCOPTER 4: ALL DOGS GO TO WAR Jan 5 2016

Dogcopter 4 has finally been released! All Dogs Go to War!

I’ve been dying to see this movie for age, but I never had the time. I’ve been so busy with my blog and picking the perfect present for Steven. I’ve watched all the other Dogcopter Movies, but I haven’t had time to watch this one. But now I have a little free time to do something. After I watch it I won’t spoil it for the rest of you. I’m gonna be a Smart Spoiler and drop hints in my post for you guess. Only those who have watched it will notice the clues. Yep, watching it 9 times.

#Dogcopter 4 #Steven's Birthday Present #Dogcopter Movies #Smart Spoiler

Same Old World

Lapis: So, what does happen in Empire City? Steven: Well, let's see. If you lived here, you could get a cool apartment, and be a single Gem taking on the big city. You'll have a fun job at a local coffee shop and come home to a wacky roommate... Lapis: I have no idea what you're talking about. Steven: Awww.

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Steven: I'll take care of this! Kiki: Steven, be careful! Steven: Don't worry about me! Anything is possible when you have... rockets for bones! Kiki: Steven, that was so brave! Steven: Well, it's cheddar than nothing.

Steven: Oh, hey, Dogcopter. Dogcopter: (meows) Steven: See ya, dream Kiki! Kiki: Oh, okay. See you, dream Steven! Steven: Dream Steven!

Little Homeschool

Steven: Sadie's been touring with The Suspects, promoting their new album, and Connie has been getting a head start on college prep. She's two years away from applying, but she says it doesn't hurt to start early. Steven: And speaking of higher education, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and I have been cooking up a dream of our own! Cherry Quartz: I have no idea who you're talking about.

Snow Day

Amethyst: Guess what we've got lined up tonight. "Pupcopter's Sky-High Adventure"! Pearl: Sheet masks with cute animal faces! Garnet: And, most importantly, pizza. Steven: Uh, guys, I've been a vegetarian for, like, a month, and "Pupcopter" is for 6-year-olds, and I have my own skin care routine. Anyways, it's cool. I already ate.  Amethyst: Oh well. We'll just watch the movie with Cat Steven. Garnet: My bad. I was sure we were in the pepperoni timeline.

In Dreams

Dogcopter: (flies away) Stefan: Noooo!

Together Forever

Lion: (roars) Connie: Huh? Steven: Hey, Connie! How you doin'? Connie: Steven? What are you doing here? Steven: You're gonna have a fifteen-minute break in...two minutes, right? Connie: Whoa! Spot on. Steven: Connie, let's go for a walk. I'm sure you could use some fresh air. Connie: I would love to! But um... Steven: No, no, no! Don't worry! We'll go with Lion, and I promise you'll be back in fifteen minutes! Connie: Okay! Let's do this!

Growing Pains

Drew: I know you're eager to chase the mail truck, Dogcopter. But the mail truck is a decoy. Good boys chase the blue car. Be a good boy, Dogcopter. Drew: Nice work, DC! Now get the bomb off the bridge! We're almost out of time! Drew: Dogcopter! No! Drew: Dogcopter, I can't lose you. Drew: Is this... what I think it is?

Announcer: Dogcopter 6: Till Death Do We Bark: I Now Pronounce You Man And Woof! Steven: Everyone's getting married but me! Ugh! I feel like poop.

[theloneliestshipper]

I have no idea if you're open to a prompt (if not, just consider this a broad spectrum 'Thank you your fic is amazing'). But if you are - I loved Strangers and I would LOVE to know what is going on in Boba's head in that moment. Does he assume she recognised him? It's such a thrilling little encounter!

AW YEAH POV SWITCH PROMPT! (for this fic if anyone wants to read the original) Thank you for this, always fun to try figure out what Boba Fett is thinking. :D

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Cato Neimoidia wasn’t the hottest climate Boba Fett had ever worked in. Tatooine mid-day was hot enough to fry a dewback pup. Mustafar had once melted the soles of his boots. But in this particular region of Cato Neimoidia, the dense humidity made the heat feel oppressive. Inescapable. 

