#shadow blob arc

[duckapus]

Finally succumbing to its injuries, a Black Oak falls, crushing many of its fellows and a few inmates under its corpse. On its chest, bladed limbs dripping with green blood, is a mass of dark code, glowing orange eyes already seeking its next target.

Whirlpool's been having a bit of a mixed experience with the invasion. On one hand, it was clearly being targeted, its control-freak of a creator no doubt ordering the invaders to capture it and Abyssal so it could restore their connection. On the other hand, most of them had no idea what it looked like or could do, so it's been getting mistaken for one of the "enhanced" inmates about half the time.

A spike of distress not its own pierces through its thoughts, and it rapidly shifts its gaze upwards to where the Abyss and its new groupies are no doubt being confronted, "Cuuuuzzziiiinnn!"

Though it and Abyssal had been freed from the eternal Nothingness by the light of Sora's Keyblade, and thus also severed from any connection they might have had with each other if they'd thought to look for it, they were still Offshoots cut from the same code, so sometimes things would slip through, strong emotions in particular. In this specific instance, it had been a mix of rage, sorrow, grief and disgust wrapped tightly around a core of sheer terror, most likely on someone else's behalf.

Even before it's fully assessed all this already it's on the move, shifting to its cute and fluffy form for greater speed and agility and continuing to carve down anyone in its path. Even if their relationship is a bit strained and Abyssal isn't sure what to make of Whirlpool even at the best of times, she's still family. And if it's learned anything from Sora and Stitch and the rest, it's that you do anything for family if they need you.

(another thing it'd learned is that you choose your family. The Abyss very firmly Does Not Count, and won't until it gets its act together and makes things right with the rest of them. Which, given the situation, likely won't be today)

Still, even with the extra speed being a weird fuzzy mammalian alien instead of a massive shadow slug gave it, it still feels it isn't going fast enough to get there in time to help. Plus most of the action seems to be up in the air, and neither of its forms can fly. It can't even just ignore gravity like it's seen other programs do, which is annoying.

It can't help but feel that there's something it's missing, some opportunity just out of reach. An extension of the strange sense of familiarity it got when the Black Arms started falling out of a blood-red sky...

Something...Calls to me...

That... that didn't feel like its thoughts. And yet, it also did. It feels a stirring, deep in its code, like something's trying to push its way out, and it reaches down to meet it.

{ShadHedg.SOUL_STAT: RESTORED. Execute_ProjEcho.MOD Y/N?}

Huh, that's new. It selects yes as it uses a Black Wing as a springboard onto one of the floating stretches of road that horned guy (why does it hate him so much anyway?) keeps throwing around everywhere-

-and he surges forward the moment he lands, air shoes igniting before they even scrape the pavement.

Shadow confusedly looks himself over in the few moments of straightaway, "what is this power?"

He quickly shakes it off, resolving to assess his code later. What was a daunting, convoluted climb for his base form would no doubt prove a mere obstacle course for the Ultimate Lifeform.

"Watch yourself, Abyss. I'm coming for you."

[twistedwonderlandsimps]

I've already actually had ideas similar to this but I've never really gotten around to writing it but!

Yuu AU where Yuu comes from a high-fantasy world. All kinds of creatures, whether mythological or not, exist in Yuu's world and aren't limited to humans. Additionally, humans aren't powerless because some of them actually have superhuman abilities and even magic. Kind of like the world building in 'I'm Not This Kind Of Hero' (check it out, it's a classic and makes me feel old) or Medusa and Futakuchi-san by Makise Shaun. Also, now that I think about it, it’s similar to Monster High but the atmosphere’s different. Monster High’s more on the creepy-cool theme while this one’s a more wider and diverse side. Same concept, different font.

Human, elves, dragons, dwarves, nymphs, slimes, fairies, humanoid, non-humanoid, whatever species it is, exists back in Yuu's world. Imagine Yuu belonging to one of these species.

Yuu as a giant merperson like Shirahoshi from One Piece. Of course they aren't in their  true form when they arrive because they won't be able to fit in the Mirror Chambers otherwise. Yuu definitely has the advantage when the Octavinelle arc comes up because they just steamroll past through the twins with a flick of their tail, lmao.

Yuu as a harpy. If they're the type that can lay eggs, imagine having to explain to Deuce that no, the egg they laid wasn't fertilized so it wasn't going to turn into a baby, calm down. Oooo, now that I think about it, variations of harpies! Owls, crows, eagles, everything! Regardless, Harpy!Yuu probably puffs up threateningly every time Crowley's somewhere in the vicinity.

Yuu as a dragonkin. Are they the Western type with the more lizard features? Are they the Eastern type with the more noodle-like features? Are they able to completely turn human or are they the type who constantly has their draconic features out? Probably either sees Malleus as a threat because of territorial and hoarding instincts or tries to hoard Malleus themselves because kin instincts. Well, depending on the type of dragon Yuu's gonna be, that is. Some dragons are solo creatures while others are more social.

Yuu as a slime. Whether they're more humanoid or just a round ball of goo, this Yuu's just vibing. Virtually zero damage can be done to them since they always just reform unless they're met with their weakness. Of course, this also depends on what kind of slime Yuu's gonna be since there's like a ton of slime variants out there. Some are infused elementally, some are infused with something else like metal, poison, acid, whatever. Oooo, just imagine a tiny ball of blob that can fit on the palm of your hand. This Yuu would probably be used as a stress ball a lot, that is if Yuu allowed it. Imagine a Yuu slime variant that doesn’t speak but instead wiggles to communicate. 

Yuu as a shadow creature. Which when faced off against the overblots just utterly decimates them immediately because not only are they a creature of the shadows, they are the shadows themselves. Kind of like Pride from Fullmetal Alchemist minus the eyes. Just imagine seeing your housewarden overblot and having this ink creature menacingly looming behind them and then see an even bigger creature appear and loom behind them. 

