#most prominently when she was younger and she got bullied. she would come home sometimes bawling because she just...

[honeylemondrop]

Took those sticks and stones, showed 'em I could build a house They tell me that I'm crazy, but I'll never let 'em change me 'Til they cover me in daisies, daisies, daisies

BASIC QUESTIONS

First name? Haven

Surname? Lemos

Middle names? Benita

Nicknames? Havey, Honey (only Beck)

Date of birth? October 8

Age? 28

PHYSICAL / APPEARANCE

Height? 5’8

Weight? 145

Build? slim

Hair colour? Light brown

Hair style? Loose and straight

Eye colour? green

Eye Shape? almond

Glasses or contact lenses? glasses

Distinguishing facial features? Eyes

Which facial feature is most prominent? lips

Which bodily feature is most prominent? skin

Other distinguishing features?

Skin? tan

Hands? petite

Make up? always

Scars? On her hands from failed experiments

Birthmarks? A brown patch shaped like a butterfly

Tattoos? no

Physical handicaps? no

Type of clothes? The latest fashions

How do they wear their clothes? Usually tight and out of the way

What are their feet like? Average

Race / Ethnicity? Cuban/Spanish

Mannerisms? She talks with her hands and get louder the more excited or angry she is

Are they in good health? yes

Do they have any disabilities? no

PERSONALITY

What words or phrases do they overuse? Carajo, dammit,

Do they have a catchphrase? no

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? realistic

Are they introverted or extroverted? introverted

What bad habits do they have? Forgetting to eat and not sleeping enough

What makes them laugh out loud? The silliest things

How do they display affection? A gentle touch and kind words

Mental handicaps? No

How do they want to be seen by others? innovative

How do they see themselves? Trying her best

How are they seen by others? Kind, intelligent and motivated

Strongest character trait? determined

Weakest character trait? self-critical

How competitive are they? Not really

Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider? Time to consider

How do they react to praise? well

How do they react to criticism? She takes it in because she wants to do better

What is their greatest fear? To never accomplish her goal

What are their biggest secrets? She’s terrified most of the time that something will fail and there will be no coming back from it

What is their philosophy of life? Enjoy it while it’s here

When was the last time they cried? Last tuesday because of an animal documentary

What haunts them? ...Tadashi’s death

What are their political views? none

What will they stand up for? The people who can’t stand up for themselves

Who do they quote? Einstein, Tesla,

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? indoorsy

What is their sinful little habit? Uh, hmm, men? And chocolate.

What sense do they most rely on? Smell, usually the experiment smells before it blows up

How do they treat people better than them? The same

How do they treat people worse than them? The same

What quality do they most value in a friend? Honesty.

What do they consider an overrated virtue? Courage. Bravery leads to stupid mistakes.

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? She wouldn’t change anything

What is their obsession? chemistry

What are their pet peeves? When people don’t listen to other and act like they’re better

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of? Big, parents and siblings and family in Cuba

What is their perception of family? She loves her family. She thinks family is the love no one else can give you.

Do they have siblings? Older or younger? She’s the eldest, a younger brother and sister

Describe their best friend. Fred Fredrickson. He’s an outgoing, creative guy who is always there for her.

Ideal best friend? Someone who balances her out.

Do they have any pets? No

Who are their natural allies? Fred, Reagan, Emily, Penny

Who are their surprising allies? Beckham Teague

PAST AND FUTURE

What was your character like as a baby? As a child? She was a bright bubbly baby that learned to walk and talk quickly. An inquisitive child that drove her parents crazy with a million questions.

Did they grow up rich or poor? Poor

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? nurtured

What is their greatest achievement? Getting into college without debt but her PH.D is killing her financially

What was their first kiss like? A mess, she had braces, he was chewing gum.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? Not tell them she loved them.

What are their ambitions? To change the world and be able to make it a better place through science

What advice would they give their younger self? To take more risks.

What smells remind them of their childhood? Roses because her mother would grow them in their garden.

What was their childhood ambition? To be a scientist

What is their best childhood memory? Cooking with her mom and siblings

What is their worst childhood memory? Being made fun of because she was taller than everyone else.

Did they have an imaginary childhood friend? no

LOVE

Do they believe in love at first sight? nope.

Are they in a relationship? …..nope.

How do they behave in a relationship? She’s completely loving and attentive. She cooks for them and spends time with them.

When did you character last have sex? Ask Beck.

What sort of sex do they have? The sexy kind?

Has your character ever been in love? yes

Have they ever had their heart broken? yes

CONFLICT

How do they respond to a threat? She’s very logical

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? Tongue, she’ll tear you to shreds with her words.

What is your character’s kryptonite? Someone who needs to be saved

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? Her journal with her notes

How do they perceive strangers? She’s very trusting but not naive.

What do they love to hate? Bad fashion

What are their phobias? She’s afraid of chickens because she got chased by one when she was a kid

What is their choice of weapon? Science

What living person do they most despise?

Have they ever been bullied or teased? She was constantly teased for her height.

Where do they go when they’re angry? She yells. A lot. Sometimes in Spanish and sometimes she just screams.

Who are their enemies and why? None…yet!

WORK, EDUCATION AND HOBBIES

What is their current job? She’s an underpaid intern at PymLabs

What do they think about their current job? It’s fascinating.

What are some of their past jobs? Waitress, daycare teacher

What are their hobbies? Reading, singing and cooking

Educational background? Currently working on her PH. D

Intelligence level? Genius

Do they have any specialist training? She’s trained in handling lab safety and CPR/First Aid certified.

Do they have a natural talent for something? She’s a good singer

Do they play a sport? Are they any good? She played basketball but hated it.

What is their socioeconomic status?

FAVORITES

What is their favorite animal? Tiger

Which animal do they dislike the most? Snakes

What place would they most like to visit? Japan

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? Sunset in Cuba

What is their favorite song? No te pido flores by Fanny Lu

Music, art, reading preferred? Reading

What is their favorite color? Yellow

Favorite food: rice

What is their favorite work of art? Irises by Van Gogh

Who is their favorite artist? Banksy

What is their favorite day of the week? Tuesday

POSSESSIONS

What is in their fridge? Fresh vegetables, juice, milk and someone else’s beer

What is on their bedside table? Book, post it notes and pens

What is in their car? Doesn’t have one

What is in their bin? Trash? Probably lots of paper

What is in their purse or wallet? Lipsticks, bandaids, hair ties, candy

What is in their pockets? Paper clips, hair clips

What is their most treasured possession? Her teddy bear that her grandma made her, Raul.

SPIRITUALITY

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel?

Do they believe in the afterlife? That there will be something

What are their religious views? She believes in God but no religion

What do they think heaven is? A place where one feels loved

What do they think hell is?

Are they superstitious? Nope.

What would they like to be reincarnated as? Bird.

How would they like to die? In her sleep at old age

What is your character’s spirit animal?

What is their zodiac sign? Libra

VALUES

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? Other than being unsliced, lied to.

What is their view of ‘freedom’? It’s not easy

When did they last lie?

What’s their view of lying? She hates it.

When did they last make a promise? She promised Hiro she wouldn’t cry

Did they keep or break their last promise? She broke it.

DAILY LIFE

What are their eating habits? She either eats really healthy or not at all because she forgets

Do they have any allergies? She’s allergic to shellfish

Describe their home. Neat and tidy for the most part, utter chaos if she loses something

Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? Minimalist

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? Yoga, because she’s better than me

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon? Enjoy reading a book with some cafe con leche because that’s what I do.

What do they do on a Friday night? Usually hang out with someone

What is the soft drink of choice? Sprite

What is their alcoholic drink of choice? Wine

MISCELLANEOUS

What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween? She’d dress up as sailor moon

Are they comfortable with technology? Extremely

If they could save one person, who would it be? She couldn’t choose

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Beckham

What is their greatest extravagance? Her louboutins

What is their greatest regret? Not telling Tadashi she loved him

What is their perception of redemption? Understanding what was wrong and making amends

What would they do if they won the lottery? Buy her family a house and pay for her PH.D and open her own lab

What is their favourite fairytale? Doesn’t have one

What fairytale do they hate? Hansel and Gretel

Do they believe in happy endings? Yes, but you have to make them happen.

What is their idea of perfect happiness? Having accomplished all her goals alongside her family, the one she has and one she would make.

What would they ask a fortune teller? Nothing

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? She’d stop Tadashi.

What sport do they excel at? None

What sport do they suck at? All of them

If they could have a superpower, what would they choose? She’d choose magic but she’d never admit it.

[twtrv]

an accurate guide about red velvet

So since so many people are getting into Red Velvet recently, I decided to make a guide to help them out. You know, give yall some slack because learning five names is super hard. A guide accompanied by my half-assed jokes, interesting. 

PSA: If you’re only here to stan the girls because of their recent comebacks like Peek-A-Boo and Bad Boy and are going to drop them as soon as they release tracks similar to Dumb Dumb and Ice Cream Cake, leave because we don’t want you here.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get straight to business (TO DEFEAT THE HUNS WHY DID THEY SEND ME DAUGHTERS WHEN I ASKED FOR SONS)

Basic Facts

Red Velvet is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment in 2014.

There are five members (OT4 stans can choke).

They debuted on August 1st in 2014 with a single called “Happiness”.

Fandom name is Reveluv. Since “rêve” means “dream” in French, the meaning behind the fandom name is that us, Reveluvs, make their dreams come true and Red Velvet gives us their immense love in return, thus the “luv” part. Sometimes they also call us “Luvies”.

Official fandom colour is pastel coral and not red because l o g i c

The fact that they were formed by SM Entertainment doesn’t mean they got a free ride to the top so sit your entitled asses down, thanks.

Now, you see, they weren’t actually supposed to debut in 2014. I bet you must be confused but don’t worry, it is I, your trusty homie, that is gonna help you realize how many similarities every student has with SM lmao plus the reason for their early debut.

2014 was a rough year for our buddy Lee Soo Man. Jessica left Girl’s Generation; Sulli left f(x); Kris, Tao and Luhan left EXO... This, of course, caused a goddamn World War III amongst the fans of the respective groups. They were about to go in front of the official SM building with torches and pitchforks to demand SM to step up their game. To calm the situation down, our amigo SM must have thought: “Welp I sure fucked up. How the hell do I fix this? Wait, I have an idea! Let’s debut another girl group to cover up all the shit that has been piling up for years now!” 