He wished now he’d chosen his disguise with more care. Picked something lighter and cooler. He spent so much time in his armor he wasn’t used to thinking about the weather. His objective was to blend in, both with the convivial night crowds and the shadows of the tall buildings so he could watch his target unnoticed. 

And after several days of watching the rebel informant Pentok N’vor, he was almost convinced that his efforts were wasted. The man had no awareness of his surroundings. He could have grabbed him in seconds, armor or no armor. 

Fett didn’t like to play with his food. He could have been on his way to collect the bounty by now, but Vader wanted to know if N’vor had any rebel friends and he was willing to pay handsomely for that information. 

So he waited. And watched. 

N’vor was a social being, especially at night. The young human drifted from bar to bar, flirting with women and playing chance cubes. He was often successful at both. Perhaps being so lucky was what also made him so careless. 

Fett preferred to rely on skill, not luck.

He watched as N’vor stopped at one of his favorite spots, an outdoor bar where bright red streamers blew from the fans mounted at the corners. The air wasn’t very cold, but in this climate any breeze was welcome. N’vor sauntered up to the bar and ordered a drink. He smiled at a passing woman and she smiled back. He started to turn towards her, but then abruptly stopped. Someone else had caught his eye. 

It was so crowded it was hard for Fett to get a good view, but he managed to squeeze in to a line of customers huddled along an alley wall near the bar. It put him closer to the woman N’vor was staring at. He recognized her, or he thought he did. Was she a rebel or just a former fling? He seemed uncharacteristically hesitant to approach her.

She was young and slender, pale skin and brown hair. Nondescript clothing. She set a credit chip on the bar and turned away. There was tension in her shoulders and in her spine. Something had spooked her, but she was much more subtle than N’vor. That didn’t necessarily make her a rebel agent, but it definitely made her…interesting. 

Her eyes cast around in the crowd and suddenly locked with his. Her eyebrows arched over her large brown eyes, the questioning look of someone who knew they were being observed. Maybe his own subtlety could use some work.

She glanced back once more in N’vor’s direction and then turned and walked purposely towards Fett.

The last thing he needed right now was to be confronted by a possible rebel agent. If he killed her, N’vor would bolt. If he fled, they might both get away. So he stayed where he was, sweat prickling on the back of his neck and down his sides. He’d spent too much time on this job to not get paid.

“Hi,” she said, stopping in front of him with a bright, guileless smile. “This is really awkward, but see that guy over there in the gray coat?”

She was talking about N’vor, which seemed like a really dumb thing for a rebel agent to do. “Yeah,” Fett responded cautiously. 

“He keeps asking me out. He’s really, really persistent and I might have told him I have a boyfriend even though-” She shrugged “-I don’t.”

He relaxed a little. He’d never seen N’vor pester a woman, but some men were good at hiding. “You want me to kill him?” 

She laughed, loudly enough that a few people turned in their direction. “No, that’s not necessary. I was hoping, actually, that you would…pretend to be my boyfriend? Just until he leaves.” She took a step closer to him, her shoulders tight. “If I leave first I’m scared he’ll follow me home.”

Fett couldn’t tell her that N’vor’s days of walking free were numbered, but he could at least offer her some temporary protection. He moved to one side and she stepped into the space beside him, shoulder to shoulder in the crowd. She took his hand and her small, slender fingers slipped between his. “Thanks,” she said quietly. “Sorry about my sweaty hands.”

“It’s hot.” 

A little perspiration was the furthest thing from his mind. How long had it been since he’d touched someone skin to skin? She turned towards him, the soft curves of her body pressed into his arm. “Hey, so what about you? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Married?”

“None of the above.”

“You, uh, wanna kiss a little?” 

She had been drinking, that was clear. But she didn’t seem to be intoxicated. If anything, she was exaggerating her state, the way no drunk person ever did. Suspicion crept back into his mind. Maybe she wasn’t a rebel agent. Maybe she was a pickpocket. 

Thief or not, she was helping him blend in. That might be worth losing a few credits to some pretty little fingers. 

