#so I combined a few characters with a similar vibe in my head and basically did what I used to do in the bathroom

[myname-isnia]

For once the fact that I, aged 11 through 15, spent most of my free time locking myself in the bathroom to mouth along to songs while practising expressions in the mirror was actually useful

[chubs-deuce]

Your art style is so satisfying!! I love the way you render faces!

When did you come up with the concept of Dawn?? Did you have different ideas of a charlastor fanchild before her?

sjlsdkfj thank you so much!!! ;A;

And I think I should give some insight about some of the meta context for Dawn to anyone who wasn't there for it before we go in-depth with my design choices lmfao

I received an ask about what I think a charlastor fankid would look like back in march and was basically all "yeahhh nooo I don't care about fankids so it's unlikely I'll dabble in that concept, at least I don't currently have plans for it" and it's true! I genuinely don't normally enjoy fankid stories (I have severe tokophobia and too many of these types of stories include pregnancy as a thoroughly explored topic)

However...

I ended up intrigued by the idea of the challenge that combining two characters into a completely new character presented anyways, so I ended up trying my hand at designing one after all.

This meant that when I sat down to design her, I had genuinely no prior ideas, since I didn't really think about the concept before!

I have however seen other people's fankids floating around in the past, so I had a bit of an idea of what other people designed theirs like.

And this is by no means an insult to any of them and their lovely work, but I just didn't really vibe with a lot of them, since many just kind of amount to looking like recolors of one or the other character with maybe bonus deer ears and antlers - and that works fine!!! It's a very servicable strategy!!! I just personally wanted to not fall into that same vein with my design since I personally don't vibe with that approach much, so I actually tried really hard to make Dawn look like her own character while also giving her a balanced mix of visual cues from both of her parents :'D

in-depth elaboration on my design choices under the cut! ⬇️

I for example looked at Alastor's and Charlie's ears (at least how I draw them in my art) and thus gave her ears that looked like a mix between both - more animalistic, like Alastor's, with similar coloring (except inverted), but placed on her head more like Charlie's. I also wanted it to vaguely look like goat ears when at a resting/lower position like this and more like deer ears when perked up.

Her hair is also cross between both - colors are from both, the fringe is a mix of both (in shape and how it sits on her head and around her face more like Alastor, in terms of texture and length more like Charlie).

She has a lot of Alastor's facial features in her, though her chin is a bit more rounded, her nose smaller and her mouth a bit more like Charlie's as well.

Even her colors are a more or less even combination of both characters! Here's my color palettes for all three of them and which colors I doubled from who:

I should also note that I had her adult design down first before I even started drawing her as a kid, though I think that actually added a lot to making her feel more realistic surprisingly enough?

Since I already had her key features down, that left me with a lot of room to toy around with other design aspects, and somehow kid-ifying an adult character is much more intuitive to me than designing an adult version of a kid character :o

I don't have a linear timeline order or something to any of my posts about her, but from left to right in this array of drawings I've made of her as a child her age ranges from a few months old to like? 8-9-ish?

There's no fixed outfit for her as a kid, though her adult design does feature one more specific outfit:

I wanted her clothes to reflect that she looks up to her parents quite a lot, so I gave her somewhat old fashioned looking pinstriped dress pants - the colors are taken from Alastor's pants, though inverted with added pinstripes for flavor - and once I sketched out the pockets I knew I wanted them to faintly remind of the inside of an apple, so I added white and yellow to it :D

Her blouse is meant to be a bit more flowy - less restricting than Charlie's blazer, but equally elegant.

And because her design is already red-heavy enough, I balanced it out with making the shirt dark, the shoes black/white and the bow around her neck yellow!

I think that's about everything I can say about my thought process behind her design haha

Thank you for giving me an excuse to talk about it, I hope it wasn't too rambly!!! If you read through the whole thing you get a cookie lmao

[myaoiboy]

Can you try explain what you mean about Ocelot looking like a drag king in mgsv? I feel like your boyfriend in that I just. Don't see it? I'm trying to understand why Ocelot would even have that applied when he's always been just A Guy™

Okay so I'm going to try to do this without getting into Grad-Level 5D Queer Theory Media Criticism, but I also fully realize that in doing that, a lot of this is going to sound very much like I'm saying "Source: Just Trust Me Bro".

(anon i am SO sorry that you happen to be the first person to directly adress me about gender in MGS)

I also wanna be straight up front here and say that I'm not trying to imply that Ocelot is anything other than a guy, he's just also a guy who's playing a million roles (this is important) and lying to damn near everyone, including himself. He has some of the worst identity issues I've ever seen in a character, and that comes to a head in 4 where he literally isn't even *Ocelot* until the final moments of his life. So yes, for the sake of not writing War and Peace, I'm going to assume Ocelot is "just a guy" and come at this from a pure queer theory/media analysis standpoint, not a headcanon one.

So first it's really important to point out the order in which we see Ocelot through the series. In the timeline, the last time we see Ocelot before V is 3 (or PO which I haven't played due to its placement in canon-limbo, but Ocelot looks basically the same). So we see him go from A to B here.

I am going to say something potentially controversial: even before saw V ocelot, I thought 3 Ocelot looked like he was wearing drag *queen* makeup. I don't know whether it's intentional, or an attempt to circumvent the lower poly models and lower definition textures of the PS2, but the first image looks like someone who is going for a highly exaggerated, feminine cheek contour. Here's a few drag queens who, imo, do a very similar contour look:

Whether the color filter or the texturing of the PS2 or something else, the MGS3 version of Ocelot also has a look of mascara and frosted lipgloss (frosted lips being much more popular at the time of MGS3's original release than today, but alas).

So from that I was already very much primed to look for femininity in Ocelot's whole vibe. It was actually kind of jarring how much more rugged he is in V than in any of the previous games, to the extent that it sent up alarm bells in my head that something was going on.

I don't remember the moment that I went "hey, wait a minute," but it was certainly pretty early on. As someone who's been on tumblr a hella long time and remembers when we used to swap passing tips, the specific combination of facial features remind me of a very specific genre of "ftm makeup tutorials" that were also pretty contemporarily popular on tumblr. A very quick summary being mascara on the eyelashes and specific peach fuzz to give the impression of a squarer jaw and having more facial hair, as well as specific contouring to give a "masculine cheekbone." Most of these tips basically came directly from drag king makeup.

Gonna include some drag kings as well, some things to notice include the tendency towards using stubble as contouring and vice versa, the shaping of cheek contouring, and the tendency to accentuate mustache and sideburns.

I'm pretty bad at wording descriptions of hair and makeup so you'll have to forgive me for not going ham on explaining the similarities bc now we actually get to the interesting part which is: so fucking what? If this is true, if you take my word for it, what does it say about the text? If I want to make this argument to someone else, what can I say that will convince them that, even if it's not *intentional,* it's a valid and meaningful view of his character?

Like, you can make a character based on anything you want, but why does it matter whether Ocelot is based on drag either direction?

Ocelot's "drag"iness is multipurpose. One: he's queer. Like, I grant that he never comes out and says "I love 'Big "Naked 'John' Snake" Boss'" but we get a hell of a lot more confirmation that he's gay than we get straight confirmation for a lot of presumed-straight characters. I feel comfortable saying he's canon queer.

Two: it's a visual metaphor for being a double/triple agent. While he's literally performing several roles (KGB/GRU/CIA, or MSF/Real BB/US, or US/Patriots/BB, or anything in between), he's also visually playing two (or more) gender roles, a feminine man, a mannish woman, something neither or in-between. The implication of drag specifically is pretending to be something that he isn't (which he literally always is, holy shit, again, does he even know who he realiy is?).

And before anyone says "Well, if it's so important to his character, why did they wait until 3 to start doing it?" They didn't!!

This is THE most classically masculine that Ocelot ever looks. But there's still precious polygons invested into giving him long hair and a flowing coat. Working with sprites and low-poly models means having to very carefully select traits that you want to display on your character, and Ocelot's go into making him a cringefail cowboy.

The fact that he's a cowboy in itself is also pretty important to the whole gender/sexuality situation. I mean, Brokeback Mountain might not have been out yet, but the male-to-female ratio in the west meant a lot of men cozied up together on the frontier. Hell, hankey code comes from cowboy culture, with men wearing certain colors to announce who would take the "man" or "woman" role while square dancing.

I could go a lot into gender and how it works on a social/societal level in general and why that matters, but OOPS I have been writing this for a WHILE.

I was actually going to go a lot more into queer theory and gender in MGS in general but ngl, I could write a whole doctoral thesis on gender and how different characters perform or subvert gender. Because holy shit when you start peeling back the very thin macho facade of Kojima's work to do a feminist reading of it, boy howdy do you get. A whole lot to talk about. (ask me about death stranding sometime i dare you)

Basically what I'm trying to get across is that Ocelot has a lot of roles that he's playing and NOT playing, and more than a few of those are gender roles, which is very much visually symbolic of his character.

I am so sorry anon I have been thinking about him nonstop for a full year </3 I hope at least the first part of this answered your question about what features I see that scream drag to me.

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Ocean Queen

Lizzie has two primary character designs for this au, which I currently refer to as Pre-Plot Event and Post-Plot Event, or Tall Lizzie and Taller Lizzie.

Pre-Plot Event/Tall Lizzie is already very clearly The Blue Axolotl, but other than being blue and a bit on the larger side there really isn't anything to distinguish her from the average axolotl hybrid.

In this form she is just barely over seven and a half feet tall, [Relevant Height Chart] so she is still the tallest of the emperors, though if Xornoth thinks tall thoughts and you count their antlers then the two of them are about the same height.

(side note that axolotls are bottom-dwellers, in that in the wild irl they live in the mud at the bottom of their native lake in Mexico. Minecraft axolotls have a wider range, but they still live primarily deep underwater or in caves. All of this is to say, Axolotls do not have great eyesight and primarily navigate by smell. Lizzie, not being only an axolotl, isn't blind but she is definitely near-sighted. She refuses any kind of corrective lenses.)

Lizzie does have three frills on each side of her head, the lowest just at the hinge of her jaw and the others going up behind her ears, these are her gills. (Axolotls have both gills and lungs, but most if not all aquatic hybrids have both gills and lungs, regardless of the nature of their non-hybrid counterparts, with the obvious exceptions of dolphin hybrids and other similar species where they don't have gills at all) The "stalk" part of each frill is blue and the frilly parts are more brown in color.

She has claws and some minimal webbing on her toes and fingers (axolotls don't have a whole lot of that) And also lots of very, very sharp teeth. She does also have a tail.

Post-Plot Lizzie/Taller Lizzie is Ten Foot Tall Lizzie, the blue outline on the height chart. She gets a growth spurt and is just a little bit less humanoid and a little bit more axolotl-oid. Her eyes are completely black after this (and her eyesight has gotten just a little bit worse and her sense of smell better) Her proportions are just the slightest bit...off now too (operating from a humanoid baseline). Her mouth opens just a bit too wide, she has just a few too many teeth, her limbs aren't set quite right and aren't quite the right length. Her tail is much more prominent in this form as well, having gone from basically a steering (in the water) aide to capable of propelling her through the water with a single stroke.

This is also where the fact that The Blue Axolotl is a divine title and not just a description becomes much more obvious.

Costuming!

We have two "oceanic" skins from canon to look at.

The wedding dress and The Blue Axolotl look.

My general take away from these is "high-low hemlines" and "off the shoulder" with a side of *squinting in 'empire waist???'*

When considering what visual effects I wanted for Lizzie in particular the primary consideration was what would underwater royalty look like and why?

And I came away with a combination of "threat display" and "ecosystem"

All of which boiled down comes to a concept of oceanic royal style is made up of easily removable layers.

On the outside you are going to have something thin and billowy, probably with lightly weighted hems so it swirls well. Something that will flow around the individual in question and give them a shifting, flaring silhouette.

Something like these designs from Hassidriss Coture collections

(pls note this isn't "this exactly" this is about the vibes)

This one from the ss19 collection

and then this piece called Lucid Dream from the ss20 collection.