And your boi gone and did it. He basically debuted another group despite the number of problems he had to deal with already. This is every student ever, just make another problem to cover up the first one.

Red Velvet debuted with four members; Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. The “Happiness” music video got 2 million views in a day and was the most viewed kpop music video for the month of August in 2014. See, the queens already breaking records.

However, the original version of “Happiness” was full of controversial topics such as 9/11 being the most prominent one. This caused such hate to the girls that everyone started calling them “flops”. Lmao Red Velvet stays unbothered as the kpop act with the most Billboard charted albums bYE.

Some of you still may be wondering what the hell happened with Yeri. Well, because their debut was rushed and due to her age, Yeri, unfortunately, couldn’t debut with them. When Red Velvet debuted, Yeri was 15 years old so basically a child. 

“bUt jiSUnG fROM ncT DreAM dEBuTed wHeN hE WAs onlY FoUrteEn”

Before, there was a law which stated that kids under the age of 16 couldn’t debut.

No need to worry fellow Yeri stans! Red Velvet only released another single called “Be Natural” before Yeri was officially added. The single featured NCT’s Taeyong on it too so if you are one of those fangirls, better go and check it out because your oppar is there + it is an underrated bop.

Yeri was added to the group during Ice Cream Cake era! Of course, many people hated her, acting as if Red Velvet released so many songs and solved world hunger without Yeri. Um, bitch they had two songs take a seat.

Discography and music in general lol

IT IS GOLD!1!!!!111!!

Okay listen, every single song of theirs makes me thot-drop in the middle of the goddamn school. Jesus Christ sunbaenim is shaking.

Albums:  Ice Cream Cake, The Red, The Velvet, Russian Roulette, Rookie, The Red Summer, Perfect Velvet, The Perfect Red Velvet.

Queens of naming their albums don’t even @ me.

Listen to every single song if you want to cure your depression, clear your skin, feed your children and harvest your crops. Seriously, all of their b-sides are so amazing and such bops they are worth a listen and you, as a person who chose to stan Red Velvet, deserve to have your ears cleansed.

Another topic that I want to bring up is “the red concept” and “the velvet concept”. It is not complicated. Basically what it means is that they split their concepts into two. The red concepts are more upbeat, catchy and poppy songs such as Dumb Dumb, Rookie, Russian Roulette etc. However, the velvet concept is where they show their mature, more serious ballads. Songs that represent the velvet side are Automatic, One of These Nights, Peek-A-Boo etc.

They filmed 13 music videos so you are going to get attacked by visuals 13 times, good luck.

The members 

The most interesting and fun part of this guide to be honest. So yeah, five members and five completely different personalities. Trust me, you’re gonna love every single one of these girls because they all have such amazing personalities and are extremely funny. Get abroad the homo express!

- Stage name: Irene

- Real name: Bae Joohyun

- Colour: Pink

- Position: Leader, Visual, Main Rapper, Lead Dancer, Vocal

- She really is a bae tho we love a powerful woman

- Born on March 29th, 1991; the eldest

- She literally looks five what the fuck

- tiny

- Takes pictures of everyone and everything so that she can stare at them while she does the laundry because she is such a mom

- “Shut the fuck up I am not a mom”

- A GODDESS PLUS TOP VISUAL OF THIS GENERATION NO PRINTER JUST FAX

- loves pussy

- Drinks men tears to stay hydrated

- Forgets names of her kids aka the rest of Red Velvet

- Snorts laundry detergent

- Talk shit get hit

- Silent but plotting world domination with her at the top

- Speaking of tops, she doms bYE

- She survived the World War II and was Stalin's deskmate when they were in the third grade

- xXButtLoverXx

- Likes winning. Who got to the finish line first? Her. Who travelled to space first? Her. Who found the cure for world hunger? Her.

- Actually very talented in everything she does and is a blessing to humanity

- Stage name: Seulgi

- Real name: Kang Seulgi

- Colour: Orange

- Position: Main Dancer, Lead Vocal

- Either as fluffy as a teddy bear or a fucking sex God there is no in between

- Born on February 10th, 1994; second eldest

- hER EYES MAKE ME QUESTION MY SEXUALITY

- She, in general, makes me question my sexuality

- also tiny

- “Hello I am the 71st prettiest face in the world”

- First half of the “DD” also known as “Dumbass Duo”

- Someone help her she is lost in time and space

- The type of person to put a red sock to wash with the whites

- Is not capable of doing the splits because she dumb lmao

- How the fuck is one this confused???

- Gets bullied by her members a lot

- A sunshine in human form. You know that sun from the Teletubbies? That be Seulgi

- Her abs make me feel like Kylie Jenner, y’know... pregnant

- “If there’s no food I’m going home”

- THE number one fan of Beyonce™

- Pringles advocate

- She didn’t train for 7 years to have people shit talking her because she is multitalented and leaves people all around the world shooketh

- Stage name: Wendy

- Real name: Son Seungwan

- Colour: Blue

- Position: Main Vocal, English speaker

- Is also a HELLA good rapper

- Born on February 21st, 1994; third eldest

- Used to live in Toronto when she was younger, her English proceeds to give everyone a boner

- the tiniest out of all

- The kpop singer with the widest vocal range (this is an actual fact)

- “S H I N E  O N  M E”

- So caring it makes me bawl. She literally cooks for everyone and is so supportive it is truly beautiful

- Is actually the one behind the iconic “PARK SOOYOUNG! WHEN YOU SMILE I SMILE TOO”

- If she ever covers your song, you can say goodbye to it because it’s hers now

- A soccer mom

- Also that famous Kris Jenner “You’re doing amazing sweetie” meme

- Rescue her scalp someone pls

- Probably used “WHOMST” once in her lifetime unironically

- The gayest out of all the gays

- She is a boob person and also has a very nice butt Irene knows

- Once stacked a gazillion hats on top of her head because why the fuck not

- Is also a sexy pornstar ... no wait, I meant a��“saxophonist”

- Is so beautiful and deserves all the love in this entire world but the world doesn’t deserve her at all 

- Stage name: Joy

- Real name: Park Sooyoung

- Colour: Green

- Position: Lead Rapper, Lead Vocal, Mood-maker

- + an actress

- Born on September 3rd, 1996: fourth eldest

- Invented “cute” and “sexy” don’t fight me on this

- TALL (for a Red Velvet member lmfao)

- Has the prettiest profile, God took extra time in crafting such a masterpiece

- Speaking of God... God is real and in a form of Park Sooyoung

- Likes finer things in life such as herself

- If the song “Me Too” was a human, it would be her

- Ruthless

- When she gets scared her soul deadass leaves her body and it is hilarious

- A dramatic bitch

- HAS THE BEST BODY SORRY YALL CAN’T COMPETE

- Can get very angery

- Probably was kinkshamed by someone once

- Is having a mental breakdown at every waking moment

- “Can you stop I’m very sensitive”

- Tom to Yeri’s Jerry

- Just the most amazing human being, an all-rounder and a happy virus

- Stage name: Yeri

- Real name: Kim Yerim

- Colour: Purple

- Position: Maknae, Lead Rapper, Sub Dancer, Vocal, Songwriter

- Is being an absolute savage a talent?

- Born on March 5th, 1999; the youngest

- The other half of the “Dumbass Duo”

- So much sass is contained in this tiny human being

- Plans to take over SM soon one day

- HAS THE MOST CONTAGIOUS LAUGH IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE AND IT IS SO GENUINE I LOVE IT

- Likes pineapple on pizza cancelled

- The OG Sone

- A mess

-  (ง •̀_•́)ง

- Not a big spoon nor a little spoon, she a knife

- Tries her best

- Knows everyone and everything; what a social butterfly it warms my heart

- Likes to read smut so all of you smut fanfiction writers, watch out, she is lurking

- SPEAKING OF LURKING

- She lowkey had a fan account that was all about Girl’s Generation

- A woman we all aspire to be

- Is an actual cinnamon roll that yes, could kill you but everyone loves her because she really improved a lot. WE WATCHED HER GROW UP INTO A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN SHE IS NOW B L E S S

Popular ships, let’s play a game where you guess which two people are paired up (not like it is completely obvious)

SEULRENE 

WENRENE

WENSEUL

JOYRI

YERENE

JOYGI

JOYDY

WENRI

SEULRI

Ending note

On a more serious note, Red Velvet is an amazing girl group that deserves so much more. I hope this at least got you to check them out. If not, your loss lol.

I could use a fuckton adjectives to describe their perfection but trust me, that ain’t enough.

Anyways, OT4 stans can fuck off, don’t comment on this post.

Just love all the girls and don’t point out their insecurities in a rude way mmkay?

This is all from me and I hope you enjoyed and that this helped you and maybe made you chuckle (maybe?)

If there is another question that you want me to answer, ask me because I would love to.

P.S. It doesn’t have to be Red Velvet related because I am trash that stans more groups than the number of bad jokes I made in this post.

Follow for more quality top-notch content.

[pokemon-go-kids]

Facts about muses {As a treat}

Elizabith

×Hack, her Gengar, was her first Pokemon. When Elizabith was 6, she had run away from home after a bad encounter with Zapdos!Spark.  She wound up in a old cemetery where she encountered a Gastly, who had been abandoned by a trainer who was “shiny hunting”. She stayed there for the night, then went to Willows lab with the Gastly in tow. Elizabith dubbed him the name Hack, and soon the duo became inseparable. To make up for Zapdos scaring her, Spark let her catch the Pokemon and make it her own, making Elizabith the first of the kids to catch her own Pokemon.

×Her first starter was a Bulbasaur, which Elizabith named Bubbles after the spots on her. Her first actual starter (for the Galar challenge) was a Sobble which she named Ramune.

×Elizabith spent so much of her time around Pokemon as a child, that she didn’t really talk to other children. Her parents told her to interact with the other kids more and she did, but they typically bullied her. The first friend Elizabith ever made, was a new girl named Joanie.

Ace

×Aces first pokemon was his Litten, Tony. He got him when he did the Alola challenge. Their relationship is brotherly outside of battle, but this proves for a strong connection in battle. Ace does admit to a small regret for evolving Tony so soon, as he misses the little Litten sleeping on his bed.