Yuu as an android, kinda like Ortho. I feel like this Yuu is the type to give Ortho a gun and be like, “Go, commit crimes, child.” This Yuu is probably a walking, talking military-grade bioweapon. Was definitely a big headache for Idia in STYX because Yuu hacked and overrode the systems.

Yuu as an arachne (spider-human hybrid). They just arrived and someone in the Mirror Chambar already fainted, frothing at the mouth (It was totally Jamil). They get Ramshackle and was like, ‘Score!’ and now it’s full of spiderwebs everywhere. It looks even more haunted than before, they’ve made themselves completely home. I don’t know why but I imagine this Yuu being the cheerful and energetic type.

Of course, let’s not forget the possibilities for the human variants of Yuu. Mad scientist Yuu who likes creating androids and robots. Probably has these tiny drone things hovering around them that shoot out lasers and practically doesn’t step outside Ramshackle because they’re too busy trying to build stuff until Crowley forces them out. Magic user Yuu who, well, uses magic. Probably doesn’t need any wand to cast spells and their magic is probably more versatile than the magic in Twisted Wonderland because they virtually have no limits in casting whatever aside from their limited mana.

Anyway, High Fantasy!Yuu.

[dotthings]

A reminder that even if I agree the spn series finale absolutely sucked, that not every take is actually canonically aligned and I will not be giving an inch on Cas is in Heaven he was not trapped in the empty there is no such thing as “Superhell” Cas saved himself in an act of self-actualization fulfilling a Jungian arc about confronting the shadow (literally manifested as a blob of black goo) and Cas kicked The Empty’s ass and redesigned Heaven in a way Dean would love with no walls and every soul Dean loved, the people who loved Dean, around him. Yet Dean’s arc was not complete and fulfilled because he hasn’t fully integrated with himself, and confronted the shadow, he hasn’t spoken or expressed his heart the way he needs to, he is restless and went on a drive and in his search for fulfillment started saving alt versions of his family but he is still searching for…something. Someone. Despite Cas already being in Heaven, he and Dean have not reunited yet but they have by the time of the bridge scene (see og plan for the finale: Dean and Cas at the bar together when Sam walks in, when Sam finally joins Dean in Heaven).

And currently (before bridge reunion which is future) Dean is on a quest and meddling with alt universes and there will surely be delicious consequences and a whole lot of story to tell.

Badly executed episode be damned. That is all still canon.

And Destiel is canon but their story isn’t all the way fulfilled and Dean’s personal arc isn’t fulfilled yet. The story isn’t over. Dean’s story isn’t over.

Sam gets a bad wig and a blurry wife and a dull picket fence life where he is eternally sad and then dies of old age but Sam’s story was already fulfilled, his story doesn’t demand and cry out for completion the way Dean’s does and the brothers story likewise is not left with an open gaping wound that needs further story to complete, although seeing them in action again will be enjoyable.

And that’s the truth.

[zr-art-world]

Twst oc info dump

I think I have art block so I'm just gonna info dump about my oc, Yuu.

Yuu is partially based on Mickey, however, they are mostly based on Mickey from the Epic Mackey games as well as the Blot from the same game

For context for twst fans that do not know about this game, micky unintendedly created the blot when he used Yen-Sid magic paint brush to make a replica of himself. As the initial ink blob looked like him and some of the blot enemy's share his ears (a correlation that is more evident in concept art). The Blot then dragged Mickey back thorough the magic mirror and into wasteland. When that happed, Mickey absorbed some of the Blot. The Blot, who was trapped in a bottle after draining the magic with in wasteland and sent his blotlings and shadow blot to capture Mickey. Micky can use paint to repaint things and thinner to destroy, this actually has an effect on the story and environment with the paint and thinner rout. Previous versions of the game had a mechanic where Mickey would also change, the paint rout with a bright Hero Mickey and a the thinner rout with a less saturated scrapper Mickey.

Yuu before being sent to Twisted wonderland was child actor who had less and less contact with the rest of their family due to their father pushing them into their acting carrier until they went to live with their grandfather and siblings. Their Grandfathers and their older brother and sister, Jay and Ama understood that they had little choice in the matter but their older brother Oz had some feelings, feeling like Yuu left them for fame with no contact not knowing that their Dad was purposefully separating them.

For a majority of their life, they had to put up a persona to please people. After so many years keeping up with said persona, they hated keeping up this character more and more. But when they were transported to Twisted Wonderland, they realized just acting nice wouldn't help them and it gave them an environment to be themselves and to kinda destroy their old persona in the process and they become more assertive. Also, their NRC friend's have an influence on them, both bad but in kinda in a good way?

In short, Yuu goes thorough their villain arc

[ateez-ana]

anasang live (1/11/19)

-now you are watching anasang live recap by @atinylatsub on youtube-

#intro/

Hello guys, welcome to a new video today we will show the short recap of the last live of Yeosang and Ana where they demonstrate their "great culinary skills" someone don't let them enter a kitchen again

#clip1

The studio buzzed with a chaotic energy, a blend of excited whispers, the clinking of mixing bowls, and the insistent hum of the camera. Ana, with her signature brown hair pulled back in a messy bun and her green eyes sparkling with mischief, stood next to Yeosang, who was meticulously arranging a stack of pancakes shaped like a rainbow.

'Alright, Atiny! Welcome to our very first Pancake Challenge!' Ana announced, her voice bouncing off the studio walls. 'We're going to be making some pretty epic pancakes, so buckle up!'

Yeosang, gave a small nod, his dark hair casting a shadow over his face. 'We've got a few challenges lined up,' he said, 'and we're gonna try to make them look as good as they taste.'

'Are you ready, my pancake protégé?' Yeosang quipped, a playful glint in his eye.

Ana chuckled, 'I haven't had a culinary lesson since elementary school. This should be... interesting.'