Very high fantasy vibes specifically of the thin, translucent layers variety.

The key to these thin, translucent layers is that they can be shed in an instant. Because there are going to be lots of situations in which the royal in question has to move quickly, and lots of fabric creates lots of drag. So the long flowy skirts and capes and arm-pieces can be shucked off in seconds and left behind, leaving a much more fitted under-layer.

A lot of these outfits also wouldn't transition well from underwater to over-water, at least without a lot of very specific enchantments (which are a possibility) so its highly likely that for a lot of occasions Lizzie would actually have two outfits made to be very similar, one for underwater and one to change into once she is on land and needs to make a grand entrance without looking like a bedraggled piece of seaweed.

There is also a lot of jewelry and sleeves and accessories made out of lightweight beadwork crafted from shells and such that floats just enough to look cool, as well as heavier pieces more similar to dryland accessories. Beads and shells and strings in hair are also common, usually styled in a way to help keep it out of the face, even when underwater. (Lizzie's space buns are part of this sort of hairstyle.)

EDIT: I completely forgot to mention that Lizzie usually is carrying a trident, both as a ceremonial thing and also as her weapon of choice. It is decorated with bits of prismarine, both charm-style and as inlay, with the glactic enchantment runes engraved in lapis and mother of pearl.

EDIT 2: Lizzie has lightweight netherite plate armor inlaid with prismarine

-

Official Art!

Jimmy || Joel ||

AU Masterpost

[cat-of-starlight]

I finally found someone else that feels the same way about Jace that I do! I don't want to yuck on anyone's yum but, like, he deserves better than what so much of the fandom had done and I just... ugh...

TRUE!

It makes me so sad that a LOT of content I've seen so far has either been "welp lmao he's just evil too and has been since the beginning" or "teehee lmao, twink man fell for the bad guy and does whatever he wants him to <3" When like. Deadass there's the threat of Porter going "I killed you once and I'd do it again" + the whole thing about the shatterstar fully meaning that the person it happened to was subjected to the ritual UNWILLINGLY-

And!! He's so nice in Season 1!! He deserved SO MUCH!! I about screamed in my rewatch of Sophomore Year because he was the Bad Kids' (specifically Fig's) FIRST CHOICE on what hireling they should take with them- If that happened, we could have fully avoided him being on the other adventure happening at about the same time/being killed-

His only crime is trying to be friendly to his coworkers (even when they're creepy as fuck), being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and potentially failing a few saving throws as his ass got killed/rezzed against his will

--

But yea, its nice to see other people who agree! When the episodes first came out, a majority of the posts about him were basically "Part of the group of terrible adults who were abusing children", "lmao look at this stupid loser idiot who can't do anything", or both simultaneously ;;

Which,,, is disheartening considering that his vibes fully brought me out of my artblock, and I've been drawing him constantly like some sort of unhinged maniac- (I deadass haven't drawn at ALL this year until like. last week (because new tablet)- and out of 8 drawings that I've actually finished, he has been the focus of half of them)

Also- idk- he especially vibes hard to me because, despite some people ragging on Sorcerers, as a neurodivergent person who just. learns Differently™️ than other people, I just relate to the vibes of Sorcerers more lmao- also it makes it just. a touch uncomfortable when people word it as "lmao, they're just dumb/lazy, and don't wanna open a book to actually learn REAL spells" because it sounds a LITTLE too similar to shit I've been told irl :,D

So yea- All of those feelings of "Cool Character w/ Untapped Tragic Circumstances" + Feelings I have about that class in particular- combined in a Perfect Storm to create a character who lives in m head Rent Free and probably won't leave my head for a WHILE

He's my perfect blorbo and he deserves SO much more than he got <3 <3 <3

,,,,and you know what,,, maybe seeing more positive posts about him (+ Receiving this ask lmao),,,, may be the motivation I need to make me post the pics of him that's been sitting in my art folder,,,,,,

(PS: The fics slap so hard and you are SO VALID for That Ship™️™️ being shown as a Horrific and Toxic thing because. yea. Send help for he- he needs better partners fr ouuughhhhh(I'd Comment on the actual ones themselves because I know that helps, but the site hates me and refuses to let me have proper accounts/access- I am in shambles))

[katyspersonal]

Roderika and Nepheli are really cute as a ship imo. I love how Nepheli mentions her in one of her dialogues, meaning that they at least interacted at some point. I know it's a small detail to base a ship around, but I do think they might be very neat together. What are your thoughts?

It IS a cute ship! I have not seen it very often, actually but it is probably because all two of my ER mutuals reblog either Finlenia or Yura x Eleanora sdfhfd I am sure it exists somewhere, because Nepheli acknowledging Roderika is very good at perceiving spirits "unlike her" not only implies having interacted, but also points out how they are different. I really love ships in which characters are 'opposites' in a way that complete one another, whereas being similar at their core, big fan. And? They are fitting the description! Nepheli is a strong, tough warrior that points out she can't even feel the spirits, let alone see them, whereas Roderika is naturally drawn to them and good at spirit tuning whereas having "never held a sword in her life"; but at the same time they are both sensitive and vulnerable emotionally while trying to be strong! Roderika says she is 'just a coward' for being scared of the idea of her limbs being cut off, Nepheli says she is 'pathetic' for being heartbroken about her father betraying her... There is just something similar to this, the whole vibe of having enough emotions but not being "weak" for that I keep trying to grasp (because I LOVE it).

🦅 Nepheli though rolls into blaming herself for Gideon being the worst father ever, as if she "failed" him and it served her right, while also hesitantly seeing through his injustice, and I feel like Roderika would be the one to recognize this pain and detrimental effect Gideon can have on psyche of even very strong and level-headed people and try to approach her about it? They DID interact, right. Roderika IS anxious and hesitant, but also has very good intuition for good and evil it seems, so Nepheli's strong appear as this... barbaric, no-bullshit warrior would not intimidate her. She'd see Nepheli's kind and good heart beneath it even before once talking to her! Basically, I feel like their talk happened from Roderika having been concerned, in the 'Sorry if that's not my business but do you need to vent' manner!

🎐 In fact, the contrast between Nepheli's "he betrayed me and killed and oppressed the weak but it is probably my fault... right" vs Roderika's "I sense very bad vibes from a person all the opposite way in the Rountable who is not even physically here" feels like a nearly-comedic potential for me! x) Roderika is good at identifying the bad guy, when Nephelis is good at taking the bad guy down! I just imagine Roderika being like "Get 'em, baby!" in the duo, sending Nepheli to obliterate the bastard with her axes fsdhdf They could've done so much combining their strenghts and compensating for each other's weaker points hahaha. Dangerous duo (in a good sense)

🦅 They are THE "She asked for NO pickles!" meme and you KNOW it, lol

🎐 Lowkey sad though that this ship doesn't have enough 'breathing room' within canon: Nepheli gets her spirits lifted up because of a bird spirit ash and not Roderika (sure she'd credit her for help and not only Tarnished otherwise) and is always off to travel, whereas Roderika is pretty much glued to the Roundtable... It is all videogame mechanics restrictions. SO yeah, we need an Elden Ring anime where useful NPCs do not have to be area-restricted and after Roderika feels more qualified, she and Nepheli can become wandering girlfriends that get a lot of adventures and appear to help Tarnished when it is plot-convenient x) (for some reason, all my suggestions for more interaction boil down to 'if ER/BB was an anime, ...')

🦅 Roderika is rather eloquent, when Nepheli is a woman of a few words, so I am sure they fall for the dynamics of 'wall of text vs just listens and smiles' too! Nepheli would not understand all that many of Roderika's interests personally and she is not the type of an ethusiatic listener that asks many questions or always has something to add, but, she would remember every single think Roderika shared and care about it (some times, even more than Roderika herself). Nepheli is a type of a partner to remember a thing Roderika said 'casually' like months ago, or get her something she mentioned liking as a gift.. Roderika would not really know how anyone is able to navigate in how many things she's sharing so easily :')

🎐 Nepheli might be really stoic person, actually, capable of swallowing so much grief and loss and get up after everything that happens to her, but Roderika would sorta get through this attitude. Like, Nepheli would absolutely LOSE it if someone hurt Roderika. I feel like Nepheli might even worry a little upon realizing that with all the friends lost in battle or slain by enemies she had to grieve in a lifetime, losing Roderika would actually destroy her. She'd wonder if her identity as a warrior gave a crack for that one, at first! It is just scary to get so 'open', when a warrior must be self-sufficient and prepared to lose friends and comrades by default! And love is a bit... different. But I think the girls would be capable of communicating about it, and Nepheli would accept that she found someone to hold as dear as to have her life (mentally) depend on them... Not without insisting that Roderika gets at least SOME training in battle, so she can stand for herself IF Nepheli can't be near. Be an archer or a wizard if she can't hold meelee weapon at least!

🦅 Going back to Nepheli having her perception blurred when the enemy is not apparent, with Roderika having intuition for bad vibes. I imagine if Nepheli mentioned Gideon's friend, Seluvis, Roderika would be instantly able to reveal to her that "hey, that actually was a creep behavior"... They have a base for accidentally uncovering bad experiences (if not traumas) Nepheli never even realized consciously yet still took psychological damage from, and getting through them together. There would be certainly a bunch of cans of worms upon how Gideon was raising her, but not just that. "It was emotional abuse / creep behaviour" are the WORST realizations, but also with a right person it could help to heal some things that were bugging you for years but you just.. could not point out. I also imagine Roderika would be the one and only person that ever saw Nepheli cry - from one of such talks..

🎐 I think Nepheli actually holds Roderika in higher regard over the fact that Roderika is anxious, and can even be very cowardly and undecisive by her own admission, yet finds resource within herself to forgive her weaknesses and "atone" for indecisiveness by being useful otherwise. Nepheli would normally condemn the trait of giving into fear and hesitating when something important should be done (which I imagine is Roderika's consistent flaw and not just 'I am scared of being literally chopped to pieces because it is a normal thing for Soulsborne NPC to say' sdfhfhdfsdh). But Nepheli could see the internal struggle and wish to still persist, flaws or not. THAT mattered. She was quick to respect this attitude; in fact, she DID find it comparable with someone realizing they are not physically fit for melee fight and opting out to help in other ways, as healer or archer or something.

🦅 I am kinda diving into Psychology TM a lot here, I just think ER characters are written with particularly a lot to work with (Martin was that your effect? xd). But as for RELATIONSHIP-relationship, they both can't be less interested in sex. Undecided whether they're asexual or just 'too into spirituality / battle to care', probably both of these, but yes, overall it is just hugs and kisses. I just can't help but imagine their mutual attraction being mostly 'god I would LOOK the hell out of you' xd I think Nepheli would really like to hug Roderika, not only to share affection but sometimes because it is her emotional support spirit-tuner x) But Roderika is more 'kisses' person. She especially likes giving cheek or forehead kisses.

🎐 Overall, I think they are doing QUITE healthy and good for people that did not have real relationship experience prior? Nepheli was just not the type to take it further than blushing when she'd see a pretty girl and.. that was it. Well, maybe a couple of times, when she was little, she'd try to "flirt" by slaying a scary monster and bringing it's claw/tooth/etc to the girl she'd try to court, which they really did not get xD I picture Dolores being around and that little Nepheli would ask her what she was doing wrong... Dolores would say that it was a "perfect" way to flirt but the girls were just too young to get it yet, and Nepheli was too ahead xddd Roderika would attempt relationship as a teen a couple of times, and quit both of them upon hesitating and estimating she was not good enough for that person. Low self-esteem was hitting her harder in younger age. What I am saying is that sometimes when the first 'real' relationship only happens in adulthood, there are plenty of conflicts to wade through as people don't know what to do... but these two I imagine clicked naturally, and things went rather swell?

_______________

Thank you for an ask! Sorry it took some while, I tend to be sorta slow at the answers ъ_ъ"

[evelhak]

In regards to your ‘writer research’ post - do you think it’s possible to overdo it? How do you personally know when to stop, and consider the topic familiar enough to write?