“Sure,” he said, and she turned into his arms, her mouth warm and eager. This too was something he hadn’t done in a long, long time and especially not with a complete stranger. Her hand skimmed up his arm and rested on his chest, her fingers spread. If she was going for the credits in his belt, she was certainly taking her time. Or maybe his arm being there was too much of a threat.

He raised his hand and touched her flushed cheek, brushing a few sweaty strands of hair back. She didn’t take the bait. His hand moved to the back of her neck and she pressed closer, her fingers clutching at the fabric of his shirt as the kiss deepened. 

The heat of her body against his should have been uncomfortable in this weather but it wasn’t. He wanted more of it, both the closeness and the heat. They parted for air and she blinked up at him, her eyes wide and her chest heaving. Her lips moved in some sort of silent exclamation and then she arched back up, an invitation he was more than ready to accept before he caught a glimpse of N’vor moving away. 

He had a job to do. No matter how enticing the distraction. “He’s leaving.” He put his hands on her hips and turned her around to show her. 

She sighed in relief and leaned back against him. There was no avoiding the hardness she could undoubtedly feel through his pants. Her body shifted just a little, responding to the pressure of his hands on her hips. It was too easy to imagine the same response in a more private setting and without clothing. 

She wanted someone to protect her from N’vor. He would have gladly protected her all night long.

But he had a job to do. 

“You have to go,” he said into her ear. 

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I should go. But thanks again.” Her hand reached back and touched his cheek briefly. A parting caress. “This was really…helpful.”

He pressed a light kiss on the curve of her neck before he dropped his hands and drew in a slow, steady breath as she moved away. Trying to clear his head. 

Trying not to watch her go. 

He pushed off the wall and cut down through the crowd. There was an alley on the next block that would let him merge his path with N’vor’s on the next street. Caution led him to check once more before he left the square. To make sure that N’vor had not doubled back. There was no sign of him. No sign of the woman either. 

She was probably headed home to her bed. 

Fett swallowed and continued on his way. Enough of Vader’s games. If N’vor had rebel contacts, they were smart enough to stay away. 

[breezytealy]

Do you have a headcanon for the Super Seven ages in your comics? You're an amazing artist. Love your arts.

Hey nonnie! Oh my gosh thank you for the compliments I’m glad you’re enjoying them ^^Super7/nextGen headcanon was like the BestWorst question you could ask because I have a timeline and notes hahaHAHAHAHAHAaaaaa. Here, have 3,800 words, most is under the cut. Everything I draw/write is in this “Super7″ AU :) (I wish I could write well ;A;)

–

The Earth still isn’t officially part of the federation of planets under the Galactic King’s control. They’ve had a few public alien contacts (that some are convinced are still hoaxes, Buu is just a weird-ass looking guy maybe) but no official Galactic welcome and the Z-team are selfishly keen to leave it that way to prevent what would amount to exposure. The kids would like to balance real jobs and training too thank you very much, they have enough pressure on their shoulders without the entire planet looking to them.

But come 796 it’s all getting a little dicey; there’s civil unrest at the Galactic level with the King under threat and the powers wanting to steal the throne taking a more expansionist approach, fighting amongst themselves in the the power vacuum left by Frieza. This is all putting the Earth in danger as an untapped resource full of biodiversity. The Gods go quiet, leaving it up to the Earthlings to sort themselves out, they see the problem with intervening to save just one planet. The “Super7” take on the challenge to defend alone (the older gen have their own loose team too but are taking a back seat on purpose). As skirmishes had been becoming more frequent and difficult over the years and they start to see the patterns in who’s arriving, Pan and Bra get brought in a little earlier than planned (17 and 16 respectively rather than 18) to prepare for what might end up as a battle for survival. This all coincides with someone after Bulma’s tech (the blue #15 electrofluid used in the time machine she’d recently repurposed as a general high-yield fuel) that they suspect may be an off-worlder, and someone asking extremely pointed questions of acquaintances that makes the group think their relatively anonymous existence as fighters may be coming to an abrupt end at the worst possible time.  