The first challenge was, predictably, a rainbow pancake. Ana, with her flair for the dramatic, whipped up a batch of colorful batter in record time, while Yeosang, a picture of measured precision, carefully layered the batter to create a vibrant arc.

'Woo-hoo! Rainbow pancake, check!' Ana exclaimed, holding up the colorful creation with a flourish. 'A+ for effort, Yeosang!'

#clip2

Next up was an ice cream pancake. This one proved to be a bit more challenging, as Yeosang struggled to find a way to replicate the smooth texture of ice cream. Ana, ever the resourceful one, had a brilliant idea.

'Whip cream!' she exclaimed, grabbing a can from the counter. 'We can make it look like whipped cream!'

With a few strategic swirls of whipped cream and a sprinkle of rainbow sprinkles, their ice cream pancake was complete.

Yeosang deftly shaped the batter into a scoop, adding chocolate chips to resemble sprinkles. Ana gazed at it in awe.

'It's so adorable!' she exclaimed. 'Two down, three to go!' Ana cheered

The next challenge was to make an Elmo pancake. Here, Yeosang took the lead, meticulously crafting the iconic red character with a careful hand. Ana, however, couldn't resist adding her own touch.

'He needs a little bit of sass,' she declared, grabbing a jar of chocolate chips and carefully arranging them to create a small, mischievous grin on Elmo's face.

'Ana, what are you doing?' Yeosang asked, his voice laced with amusement.

'He needs a personality,' Ana retorted, winking at the camera.

The challenge was quickly followed by a Scooby Doo pancake. This time, it was Ana's turn to shine. She whipped up a Scooby Doo-shaped pancake with surprising ease, adding chocolate chips for eyes and a playful swirl of whipped cream to create the iconic Scooby Doo bandana.

#clip3

Their confidence soared until they reached their final challenge: each other.

'Don't worry, Shortcake,' Yeosang teased, referring to Ana's diminutive stature. 'I'll make you look like a goddess.'

Using the batter as his canvas, Yeosang began to outline Ana's features. However, his artistic skills seemed to falter when he attempted to recreate her flowing brown hair.

'Oops, I spilled some batter!' he exclaimed, smearing the brown mixture onto his nose.

Ana dissolved into laughter, wiping away Yeosang's impromptu moustache. 'You're a terrible artist!'

Undeterred, Ana took over the batter and molded it into Yeosang's angular face. She added a mischievous smile and a pair of twinkling eyes.

Their initial attempts were… less than flattering, to say the least. Ana's pancake looked more like a lumpy blob with a slightly crooked nose, while Yeosang's creation resembled a pancake-faced alien with questionable eyebrows.

The room erupted into laughter as both of them burst into giggles. Ana, in her attempt to add details, nearly tripped over a bowl of sprinkles, sending a cascade of colors flying through the air. Yeosang, trying to save the day, reached out to catch her, but in his haste, knocked over a bottle of blue frosting, which splattered across the table in a vibrant, sticky mess.

'Oh no!' Ana cried, her eyes wide with mock horror, 'We're a disaster!'

Yeosang, his face covered in a colorful mix of pancake batter and frosting, could only laugh. 'This is officially the messiest pancake challenge ever!'

The live chat exploded with messages, filled with emojis and exclamations of 'Chaos!' and 'This is amazing!'

Ana and Yeosang, covered in batter and sprinkles, looked at each other, their laughter echoing through the studio. Though their pancake portraits were a complete and utter mess, the sheer joy and camaraderie they shared was infectious.

'Atiny,' Ana announced, her voice breathless with laughter, 'we may not have made the best pancakes, but we definitely made the most memorable ones!

'Okay, Atiny,' Ana said, holding up the two pancakes, 'judge for yourselves!'

The camera zoomed in on each pancake, showcasing their unique interpretations of each other. Yeosang's version was a picture of restrained perfection, while Ana's was a chaotic, almost abstract representation of Yeosang's face.

The comments section exploded with laughter.

'I think Ana wins this one,' one comment read.

'Yeosang's pancake looks like he's trying to be a serious CEO, and Ana's looks like she's ready to party!' another commented.

Ana and Yeosang, despite their competitive spirit, couldn't help but laugh at the reactions.

'Well, Atiny,' Ana said, 'we may not have made the most realistic pancakes, but we definitely had a lot of fun!'

Yeosang, with a small smile playing on his lips, nodded in agreement.

'We'll try harder next time,' he said, his voice laced with playful sarcasm.

[themattress]

Sailor Moon (Takeuchi): The Top 20 Villains

Ranked using my core tenets for villains, and done countdown style for dramatic effect.

Honorable Mention: Danburite - He's technically not from Sailor Moon, instead being the main antagonist of the prequel Codename Sailor V. Danburite is the leader of the Dark Agency, a worldwide criminal organization that is secretly a subsidiary of the Dark Kingdom. He's a fairly complex character: hating Sailor Venus for never returning his love yet also still loving her, being upset that she favored Kunzite over him yet still working directly under Kunzite, and manipulating her in a Tuxedo Mask-esque guise just to lower her guard so he can kill her...yet ultimately choosing to die himself and use his last words to encourage her to move past him, something he could never do in regards to her. All in all, a damn solid villain.

20. Pharaoh 90 - The ruler of the Death Busters, Pharaoh 90 is a demonic extraterrestrial being bent on destruction. He's definitely the least engaging of Chaos' incarnations, but I have to give him points for a pretty great final battle and even some pathos in his last moments where he gracefully accepts his death and returns back to the Tau Nebula, saying that he wants to die in his home. That sticks with me even when little else about him does.

19. Queen Metalia - While a step above Pharaoh 90, Metalia still isn't all that interesting. She's a big blob of evil that wants to plunge the world into darkness and corrupt all its inhabitants because she's evil. Also, her design in the Crystal anime is underwhelming. Nevertheless, she gets by on how much destruction she wreaks, being the one to destroy the Moon Kingdom of the Silver Millennium and nearly causing Usagi and Mamoru's deaths.