×Hot Wings was a gift from his mother once he returned from Alola. The Torchic is rather hot-headed, much like her trainer. She gets jealous easy, but typically only attacks her Ace during her fits. Despite everything, she has an odd respect for Tony and seems to look up to him in a way. The two both love Ace very much.

×Ace understands Elizabiths fear of Zapdos the best, as he has had more than one sour encounter with Moltres  The most prominent was one where Moltres remarked, “I could burn you to ash and feel little sorrow, do not think I won’t make it happen.” After that encounter, he marks the change in the twos relationship.

×One of Ace’s biggest guilty pleasures is cake. He tries to eat healthy and what not, steer clear of pointless sugars, but he can’t resist a good slice of cake. Usually you can find him around the house sneaking a few bites, or if he’s in one of his moods, devouring an entire slice as fast as he can. His favorite is Black Forrest, or Chocolate with Vanilla frosting.

×He briefly considered joining team Mystic and even did a year working with them, but ultimately decided to return to team Valor.

Quinn

×Quinn is scared of the dark. When they were younger the power went out while they were in the lab. In the brief 5 minutes the power was out, Quinn was jumped on in the dark by an Umbreon and shoved into a table. They managed to stay still for 5 minutes and when the generator kicked in, turning on the lights, all they saw was the blood on floor. Ever since then, they’ve been weary of the dark.

×Their first pokemon was a Mudkip which they named Kipper. Kipper stays at home while Quinn is traveling, and doesn’t really leave without Quinn due to a deformity. One of Kippers legs didn’t grow properly as a result he struggles with walking. Quinn is looking into Prosthetics and hopes to have a prototype ready soon.

×They speak French from their time in Kalos. Its a bit rusty and they struggle with reading it, they can understand it at best.

×Quinn sleeps in full pants and long sleeve pajamas, surrounded by ice Pokemon. Its because they can’t sleep if their too hot or too cold and this is the only solution they’ve found as of yet. When their sick they switch it to tank top and shorts with fire Pokemon.

×When it comes to Articuno, Quinn can’t really define their relationship. Articuno is pretty neutral to all the siblings, but does seem to treat them better than the other legendary birds.

Joanie

×Joanie doesn’t actually have any Pokemon. Her aunt and uncle didn’t think she was ready for them when they were alive, and Darkrai’s aura scares most Pokemon away from her now. At most she has Darkrai and sometimes a Litwik he brings with him. Joanie dryly remarks, “I am not Darkrais trainer any more than he is my Pokemon, if anything I’m his to boss around.”

×Her parents moved to the area and literally TAUGHT her how to befriend Elizabith, like schooled her and everything. The plan was to use Joanie to lure Elizabith to them so they could kidnap her and use her as blackmail. It backfired and they were arrested, and Joanie moved away to live with her aunt and uncle. When she returned and Elizabith still thought they were friends, she was disgusted. Even now, she rebukes Elizabith ad keeps telling her “I was literally instructed on how to be your friend, we were never truly friends.” This is partially, if nor majorly, because Joanie secretly feels bad for what her parents did to Elizabith.

×Joanie wanted to be a hair stylist when she was younger. She would practice on all her dolls, and even on Elizabith once.

×Because of her bond with Darkrai, Joanie has lost the ability to have dreams of her own. Depending on how Darkrai’s feeling he may give her some great dreams, no dreams at all, or even a nightmare from his trial. No matter what, Joanie usually wakes up feeling like she needs at least one more hour of sleep and always has bags under her eyes as a result.

Swift

×She gave herself the name Swift after she successfully evaded a hoard of angry Gavantula. One of her fellow grunts complimented her on how fast she’d been, and on the spot replied, “Well, they call me Swift for a reason!” And nobody ever questioned who called her Swift.

×Swifts family is well known in Galar as one of the most generous families in Whydon. They come from old money, and added to that with their flying Taxi business. The youngest of 6, Swift used to spend her days in Spikemuth actively avoiding her families expectations and responsibilities. Eventually, on a vacation to Alola when she was 16, Swift ran away and wound up joining Team Skull. From there’s she’s been on the run from the law and her parents for about 3 years now.

×Swift did pretty well in school on her own, and graduated a year early by cheating off of other. One of her favorite school activities was reading, but teachers and curriculum slowly took that away from her until she just stopped enjoying it. What’s the point of reading when everyone only wants you to read boring books?“

×Her first Pokemon was an Espurr which she named Strawberry. Her Pokemon in alola was a Mimikyu which she named Pumpkin, "because your wearing a costume like its Halloween, and pumpkins make me think of Halloween!”

×She’s a kleptomaniac, and genuinely tries to catch herself before it happens. It’s partially why the cops are on her ass, but once they realized, “She might not mean to do this” they only gave her community service as opposed to jail time.

[amelielatremoille-blog]

Task 5!

Basic Character Questions

First name? Amelie

Surname? La Tremoille

Middle names? Violetta

Nicknames? Ames, Ame, she doesn’t have many.

Date of birth? February 10th

Age? 25

Physical / Appearance

Height? 5′3″

Weight? 125 pounds

Build? Small,

Hair color? Blonde

Hair style? Down, curled, straightened, ponytail, braided

Eye color? Green

Eye Shape? Upturned

Glasses or contact lenses? Neither

Distinguishing facial features? She has a mole on the left side of her face, underneath her lip and when she smiles, the right side of her lips quirk up a bit more.

Which facial feature is most prominent? Her eyes.

Which bodily feature is most prominent? Depends on who you're talking to, she’d say her breasts.

Other distinguishing features? Not that she knows of.

Skin? Soft, Ivory, marks easily

Hands? Soft, small, dainty.

Make up? Back home, she’d always have makeup on. Whether it was a tinted moisturizer of a full face.

Scars? One on her shoulder from when she was younger

Birthmarks? Yes

Tattoos? A rose on her right forearm, an arrow on her left forearm, and a cross on her finger, 

Physical handicaps? none

Type of clothes? She stays more towards the current street style

How do they wear their clothes? She likes to re-purpose, so if you see her cutting up a shirt, that’s why

What are their feet like? (type of shoes, state of shoes, socks, feet, pristine, dirty, worn, etc) She’s always getting new shoes, so you never see her wearing shoes that are terribly dirty. She keeps her feet clean.

Race / Ethnicity? French, Caucasian.

Mannerisms? When she’s bored she tends to start to hum or sing, and she can

Are they in good health? Very.. at least in her opinion.

Do they have any disabilities? Nope.

Personality

What words or phrases do they overuse? “Oh mon dieu!”

Do they have a catchphrase? Nope.

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Optimistic/

Are they introverted or extroverted. Extroverted

Do they ever put on airs? No.

What bad habits do they have? Her drinking habits have gotten.. out of hand.

What makes them laugh out loud? Anything. Literally, anything.

How do they display affection? She gets very touchy.

Mental handicaps? None.

How do they want to be seen by others? She wants to be seen as someone who is caring, yet knows how to exert herself in demanding situations.

How do they see themselves? A fragile girl who has gone through too much.

How are they seen by others? She doesn’t know, and she’d rather not know.

Strongest character trait? She’s very trustworthy.

Weakest character trait? She’s very impatient.

How competitive are they? Very, challenge her to a game of anything, and she will try her hardest to win.

Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider? Snap judgements.

How do they react to praise? She loves it.

How do they react to criticism? She takes it with a grain of salt.

What is their greatest fear? Losing her family.

What are their biggest secrets? Her times with Clay.

What is their philosophy of life? She doesn't believe in life philosophies.

When was the last time they cried? When she found out Mathieu was on the island.

What haunts them? The fact that she left her parents on a bad note. Now she doesn’t know if they’ll even take her back.

What are their political views? She doesn’t have any political party she supports.

What will they stand up for? She’ll stand up for anything she believes to be true/right, even if she is wrong.

Who do they quote? She doesn’t tend to quote people.

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? Both.

What is their sinful little habit? PDA. Even though people hate it, she loves it.

What sense do they most rely on? Her hearing.

How do they treat people better than them? She treats them how she treats everyone else, with respect.

How do they treat people worse than them? She can be a bit condescending, but if she finds out why they’re the way they are, she tries her hardest to help them.

What quality do they most value in a friend? Trust.

What do they consider an overrated virtue? Patience and intelligence.

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be? Her attitude.

What is their obsession? Television.

What are their pet peeves? When someone doesn’t know how to take care of themselves and doesn’t know basic hygiene.

What are their idiosyncrasies? She quirks/furrows her eyebrows a lot, and tends to run her hands through her hair quite a bit.

Friends and Family

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of? Her family is relatively quaint, consisting of her parents, and her three siblings.

What is their perception of family? They should be someone who never stop loving you, ever stops supporting you, never stops believing in you no matter what.

Do they have siblings? Older or younger? She does have siblings, two older sisters and one older brother.

Describe their best friend. Understanding, trustworthy.

Ideal best friend? Someone she could tell anything to, someone she could go to if she’s having a bad day... basically someone to be her substitute sibling.

Describe their other friends. She doesn’t have many friends.

Describe their acquaintances. Most of the royals.

Do they have any pets? Yes, she has a black lab she got a few days before getting brought to the island.

Who are their natural allies? She has many natural allies.

Who are their surprising allies? She doesn’t have any surprising allies.

Past and Future

What was your character like as a baby? As a child? As a baby and a child, her parents spoiled her like no other- thats where her bratty attitude comes from.

Did they grow up rich or poor? Rich

Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? She was nurtured up until her late teens. The more rebellious she got, the less her parent’s started to care.

What is the most offensive thing they ever said? She told her mom that she wished she ( her mom ) was infertile and never had her ( amelie )

What is their greatest achievement? Finally getting her mothers approval.

What was their first kiss like? How awkward can a kiss between two twelve year olds be? Oh, super awkward.

What is the worst thing they did to someone they loved? Told them to leave her alone and that she never want’s to see their face again.

What are their ambitions? Finish law school.

What advice would they give their younger self? To listen to her mom.

What smells remind them of their childhood? Fresh rain mixed with the smell of orchids.

What was their childhood ambition? To be a doctor.

What is their best childhood memory? When she went to her first peace meeting and learned what being a royal was truly about.

What is their worst childhood memory? When her mom and dad left in the middle of a night for an emergency meeting, she was scared shitless.

