#me? a terrible dps? its more likely than you think

[faeriekit]

some venting: on parent fandom acceptance and the danny phantom tag

Honestly, the worst thing that certain Danny Phantom fans have done on this site to other fans is say that dp x dc is its own fandom. It's not. There's no such thing as a "crossover fandom" unique unto itself. You can say that people are too into this crossover or too into this au or whatever, but people who are fans of DC and Danny Phantom are into Danny Phantom and DC. That's just. What it is. Both properties are cool and combining them adds more characters and settings to play with together. All lore leads back to one or both parent fandoms, because those are the source material.

"Well the DC crossovers are so different—" Please. There have been Danny Phantom and Teen Titans crossovers since Danny Phantom was airing. I have read crossovers with House, NCIS, Supernatural, and probably anything else ffn had to bother with. One of my favorite works is a Gravity Falls fancomic that I still hope will update one day. No one cared how it was crossover then. In fact, I would say that we were one of the most crossed-over properties I knew of at the time that wasn't a SuperWhoLock-type popular show. DC crossovers are not new, they're just popular now.

"Well, it's got its own lore! >:(" Oh, like the vivisection aus? The Full Ghost aus? The corpse aus? The Danny-is-a-portal aus?? Tell me more about how new it is for an au to have its own unique lore. Love to hear it. Definitely it's the same for every author with no variation. There's for sure no unique takes from fans at every step of the way.

"Well, there's so MUCH of it." Tell me more about how other people having fun in their own way is your problem. Go ahead. Tell me more about how other people doing their own thing is personally horrible to you. It's really terrible when people do things you don't want to engage with, isn't it. It has to be separate from your fun. There is definitely no place where they blend; it has to be segregated altogether.

"But they're doing it in MY tag!" Oh, the Danny Phantom tag? The one with Danny in it? Where he's a main character? In the art and fic where he features??

The result is exactly as you'd expect; people who would be interested in joining the Danny Phantom community and making art and fic long-term because they like the characters and the show are getting sidelined because they're failing to like the show in the 'right way'. People who might love to join in and participate in community events and discussion and bring new ideas and aus to the table are being told that they like something completely different than the show in a way that, you know, somehow the original and extremely malleable fandom isn't??

I've been following multiple Danny Phantom blogs (or their author blogs that used to post dp fic) on and off on different accounts since 2015. I used to read Danny Phantom fanfic on ffn on my ipod touch during lunch or on my laptop once I made it home from school years before I even made a tumblr. I used to look forward to Dannymay and Ectober and I think I was even on tumblr the year that Narwhals started the Dannypocalypse?? (I for sure only saw the fallout though. I think I was busy that day)

I don't even open the Danny Phantom tag anymore. I still follow the people I follow...minus the people who've talked crap about fans who like Danny Phantom wrong, apparently, and I hope that good art comes my way without the constant underlying message that we're a scourge on our own fandom, I guess.

Congrats. There are no Danny Phantom fans who find the show through this form of crossover content. You've convinced them there's no point. They have their own tag, their own headcanons, their own fics, and their own culture. Are you happy now? Are you proud to be the fandom that doesn't want new fans? Is it nice, that people won't want to see your art and fics now, despite being hungry for new content? Did it help? Are you better for it? Did you maintain that canon purity you craved??

I saw a supernatural x danny phantom art piece today that kicked ass. It's from an artist I really, really like, who makes a lot of great stuff. I've bought their merch before and was excited all the way through their creative journey. No one tried to jump on them for crossover posting in the Danny Phantom space, using lore that's unique to that crossover.

But it's not about the crossover itself, is it.

[maxiwaxipads]

i wrote how everyone in noir bouquet would fight a while back so here you go !!!

Badobarm

Frontliner and tank, he's capable of taking incoming damage for teammates and taunts to distract! Able to give defensive buffs, and cover for allies if they require healing or need to prepare upcoming attacks. Capable of commanding teammates efficiently, he's the party member who keeps everyone's morale up! If Badobarm is there, it will be swift and victorious!

Badobarm naturally charms his opponents with good workplace practices and being a good boss.

Badobarm (Shoujo filter*) - " Work with me where you can even survive on minimum wage and budget efficiently ~ ♡ " (the enemy, who is suddenly under a charm status effect!)

Chaco

A mid-range support character who can bolster the speed and attack of allies! Chaco can debuff the defensiveness of SEEDs, but it isn't too significant of a debuff. Out of all Noir Bouquet, he's the most nimble and able to move freely through a battlefield.

His skateboard was once ordinary until Pochacco blessed the skateboard with his magic! It can easily move through difficult terrain and is even more sturdier than it was before. (<- Maybe climb walls, but I'll consider it) Chaco can also ram his enemies with his skateboard!

If there had to be a character with stealth capabilities, it would be Chaco who can silence his breathing and footsteps. Under a situation where a retreat is necessary, Chaco would be the quickest to flee with or without his trusted skateboard!

Arupek

"A close-ranged attacker at trying his best!" But in all seriousness, Arupek is a long-ranged attacker whose water gun is tampered with different nodes able to perform supportive (healing) and offensive abilities.

His gun is a special item able to convert water into a specialized magic of its own. Once water is inserted, it is unable to be deposited. After some time, the specialized water reverts back to its original state and loses its magical properties.

As long as Arupek carries water around, he's able to reuse the water gun for a long time! He makes sure to label the water he carries as "drinkable" or "ammo."

Arupek is capable of using dark-type pokemon attacks!

(So I had the idea that being contracted with a lord gives you special abilities, and Arupek inherited a venomous bite from Pekkle) (Doesn't easily share his food with others in fear of them being affected with venom) (When he's around Badobarm, Arupek makes sure to finish his food quirk even if he dislikes it or it isn't to his preferences)

Arupek, who sees Badobarm scooping the rice from his plate into one place--intending to eat it...!?

Arupek - "Oh--WAIT! WAIT! DON'T EAT IT!" "I'll finish it. I swear! You're a good man, Badobarm! I don't want you to die!" Badobarm - "...Be my guest?"

Badobarm, who thinks highly of Arupek because he can finish his food!

Tuxam

A magic DPS, but I couldn't decide between mid-ranged or long-ranged, but he seems mid-ranged to me? Has a more practical understanding of magic and can use it for mundane tasks. Resistant to cold statuses and weather!

When it comes to magic, I think Tuxam is the strongest or on par with Pikero? Slightly (physically) stronger than the average person, but when pitted against other knights, Tuxam doesn't appear that strong. I imagine this also applies to things like his stamina and how quick he can be.

Tuxam is a character who is motivated by helping others, even if it is a strict standard. May take incoming damage for allies even if it harms him. (<- Something that he's definitely scolded for(?))

Hangyon

A close-range or mid-range attack, Hangyon is both a DPS and a terrible support character! He's a wildcard able to quickly adapt to his situations, and able to use anything within his hands as a stratagem.

I imagine Hangyon is a high-damage DPS to the detriment of his allies. Someone capable of breaking the 4th wall, and whether Hangyon knows he's a character is left vague.

Hangyon who breaks the 4th wall to ask the audience what's the best move in this situation.

Hangyon - "Ehe~ ♡ I can't hear you anyway! I'll just attack them silly."

But I like the idea that his awareness is kept intentionally vague.

Pikero, who I wrote as an offsite strategist considers Hangyon as a bomb or considers him too unpredictable to follow orders. I imagine Badobarm can sway Hangyon to take battles more seriously(?)

Hangyon who can debuff both his allies and his enemies. (And maybe even buff(?))