18. Sailor Lethe and Sailor Mnemosyne - The Sailor Moon manga has straight-up villains, tragic villains, and villains who aren't really villains and are just brainwashed. That's why Lethe and Mnemosyne stand out as true blue Anti-Villains: having joined Shadow Galactica of their own volition and even doing bad things, but having a backstory that justifies it, a deep love for one another, and conflicting feelings about their mission the more destructive it becomes. They would rank way higher if they had more screentime, but alas, they do not.

17. Safir - At the same placement as his Toei counterpart, Safir is the brooding young man in the background who develops the Black Moon Clan's droids and watches helplessly as his older brother Prince Demande descends into madness thanks to Wiseman and the Malefic Black Crystal. There is no redemption to be found here, however, as Safir blames Sailor Moon and her future self Neo-Queen Serenity for everything wrong in his life rather than take any responsibility for himself and his clan, which ultimately leads to him becoming forcibly mind controlled by Wiseman and then killed by his own brother. The lesson: misogyny kills!

16. Evil Endymion - Metalia and Beryl long resented that they were unable to corrupt Prince Endymion in the Silver Millennium despite doing so with everyone else on Earth. In the present day, they finally get what they wanted, and the result is a sinister, cold-hearted and unsettling presence. Seeing the heroic, chivalrous young man we've come to know and love become a manipulative, violent sociopath is arguably where the Dark Kingdom arc peaked.

15. Chaos - In terms of personality, there's nothing here. Chaos is the Ultimate Evil and that's all there is to it. But oh, how it coasts by on sheer concept! Turned evil because it is a lifeform that has perpetually failed to get out of the Galaxy Cauldron and become a star, Chaos seethes and longs for universal conquest. This desire is so great that even trapped in the Galaxy Cauldron as a being of pure dark energy, some of that energy is able to leak out, creating all the other major villains that Sailor Moon faces. It's an ingenious way to connect the story arcs, antagonists and series together, tying it all in a satisfying, truly epic bow.

14. Witches 5 - We had evil minions correlating to the Inner Senshi that challenged them and helped their character development before with the Shitennou and the Spectre Sisters, but I think Witches 5 is the peak version of this concept as a purely villainous force. They're all perfect dark foils to their respective heroic counterpart in terms of design, personality and powers, and face off against them not once but twice, the second time after having died!

13. Esmeraude - While the lone female leader of the Black Moon Clan is sadly the least consequential, she makes a stronger impression than Safir by actually fighting the Sailor Senshi on two separate occasions, and both times being a truly formidable adversary who almost kills them all. She also has a strong personality, being a haughty beauty who seeks to win Prince Demande's love and willing to do absolutely anything to achieve that desire.

12. Kaolinite - The Grand Magus of the Death Busters who commands Witches 5, Kaolinite brings a fun DnD aesthetic to the story while also being a fairly fleshed out character, especially in Crystal. Formerly Professor Tomoe's lab partner, Kaolinite now owes her life to the Daimon energy inside her and is obsessed with pleasing Pharaoh 90. Unfortunately, this puts her at odds with his actual number 2, Mistress 9, and seeing Kaolinite struggle even when the odds are against her makes her sympathetic despite being so unabashedly wicked.

11. Black Lady - When Wiseman corrupts Chibiusa, she becomes Black Lady, the self-styled Queen of Nemesis. Black Lady is a lot like Evil Endymion, but more nuanced as she doesn't do a complete personality flip due to the brainwashing. She still has the memories and feelings she held as Chibiusa, it's just that they've been twisted and perverted: her deep insecurities about living up to her mother and frustrations with Usagi manifesting as vindictive hatred of both, and her desire to keep hold of her father's affections turned into incestuous advances toward him. She may have breached the Top 10 had her resolution been stronger.

10. Queen Nehelenia - When part of Chaos leaked from the Galaxy Cauldron and into the dark side of the moon, it created a twisted mirror image of Queen Serenity: Queen Nehelenia. She's a fairy tale baddie based off the Queen from Snow White and the Wicked Fairy from Sleeping Beauty: a vain ruler who loves her beautiful image in the mirror and whose inner self is a hideous old hag, and a practitioner of dark magic who crashes a princess' birthday celebration and invokes a curse. Derivative? Absolutely. Effective at it? Also absolutely!

9. Crimson Rubeus - One of the most loathsome members of the Black Moon Clan, Rubeus operates by sending the Spectre Sisters out to fight and die for him so that he can swoop in and capture the Sailor Senshi they've rendered vulnerable and get all the credit from Prince Demande. He's a selfish creep and also a dirty coward, always feeling at the first sign of things going south for him. Despite that, he is perceptive enough to recognize that Wiseman may not have the clan's best interests at heart, and at least has the nobility to stand up to him over it even if that ends up getting him killed. If nothing else, Rubeus was loyal to the cause.

8. Queen Beryl - The main villain for much of the original Dark Kingdom arc, Beryl is interesting because in the Silver Millennium, she was more of a victim than anything. A jealous young woman who was misled and corrupted by Metalia. However, it’s a different story in the present day. The Silver Crystal granted her reincarnation and with it, a chance for redemption. A chance not to make the same mistake. But not only does she willfully re-release Metalia and then have the Shitennou re-brainwashed, but she takes things further by plotting to betray Metalia by keeping the Silver Crystal for herself and using its power to rule the universe with Endymion at her side. A case study in how corrosive envy and hate are.