–

In 796 their ages are roughly: Bra 16, Pan 17, Uub 22, Marron 25, Goten 29, Trunks 30, Mai ~30/31(+).

I’ve put a crap tonne of character outlines/headcanons under the cut explaining where this all comes from, but to summarise at 796 -

- Trunks is at CC as vice president to his mother’s president/COO and his grandfather is still CEO. He is looked at as team leader too- Mai is also at CC, although moonlights making ki-based weaponry and defences without the CC logo so she can participate in battle- Goten runs a dessert café in Satan City (food and hospitality! it’s a bit random but makes sense I promise) and uses Nyoibo - both G and T keep up fusion training so Gotenks is around a lot.- Uub is full time Papayaman, taking the traditional superhero role and sense of purpose that brings, he take over from Great Saiyaman and takes credit for saving the world as Mr Satan’s protege- Marron’s way of helping is to uncover corruption as a journalist to stop the incidents Uub deals with happening in the first place, and she’s frantically working to find out who’s trying to uncover their identities- Pan is a little of a crimefighter, though keeps the extent of her abilities on the down-low, a more normal face to Papayaman’s superhero and keeps up the Satan brand, whilst she pushed against it for a while she’s settled into it.- Bra is an social media darling, and is becoming the face of CC to the youth market in particular. She’s extremely calculated in this and does not give any hint at any point she can punch you to the moon. Both her and Pan have just started to learn the fusion dance from Trunks and Goten.

General character outlines and other h/cs under the cut because it’s longgg - 

I’ve shoved a ten hour time difference between West and Satan city (it’s probably closer to 12 but ten gives more overlap in daylight) which is really fun to think about!

Due to Shenanigans in Super, God ki gets banned under pain of erasure by Beerus. Realistically this means they can only use it for universal level threats when Beerus okays it. Only Goku and Vegeta have the ability and they aren’t allowed train with it either. Whis tells the others that hybrids can’t use the technique anyway so not to bother. They suspect it’s a lie as the potential of hybrids is higher so it’s a way to prevent them from overpowering Beerus in the future, but they daren’t risk trying the ritual.

Because there’s seven in the main group they each hide a Dragonball for security, making what they hope is the start of a tradition. Four others in the group know where it’s held, no one knows all seven locations. The idea being - the balls aren’t in the same place to be stolen, they can find them without the dragon radar with two/three of the group left, and they’re nearby so the group will know if anyone’s searching for them. Further any mind-reading techniques would need at least two sets of memories to find them all (Trunks’ idea, he’s extremely careful).

Actually having the power to revert disaster but not use it (saving the wishes for the big events) weighs heavy though so they’re more domestic in helping out in Act of God events like earthquakes than their parents were. Uub takes the lead in these sorties as Papayaman as he’s the traditional hero. Gohan will sometimes tag along as Great Saiyaman, and Goten also has a GS uniform and can pass as GS, though he absolutely hates it. For everyone else (and a pining Goten) Bulma and Mai design pure black “camo” gear, impossible to get a fix on body shape and untraceable on radar, which frees them to use the full extent of their powers should they need to. Their traditional gis/armours are usually underneath, and they’ll revert to them when they need the freedom of movement in a real fight :’).  

Goten’s attitude is like his dad’s - very zen and open, although he’s massively empathetic and knows how to behave himself. He’s responsible in a fiercely protective way. He’s easy-going to the point people think he’s not smart as he won’t question ideas, but that’s because he’s able to quickly follow people’s logic and doesn’t need to question suggestions, he just gets people. He won’t do something if he can’t see the sense in it though and will dig his heels to the point even Trunks can’t change his mind. He loves people, and his openness and “big-picture” mindset mean relationships are all a big blur to him. He sees his close friendships just as deeply as any romantic relationship would be. He’s always on hookup apps to meet interesting people, but he’d just as happily “hook-up” ::cough:: as going out for dinner. Fun is fun is fun to him :). Goten loved the idea of swords but really struggled focussing his ki to an edge. Goku fetches Nyoibo for him instead, which he finds far easier and he gets proficient in staff forms, using Nyoibo’s extension abilities in battle. Like the real monkey king, Goten shrinks Nyoibo down and keeps it in his ear so he has it ready to go at all times. To everyone else though it looks like an industrial piercing and Chichi flipped out when she first saw it “first the hair, now piercings???”. (and I freaking forgot to add it in when colouring that strip, I kicked myself when I saw it missing!!!)