Pikero

A strategist who prefers staying far away from the battle! In return, he observes the situation from afar from an objective angle and determines the best actions for a plausible win.

Compared to other knights, Pikero can use magic from long distances but requires the help of "drones" to carry the magic and cast it. Because he casts his magic from a long distance, it may take a while for it to cast and he would have to inform the rest of Noir Bouquet when making incoming attacks or casting supportive spells

Pikero is also capable of casting supportive magic, like healing or giving buffs. I imagine it is obvious to tell when Pikero can cast a spell, so an enemy would have to time their attacks to avoid drone strikes or prevent Noir Bouquet from receiving buffs! (Maybe a drone has a brief moment before casting the spell)

Mentioning the drones again, they're able to perform multiple tasks for Pikero and aren't solely for battle. When Pikero casts magic through the drones, they have to carry it all the way there and it requires multiple to transport and cast.

(To visualize, imagine a vague trail of drones going back and forth similar to a cable line to deliver the magic) (Pikero has separate drones tasked with observing and recording the battle from afar, and drones who act as the cable lines and cast the magic itself)

These drones can easily be destroyed, and a slight disruption can misdirect the spell itself. But once a drone is attacked, you would have to destroy the other drones before his information is quickly relayed to Pikero.

(Possibly can overheat(?)) (Maybe bad weather can affect the performance of the drones, I could see it(?)) (I feel like I powercrept Pikero...?) (May also take a while to set up, especially in long-distance places from Keroppi Kingdom) (Maybe they also take a while to assemble(?))

(Even without the cable line drones, Pikero can still provide good insight by just observing the situation) (I imagine the drones Pikero uses for battle are all-purpose(?))

While Pikero will rarely appear in battle, I think he's faster than Chaco when there's a dire need to retreat.

I wrote to myself once, "I think everyone can agree Pikero is the weakest in Noir Bouquet." I wrote that twice. I still agree with me thrice. (lovingly)

Noir Bouquet's Physical Strength:

Pikero < Tuxam < Arupek < Chaco < Badobarm < Hangyon

Noir Bouquet's Magical Strength:

Badobarm < Chaco < Hangyon < Arupek < Pikero < Tuxam

(Again, Pikero and Tuxam might be equal to each other(?))

Noir Bouquet's Physical Defense:

Pikero < Arupek < Tuxam < Hangyon < Chaco < Badobarm

Noir Bouquet's Magical Defense:

Pikero < Hangyon < Chaco < Arupek < Tuxam < Badobarm

NIGERUNDAYO!

Badobarm < Tuxam < Arupek < Hangyon < Chaco < Pikero

(Badobarm is intentionally slow to save time for everyone else and ensure everyone makes it out safely!)

edit: have you ever reread something you’ve written and realized I USED THE <> WRONGLY???? Sure, I haven’t actively used <> in years it terms of schoolwork, but LIKE???? you know the example that the alligator eats the thing that is smaller than the other? i thought about that… but maybe the alligator was eating the one with the most meat rather than the weakest prey… I have had a lot of grammar mistakes before but like????

[loquaxleemons]

More rainworld ramblings: DP spoils under cut

I may get hate for this hc but it's my headcanon not yours, and if you believe otherwise good for you.

Again I don't expect anyone to read these it just makes me happy to ramble.

After reviewing all SRS dialogue with Pebbles and NSH, its pretty clear they really don't get that their actions affected more than just their life. I mean they only mention Moon a few times, and usually it's because NSH brings it up.

I don't hate SRS as a character, they're written really well to make me feel so strongly about how bad of a friend they are to NSH and FP. And I still think they're a silly lil dude despite being, a terrible friend.

I'll review what we know.

First Offence: Spearmaster's pearl

The message seems really sweet at first glance and you think, man FP is being such a douche right now. And well he is, but he's also really young, and he's in pain, being cyberbullied by UI, and upset. Sun's approach is not very good for his current mentality, they come in preaching things FP already knows about, they berate him for not doing the experiment right and acting rashly despite him being in pain as his insides are getting eaten, and they know, him they know that he's emotionally immature and probably really upset, and they chose to send him something they knew would just make him more upset.

Second Offence: Watch in Horror Broadcast

-

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment SRS: I'm in noticing you are becoming more defensive. This obviously wasn't the end result I was aiming for, you know. SRS: Please respond to my messages. I don't want to leave it like this. I need someone to talk to. NSH: I don't mean to be cold, I'm just very worried. NSH: The activity I'm seeing from Moon's can is becoming increasingly... concerning. NSH: Our available options are rapidly diminishing, and I feel helpless to do anything. NSH: I can just watch in horror. SRS: ... NSH: You should have sent the messenger to Moon instead of Pebbles. SRS: Do you think that would have helped anything? NSH: To be honest, no... I'm not sure that it would.

Suns gets on NSH's ass for being upset Moon is dead. There is no, I'm sorry for your loss, or even comforting NSH. It's just "I need someone to talk to" it's about SRS, and how SRS feels. Not how NSH feels. And this is more apparent in the other broadcasts because it's just about Suns and how they feel about Pebbles or about Spearmaster.

Third Offense: Humiliated Broadcast

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment SRS: I'm just so frustrated. SRS: I feel like I've doomed not one. but two iterators. SRS: And in the whole process I've lost a great friend, who won't even let me help him. NSH: We make mistakes, it'll be okay. You know Five Pebbles really looks up to you. SRS: Yes, I know that, but... NSH: I think he's scared. Scared, and humiliated. Unparalleled Innocence spreading the news probably made him feel even worse. SRS: ...I think you're right.

this one is actually not bad, but still the conversation is about SRS, they don't ask how NSH feels despite being Suns' therapist friend this whole time.

Fourth Offence: Tragic and Big Setback broadcasts

[LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment SRS: I just don't understand... why hasn't Moon done anything about the situation herself? SRS: She was appointed as Pebbles' superior. She has the power to stop him. NSH: I've been very close with Moon, and I can tell you she is incredibly caring. NSH: And while her kindness is one of her greatest attributes, it is also to her detriment. SRS: Isn't this excessive, though? Surely she at least has a sense of self-preservation. NSH: I'm sure she convinced herself that she could help Pebbles. That she could bring him under control with words rather than forced action. NSH: She's probably still trying that now, unless her systems have degraded past the point of even allowing that. NSH: That's why this is so tragic to me. [LIVE BROADCAST] - PRIVATE Seven Red Suns, No Significant Harassment SRS: I remember talking with Five Pebbles not too long after he was first put online. He had a bit of defiance, even back then. SRS: It was an odd situation, to be certain. Its quite rare for one iterator to be made the administrator of another. Just as rare as them being built right next to each other. NSH: His lack of appreciation used to bother me. Moon was a great big sister to him! SRS: Yes, absolutely. However. Five Pebbles had a very strong drive for independence. He was never one to want to be told what to do. NSH: I think a lot of us were like that in the beginning. I remember being in that phase a very long time ago. It takes many iterations for our world views to develop and for us to realize the flaws in those lines of thinking. NSH: Unfortunately, from what I've seen, Five Pebbles seems to have plateaued at that phase. SRS: No, that's not true. I was helping him to get past it. We were making good progress, actually! SRS: The current situation, however, is going to be a very big setback...

I don't like the way SRS explains Moon to NSH despite him being closer to Moon than Suns is, you know Pebbles, NSH knows Moon.

And I just hate the whole big setback chat, seems like they're (NSH and SRS) objectifying Pebbles and treating him like a project rather than a person. Also feels like they're forgetting that he's younger than they are so he's still growing.