I sometimes struggle if the activity takes place irl and not fantasy. I need to know locations, travel options and times between them, their overall background, vibe, etc. And in the end it’s like I’m planning my own trip down there :D I did get a few nice feedback words like ‘how did you describe it so well if you never been there’ but it can be overwhelming, and I had a few times that stories ended in that research phase because the scope of knowledge I deemed necessary became paralyzing.

I don't know if I will be much help for you in this, because my approach seems somewhat different. I don't think I've ever experienced the problem you mention, because I stay the hell away from anything that would require me to follow exact details as you mention. Timetables, distances, locations and means of travel all frankly make me want to put my head through a wall. I couldn't care less what those kinds of "hard facts" about reality are like, I write around them at all costs because they are not important to my stories. (If it is too important to leave vague, I will not be writing that story, for the most part.)

My style has always been to bend reality, which is why I pretty much always gravitate towards speculative fiction in writing. Apart from one realistic fiction book that I mildly detested writing, my fics are the next most reality bound thing I have written, and it's not really reality bound, because the source material is fantastical enough to allow some reality bending: things that wouldn't work as absolutely and consistently in reality have that power in the story's world. And I write it in a way that actively ignores factual details: technically my story is set in 2009-2011 so far but that's just a loose point of reference as long as it works for me. If I for example want a character to read a book that hadn't come out at the time, I just decide that in this version of reality it came out earlier, because why not? It's not like the background fabric of the story will ever be so detailed that it would tear from a book changing release date. You're not supposed to see the whole world outside the story's focus in such detail that something like that would affect the story.

So, my research is not about factual details, it's about principles. I basically just need to understand how the abstract rules behind things work, to be able to produce something. I don't care about replicating how any individual place on earth looks, I just care that I have seen enough places to be able to abstract the principles of how they might look similar and how they might look different, how the internal logic of their formation works, to then be able to create a new place from that foundation. When it comes to places, a quite loose understanding is often enough for me because it's just the stage for me, and I will bend it to whatever the story needs, I don't actually care about the place for its own sake. If it becomes dear to me it's because a character looked from this balcony over that forest when they discovered something about themselves, or something like that.

The principle is the same when I create characters, it's just that I require a much deeper understanding of how people work, because that's what all my stories are focused on. I want psychological realism on a much higher level. I don't need to understand sewer systems to write a story and only a really huge drive to tell a story about a character who lives in the sewer system could persuade me to research them.

Anyway, I understand enough about human psychology to be able to combine traits creatively and in a way that feels like more than a sum of its parts because I understand the principles behind them in a flexible way.

So when I'm doing research into any topic I need in the story, that's what I'm primarily looking for: a theoretical understanding, a foundation from which I can then create anything I need because I understand the rules, how they can be combined and where they can be broken as well. And I usually do read some actual theory other people have written, but a lot of the times I focus on reading people's experiences, talking to people with relevant experiences, and just observing people from the outside too, and then I abstract the theory that I need from that "database" of experiences that I've collected.

So I might read an actual parenting book if my character was going to have kids, but I would still focus on my own observations and talks with people who do have kids. The more complex the topic the more likely I would want scientific theory to contrast my observations with. But I wouldn't want to write it in a way that is supposed to represent a particular experience, I would want to create a unique experience that is nobody's experience, just like any individual person is, just fictional. It wouldn't represent how I would parent my kids, and it wouldn't represent how someone I know parents their kids, and it wouldn't represent millennial experience of parenting, or anything like that. It might have seeds of those things, and some people might relate to it and feel like it represents them, but that would be a by-product.

I don't think I've ever felt like I'm overdoing research, because the process happens so naturally to me. I dive into a topic, I gather my data from different sources and once my brain has reached the overall understanding it requires to match the level of detail that I'm going to want to be writing in, it just begins to create on its own. It's very intuitive for me. I seek to understand the "essence" of things, and then my brain just starts generating stuff from that understanding.

(Personally I think it's important that both abstract and concrete, real and fictional information goes into a writer's brain... It's just the same as an artist. You can generally tell when someone has only practised drawing from other drawings and not real life, and the same goes for practicing writing from other stories versus real life, but, I digress.)

However, I absolutely think it is possible to overdo research because everything is possible to overdo. In general I think if you feel like you can't tell what level of detail of understanding is enough, then you should probably take a good break from that project, because it sounds like you're losing perspective.

Not that I never lose perspective... Of course I have looked at a story of mine and realized it needs more or less detail about a certain topic. I guess I just don't "feel" it when I'm writing, or before it, because the level of detail I need to know is determined by the point of understanding where my brain starts creating. Sometimes I do have to tell my brain to slow down, that we should go back to do some more research before we write this particular thing... Usually my brain listens, haha.

In the end it's about balance. I sort of see it like photography: sometimes the background can be really blurry when it's a portrait, sometimes you have macro pictures of a raindrop, and sometimes a general view of a town where you can still see a lot of details is what you need.

Maybe if the problem is that you're not sure what level of detail of knowledge you need because you're losing sight of what the story is about, it could help going back to your title and premise. Is the knowledge of which olive oil this particular village in Italy uses on their famous Carbonara, a necessary level of knowledge in this story about a young lawyer falling in love on his vacation? Maybe, if the olive oil turns out to be a detail he uses to win a case later? What about if it's not plot relevant, even if the person he falls in love with is a cook? Probably not necessary, unless the characterization is somehow built around the person's taste in olive oil. It really just depends on the combination of functionality and your artistic vision what level of detail is enough.

Then there's also the option that you're right, maybe the story actually does need more detailed knowledge to work than is possible to require without first hand experience. If that's the case, then it has to do with what angle your story is written from. You can write a story that is set in a village in Italy without going to Italy, if the setting isn't the focus of the story. If you want to write a story about what life is really like in a village in Italy then I'd say you would have to have first hand experience. That's just a rule of thumb, though. If you were inspired by watching movies and documentaries of a certain place and wanted to write about it despite of not having been there, I'd say do it regardless if you want to. It might still turn out great or it might not... Regardless of that, the value could be in the experience too.

That's a lot of rambling... Don't know if any of that was helpful or just missed the mark completely. It's such a complex topic. And if you happen to be the kind of writer whose inspiration is driven by a detailed factual knowledge or with a desire to replicate things from real life, for example to give the reader a feeling as if they can really go to Venice through your book, or feel like they are sky-diving, or to go back to their childhood because you recreated the decade so accurately... then I am not the right person to help, because I don't have that talent. (Mine is completely based on making shit up.)

[chacerider-casual]

You had me hooked at Godzilla

Are there robots? Cus I remember reading robots somehwere

And these guys give me superhero vibes, do they have superpowers? Or are they like, power rangers but high tech

Fun fact! The original head of the company that makes Ultraman, Mr. Eiji Tsuburaya (may he rest in peace), was the special effects director for the original Godzilla, before he split off to create his own production company! (Yeah, Ultraman's been going a while... Off and on since 1966!) So there's a good reason Godzilla is an easy comparison to make, and it's not just because of all the kaiju!

There are robots sometimes! The big focus is on the titular Ultramen -- aliens made of light from a distant galaxy, (usually,) capable of being large or small, generally do-gooders and capable of fusing their life with a human host for mutual survival -- but there have been both robot antagonists and robot friends throughout the years. The current season, Blazar, is very new-viewer friendly and has a giant mecha-godzilla-esque mecha that our heroes pilot (starting from episode 3)! His name is Earth Garon and we all love him.

As for superhero vibes... Kinda! As I mentioned, Ultramen can fuse with humans for mutual survival - Ultras need intense solar radiation to survive more than a few minutes, which Earth's atmosphere unfortunately blocks, so fusing lets them hide in the human's body on Earth to survive long-term when waiting for kaiju to show up, and lets the human hide in the Ultra's body for combat! (Well, there's other situations too, because not all "Ultramen" are from the same place, and others find other solutions... but that's the most common way.) So the protagonist is usually very superhero-like, with a "secret identity" of sorts! (EDIT: ... And yes, Ultramen themselves typically have superpowers. The most basic is beam attacks, but there's been everything from healing powers to energy weapon summoning to CRAB MINIATURIZING BEAM to summoning black holes! They're a bit magical like that.)

But then there's usually a government Defense Team, or other human allies, who are trying to solve mysteries and save Earth themselves, with human technology! So that part's often more got Star Trek vibes than Power Rangers, I'd say, but they'll often have combining jet fighters or mecha and such, so a bit similar after all, lol. A big theme is humanity trying to find its own place in the universe and grow to protect themselves!

... Though, that's mostly in proper seasons. Zero's a bunch of movies, usually set out in space with very few humans (or human-looking characters) at all, so it's very much a larger-scale sci-fi superhero romp there. A bit more Star Wars than Star Trek, but still it's own thing and very fun!

... Ah, I talked too much again. Well, if you need any more rambling about my favorite series, I'll be around, lmao

[pangolinheart]

Do you think that you might get to know some traits of the person through their OC? or have you ever met someone who gave you bad vibes trough their OC or even the opposite?

Hmmmm... I think it really depends! It depends largely on the person and somewhat on the medium and context. I think often you can infer some basic information about a person based on the type of OC they play, but I would hesitate to make any judgments about the person on that basis alone.

There are definitely people who make OCs that function as self-inserts, and in video game RPGs this is probably more common because that's kind of the intended purpose of the player character. There are a lot more people that weave certain aspects of themselves, intentionally or unintentionally, into their OCs. It may be that their OC parallels one of their own characteristics, or that they make an OC that doesn't suffer from one of their perceived flaws. Sometimes people don't do this explicitly, it just slips in. I know people who would swear up and down that they try to make OCs as different from themselves as possible but, if you know them, you can line up their characters in your head and see the through-line. And I don't think that this is a bad thing! I don't think obscuring all traces of yourself within your OC should be a goal. Your characters may all be very different, but they all have at least a small piece of you in there. That's what allows you to write them realistically, and to understand them, even if their beliefs and actions are completely different from yours. That being said, I think it would be a mistake to judge someone on a single character of theirs if you have limited out-of-character interaction to go on. Sometimes it can be hard to tell who is channeling themselves through their OCs and who is just good at playing a role. And, if there is a portion of the person in their OC, there's rarely an easy way to determine which portion it is. You should, of course, trust your gut. If in-character interactions with someone make you uncomfortable, I think it's entirely reasonable to remove yourself from that situation. It may not be that the other party is a a bad person or has malicious intentions, it may just be that their style or preferences aren't for you. And that's okay! But, in general, I think it's better to base your judgments of a person on a combination of their in-character and out-of-character personas.

An example: Most of my recent experiences with collaborative storytelling have been through D&D (which, it turns out, I'm not very good at!) I was invited at the very last minute to join an in-person group, predominately made up of people I had never met before. Because I didn't have much time to come up with a character and didn't know anything about the setting, I decided to use a warlock character I had made for a different campaign. This was, in hindsight, probably a poor choice, but my thought at the time was that this character would do whatever her completely-unknowable patron asked of her, so she was easy for the DM to introduce to the story and had a built-in reason for wanting to participate. However, this warlock was... not very likeable. At all. It wasn't really un unintended consequence, being kind of awful was just part of her character (I can't help it. I have a weakness for Terrible Women.) The sessions went alright, and the campaign went on for more than a year, and I became good friends with the other people in the group. At one point, though, two of them told me that after the first few sessions they had been... a little afraid of me They didn't know me at all personally and, being new the the game themselves, assumed that I played a character with a similar personality to my own lol. They said that after we had spent time together out-of-session they realized that I was a pretty relaxed an nice person, and that my warlock was just a character. So, it all worked out, but if they had decided they didn't want to hang out with me outside of the game because they thought I was mean and scary we probably wouldn't have become friends lol.

This is solely out of my own personal experience and shouldn't be taken as a general rule, but for some reason I've observed that it's easier for a nice person to play a mean-spirited character than it is for a mean-spirited person to play a nice character.