7. Kunzite - While Jadeite, Nephrite and Zoisite of the Shitennou were thinly drawn beyond one basic characteristic (loyalty, passion and underhandedness respectively), Kunzite is a richer character. Despite being the leader of the Middle East branch of the Dark Kingdom, Kunzite is powerful enough to control a worldwide subsidiary in the Dark Agency, and reliable enough to be dispatched anywhere if necessary. He is arrogant and cold-hearted, allowing no personal connections in his life and focused solely on his mission. Yet then he becomes unbrainwashed and remembers being quite the opposite: devoted and dutiful, a protector not an offender, someone warm enough for even Sailor Venus to fall in love with. Tragically, when he tries to betray Queen Beryl he gets super-brainwashed and then killed in an epic struggle with the Sailor Senshi, but his cleansed spirit stays with Mamoru and plays a key role in helping to defeat Metalia for good. And through it all, he does it with such impeccable style.

6. Professor Tomoe - This villain is like unpeeling an onion, layer by layer. He seems like a good, caring father who is caught up in the Death Busters' shady business, with signs pointing him to being misled by Kaolinite. Then we learn he's actually Kaolinite's superior and not misled at all, but still trust he has his daughter's interests at heart since he's gone through such lengths for her. And in the end, we see that he is actually a complete psychopath who cares nothing for his daughter and only went so far for her so that he can make her into the thing he wants her to be: the first of a race of superbeings that he can rule over as a god. After he turns himself into a monster, Sailor Moon has to eliminate him, accepting that he is far beyond redemption. All in all, Professor Tomoe is effectively frightening and loathsome.

5. The Amazoness Quartet - I admit that I'm not that big a fan of Takeuchi's Dead Moon Circus, but even I can't deny that the Amazoness Quartet are spectacular villains. Remember how Chibiusa turned into Black Lady and then into Sailor Chibi Moon? The Amazoness Quartet is that without the Chibiusa part. What's more, they are preteens / early teens rather than adults, which means they rely far less on any sort of sex appeal and more on their raw cunning and deviousness. VesuVesu, CeleCele, PallaPalla, and JunJun...I love 'em all!

4. Sailor Galaxia - Usagi's final opponent is her perfect evil foil. Having grown up in a harsh, uncaring environment, Galaxia is as cynical as Usagi is hopeful, and instead of drawing strength from others, she sacrifices others to build up her strength. Chaos is easily able to manipulate her nihilistic psychopathy, but despite all of her attempts to break Usagi, she proves Galaxia wrong by never giving in and even saving her in the end. Before her (temporary) death, Galaxia realizes that someone like Sailor Moon was really what she wanted and needed in her life, and that even now an ideal like her seems so far out of reach.

3. Mistress 9 - If you want an example of pure evil done right, look no further than Mistress 9, the child and herald of Pharaoh 90. Like Pharaoh 90, Mistress 9 desires the destruction of Earth and its people, but she takes particular joy in causing it, relishing all the pain she inflicts on people...including people on her own side like Kaolinite. The way she uses Hotaru once Professor Tomoe sells her out to her control is especially despicable. When she finally turns into a hideous monster, it truly feels like the inside of her is finally showing on the outside.

2. Wiseman / Death Phantom - And if you want another example of pure evil done right, we have the best incarnation of Chaos in the series. Nemesis was an entire planet made up of leaked Chaos energy from the Galaxy Cauldron, awaiting only the proper catalyst to give it consciousness. That catalyst was Death Phantom, a psychopathic criminal sorcerer banished there by Neo-Queen Serenity. Melding his soul with the planet and magically puppeting his corpse under the identity of "Wiseman", Death Phantom will psychologically manipulate anyone to pursue his goal of taking over the universe and reshaping it into a void of nothing.

1. Prince Demande - Death Phantom's primary pawn? This guy. Prince Demande, leader of the Black Moon Clan. He starts out as a young man with a sensible conviction - an unnatural moon being ruling over humanity and forcing them into elongated lives in a utopian society is blasphemous, as she's basically playing God. Unfortunately, his methods go too far into extremism and terrorism, which attracts the attention of Death Phantom who, as Wiseman, lures him and his gang to Nemesis. There, exposure to the Malefic Black Crystal warps Demande....his motive shifts to envy of Neo-Queen Serenity, as now he decides that he deserves to play God and rule over Earth. And once he attacks Earth, the madman's motives shift again...now he wishes to rule with Neo-Queen Serenity at his side, as he has been overtaken with lustful feelings toward her and wants to force her into loving him. Despite being the worst of scum, Demande still has nuance: he cares for his comrades, especially his brother Safir. When forced to kill Safir, learning the truth about Wiseman and how he's been manipulated, and seeing the true power of the Silver Crystal he thought he could defeat, Demande's despair is palpable and pitiable. But then it brings him to trying to destroy the universe, taking everyone down with him just to prove he can be the master of his own fate, unbeholden to anyone or anything. So in the end, Demande epitomizes the tragic villain.

[how-the-feathers-have-fallen]

hiiii just popping in to ask if u have a favorite Rangers Apprentice character ^_^

So far? (im like 2 chaps. from finishing. i think) Fucking love Halt he’s funky and Gaelic in some flavour and shaping up to be dad shaped for Will (Question/Theory: Is Holt Will’s Dad? wait don’t answer that. Did Holt Know Wills Dad? wait don’t answer that either). (love the thread of him will trying to get him to smile, it’s very in character or him and really made me smile in the end. heh. also wills curiosity feels so real and relatable to me he’s the kinda you know is an adventure in his heart and soul) anyway back to Halt-

He has the air of a person who’s been around a while and has aged with the world but doesn’t know everything to the point of cliche. He’s also really funny. the book in general was funny which i was not expecting to such an extent.