AGAIN despite saying all this I enjoy SRS's character, their role in the story and their dynamic in the group feels good, and real. It's exactly how a friend group like this would work. It just confuses me a little how people depict Suns often as a caring person when they are really never shown to be considerate of anyone's feelings like Moon or NSH is. I don't think SRS was a good influence on Pebbles, and might be the reason he's the way he is.

This entire thing is partially why I also don't really ship sunstone, but yk I still enjoy the Sunstone art and stuff. I don't waste my time chasing people I don't agree with. You've got your ideas I've got mine, I bet your art/story is beautiful it's just not for me.

[intertexts]

oh god i just realized I forgot to send you this. behold: the worst trivia ask out of all of them:

EPISODE 22 TRIVIA:

- they spend the first. 9 whole minutes talking about the logistics of snapping someones neck irl only to learn that its not actually possible and thats just something that was make up for movies

- "this is the most guy talk we've ever had at the beginning of a rolled. i feel like we need a trigger warning for boys"

- bizly wanted them seeing tide again to feel awkward and weird! like you're going back to your parents house after not seeing them for a really long time

- talking about how dakota has so many parental figures now and grizzly goes "except for ms. g. she has my whole heart" and WITHOUT missing a beat charlie goes "no. *i* have your whole heart"

- there was apparently a group of people on twitter who made a VERY long VERY well researched document about how all the medical stuff esp involving william would work and kept tagging bizly in posts asking how things would work and hes like "man i dont know!! i write a silly superhero show im not a doctor! it all comes down to his parents built a very strange machine that was designed to view worlds unseen!" (<< quoting the dp theme song in the most EXASPERATED voice possible.)

- "WILLIAM WISP SHOULD HAVE FUCKIN WORMS IN HIM. if we were playing this realistically william would be fuckin LOCKED UP with rigor mortis and COVERED in worms and FULL OF GASSES. he should be FOUL. and FULL OF WORMS. and I DONT WANT THAT" << hes a coward for this. btw. i feel like william should be grosser

- they just keep saying more things about how william should be so grotesque. at one point charlie goes "please dont draw this. its so gross". me, looks at my 4/7 jrwi freak week canvases that are william wisp themed. um. well.

- WARM BODIES MENTION. i love that movie. charlies like "thats how i want william to work hes undead but hes like. pretty about it"

- bizly: "because we've already explored this plot thread of William Being Dead so much, i dont want him getting a heart to just automatically fix that. its not like hes just magically alive now. i havent thought of the exact consequences yet but i want there to be some drawbacks to this to keep things interesting"

charlie: "william is just thrilled right now to be feeling stuff. i dont think hes considering the possible drawbacks"

- "ive never been prouder of any of my characters than when william wisp dented drywall"

- "why didnt vyncent get a fun surgery too" "because I'm a coward"

- they were on some absolutely insane energy for this rolled they keep going on like 5-10 minute long tangents and BARELY talk about the episode other than to mention how william should be a rotting corpse. I REMEMBER NOW that this was a SIGNIFICANT factor in my being frustrated with the heart surgery thing LMAO

- THATS IT. THATS LITERALLY IT. THE ROLLED IS OVER NOW. THIS WAS NOTHING !!!!!

TERRIBLE rolled youre right!!!!! help!!! this is so funny. great rolled guys lets wrap it up. william should be wormy and u cant snap peoples necks. good job everybody. it is really funny to me that people were... expecting medical accuracy?? how do u really seriously research putting one guys heart and another guys blood inside a body that's been dead for several years. frankly i would love to see it i'm very curious.

LOWKEY I'M GLAD HE *ISN'T* A BLOATED LOCKED UP DECAYING CORPSE!!!!! PERSONALLY!!!! i fully respect ur rights and taste to think he should be rotting and worm filled and stinky but frankly i'm on charlies side w this one. hes undead and pretty about it <33

anyway. i still have many thoughts about wiwi's soul/body/wisp relationship that i will NOT start talking about now because it would get LONG. but. its always great hearing their thoughts on it. eyes emoji. but yeah i really don't want him to be just magically fixed and alive now.... we'll see!! we'll see how it goes!!!!

[outivv]

to other anon star rail revenue suffering compared to previous months is because they for some reason decided to put some of thee most skippable units(from fanbase perspective)back to back after firefly like jade only really shines in one game mode and that’s straight up not good enough for most people(unless you’re a desperate blade main because he’s suffering rn)especially when 1.x units can still clear in all modes fairly decently(well like..except blade LOL😭😭)

and she came right after firefly who probably made hsr closer to 120+~mil if we go by sensory towers method ie “we dont have access to android,pc and console revenue so we let you do calculations to see what the revenue earned this month MIGHT have looked like if we did have access to these”(another side note eek but gawd as someone who used to play hi3 i mourn the fact ff got a miles better kit than hofi kiana yknow the character hoyo openly calls their daughter😭)

Yunli while good is literally just clara but a slight bit better which while we dont know how much she made yet acheron and firefly very much so have affected how people will look at new dps because of just how broken they are so(the genshin equivalent of this would be neuvillette and mualani where shes maybe looking to be around top dps wise but shes not at his level so a decent amount of people automatically disregard her)

Jiaoqiu while not as bad as people made him out to be is still not a must grab either and is more than likely going to be skippable to meta slaves and the casual very limited amount jades players so already at a disadvantage esp with leakers constantly going “oh oh MAYBE sunday will be in 2.6 oh oh maybe he’ll be in 2.7🤭”so unless hardcore fans,people who roll for any man in the game because they are in a drought compared to 1.x days ,or just anyone who’s that desperate for a support clutch it star rail is going to drip back into its usual revenue unless they decide last minute to make feixiao broken or decide to roll out the red carpet for sunday sooner rather than later

(anways lol sorry tgis is so long i nerd out when it comes to these things)

Totally cool I love when people nerd out cause then it gives me an excuse to be a fucking nerd too BAHHAHAHA

Jade is genuinely garbage I am not even gonna lie. Her design isn’t that good, her character? Racist BAHAGAH, her kit? Bro she’s not even like sparkle where she’s like a terrible character but her kit is suuuuper good, she’s just like not very good all around, so that does make sense as to why she’s just… no one spent on her unless they were gooners tbh

Blade is suffering so bad… like omfg- I used to main blade and holy shit he just can’t. Like he cannot do the dmg he needs to unless you run him with jingliu imo because of how she takes hp away, and blade’s main dmg source is from his fua cause it’s an all hitting attack. Hope blade gets some kinda buff or something with a character like jingliu who takes hp away slowly but is actually a buffer- ooooo.

I think yunli is relatively good, I’ve seen my friend who’s got a very f2p build on her do like 1.5 mil with her, but that’s also cause of their own insane supports BAHAHAH. Idk what most meta players think of her, because personally I don’t care about the meta. Bitch I main Argenti and Boothill, I do NOT care about meta. But, yunli like you said- is still just slight better Clara, and I believe most people have Clara cause she was soooo big in early stage meta, so it’s like… why get yunli is Clara already does the job, unless you just like yunli which is fair cause she’s a cute character.