There are some characters that give me bad vibes, though. There's a certain kind of dark, edgy, morally gray, male character that I've come to associate with a certain type of person at a certain stage in their life. They're usually brooding and standoff-ish, and their creator clearly wants you to be impressed by how mysterious and dark they are. If it's a medium where it's possible to have an over-powered character, they're likely over-powered from the jump. I do find myself trying to avoid this type of character. I don't know that the player is necessarily a bad or mean person, it's just something that in my experience has led to uncomfortable situations. There's nothing wrong with playing a character with a dark backstory or who has a brooding personality, but in my opinion it's easy to tell when there's a level of self-awareness behind it or when the creator is at a point in their life when they think this is what a "cool" character is like.

Anyway sorry this is so long! Brevity is not one of my virtues! I hope it answered your question!

[majorbisexualpanic]

HI HOLY SHIT I FINALLY READ OPERATION NOT FOUND AND ITS SO FUCKING COOOL AHJSFHKJASFJHK I LOVED IT I NOW HAVE BRAINROT THANK YOU-

I have a few questions tho... completely innocuous and for no reason what so ever... at all... no reason, pwomise

With the mysterious white masked man in chp 9 and 14, what did his mask look like? I'm assuming it's not a smile mask like dream, but is there a particular pattern or just... holes in the eyes to see

What is the general style of clothing? I tried to pinpoint the time frame as modern but there's also sci-fi and historic influences so I was wondering if you had a clear idea for that. Can be general vibes as well, like cyberpunk, dnd-esque, etc.

Do the characters look more like their Minecraft avatars/fannon interpretations or like their irl counterparts?

May or may not ask more... entirely depends on whether or not I need more information to do... things.... not saying what. absolutely not. no way hosé.

Staying on anon because it makes it funnier. You have noooooo idea who I am. I'm a ghost. I'm in your walls. I'm the illuminati. OoooooOOOOoooooOOOOOOOooooo~~

I mean... you'll find out who I am soon enough, once I complete the thing that you absolutely will not be able to guess by me asking physical descriptions... shhhhhhhh. ANYWAY, THE STORY WAS FANTASTIC AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE EPILOGUE. ISTG EVERYONE IS SO DUMB BUT SO FUCKING RUTHLESS. I appreciate George going psycho-mode, because the stream where c!George just kills everyone lives rent free in my head. Hope this dumb ask made you laugh or at least smile... idk. If it didn't do either then clearly I gotta step up my game, smh. HAVE A GOOD DAY :DDDD

-ghost anon

hello, i am so sorry for the late response to your question bc honestly i took some time to figure out how i picture everyone in my brain.

Basically it's sort of a combination of all three historical, cyberpunk, and their character designs. For historical i would use that for the royal family (like sapnap and schlatt as well as the staff) but for the Syndicate it's moreso cyberpunk. Like George's goggles are based on a cyberpunk masked i looked up on amazon.

However everyone's basic everyday clothes (except for sapnap and any of the royal family) is just their minecraft skins clothes.

The masked man is similar to the anime character Sniper Kamen but it's really up to anyone interpretation on how he looks.

Also its up to anyones imagination how everyone looks in Operation NotFound, i love how everyone imagines things differently in so really however you imagine it is perfect with me :]

please ask away though if you have any other questions now that Operation NotFound is completed

[leewonkyeom]

Omg wait that's actually a really good way of coming up with usernames! I kinda figured out that won-kyeom part and I was not sure about the Lee being dino because y'know there are a lot of lees in k-pop now I'll just combine k-pop idols names whenever I need to come up with new usernames!

Naurr chan 😭 but i kinda agree i think most of the carats who are in their 20s mostly see chan as their lil bro?? (Atleast the ones I have met) Or literally a child cuz most fanfics and smaus I've read about cheol and hannie they are either basically chans parents or they just bully him 💀. but I have to admit he's kinda bias wrecking Nonie these days (but he could never replace jeonghan in my heart T^T) BUT SHUA OMG he's a real fucking threat to both of us cause he did the impossible: bias wrecking Jeonghan. Like stop pls 😭😭

You have irl carat friend 😭😭 you're luckyyyy and omg comparing you to dk when he does something awful is something a friend would do lmao but hey atleast she's comparing you to the one and only SEOKMIN 🤩 a win is a win! my army friend (who also watches svts stuff sometimes) said me and hannie are really similar (y'know when we cause problems on purpose and cheat in games...match made in heaven fr 😍)

OMG YES PLS A SPIDERMAN AU 🛐 please write it if you could I'm on my knees begging (if you aren't busy ofc) i feel like this au would suit Nonie a lot (for obvious reasons) he kinda fits the loser (affectionate) nerdy Peter Parker vibes like him being the Spiderman is going to be the death of me and hear me out i think Jeonghan would also thrive in this au but he's Gwen Stacy/ Mary Jane and the reader is the spidercreature 😼 who else do you think fits in this au?

I get not watching movies often i also sort of re watch old movies again and again but If you watch the movies i recommended with your dad watch Chungking express! Fallen angels kinda has a suggestive scene (nothing too crazy but still)

Ahh thank you <33 Ida is also such a cute name!! My name is sort of a reference to the character Jolyne Cujoh

like i made this wayyy back in 2014 or something😭 and i think my og name was ohbyundae, for sehun, baekhyun and chen😭 and i've just kinda stuck with it for kpop usernames since korean names are so easy to combine and i suck at coming up with names lmao. but yesss!! it could obviously be jihoon or dk as well, but chan is who i had in mind

nooo i'm 21 and i love chan sm😭 like when they debutes i didn't think he was that hot, since he was so young. but nowadays???? man that man is ON FIRE. i'm still not over the back it up performance😭😭 literally fighting people for his pcs as well cause they're all so good. i have a few fics (wips) with chan as brother figure, but only because he's such a good brother😭😭

shua is the bane of my existence atm😭 love and hate it sm😭😭 cause he is literally perfect

well, i made her slip into the diamond life, but thirst traps on tiktoks were a lot of help as well😭 i think the shadow clip of mingyu and cheol in the rain is what got her in the end. but yess, i feel really lucky😭

exactly😌😌 i see myself in him as well so i get it. but omggg getting compared to hannie is the dream😭😭 like love him so much, that is peak !!

the way i went to my notes to write it down after i replied to your last ask... and wrote that vernon should be spider-man👀👀 but lnao shouldn't reader be a gwen stacy/mj version😭😭 i was thinking i might do a full on avengers au, with all of svt having some sort of super-power but we'll see. i have a lot of other ficd lined up first😭😭 but i would love to discuss it some more !!

the way i could straight up watch porn in front of my dad i do not think he would care 😭😭 like i'm from scandinavia so sex and whatever is really natural for us (although i only got through one episode of sex education with him in the room, mostly for my own sanity) but thank you for the heads up !!

thank you♡♡ ida is just my irl nickname, i didn't even think about coming up with an alias😭 and yes!!! omg i love jojo !!!!

[tortilla-of-courage]

Skyward Sword - comparing NPC names in English and Spanish

For this I’ll be comparing mainly 2 (technically 3) translations of SkSw: English (ENG), Spanish (Latinamerica) (ESP-LA) and Spanish (Spain) (ESP-SP). If available, I’ll add the Japanese (JP) too. The spanish ones might be the same in some cases, which will be marked as (ESP). (I might also add an extra translation or two if i know them)

Link (リンク - Rinku), Zelda (ゼルダ - Zeruda) and Impa (インパ - Inpa) stay the same in all translations. Some of them have some minor changes tho (beware of slight spoilers for SkSw)

(Special thanks to @sunnylaurels for sharing the Japanese names for the Skyloft NPCs! And to @attllhak for sharing some French ones! - Really Long post under cut)

Main/Important Characters

Fi (ENG) - Fay (ESP) - ファイ (Fai) (JP)

These are basically the same, just different spelling. There’s a lot of speculation as to what Fi’s name is based on. For some reason I like to think it’s because of “Wi-Fi” but anything goes

Ghirahim (ENG) - Grahim (ESP) -  ギラヒム (Girahimu) (JP)

This one’s interesting because both ‘translations’ are technically right. English follows it more “to the letter” doing “Gira” as “Ghira”, while Spanish interprets it as “Gra” since Japanese doesn’t do the two-different-consonants together thing, but overall both are the same

Groose (ENG) - Vilán (ESP-LA) - Malton (ESP-SP) -  バド (Bado) (JP)

Groose, Groose, Groose. Probably the main character with the MOST changes. “Bado” seems to be referencing the Japanese pronunciation of “bird”, but could also be interpreted as “Birdo”. LA Spanish’s “Vilán” is sometimes seen as referencing the english “Villain”, but recently @/deerdroo pointed out to me it’s most definitely referencing the “Gavilán” bird, which resembles a little eagle (Wikipedia calls it a “sparrowhawk” in English). Not sure what Spain’s doing with “Malton” but I like it. And of course “Groose” follows the bird naming theme most of Skyloft has (referencing grouse and goose). Also his name in French is “Hergo”

Demise (ENG) - El Heraldo de la Muerte (ESP) -  終焉の者 (Shūen no Mono) (JP)

Okay this guy. “終焉の者” could be translated as “The One Who Brings The End”, according to @/sunnylaurels. So, in a way, I guess it makes sense for the English translation to just grab “Demise” for the name but also I feel it REALLY takes away from how it’s a Title rather than a name? He’s an ancient being, him existing as a “concept” and having no name adds a lot to his character imo. Anyways, “El Heraldo de la Muerte” would translate as “The herald of death” or “the messenger of death”, which is like really ominous i think - imagine having to fight some guy and everyone on earth calls him the messenger of death. I’d be so scared. Yes I’m very aware Demise means Death i just think it’s silly he just gets called that and that’s it. Also i keep reading it as Denise so really, who’s losing here? Not me. 

As a fun add-on to this, in German his name can be translated to “Death-bringer” (thanks @/aureateart), while in French it’s Avatar du Néant, which would translate to “Avatar of the Void” (thanks @/attllhak)

The Imprisoned (ENG) - El Cautivo (ESP-LA) - El Durmiente (ESP-SP)

“El Cautivo” basically means The Imprisoned, but “El Durmiente” means “The Sleeping One”, which... fits, but also i find it a bit funny, not sure why. Fight the sleepy avocado everyone

Deities + The Surface’s Main Places’ Names

The Goddesses stay the same in these translations too:

Din (ENG, ESP) - ディン (Din) (JP)

Nayru (ENG, ESP) - ネール (Nēru) (JP)

Farore (ENG, ESP) - フロル (Furoru) (JP)

Hylia (ENG, ESP) - ハイリア (Hairia) (JP)

The dragons, for the most part, too. The only one that really changes is Faron, which changes to “Farone” much like in Twilight Princess with the Light Spirit of the same name.

Eldin (ENG, ESP) - オルディン (Orudin) (JP)

Lanayru (ENG, ESP) - ラネール (Ranēru) (JP)

Faron (ENG) - Farone (ESP) -  フィローネ (Firōne) (JP)

Levias (ENG) - Narisha (ESP)

I couldn’t for the life of me find Levias’ name in Japanese, but considering EVERY translation EXCEPT English has him as Narisha? i’m gonna take a wild guess and say it’s ナリシャ (Narisha) or similar. His name Levias is based off the word Leviathan. And Fun fact! Did you know the spaniard Zelda Wiki lists him as being one of the dragons? as in, him being a whale-shaped dragon? yeah.

The Surface (ENG) - Las Tierras Inferiores (ESP)

Las Tierras Inferiores would translate as “The Lower Lands”

Faron Woods (ENG) - Bosque de Farone (ESP)

Eldin Volcano (ENG) - Volcán de Eldin (ESP)

Lanayru Dessert (ENG) - Desierto de Lanayru (ESP)

These ones mean the same for the most part, just with the change of Faron to Farone.