JENNY. she’s so sweet and i love her. she’s main character to me. she’s fat and round and loud and lovable and not only is she okay with that. she takes pride it in. it’s a STRENGTH TO HER. i remember the scene where she’s making her case to apprentice under the castle cook and she says “im the right shape for it” and everybody agrees wholeheartedly with her in an admiring tone and i just brimmed with joy as a plus sized person.

ngl Horace’s arc shortish and simple as it was is quite dear to me i didn’t expect to like him so much but spending time in his head felt so right to me. and i just love the whole “mortal enemies now closest and loyalest of friends with a deep mutual respect” trope. i just. i love it. its giving arthur and merlin/arthur and lancelot in a way i just find delicious. i love horace growing in this space where’s he’s the biggest fish in the pond cause he’s big and strong but being taken out of that habit and being, transplanted, almost into battle school and suddenly realising just how “small” he is and that he’s not that much. of anything.

also gil is fun. he’s giving rodrick in the older brother ish figure that’s cool and everybody kinda simps for. also kinda jealous he gets a sword on top of his already pretty sweet ranger gear. also i love the ranger gear its so cool and get so practical and well designed. can’t wait to see more of him. and the ponies. i love the ponies so much. them and bill from lotr should form a club of best beasts of labour in fantasy lit. ever.

I LOOKED UP A CHARACTERs NAME CAUSE I FORGOT THEM AND GOT LIKE THREE SPOILERS IM FONNA KMSSSSS

Anyway. George you funky lil nerd i can’t wait to see more of you.

I’d also love to touch on the world building. idk if it’s cause i’ve been listening to a podcast about it recently and religiously (world building for masochists highly rec) but it’s so rich just in this first book. the detail about the major wars being sprinkled in just enough, the though and logic that goes into the ranger weaponry and training, the simple yet very logical workings of battle school, how are characters are easily spilt up by the narrative in a way that’s realistic to real life. also i’m loving the celtic mythology in this, intentionally or not cause the names, the focus on weapons like the bows. even the kalkara called to mind the bears of celtic mythology and lore. the fear of fire and the impenetrable armour and everything felt straight out of scotland.

also as a history nerd and a historical lit/fantasy nerd the boar scene delighted me sm because i feel it does shades and shadows more justice to the ferocity and danger that went to boar hunting. like those beasts are HUGE. pigs in general are ginormous. so many people now a days are so urban they no longer see meat before it’s been slaughtered and sanitised so they have this slight dissociation with their food. it’s not really meat but a pink blob. and that affects how we interact with hunting and omivorism in general. but this felt so REAL AND CONNECTED GOSH I LOVE IT.

also the towns people feel. real. not overly important as to break you from the story but their not idiots. will knows them well enough and shares in with them and their beliefs and so do his friends so they don’t feel distinctly npc-like to the point where it puts you off cause will and co feel like they’re being written above the rest.

anyway those are some of my rambling first impressions sorry for the spelling mistakes it’s like 1 am here.

[moonknightproductions]

Non-human design for Yami-Yugi, created with some help from a few polls I ran! Commentary and closeups under the cut

Since the poll results were feathered wings, I decided to take some Horus inspiration and make them hawk/falcon wings! Maybe a red-tailed hawk to match with Mana’s? Though I did put bars on the tail… The horns poll turned out to have long and curly as the winner so I went with Berfomet-inspired horns since that’s one of his key monsters during Battle City. The glow I imagine to be more like how a mirage shimmers to add to his incorporeal nature. This drawing is of how he looks during Duelist Kingdom, but I definitely won’t remember that I gave him the earrings so that’s subject to change.

Creature features! Sharp nails and teeth creating an air of danger with how pointy they are.

Another full-body, this time from Battle City/Orichalcos arc. He’s definitely less menacing/intense from hanging out with (inhabiting) Yugi, and honestly just wants a break from dealing with world-ending threats. (And yes that mug does say World Class Duelist, Sugoroku got it for Yugi originally but Yugi just gave it to Yami since he’s really the one winning the duels. Yami then insisted they share it so they do.)

More notes:

-His horns keep his hair contained, otherwise it’d look like this (also does when he overuses his powers):

-While the wings are functional, he prefers to float because it’s less effort and uses them mainly for intimidation. This also leads him to neglect preening so a monster spirit usually does it for him (not that he asked, they just fuss over him). They can sorta manifest while inhabiting Yugi, but they look more like vaguely winged-shaped blobs than actual wings so any threat displays he tries don’t work too well. The mind-crushing and resting menace face more than makes up for it though. Other than that, none of the non-human features appear as Yami-Yugi.

-The sun disk pattern around the third eye on his forehead constantly glows a soft yellow. The Eye of Wedjat still appears over this eye when using his shadow powers, but not to the same degree since there’s already an eye there. All of the extra eyes are functional but for like Ka or shadow realm vision (think Judai with Yubel’s eyes during s4 of gx). Main eyes also glow a little.

-Can interact directly with monster spirits while not inhabiting Yugi

-Can be independently corporeal for short periods of time but prefers inhabiting Yugi for corporeality (easier/more comfortable)

-Spends free time either wandering the Puzzle’s maze (looking for something but he doesn’t remember what?) or peering over Yugi’s shoulder

-Generally divine/royal aura about him

[zephyrrhiesfyrian]

As I've been rereading MTMTE after finishing it maybe two weeks ago (and being completely emotionally destroyed) I've taken it upon myself to screenshot every silly tiny face I've seen, inspired by pioneers like the glorious blog @tiny-tf-faces.

Here are some of the ones I've collected.

Below the cut because this is an obscenely long post; I have a lot of the silly faces.

A happy Highbrow. Not super small, but I thought he was cute.

Ambulon, I believe looking over Swerve after he shot himself in the face.

Chromedome, yelling to Fort Max.

Swerve's beautiful artwork depicting Prowl. Brings tears to my eyes.

Another small Chromedome.

Prowl looking inconvenienced.

I swear this is Tarn. I know it looks like a blob, but it's Tarn.

The first of many pictures of Swerve. He's in the background of a lot of panels.

Rung on one of the covers.

I'm like...90% sure this is Skids, but it's really hard to tell. He had doorwings with the red windows though.

Misfire with real big eyes.