Jiaoqiu feels like… like like like- topaz kinda. Like I feel like he’ll be great later on, and while he has uses now- especially for buffing the FUCK out of Acheron, I feel like they’ll be like “look at this specific meta we’re making so now Jiaoqiu is more useful :3” cause he just feels so strange now, even if he’s quickly become one of my personal favs 😔

But most people are skipping him, I know I am- and I’m skipping him for feixiao cause from what I’ve seen of her she’s stupidly broken ☺️🫶

Like STUPIDLY broken; fuck- fucking imagine her with Robin? Stupid dmg, but we don’t know her scaling yet, she just looks actually abysmal AHAHAH especially when paired with Moze (who I’m hella excited for :3)

Sunday has been confirmed by leakers to likely not be in 2.6 or 2.7 and if he were to be in either patches (this is my opinion) it would be 2.7 I think, since either 2.7 or 2.8 will be likely the last patch of 2.x and then it’ll be 3.0 so even more reason for people to save, since 3.0 is pretty much right around the corner :P

[suffarustuffaru]

I love your otto brainrot. He's favorite person to gush about in this series. I also love your analysis about one of the latest chapters and regarding Otto! ust, chef's kiss.

Anyhow, I would also like to add a crack theory about why otto never talked about his dp allowing him to talk to infants too. In this moment, it very much be because, as you said, he wants Spica to be eliminated. But! We're thinking small here. My question morphs into a more general perspective; why would Otto, and tappei to an extent, keep such information about his dp under wraps for this long, way before these Spica shenanigans? And I feel like the author may want to expand on that regard. Because as far as the rest of the crew knows (and as far as I remember), they know he can only talk to animals. But that chapter states he can talk to any living being (?), which I think may hint to it being a bigger fucking deal than we may realize. Like outside the Louis development, as well as Otto's frustration development, this power in of itself can cause a ripple of what Otto's capabilities are, and to not underestimate it.

So, now I wonder, would tappei utilize this tidbit for more development about Otto's power? What do you think?

aa thank you for liking my otto stuff!! i adore him a lot and arc 8 has me even more fixated on him bc his development is so Fascinating.... and also my fictional character type has always been the weird fucked up ones with terrible morals HAH.

OK ALSO LIKE i love your crack theory to bits. i think like the idea of his capabilities being A Little More Massive than they already are hasnt really occurred to me if only bc 1. i have like one braincell at a time and 2. ottos unhinged anger and various ugly habits (ie: doing things behind his friends backs HAH) were smth i was distracted by (positive) bc its so fascinating and now Finally everyone reading rezero knows hes crazy For Sure and 3. i think like. idk ive always kind of thought that his power is like super crazy like once you think about it. like iirc theres the canonical fact that other people in the fantasy world whove had ottos dp have gone like insane from it, so hes Basically the outlier here. and also hes insane anyway but his dp absolutely has partly to do with it. not only bc it like affects so much of his life with the constant overstimulation he experienced for a big chunk of his childhood along with the other effects it had with how he was behind his peers for a while and it made him socially awkward and anxious - but also like.

animals Are insane. a lot. genuinely. and then you have a power that allows you to understand them and hear their voices all the time. (more under read more bc its Long.)

theres so many fucked up animal facts out there HAH so i suppose that could just take like a couple google searches (god.... if oceans were in the fantasy world otto might go a little insane with all those sea creatures if he ever came close...) but i always feel like ottos learned at least a bit of his ruthlessness from that. and hes Definitely seen and heard shit (dont forget stuff like livestock ahah T^TT or bug infestations or something aljsdfls or the fact that otto would probably be seeing animal friends eat other animal friends or before he even knew he had his dp he could be eating some cattle he had a convo with like twenty minutes ago and ALSO garf and fred have their meat pie recipe that they adore and its like. that meat came from an animal and otto has most likely seen them make their meat pie before). but like nature is nature. its not always. Nice. survival of the fittest and things just die sometimes (ottos made various animal friends throughout his life and Many animals have smaller lifespans than him as well + some, such as bugs, are more fragile than him) and animals take actions according to their Nature (even if its. Bad, by human moral standards.) and all that - so i think the double whammy of ottos dp and him taking on merchant ideals is very much partly why hes so insane fr HAH.

I WENT A LITTLE OFF TOPIC BUT no yeah i agree. and i just think his dp has always been such a huge factor in what makes him so dangerous - its not only helped mold him into who he is as a person (especially when you remember that the rest of his family are Normal People and he Very Much Is Not Normal) but also like you said. his dp makes him extremely dangerous especially with the new information that he understands babies. iirc otto didnt Necessarily keep that bit of info under wraps - at least not before he met the emilia camp, bc the text said something about how hed take on side jobs where he babysat infants and hed be good at it bc he can understand the intent behind their wordless "words". and i definitely think otto - and tappei - havent really said anything on his ability to talk to infants before this bc it just hasnt come up in much relevant context until now. BUT I ALSO THINK YOU HAVE A POINT bc this does open like. a bit of a can of worms. theres these 2019 tappei qnas where he talks a bit about otto understanding "intent" -

Q: Is Otto's Blessing of the Spirit of Words limited to sounds that the speaker understands? Can he translate something Subaru wrote down in Japanese, or something that someone reads out loud phonetically without understanding it's meaning?

A: He can't. It's a blessing that conveys the intent of the other person's words, so if you said something like "Honbaradaratodetta", it wouldn't mean anything. It's just that, if Subaru had been saying "Honbaradaratodetta" for years to mean "What's for dinner?", it would convey that.

Q: About the "Blessing of the Spirit of Words" that Otto has, in cases where the same word can contain different meanings, can he discern the difference? (The English word 'servant' and a servant from Fate, etc.)

A: It's not the letters, but the speaker's intent that he picks up, so he could tell the difference.

--

but no yeah like........ ottos dp is specifically about Animals and well. humans and demihumans ARE animals. so it makes sense that it carries into humans and demihumans a bit so the whole catching someones intent thing is super fascinating and i feel like he could Definitely utilize it for more of his schemes?? esp when you combine that with the usual ways he uses his dp with animals - his power is Perfect for spying on others and gathering info in general. from my understanding of his power though, animals have to agree to help him, but given he can communicate with them and hes. well hes a good talker and also a bit of a manipulative bitch (affectionate) so like getting animals to help him doesnt seem like too much of an issue usually for him. so no but yeah his power is like. Off the Charts. and now we got big confirmation in the main story that he can UNDERSTAND PEOPLES INTENT BEHIND THEIR WORDS....? no yeah i think tappei will at least utilize it for the louis-spica plot things (ie otto wants her dead so hes just not gonna say anything about how he knows her true intent isnt to actually hurt anyone).

but i feel like otto could possibly use it for plans... or accidentally catch tidbits of info he shouldnt. im not entirely sure how, but. well. roswaal still hasnt delivered on his promise to kill everyone if even one person subaru cares about dies and Now roswaal knows that 1. otto plans to continue opposing subaru and emilia and keep pulling strings and 2. subaru wants louis to stay alive because he cares about her. it seems like massive emilia camp inner conflict is bound to happen at some point hah... the current situation is a ticking time bomb T^T and thats ON TOP of otto still working on restoring the book of wisdom... it all makes me wonder if otto will overhear a convo he shouldnt and catch the true underlying intent to otherwise innocent dialogue. or something like that.... or if louis's intent fluctuates in some way which otto will be Very aware of. if that happens. or if someone else somehow figures out ottos hiding the fact that he knows louis is innocent via his dp alsdjflsjdf. or maybe roswaal hints at his genocide plan and otto figures out the intent???? everyone is at a stalemate atm fr and im fascinated to see what comes next.