Skyloft / The Sky - Places and Animals

The Sky (ENG) - El Cielo (ESP-LA) - Celéstea (ESP-SP)

“El Cielo” literally means The Sky, while Celéstea would be a play on “Celestial” (From the Heavens/Skies). Fun side note - “El Cielo” also means “Heaven”, so when i was younger everytime i went back to the sky i’d be like “rip Link he’s dead :/”

Skyloft (ENG) - Neburia (ESP-LA) - Altárea (ESP-SP)

Neburia, from what I learned after a 4 am Wikipedia dive, could be based off the word “Nébula”, which can mean “Cloud”. It basically means “Cloud Town”. Altárea, I think??? would be based off the word “Alto” which means “High (Altitude)” so basically, “A Place High Up”? If anyone wants to comment on this i’d appreciate it

The Lumpy Pumpkin (ENG) - La Calabaza Flotante (ESP-LA) - Calabarza’s (ESP-SP)

“La Calabaza Flotante” literally means “The Floating Pumpkin”, while “Calabarza’s” is a really clever play on Calabaza and bar. I’m not sure what the name of the island itself is in english, but in Spanish it’s “Isla Calabaza” (Pumpkin Island) (ESP-LA) and “Calabia” (word play on “Pumpkin Place”) (ESP-SP)

Loftwing (ENG) - Neburí (ESP-LA) - Pelícaro (ESP-SP)

Neburí would also come from Nébula, so it’d translate to something like “Cloudy (thing)”? possibly. Pelícaro seems like a play on the word “Pelícano” which means Pelican.

Remlit (ENG) - Lémury (ESP) - Remuri (JP)

Lémury is a play on “Lémur”, probably because of Remlits’ ringed tails. Remuri might be the same play of words. 

Skyloft/The Sky - NPCs

(I might revisit some of these at one point since some of the references they could have flew over my head!) (haha get it? flew? the sky? ok)

Batreaux (ENG) - Mursego (ESP-LA) - Batolo (ESP-SP) - Morusego (JP)

My friend! my buddy! Batreaux is an obvious play with “Bat”, since he kind of resembles one. This is kept in both Spanish names - Batolo seems like a combination of “Bat” and “Bartolo” (a spanish name), and Mursego is based off the spanish for Bat “Murciélago” (as well as being the closest to the Japanese “Morusego”!!). Keeps the “flying animal” theme in all three languages.

Beedle (ENG) - Terry (ESP) - テリー (Terī) (JP)

The man, the myth, the legend. Beedle’s name is similar to “beetle”, the insects he loves in BoTW and SS. Not sure what the deal with “Terry” and similar is. He keeps the “flying animal name” theme with Beedle, sort of, but loses it in every other translation (which, btw, is also Terry or a variant in most languages)

Bertie (ENG) - Arín (ESP-LA) - Alfred (ESP-SP) - Arin (JP)

This poor man. Working all day and all night. Bertie’s supposed to reference a type of sparrot called “lovebird” (the bird part). For Arín, besides being basically the same as Japanese, could reference the word “Cantarín”, which means “singsong” and is used to describe birds that sing a lot. Alfred... no clue.

Cawlin (ENG) - Corvy (ESP) - Ras (JP)

In the same way “Cawlin” references “caw”, which is the sound crows make, “Corvy” references this same bird, called “Cuervo” in Spanish. In french he’s “Orbo”, which if i had to guess also references crows.

Croo (ENG) - Gurriaco (ESP)

“Croo” could reference both the “cooing” of birds and “crow”, like Cawlin above. Gurriaco, if I reach enough, could be referencing “Urraca”, a type of bird in Spanish.

Dodoh (ENG) - Dodo (ESP) - Dodo (JP)

Referencing the extinct bird of the same name in all languages, I guess. 

Dovos (ENG) - Dombo (ESP)

Dovos feels like it’s referencing “Dove”. Dombo gives be “Dumbo” vibes - probably could reference it because he flies? not sure

Eagus (ENG) - Aquilo (ESP) - Igurusu (JP)

Eagus, Aquilo, and Igurusu are referencing Eagles. It’s more obvious in Eagus. The spanish for Eagle is “Águila”, which is just two letters off from Aquilo. 

Fledge (ENG) - Gruyo (ESP) - Sebasun (JP)

Fledge is referencing Fledgling, a young bird. Gruyo comes from “Gruya”, which is Crane in spanish. In french his name’s “Célestin”.

Gaepora (ENG, ESP-LA) - Gaépora (ESP-SP) - ゲポラ (Gepora) (JP)

Pretty much the same. His name is also a combination of the Owl from Ocarina of Time’s name “Kaepora Gaebora” (ENG, ESP) - ケポラ・ゲボラ (Kepora Gebora), probably because he looks a lot like the Sage of Light Rauru and the owl he turns into. One of the few Skyloftians not named after a bird in English, though technically he is if we consider the above?

Gondo (ENG, ESP-LA) - Dorcon (ESP-SP) - Doruko (JP)

Not sure what Gondo might be referencing bird-wise exactly? though i think “Gondo” is similar to “Gonzo” (from Wind Waker), with who I think shares some design aspects. Dorcon in Spain’s Spanish seems to just take from the original Japanese. In French his name’s also “Dorco”!

Goselle (ENG) - Alani (ESP) - Otaka (JP)

I’ll be real, not sure what’s going on with her names in either language. Goselle gives me bird vibes but i’m not sure. Alani reminds me of the spanish “Alaja”, which means Jewel

Greba (ENG) - Ornella (ESP) - Miho (JP)

Ornella reminds me of the word “Hornilla” (mute H), which is basically the hole where the heat comes out of in wooden ovens... but! according to the dictionary it also means “(a) hole where pigeons make their nest” so i guess it’s bird related too!

Gully (ENG) - Gabio (ESP-LA) - Gabi (ESP-SP) - Garu (JP)

Gully most definitely references a seagull. Gabio and Gabi references the same animal, but in spanish obviously - “Gaviota”. 

Henya (ENG) - Galina (ESP-LA) - Zenona (ESP-SP) - Heena (JP)

Henya references Hens, as does Galina (Hen being “Gallina” in Spanish). Zenona... uh.. not sure where that came from? I’m halfway through this post realizing i’d gladly accept comments from any spanish speaking person who wants to give an input on these things im missing 

Horwell (ENG) - Asteus (ESP) - Hoonelu (JP)

i’ll be real im not sure what Asteus is referencing. Horwell seems to be pretty close to the japanese for the most part though

Jakamar (ENG) - Carpín (ESP) - Geran (JP)

Carpín is most definitely referencing Wood Peckers (“Pájaro Carpintero”/Carpenter Birds)

Karane (ENG) - Grusi (ESP-LA) - Gracielle (ESP-SP) - Kuranu (JP)

Karane seems to be almost the same as in Japanese, while Spanish went crazy and gave her a completely different name, tho at least they’re kinda similar between each other. Also in french her name’s “Grida” (another Gr name!!)

Keet (ENG) - Pío (ESP-LA) - Pitxi (ESP-SP) - Michiru (JP)

Pío is, quite literally, the sound birds make (or the way we’d write that sound in spanish), especially chicks. Pitxi is a mystery to me

Kina (ENG) - Calabel (ESP-LA) - Calabelle (ESP-SP) - Panan (JP)

Calabel/Calabelle is referencing the spanish for Pumpkin, “Calabaza”, giving it a more feminine name-esque ending (like in Anabel/Anabelle)

Kukiel (ENG) - Picalia (ESP-LA) - Cuqui (ESP-SP) - Kuuko (JP)

Cuqui could be referencing that exact same word (often spelled “Kuki”) that just means “cute”. Picalia seems like a play with “pícara” which basically means “gremlin” (google translates it as “sassy” but im not sure if that word fits)

Luv (ENG) - Mandi (ESP-LA) - Amanda (ESP-SP) - Manda (JP)

Mandi and Amanda seem to stay close to the Japanese name, both of them being common spanish names. Luv, like i mentioned in Bertie’s part, would reference “love bird” (the love part)

Mallara (ENG) - Pati (ESP-LA) - Patty (ESP-SP) - Rubia (JP)

I only now realized Mallara is referencing mallard ducks. wow. Pati/Patty are just a common name in Spanish. Lil fun fact related to her Japanese name! Rubia means “blonde” in Spanish

Mia (ENG, ESP-LA) - Miwi (ESP-SP) - Mi (JP)

mia my baby girl. i love her. im yeeting her off Skyloft. seems they all reference meowing in some way

Orielle (ENG) - Corina (ESP) - Kuina (JP)

LISTEN. the other day i was trying to think just WHAT Corina could be referencing. And the only thing that popped into my brain is that “Corina” is the name they gave the bird Tokyo Mew Mew girl in LatinAmerica. It’s literally the only bird related thing i can think of. Also it sounds a bit like “Kuina”. French name is “Kinaé”, similar to Japanese!

Owlan (ENG) - Buhel (ESP) - Aoulu (JP)

Owlan seems to keep the owl theme across all three! Aoulu seems to just be “owl” quite literally, and Buhel is a play on the spanish for Owl (”Búho”)

Parrow (ENG) - Golondro (ESP) - Parou (JP)

Golondro comes from “Golondrina”, a type of bird! I think it’s called “swallow” in english ... so it kinda fits Parrow anyways! Also Parrow seems to be his japanese name too

Peater (ENG) - Panolo (ESP-LA) - Paul (ESP-SP) - Jakusin (JP)

This guy. man. Seems to be “Jackson” in Japanese? But everyone grabbed a P and ran. Panolo seems like a play on “Manolo”, a nickname for people with the name “Manuel” - maybe mixed with the P for “Pájaro”(Bird)? Paul’s just a common name as far as i know.

Peatrice (ENG) - Panalí (ESP-LA) - Paula (ESP-SP) - Jakuriinu (JP)

Peatrice seems to always be named after her dad. “Jackeline” in Japanese i believe, and barely “feminized” names for the rest. Panalí sounds a bit more like “panal”, the spanish for “hive” (as in beehive)

Piper (ENG) - Joana (ESP)

There’s not much to comment here. Joana’s a common name in Spanish

Pumm (ENG) - Vito (ESP-LA) - Ruperto (ESP-SP) - Puukin (JP)

I have NO clue where Vito came from. It sounds like a badly spelled “Victor”. Where did the Pumpkin theme go???? huh?????. Ruperto’s kind of the same? Unless i’m missing some pumpkin related words in spanish, it’s just a common name.

Pipit (ENG) - Cocu (ESP-LA) - Coocker (ESP-SP) - Kikoa (JP)

This guy. It seems a lot of languages kept the C/K sounds in his name? He’s Kiko in French and Cuco in german (thanks @/aureateart). They seem to reference cuckoo clocks maybe? and the german’s really close to cucco. 

Rupin (ENG) - Rupín (ESP-LA) - Milo (ESP-SP) - Kookin (JP)

Rupin/Rupin are referencing Rupees, since he’s the shopkeeper and the alike. Milo... I... I’m not sure what’s referencing?

Rusta (ENG) - Ganzo (ESP) - Rostaa (JP)

Rusta and Rostaa seem to be referencing Roosters, while Ganzo’s referencing the spanish for Goose! (Ganso)

Scrapper (ENG) - Serbot (ESP) - Sarubo (JP)

Including this lil guy here coz... why not? Serbot seems to be almost the same if not the exact name as Japanese (though Sarubo could just be Server?)

Sparrot (ENG) - Aspir (ESP-LA) - Gorronte (ESP-SP) - Subuha (JP)

Gorronte seems to be a play on “Gorrión” (Sparrow), so, pretty close to English. Aspir..... I’m not sure?

Strich (ENG) - Vestro (ESP) - Osta (JP)

Vestro, like Stritch, references Ostriches, with Ostrich in spanish being “Avestruz”. Seems Japanese references the same animal? and I think french too, since he’s “Latruche” in that language!

Wryna (ENG) - Elenia (ESP-LA) - Alisia (ESP-SP) - Arisu (JP)

Alisia seems to stick to the Japanese name Arisu (Alice), while Elenia went... a different direction. Elenia is a variation of a common spanish name, Elena.