Whirlybird :D

BLACK SHADOW LET'S GO BABYYYY underused king

Tailgate being cute as usual.

Brainstorm not lookin' too good here.

Crankcase looking like a bug lmao

Thundercracker, or, as the image file is labeled, "cracker boy".

Another Crankcase.

Overlord, looking like he drank too much last night.

Red Alert is unimpressed.

Dejected Tailgate :(

Offended moustache man. (Minimus)

Disgruntled Fulcrum. Notice that in pretty much all of Fulcrum's tiny-face panels the artists still managed to get his chin in. Can't contain a chin that powerful.

Domey again! :D

I think one of the last issues I went through was the Overlord arc, which is why there are so many Chromedomes here lol

Thundercracker again.

Dumb little Prowl.

Pretty sure this is Highbrow again, and I just think he's pretty.

Flywheels looking a little lost, as usual.

More Flywheels looking lost.

Okay I've reached the image limit for this post, and we're only in the fs. Guess I'll just have to make a sequel or two :D

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Massacre Chapter 9

I'm going to give a quick breakdown of the timeline of events so far.

Teppei Hojo returned to Hinamizawa on Sunday, June 12th and took Satoko into custody. On Monday June 13th, Chie and Kaieda called the Child Consultation Center about the situation. On Tuesday June 14th, Keiichi and his friends went to the center to appeal the decision.

It is now Wednesday June 15th.

Keiichi truly is a wordsmith and he knows how to bring people together. All his classmates understood there was something wrong with Satoko's situation but none of them knew what to do.

Keiichi managed to force them all to see their shared concern and direct it toward a potential path to overcome. The most brilliant part of it was Keiichi asking them to watch his back.

One of the issues that comes with being social creatures is bystander syndrome. Even though everyone can see there's a problem, we instinctively look to others to see how to handle it. And when no one is sure how to handle a problem, everyone kind of gets stuck being unable to do anything.

But once someone is able to begin a movement, people can rally around it. And Keiichi offered the kids a means to fight and they're joining whole-heartedly.

And it's a small thing, but I want to point out Tomita and Okamura's part in this scene. They were simply responding to what Keiichi and Mion had to say and were agreeing with their arguments, but that actually went a long way to getting the whole class to join in. It's another aspect of breaking bystander syndrome. Once someone in the group began to act, it became much easier for the rest to join.

Ever since they first went to the Center last chapter, Keiichi has been the perspective character. In an arc focused on Rika's doubts and worries, we haven't been privy to them ever since she placed her trust in Keiichi.

Her internal thoughts always showed a disconnect between what is happening now and the greater scope of the story. This world was just a temporary stop before she'd go to the next one, so she kept no attachment to anything. I'd say that us not knowing her thoughts is a sign that she's decided to commit to making this world the one where she lives. Her thoughts and actions are in agreement, and she's willing to take the initiative to stop her teacher from getting in the way.

I recounted the group multiple times and I keep seeing only 16 people there. But Keiichi said there were 17. There are two human-shaped blobs in the background so maybe they're part of the group. But then we'd have 18.

Maybe they forgot to include Shion in their count.

Like how their positions are consistent with the previous panel as well.

Not sure why Momoyama shadowed the eyes of that girl on the right. We saw her full face just a few pages ago.

Even though they still didn't get the result they wanted, the group was able to make significant progress this time around. Just starting off, they forced the Center to book a room for them.

The conference room is not a room they can set aside as easily as the consultation room from last chapter. Those chairs and tables are going to stay in that room because that room needs to be ready to use at any given moment by a number of parties. The bureaucracy of the Consultation Center is now working against itself because Harayama now needs to make sure this meeting is finished within a given amount of time so the room is available to the next party that needs to use it. In other words, he needs to genuinely listen and take their words into consideration so things can be resolved as fast as possible.

And during the meeting, Harayama was forced to be on the defensive the entire time. He was the one who had to justify everything to them. And when Harayama tried to conclude that there is nothing wrong and Teppei is a caring guardian, Rena came in and forced him to change his conclusion to "We're still investigating".

I haven't seen Rena this furious since Curse Killing Chapter 6, when she yelled at Keiichi for trying to force Mion to take Satoko into her care.

It brings a tear to my eye to see how the kids are not discouraged and are already discussing how to work together to protest a government body. They'll be throwing bricks at cops in no time.

Keiichi and Kameda already have rapport with each other so the baseball game from Curse Killing Chapter 5 is canon to this timeline. That took place the day before Teppei returned. I'd guess that Keiichi's chat with Irie happened, but any discussions about Satoshi may not have occurred or ended very differently. I can't find any hints Keiichi knows who Satoshi is outside of vague details like knowing he's Satoko's brother.

Regardless, this would mean Keiichi made a similar promise to protect Satoko and he very likely could have ended up repeating the Curse Killing scenario alongside Shion if he hadn't spoken to his dad about it.

And look at Kameda finally accepting himself and enjoying a cute ice cream dessert.

There are hints in Curse Killing Chapter 4 suggesting Mion's scheme to go on a date with Keiichi in Cotton Drifting also happened then, so by the transitive property, some aspect of that story is likely canon here as well. The events at the dessert festival are at least canon and they happened on a Thursday. (I had a lengthy explanation proving it but decided to remove it. I'm gonna make a timeline analysis when I finish the series and will show it then).

I'm saying all this just to point out that the Otaku creeps have already been punished for their behavior in this timeline.

Keiichi was probably planning to ask the festival committee to join as well, but didn't get to it. And Ooishi might have been at the meeting to go over security detail.

back

[bigskydreaming]

Honestly, my hatred of the 'killing off the villain after a ridiculously short redemption arc' trope is one of the reasons I love the villain redemptions throughout the Krakoa era in X-Men comics so much. Because mutant resurrection/immortality means writers CAN'T just kill off a villain or antihero they want to tout as being all redeemed. They have to write the villain putting in the WORK to be different. Constantly. Issue after issue.