though. ok given otto went insane hearing the white whale..... well you could just fling mabeasts at him and maybe he'll shut up lajsdlfj bc using his dp (especially when overusing it gives him nosebleeds and headaches and pain and etc etc) against him is a Viable strategy to stop him among many others but like. the problem with otto is that hes persistent and Will hold a grudge against you if you wrong him. like i really do feel like he will hunt you down if you do which is the big Thing with otto. T^T hes unpredictable!!! especially now with arc 8 where hes been dragged through all these dangerous situations he did not sign up for and he just wants him and his friends to be safe but said friends want to save a whole country and NOW a sin archbishop alsdjflsjd.

like i really feel that hes so tired of things happening throughout his life out of control (remember his bad luck T^T and the way his dp used to fuck him over in his childhood? yeah T^T) that hes been trying to exert more and more control over his camp. bc like. vincent asking the emilia camp for help was nudged into that direction by otto. ottos also stepped a bit out of line by being hostile to julius and anastasia bc. otto that shit was unncessary aljsdlfjd theyre your camps allies!!!! and now ottos letting his camp be sus of louis by keeping quiet about her true intent. like otto is straight up like. hes kind of possessive of his camp isnt he? bc hes so fixated on making things go the way he wants (not that he wanted to help vollachia, but he wanted to help subaru and emilia which is why he pushed things in that direction, and now he wants to kill louis). it all makes me wonder if he'll ever have to use his dp against his camp given hes. kind of already doing that by lying to them - though itd probably be difficult to use his dp more actively against them if only bc they all already know what his dp is. theres no element of surprise there, but i think with the right circumstances he could possibly use it to figure out Something at least. bc like while he Does feel guilty, there is next to nothing stopping him from doing more shit on top of the shit hes been doing so far in arc 8 HAH. his moral compass is just literally broken and pointing straight down to hell. that mixed with his stubbornness and intellect and anger is like. well anyone going against otto is pretty fucked.

like. what is stopping him from sending a little bug to spy on subaru at all times. probably the fact that subaru and co. have a high chance of maybe noticing it and noticing that ottos keeping. too close of an eye on them. which would stop otto and his new declared "i walk in darkness" goal but all of this keeps making me wonder what lines otto WONT cross. and how far hes willing to go to do what he thinks is necessary to save his camp. and also what the consequences of his decisions will be.

but also like............................................... ok time for a crack theory of my own are you ready. anyway. can you imagine if ottos dp extended into fucking mind reading or something............ HAH.

[yzafre]

So been thinking lately about how way back (somewhere 5-10 years ago? that's when I followed the most dp blogs, at least) there were a lot of posts around people imagining a Danny Phantom reboot. I read a lot of them, probably reblogged some of them, but with my chronically-late-to-the-party disease I'm only really playing around with my own ideas now.

probably to procrastinate on that other project I should be working on shhhhh

So. How would I put together a DP reboot? Not necessarily what the best way is, but what would I want to do. I really like outlining, so this is a fun little thought experiment even though I should really be writing

Okay, so to start out with - what's that one post? What I want from fandom is not what I want from canon? There is… a lot of DP fanon out there that's really fun, but definitely should be restricted to fanon only (at least in it's typical form).

After that: format of the show. There's a lot more styles of kid cartoons now-a-days, and a lot of shows on the spectrum from serialized/progressive story to monster of the week. I think I would put this more on the pure monster of the week half. More Teen Titans than Avatar.

Or, well, if I'm being really honest, more like Leverage.

Leverage is a heist show with a very strong cast of characters, where each episode had a different target, so you could largely watch any episode and understand the plot fully. There were season-long "villains" that would be taken down in the season finale, but their involvement in the rest of the season's episodes was very limited.

The biggest connection here, though, is that throughout its five seasons the characters had very strong character progression - the characters were still recognizable between season 1 and season 5, but they were also noticeably different.

They learned lessons and had development throughout, and that was really the heart of the show - seeing them learn and grown and heal and become better people together. And it was consistent, not backtracking whenever they wanted for the sake of an episode idea (be real, we all just thought of an episode name).

So, rather than developing intricate plot arcs, I think I would want this hypothetical reboot to instead focus on thematic arcs each season, that could be injected into individual monster-of-the-week plots, leading up to the big resolution in the season finale.

And that's why I think the first season finale would be Spectra.

"Spectra?" I can hear you say, "I mean, she's memorable, but is she really finale-worth? What about a Freakshow, or a Pariah Dark, or a Dan?"

Look, just - hear me out. See my vision.

So I want to loop back to that concept from earlier of fanon vs canon, and look at one of the core concepts of the show: Danny's ghost powers, and what they mean. Now, while it's not… terribly clear in canon, I think the original intent (per the theme song) was that he just had mutated DNA that gave him ghost powers.

Of course, all of us watching took one look and threw that in the trash and went "nah, he's half ghost, thus half dead". And rightfully so! Much more interesting.

Why not take that into the hypothetical reboot, then, make something of a meta-commentary, a dialogue with the original? Have that be something Danny goes back and forth over throughout the season? Maybe in the beginning he very confidently asserts that he was just mutated, it's just powers… but as things seem to contradict that, there's an internal struggle, he's not dead, he's obviously alive, he can't be dead -

And if that's the internal struggle he's over-coming through the first season, who better to force the final confrontation within himself than Spectra?

[wine-dark-soup]

Machinist and Red mage and why it's not the same thing

Reading the title of this post, you probably thought: "well yeah, one is a bloke who uses guns and the other is a literal mage who studied the blade, of course they're different, what do you mean"

WELL, thank you for asking, imaginary reader in my head!

If you play both jobs like me you probably noticed they work on the same basis: to effectively attack your opponent, your own aether must be converted into a new energy that can be infused into your bullets/sword. I first stopped my train of thoughts here, thinking "well it's the same principle so yeah they are similar and if you like one more than the other it's just a question of aesthetic".

I was wrong, of course.

Yes, they both require you to use your own aether. Yes, they both convert it into something new. The difference resides in the duration of this aether's availability.

Machinists carry an aetherotransformer, which is a technological contraption mixing magitek and traditional craftmanship. its main use, once it has converted your aether into lightning energy, is to store it. You can keep it for as long as you want. it's available when you need it. it's even visible in gameplay: if you don't use that stored energy, the hypercharge icon will always indicate it is ready to be used, and will never vanish. if you don't summon your rook autoturret the battery gauge will remain full for as long as you want.

On the other hand, red mages don't rely on anything technological to master red magic. they are their own mana vessel. they can't store the mana they have created from their aether because they have to constantly keep the balance between white and black mana - and this balance can't last: they have to release it all when they can, in the form of powerful spells and melee attacks, because there is a limit to the amount of magic one can hold, and there is a limit to the time one can maintain that equilibrium. It's also visible in gameplay: dualcast, verstone and verfire, even when available, do not last: you have 20 seconds to cast them or you miss your chance to make a sick combo.

I'd say it's even visible in their animations: the MCH can jump everywhere and move in all directions because they don't have to focus on their inner aether balance all the time. they are free to move as they want which makes them terrible mobile foes, although they are not the most powerful; for it takes time to store enough aether in the aetherotransformer before it's ready to deliver a devastating blow. in short, the aetherotransformer does the work for them.

The RDM is mobile, compared to other magical DPS classes, don't get me wrong, but still: casting their spells forces them to stop moving, contrarily to the MCH who can shoot bullets while running. that being said, they are mobile because they have to keep channeling those spells at high speed, or that would break their mana balance. their /drawweapon animation is a solid proof of this: they have to hold their sword and their little focus crystal in a position that allows the aether to flow within them from the crystal to the tip of the rapier. So yeah, they don't have an external contraption that makes it easier for them, but since it's their pure aether they're manipulating, they can cast wayyyy more powerful spells than a MCH. and they have their FAST and powerful melee combo that is the direct result of the aether they are finally releasing.