[dreamii-yume]

not a request but, Idia seems like the type to make a hentai game based on his darling correct? so he uses that as a base to have experience to woo his darling. but now as he tries it irl, he's confused it worked in the game. so why is the darling crying? is there a glitch somewhere? thoughts?

It all started when he thought that you looked like a character from an anime he watched once. He was a fond of the character so, he couldn’t help but to observe you more than he should, hiding his excitement throughout. There, he found out that you don’t just share a similar appearance but a similar personality as well, the perfect embodiment of that character. Idia almost thought that you were some kind of base for that character, cosplaying even, but you were from another world, weren’t you? Could it be that you’re actually that character and just got reincarnated into his world without knowing that you’re an anime character yourself!?

Reverse Isekai, was it? A twist in that overused genre where the fictional character is the one who gets to be trasported to the normal world. Idia was there on the peak of its popularity, reading all the manga, novels that he can find, watching all the anime adaptations along the way. Then the premise just gets redone over and over again that it slowly became boring. Even if they add twists here and there, it still ended up the same.

But now comes you, a real person that got transported into his world! A person who just happens to look and act like the character from one of his beloved shows! You can’t blame him for being this intrigued by your existence! Because how can he not!? This is an otaku’s dream coming true right here!

And best of all...You have his favorite character archetype! How awesome is that!?

Before he knew it, he was all over you. Well, not really...Since he was too shy to actually talk to you, and all he was just doing is either hide behind that tablet of his and a wall at least five meters away. He had already embraced the joys of being a loner and is practically a master of running away from social gatherings or talking in general, but now that it came to this, it became a double-edged sword.

Ortho said to just build up the courage to talk to you if he so badly wants to and he does. He really, really wants to talk to you, at least once...Or twice...Or thrice- The point is that he really wants to. But as supportive as the little brother of his is, he makes it sound so easy. Of course, someone who doesn’t know jackshit about making friends would never be able to master that skill that easily. He cringes at the thought of doing so without any experience, you’d probably see him as another creepy otaku.

Then, it came to him...A thought that proves that he was actually the genius that everyone claims him to be.

Experience. Of course! He’ll just have to gain experience so he can level up! With that, he can conquer your route doing just that! And what better way to do this than to combine it with something what he’s well-experienced with?

So, he started working. His fingers worked on the holographic keyboard faster than he’d ever been, creating a dating simulator game in less than three days. Ortho himself was surprised to see his usually unmotivated and borderline depressed brother having this intense look in his eyes. Idia barely ate or sleep during all of that, but he doesn’t care, what matters is that he finished it.

He finished the game that can finally help himself out, a dating simulator with only one character to focus on. A character who’s basically a spitting image of you and named after you, he even sneaked in some voice lines that he secretly recorded you saying. Idia had observed you longer to know what to write in the game script, which choices you would make, which words you would say, there was even different sprites and assets of you, depending on your emotions! Though, his hand seems to have slipped and before he knew it, he had already hired some Top-tier doujinshi artists to draw some Not-Safe-For-Work CGs of you for some Not-Safe-For-Work scenes. Yeah...He thought so far ahead that it just kinda turned into...Those kinds of simulation games.

But he regrets nothing.

...Other than the fact that he should probably keep this game away from Ortho as much as possible.

Anyway, it was probably one of the games that he took his sweet time with. Even though it was a game that he himself created, it was like he had developed some form of amnesia and was marvelled at his first time playing such masterpiece. All the twists and events left him in awe, squealing at every single CG when your character goes as little as holding his in-game character’s hand. The more...special scenes had him gulping down his own saliva as a physical reaction, the moans and groans that he recorded from you was when you were stretching in the morning, or when you’re startled or exercising, and yet, it fits so well with each sex scene. His face flushed and his pants felt so tight as he read through the dialogue box, his hand later slipping underneath them just so he could relieve his excitement.

“(Y/N)...Hehe, (Y/N)...♡” He blissfully moans as his hand goes up and down his cock, biting his blue lip in anticipation. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and his flaming hair burned a brighter blue, expressing his excitement. His imagination was going ballistic, imagining your own tightness around him as he slid in and out of your slick insides. The closer the scene reached its climax, the faster his hands became, determine to release at the same time as your character. “Haa...(Y/N)~♡ It feels so good...So good...Haha...”

With a satisfied moan, his own strings of semen shoots against his screen, perfectly coming just in time as your character appears, all flushed and exhausted. Idia let out a sigh, calming down from his high with a few strokes here and there to make sure of a satisfying release.

“Haa...Idia-kun, I love you ♡”

That was his favorite dialogue, no matter how many times he replayed this scene, it never fails to arouse him, making him all warm on the inside. A huge blush covered his cheeks as he smirked, slowly building up into an unhinged chuckle. He brushed his hands down the tainted screen, smudging his cum even more as he imagined it as your face. “Aah...Me too...I love you too, (Y/N)~” He whispered, shivering in excitement. “Aw...I can’t wait to have you for real...Wait for a little while, ‘kay? Hehe...”

This plan was a success and certainly helped him gain the confidence and experience that he needed to finally talk to you properly. Memorizing all the available scenarios and route he can go to, he just felt like he can do just about anything right now. With all these knowledge in mind, you surely won’t be weirded out and things wouldn’t be as awkward as he had already formulated a full conversation on his head. A bad end flag was still left arise, but it was placed so low that Idia can’t just spend another batch of his precious time with it, nothing would go wrong if he just do what he practiced, right? For that reason alone, his birthday was coming up and for the first time in forever, he could use a party as an excuse to talk to you. It doesn’t matter who comes anyway, he’ll have Ortho to accommodate them, Idia’s main focus should only be directed at you.

Plus, if he was going to confess on his birthday, then that’s just a major advantage! Plenty of stuff happens when it’s your own character’s birthday in any game, developers becomes extra generous with the drop rates in gachas, they give you more game currency to spend, and extra scenarios with your favorite characters! Sometimes even free stuff of your choice! This would definitely put his chance rate well above what he expected, it’s you after all!

“Happy birthday, Idia-senpai. I brought this gift for you, I hope you like it.” Ah, there it is, his goddess’ voice echoing through the walls. You said that you were going to conduct a birthday interview with him which got his heart beating like crazy. W-Were you going to start the confession event here!? With all these people!? That’s too daring! Though, that’s really charming of you, and a part of him actually wanted that to happen so he could finally point his fingers to these losers-

But no, unfortunately, he doesn’t have that much confidence to give and so, he ended up having to push you somewhere more secluded. Somewhere more...private. Like his room for example- that’s a good place, right~? Nobody can interrupt this interview that way and...and they can do play all sorts of games right after too...That’s fun, isn’t it!?

The interview was surprisingly fun, although it really just consisted of him ranting to you all about his interests. He ended up spilling all facts about his favorite idol group, games, and movies, his big mouth going off on a tangent once again because of that one question. This wasn’t exactly part of the plan, he was planning to give off a smooth vibe to it but he guessed he was just a tad bit under-level for that. Anyway, you ended gracing him with an adorable giggle so, it doesn’t really affect his motives! He’ll still conquer your route like he did with the game!

A few more questions about his favorite and least favorite food comes, Idia couldn’t help but be impatient. When were you going to activate the scenario, huh? The love confession event, it was the one question that he was waiting for. His heart was ready, his body was ready, his everything was ready...So, why were you standing up with a satisfied look on your face? Aren’t you forgetting something here?

“And that concludes our Birthday Celebration Interview! Idia-senpai, thank you for answering all my-“ Idia’s heart skipped a beat as his hands automatically grabbed your hand and pulled you down, rather aggressively.

“W-Wait! Wait, wait, waitwaitwait-“ Idia stumbled over his words, his face flushed as he stared at you with a crooked but nervous smile. “U-Um...! T-There something else...That I want to tell y-you...”

Oh, no...This was that one scenario in the extreme difficulty mode of the game, where you’re not triggering the confession event at all. You’re probably so conflicted with your emotions that he has to do it himself as the main character. It’s not the original route that he’s going for, but it’s fine, he has the script of this mode in memory too, he should be able to pull it off...That’s weird though, he never remembered activating anything to play in this difficulty...Whatever, real life really is something else, isn’t it?

You were surprised and quite honestly, bothered at his sudden outburst but that’s fine. You were the same in the game too, he just had to take control of the situation. “I-I...” He gathered the words in his head, his face heating up than it ever did before.

“(Y-Y/N)...I like- No...” He stammered as he tries his best to form a nervous smile, his heart was beating so fast but that’s not really something new. “...I love you, (Y/N)...”

Idia heard a slight gasp from you but delusions took over his mind before logic can come bursting through, rendering him practically heart-eyed at the situation. He was distracted, but he still waited for your response even if he was already a hundred percent convinced that his confession was a success. It has to be, he had already seen this exact scenario in the game for a millionth time. “...D-Do you...love me too, (Y/N)...?” He fiddled with the tip of his burning hair, leaning close to you as he knows that it’s a special skill that increases his success rate up to at least twenty percent. “...You l-love me too, don’t you~? Hehe...♡”

Yes. You’re going to say yes. You always had said yes in the game as there was absolutely no reason for you to say otherwise. Everything that happened before this went according to plan, he followed every route, said the correct dialogue choices, so there’s no way that he can fuck this one up. He had definitely conquered your route for real this time!

“Ah...” But he had to wonder though, why were you averting your eyes for? That’s cute, but you don’t have to be shy...Just say that you love him too, he can hardly wait! “Idia-senpai...”

“...I’m sorry.”

Idia blinked, his body freezing on its spot as you bowed in front of him so respectfully. Your mouth began to move to deliver more words of explanation for him to understand, but he just couldn’t hear anything else anymore.

What did you say? You’re...sorry? Haha...For what though? That’s weird, that’s not what you were supposed to say, even if this was set in extra hard mode. He did everything correctly so, no matter what difficulty he’s in, you should be able to accept his confession every time.

...Is it a bug in the system? A glitch that he didn’t see?

You called out to him once again, you called out his name and upon looking up, he could only see your face. So full of concern and pity, but no signs of falling in love whatsover. No...You shouldn’t be looking at him like that, what the hell just happened?

This is all wrong...!

Before Idia could even properly process anything, he had found himself on top of you, both frustration and anger building up inside him. His hand, albeit really shaky, had found itself a dangerous clasp around your neck and your expression suddenly turned white. You’re struggling underneath him, like a deer caught by a hunter, kicking and scratching his arms away. But you were scared, he could tell by that look in your eyes, he could easily squeeze your neck in this position after all.

“I-Idia-senpai...!” He heard you call out but your voice just bounced off his ears, he was too distracted by his own shock. This was not in any of the scenarios that he formulated inside his mind, and he created thousands, for Hades’ sake! His breathing became unstable as he began to hyperventilate, sweating immensely as he tries to wreck his brain for whatever the hell he was supposed to do in this scenario. This wasn’t how the game continues after a confession event! Was he too inexperience or under-level to conquer your route? Did he miss a side quest from you or something? What did he do wrong? Was it the lack of gifts of affection? Normally, you were supposed to say that you love him too, embrace him before the two of you share a kiss and-

...A kiss?

Oh...Oh, that’s right! Maybe this is where the code got rewritten and that the kiss should come first now? Maybe your character was taking a different turn, you were probably shifting to other character types to accommodate your new-found feelings...You’re being a Tsundere, aren’t you~? So cute, but you don’t have to push him away though, he’ll keep coming back to you anyways.

...And so, in hopes of desperation, that’s exactly what he did, he leaned down at you as he smashed his lips onto yours. You widened your eyes with a muffled scream coming out of you, but Idia kept your mouth busy as it is. He was on cloud-nine, enjoying your soft lips against his chapped ones so much so that he just instinctively started grinding his hips against yours. You were starting to panic, but that’s fine, that’s a normal reaction. Both in real life and in-game.

By the time that he finished selfishly sucking up your lips, ultimately creating a little bruise on the side, he pulled away with a string of saliva connecting both your tongues together. Idia giggled to himself, the feeling of your lips and tongue was still lingering on his that he can’t help but be hungry for more. However, looking back at you, he blinked as tears suddenly began to stream down your cheeks. Your chest heaving up and down as small hiccups comes out of your every sob.