Did they have an imaginary childhood friend? No.

When was the last time they were crushed with disappointment? When she realized that there was a slight chance that she may never get to see her parents again.

What past act are they most ashamed of? When she stopped looking for him. She never should’ve stopped looking.

What past act are they most proud of?

Has anyone ever saved their life? Plenty of times. She has a habit of putting herself in danger.

Strongest childhood memory? When she and her brother had their first bad fight, she was ten, he was fourteen.

Love

Do they believe in love at first sight? Yes, it’s how her parents met.

Are they in a relationship? No.

How do they behave in a relationship? She’s very adoring, and acts like that person is the center of her world. If she falls, she falls hard.

When did you character last have sex? Oh God. I don’t even know... before the island?

What type of sex does your character have? Rough, kinky.

Has your character ever been in love? No, not that she consciously knows of. She tries to distance herself from it.

Have they ever had their heart broken? Yes.

Conflict

How do they respond to a threat? With a worse threat.

Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? Fight with her tongue, she has witty comebacks for days.

What is your character’s kryptonite? Her family. She make act like she hates her mom and dad, but if anything were to happen to them, she’d be heart broken.

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? Figuring her siblings were out, she’d get her notebooks.

How do they perceive strangers? She tries not to judge to quickly, but sometimes she preceives ideas way too quickly.

What do they love to hate? All the Marvel villains. (besides Thanos ofc)

What are their phobias? Spiders.

What is their choice of weapon? A knife.

What living person do they most despise? She doesn’t despise anyone.

Have they ever been bullied or teased? Yes.

Where do they go when they’re angry? When she was at the palace, she’d go to the garden, the flowers and aromas would calm her down. Being on the island, she goes to the shoreline and watches the waves.

Who are their enemies and why? She doesn’t necessarily have any enemies. She finds hatred to be to much of a burden.

Work, Education and Hobbies

What is their current job? She doesn’t have one.

What do they think about their current job? N/A

What are some of their past jobs? One time her parents made her work in a fast food restaurant as a work of charity.

What are their hobbies? Writing music, singing, playing piano, tending to her garden, shopping.

Educational background? She stopped going to university half way through her law degree.

Intelligence level? She’s very gifted in lot’s of things- except calculus.

Do they have any specialist training? She had a musician teach her piano for a bit, but she got the hang of it faster than most.

Do they have a natural talent for something? She is very talented at piano- it’s the only ‘talent’ she has... according to her mother.

Do they play a sport? Are they any good? She does not play any sports.

What is their socioeconomic status? She’s always been wealthy.

Favorites

What is their favorite animal? Dogs.

Which animal to they dislike the most? Cats, she finds them to lazy for her liking.

What place would they most like to visit? She would really like to go to America again. Their lifestyles are so different.

What is the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen? The way different countries can come together and put aside their difference when another country has something bad happen to them.

What is their favorite song? Nico and the Niners - Twenty One Pilots

Music, art, reading preferred? Music.

What is their favorite color? Red.

What is their password? ;)

Favorite food: Any type of pasta.

What is their favorite work of art? “A New Beginning” by Alen Vejzovic

Who is their favorite artist? Alisher Kushakov

What is their favorite day of the week? Wednesday.

Possessions

What is in their fridge: A bottle of wine for emergencies, Dr. Pepper, and miscellaneous snacks.

What is on their bedside table? A book, a sketchbook, a notebook, and her phone.

What is in their car? Chap stick, charger cords, portable chargers, and a small bag full of necessities.

What is in their bin? Makeup removing wipes, broken pencils, and scrunched up pieces of paper.

What is in their purse or wallet? A couple of notes, her debit card, license, and a few gift cards of sorts.

What is in their pockets? Chapstick.

What is their most treasured possession? Her piano.

Spirituality

Who or what is your character’s guardian angel? She doesn’t believe she has a guardian angle.

Do they believe in the afterlife? Yes

What are their religious views? She believes there has to be some form of a higher power, but doesn’t know what.

What do they think heaven is? A warm, welcoming place.

What do they think hell is? A indefinite void of emptiness.

Are they superstitious? Sometimes.

What would they like to be reincarnated as? A bird.

How would they like to die? After living out a long, meaningful life.

What is your character’s spirit animal? A wolf.

What is their zodiac sign? Aquarius.

Values

What do they think is the worst thing that can be done to a person? To be taken away from their family and the people they love against their will.

What is their view of ‘freedom’? To be able to do whatever they want, whenever they want.

When did they last lie? Probably the last time she spoke to a pirate.

What’s their view of lying? If it’s needed, its needed.

When did they last make a promise? The other day.

Did they keep or break their last promise? Keep

Daily life

What are their eating habits? She tends to skip breakfast and/or lunch, but dinner is a must.

Do they have any allergies? Nope.

Describe their home. Welcoming, judgmental, warm, playful, light spirited.

Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? Minimalist.

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? Go to the kitchen and see what foods are being prepared.

What do they do on a Sunday afternoon? Family outings.

What do they do on a Friday night? Depends who she’s with but normally, she’s at home, watching musicals, and drinking.

What is the soft drink of choice? Dr. Pepper

What is their alcoholic drink of choice? Wine.

Miscellaneous

What is their character archetype? (Innocent, Orphan, Hero, Caregiver, Explorer, Rebel, Lover, Creator, Jester, Sage, Magician, Ruler) Lover

Who is their hero? Her dad.

What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween? She doesn’t really do Halloween.

Are they comfortable with technology? Very.

If they could save one person, who would it be? Her grandmother.

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Celestine

What is their favorite proverb? “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

What is their greatest extravagance? Travel. She loves to go to different countries, whether it’s for business or not.

What is their greatest regret? Leaving her home on the night she learned her parents had married her off.

What is their perception of redemption? Redemption is necessary, no matter what.

What would they do if they won the lottery? Give the money to charity. She doesn’t need anymore.

What is their favorite fairytale? Rapunzel.

What fairytale do they hate? Snow White.

Do they believe in happy endings? Yes.

What is their idea of perfect happiness? Being able to be yourself, no matter what.

What would they ask a fortune teller? Will she meet the love of her life?

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? 1950′s in America.

What sport do they excel at? She’s not good at sports.

What sport do they suck at? Basically any sport you could imagine.

If they could have a superpower, what would they choose? Whatever powers Doctor Strange has.

[lgfuadjj]

hello!!! gimme more lucas asya and sofia!!!! i love your ocs!!!!! 4, 7 (i love suffering), 19 (*whispers* i love my son lucas and i Get him), 20, 21, 44 ok im gonna stop because i actually want to ask it all

Hahaha thank you for this whoops. Honestly I would answer all the questions if you want me to ;D.

For those unaware, I will be answering these questions about my OCs from my fic Tears On The Ground, Tears On The Pillow.

4. Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

Lucas - Hm, I guess spending a lot of time in the hospital with his mother - he saw a lot of shit and that changed him in a way that’s like try and appreciate everything you have, and those who come into your life kind of thing. He talks about this with his mom a lot (or at least used to - it’s kind of like their own inside thing they agree on 100%, “appreciate what you have while you’re here”).

Asya - So Asya was in and out of a handful of homes before she officially got adopted. A lot of them weren’t…The best places for a child. She remembers a lot from being in these homes that weren’t really homes, and that affected her a lot before she hit her teenage years (She has this really hard deep rooted fear of being abandoned type of thing - It’s still there but like not as bad as when she was a child). Her parents grew to learn about this while raising her and helped in any way they could! Always giving their love and support unconditionally :’)

Sofia - Ooooh my baby Sofia. She has seen a lot of classism and bullying throughout her time at school. It’s definitely matured her, and made her come to the conclusion she doesn’t want to be like that to anyone in her life. Like she treats everyone equally and fairly. She only talks about this kind of stuff with her brother, Otabek, since he also was a part of the schooling system she is (and also witnessed this kind of stuff first hand).

7. Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Lucas - Lucas fears failure a lot, so his kind of themes are things that deal with any type of failure. It could be something as trivial as failing a test or as huge as putting all his time and effort into his dream (running his own dance studio) and just…Not having it work out. He’s scared of failing his own expectations as well as his mother’s (Even though she will love him no matter what…)

Asya - Types of things for Asya’s nightmares…She’s scared of failing in the type of way that she’ll never land something that lasts (career wise). She has these expectations of her already because of who her parents are (not from them - from others that don’t even matter really but still, they exist). Even though her parents always tell her to do what she wants, that they’ll always love her no matter what, she just doesn’t want to ‘fail’ them in this way (She just wants to prove she can ~make it~ on her own, not with her parents fame type of thing !!)

Sofia - Hm…I feel like Sofia would just have a lot of stress induced type nightmares. Studying for school and what not can be stressful, even for Sofia who feels like school is fairly easy. She has nightmares a lot about her alarm not going off on an important test day, or like trying to turn in an essay without any content in it (like an outline or something).

19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

Lucas - Oh my son, Lucas…Lately his relationships have been destroyed by his not thinking before he speaks (particularly when he’s angry). It’s not so much that he’s just “honest”, it’s more like…He just says whatever comes to mind first, regardless if he thinks it’s true or not once he’s not angry anymore. When strong emotions come over him it’s like, “talk first, think later” type of situation for him - which has ended in a handful of bad results (including yes, destroying relationships).

Asya - It might be weird but Asya has never really focused on relationships at all? Like…Ever. She’s been with people, but never has she ever felt like she was in love with someone. If anything her biggest “flaw” would be that, not focusing on relationships and what not. She’s big on focusing on her life and work / school (and I don’t think that’s a flaw, but if I had to choose any, that would be it). There’s been people she’s been with that could have seen them going farther but she knows what she’s about, and currently it’s not relationships.

Sofia - She actually has very little experience in the relationship department! She has kissed / dated some boys but nothing ever serious enough to have any prominent flaws. But if I could give any probable future flaws…She underestimates herself a lot, and I feel like in a relationship this would translate a lot into second guessing everything (mostly second guessing herself, not her partner). I feel like this is potentially a relationship destroyer because sometimes people aren’t willing to stay and “put up with that”.

20. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

Lucas - With Lucas I think he likes to compare himself to his classmates the most. Half for self-validation, and the other for self-criticism, all depending on his mood lol. The validation part is a lot like, “Hey i’m on par with this person I think who’s really good.” The self-criticism, “I’ll never reach that level of fluidity and ease no matter how much I practice.” Like I mentioned, it depends on his mood which way it goes.

Asya - Asya’s comparisons are unfortunately matched against her parents. She takes into account the ages / time frames it took for her parents to get where they are now. I guess in this mindset it’s self-criticism more than self-validation. She doesn’t do it often but sometimes she’ll think, “Wow my mom had her first dress debuted by now” or, “My dad was already head chef in the first restaurant he worked in.” But she also tries very hard not to hold it against herself, since her parents aren’t doing that.

Sofia - Sofia is at this age where comparing yourself to someone else is like…”Normal”. Being a 16 year old, in high school, it seems like it’s a given that she would compare herself to someone more popular than her. But the thing about Sofia is that she grew out of this mentality way quicker than most, which is ideal and great. So I guess if she does compare herself to anyone, it’s mostly those who she looks up to. Ballerinas, a variety of artists…Newly, Asya ;D. It comes to be more…Self-validation I suppose. Her comparing is more like, “Look where I can be some day.”.

21.If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

Lucas - Lately Lucas believes that anything bad that happens to him, he deserves. He definitely knows he’s caused some things (Whoops, his temper and big mouth). He’s definitely blamed someone for something he knows was his fault (or some shared fault) but that was more in his younger years when he took responsibility for nothing. But yeah he’s in this place now where he either believes he deserves it, or knows he caused it.

Asya - For a long time Asya believed that she was the main cause for literally anything negative or tragic that involved her. Sometimes she would believe she deserved it - even though she did not whatsoever. Thankfully she mostly grew out of this idea and has now landed on just the middle ground of, “I know when something is my fault, or if we share the blame, or if it’s totally someone else’s fault.” She also believes that sometimes things just happen sometimes, and maybe they were meant to happen. It doesn’t mean someone always has to be at fault, kind of thing.

Sofia - Sofia has yet to encounter a lot of tragic or negative things happening to her, but for the most part…She shares the same mentality with Asya that sometimes things were meant to happen, while sometimes things were not. That’s just the way of life, and how the world works sometimes.

44. How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

Lucas - It’s difficult for Lucas to say it, and actually mean it. If he’s saying it pretty easily / fast, then that is a definite sign that either a) he’s going a little crazy or b) he doesn’t actually mean it in a way he could mean it.

Asya - She can say it easily, and always mean it. She has never said it without meaning it, nor do I think she ever will. She has a lot of love to spread.

Sofia - She’s only said it to family members and maybe a couple really close friends. She has meant it every time. I don’t think she would ever say it without meaning it because what would be the point in that, for her.

Oh my fuck that took me longer…Than I thought it would. But I loved every second of it and ahhhhhhhh, thank you for this ask

Question list for OCs - Ask me HERE

[soaker87]

A Detailed Guide to Battle Spirits Anime

With Double Drive approaching a conclusion and no indication that we’re getting a new series right away, I’ve been meaning to do this.

Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin (2008) The plot- The series follows the daily adventures of 6th year elementary school student, Toppa Bashin, who has a mysterious red stone pendant from his father. One day he meets J Sawaragi, the consecutive tournament champion, who possesses a similar white stone. J challenges Bashin to a battle in the alternate universe, Isekai World, where spirits are real. Main Writer- Dai Sato, Director- Mitsuru Hongo, Character Designer- Miho Shimogasa Why to watch- The biggest strength of this series is the characters. They’re what drive this show. Character development is highly satisfying, and the relationships explored are various (friendships, rivalries, romance, family) and quite interesting. The series also has quite a bit of comedy, and some of the episodes are laugh-out-loud hilarious. While this season does have a plot, it puts a heavy influence on the slice-of-life aspect, making it a nice, relaxing show. Getting to know the daily lives of the characters also helps make them feel like real people. The art style to this season is adorable, being the only series to date with Miho Shimogasa as the main character designer. Additionally, it breaks some tired stereotypes of kids anime that even some of the later series fail at. The female characters are competent, and can win in important matches, against characters other than fodder enemy-of-the-week and other girls. And the handling of Meganeko, the obligatory non-battler childhood friend with a crush on the MC is quite possibly the highlight of the show. Additionally, adults are treated as actual characters, including some of the parent/guardian figures. And the most developed romance is between two adult characters. Why not to watch- Depending on your investment in the card game itself, you might not like this series. Because despite being a toy commercial, this aspect is surprisingly downplayed. The battles almost always skip over turns just to get to the “good” parts. And on top of that, they’re very unrealistic by normal game standards. Battle Spirits is meant to be a quick game, and sometimes the anime battles will reach 30+ turns. Also, since this is the first anime, the card game is still rather undeveloped and simple. If you’re used to seeing Braves, Bursts, Ultimates, and other later mechanics, you may be underwhelmed. Even two of the colors don’t exist at the start of the anime. Game aspects aside, the animation and CG in this series really aren’t that great. Especially the CG, which can be outright distracting. Also, because of focusing a lot on the characters and slice-of-life, it’s not the most plot-heavy entry in the franchise, although it still fares better than some in that aspect. Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan (2009) The plot- A 12-year-old boy named Dan Bashin is taken to the alternate world of Grand Rolo by two mysterious siblings, Yuuki and Kajitsu Momose. There, he learns that he's one of the chosen core soldiers, bearing the light of the red core. Along with the other soldiers, he must save Grand Rolo from Otherworld King, who has been exploiting the world’s natives. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori, Character Designer- Yoshinori Yumoto Why to watch- Gekiha Dan has a nice, serious story to it. Although of course it’s meant to promote the game (the plot itself plays very much into the TCG’s own lore) it doesn’t sacrifice storytelling for a cheap excuse to show off new cards. Also, despite being a kids show, it’s not afraid to go into more mature and even taboo directions. We’ve got a kid who was bullied so much he has crippling social issues, a web idol being stalked, and a brother/sister romance for starters. Not to say that the series is totally dark and edgy either. It still manages to have a lot of lighthearted comedy. The characters in this series manage to be pretty fun and likeable. As of this series, Sunrise D.I.D. takes over the CG aspect, and it starts to look less distracting. Why not to watch- While trying to balance some heavier stuff as well as comedy could be seen as a strength, on the flip side, it could be seen as a heavy case of mood whiplash. And if you liked some of the silly stuff, the serious aspects could come as a turn-off, or vice-versa. There’s also the fact that Brave, which comes after chronologically and involves the same characters, is considered a lot better. So this series could be looked at as a 50-episode obstacle one has to get through just to get to Brave. Yes, one probably could watch Brave first. It just would have much more impact if you watch Gekiha Dan first. If you watched Toppa Bashin before this series, and aren’t as invested in the card game aspect, you also might be disappointed. Starting with Gekiha Dan, the battles become longer and more prominent. Battle Spirits Brave (2010) The plot- Dan wishes to have exciting battles like in Grand Rolo again. He gets his chance when Mai invites him to the future, where the humans are being conquered by demons. There, he joins the crew of The Beautiful Sophia, and creates a deck based upon the newest type of cards, Brave Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori, Character Designer- Yoshinori Yumoto, Tetsuya Ishikawa Why to watch- Brave is the fan-favorite series for good reason. It pushes its boundaries even further than Gekiha Dan did. The writers probably thought ‘yeah, we have to sell cards, but how do we do it as epically as possible?’ The answer: make the stakes higher and the characters more mature. After everything Dan and the others went through in their time in Grand Rolo, their lives were naturally changed. The characters aren’t exactly the same as they were back then. And now, they have the save the world all over again. The new characters are extremely interesting, as are the dynamics. Dan and Barone have one of the best hero/rival dynamics in the franchise, especially after Gekiha Dan, where Dan and his primary “rival” Yuuki hardly interacted.  Of course, with the series centering on a conflict between two different races (human and mazoku) it has to play up on how they’re different and alike. There are biases to overcome. Characters like Youth (human) and Rugain (mazoku) develop an awkward friendship with each other, for instance. It should also be noted that this is the first (and so far, only) Battle Spirits anime to have a serious romantic subplot involving the protagonist. And it’s very well-received by the fans, even when many canon romances can come off as forced. Why not to watch- If you want something lighthearted, this series is not for you. While there is a little comedy, compared to the past two series, it’s basically non-existent. It’s not to say Brave is super grimdark, but it’s still the heaviest entry in the franchise. One disappointment about this series, if you watched Gekiha, is that some of the characters from that season are shafted in favor of the new ones. Clackey, Suzuri and Kenzo suffer the most from this. They’re around, but they don’t get to do nearly as much as they did in the previous season. Even Mai, while still an important character, doesn’t get any battles until late into the show. It can be frustrating, as she was the primary action girl in Gekiha Dan. And Zungurii and Magisa don’t appear in this series at all (though Stella is basically Magisa 2.0). There is one arc in the middle of the show, the Prison General arc, which is extremely repetitive and tedious. But fortunately, It’s not that long, and even has some good moments. Battle Spirits Heroes (2011) The plot- The series centers around Hajime Hinobori, whose parents built a battle system to fulfill his dream of seeing the spirits alive and battle for him. He went on a journey with his friends and joined many tournaments. He entered the Battle Spirits World Competition to test his skills on different card battlers. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Akira Nishimori(eps 1-15), Masaki Watanabe(eps 16-50), Character Designer- Ryou Hirata Why to watch- Heroes is a departure from the serious tone of the last two seasons. If you like silliness, this season is full of it. There’s absolutely no fourth wall, and the series makes various references to previous seasons of Battle Spirits, which are apparently fictional in the world of Heroes. The characters are absolutely quirky, and a lot of fun. Hajime, the protagonist, is romantically in love with Battle Spirits and crazy over seasoned rice. Kimari, the heroine, is a borderline villain obsessed with world domination. Kouta, Kimari’s younger brother, is a hardcore Pentan collector able to make gags and references no kid his age should get. The series has some legitimately touching moments. Especially later into the series. The final ten-or-so episodes are top-tier writing. Actually, the second half in general is a huge improvement over the first. Why not to watch- Unfortunately, plot is thrown almost completely out the window. The series is based around three rounds of a tournament, and padded with filler in between them. There are a lot of episodes which are ultimately skip-able, even some within the first two tournaments. Also, unlike in Shounen Toppa Bashin, this series isn’t big on slice-of-life and developing the characters. Although there is some development, most stay pretty static, and the emphasis is on the jokes. One’s tolerance on this series really depends on how funny they find it. Also, because this series introduced Bursts, it goes all out promoting them. Basically, it implies Bursts are the best kind of card ever, and anyone who doesn’t have a deck focused on them is probably an idiot who can never win. A couple very early episodes show some of the main Brave cards featured in the previous series being trashed, just to send this message home.   If you liked the fantasy and supernatural elements in the previous series, you’ll also be disappointed with this one. There is actually one episode involving vampires, and it’s actually a plot-important one, but it seems totally out-of-place with how normal the rest of the show is. Battle Spirits Sword Eyes/Battle Spirits Sword Eyes Gekitouden (2012) *The title of this series was changed inexplicably after the 29th episode. The plot- Atlantia, the largest country of Legendia is torn apart by riots. 14 years later, a boy named Tsurugi Tatewaki, who was taken away from the chaos, meets Bringer, a card battler droid destined to protect Tsurugi. Tsurugi is trained in Battle Spirits to face the army of darkness, who is trying to gather the 12 Sword Braves to summon the Sword of Judgment. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Masaki Watanabe, Character Designer- Tomoshige Inayoshi Why to watch- Once again, this series puts an emphasis on the plot. Similar to Gekiha Dan, the series is set in a fantasy world, allowing for all sorts of flexibility. The plot itself is one of the most complex and interesting ones in the franchise. Though this could be taken as a plus or minus, it’s surprisingly political. The show puts a lot of emphasis on the proper role of a king, and how involved they should be in the lives of the people they rule. The main character and rival being royal siblings, this makes sense. The conflict between light and dark is at the center of the series, but it’s handled in a mature way, definitely emphasizing that light and dark =/= good and evil. The characters are all shown to have reasons for what they do, and are multi-dimensional. Some are quirky, but aren’t defined by their quirks or treated as living running-gags. The plot has some pretty good twists as it goes along. It doesn’t quite reach the level of Gekiha Dan and Brave, but still worth noting. Why not to watch- Despite how good the characters in this show are, there are just too many in the main cast. There are two main battlers for each color (excluding red) plus Garudos, Grenada, Bringer and Long in the “main” cast. And that’s not even counting all the various support cast. So naturally, some characters get screwed over more than others. The characters who get their Sword Braves in the beginning don’t get a lot to do in the later episodes. The ones who get it late don’t do much early on. Or in some cases, like Haqua, just don’t appear until a bit into the series, despite being featured on the OP from the very beginning. Related to the last point, but this series is the first to be heavily affected by the release of the actual card sets. Having only two sword Braves released per set only helped to screw over some of the characters. Characters who didn’t have their Sword Brave either simply didn’t battle until they got it, or would just lose, because obviously, not having the type of signature card featured in the show makes one an inferior battler. You hear that, kids watching? Okay, so Heroes did that too with Bursts, but less frustratingly, because at least then the characters weren’t confined to using particular bursts, so many characters had key cards already by the first set. Also, while this is one of the better series in terms of having a serious, mature and consistent plot, if you’re expecting things to get as dark and screwed up as in Gekiha Dan and Brave, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s still lighter in tone than those two. Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero Battle Spirits (2013) The plot- Rei is an adventurer called a "Card Quester." He wishes to collect strong cards scattered throughout space, and battle with his rivals unfold. Soon enough, he will discover what happened to his own past. Main Writer- Atsuhiro Tomioka, Director- Masaki Watanabe, Character Designer- Tetsuya Ishikawa Why to watch- Of all the series, this one puts the most emphasis on style. Artistically, this is the best looking series hands down. Tetsuya Ishikawa’s work is fabulous. Rei, the protagonist, takes on multiple different forms for each color in the game, each with intricate designs and each with a shirtless magical-boy transformation scene. Each form also gives him a unique personality. Some of the other characters also get multiple forms, with transformation scenes of their own, though they retain one personality throughout. If you like fanservice, this season is full of it, both for the male and female characters. The transformation scenes aside, the second ED theme shows the characters at a beach. And the manga takes it a step further, having a full hot springs chapter. UZ is definitely fun. It’s another series that focuses a lot on the comedy aspect. Most of the characters have ridiculous quirks, including the villains. The main recurring enemies, The Galaxy Triumvirate, are basically Team Rocket. Why not to watch- Quite bluntly, it’s style over substance. The series does have a plot, but it wastes a lot of time with goofy filler that contributes nothing to it. A lot of the characters are pretty one-note as well, especially Laila and Rikuto, the two tag-along kids with Rei. They aren’t entirely useless, and both can battle, but for the most part, they’re just a cheer squad who could disappear and have no impact on anything. Proof that the “plot” is really not of much importance to the writers is that the actual main villain of the series doesn’t appear until almost the very end of the show. In a sense, it feels like a waste of a character. The biggest issue with this show, however, is how overpowered Rei himself is. By the rules of this series, Ultimates are a type of card that only battlers chosen by the Ultimates themselves can use. And they’re cards which are so powerful (even by real-life standards at the time this show came out) that normal cards simply can’t compete with them. Rei gets lots of them, and repetitively curb stomps everyone, even other Ultimate-users. He’s the first protagonist ever to defeat the rival in one try. It’s simply kind of irritating when no one else can compare. Battle Spirits Burning Soul (2015) The plot- The Battle Spirits Warring States Era is on rise. The IBSA has at least created a virtual system for spirits to battle in 3D. Thanks to this, the popularity of Battle Spirits has erupted all over the nation. All over, rivalries like that of local warlords have broken out between champion battlers. The battlers have but one objective, reach the top in Battle Spirits... Therefore unifying the nation. Main Writer- Katsumi Hasegawa, Director- Kunihisa Sugishima, Character Designer- Kenta Shinohara (adapted by Yoshinori Yumoto) Why to watch- On paper, the premise is an interesting one. Base the characters on people from the Warring States Era and have them battle to try and rule the world. The beginning episodes of the show are actually pretty good. Especially when the villains finally start making their move. Toshiie is also a fantastic character. He should have been in a better show. He has sympathetic motives, is a rival who is a genuinely good person and not a jerkass, and gets a really good subplot with an emotional conclusion. Heck, a lot of the characters come off as pretty cool. Again, on paper. One thing that was nice about this series is that it wasn’t entirely focused only on showing off the newest cards. You get to see a lot of cards from the older sets. There’s even a whole episode (though it doesn’t actually fit in the continuity) crossing this season over with Shounen Toppa Bashin. Why not to watch- As one can probably see in my struggle to find good points, this series has a lot of problems. The biggest one is the “plot”. Despite the interesting premise, despite the strong beginning, it fizzles out and badly. The series ultimately turns into one giant tournament arc. While this was done previously in Heroes, at the very least, that series made no attempts to hide its nature from the beginning. With Burning Soul, it was really disappointing, because it seemed to be more, and then every bit of plot-thread from before was utterly forgotten to focus on the tournament. And of course, being a tournament arc, every battle from then on became predictable. We knew Yukimura and Dairokuten Maou would be the final two. We knew everyone else would lose. There were a few decent battles in there, like Toshi vs. Kanetsugu. But for the most part, it was bland, and the battles took up the bulk of the episode, leaving almost no room for anything else. Secondly, if you thought Rei was an overpowered protagonist, Yukimura manages to be even worse. This is the character who can win 100 matches in a row.  Even if they’re all against fodder, there’s got to be at least one loss in there by virtue of bad luck. He’s the character who, after having his key card sent to the bottom of the deck, manages to bring it back to the top and bring it out again. Almost every character is a total joke compared to him. They just can’t win no matter what. Finally, this series is absolutely terrible at handling its female characters, which is notable when the franchise is usually pretty great with it. Souun is the only main female battler, and she regularly loses to everyone except unskilled children and fodder. Her main goal (to surpass Kanetsugu) is dropped and never mentioned again. And that’s not getting into what happens to her later into the series. The other female characters are non-battlers, excluding one who isn’t introduced until much later on. (Sadly, this show still does a better job in this field than Double Drive.) Battle Spirits Double Drive (2016) The plot- Shunta Mogami loves the Battle Spirits game. One day he is transported by a light from a Battle Spirits card to Spirits World, the origin of all Battle Spirits. He meets a girl named Eto, who claims to have summoned him to Spirits World in order to prevent its destruction at the hands of the revived Evil God-King, who once plotted the destruction of Spirits World before being defeated and sealed away. Together with the confident, green-deck-wielding Yoku Albatrosa, who also came from another world, Shunta sets out to find the twelve God-Kings whose power originally sealed the Evil God-King. Main Writer- Katsumi Hasegawa, Director- Kunihisa Sugishima, Character Designer- Naoki Iwamoto (adapted by Yoshinori Yumoto) Why to watch- Is it sad to just say ‘because it’s more entertaining than Burning Soul’? Actually, this series does try to have a plot. There are some interesting ideas behind it. All Battle Spirits worlds are linked. And now, all of them are in danger of destruction because the Evil God-King might be resurrected and destroy the central Spirits World. So right from the get-go, the stakes are pretty high. The series also is the first to have two protagonists instead of one. This actually manages to ease the problem of an overpowered hero the last two series had. Because there’s not just one hero. The concept is used well. Shunta and Yoku have their glaring differences, but also things in common. It makes for a pretty good dynamic between the two of them. On top of that, both Shunta and Yoku are allowed to lose, even in important battles. That’s refreshing. There are also some legitimately interesting characters on the villains side, who are more than what they seem on the surface. Especially Kazuya, once his backstory is revealed. Why not to watch- Largely because the execution is terrible. The show basically just repeats the same formula over and over again. Characters look for 12 God-King cards. Characters battle over them. Characters lose their cards. Characters have to battle again to get their cards back. With all the potential this series has, it’s kind of a shame that’s all they really do with it. The Soul Spot idea was interesting for a bit of variety, but ultimately it’s just a plot device to allow the characters to get more cards. And they pop up way too conveniently. Most of the characterization is also pretty awful. Again, there are interesting ideas, but it all tends to fall flat. Sandrat is the most brutal case, who gets a whole episode that seems to “develop” his character, but it’s utterly reset afterwards. And as for the girls, only one (who doesn’t get introduced until later) is a battler, and not an especially competent one. The main two, the writers didn’t even bother to give much personality or even a proper role to. They basically just stand around and are the definition of pointless.