In short, MCHs are fast because they can; RDMs are fast because they can't possibly be slow.

NOW onto the theories. What would prevent a RDM who's not very skilled in magic to attach a little contraption similar to an aetherotransformer to their focus crystal? Yes, the lore compliant answer is simple and it's that the magitek used in aetherotransformers is rare and hard to program. But imagine. On the other hand, what if a MCH who's got a hold on magical studies decided to get rid of the aetherotransformer and converted their aether themselves?

In both cases they would become more powerful than ever before. Of course it has limitations: red magic and machinistry do not have the same goals; the aether the MCH uses is not turning into magic and the aether the RDM uses is not lightning energy.

But if a MCH could become even faster and if a RDM did not have to always focus on their mana balance, oh oh. we would have killing machines on our hands.

So yeah; that is why i think they're different, very different jobs, in spite of working according to the same basis.

[lilyblackdrawside]

Skyfire as an operator is designed in a really weird way. You can tell that she’s one of the earlier operators by how simple she is. Skill 1 is a generic whatever, Skill 2 makes her attacks really slow, hurt really bad and stun. Talent makes blocked enemies take more arts damage.

That’s all there is to her. Of course, she’s not very widely used, since she’s part of an already maligned subclass of Casters and among them she doesn’t particularly stand out outside of a comp that’s focused on producing the single biggest arts damage hit ever, I suppose. Her stuns are very short and the delay between them very long, so it’s not like she can go all Unlimited Bibeak Works on anything and her S2 actually gives her a smaller dps increase than her S1.

Now, none of that is really weird. She’s a not terribly powerful operator, so what. So let’s dig a little. Let’s check out that S2 a little bit closer.

This is Fire of Heaven at M3. Absolutely no precharge, 25 seconds charge time, 40 seconds duration. Those are weird numbers. It has an amazing uptime, to the point that you can count on it being up for entire waves and every wave.

It stuns targets for a second. That’s at M3. At Rank 7 the stun lasts 0.2 seconds. It gains five times its duration through mastery. Why is it so backloaded? Who knows. The extra duration isn’t even that relevant, since the stun’s biggest utility is aoe attack interruption. But again, it’s really weird.

Now the damage boost. “(...)dealing 240% ATK as Arts damage(...)”. I can’t think of any other buff-type skill that works an operator’s damage this way. Any normal operator would get a +140% atk (which would be terrible, given how badly it slows her attackspeed by the way) but Skyfire working this way makes her scale amazingly well with outside attack buffs. Inspiration from Bards is a lesser aspect, since as a Splash Caster she already has great base attack, but getting Warfarin’s +90% is huge. But getting stupid attack buffs from event mechanics, IS2 or even SSS produces some really funny numbers. Which are guaranteed to show up with this skill. The meteors always produce numbers.

Then there’s the way it animates. Skyfire targets an enemy, draws a circle on the ground where they are in that moment and the meteor falls after a brief delay. This allows her to miss dogs. Or any enemy that’s fast enough. It looks really cool though! Skyfire is really cool, but not all that practical.

Ultimately when I look at Fire of Heaven it looks like an instant-attack skill like Leonhardt’s S2. Something that stocks charges that you can press to get damage. The attack calculation and everything. If Skyfire was made today, her S2 would be a skill like that and she would honestly be really good with it.

I just can’t help but really like Skyfire for all she is. If she was a bird or fish she’d have a guaranteed spot on the squad, but since she isn’t, she has to earn it through me actually finding a situation to use her in.

[deepestbluesky]

hello it is time for a VERY niche post. join me for... SHL characters as SNAKES!!!!! i tried to find snakes that naturally occur in china or near china, as a terrible added parameter—there's a TON of snakes in china, but i just don't know many so it's terrible bc it added a lot of work for me lol. but i've learned things! and found some cool snakes! so! let's go. pictures of snakes ahead, if that's not your thing, feel free to peace out.

Wen Kexing - Sinomicrurus macclellandi a coral snake! just a nice boy you know? just a nice, extremely venemous boy with dramatic red coloration. shamless plug for my fic where wkx turns into This Snake.

Zhou Zishu - Bungarus multicinctus look at this lovely unassuming snake. got some goth-y drama but overall not too bad, right? one of the most venomous land snakes in the world 😌 (also. he and wkx match but like in a complimentary way.)

Zhang Chengling - Pareas margaritophorus the first thing wikipedia says about this snake is that it is small and harmless. for the first time so far, i am not trying to mislead you. just a little snek boi!!!!!! cute!!!!!! I Want To Hold And Protect Him

Gu Xiang - Fowlea piscator look i'm gonna be honest. there are not a lot of snakes that are even REMOTELY purple but this one has a little purple whip tongue! also, not venemous but (if it's anything like water snakes in the US) kind of an asshole. apparently pretends to be a cobra. look at her go.

Cao Weining - Coelognathus radiatus this snake has no thoughts in its head. look at it. i don't mean as a species i mean This One. That's cwn. just sitting there doing a blep. no venom, apparently a defensive sort of dude. cool colors tho!

Luo Fumeng - Calliophis bivirgatus a different kind of coral snake! i've gone a bit further outside of china for this one but LOOK at how gorgeous it is. how could i not let lfm be this glamorous. also i like the idea that she's a different genus of snake than wkx but still a (venemous) coral snake.

Liu Qianqiao - Elaphe taeniura gonna be honest here, the common name of this snake in english is the beauty snake (or ratsnake), so i didn't think too much farther. there's a ton of different color morphs of it. look at it, the elegance! she's beauty she's grace she'll constrict you (if you are a small mammal)!

Xie Wang - Bungarus fasciatus this is a different krait! zzs has MANY bands, xw just has bands. a little brighter colored and more extra than zzs, sliiiightly less deadly, still can very definitely kill you. LOOK at that warning coloration. if i was to pick two characters to DEFINITELY have warning coloration, it WOULD be wkx and xw.

Du Pusa - Euprepiophis mandarinus this is NOT my best work, but i just thought this snake was really pretty and so i was determined to include it somehow. hence: dps. they are ~secretive~ apparently. also. again. Look At It

Ye Baiyi - Python bivittatus BIG BOY!!!! ALMOST THE BIGGEST BOY!!!!! does occur in white color morphs in captivity (and like, i guess presumably in the wild? at one point? but i have to imagine that's like. not so much a thing anymore.) also, did i pick the picture that looks the most like a cryptid? of course i did, it's yby. he doesn't want his picture taken. he doesn't want you to know he exists even. leave him alone. where he belongs in his natural habitat.

Han Ying - Lycodon septentrionalis a shiny pretty boy. a shiny pretty boy who looks very much like a many-banded krait, in fact. however, they're not venemous. hy just looks like zzs. again: LOOK AT THIS GOOD SNEK.

Jing Beiyuan - Ahaetulla prasina several things here. one, this is an elegant but strange boy (i don't think this shows just how weird this guy's nose looks. it's like someone took a snake's nose and used pliers to stretch it out all pointy). two, FASHION!!! look at those pattens!!!!! a striking example. and three, it looks kind of like wu xi's snakeclet

Wu Xi - Naja atra he's a cobra. i think this speaks for itself.

[watching-pictures-move]

Movie Review | Strange Darling (Mollner, 2024)

This review contains spoilers.

Very glad that I decided to see this on a whim before it left theatres, because it fucking rocks. A lot of people are suggesting you go in blind, and I disagree. Because you won’t be able to see the movie. Hey-o! Sorry, that was terrible. But yeah, do not read anything about this one’s plot beforehand if you plan to see it. This depends heavily on twists and turns and well timed violence and what have you.