It made him panic slightly at first, but then remembered a scenario like this once in the game...Though, it wasn’t a scenario as drastic as this one, that he’ll admit. “A-Ah, you shouldn’t cry...” He tried comforting, letting go of your neck and wiping your tears away with a nervous smile. “Y-You’re not supposed to cry after a c-confession event, it’s not in your file...”

You flinched at his touch. “S-Stop, please...L-Let me go...” You whimpered, lifting your arms up to try and shield yourself away from him. “I-I won’t tell anyone, I-I swear-!”

Idia’s hand twitched, quickly covering your mouth as a nervous rection so that he wouldn’t hear the words that he doesn’t want to hear anymore. He felt scared to touch you now, seeing how defensive you got, his little angel’s crying and it’s all because of him. Your words certainly impacted him, but he shook his head instead, he has to keep himself from looking down.

“...You shouldn’t say that either, that’s not in your script.” He said with a bit of stricter tone onto it, attempting to show you how capable he can really be. He grabbed your wrist and forced your hands open, revealing your terrified expression. “Don’t worry...It’s just a little twist on the story, I’m sure. I just have to restart the system, right...?”

“I-I’ll fix you up soon enough, H-Honey~” You watched him with eyes slowly widening in realization and terror as he started to untie his tie, to remove the birthday outfit that he clearly dislikes. You were frozen, you can’t move, not like you could do much with someone as big as Idia straddling above your stomach but you were left immobile with fear. His use of love words sounds extremely clumsy and Idia himself cringes at the sound of it coming from his own mouth but he’s enthusiastic. That doesn’t make it any less terrifying for you at all.

The game’s not finish yet. It’s just as he expected, there was a little glitch that needs a little fixing. It was the cause of a scenario as unreasonable as this one to appear. But it’s fine. He can fix it all up, he can fix you all up and when he’s done with that, he’ll definitely conquer your route for real this time.

After all, there’s no game that he can’t finish, that would be a shame to his Otaku title! It doesn’t matter if it’s his birthday, he’s going to work all night to fix this very unpleasant glitch in you. What a pain~ Idia wonders what kind of price he’ll get from you after this.

...Not that he’s going to complain anytime soon lol

Idia has the personality of an ugly bastard. Just saying *cough*

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

April 2021 Picks

And we’re back with the end to another month. April! Wow! Lots more great picks to talk about this time. Lots of new ones to the list too. So, let’s dive in!

Spoiler territory ahead!

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

or should I say Captain America and the Winter Soldier

I just finished the finale last night, so it felt right to start off with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I really enjoyed it and I feel the episodes got stronger as the series went on. Each one felt like a mini-movie and I was upset it was over and had to wait another week for another one. I think the finale was my favorite. Especially the reveal of Sam as Captain America. I love his suit, his speech and the montage of everyone watching him. The last part of the episode was definitely my favorite and one I can watch on repeat. I loved seeing happy Bucky and him goofing off with the kids in Louisiana. He deserves so much happiness as he has now accepted he’s no longer who he once was. Bucky and Sam’s relationship is fantastic and I can’t wait to see it more. I know there’s a possibility of a second season and they have to be in a future MCU movie. Regarding the villain, I feel I was confused for most of the show as to what their objective was. I’m curious if this is because they had to reshoot parts during the pandemic. I also am mad with Sharon. Like what happened with her? She is definitely the true villain of the show. I also don’t love that we haven’t seen the end of Walker (but Wyatt Russell did a fantastic job). I also loved Torres and I hope he becomes the next Falcon. Definitely so different vibes from Wandavision, but just as good!

THE IRREGULARS

This is a show that more people need to be talking about! It was SO GOOD! I feel like I heard some buzz about it when it first came out, but not much after. It follows the teens featured about who live on the streets during Victorian London. The leader of their group, Bea gets approached by Dr. John Watson (that’s right...as in Sherlock and Watson) to take on a case that has more supernatural qualities. The story takes off from there. I think the group dynamic was fantastic. There wasn’t a character I didn’t like and each one brought something else important to the group (which they even bring up towards the end of the show). [I’ve watched a few cast interviews since finishing the finale and they seem like they get along really well in real life too.] There is a kind of love triangle, but it didn’t bother me and was over fast. I did like both combinations though. Lots of twists and turns along the journey. I have no idea if there will be another season, but there should be. It didn’t end on a major cliffhanger, but definitely ended in a way where it could continue nicely. Come on Netflix. 

HBO’S THE NEVERS

From one show set in Victorian times to the next. The Nevers just premiered on HBO and HBO Max earlier this month. It follows an ensemble of characters, similar to other HBO shows, ranging from characters who are called “the touched” to men in government who are against them. Being “touched” means they have a special talent or power, which can range from healing to speaking other languages, being extremely tall, or being an expectational inventor (I seriously love Penance. I just don’t know how to explain her ability). Amalia True and Penance Adair are two of the main characters and they help bring in others who are touched to a remodeled orphanage that is a safe haven for people like them. Of course there are those who are against them existing. This seems to be at least two groups as someone is abducting and experimenting on some of the touched, but we don’t know who they are...yet. I love the fusion of a historical setting with a fantasy element. I am very excited to see where the show is headed. I also love seeing so many of my favorite British actors on the screen together.      

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND

Time for a throw back. Fans of ABC’s Once Upon a Time might remember the short lived spin off following Alice in Wonderland (and some of Aladdin). It only lasted for one season of 13 episodes, but I remember loving it and I am so happy I can rewatch it on Disney Plus. It reminds me of why I enjoyed OUAT so much and I think this show deserved another season or more crossover with the original show. (Luckily the Knave got that opportunity.) I think it should have aired as a summer show or when OUAT was on hiatus, this way more fans would have tuned in. It is something I’ll believe forever. 

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting now... I love Alice. I think she’s a badass and a fierce warrior. If you follow some of my posts on my other blog, Lydia-yougowith-Stiles, you’ll know that I love a warrior romance and Cyrus and Alice fit that perfectly (even if they are apart for much of the series). I also love Alice’s hair and outfits. Everything about her is cool. Her relationship with the Knave is one of my favorite friendships ever. I think they balance each other out so well and how they spend most of the journey together. Back in the day, I totally shipped them, but now I definitely don’t. (Even though I don’t love Anastasia.) This is definitely worth the watch if you’ve ever heard of Once Upon a Time or not. There is very cheesy CGI especially for 2013, but once you get pass that you’ll love it. 

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST

It was on a longer break than I expected, and I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would (which I know doesn’t sound good for a show), but I am still loving all the episodes this season. It feels like there are more musical numbers, which I love. Mandy Moore is killing it with the choreography. There are so many amazing moments. I also was a big fan of the newest glitch episode. Everyone is so talented and I also like that we’ve started to hear from more like Jenna and Tobin. Leif has become one of my favorites. I don’t love the new neighbor next door, but I think we’re done with his storyline. I’m not loving the Zoey love triangle, but I do like her with either Simon or Max. She seems really happy with Simon now. (FYI: I haven’t watched the most recent episode yet. The glitch one was my latest.) Can’t wait for more!    

KUNG FU

CW’s newest show this month was Kung Fu, which I just learned was a reboot. It follows Nicky who returns after 3 years to her home in San Francisco. Her family has mixed feelings as she has had no contact with them for the last 3 years. She is now a Kung Fu master and warrior, out to avenge her mentor’s death and stop a villain from acquiring mythical weapons. The show gives me Arrow vibes every time I watch it. It has similar flashbacks each episode to an earlier time in Nicky’s life. While Nicky’s mission is different, the style just gives me early seasons of Arrow vibes, which I am not complaining about. It stars Legacies’ Alyssa Chen, who I didn’t love on Legacies, but instantly fell in love with Nicky. I think she’s a bad ass character and love how she’s fighting for the underdogs on the streets of San Fran, while also taking down a bigger evil. The love triangle is heating up and I’m definitely team Henry (even though there’s some mystery there). I think he’s great and once again we have an awesome warrior romance. They balance each other so well and it’s only been like 3 episodes. Now they’ve also been sleuthing together and it’s just amazing. 

NANCY DREW

Are you sick of hearing me talk about CW’s Nancy Drew? I hope not because I’m going to fangirl again. I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH! I can’t wait till Wednesday comes and I tune in a little after it starts, so then I can fast forward on my DVR. Then when the episode is over I basically start it all over again and watch select scenes that were awesome. (More specifically, they tend to be Nancy and Ace scenes because I love them and we’re entering so much angst I don’t know if my heart will be able to handle it!!!) 

I’ll say it a thousand times: THIS CAST IS EVERYTHING! Their dynamic is amazing. You can have any match ups and it’ll be a great time. There is not one person I don’t like. I was so upset that there wasn’t a new episode last week (especially because it was my birthday). I loved the last one with the Hardy Boys and that Nace reveal! OMG! I’m so sad that Grant has left again because we barely had him, but I feel he’ll eventually come back. He has to. I loved the ending when he spoke to Thom by signing to him. (My heart!) I seriously can’t say enough great things about this show. It is not your typical CW show and deserves more love and views. So happy a third season has already been confirmed!! 

LAST NOTES

Just started Shadow and Bone on Netflix and am loving it! I’m sure I’ll have an entire post dedicated to it when I’m done. (Currently going to start episode 6.) I have no background on the universe or the books (just what my sister is filling me in with as we watch). I definitely plan on reading Six of Crows after this!

So what are you enjoying? Let me know. I’m always looking for more shows to add to the list! Can never have enough. 

[cardsbizarreadventure]

I’ve seen a fad where people describe their original character’s personality with a few canon characters from different series.

What characters do you think you could combine to make Joelle?

☆꧁✬◦°˚°◦. ♠ ♣ ♥ ♦ .◦°˚°◦✬꧂☆ Thank you for the ask Mel! It actually took me a good amount of time to even decide upon who would be most fitting to build Joelle. Since she has some of my own self insert in her , but really which oc doesn't? It was kind of hard to decide xD But I think I've managed to collect the ones that are pretty relatable with my character. So here it goes!

Lucy - Elfen Lied If I have to be honest I've never would of thought upon how similar Joelle and Lucy stories are. I was never intending to have so many similarities with this specific characters until recently I stumbled upon a video that made me remember a bit more about the anime and how it played out. Lucy is a very interesting character , born with a 'sickness' ever since she was little kind of reminded me upon Joelle's origin as a pillar both past and present . Lucy has been bullied , barely knew any kind of friends and because of her 'sickness' everyone was after her because what she can cause with her powers , until she stumbled upon one that really liked her for who she was [Kind of gives me the possible Joseph or Rei vibes but without the romantic kind of intent that was implied in the story because Lucy did fall in love with her best friend.] She was brought into a lab to keep away from the outside world and experimented on , until she broke out and was given a chance for a second life regardless of what she had witnessed and did in her youth.

Ren Tao - Shaman King A few aspects that I can collect from Ren are the anger he has built for humanity that really matches with Joelle's story . Because when she ended up in the XPD facility where they did various of experiments on her and basically played her like a toy she began to pile up a lot of anger upon those people creating an image in her head that they were all the same . But after meeting with someone who opened her eyes to the world , she began to have another look upon things and wanted to try and move on and heal but also find a new purpose in life .

Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist When ever I would look at Ed I could actually see a few aspects of Joelle as well , because of his own determination to fix what he has done in the past and return his brother back to his original body , reminds me of how Joelle wants to protect her new family and find a way to stop evil from prevailing . It also gives a pinch of hint upon how him and his brother were trying to bring back their mother , is a similarity upon how Joelle wanted to bring back her own mother but instead she ended up releasing a curse that later on haunts her , the same way Ed and Alphonse tried to bring their mother back and ended up creating a homunculus being. Sadly I haven't watched brotherhood and I really need to , but I'd assume I'd find even more similarities if I do so~. But I do however see a lot of pieces of Ed in Joelle!