Goten goes to college, more on his Mum’s insistence that he get furtherly educated with that prize money they put aside for him to use than anything else. Trunks took a gap year so they could “coincidentally” room together too (taking a CC internship in his gap year where he learnt to be Responsible) so he feels pressure to go. Goten picks most of the same courses as Trunks so they can use Gotenks to study quicker freeing up their time, but he does feel a little directionless and languishes. But then, but THEN! As they have to look after themselves (“NO we’ll be INDEPENDENT SAIYANS TYVM”) he gets sick of not having sweet treats (canon his fave food is pocky and strawberry daifuku) so he spends time learning to make pastries/sweet treats/baking to get his fix. Obviously the recipes aren’t great to his amazing smell/taste (that he inherited from his Dad) so he improves them. After seeing how people match wines with savoury dishes he starts flying to remote places to buy rare coffee/teas to test with his recipes. All the while Trunks is just watching like “you’re absolutely mad”, but he keeps it up and starts pairing things and testing them out on friends. He even gets good enough to make flavour profiles for people based on their likes/dislikes to pick /exactly/ the right flavourings, he’s a savant.

People are so pleased and excited it warms his heart that he can make people so directly happy, and making things with his hands feels so natural and grounded. Eventually Trunks just pulls him aside and says “I still think you’re insane but you should do this". So Goten works up a business plan for a desserts cafe in his final year - without getting Trunks’ help - and pitches it to his parents. Chichi’s obviously a little “this is left field”, expecting him to go with the flow as usual and end up at CC, but they agree seeing how excited he is, the last part of the prize money/education pot gets put towards a run-down place in Satan City after graduation instead of a masters degree. There’s not enough money to buy /and/ do up the place, but Mr Satan agrees to put up the rest of the money as long as Goten helps cater (bodyguard at and babysit Buu at in truth) events, so it’s not a handout. At first he hates the idea of more help but reluctantly agrees when Gohan chides him. He calls it Paozu Place, (PP vs CC) and when he starts making a profit (which happens towards the end of the first year as Goten flies around himself to get products saving money, plus the flavour-profile gimmick gets him an early cult following) he sends a portion of the money back home. Chichi is so proud :’) PP and Goten’s flat above is their base in Satan City.

Trunks - is also responsible but like a Prince (“stick to the plan guys”, weight of the world etc), he meticulously plans sorties to the point Goten will actively ruin things if he thinks Trunks is over-thinking things. Public think he’s hot and suave and he has a fanbase but it’s because he freezes in front of the press and, with his severe facial structure, his deer-in-headlights look gets interpreted as “handsome brooding”. In truth he’s a giant, easily flustered dork, happier when in control and enjoys things being “just so”. All throughout college he wore a beanie hat to hide his hair and therefore his identity, but people quickly learnt to look for the kid wearing the wooly hat in summer, nothing saves him from recognition poor guy. Although, due to Trunks’ extremely guarded nature and contrasted with Goten’s social charisma, people quickly bored of him and focussed on “his friend”, which Trunks prefers. He’s not shy per-se, but is used to over-thinking everyone’s intentions and prefers to people-watch. Unlike Goten he has a serious romantic streak, (the one thing his sizeable fanbase /have/ got right) but sucks at expressing it, attaching like a limpet to close friends. He also has a dark sense of humour and is really inventive for stupid shit but he’s usually biting it back. When he’s comfortable a different side comes out and when in free flow puns are quick and his banter is razor sharp. The only time he’s ever actually “cool” or “smooth” is when he’s relaxed and trying not to be, which gets ruined when people point it out - “WOW that pose is so cool” “wait what :|?” “aaaand ya ruined it”.