And that's resulted in some of the best character arcs to come out of the X-books in a long time. Obviously your mileage may vary on how well various 180 directional shifts in former villains has gone, but the storylines they've been writing with Apocalypse, Shadow King, Madelyne Pryor, Akihiro, Frenzy, Black Tom, Irene Adler, Mystique, Blob, John Greycrow, Tran Cao Manh, Nekra, Exodus and multiple other characters just would not be happening if they had the convenient out of just being able to kill off any of the above characters the second they were done trying to say 'look, they're all better now!'

[dragoneyelost]

The New Masters - Skylanders, Unite! pt 7 - Is Finished!

Steam filled the air, plastic fumes poisoned the dragon and Dark Portal Master, and blobs of metal deformed and fused together into a long red and orange line coated in sand and glass. They stood apart, one huffing and puffing while the other's face contorted in rage. His heavy eyes pleaded to close and his shaking legs begged to buckle, but his team and Master Eon were staring at him from inside their frozen jails. He had to keep going. No worthwhile Skylander would back down, and a Skylander was all he'd ever be... Except he had an out, now. He could walk away and make his own home with his own job whenever he wanted. Don't be tempted, stay the course.

Kaos's eyes glanced behind the dragon, followed by his fists clenching. Was he looking at the biclops, or Portal Master? It didn't matter who he was targeting next, he had to protect everyone or he was useless. Spyro gunned it for the archway, blind to who he was throwing himself in front of until he was between the Dark Portal Master and Miss Vanir. Two of the final three Mabu were in her arms as Kaos swirled Darkness down a sleeve.

A crystal blade took form within his grasp, forcing apart his tightly clenched fist. It had no handle, guard, or pommel; an incredibly clear, polygonal purple blade like a cut diamond that was slightly more curved at one end of the tip than the other like a giant kitchen knife, with a perfect rectangle cut in the bottom for Kaos to hold it by. He waved it more like a long wrist blade or brass knuckle than a sword, his pale grayish skin turning pinkish as the edges of the cuts reflected and a faint purple light shone from within.

He waved the Dark crystal sword in an arc above his head, more blades taking form like he was opening a paper fan. Nine swords floated above him as he let go of the tenth. All of them turned so their less-curved sides faced the dragon and biclops, then surged forward with a snap of Kaos's fingers. Spyro blasted a cone of fire into the flurry of flaying crystals, reducing many of them to explosive blasts of Darkness quite literally blowing up in his face. His scales paled and body weakened as the shadows splashed through the gaps in his fire, washing over his wing membranes as he blocked their access to Miss Vanir, all except one.

While the nine knives vanished in flashes of toxic purple and tainted violet light and scratched his scales just barely enough for him to feel them, the one Kaos had been holding veered right. The other swords bursting into rapidly shrinking shrapnel covered its advance towards George's chest and the final Mabu he was escaping with. He could just stand his ground, then Eon would have to keep him close again. Spyro forced his cone of fire into a solid beam and swung his head down and to the side, thrusting him to the side like a rocket just enough for the thrust and superheated air to carry his wings in front of the young Portal Master.

Read it here!

[squeiky]

mEMPHLIS: Who are you?

Shadow: Shadow the hedgehog

Memphlis: okay Shadow the Ultimate life form

(what the fuck dude?? like, he's just totally trashing on both Shadow's buds and dissing at humanity at the same time. Talk about rage and DISRESPECT. Dude went out of his way to dig into his shit- because no way in hell did the piece of a time god/the purple blob- know about the ARC unless he straight up went digging just to call him that. A+ for inferred effort and an F for being s fucking bastard and a bitch.)

(like he got tutu ballerina feet- so he should shut up)

[shadow--link]

The globby blob of shadows reaches up with two wiggly tendrils and starts bouncing. New friend is found!

"Hey little buddy, you like shoulder rides?"

Shadow picks the little thing up and places it on their shoulder.

[rukafais]

extremely petty things i am more and more tempted to do every time i see people bitching about how drizzt is overpowered: make a citation-laden list of every single near-death experience drizzt has ever had

like, things he can and has won or emerged somewhat unscathed from: strictly 1v1 duels (artemis, dantrag, tiago, kinda errtu), ambushes, attacking mass blobs of armies or lots of enemies by treating them like one big enemy he’s chipping parts off (literally every war arc and every time he’s murdering through a lot of demons), larger enemies that he can essentially shadow the colossus off because they can’t catch him that have to be killed by teamwork (demogorgon, hephaestus-as-dracolich, icingdeath), etc

things he has lost or been generally impotent against: duels (has been near-mortally wounded three separate times by three separate angry elven women among other things), environmental hazards (nearly buried in avalanche in his literal first novel, infected by faezress and lost all grip on reality), illithids (literally brainwashed), a gun (he was shot ONCE in the arm and lost all sensation in that arm), the netherese (captured and held hostage until he was coaxed into passivity by his captors), wizards (literally got portaled into the abyssal plane during pirate king, jarlaxle had to fish him out), a demon-granted spider construct that chases its prey to the ends of the earth (LITERALLY HAD TO OPT OUT OF EXISTENCE TO MAKE IT STOP CHASING HIM)

and that is not even mentioning all the emotional damage he sustains and that’s not even all of them

[nerdnag]

Art!! I love it! You can draw lines or no lines!! You can use textures! You can mix colors!! You can make shapes and see what happens! You can shade or not shade!! You can make beams of light or angles of shadow! You can represent real life with just shapes and colors and lines (or no lines)!! You can draw things that exist but also things that don't! You can make people feel things! You can make people bond over it! You can just play with colors because it's fun! You can make one line for seven days in a row just to get it perfect! You can make squiggles or squares or blobs or arcs or puffs! You can do whatever you want and it's art and it's intrinsically valuable!!

Art rules!!