The one thing I did read about this was that it was shot by Giovanni Ribisi on 35mm. There’s an interview where he talks about setting up a production company to provide the infrastructure necessary to make it easier and cheaper to shoot smaller movies on film. I assumed he stopped getting too many roles because they were being taken by Jeremy Strong, who is basically the same guy, let’s be honest, but apparently he’s always had an interest in cinematography. And whatever he picked up from hanging out with the DPs of his other movies has clearly stuck, because this is really well shot, and not at all ostentatious in its style, focusing on evoking tension visually instead of eye catching flourishes. Also, given how much I complain about the awful anemic digital sheen of so many modern movies, it’s nice to have seen at least a few new movies over the past few weeks that have a good sense of visual texture.

MAJOR SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT:

There is in this what can be read as an anti-woke / reactionary streak, specifically with respect to the issues addressed by the MeToo movement and Believe Women, as the villain here is a female serial killer who repeatedly exploits these anxieties. But I’d actually argue the movie is about the tension between your gut feelings and social pressure or conditioning. Ignoring your better judgement when your partner in a one night stand calls you a pussy. Ignoring proper procedure when a crime scene has been carefully curated to look like a sexual assault. If anything, I think that tension gets closer to the heart of the issues addressed by that movement.

This also has a non chronological structure, punctuated with chapter titles. I can see this movie being tense if played in order, but I also think the fact that you initially see things out of their proper context is the point. Like the CNC sex scene misleadingly presented as a rape and attempted murder. The movie’s misdirection primes you for the killer’s misdirection. The cops see that crime scene without the preceding context and make a fatally wrong assumption.

This is very much informed by classic exploitation, so it invites comparisons to Ti West’s recent trilogy, but I enjoyed this quite a bit more than those movies. For one, the references seem less like facsimiles of better movies, and are instead deployed more purposefully in the narrative. The opening text/narration and the early sequences lead you to expect something in line with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, which creates tension in how the overall chase and specifically the sequence with the survivalists in the house will play out. The movie also holds on monologues by Willa Fitzgerald, who plays the killer, similarly to how Pearl specifically holds on Mia Goth, but I found Fitzgerald to be much more naturalistic, so holding on her work felt less overwrought. This is also a character who does a fair bit of “acting” in the movie as she misleads her victims, so it makes sense to emphasize her performance in that way. Anyway, I found her unabashedly kinky psycho killer character distressingly attractive in this. The part bringing me distress was the psycho killer part, not the kinky part. But I can change her…

And on a final note, the survivalist characters, who are portrayed quite empathetically by Barbara Hershey and Ed Begley Jr., are not only obsessed with sasquatches, but they also prepare a breakfast that gave me gout just looking at it. Given how big they are on survival, you’d think they’d want to stave off potential heart attacks, but maybe it was their cheat day.

[herorkgk]

*slides into your inbox all smooth and cool* So I heard you play Overwatch 2. In your opinion what's the easiest characters to play if someone wanted to learn how to play the game?

omg hi i do (unfortunately) im honestly not the guy to ask this to cause im no high tier player or owl god every game with a roster i've ever played i've always played characters that appeal to me more personally than skill ceiling. the only advice i can give is honestly just play who you want, i can't tell you everything and then expect you to be godly. play whats comfortable for you, learn the characters and figure out who you like the most and then branch out from there back in 2016 i was a cassidy one trick just bc i like cowboys LOL and now i play a bit of everybody ig if i had to recommend some charas to start with i would say try some heroes with splash damage first (junkrat, pharah etcc) thats only if you're interested in doing high amounts of dps, if you'd rather play support i'd say give baptiste a shot, lots of aoe healing and damage. amp matrix helps your team a lot as well as amping your healing so you can pop that shit almost any time and it WILL be useful. his cooldowns are longer but once you get the rotation down he's really fun and nearly unkillable its not a bad idea to learn current metas either even if you're a quickplay king

side note: idk how this works exactly bc i'm an ow1 player, but with the f2p system now you have to unlock heroes on new accounts. it limits who you get to pick and choose but i don't think it's a terrible idea and it can help you be well rounded imo, so i'd take that into consideration too before hopping on

[kallured]

these are my two main girls and then i have two other alts i am so lazy about getting on bc theyre dps classes ....

[advernia]

WHAT'S THE WORST YOU CAN DO?

ONE —

Sam's shadow has been moving about in circles on the wall, till it finds its master and taps him on the shoulder. Sam turns to face his shadow and as soon as he turns, his shadow points out a finger ahead.

What he sees, what he hears - it has Sam tilting his head and sharpening his gaze too. Master and shadow exchange glances again before Sam makes his move, leaving his shadow wandering about the wall in a pattern of swirls.

"Little demon, what on earth do you think you're doing?"

Jamil shoots a glare - heavy, unpleasant, and malicious all at once. His lips don't stop moving and the air around the student is a mess of pulsing energy, and that's what Sam raises an eyebrow at.

Not breaking off from the staring contest, Sam starts reciting words in whispers himself - the air slowly shifts with the string of incantations being called in unison, a quiet whirring like a constant buzzing surrounding the two mages. The tension is a developing mass of terrible, until...

... a pair of cockroaches, with wings wide and bodies long, fly right in between them.

Jamil's eyes widen as far as they go.

"Hey, hey!" Sam shouts, troubled by Jamil's hasty chanting. "Are you seriously casting a high ancient curse on those insects!?"

TWO —

It's three in the afternoon. In two hours time, there'd be a raid event. A special gacha draw. Boosted drop rates. Limited five-hour boss hunt. Anniversary giveaway.

All that and more in just two hours in the games he's currently playing, but -

"Shroooud! You've been taking Flight classes for three years, but you're still hanging from your broom!?"

Literally hanging from his broom and a good ten meters above the ground, Idia looks down at Vargas, face a cross between fed up and irritable.

"C'mon, listen to yourself... I've been doing this for three years, and now you pick a fight with me about it? What about Leona-shi and Cater-shi who step on their brooms, huh? Why don't you pick a bone with them? Talk about totally biased - "

" - and you can't even stay that long in the air with those kind of arms supporting you! Develop some muscle, Shroud! Breathe life into your physique!"

" - and there it is again, that muscle talk! Do I look like I wanna be a DPS or a tank in real life!? No way, not worth it, not optimal... being 'buff' isn't the same as having buffs!"

" - and with a sound body you become a great magician like myself! Shroud! Are you even listening to me!? Now get down here - you accomplished the task of keeping yourself afloat whole ten minutes in air, but next time you'll do it mobile and without hanging from your broom!"

" - like, what's totally wrong if I don't wanna ride on my broom like all those mages did before? More like, why can't I use something else than a broom, aren't brooms meant to clean stuff and not to be used as a flying medium? A broom as a flying medium looks totally lame anywa - "

"Shroooud! Stop talking to yourself again and get down here!"

THREE —

Somewhere in the kitchen of the Mostro Lounge, Grim slowly backs away close to the doors, paws covering his nose.

"Nuh-uh, no way! I ain't gonna eat that! That just smells bad!"

Jade puts a hand over his heart, a gasp escaping his lips. He turns to his twin standing beside him, a deflated expression crossing those features similar to his own.

"How cruel of you, Grim-san," Jade sniffs, patting Floyd's back softly. "Have you no heart? Floyd had gone through the effort of cooking you lunch, but yet..."