Misaki Ayuzawa - Kaichou wa maid-sama This goes a bit on her emotional side to be honest. Misaki is a perfect representation of Joelle , a strong and very responsible individual and yearns for a piece of romance in her life that will assure her that they will stay with them for who they are . A perfect aspect of her Tsundere side because she is very conflicted and very confused when it comes to these sort of things. I absolutely adore her strong character and how she is able to handle so many responsibilities , reminds me upon her current position in the SpeedWagon foundation , a lot fear her because of how she would act and how her attitude just goes across the room, but a good amount also admire her when they get to know her personally and understand her better upon why she is the way she is , that she has a very gentle side to her.

Chise Hatori - Ancient Magus Bride Another little lost soul that was being sold to the world. Chise has always been one of my most favorite characters once I started the anime , the aspects of her that I see in Joelle are the growth she managed to accomplish with herself , she used to have a normal life a happy family , but eventually that turned around when 'dark beings' (which would hint the cults of Hearteater) began to make their way into their life and make it more dangerous to be around , and even the fact that her own 'blood and family' tried to kill her is the hint of her father that almost killed her. [But in the anime it was the mother that tried to.] She eventually ends up in good hands which help her see the world with different eyes and find who she really is and help her discover her own courage and determination that she wants to do better for herself and others around her .

Shigeo Kageyama - Mob Psycho Little little shy Mob~. He was one of my main inspirations if I have to be honest because a lot matched with the two of them. This comes around her more doubtful and shy side. Mob is a perfect representation of both Joelle's moods , when she is sweet and respectful to a menace and a deadly being if they come near their family. Her relationship with Reigen matches with the one me and my friend Mel have with Joelle and Yorie . Let's not forget about how crazy batshid he went when they took his brother away and he was willing to do everything in his powers to save him... but there was also the fire in his house.. now that is basically the next level of Chapter Death in a sense. But for real there are a lot of aspects behind Mob that I connect with Joelle and how her character is displayed~.

Yuuji Itadori - Jujutsu Kaisen Yuji is the aspect of Joelle that exists kind of rare but it's still there , it's her little goofy side , but the amount of love for her friends and family is also there . His determination and courage to protect his new friends is the same as Joelle trying to protect her own regardless of what kind of burden both of them carry that can cause the destruction of the world, even if the the two of them might appear weak to most they would always throw themselves in danger to protect their loved ones , but later one begin to grow in personality and strength . Maybe I can even connect a tad bit Sukuna and Chapter Death because both are the representation of the final stage when the 'scary' takes over and would basically erase your existence . Yuji and His friends remind me a whole lot of Joelle and her own little crew and how each of them help each other and will always be there no matter what. Basically the hero that wants to save everyone and doesn't really care what happens to them , as long as everyone is safe .

Manjiro Sano and Ken Ryuguji - Tokyo Revengers These two go in pair ~. I see a big portion of aspects of the two in Joelle and each of them kind of represent her 'goofy' and her very serious and respect side. Mikey is a bit more laid back and chill but at the same time very scary , a bit how Joelle is in a sense how she can be so calm on certain occasions until she finally snaps and beats the crap of anyone who doubted her and called her 'small and helpless.' This is the aspect I enjoy the most between the two because they underestimate their opponent and then get their ass handed to them , that's how the two kind of go xD. Draken would be maybe her grown up and mature side in a way and the one that keeps things in line when ever there is justice that needs to be served because no one is allowed to hurt their friends and family. Very loyal and determined and even jump down to apologize for their wrongs to try and correct themselves and possibly help their friends understand the situation a little better , unless there is no way out they always try and reason first before jumping into action.

Nezuko Kamado - Demon Slayer / Kimetsu no Yaiba [New Add] I almost forgot!! Honestly I can't forget to include my favorite little goofball . Another little demon that I can see a lot of personality traits and aspects in Joelle as well. Nezuko and Tanjiro are also a good representation of both Jericho and Joelle in a sense because of how strong their bond is beyond anything . I don't want to spoil anything in my current arcs because I want to keep it a surprise since I have a whole lot of things to decide on . Nezuko displays Joelle's very protective side and very caring one as well the side of value she feels towards her surroundings and regardless of being a little 'different' she still is the same person no matter what happens and will never lose her humanity even after being 'cursed'. And even be a little bit of a hint of her sensitive and cute side too regardless that she doesn't show it too often xD.

Saitama - One Punch Man And last but not least , I put him on the bottom because at the beginning when I was creating Joelle I would always think of Saitama and how she was going to play out of sort of a joke that is really powerful and kind of blunt in a sense . But now she has grown so much and has so much potential , story and personality behind her that you can't even imagine! Saitama was maybe my very first inspiration when I created her because for some odd reason I really like OP shid and I mean literally xD. I don't know why but I just do , but regardless of Joelle being kind of OP orientated , later on when I began to play out her story I started to balance her because I wanted her to seem a bit more real other than I just came here to kick your ass and you're dead now lmfao. She still has some funny little aspects of Saitama behind her that's for sure , but she is completely different now and I am super proud of what a long journey she has gone through and grown so much as a character ^ ^. Thank you so much for sending in dear!!I really enjoyed this ask <333!! - Cards

[honeybomb4thebear]

Nsfw alphabet for Nekomaru?? 🥺👉👈

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH YES MY HIMBO. WOULDN’T WANNA BANG HIM BUT I LOVE HIM

Other anon who asked for the smexy himbo, here it is!!!

NEKOMARU NIDAI N//S*FW ALPHABET

A=Aftercare - What they do/act like after sex. ⦁ So soft uwu! He'll be so caring and handle you so well, you'll melt. Nekomaru is a caring person already, and it only increases after sex. Let yourself get spoiled by the himbo....

B=Bondage - Are they into BDSM, and how far they’ll go if they have a green light. ⦁ hMMm i get experimentalist vibes from him. Don't get your hopes up though, he isn't into it much.

C=Cum - pretty self explanatory. ⦁ ...Good luck because he cums a lot, like, a lot ❤ but he takes his time too, so... It's sweet yet salty at the same time, idk how

D=Dom - Are they dominant, submissive, a switch? ⦁ Without a doubt, dominant! He is one of the most dom characters in the franchise imo aksjdakdjahdkj he is so mature and understanding........

E=Edgeplay - Similar to ‘Kinks’ except it’s a lot riskier than usual kinks (knifeplay, breathplay, etc.). ⦁ Why do I feel like slight breathplay..? AKJSAKJAHSKJAH he isn't really keen on hurting you so slight choking is the best he can do

F=Fantasy - A fantasy of theirs (ex: a teacher/student fantasy). ⦁ Mutual masturbation. I feel like he'd love to watch you touch yourself while your half- lidded eyes are looking at him. What a sexy thing to get himself off to! He likes it when you guys do it while you are sitting on his lap too. To tease you, he will grind his dick against your sex. Sheesh, now that's just unfair... Dw though you two end up having sex after that

G=Got Caught - How they react when they get caught having sex. ⦁ I... Feel like he would not notice because he is too focused on you. OR, if he did notice it he'd let out a laughter while still telling the other person to get out.

H=Hot Spots - A place that drives them crazy when stimulated (EX: neck). ⦁ Nekomaru doesn't have a hot spot, even tho he knows all of your hot spots like the back of his hand. But it does turn him on when you touch and compliment his abs, though.

I=Intimacy - How romantic they are, or can be, before, during, or after sex. ⦁ He is blunt during sex, but that doesn't mean he isn't romantic. Like he would make jokes even without intending to make them, which causes you to giggle a bit. It's alright though he likes it when you laugh so he will talk about how cute you look when you laugh- it's kind of a pleasant rollercoaster, really.

J=Journey - Their ideal way of leading up to sex. ⦁ Cuddling, while watching TV was supposed to be all innocent yet you know that Nekomaru likes it a lot when it's not. It always leads to sex, without fail.

K=Kinks - I’ll list a few of their kinks, be they the normalized ones or kinkier kinks. ⦁ Slight scent kink. He doesn't mind sweat, like, at all. Y'know what I mean? ⦁ Also, mirror sex?? Is so hot??? For him??? Like wow. He likes showing you how beautiful you look while pounding into you. The full view drives him crazy, his thrusts get even more intense. ⦁ And finally, biting kink. He likes marking you, especially with his teeth.

L=Location -  Where they like to have sex at, do they like risky locations, etc. ⦁ Aside from bed, maybe some of the gym equipments? He likes combining sex and working out, so it'd very hot for him if he could take you from behind as you try to do some sort of a back work out. Is it too weird? Sorry lol

M=Masturbation - How they are when they get themselves off, what they get themselves off to. ⦁ His sex drive isn't that high so he does it when he gets random erections, I think. Like I said, he'd love to get himself off to your naked body, like right in front of him but if not he has to use his imagination...

N=NO - A few things that they will absolutely, under no circumstances, ever do. ⦁ Knifeplay. If something has to make you bleed, it will be his teeth so... Yeah.

O=On’s - Their top turn on’s that they have (things that’ll get them super horny super quickly). ⦁ Seeing you all turned on turns on him too. He just loves seeing you hot and bothered, he thinks you look so adorable and hot at the same time.

P=Position -  Their favourite position to have sex in. ⦁ That position where it's missionary but you put your legs on his shoulders, or he pushes them all the way back to your shoulders. Anything that combines exercising with sex, basically. ⦁ I just feel like he'd be willing to do Kama Sutra positions.

Q=Quickie - Do they like it, do they prefer quickies over actual sex, etc. ⦁ Not a big fan of them honestly. He likes to take his sweet time with you, enjoy you fully and just have fun with you. So yeah, he prefers actual sex for sure.

R=Rough - How rough they are, or get, when in bed. ⦁ He gets too caught up in the moment... So you will have trouble walking. But don't worry, he can do "it" to you anytime so that you become more energetic!!

S=Stamina - How long they can go before they tap out. ⦁ Y'all... He is keeping you up all night KJSHKJAHSDKHAKDJAH He works out a lot, he has a healthy diet and is a healthy boy with a strong body overall, you do the math.

T=Toys - Do they use toys, do they own them, what kind, etc. ⦁ Why can I imagine him demanding you to work out with a vibrator up your ass/coochie? I just... Can. So yeah, he owns vibrators. He says it he uses them on you for "exercising purposes" but you know that that's not it, at all.

U=Unfair - How much they tease you, how they tease you, etc. ⦁ He doesn't like seeing you in pain, but what he does like is seeing you all turned on.  This man knows everything about you. What turns you on, what turns you off, what pushes you over the edge... In other words, he has complete power over you. So yes, he WILL tease you, the exact way that will keep you up on your toes, the way that you will end up throwing your pride aside and beg for his sweet touch.

V=Volume - How loud they get when having sex, things they might say, etc. ⦁ He is quite loud actually, because he enjoys it fully. He is blunt during sex, I mean as always, but that just makes his compliments more geniune. Like you better believe him when he compliments your ass, belly and thighs.

W=Wild Card - a random letter for the character of your choice. ⦁ Nekomaru is the one most comfortable with his body, so I think he'd have absolutely no problem trying the costumes you bought for him. He is already super manly, so why would he be insecure? Buy him an erotic bunny costume he will laugh at first but will wear it nonetheless. It looks good on him too and he knows it---

X=X-Ray - How they look with their clothes off. ⦁ BURJ KHALIFAAAAAAAAAAAA. Seriously, be careful when you give him head, or you might just choke. It's 29 cm at length, 24 at girth. ⦁ Needless to say, he is muscular af. Himbo king of the Danganronpa, sorry Kaito

Y=Yearning - How often they need to have sex. ⦁ I doubt Nekomaru that is a horny boy, but I feel like he'd keep up with you. Like I said, you being horny turns him on as well so if you think about it, he does too. If you don't, he probably won't either.

Z=ZZZ - How quickly they fall asleep after having sex. ⦁ He is NOT sleeping 'til you, his little spoon, are sleeping peacefully between his muscular arms. Peacefully, so don't worry about getting crushed between them, you'll be more than okay.