[wolverinedoctorwho]

long winded post about all my ocs bc i have nothing better to do and want people to ask me about them

I’m gonna put it under a Read More so if you don’t wanna read about my ocs you don’t have to scroll for a billion years

Published OCs:

Arcanamas (link is to book one, there are 6 books in the series currently)

Joan Arcanama: Southern momma, monster hunter, BAMF. Her parents are dead, her sister is dead, her family is full of monsters now. She’s doing ok with it though because she loves them and if you hurt them she WILL set you on fire. She and her whole “living” family live somewhere in Tennesee. She’s already witnessed the end/retcon of the world. 

Avery: IDK what his last name is bc  I stole him from someone else in an RP who left after like two chapters. He’s a big buff Scottish puff of a werewolf. Like Bigby Wolf in terms of hair and attractiveness, but he’s also kinda like Brian from Dream Daddy in terms of personality? He can fully turn at will, but usually chooses not to unless he has to fight somebody. During full moons he has his own room under their home to make sure he doesn’t hurt/scare the kids. 

Tributa Arcanama: Lil baby vampire girl. She was turned when she was 3, and now she’s 10 but looks around 5 or 7. She looks about half her age because she ages twice as fast because it would be super inconvenient to be a vampire who was stuck at age three their entire life. She’s a fuckin loli but doesn’t even know what the heck a sex is because she’s like 10. She’ll also fuckin murder you if you’re a jerk. Her dream is to invent a new line of blood-flavored candies and drinks (like a sangueccino). Her name means Taxes in Latin.

Mort Arcanama: Tributa’s twin brother. Avery isn’t their father, but I don’t want Joan’s rape to make up too terribly much of her backstory so I don’t/won’t talk about it much. Mort is a necrokinetic, which is different from a necromancer because he doesn’t bring things back from the dead so much as he moves death around like a life force. He’s got a severed hand he treats as a pet and he keeps it alive by moving the “death force” into plants or animals, basically swapping their life force. Also anyone he touches will get hurt/die because he basically has no control over whether or not he takes the life force of things he touches. He’s a non-verbal Autistic, and his special interests include trains and plants. His name means Death in Latin.

Spark Arcanama (nee Ketchum): Originally a Pokemon OC, she was adopted by the Arcanamas fairly recently. She’s kinda like Mort in that she has no control over the fact that she can shoot fire out of her hands. She looks like a normal 12 year old girl but her skin can and will burn you and when her emotions flare up things tend to catch on fire (think Elsa but slightly more dangerous). Gloves don’t work for her because they’ll just catch fire, so she spends a lot of her time trying to keep her powers under wraps and freaking out about small things. She has a similar backstory to Hanako from Katawa Shoujo in that her house burned down, her parents died, and now she’s covered in scars, but she’s completely lost her right eye as a result of the burns and the lack of care she recieved for them. Basically everyone in the town she lived in blamed her for the fire and the death of her parents, and since they were right she allowed them to bully her for most of her life. Now that she’s away from all of that she’s learning how to become her own person without burning everything around her. She’s a cinnamon roll who doesn’t deserve sadness.

Forest Arcanama: Joan’s little sister. She died when she was about 14, and now she’s a ghost forever. She’s physically tied to Mort’s dead hand so she can’t go all crazy and poltergeisty. She’s got the personality of Lapis Lazuli because who cares about anything when you’re dead and stuck in a cabin in the middle of the woods? She died shortly after watching her mother die back before the reset/retcon and got stuck as a ghost. 

Zack Gachano: Spark’s best friend and a total normie. He’s kind of obsessed with Vocaloid, to the point where he’s dyed his long hair purple to look like Gakupo. He has a single mom for reasons I haven’t fully come up with yet. He’s a little bit confused by all the monster stuff, but for some reason it’s not that crazy to him that his best friend shoots fire out of her hands and her siblings kill people. He’s a year older than Spark, and bisexual. 

Louisanne de Malfoy: Originally a Harry Potter OC, she’s now a 307 year old vampire who lives in France and gives no shits about anything. Back in the day she had an apprentice/girlfriend, but that girl is long dead and so are all her past lovers. She’s pansexual but doesn’t use the term because it didn’t exist back in 1709. She studies all the time, IDK what for. She has one of those huge libraries with rolling ladders. She lives in this huge mansion because she’s amassed some sort of wealth during her life (probably from screwing rich people and then blackmailing them). She’s uptight, but has a heart every once in awhile. Tributa’s mentor and godmother to the Arcanama kids.

StarStar (Link is to book one, there are 4 books in the series)

Miranda Picard: Originally a Star Trek OC, she’s almost as uptight as Louisanne if not more. She’s a navy kid with a bright future ahead of her, but she has a horrible temper and is a total fuddy-duddy. She’s really smart though. Her interests include ballet and playing the violin, and she can do both at once. She tends to overwork herself to the point of collapsing without even thinking about it, and always hates on herself for the smallest of mistakes. Under her stuck-up interior is a teen who just wants to enjoy herself and wants people to be proud of her. Her grandfather is a prominent captain, and she refuses to call him anything other than Captain, much to his chagrin.

Dannika Solo: Originally a Star Wars OC, she’s Miranda’s laid-back counterpart with even more emotional scarring. She ran away from her air force parents as a child and was kidnapped pretty quickly. She was hurt in a variety of ways before being turned into a fairy, and it took her a lot of work to learn how to turn back. After she killed her kidnapper but spared his daughter, she went through a variety of bad situations before meeting Miranda. She’s got PTSD from the whole thing and frequently has nightmares and bouts of sleepwalking. She’s kind of a grouch when she’s upset, but she’s just as smart as Miranda. Her parents don’t really approve of her and Miranda’s relationship.

Teendangers (this doesn’t update often)

Wendy: The eldest of the three superpowered sisters. She’s highly suspicious of adults and is the kind of person who refuses help unless she desperately needs it. Protects her younger sisters with an almost antagonistic ferocity. She’s 18. Her full name is Gwendolyn. Her superpower is flight.

Mags: The middle sister. She’s more reasonable, but is still pretty cautious because she’s seen some shit. The most motherly of the three sisters. She’s very blunt, though rarely out of malice. She’s 15. Her full name is Margarita. Her superpower is invisibility. 

Ren: The youngest sister. She’s a total ditz, and sometimes it’s easy to wonder if she has any thoughts in that head of hers. She’s more susceptible to illness because she was put on the streets when she was a baby. She trusts easily, much to Wendy’s frustration. She’s 7. Her full name is Renee. Her superpower is luminescence. 

Molly: A trans girl with no superpowers other than a positive attitude and a willingness to help people. She likes cartoons, some of which include anime, but she isn’t a total otaku/weeaboo or anything like that. She’s about 15. 

Jemma: Molly’s mom. Her husband works for the agency that contains superpowered children, but she doesn’t approve of his job or the politics behind it. She’s in her mid 30s and is a Cool Mom. 

Unpublished OCs:

Homestuck: (these don’t jive with actual canon facts too well, sorry)

Ocarina Marxochime: A cinnamon roll with lavender blood because I had an ocarina that color when I came up with her. She’s a blind seadweller with asthma, synesthesia, hydrophobia, and haphephobia. She had an abusive lusus who tried to make Ocarina live up to a standard of royalty she could not meet, and through beating her and starving her tried to make her obedient. She ended up an anxious mess, and then she was kidnapped by some other trolls, who raped her, mutilated her fins, sewed her gills shut, and tried to drown her. She met Exdeus in the hospital afterwards, and moved in with Raina after she was released. She’s been trying recently not to be such an anxious mess, but stuff like that takes time. Her symbol is the Anxiety Awareness ribbon and her horns look like (and function as) ocarinas. 

Raina Heist: A black-blood (seriously, I came up with a whole essay on shade-bloods) troll who was kicked off Alternia as a grub and somehow wound up on Earth. She was raised in Texas by a human couple who tried to convince themselves she wasn’t a demon. She spent most of her life covering her unique features with makeup and hats and contacts, but still got bullied for being different. During one fight with a bully, she stabbed him with her horns and then ran away from home, living in a shopping mall for a year before being found and raped (a lot of my OCs backstories include rape for some reason? I’ve recently realized just how much it pops up and would like to change it so they don’t all become the same in terms of backstory) by one of the employees. When she wound up in the hospital afterwards, she told her parents she needed to find out where she belonged, and then somehow got back to Alternia. She’s now Ocarina’s roommate who doesn’t take any shit from anyone. She’s also a great cook. Her symbol is an @ sign.

Exdeus Machina: He’s a human (despite his odd name) who works in the hospital Ocarina went to after her mutilation. Whether through Florence Nightingale syndrome or sheer plot convenience, he fell in love with her and she reciprocated. He’s her anchor, essentially. 

Purr: Ocarina’s pet cat, essentially a therapy animal, given to her by one of my friend’s OCs

Daphne Machna: Exdeus and Ocarina’s adopted daughter. She wants to become a doctor like her father, and has the brains for it, but sometimes she goes too far to prove herself. She has tetrochromia and wears glasses she doesn’t need to to match her parents, who both wear glasses. 

Steven Heist: Goes by Steve. Raina’s son after a one-night-stand with some blue-blood. He has the horns and blood to match. He’s laid back and very musical, and gets along with his mother really well. His symbol is currently a # symbol, though I might change it.

SkyeNet (Name pending)

Skye: A trans boy whose special interest is computers and technology. I’ve described him as hypomental bc there was a cool article on that I read. Net’s twin brother, but he’s the more grounded and responsible of the two. He’s kind of Asbergers? IDK don’t quiz me too hard on it I’m basing his behaviour on my older brother. He has a scar on his right cheek and on his left shoulder from a car accident.

Net: Kinda crazy, not gonna lie. I’ve described her as hypermental to yin-yang with Skye. She’s possessive of him and at first didn’t support his transition because she feared she wouldn’t be as close to her her sister anymore. I’m not sure how to describe her mental state other than saying that after Skye’s car accident she cut her face and shoulder open so she could have scars just like his. 