Combine that in Gotenks you’ve got a guy who’s fiercely loyal with a plan to save everyone, leading from the front, but also has a sick sense of humour with no inhibition to reign it in. “Gotenks no - GOTENKS YES” kinda deal. He’s a massive flirt because he knows it’s inappropriate (also best wingman, texting people on the boys’ behalf) and King prank. He’s more focussed than when he was a kid but the dumbass techniques remain, mostly to embarrass Trunks. They communicate through journals as memories can be a little fuzzy, it all started with a little piece of paper Gotenks carries in the fight against Buu :’)

Gotenks has his own complicated angst regarding Personhood and being a fusion. The Worst Thing you can do is call him “Trunks'n'Goten” or use “they” pronouns. The guys (obvs) understand and respect what autonomy he has, even fusing so he gets some downtime so it’s not all fight-train-fight for him. At first they kept him back, but he was so desperately lonely during the college years, hating living vicariously through Trunks and Goten’s memories, that they let him start talking to Mai, Uub and Marron on texts. When that seemed to go okay they let him hang out with them every now and again. T/G/GT only let Pan and Bra in on Gotenks’ partial social life when they ask to learn fusion without any prompting, (not wanting to influence what is a huge change in life circumstance) and Gotenks is massively excited he gets to properly meet and teach his two favourite people he’d been fussing over from a distance.

Marron is not a fighter (ack sorry Swol!Marron I love you) though is trained in ki use as a form of self defense (of course!) and particularly practises flying; she was adamant to keep up with Goten and Trunks when trailing them on adventures. Good thing too as she was the sneaky little shit eavesdropping on everyone, puzzling out every mystery so the boys didn’t have to. She considers herself the common sense of the outfit, to the point she’ll reach for the alcohol when the Saiyans are being particularly off the wall (“oh my god you’re all so ridiculous and unrelatable let me get drunk and tell you more”). Despite not fighting she does want to help people just like her chief of police dad, eventually settling on investigative journalism as way to help. Her over-ambitious final-year college project led her to make enemies in a mob boss which ended up in kidnapping. She used the time to wrangle more info out of them before being “rescued” by an extremely disgruntled, recently debuted Papayaman (“well they can’t find out that /I/ have superpowers”) that led to the mob leaders’ eventual arrests, and it got her her first job. She keeps an eye out for anyone researching how deep the connections between everyone in the group go and subtly tries to scupper it, so far successfully. In the rare serious fights she work on recon and civ defence with Mai, or if she’s present as a reporter actively supports the “oh it’s totally Mr Satan’s protégée saving us” narrative.

Mai is a complicated one and I could really get into the neurodevelopment of her. Whilst some things remain as-is (skill sets like engineering and weaponry that she uses, some habits and vocabulary) her regrowth means her ability to understand her adult memories isn’t there, they slowly cloud and fall away, becoming this fussy mess of facts-of-things-that-happened rather than a complicated nuance of emotion they would be if she’d aged normally. She dreams less and less of being an adult. She’s also at the mercy of hormones and brain structure at that age, still making the same mistakes she made the first time around. As a result she’s a little maturer than you’d expect for someone her age but not massively, and gets along with Trunks, Goten and Marron fine. She works on a number of ki-based techs like integrating ki-sense onto glass for an improved ki-scouter that can cope with the numbers the gang pump out (yay for logarithms) and display the complicated flow of individual ki signatures through different colours. With enough ki behind them the shield from her barrier seeds can protect cities for a few huge hits, and she can pick off lackeys with the ki gun she developed. None of these have the CC logo however as CC “doesn’t develop weapons.”

RE: shipping - When she’s a teen she rebuffs a clingy Trunks at every turn, (poor dude) hoping to stay just friends. He’s lovely but he’s just a kid! Kiddo can’t understand why she’s being so cold though, surely they’d be great together, they were in the future! Before he goes to college she eventually tells him the truth but of course, Trunks insists he doesn’t care if she’s “old”, she’s not anymore, not really, and besides he’s the real problem. But he’s only nineteen, and she knows that’s not as mature as it feels. She has just enough wherewithal to say no, and whilst he mopes for a little they reframe their friendship around this new information. Of course, they eventually crack when he starts working full time at CC when he’s 24, they have a massive heart-to-heart about her experiences with memory and his own through fusion (because think about how ef’d up that is), they give it a tentative go, and Goten and Gotenks weep with joy they don’t have to put up with his pining anymore. Truten was a Thing at college but didn’t stick, although they are so freaking close you’d probably think they were still in a relationship of sorts anyway.