"Baby seal, weren't you complainin' about bein' hungry since earlier? And I did my best..."

"Best, my foot! Ya were literally mixin' all sorts of stuff! I saw it!"

"It's a Coral Sea specialty!" Floyd replies, voice all high-pitched and whiny. Really whiny. "It's got all sortsa fish..."

"... and their innards..." Jade supplies. Grim makes a noise.

"A combination of sauces..."

"... salad dressing, chili, sweet cane..."

"Spices to add some flavor..."

"... mint, oregano, chamomile..."

"Are ya tryin' to kill me or something!?"

FOUR —

Thirty minutes later, in the silence and comfort of his private quarters, he sets down his knife on the table and inspects his handiwork.

"This..." he finds himself saying, "does not resemble anything."

The apple carving sitting on his desk does not answer him, but it awkward shape speaks enough volumes. The two weird ends poking out differently, the body of the apple missing all sorts of wedges and skin left unpeeled at the assorted places.

"Apple carving is a more tedious task than I thought," Sebek huffs. Trial apple #12 set aside, he reaches out for another apple in his basket, holding it in his hand carefully, turning it around in all angles.

"I must not simply waste food either... should I try applying less strength as I go through the skin? Or start by shaping the body first before peeling the skin? Ah, or should I try creating a stencil or something similar out of paper first to act as a guide... ?"

1: jamil reappears for this batch! here's everyone's context:

jamil -> ancient curses... for insects.

idia -> hanging off a broom, really!?

floyd -> saaay, how do you make cat food?

sebek -> an apple carving of malleus-sama! ... in progress.

[adhduskull]

Bro danny phantom is so cool n stuff, infodump man!!!! Just,, yeet ur feelings about it. I love fanart n stuff of danny so gimy ur thoughts on it!!!

!!!!

Well, so first off I have a whole sideblog for it @superphlyduskull :3c if ur interested

Second this is straight up like. The most invested I've ever been in a fandom tbh, it's the first time I've posted anything and the first time I've attempted fanfiction!! (tho I haven't finished or posted anything yet) I recently thought up a headcanon that ghosts see more of the light spectrum than we do and that thats also how they become invisible, by only reflecting light humans can't see. I'd like to make a little fic abt it I think! Maybe one where a bunch of bugs follow him around bc I think it'd be cute

I think what really gets me about this fandom is the potential for worldbuilding. The show did close to fuck all in terms of exploring its own lore, but there were hints everywhere of how the world might work, and it's SO FUN to play with!! It leads to so many interpretations that are all equally plausible! Plus the huge amount of AUs inspired just by the source material... the way it lends itself to crossovers super easily as well, considering Clockwork has sent Danny into a different universe in the show (yknow, to stop the timeline where his family and friends and teacher die because he cheated on a test, eventually leading to him destroying the world...... there are some interesting morals in the show)

The angst potential is also insane, and I'm actually interacting with angst a lot more in this fandom than I usually would bc its so beautifully handled a lot of the time. Between identity reveals going wrong and the Guys in White getting a hold of him and Vlad being a shitbag to Danny being the GHOST KING

Ghost King Danny is probably one of my favorite AUs, I think partially bc its really fun to explore how insane it is for poor Danny to be saddled with this huge responsibility, and also to see how much power that gives him? Like on the one hand thats too much for a kid his age to handle and I feel like I might be projecting a bit since I was responsible for more than I would've liked from a young age, but also it reeeally spices up identity reveal scenarios and can save him too much grief in others bc depending on the take, a huge amount of the ghost zone has his back!! Like uhhh No, you are NOT going to mess with our King, [insert possible antagonist here]

It's also super fun to think of what ghost culture might be like, as well as just how ghosts work! We see glimpses in the show, but again, nothing is explored much? I love the universally accepted headcanon that ghosts have a vital organ called a core (though how it works varies greatly from person to person), and the idea that there are multiple ways a ghost forms (like from a being dying, or just forming from ectoplasm and strong emotions or big concepts, or being straight up born??). I've also seen the idea that a lot of ghosts don't really mean harm to Danny and that ghost culture is generally more violent bc they're not as squishy as humans!

Also!! There's gonna be a new graphic novel which is sick as hell! We don't know much more than that, but hopefully Nickolodeon doesn't mess too much with the creative team, because I'm really interested to see where they take it (especially since I think bitch fartman doesn't have any say in decisions? I'm not sure on that tho). Either way it's new content and I'm excited to see where the fandom goes with it too!

I have also realized the reason I don't infodump much is because I'm terrible at explaining things and trip over my words and am hard to follow lmao, particularly in person. You'd think that as an actor I'd be a little better with words but naaah lmao. I need to rehearse them for them to come out right apparently

Anyway idk how coherent that was but if u ever want to hear me ramble about dp feel free to send me more asks! Esp on my sideblog, I'm Always down down yell abt it!! Thank u for sending me that ask btw, it was really nice to do a bit of infodumping!!!💜💜💜

[redrobin-detective]

Ok now that I know ur opinions on Alien Force, I gotta know ur opinions on OG & Omniverse. Which one do you like better? Did you like the Inclusion of Rook? I just have so many questions!

The OG was the original for me, Robin's second ever fandom after DP got cancelled. I loved it and absorbed the entire series only for that love to peter out rather quick. I think its bc it was just me in my head with no outside fanon to participate in. But rewatching it now, I was afraid it would seem stupid but I'm surprised at how well it holds up. God I love this half manic idiot child running around with his godlike watch. I'm reminded that the original series was actually decently well written with some great storylines and dialogue that I had forgotten about. I rewatched the whole Ghostfreak saga the other day and man there were some genuinely scary and tense moments in there. I think objectively the original Ben 10 is the best out of everything I've seen but I've been frothing at the mouth with the complexities and delightful storylines of Omniverse.

So I love the idea of Omniverse more than the actual show. Don't get me wrong I still really enjoyed it, I didn't binge watch 80 episodes in 2.5 weeks just for giggles. The world building/lore/and Ben's character* (*when he was done well) were terribly interesting and my mind is still trying to get ahold of all the nuances and hidden meanings the show just, didn't use. S1-4 was great, S5-8 were overall bad with good eps interspaced (I've uh watched And Then There Were None/And Then There Were Ben like 4 more times since the first watch).

I loved Ben and Rook's relationship for all the wrong reasons bc while fans were all like 'oh ship them!' I found their friendly but still distant dynamic, being unable to truly open up to one another (bias/disappointment & sense of propriety on Rook's part and Ben's heavily walled heart, insecurities and fear of abandonment). Despite going through countless trials, they got through 8 seasons as partners without like... actually understanding the other and it's so sad in a really interesting way bc its very in character for both of them. Rook as a character was delightful. How quickly he went from "Ben Ten!" with stars in his eyes to 'Benjamin if I were not legally and morally obligated to keep you alive I would have snapped you in two by now (but also I would still die for you bc I still have great respect for you as a hero if not as a person)'.

Rook had to practically pull Ben's teeth out to get him to admit to any sort of vulnerability and Ben purposefully kept him away with his annoying hero facade yet people still be pretending they're super tight? Ben & Rook are basically the equivalent of high school friends you hang with, have fond memories with, call your best friend but once you graduate, you completely drop off and when you look back you realize you never actually bonded in a meaningful manner. It really makes me sad bc Ben did this on purpose bc losing Gwen and Kevin so suddenly hurt him and he's pushing away any new friendships (especially with a fan, someone Ben will always try and please and be Ben 10 not Ben for) and if he keeps this attitude up he's gonna wind up very, very alone.