Honestly their whole story is part of an AU with Ocarina and Exdeus so I couldn’t really publish their story if I wanted to without untangling that whole knot

Dungeons and Dragons

Spah: Literally just Spy from TF2. I didn’t want to come up with a whole character and backstory so I just used Spy. He’s a changeling rogue and a kinky fucker who literally beat Venomfang by fucking him. 

Favric: Stole him from a campaign. He was one of Venomfang’s followers until Spah convinced him that, because he fucked Venomfang, he was his god now. Favric’s essentially his human squire now. 

Vyerith: Stole her from the same campaign Favric came from. Basically there was a doppleganger and Spah went “I’m gonna tap that” and I just kept rolling good saves until the end of the battle and the DM went “well, I guess you can keep her now”. She and Spah have kinky shapeshifter sex. 

Dell: Basically Engineer from TF2 but different. He grew up with Spah and some other friends, and his Pyro-expy-love died in a fire that convinced him to run away from home and live in a cave. He’s a half-orc artificer who’s kind of a grouch but is really a depressed noodle.

Khoren: My favourite right now. She’s a little warforged cinnamon roll. Dell found her while scavenging one day and rebuilt her. She’s essentially got the mind of a child and is 3′6 so it works. She has a Drawer of Holding built into her stomach (a bag of holding installed in a drawer). She’s the one that walks down the hill Dell lives on to get food and supplies from the nearby townspeople. They love her and made her a pink wig. She can’t speak, but has her own language of various whistles that Dell taught her. 

There’s also a whole Mermaid RP that a friend and I did that’s choc-full of OCs but I think I should make a separate post for that because it’s also kind of an AU of the Homestuck characters and isn’t published or done yet and it’s a mess. But if you’ve gotten this far thanks for reading, pls ask me about them and if you want to draw them ask me and i’ll give you referencesnngggg

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: Humanity's Worst, Front and Center on the Anime Stage

Humanity's Worst, Front and Center on the Anime Stage

By Ian Mertz

  There is a sadistic thrill that comes with watching people acting against our ingrained sense of morals, or better yet, against society's standards of good in favor of our secret rebellious desires. When Lupin the Third came on the anime scene in the early 70's, with its titular pragmatic thief, it was a huge shift from the model of protagonists who embodied the forces of absolute moral good. Even the punks who so often popped up as the stars in early sports classics brought a bit of that wild side out in the show, let alone more aggressively amoral characters like the swashbuckling interstellar Cobra or the hitman Golgo 13. Flash forward to 2017, and as if an old otaku made a poorly worded deal with the devil we got a season of protagonists who moonlight as terrible human beings, with both hilarious comic headliners and bone-chilling pragmatists coming to call. These are their stories.

  KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2

    Back in the 80's and 90's, prominent writers such as Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi noticed that if they wanted to make their protagonist funny, one thing they could do is make their protagonist kind of a dick. Characters like Yu Yu Hakusho's Yusuke Urameshi, Ghost Sweeper Mikami's Tadao Yokoshima, and Urusei Yatsura's Ataru Moroboshi were all generally moral people, but had many of the failings one would expect of a teenage boy: perverted, insensitive, and just generally causing trouble. Again, they had a baseline morality usually shown through their devoted love interest, who indirectly acted as their anchor, someone who brought out the best in our hopeless hero.

  The first show on our list, KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world!, tosses that morality out the window, and instead of a love interest just lets the whole harem get in on the amoral fun. Adventurer Kazuma Satou is just as lecherous and abrasive as any rom-com hero, but instead of a soft spoken heroine to bring out the non-existent goodness in his heart, he gets three companions at least as bad as him. It turns out having characters who are generally good on the inside is better for character development and storytelling, but when you take that away from them the result is plain hilarious, especially with the sense of comedic timing the show has honed over its last season.

    Of the three the show mostly centers on Aqua, the goddess Kazuma forcibly brought on his adventures. She is the only one in the show with a tongue as sharp as Kazuma's, and neither of them will let the other's failures go unnoticed, nor their own successes go without a good long stretch of gloating. When Aqua purifies a great spirit rooted to the world against his will, she spends the rest of the episode reveling in her almighty powers as a goddess right in front of Kazuma's face; when it turns out the purification also set a horde of monsters upon the city in the process, Kazuma's insults bring her to the verge of tears.

    The other two provide endless fuel for Kazuma's morally abhorrent personality too. While the masochistic holy crusader Darkness left the center stage for a while at the start of this season's KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2, she is back and in rare form, having gone so far into the realm of fetishizing her own pain and humiliation that Kazuma can no longer even insult her without feeding her complex further. The crowd favorite, the explosion junkie Megumin, has also been stepping up as perfect fodder for Kazuma this season. It's a mark of both great writing and the author's particular penchant for creating human trash when the show's greatest exposition thus far this season is that Megumin spent her younger years taking some kid's lunch money after class.

  Masamune-kun's Revenge

  And maybe it's a mark of a good anime season that she isn't the only character stealing people's lunch. One of the more popular romantic comedies this season, Masamune-kun's Revenge features a burgeoning couple who would be right at home with the KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! cast. I say burgeoning because they aren't a couple at the start of the story, nor do either of them like each other, and not in a simple Ranma ½ -style tsundere mismatch. Masamune Makabe wants nothing more than to be asked out by the school idol Aki Adagaki, who is notorious for hating men and rejecting them in cruel and mortifying ways. His motivation? To mortify her right back, the girl who teased him when they were kids. He completely reworked his appearance to the point where he's a heartthrob among the girls, but he passes up his chances at love for that one shot of sweet karmic justice.

    And despite how comically petty he is for even trying, Aki sells herself as such a terrible person that we can't even blame him. Besides sticking all the boys who ask her out with insulting, albeit meticulously researched, monikers, she also eats both her share of lunch and most of her best friend's bread on top. Good for her that she eats healthy, but the self-absorbed way she orders her friend to buy her more food, away from the prying eyes of the other girls who respect her so highly, makes us want Masamune to take her down a peg too.

    Or such is the premise. In reality while KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world!'s cast is designed to be irredeemable, as we dive a bit deeper into Masamune and Aki we get to see a bit of their softer sides, on guard due to their past experiences (with each other), but prone to slipping up all the same. Masamune, focused on his revenge plot, learns through shoujo manga and botches his plans so often and so thoroughly that he ends up needing coaching from an insider in Aki's life. Meanwhile Aki is so clueless that she not only proudly wears cosplay to her first “date” with Masamune, but she derides him for thinking that that's wrong. As they both continue to hurdle towards ruining each other's lives again, the comedy and romance we're treated to is sometimes enough to hope they learn to be less petty and narcissistic, or it would be if it weren't so amusing to watch their misguided battle.

  Saga of Tanya the Evil

  But not all this season's terrible people are funny. Sometimes being registered as a terrible person implies something more akin to that title. Sometimes we are given a character who is genuinely morally repugnant, the kind of person who would get their family killed for a dollar and a pat on the back. These are the people outside the realm of 80's comedy; these are the people who would more likely show up on a police blotter, or worse, a thousand documentaries asking what went wrong. Thankfully in Saga of Tanya the Evil, it's easy to see what went wrong: someone gave that person a gun, a uniform, and an incentive to kill.

  When even the title registers Tanya, a girl who was given too much power in the army as a result of her abnormally developed magical powers, as “evil,” there's a pretty clear message being sent to us the viewers. There is little to no room for sympathizing with her, which is made worse by the fact that we understand her completely. She is vindictive, setting up a group of soldiers who disobeyed her to be killed by the enemy in the next attack. She chooses every word to better her chances at staying safe and away from the front line, whether it be to her superior officers or to her friends celebrating a new birth in their household. We see her pushed to the brink of death in a fight, and we see the unbridled joy she feels at letting her powers loose on anyone who bleeds red and looks at her the wrong way.

    But we also see her slip up, either tricked by those who are wise to her manipulative words or tripped up in her own ambitions. As Tanya is rising to power, the show is shaping up to be something we don't see to often in anime: a classic Greek fall from hubris. As we dive into her thought processes and motivations, we start to see all the fatal flaws that will inevitably come back to her, all the ways in which she won't learn from her mistakes while they're small. Besides the well-choreographed action and the detail put into Tanya's crazed facial expressions, the true gem of the show is watching Tanya's character, as a textbook case in greed, ambition, psychopathy, and if all goes well, in a fall from grace.

    Scum's Wish

  On that note, I would be remiss to not at least mention the crown jewel of this season's lineup of amoral characters. I read the manga for Scum's Wish a few years ago, and was thoroughly caught up in how shockingly awful—yet shockingly believable—the entire cast was. Each character sets out to outdo the last, while at the center lies a single doomed couple: Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya, the power couple of the school. To their friends and classmates both of them are perfect, and perfect for  each other. But they share no love between them; both are only out to soothe their loneliness over loving someone else. For Hanabi it's her brother, a schoolteacher who has a crush on Mugi's tutor from afar. For Mugi of course, it's that very tutor, who seems aloof to the whole situation save for being very attuned to Hanabi's moods.

    A love polygon develops with these four and a whole slew of their friends, each of whom is willing to use, bully, and manipulate one another to feel just a little less lonely in the world. Just as surprising as the explicit sexual encounters between the characters are the ways in which the script captures their thoughts, their disgusting and distasteful ways of getting one another to give up their other loves, their other friendships, even their mental state of being. It's not haphazard, nor is it solely a statement on the evil in people's hearts. It is perfectly balanced and calculated to show their desperation, and how they try to navigate love and friendship in the wrong way.

    This season's adaptation adds an additional layer to the manga, namely framing it as tragic. In particular Hanabi's character flaws are downplayed in comparison to the other characters, and she serves as the main focus through which we see the story, which develops her character so well that despite having seen her original manga personality I even started to feel bad for her at some point. Soft watercolor notes in the artwork, reordering events and changing up the pacing, and good use of soundtrack make her romance with Mugi into a fully fledged romantic tragedy, one from which there's no straight answer, with no clear line between bad people and misguided friends, as both bring her pain all the same.

  The following series are available for viewing NOW on Crunchyroll!

KONOSUBA -God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2

Masamune-kun's Revenge

Saga of Tanya the Evil

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  Ian Mertz is a graduate student in Toronto. He works in Computer Science though, so don't take his opinions on anime too seriously.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com