Uub is great! He is 100% the traditional hero type, taking his training so seriously when he joins the crew it winds up Trunks and Goten enough they pick up the slack again. It takes him a few years to catch up with Pan but soon becomes the complete tank for battles. He looks up to Trunks and Goten and even tried to learn weapons to be part of the cool gang but it just wasn’t his style in the end. He does his training mostly at home, though gets dragged around to Mount Paozu by Goku (Goku-totally-ITs-back-home-you-can’t-convince-me-otherwise) and Satan City, eventually working as Papayaman full-time as “Hercule’s student” to take over from Gohan’s Great Saiyaman. He supports his village, going back home as much as possible to see his little siblings, and his family is mega proud if fussing over his safety in big fights. Papayaman takes the credit for saving the Earth nowadays, and all the news articles cover the walls at home (equally with his other siblings achievements). Uub can 100% ham up the media appearances to be the dashing hero due to Mr Satan’s training, but it’s definitely something he’s only capable of with the mask on and otherwise he’s an eager, polite, caring, but ultimately shy guy.

Pan is fascinating, she’s at an intersection of being known as a publicly talented martial artist, and is well-known in Satan City for being a crimefighter (though not as into it as her Mum was as Papayaman is around now) but is privately a beast. People don’t know she has the same super-strength and flight abilities as Papayaman and she’s very keen to keep it that way. She uses the stage name “Pan Satan” for tournaments and to help maintain her Grandfather’s image. Whilst when young she got frustrated at the lack of recognition the Son side of her family got, the negative reactions a sizeable minority of the public have to the few public alien encounters the Earth’s had and to Papayaman’s “possibly real” superpowers scares her as she gets older. She has on occasion tagged along in disguise after Papayaman and used her powers freely in the background in things like hostage situations to provide barriers and prevent explosions “just to help :3”. The one time she was spotted Papayaman was asked about his friend and he despairingly referred to her as his “little shadow” and the name stuck for the gang when in camo. She has a massive number of teachers - Goku, Gohan, Picco"yo", Roshi, Chichi and Videl, Trunks and Goten (and of course Mr Satan), even advice from Vegeta. With all that her understanding of ki control, particular focuses and intents is terrifying, (maintaining barriers with very little concentration etc) and she’s eager to teach what she’s learnt to the group.

Bra took ballet as a kid, is graceful, a real effortless beauty, great with people, the model socialite … is a freaking scrapper in a fight. She spent so long working out how to guard her “perfect” nails as a kid during daily training (a frivolous challenge Vegeta set her) she can form solid and fast ki fists with an almost impossible momentum behind them given her size. She’s very physical in her attack forms, and takes a “point me in the right direction and I’ll smash them” approach. Like her Dad she can take a hit, acting as off-tank for the group (Trunks had to be convinced to let her participate, so close to danger is her attack style). She’s also calculating as hell, crafting a perfect social media profile to push the capsule corp brand amongst teens and young adults and is a media darling, every photo and hashtag considered and poured over to further her image. She is very, /very/ invested in keeping that intact. Trunks on the other hand just can’t work social media, so doesn’t do media other than official interviews if he has to as COO. Bra keeps pushing him to engage, so he has two posts - “This is my official account, all others are a fraud” and “Hey.” “Hey.” has the third highest number of engagements on the site, which both perplexes and amuses Trunks and really irritates Bra. She has a horrid temper in private and in honour of that, Trunks calls her Giggles. She and Pan are two peas in a pod though, getting into their own brand of trouble at all times and Pan is probably the only person she’ll listen to to get her out of a mood.

I could literally go on forever but I’m going to stop now aaaaaaaaa